Chapter 38 part 1
Edited by renderedreversed
Chapter 38 part 1
Zihui really brought me to the flower house. But… I looked at the five story wooden house. On the balcony, there were many glamorous flowers filling the platform. I pointed at it and asked Zihui, “Is this the flower house that you talked about? Isn’t this where the people in town go for sacrifice?”
Zihui smiled. “This is also known locally as a flower house. A Xiang lady doesn’t want to go inside and take a look?”
“I want to hear Chu Kong’s words from his heart.”
“Why hurry, a Xiang lady? When Chu Kong goes back to the inn and doesn’t see us, he’ll come looking. I asked the waiter to tell Chu Kong that we are here watching the stars.”
Zihui raised the jar of wine. “Before he gets here, let’s drink a few cups of wine, alright?”
I wondered, “How do you know that he’ll go back to the inn?”
Zihui winked at me and smiled playfully. “If I didn’t know that, wouldn’t it be a waste for Chu Kong to give me his heart?”
I was silent for a moment, and then my gaze fell onto Zihui’s chest. I stared at it for a while. I took the jar of wine and said, “Everyone wants to live. I can understand what you were feeling at that time. Although, pursuing something that happened in the past has no meaning; Chu Kong isn’t going to say it and I also won’t bother to say it, but Zihui, you have to remember that this heart is stolen from Chu Kong. You set a trap for us when I was stupid. I won’t allow that to happen a second time.”
“Ah.”
Zihui was silent for a long time and then smiled. “You and Chu Kong are really a perfect match made in Heaven. You know, Chu Kong also told me what you just said. Only this time, I really just want to repay you without any ulterior motives.”
I hesitated. Zihui turned and jumped onto the high balcony. I looked at the jar of wine in my hand and also jumped up.
“Let’s sit for a moment,” Zihui patted a spot beside him. I sat down and let my feet dangle. I unplugged the jar of wine and inhaled its scent. It immediately lifted my spirits.
“Good wine. Where did you buy it?”
“This isn’t bought.”
Zihui looked up at the stars.
“Many years ago, I had been to this small town. This wine was personally made by me. I wanted to take it out and drink it on the day I married.”
My mouth just touched the opening of the jar. After I heard that, my throat suddenly closed up like I was choking. I bore with the pain and put down the jar of wine. I looked at Zihui and saw him laughing. He said, “Drink, I can’t get married anymore.”
I thought back to the female soul and asked, “Do you really not have a deceased wife? You don’t know a Luo?”
Zihui continued to smile. “In this life, I only loved one person, but that person... Even though I gave her my heart, I didn’t get that person. The day before we got married, she took my original heart and ran away.”
He narrowed his eyes and looked at the distant stars. He said seriously, “I didn’t marry anyone, don’t have a wife, and also don’t know a Luo.”
But that woman called a Luo knows Zihui.
Looking at his face, I couldn’t bear to say it.
The sweet wine drifted into my nose. It was a fresh and sweet taste, as if it traveled through time and space to tell me the longing of the person who made the wine.
I handed the jar of wine back to Zihui. “The first gulp of this wine that has been hidden for so many years must be from you. The flavor now must be different from the flavor back then.”
Zihui hung his head. He bitterly laughed. “I don’t need to taste it; I already know.”
“Hehe, in the middle of the night, a man and a woman alone in front of the flowers and under the moon, talking and singing together and also having the same thoughts. Very good, very good.”
From behind came a strange laugh. I turned and saw Chu Kong standing there. The crimson whip in his hand seemed violent.
Zihui turned and looked at Chu Kong. Then he turned around again, looked at me, and said, “The wine has a surprise.”
After saying that, he grabbed my hand, raised his own, and shoved the opening of the jar into my mouth. I instantly tasted the sweetness of the wine as it poured down my throat.
A piercing sound sliced through the air. Zihui barely escaped Chu Kong’s whip. He smiled with squinted eyes. “You two should go see the stars. I want to go back and sleep.”
After saying that, he waved and disappeared into the night.
Meanwhile, I was choking on the wine. I clutched my chest and coughed. After a moment, I felt a warmth slide down my throat into my stomach. Then it came back up like a punch to the head… Wait, wait, what did Zihui say? The wine had a surprise? He prepared this wine for the day he married. In that kind of scenery, what kind of wine should be drunk? Even with only the hair on my head, I knew what kind of wine it was!
But this was used by the local people of this small town, ah! He also wanted Chu Kong and I to be wild, wild, wild…wild…together?!
Chu Kong didn’t know what I had drunk. He was still lecturing me. “You really forget fast. That lifetime, you fell into his trap, now you want to fall into his trap again, do you? A little gift and a small favor can buy you. Very good; really, well done!”
Sweat slowly began to form on my forehead. This situation was really bad, ah…
Seeing that I didn’t speak for half a day, Chu Kong squatted down beside me. “You really… What’s the matter with you?”
His face was serious. His hand touched my forehead. I saw a hidden anger light in his eyes.
“What tricks did that guy play again?!”
“There’s a drug in the wine.”
At first, I wanted to deceive Chu Kong and then run. But this mouth of mine seemed like it lost all control, just blurting out whatever it wanted. I couldn’t even cover it up to mute myself.
Chu Kong picked up the jar of wine. He asked himself, “What kind of drug?”
“Spring…”
I slapped my hand across my mouth, but my mouth didn’t let itself be controlled. The two words that I thought in my heart came out through my teeth, just for Chu Kong’s ears to hear. “Spring…drug…”
Chu Kong was startled. His body suddenly softened and he sat down beside me. He looked coldly at me in silence. I covered my mouth and swallowed, nervously waiting for his response. I never thought that after such a long period of silence, he’d ask me, “Then…then what do we do?”