WJ Chapter 61

Wanqiu (1)

The spring of Zi, on the heights of Wanqiu.

Truly there was feeling, yet no hope.

——

Guan Wujue gradually came back to his senses. Numbly, he reached up to touch his neck and discovered that the wound carved by the Yin Ghost’s blade had already been bandaged.

Yet his heart had long since turned to dead ashes. What surged up in his heart now was not comfort, but a wave of exhaustion. The chilling cold of Death Row eroded into his bones, reminding him of the sin he had committed.

Affection? Having reached this point, where was there any affection left?

That moonlit night of treading through snow to pluck plum blossoms, their lips pressed together; these past few days eating and living together, close and laughing—all of it suddenly seemed so distant.

His drooping black hair concealed the bitter arc at the corner of his mouth. Guan Wujue buried his face between his arms, his thin spine hunched over as he bent down. He said in a low voice to Xiao Donghe outside the cell door, “You don’t understand… It was I who caused Sect Leader’s Fengchun Sheng poison to flare up. My crime is unforgivable.”

A sudden stabbing pain tore through his chest. Guan Wujue didn’t even dare to think carefully about just how heartbroken the Sect Leader must have been to trigger such a terrifying poison outbreak. Yun Changliu’s scream had nearly shattered his very soul, and yet the Sect Leader, suffering such agony, would rather endure it raw than allow him to touch…

He had never been able to bear seeing anyone hurt Yun Changliu even a little, but this time he had become the blade thrust toward the Sect Leader.

The more the Protector thought about it, the more unbearable it became. If this wretched life weren’t still of some use, he would wish to immediately subject himself to all the various punishments for betraying one’s master in the Punishment Hall. His voice hoarse, he said, “This time the Sect Leader will surely no longer tolerate me… If in a few days an order for severe punishment comes down from Yangxin Hall, do not plead for mercy on my behalf.”

“Heh, I thought the same thing a year ago, and now my face has been slapped swollen.” Xiao Donghe rolled his eyes. He still didn’t know what had happened, only assuming the two had some argument that triggered Yun Changliu’s poison, and that the Protector blamed himself so much because the Sect Leader had this accident.

——In any case, once the Sect Leader woke up, he would surely come personally to coax the man better. There was no need for him to worry needlessly about it.

Left Envoy Xiao thought this quite easily.

……

However, the severity of the situation exceeded everyone’s expectations.

The Fengchun Sheng relapsed very severely. Guan Muyan no longer dared leave Yangxin Hall, but even exhausting all methods, he could not effectively suppress the toxin.

Yun Changliu never truly regained consciousness. Even when occasionally tortured awake by the pain, after struggling briefly he would exhaust his strength and fall unconscious again. After several such cycles, his breathing grew weaker and weaker, until gradually he became so weak he didn’t even have the strength to toss and turn or moan.

Fortunately, before falling into unconsciousness, Yun Changliu had issued an order to block the news. Otherwise, the Zhuyin Sect would surely already be in chaos with panicked hearts. Also because of this order, people outside Yangxin Hall only knew that the Sect Leader’s poison had flared again, but were unaware of just how critical the situation had become.

For Guan Wujue in Death Row, all he could do was wait.

Sometimes, waiting is the most agonizing and powerless thing in the world.

Waited through one day, two days—no news.

Waited through three days, four days—still no news.

Xiao Donghe went to Yangxin Hall to visit once, but was persuaded to return by Wen Feng at the door. The white-robed attendant looked haggard, his eyes red from exhaustion. To the Left Envoy’s inquiries, he only shook his head in response, saying the Sect Leader was still unconscious, his condition unstable, and wouldn’t say another word beyond that.

The fifth day, the sixth day, the seventh day…

Still no news.

Guan Wujue felt he was going mad.

Even back then, when he had barely survived the heart-piercing blood extraction, only to wake and be told that Young Master Changliu’s poison had caused him to lose his memory—under that cruel blow of hope shattering into despair, he hadn’t gone mad. But now he was nearly at the breaking point. He began to deteriorate mentally, unable to eat, suffering from insomnia and night terrors. No matter how Xiao Donghe scolded or persuaded him, it was to no avail.

