Chapter 279

Chapter 279: Jiang Liu Yun Wants to Become a Woman

She looked in one direction. Light gathered at her fingertip as she drew in the air. With her finger as a brush, she sketched a strange sigil in midair. Then she flicked it out and said in a low voice: “Break!”

The three men saw a flash of gold. Something like a black shadow flickered and vanished.

Qing Xuan heard a beautiful, unfamiliar female voice. It sounded clear and sharp. As the voice fell, the darkness before her split open. Joy leaped in her chest. She rushed toward the light. The moment she ran out of the dark, she felt a weightless drop. Then she opened her eyes.

“It’s done,” said that same unfamiliar voice.

The voice was strange, yet it made people feel calm.

All three men rushed up and called together: “Qing Xuan! Mother!”

Qing Xuan’s soul had been out too long, but because her body had always been active, she could still move. She blinked. Other than feeling weak, she felt no other pain. She sat up and looked at each face by the bed.

She had wanted to find the owner of the voice. Then her pupils shrank as she stared at her husband and asked: “Husband? How did you become like this?”

She had been unconscious for more than ten years. Her mind was still at the time when she had just given birth to Yu Zhi Yi. Now, at one glance, she saw the much older Jiang Yu Chuan, a Jiang Liu Yi who had become a stranger, and a boy she did not know at all, Jiang Liu Yun.

The scholarly-looking strong man, Jiang Yu Chuan, instantly had wet eyes as he said: “Wife, you finally woke up!”

Jiang Liu Yi stared, stunned by his mother’s clear eyes. He felt both joy and shock. He was happy that Mother was normal again, and shocked that such mysterious things were real. Soon he had no time to dwell on it, because he heard his mother ask: “Yi’er? Yi’er?”

Jiang Liu Yi blurted out fast: “I’m here! I’m here,” and at the same time another voice said: “I’m here.”

Brother and sister fell silent at once. Jiang Yu Chuan and Jiang Liu Yun exchanged a look and both felt awkward. They had long noticed this problem. When elders called a nickname, Yu Zhi Yi’s name sounded the same as Yi’er, the son’s nickname, so the names collided.

Qing Xuan did not know any of this. She only stared at Yu Zhi Yi’s face. It was the same as her own face when she was young. Her voice trembled as she asked: “Jin’er… is that my Jin’er?”

Yu Zhi Yi set aside her stray thoughts, sat by the bed, and smiled as she said: “Mother, it’s me.”

“It really is my Jin’er!” Qing Xuan pulled Yu Zhi Yi into her arms and gently rubbed her back as she said: “My Jin’er grew this big already? How long did I sleep?”

If she had not first seen how old and tired Jiang Yu Chuan looked, she would not have realized she had slept for many years. With that mental preparation, she accepted it when she saw Yu Zhi Yi’s face.

Yu Zhi Yi let the woman’s warm hug surround her. Her chest felt full and a little sour, but she did not dislike the feeling.

Qing Xuan cried for a long time, then fainted.

Seeing the Jiang men’s worried looks, Yu Zhi Yi explained: “This is a side effect from the soul being out too long. Her spirit is very weak and can’t bear big emotional swings. After some rest she will be fine.”

She took out a prayer-bead bracelet. Madam Yao had given it to her. It had been blessed before a Buddha. It could ward off evil and nourish the soul. After slipping the bracelet on Qing Xuan’s slender wrist, Yu Zhi Yi took out a jade pendant. The jade looked plain except that the water-like luster was very good. But those who knew would recognize it as a defensive jade pendant, a treasure that could save a person’s life twelve times.

The Jiang men did not know that. They only thought Yu Zhi Yi was giving a first-meeting gift to the mother she had never met.

Yu Zhi Yi said: “Let Mother sleep. Eat a little, then go rest.”

It was already past midnight, and they had missed the welcome banquet. Everyone was hungry. Just then Aunt Yin had finished preparing snacks. She was still hesitating at the door when it opened from inside.

Aunt Yin’s eyes went to the bed on instinct, and she saw Qing Xuan still sleeping there. Obvious disappointment flashed in her eyes. Right away she laughed at herself in her heart: [How foolish of me. Even if ghosts and gods are real, how could such a young miss bring back the madam’s soul? I hoped too much.]

Not wanting his sister to be misunderstood, Jiang Liu Yun quickly explained: “Aunt Yin, my mother already woke up, but she fainted again because she got too excited after seeing my sister. Sister said Mother needs rest, so let’s not disturb her. When she wakes tomorrow, you’ll see that she has recovered.”

Aunt Yin froze and asked: “Is the madam really better?”

She looked to Jiang Yu Chuan. It was not that she distrusted Jiang Liu Yun, but the matter was too unreal, and he was now famous for doting on his sister. Jiang Yu Chuan nodded. Only then did Aunt Yin’s heart settle. She thought: [I’ve waited all these years. What is one more night? Just one more night.]

After eating the late-night food, they went their separate ways. Only the two brothers left. This was Yu Zhi Yi’s courtyard, and her room was next door, only a few steps away. As Qing Xuan’s husband, Jiang Yu Chuan naturally stayed.

In the end, only the two young men were left feeling left out.

For the first time in his life, Jiang Liu Yun sighed and said aloud: “Why am I not a woman?” He thought: [If I were a woman, I could sleep in the same bed as Sister and wait with her for Mother to wake.]

Right after that thought formed, a kick landed on his backside.

He spun around. His brother’s face was dark. Jiang Liu Yun realized he had said his thought out loud. He scratched his head and grinned as he said: “Brother, I was just thinking. Besides, there’s no way to turn a man into a woman. Don’t worry.”

Jiang Liu Yi gave him a cool look. He was not worried that his brother would really turn into a woman. He worried that this kind of thinking might make the brat stop liking girls. In the martial world there were many people with odd tastes who liked to lead young boys astray. Even men without such habits could be pushed off track, not to mention a silly younger brother with strange ideas. Though Jiang Liu Yi could pass on the family line himself, he still did not want his brother to walk the wrong path.

Jiang Liu Yun had no idea what his big brother was worrying about. He had only said it because he wanted to stick close to his sister. He wasn’t weird, and he didn’t actually want to be a woman.