Please, Don’t Die - Chapter 48

The first light of dawn crept in softly.

On the bed, the man in deep slumber breathed steadily, a sleeve of emerald-green fabric draped like a cloud, making the crimson bracelet on his wrist appear even more dazzlingly vivid. An aura of tranquility surrounded him, suggesting a night of dreamless, peaceful rest.

Amid the quiet, Ying Qujie slowly stirred awake, his clear eyes blinking with the haze of drowsiness.

Had it been any other morning, the little wooden puppet would have already climbed onto his chest to pester him by now.

But after a moment, the silence remained unbroken.

“Shengsheng?”

No answer came.

Ying Qujie rose swiftly, washed up in haste, loosely tied his hair, and draped his robes before stepping out.

As he pushed open the door, the late autumn wind, carrying the chill of approaching winter, swept over him, dispelling the lingering drowsiness.

The sound of voices reached his ears, unexpectedly lively outside.

By the small round stone table, Qi Wan was playing with Ying Wen, while Ying Hongfeng and Yan Xingyi stood on either side, their gazes brimming with identical paternal warmth.

Just as Ying Qujie stepped onto the corridor, a rustle came from the eaves, followed by something plummeting straight into his arms.

A certain ghost, who had intended to sneak up and startle him but slipped on the frost-covered roof, calmly straightened up and smoothed his sleeves as if nothing had happened. “Up so early, Physician Ying?”

“Mhm.”

Now that he had laid eyes on the other, Ying Qujie’s heart settled back into place. Ignoring the wooden puppet’s motionless carved robes and He Qingsheng’s pretense of adjusting his sleeves, he deftly righted the puppet and cradled it in his hands.

The group by the stone table noticed the commotion.

“Physician Ying is awake,” Yan Xingyi greeted first.

“Senior He! Physician Ying! Come try the pastries Sister Taotao made, they’re delicious!” Qi Wan called out, her mouth full.

Ying Hongfeng bowed slightly from a distance in greeting. Taotao emerged from the small kitchen on the right, carrying a steaming bowl of sweet jujube porridge, and offered Ying Qujie a shy smile. “Young Master is awake. Come join us for breakfast.”

“Let’s go,” He Qingsheng tugged at his sleeve. “After eating, we’ll take Ying Wen out to play today.”

“Alright.”

Once the meal was served, Ying Hongfeng yielded his seat to Taotao, standing aside to let his wife, who had been busy all morning, eat first. Ying Wen nestled close to Taotao, devouring the offerings with gusto, his slurping interspersed with praises for his mother’s cooking.

Taotao smiled gently. “As long as Wenwen likes it.” Ying Wen nuzzled her arm affectionately before hopping onto Ying Hongfeng’s palm and pushing a pastry toward him. “Daddy, you eat too!”

The piping-hot pastry burned his fingers, but Ying Hongfeng gripped it tighter. “Ah, good, Wenwen is so thoughtful.”

Ying Wen giggled and perched on his father’s arm, swinging his legs carefree, utterly unafraid of slipping with both parents nearby.

They looked like a picture-perfect, happy family.

“Senior He, since Wenwen’s eating, why don’t you try some too?” Qi Wan waved at He Qingsheng.

He Qingsheng shook her head. “I’ll pass. You go ahead.”

Before Qi Wan could press further, Yan Xingyi stuffed a bite of side dish into his mouth to silence her.

Ying Hongfeng wolfed down a pastry, while Taotao’s attention was no longer on the food. Ying Qujie ate some pastries with the sweet porridge before setting down his chopsticks. Yan Xingyi also seemed disinterested, without Qi Wan, the table would have been far more subdued.

After breakfast, the entire group bustled out the door together.

Ying Qujie faintly heard some commotion from the front courtyard, but just as he was about to focus on it, He Qingsheng’s words interrupted his train of thought, so he didn’t dwell on it further.