Yun Changliu had ordered that no torture be inflicted on the Four Directions Protector; everything would wait for him to handle personally. Thus Guan Wujue didn’t even have to endure the routine intimidation and beating that Punishment Hall prisoners normally received. However, he was at the final stage of the medicine dissolving into his blood, and his fragile heart meridian simply couldn’t withstand this self-destructive emotional turmoil. When it truly started hurting, it was no different from having been tortured.

Even though Guan Wujue tried his best to hide and conceal it, he couldn’t fool the Punishment Hall Master who had been interrogating criminals for several years. So this time it was Left Envoy Xiao gripping the iron bars and shouting inward, “Wujue? Guan Wujue! What’s wrong with you… Say something!”

Guan Wujue was curled up on the floor of the cell with his back to him, trembling and breathing unsteadily in the darkness of the prison. “…Old injury, don’t tell anyone. I’ll endure it… and it will pass…”

Whatever could make the Protector suffer like this definitely couldn’t be some ordinary old injury. Xiao Donghe cursed under his breath and said urgently, “Stop being foolish. Death Row is cold and damp. If your old injury is acting up and you keep lying on the ground like this, something will happen… Wait, I’ll get the key to unlock the door!”

Guan Wujue turned his head. With his left hand pressing against his intermittently aching heart, he forced a pale, mocking smile at the corner of his mouth, “The lock of Death Row… is that something that can just be opened? …Could it be that Left Envoy Daren wants to abuse his power for personal gain this once?”

Xiao Donghe was too lazy to bicker with him and turned to leave.

The Sect Leader clearly knew he and Wujue were friends, yet specifically instructed the Punishment Hall Master to guard him personally. If he said there was no implicit suggestion to “abuse power for personal gain,” he wouldn’t believe it!

The Punishment Hall held many prison cells for detaining criminals, and the keys had dedicated keepers with very strict rules for their use. Only the keys to Death Row had always been jointly managed by the Punishment Hall Master and Deputy Hall Master. But since the position of Deputy Hall Master was currently vacant, this authority fell to Xiao Donghe alone.

This meant that if he wanted to take the Death Row key, it was actually much more convenient than following the rules to retrieve keys for ordinary cells.

However, Xiao Donghe had just hurriedly retrieved it and hadn’t yet returned to Death Row located at the bottom of the Punishment Hall when a Zhuhuo Guard came to report. “Reporting to Left Envoy Daren, Wen Huan Daren has arrived.”

Wen Huan had come?

Xiao Donghe, clutching the key, hesitated slightly. If it were anyone else, he would have them wait, but Wen Huan was after all the old Sect Leader’s man, with an extraordinary status. Coming at this critical moment when the Sect Leader was unconscious must mean important business.

Thinking that Guan Wujue had just been able to laugh and mock him, he probably wouldn’t have any problems for a while. The Left Envoy nodded. “Please show him in quickly.”

Unexpectedly, Wen Huan came on behalf of the old Sect Leader to request a person.

The person requested was precisely Guan Wujue.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Donghe’s face darkened, his expression becoming very serious as he said, “Wen Daren, this joke goes too far. Is the Death Row lock something that can just be opened? Could it be the old Sect Leader wants me, this Left Envoy, to abuse my power for personal gain this once?”

“Left Envoy Xiao, the current situation is extremely unusual. Someone is urgently needed to channel internal energy to the Sect Leader to suppress the Fengchun Sheng.”

Wen Huan wasn’t angered and continued to patiently persuade—of course, the main reason he wasn’t angered was that he didn’t know the Left Envoy’s words were freshly learned, and that the Death Row key was currently lying in the Left Envoy’s breast.

“The Protector’s internal energy is profound. This is precisely the opportunity for him to atone for his crime through merit. This way, when the Sect Leader awakens, he will also show more consideration and might even forgive the Protector’s transgression… Please make an exception and release him from the Punishment Hall.”

Xiao Donghe’s nerves jumped for no reason, and he frowned in contemplative silence.

…Wen Huan’s words made sense both emotionally and logically, and from any angle they seemed fine. Whether as the Sect Leader’s subordinate or the Protector’s friend, it seemed he should release the person.

Yet for some reason, a thread in Xiao Donghe’s mind suddenly pulled taut.

——Something felt off.

