"Hehe, don’t look at me like that!"
Qi Tianshang gazed at Qin Qin’s delicate and charming face, his right hand raised, intending to touch Qin Qin, but she avoided him. He chuckled indifferently, his eyes deepening behind the mask, his voice low and slightly hoarse, "This transformation seems a bit off, but I believe you’ll soon be yourself, the you that you once were."
Qin Qin’s expression tightened, sensing something amiss in Qi Tianshang’s words. What was he saying? What transformation? What did he mean she’d soon be herself? The her from the past?
Qi Tianshang lowered his hand, "Rest here tonight, and tomorrow I’ll send you back. I hope you won’t disappoint me."
After speaking, Qi Tianshang stepped forward and walked away. Qin Qin stopped him, "Qi Tianshang, you still haven’t told me what poison Yunchen has been afflicted with?"
Qi Tianshang glanced down at her with a tense expression for Mo Yunchen, a flash in his eyes, his voice hoarse and cold, "He’s been poisoned with Underworld Water, and only I have the antidote. If you want to save him, you’ll have to do as I say."
After saying this, Qi Tianshang walked past Qin Qin and left.
Once Qi Tianshang was gone, the woman who had brought Qin Qin into the villa appeared, gesturing with her hand for Qin Qin to go and rest.
Late at night, Qin Qin stayed awake in her unfamiliar room, tossing and turning, repeatedly mulling over Qi Tianshang’s words.
He said Mo Yunchen was poisoned with the Underworld Water? What is Underworld Water poison? Even the "Heavenly Medicine Scripture" doesn’t mention it?
Could Qi Tianshang’s so-called Underworld Water really be the water of the underworld? How could that be?
The sound of the room door’s knob turning reached her ears, and Qin Qin closed her eyes; soon after, she heard someone enter the room softly.
The person stood silently in front of her bed, quietly watching her.
After a long while, a deep voice spoke.
"I’ve been waiting for you, always waiting for you! Fortunately, you have come back!"
The voice was Qi Tianshang’s, but Qin Qin felt slightly puzzled listening to it. Qi Tianshang during the day spoke to her rudely, dominantly, and aggressively, while the Qi Tianshang now... seemed to her as if he was talking to a lover, affectionate, gentle, and with a hint of longing.
And what did he mean by that? Since she entered the villa, she couldn’t understand the meaning behind Qi Tianshang’s words, and now these words—what did they really mean?
Whom was he waiting for? And who had come back?
Inside Mo Yunchen’s villa, Mo Sheng and Mo Tang stood behind Mo Yunchen, "Madam’s car disappeared in the city center."
Mo Yunchen, propping himself up to stand on the floor, held a note in his hand that Qin Qin had left for him.
The note was about her learning of his illness and going out to find an antidote for him, asking him to wait for her cure.
Mo Yunchen clenched the note tightly, his voice low and pained, "What did you promise me? Have you broken your word again? Qinqin, should I tie you to my side and never let you leave again!"
"Master Mo, Madam must have had no other choice!"
Mo Sheng, seeing Mo Yunchen in such pain, spoke softly.
"Master Mo, since Madam left a note, she’ll certainly be back soon."
Mo Yunchen closed his eyes in pain, then suddenly began coughing violently, his tall body leaning forward as he collapsed.
Mo Sheng and Mo Tang’s expressions changed, and they quickly moved forward to support Mo Yunchen, "Mo Sheng, call the doctor right away."
Late at night, in the villa on the mountainside, Han Ye stood behind Qi Tianshang, who was leaning lazily against the window sill, gently swirling a glass of red wine in his hand.
"Honorable Master, Mo Yunchen has fainted!"
Qi Tianshang glanced at Han Ye and smirked, "Hehe, of course he would faint, how could a mere mortal like him resist the Underworld Water!"
"Do you think if Qin Qin knew Mo Yunchen had fainted, she would panic and want to return? Should I threaten her with it?"
Qi Tianshang’s voice was low, as if he was talking to himself.
Han Ye looked up slightly at Qi Tianshang, who was staring into the distance, "Honorable Master, doing this... Miss Qin will surely end up hating you."
Any woman learning her beloved man was injured and unconscious would be desperate to return; yet the Honorable Master was preventing Miss Qin from leaving and even planning to threaten her. With Miss Qin’s temperament, she would certainly grow to hate the Honorable Master. Why would he do such a thing? Wouldn’t it be counterproductive? Why not treat Miss Qin well and win her over instead?
"Hehe, hate me? She’s always hated me. Maybe it’s better if she hates me; at least she won’t forget me then. At least there’ll still be a place for me in her heart, right?"
Qi Tianshang laughed at himself, finishing the red wine in one gulp.