Walking down the street, Ying Qujie finally understood the usefulness of bringing Yan Xingyi along.

He carried He Qingsheng on his shoulders, while Taotao held Ying Wen in her arms. He Qingsheng spoke little, but Ying Wen chattered nonstop the entire way, not bothering to lower his voice in public.

Fortunately, Yan Xingyi had always been flamboyant, his reputation in Great Su well-known. The passersby, seeing the Imperial Preceptor accompanying them, assumed the figures were some secret creations of his and didn’t make much fuss.

Aside from attracting many curious glances, their journey caused no other disturbances.

Ying Wen, having been confined for so long, was curious about everything he saw along the way. He looked around eagerly, chatting with the auntie at the candy stall and coaxing a few playful words from the grandfather selling little lanterns.

Ying Wen was a likable child. Before Ying Hongfeng could even reach for his money, the boy’s hands were already filled with sugar paintings, fruits, and small lanterns.

When Ying Hongfeng tried to pay the vendors, they just waved him off with a laugh, teasing Yan Xingyi, who stood behind them: “These little trinkets are just for the child to play with, no need for payment. How about you, young master, try convincing the Imperial Preceptor to make more of these whimsical little puppets? I’d gladly pay him to craft one for myself to keep by my side.”

The vendor laughed heartily, while Yan Xingyi put on an exaggerated look of distress. “Oh, auntie, please don’t say such things. These aren’t something that can just be mass-produced!” As he spoke, he sneakily glanced at He Qingsheng.

He Qingsheng ignored Yan Xingyi’s attempt to stir trouble, leaning toward Ying Qujie and loudly declaring, “Physician Ying, my next puppet must be able to roll its eyes!”

Ying Qujie chuckled. “Alright.”

“Physician Ying, that’s hardly fair,” Yan Xingyi protested, though to no avail.

Meanwhile, Qi Wan, Taotao, and Ying Wen had already reached a cosmetics shop up ahead. It seemed the two were debating over which makeup would suit Taotao, and they called for the other four to hurry over and join them.

Ying Hongfeng discreetly slipped some money to the vendor before quickly catching up.

“Trust me, your mother would look best in cherry red,” Qi Wan declared confidently.

Ying Wen frowned. “But I think Mother is like spring, wouldn’t this peach pink suit her better?”

“Little boys don’t understand these things,” Qi Wan retorted, thumping her chest as if staking her lifelong credibility on it.

Taotao let the two fuss over her, allowing pomegranate red and peach pink to stain her hands as she smiled, her cheeks flushed like blossoms.

Seeing her like this, Ying Hongfeng felt a lump form in his throat. His wife had been in poor spirits ever since their child went missing. But now, she looked just like the charming young woman he had first met on the veranda of the Ying residence, back when he was a disheveled refugee.

“Father, which one do you think looks better?” Ying Wen turned to him for help.

Ying Hongfeng replied, “They both look lovely.”

He Qingsheng drifted forward, examining the rouge in Qi Wan and Ying Wen’s hands. It didn’t seem much different from what was popular in the Twelve Walls.

The stall was a dazzling array of colors, but one shade, Haitang Chun (Crabapple Spring), caught her eye. It looked exactly like the lip rouge her junior martial sister had often kept in her vanity.

Before her death, her junior sister’s blood had stained those ever-delicate lips, a sight so vivid and haunting that it had momentarily erased the memory of this very shade from He Qingsheng’s mind.

Ying Qujie followed He Qingsheng’s gaze and picked up the box of rouge, placing a pouch of coins in front of the vendor. “Shopkeeper, I’ll take all of these.”

Then, he handed Haitang Chun to He Qingsheng. “Would you like to try it?”

As if guided by some unseen force, He Qingsheng scraped off a small amount and dabbed it onto Ying Qujie’s lips. His striking features made the delicate pink hue on his thin lips appear perfectly natural.

Ying Qujie instinctively licked his lips and tasted a hint of sweetness.