Facts proved that the candidate for next Sect Leader jointly chosen by Yun Changliu and Guan Wujue was truly no pushover.

Left Envoy Xiao was someone who had seen countless suspicious cases and mysteries in the Punishment Hall. Sometimes natural intuition was more accurate than logic, and his mind instantly raced.

——Why did the Sect Leader have his incident at Yanyun Palace? Why would Wujue also be there?

——Why did the Sect Leader order the news blocked, and why did he have Wujue imprisoned in Death Row?

——No shackles, no torture—clearly not truly intending punishment. If it was as he thought, that the Sect Leader was doing this to protect Wujue, then the question arose: who exactly was the Sect Leader guarding against?

——In the Zhuyin Sect, who else could lay a hand on the Four Directions Protector?

Countless questions surged up all at once. Xiao Donghe’s heart suddenly went cold, shocked by the implications behind this.

He didn’t dare speculate wildly, but immediately settled on one thing: keeping Guan Wujue in the Death Row of Punishment Hall was an order the Sect Leader had issued even while enduring the pain of Fengchun Sheng flaring up—there must be a reason!

“I’m sorry, Wen Daren.” Xiao Donghe slowly shook his head, crossing his arms and raising his chin, assuming an official attitude. “Death Row is no small matter. Guan Wujue is someone the Sect Leader personally ordered imprisoned. I absolutely dare not act on my own initiative. Please understand.”

Seeing Wen Huan still wished to persuade further, he raised his hand and waved it off at the right moment. “This matter is not up for discussion. Please leave, Daren.”

“…I understand.” Wen Huan sighed with regret and produced a medicine bottle from his sleeve. “In that case, please accept this, Left Envoy Daren.”

Xiao Donghe took it with confusion, only to hear Wen Huan say calmly, “The Protector has an injury, and these past few days should be when it flares up, yes? This is his medicine. The old Sect Leader is concerned and had me bring it. Please pass it to him, Left Envoy Daren.”

With that, Wen Huan bowed. “I’ve intruded.”

Xiao Donghe had two people escort Wen Huan out of the Punishment Hall. He himself stared at the medicine bottle in thought for a moment, then waved away everyone around him and headed alone toward Death Row.

His eyes flickered with shifting light. As he walked, he opened the stopper of the medicine bottle and poured out two pills. First he secretly hid one pill himself, then put the medicine bottle away, keeping only the remaining pill in his palm. He walked down the dark passage leading to the underground Death Row.

……

In the dark dungeon, Guan Wujue still lay on the ground, eyes tightly closed, long lashes trembling continuously. The fingers resting over his heart hung limply, occasionally twitching once or twice from pain, but clearly no longer having much strength.

But he was still relatively conscious. Upon hearing Xiao Donghe’s footsteps and the sound of the key collision and lock opening, he opened his eyes and turned over. His voice was weak yet cold as a blade. “Xiao Donghe, do you truly dare to abuse your power and neglect your duty?”

To this, Left Envoy Xiao’s reaction was to brazenly kick open the unlocked cell door and raise an eyebrow. “This Envoy is neglecting it today. What can you do to me?”

As he spoke, he strode to Guan Wujue’s side in two steps and thrust the pill before his eyes. “Protector Guan, don’t you understand medicine? Look at this thing—do you recognize it?”

Guan Wujue focused his gaze and immediately recognized it. He said intermittently through gasps. “Isn’t this… my medicine… Who sent it to you?”

As he spoke, he took it and swallowed it. “Give me all the rest… Quickly.”

Xiao Donghe’s heart sank.

…”My medicine,” not “a certain medicine I’m also taking.”

He hadn’t mentioned Wen Huan by a single word, yet Guan Wujue could definitively identify it as his. What kind of medicine was this, so special that it was given to only one person?

Guan Wujue urged him several more times. Xiao Donghe had no choice but to give him the medicine bottle. The Protector skillfully poured out several more pills and, without using water, directly chewed and swallowed them.

The medicine was remarkably effective. After just a short while, Guan Wujue’s condition improved noticeably, and his cheeks finally showed some color. Xiao Donghe’s doubts grew heavier. Just as he was about to press with a few questions, urgent news arrived.

The Sect Leader had awakened and summoned the Left Envoy for an audience.