Chapter 62: The Shadow Villa's Lament (4)

  I looked back at him fearlessly, recalling one of Fei Bai's most classic lines, and immediately adapted it: "The master wants to avenge himself by killing everyone in the Yuan family. Mu Di will not have any complaints, perhaps everyone in the Yuan family is a lunatic, they all deserve to die, they all deserve to be killed, including my own life, you can take it too. However," I let out a light sigh: "Why must Mrs. Xie be so innocent? You've already crippled her child and left them wheelchair-bound for seven whole years, she herself has also passed away, do you really have the heart to let her die with her eyes open?"

  His words were cut off, and suddenly a boundless hatred burst forth from Sima Lian's eyes: "Who told her to wrong me?" he shouted loudly, his cruel calmness disappearing in an instant. "She said she would embroider a West Chamber Lotus for me, she said she would give birth to sons and daughters for me, she said she would wait for me to come and get her, but when I went, it was Yuan Qingjiang who broke my legs there. It was she who deceived me. If not for her, how could I have become a useless person like this?"

  "Why did she deceive me? She said she only wanted to leave the Purple Mansion with me, but she followed Yuan Qingjiang instead and even tried to seduce Ming Fengyang." His voice was as cold as ice, like a devil's cruel and terrifying tone, but at the end, it had a hint of painful choking: "I dreamed that she held a narcissus, smiling at me, saying she liked narcissus. So I risked my life again and again to sneak into the Purple Mansion just to bring her freshly bloomed narcissus."

  I suddenly remembered Mrs. Xie's dream and my heart felt clear and open, I let out a light sigh to Sima Lian: "Mr. Sima, actually from start to finish, Mrs. Xie never deceived you."

  Siman Lian wiped away her tears and smiled at me with a refined smile: "Mu Niang indeed is not an ordinary person, she can actually guess Siman Lian's past, no wonder that little scoundrel dotes on you so much."

  I shook my head and pulled out a handkerchief from my collar: "Mr. Sima, take a look, do you recognize this thing?"

  Siman Lian knocked on the wheelchair, "Su Huai immediately took over my handkerchief and handed it to Siman Lian. Siman Lian's hands shook violently like dry leaves in autumn wind."

  "This watermelon is the last embroidery of Mrs. Xie, you said to elope that day, Mrs. Xie didn't wait for you in the house because Yuan Qingjiang discovered her and didn't love him, so she forced her to have an abortion." I sighed: "Then Yuan Qingjiang gave her a life-long separation, imprisoning her."

  "Mugwort is too young, so he doesn't know the ins and outs of your relationship with Mrs. Xie," I finally understood everything: "But one thing is certain, from the time she married the original Marquis, Mrs. Xie never smiled happily again."

  "Everyone thought she liked Ming Fengyang, but in fact, she really liked the owner of this embroidered piece," I looked at Sima Lian's dazed face: "Bai Sanye told me that her mother always held this embroidery and cried." This is a fact, but I used this embroidery as a prop to figure it out. Now I understand why Xie Furen wanted to thank me, and that poor Ming Fengyang was just a one-sided love.

  I'm not sure if Sima Lian knew that nothing had actually happened between Ming Fengyang and Mrs. Xie, but I still explained to Sima Lian the real reason why Ming Fengyang's martial arts skills were completely ruined. Sima Lian listened in a daze, tears streaming down his face, he really didn't know.

  I couldn't help but sigh: "Mr. Sima, was it you who had someone tamper with Bai San's horse?"

  He looked at me, but didn't answer. Yet in my heart a surge of anger arose: "Mr. Sima, Bai San is innocent, why must you torment a child like this? He's the only comfort in Madame Xie's miserable life."

  I couldn't help but feel a surge of indignation, and tears began to flow: "Do you know that Lord Yuan believed the false accusations of Yuan Qingwu and flew into a rage for no reason? Poor Xie Furen was unable to move or speak, and Lord Yuan's palm strike severed her heart meridian, leaving her with a chronic illness. For several years afterwards, she spent almost half her time in bed, and on rainy days, she would often struggle to breathe. At the time, Bai San Ye was just a child, and from then on, he lost the right to smile sincerely. And you still had to cripple his legs! Xie Furen must have known it was you who did it, which is why she died of a broken heart. Poor Bai San Ye, having lost his mother, suffered the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, stuck in a wheelchair for seven years... Mr. Sima, I don't understand what happened to you and Yuan Qingwu?"

  "Plum." He muttered: "Plum, why did you say that to me from the other side of the railing?"

