She blinked, "A doctor can both save lives and take them. If I didn’t have this understanding, I wouldn’t have come here with you, nor would I have brought my bottles and jars."
Inside those bottles and jars were all poisonous gu, capable of sealing one’s throat upon contact with blood and invisibly taking lives. Although everything was quite a shock to her yesterday, deep down she had already prepared for various possibilities. She just needed some time to adjust her mindset.
She had her bottom line, and she was clear about what it was. That was enough for her.
He smiled happily, "Don’t worry, if I can’t snatch it away, I’m just teasing you. I can’t live without you in this life. When we grow old together, if we have to die, let’s die together."
Her cheeks reddened, "You always..." She turned her head away and decided not to tease him back, after all, she found this cheesy love talk quite delightful.
Well, just let it be!
They had breakfast from the food box Liang Zhichen brought back from outside last night, and then the family of three went out for a stroll. Liang Zhichen took his wife and younger brother to a teahouse, where there was never a shortage of lively crowds.
People were hotly discussing the bloodbath at Shenglong Hall from the day before. Some said that Gold Respect, who had been missing for a long time, had returned and had started cleaning house with a relentless and fierce hand. For instance, Yi Yan, who used to be the second in command at Shenglong Hall, had died a particularly horrible death; early this morning, someone had seen Yi Yan’s body at Mass Graves.
Others asked why Yi Yan had died, since Gold Respect and Yi Yan always referred to each other as brothers. Those in the know revealed that it was because Yi Yan had done many "good deeds" behind Gold Respect’s back, and once Gold Respect realized the man was a traitor, he killed Yi Yan.
"Oh right, the notices on the city walls are gone!" someone else said. Today, they discovered that many of Shenglong Hall’s notices posted on the city walls had disappeared. This included portraits of Marshal Baowei and a woman, as well as former followers of the Original Three Armies, whose portraits were also torn down.
It was unclear whether Shenglong Hall had revoked the bounties on these people or if someone had completed these tasks and thus removed the notices from the wall.
Dong Huiying sipped her tea, finding herself missing the wild mountain tea Yixuan brewed. She listened to the gossip, and when they mentioned the portraits of the wanted on the city walls, her expression subtly changed before she looked towards Liang Zhichen seated beside her.
"Here," he raised his hand to brush off the crumbs on the corner of her lips, then licked them from his fingers with a touch of a teasing smile on his lips.
Her face reddened, and she diverted her gaze, only to see a stout woman from Dayuan, her skin dark and her face marked with the character for "slave," sneakily spying on them.
Their gazes met squarely, and the woman forced a stiff smile. She was clearly not given to laughter or speech; it seemed she rarely interacted playfully with others. Her whole bearing was one of keeping others at bay, yet towards Dong Huiying, she conveyed the utmost goodwill.
Dong Huiying was momentarily stunned, then returned the goodwill, nodding at the woman.
The woman stiffened and then, as if overwhelmed by the honor, quickly lowered her head.
"Hui?" The man leaned close to her ear, softly calling her nickname. After that, she saw the woman suddenly take on an expression of terror, as if she had witnessed something unbelievable—and this disbelief apparently stemmed from the man sitting beside her.
With this, she understood everything.