He Qingsheng’s mood lifted momentarily.

“What are you two lovebirds doing here?” Yan Xingyi’s voice came from the corner, dripping with resentment. “Laughter is yours, while I, the mere tool, have nothing, not even my disciple, who’s run off with someone else.”

“I don’t mind.”

He Qingsheng tilted her chin forward. Qi Wan, who had just been enthusiastically debating lipstick shades with Ying Wen, was nowhere to be seen. Nearby, by a carriage, Shangguan Ding’an, clad in a crimson official robe, was listening intently as Qi Wan spoke.

“Ah, the allure of a uniform. If you don’t keep a closer eye on her, your disciple really will run off with someone.”

Yan Xingyi cursed under his breath and dashed forward.

“Shangguan Ding’an looks quite the part of a young, accomplished pillar of the state in that crimson robe,” He Qingsheng remarked, nudging Ying Qujie. “Why do you think Yan Xingyi is so dead set against him?”

“Lord Shangguan comes from a prominent family with complicated dynamics. Perhaps the Imperial Preceptor believes Qi Wan isn’t suited for such a household.” Ying Qujie paused, snapping out of his daze from He Qingsheng’s earlier “I don’t mind,” his expression unreadable. “Do you think the crimson official robe looks good?”

“It’s alright.” He Qingsheng wasn’t sure why he suddenly asked, but in the Twelve Walls, there were no dynasties or bureaucracies, so the formal official attire struck her as quite novel.

Her curiosity didn’t last long, though, as inspiration struck. “Physician Ying, what if I read Qi Wan’s romantic fortune and then sold the Imperial Preceptor a method to sever her fate line? We could swindle some money out of him.”

“Are you short on funds?”

“No.” Just short on morals.

“Be careful, or the Imperial Preceptor might lose his temper with you.” Ying Qujie tapped the little wooden puppet’s head. After a brief pause, he asked, “Can you really see people’s romantic fate lines?”

“Not exactly see, but I can divine a general idea.” While internally speculating that Yan Xingyi had likely already divined Qi Wan and Shangguan Ding’an’s romantic fate, He Qingsheng teased Ying Qujie. “Physician Ying, are you curious about your own romantic fate?”

“I’ll give you a discount.”

Though she said it lightly, she didn’t expect Ying Qujie to actually agree, and even place a small piece of gold in her palm with surprising seriousness.

Without hesitation, she began her calculations. When she opened her eyes, she looked at Ying Qujie with sympathy. “Physician Ying, the heavens decree that your destiny lies in your career, saving lives, honing your medical skills, advancing endlessly, breaking through your limits…”

“In short, you must not be distracted by romantic entanglements.”

Watching He Qingsheng spin an increasingly elaborate explanation, Ying Qujie chuckled softly. “So, in simpler terms, I have no romantic prospects? What if I-”

He Qingsheng adopted a grave tone. “Not necessarily. The stars may shift; nothing is set in stone. Don’t lose heart, young man.”

Seeing that Ying Qujie still had more to say, she quickly floated away. “Looks like a fight’s about to break out over there. I’d better mediate.”

…

After another round of bickering among Yan Xingyi, Qi Wan, and Shangguan Ding’an, the latter was dragged away by officials who had come looking for him, looking thoroughly exasperated.

At noon, the group accompanied Ying Wen to a private room in a tavern for lunch. In the afternoon, they rented a carriage and spent most of the day leisurely touring the outskirts before returning to the city.

As the sun set behind the western hills, the city gates were already under strict lockdown by the time they headed back.

Normally, this would be the time for the night market stalls to open, but today it was eerily quiet and devoid of any liveliness. He Qingsheng noticed that several households in the capital had also been cordoned off.

Thinking of the baleful aura that had descended upon the capital the day before, she feared that the first batch of people had already reaped their karmic retribution.

