Su Lang knew that the Master was unhappy, even deep in his drunken state, he could still sense it. He sniffed, his voice a mix of sadness and sarcasm, "Ha, men! Each and every one of you, you’re all the same!"
Su Lang forcibly closed his eyes.
For him, the Master was a mentor, a father, a brother, and a friend all rolled into one.
The reason why he had initially held the Master in such high esteem, to the point of being obsessively intolerant of any slight against him, was not only because of the kindness the Master had shown him but also because there had once been someone else like the Master. But that person...
Su Lang bitterly laughed again: "Ha, women!?"
He shook off Zhi Chen, suddenly stood up, seemingly unable to bear it any longer, twisted his handsome face in extreme pain, and demanded, "What is so good about women? Why does each and every one of you fall for them?"
"Those in power! They never care about the lives and deaths of us men. In the hearts of those women, we men are even lower than dogs, merely toys to be played with!"
"I thought you were different. I thought someone like you wouldn’t be as foolish as him, but why, in the end, do you all fall for a woman?"
Su Lang laughed lowly, as if reminiscing something, "A mentor and a father, a brother and a friend, yet none could withstand a single word from that woman. What is so good about her? To forsake the woman who was once deeply loved, to forsake me, to betray everyone in the world, just to stay by her side as her plaything..."
Su Lang held his head, screaming in agony. He spoke drunkenly; his temper not aimed at Liang Zhichen but because of that person, who, when he was young, had held his hand, taught him how to read and write, taught him sword fighting and martial arts, told him of the many flaws of Dayuan, advised him to travel extensively when he grew up, and told him about a country beyond the border called Dajin, where men were not bound like in Dayuan...
But what about the end?
That person who did not keep his word, who had deserted him, abandoned their years of sharing happiness and hardship, merely because he once got upset and talked back to that supreme woman, and had thrown him into...
Su Lang’s eyes turned red. "Qing—he—!!"
He pronounced each syllable slowly, his teeth clenched in anger as he spit out the name, "How could you be so blind!"
Liang Zhichen suddenly struck down with a hand chop, causing Su Lang’s body to limply slide down.
He sighed softly, then turned to Dong Huiying, only to see her looking confused.
"Baobao?" he called out, but Dong Huiying remained dazed.
She furrowed her brow, muttering, "Qinghe, Qinghe... Why does this name sound so familiar?"
She pressed her temples, thinking hard but still clueless. Yet she speculated that this name might be related to the memory she had lost.
Liang Zhichen grew worried about her, came over, and touched her shoulder, "What’s wrong?"
Dong Huiying looked dazed. "I don’t know what’s wrong with me, just that my heart is beating fiercely."
He furrowed his brows deeply, then looked toward Su Lang.
The young man’s pale face was streaked with tears.
Qinghe, this unfamiliar name, why did it elicit such a reaction from Baobao?
While Su Lang was unconscious, Dong Huiying took his pulse, prescribed some medicine, and gave detailed instructions. Then she and Liang Zhichen rode back together on horseback.
Heavy snow fell thickly, melting as soon as it touched their faces.