The Vicious Beauty Faked His Death Three Times [Transmigration] - Chapter 19

Chapter 19: Startled

“A-Yan, water.”

Shen Miaomiao nudged the door open with her body, carrying a copper basin of water as she hurried into the room.

Ye Chaoyan did not look up, handing over the warm cloth in her hand.

“Forcibly breaking through a realm… he truly has no regard for his life.” Ye Chaoyan gripped Lin Qinghan’s wrist, her brow tightly furrowed.

Lin Qinghan, on the bed, was restless. The demonic power within him was rampaging; he subconsciously tried to curl his body to alleviate the discomfort, but he was held down against the bed by a pair of hands. He could only turn his head powerlessly, exposing his fair, fragile neck.

Ye Chaoyan placed a cloth soaked in cool water onto Lin Qinghan’s forehead to lower his temperature.

The icy touch made Lin Qinghan jolt, and the hands pressing on his shoulders applied more force.

“Is there a way to solve this?” Ling Yanhe asked, holding him down with a frown.

Ye Chaoyan pursed her lips, her expression grim. “His true qi must be channeled and redistributed; otherwise, he won’t make it through tonight.”

The room fell into silence.

“How are we supposed to channel it?” Shen Miaomiao spoke up anxiously, breaking the eerie atmosphere. “True qi isn’t like medicine—you can’t just pry his mouth open and force it down. He’s currently semi-conscious; how is he supposed to accept someone else’s true qi?”

Channeling true qi requires the recipient’s permission. In his current state of delirium, he could likely only accept the true qi of someone he trusted with his entire heart and soul.

But such a person is incredibly hard to find. Even biological parents might not be without friction, let alone those with no blood relation.

Ye Chaoyan had clearly thought of this as well. She quickly took out a cloth pouch from her waist, unfolding it to reveal fine needles of varying lengths.

“We’ll use external force to suppress it first, then look for other ways.” As Ye Chaoyan spoke, she prepared to insert a needle, but her hand was caught and stopped.

“I will do it.”

With that, Ling Yanhe sat by the bedside. He propped Lin Qinghan up into a sitting position. To prevent him from struggling, he had to grip Lin Qinghan’s wrists, confining the man within his embrace.

“This is no joking matter. If he rejects your true qi, you will be harming…”

Ye Chaoyan’s words stopped abruptly. She watched Lin Qinghan, who was leaning in Ling Yanhe’s arms, as his struggling gradually slowed. Her expression became somewhat peculiar.

“A-Han… he can actually accept your true qi?!” Shen Miaomiao whispered in shock.

Ling Yanhe ignored their words, his hands restraining the restless Lin Qinghan.

Lin Qinghan’s head leaned against Ling Yanhe’s neck. His warm, rapid breath fanned against the hollow of the other’s throat. Perhaps the true qi made him feel more comfortable, as he subconsciously moved toward the heat source, unwittingly leaning closer to the person behind him. His thin lips almost brushed against the other’s beating pulse.

Yet Ling Yanhe showed no expression of disgust at Lin Qinghan’s provocative movements. Instead, he lowered his head, using his cheek to touch the other’s feverish forehead.

This was merely a movement because his hands were occupied, but to others, it looked as though he had lowered his head to kiss Lin Qinghan’s brow.

“What should be done next?” Ling Yanhe asked.

“He…”

“Miaomiao, help me go see how the medicine outside is simmering.”

Ye Chaoyan suddenly interrupted Shen Miaomiao. Shen Miaomiao, who was somewhat dazed by the scene just now, nodded blankly and hurried out of the room.

Only Ling Yanhe, Ye Chaoyan, and a delirious Lin Qinghan remained in the room.

“First, smooth out the turbulent true qi, then I’ll write a prescription based on the situation to nourish his body for a while.”

Ye Chaoyan reached out, intending to pull Lin Qinghan’s wrist to check his pulse, but before her hand could land, the man behind him suddenly looked up at her.

Cold emotions were hidden within his deep black eyes. When they fell upon her, she felt an inexplicable chill, as if being stared at by a lone wolf.

Ye Chaoyan frowned slightly, about to explain, but the other retracted his gaze as if nothing had happened.

The hand gripping Lin Qinghan’s right wrist moved up slightly, grasping his forearm and revealing the fine gauze wrapped around his wrist.

Seeing the crimson red seeping through the gauze, Ye Chaoyan’s eyelid twitched, and anger rose in her heart.