He Qingsheng wasn’t worried about the first group, vengeful spirits sought out those they held grudges against first. The karmic affairs of ordinary mortals were not her place to interfere.

But after tonight, once those vengeful spirits had settled their scores and grievances, the ones to suffer next would be the innocent commoners.

The agreement she had reached with Yan Xingyi was to protect these innocent people.

Yu Fu and Lan Shanqing, the golden-robed man who was the Zhao Wu Emperor, and the Zhenyuan Sect, these factions were entangled in a complex web of conflicts and interests.

The deeper truths might only be uncovered by returning to the Twelve Walls.

But in the mortal realm, whether for justice or personal grudges, He Qingsheng was more than willing to stand against them.

On the way back, their thoughts diverged, and the atmosphere grew heavier for a time.

At the hour of You (around 6 PM), at the entrance of Ankang Lane in the East Market.

One by one, the group entered the small courtyard of Ying Hongfeng’s home.

The furnishings in the courtyard remained unchanged. As soon as Ying Wen stepped inside, he nimbly darted to the toy horse under the eaves and called for Ying Hongfeng and Taotao to come play with him.

“Kids have way too much energy,” Qi Wan remarked, hands on her hips, leaning casually against the withered tree in the yard without a care for her image.

“You’re not much better,” Yan Xingyi shot her a glance, bracing himself against the tree for support.

Ying Qujie and He Qingsheng also stopped there. The lanterns hanging under the eaves cast a warm glow under the cold moonlight, carving out a cozy space. The four of them remained in the moonlight by unspoken agreement, none stepping forward to disrupt the peaceful moment of the family of three.

Time would not shorten or lengthen for anyone, it was fair to the point of cruelty.

Unnoticed, the withered branches of the peachwood tree were coated in frost. The faint clinking of silver chains sounded as Yan Xingyi spoke in a hushed voice.

“It’s already the first watch of Zi hour (around midnight).”

He glanced toward the house, worried that Ying Hongfeng and his wife, reluctant to part with their child, might delay the inevitable. “No, I should go talk to them.”

Qi Wan grabbed Yan Xingyi’s sleeve. “Master, why are you meddling? They’re Wenwen’s parents, they’ll know what’s best.”

No sooner had she spoken than Ying Hongfeng and Taotao emerged from the house, leading a small wooden puppet by the hands.

It was a somewhat comical sight, the puppet dangled in midair, held by one hand on each side. Ying Hongfeng leaned slightly to match the height of his wife and child, as if they were truly leading a five-year-old boy.

The puppet, fashioned in Ying Wen’s likeness, hopped over to He Qingsheng and affectionately nuzzled her cheek, whispering something only the two of them could hear before returning no more to Ying Hongfeng and his wife.

Ying Hongfeng opened his mouth several times, but all the words he had prepared vanished in an instant. Taotao gave him a gentle look before turning to He Qingsheng with a graceful bow. “Thank you, Immortal He.”

“We’re ready.”

Whether desperately prolonging the moment of parting could soften the heart-wrenching pain it brought, He Qingsheng didn’t know.

But as the gates of the underworld opened and closed, Ying Wen waved at them with a smile, and Ying Hongfeng and Taotao’s expressions were even serene.

Nearby, within the barrier Yan Xingyi had opened, the Black and White Impermanence listened intently as he explained the anomalies in the mortal realm.

He Qingsheng, hidden in Ying Qujie’s robes, watched as Ying Hongfeng’s demeanor shifted instantly, the scholarly man’s eyes now filled with unwavering resolve.

He solemnly bowed three times to Ying Qujie with Taotao in his arms: “Eldest Young Master, I was foolish and deceived by Lady Su, acting as her accomplice for many years. My actions are unworthy of the help you’ve given me today. Fortunately, there is still evidence in the residence. If you would not disdain it, I am willing to serve you in any capacity to repay your great kindness.”

Ying Qujie helped Ying Hongfeng up: “Please lead the way, cousin.”