She carefully unwound the gauze bit by bit. When the blood-soaked fabric fell to the floor, the terrifying wound seeping with fresh blood was completely exposed.

Ling Yanhe was watching Ye Chaoyan’s movements, so he naturally saw the scar.

“The reason for his high fever isn’t just the turbulent internal power; this scar is the origin. Evil energy entered his body through the wound. It wasn’t serious at first, but he happened to break through a realm, allowing that evil energy to take advantage of the opening.”

Hearing this, Ling Yanhe couldn’t help but frown and look at Ye Chaoyan.

She didn’t look at him, but lowered her eyes to carefully sprinkle medicinal powder onto the wound, as if her words just now were merely to herself.

Perhaps it hurt, as Lin Qinghan became a bit restless again.

As his thin lips brushed against his neck, Ling Yanhe’s eyes darkened. He applied some force with his hands, his voice low and raspy: “Don’t move.”

But the person in his arms was unconscious and could not hear him.

“I will not interfere in the affairs of your Ling family.”

Ling Yanhe narrowed his dark eyes, a gloomy glint flashing through them.

Ever since that Shen family token appeared, he had already guessed the identities of Ye Chaoyan and the other.

But how did Ye Chaoyan know his identity? And how much did she know about Lin Qinghan?

Could this person be allowed to live?

Ye Chaoyan did not know what Ling Yanhe was thinking. She wrapped clean gauze around the wound a few times.

She stood up and looked at Ling Yanhe. The gloom in his eyes didn’t cause a ripple in her; her tone remained calm.

“I don’t know what happened between you and Lin Qinghan. I can’t undo the Gu planted in his body, and neither can you. You know better than I do where the evil energy came from. Miaomiao told me about your situation then—forcibly breaking through a realm. If you had taken him with you, he might not have lasted until Linyu Village.” Ye Chaoyan looked down at the unconscious Lin Qinghan, her tone tinged with a hint of lament.

Ling Yanhe froze. He looked at Ye Chaoyan, a rising black mist brewing in his eyes. “What do you mean?”

“If you had abandoned him then, he would have had only one path: death,” Ye Chaoyan said.

Ling Yanhe looked at her, as if trying to find any trace of a lie on her face.

“Perhaps he truly did something wrong, but I think your punishment for him has been enough. This scar and the Gu insect will follow him for life. If possible, I hope you can be better to him, or at least not place him in today’s position again.”

“Just for the sake of the fact that, in the face of life and death, he truly wanted you to leave… be more lenient with him.”

Even after Ye Chaoyan left, those words continued to drum against Ling Yanhe’s heart, refusing to dissipate for a long time.

Ling Yanhe looked down at Lin Qinghan, who had finally quieted down. He raised a hand and injected another sliver of true qi into the other’s body. The person in his arms only furrowed his brow, without even a hint of struggle.

It was as if he trusted and accepted him with his whole heart, offering not the slightest resistance to his true qi.

“Sincerity? Do you even have a sincere heart?”

The youth’s cold voice, carrying a trace of doubt, fell into the dark night.

Current Trust Value: 30

Lin Qinghan was still a bit dazed when he woke up.

He looked with some surprise at the small, cramped surroundings. If it weren’t for the slight jolting beneath him, he would have thought he had been placed in a coffin.

“Awake?”

Ye Chaoyan lifted the curtain of the carriage, holding a steaming bowl of medicine as she sat opposite him.

“Thank you, Miss Ye.” Lin Qinghan took the bowl from her. After blowing on it twice, he took a hesitant sip.

So bitter.

Even so, Lin Qinghan steeled himself and drank the medicine. Once the bitterness subsided, he placed the bowl by his side and looked up at Ye Chaoyan.

“How long was I unconscious?” Lin Qinghan asked.

“Two days.”

“And where are we going?” Lin Qinghan asked, gesturing toward the carriage.

“Huangshan Ridge. Miaomiao’s identity has been exposed; Linyu Village is no longer safe.” Ye Chaoyan took a pouch of preserved fruits from her sleeve and handed it to him. “We plan to stop and rest at the nearby Huangshan Ridge.”

Huangshan Ridge? It seemed the plot had advanced one step forward while he was unconscious.

In the original novel, the relationship between Ling Yanhe and Ye Chaoyan heated up rapidly at Huangshan Ridge, to the point of them privately committing to each other. This was also a major driver for the original host’s defection. After this plot point would come the critical node of the original host’s second betrayal.

It seemed he had to finish the side quest as soon as possible.

“Thank you for Miss Shen’s help that day. However, I wonder how the two of you learned of our situation?” Lin Qinghan took the bag of preserved fruits.

Ye Chaoyan took the medicine bowl back from him, not answering the question. “Remember when I said we should talk when you returned?”

Lin Qinghan nodded.

“Lin Qinghan, we are friends, right?” Ye Chaoyan looked up at him.

Lin Qinghan froze at the words.

Did Ye Chaoyan and Shen Miaomiao consider him a friend?

Lin Qinghan pursed his lips, thought for a moment, and replied, “If you two think so, then yes, we are friends.”

Ye Chaoyan frowned slightly as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, she didn’t. Instead, she laughed out lighty.

“What are you laughing at, Miss?” Lin Qinghan asked, somewhat lost.

Ye Chaoyan waved her hand at him, the smile in her eyes not fading. “I just didn’t expect you to have this kind of personality.”

Lin Qinghan was left completely confused by her words.

What kind of personality did he have?

Ye Chaoyan treated it as a minor interlude and didn’t elaborate, returning to the original topic.

“Since we are friends, before you do something dangerous, I hope you will tell us.”

Ye Chaoyan stood up and looked at him, her expression serious. “I’m not clear on what happened that day; you should ask Miaomiao.”

“She’s very sad right now because of what happened to you.”

Lin Qinghan froze, then avoided Ye Chaoyan’s gaze, looking down at the preserved fruits in his hand. After a moment, he shook his head slightly and gave a helpless, light laugh. “I understand. Thank you for the reminder, Miss.”

“Mm.” Seeing this, Ye Chaoyan’s eyes also lit up with a smile, and she didn’t stay in the carriage any longer.

Lin Qinghan took out a preserved fruit and put it in his mouth. The sugary-sweet taste instantly overwhelmed the lingering bitterness, making his somewhat groggy brain start to function.

After organizing his thoughts, he also stepped down from the carriage.

The carriage was parked under a massive celestial tree by the roadside. Shen Miaomiao was up in the tree using a wooden stick to knock down celestial fruits.

“Ah!”

A fruit was knocked loose, but it just slipped through Shen Miaomiao’s hands and continued to fall. Just as it was about to hit the ground, it was caught by a slender hand.

Shen Miaomiao stared blankly at Lin Qinghan, who was standing under the tree holding the fruit and smiling at her. After a moment, she snapped back to reality and turned her head away in a huff, refusing to look at him.

“What happened the other day was my fault. I should have informed you and Miss Ye. It won’t happen again,” Lin Qinghan said.

Shen Miaomiao ignored him, only letting out a humph.

“I wish to use this celestial fruit to apologize to Miss Shen. Can Miss Shen forgive me?” Lin Qinghan coaxed the person in the tree in a soft voice.

“That’s clearly the fruit I knocked down!”

Upon hearing this, Shen Miaomiao immediately jumped down from the tree and snatched the fruit from Lin Qinghan’s hand, shielding it behind her back.

Only when she met Lin Qinghan’s mischievous gaze did she suddenly realize she had been played.

“You really are…!” Shen Miaomiao’s anger had already mostly dissipated when she saw his deathly pale appearance; now, with Lin Qinghan’s teasing, it was completely gone.

“Can you tell me how Miss Shen was so divinely prescient that day, falling from the sky to rescue me and the Young Master?” Lin Qinghan leaned in to ask.

Hearing this, Shen Miaomiao, who was wiping the fruit, looked up at him. Her eyes darted around and suddenly lit up. “I can, but you have to tell me one thing first.”

“What is it?” Lin Qinghan raised an eyebrow.

With his permission, Shen Miaomiao looked around, then pulled Lin Qinghan’s head down and whispered into his ear with the guilty look of a thief: “Tell me the truth, what exactly is the relationship between you and your Young Master?”

“Huh?” Lin Qinghan’s head was practically full of question marks.

He looked at Shen Miaomiao, seemingly confused as to why she would ask such a question.

The other protagonist happened to pass in front of them at that moment. Just as Lin Qinghan was thinking about throwing this question to Ling Yanhe, the man only gave him a glance and then quickly walked out of his field of vision as if seeing a plague.

Lin Qinghan: ?

He repeatedly checked the panel, looking at the value of 30 on it with a strange expression.

“Say it quickly, what exactly is the relationship?” Shen Miaomiao asked anxiously.

“Not close,” Lin Qinghan said with a serious face.

Shen Miaomiao: “…?”

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