  "Have you given her a chance?" I said loudly: "Mr. Sima, loving someone, isn't it wanting them to be well?"

  "When you love someone, isn't it because you want to see them smile every day, eat well and sleep well? Even if the one you love stops loving you one day and forgets about you, but as long as you can still see their smile, isn't that more heartwarming than seeing them being difficult to love? How can there be people in this world who use the name of love to hurt others like this?"

  Duan Yue's purple pupils gazed at me, and suddenly a deep thought flashed in her eyes that I had never seen before. She stared at me so deeply, while Sima Lian was as if struck by lightning.

  I wiped away my tears and said loudly: "Yu Qingjiang, maybe his mother isn't a good person, but Mrs. Xie is so pitiful, and also Bai San Ye, he can't choose his parents either, because Mrs. Xie was born as a maid, he has always been bullied, every day people say he's the son of a maid, what's wrong with that? He's such a good kid, why won't you let him go?"

  Alas! I seem to have gone off topic, why should I defend the original non-white?

  Fortunately, everyone present except Duan Yue Rong, who had only half a life but still had a sarcastic face, buried their heads deeply and said, "To put it bluntly, isn't it just to use them to bully Yu Qing Jiang? But others are still living well, marrying one house after another, and will not suffer for the poor Mrs. Xie. Mrs. Xie is suffering in vain. If you really love Mrs. Xie, in the end, it's still your own fault, Mr. Sima."

  Siman Lian raised his head, with a calm and peaceful face: "No wonder Qingwu left and never came back. In fact, you killed her, didn't you?"

  I shook my head and said softly: "No, Mr. Sima, she couldn't let go of Ming Fengyang, it was her own insistence to enter the emotional tomb, she left very calmly."

  Siman Lian fell silent for a moment, and then a strange smile appeared on his face again: "Mugui Niang, you are indeed eloquent."

  "Don't you believe what I'm saying?" I didn't dare to believe this person, but looking into his desperate eyes, I couldn't say another word. He was clearly a person who could only survive by relying on hatred, and even his love had been distorted into another form of hate, allowing him to live more intensely. If he were to discover now that everything he had done was self-inflicted, that he had driven his loved one to death with his own hands, it would undoubtedly be the same as killing himself.

  His eyes showed a ruthless glint he had never seen before, picked up the bamboo flute and blew a note. All the dead bones in this room stood up, two of them lifted me up and hung me beside Duan Yue Rong. Duan Yue Rong weakly sneered: "You've finally arrived, love."

  "Hey," I shouted, "Mr. Lu, please help me!"

  Lu Yuan suddenly woke up, instinctively raised his hand, and Sima Lian's chest was pierced by ten silver nails. The bamboo flute fell to the ground, and he said in a miserable tone: "I really didn't expect that you, this useless person of the Lu family, would secretly wear this protective wristband."

  My two human dolls collapsed when I stood up, and I fell heavily to the ground.

  "But you can't leave either." Sima Lian tapped the wheelchair, "Su Huai rushed towards me, I drew out Qiu Qing to defend myself.

  Tong and others around Lu Yuan rushed towards him. Lu Yuan was shocked: "Ah Nang, Xiulan, it's me, I'm Ah Yuan."

  That Su Hui's martial arts skills were very good, I couldn't beat him at all. Just when I was about to give up, that purple handkerchief fell out and knocked over the candle holder, igniting the oil and starting a fire immediately. The killer's clothes were set on fire, and Lu Yuan launched another protective sleeve. The killer let out a painful cry and fell into the flames.

  The flames began to rise, and Tong suddenly broke Ru Yuan's leg. Ru Yuan still wanted to fight back, but he was spitting blood, looking at the person he loved most in his heart with a painful expression. I crawled over, took out the hidden dagger from my chest, and with one swing, cut the two people into four segments at the waist. Ru Yuan immediately had tears of blood in his eyes, and let out a loud, ear-piercing scream, unable to believe that she was dying again in front of him, and this time her belly was full of steel nails.

  At this time, Sima Lian's hair was disheveled and his scarred face looked like a malevolent spirit. He laughed loudly: "Mei, look! Your daughter-in-law has destroyed the Meiying Mountain Villa that I built with great effort. It seems that I am about to succeed. I can create another you to accompany me soon. Come out quickly!"

  In his loud laughter, all the puppets were set on fire, and the flames rolled up everything that could be burned. A smell of smoke spread out, and many people who had not yet died could not escape, screaming in despair. I was almost driven mad. Sima Lian laughed in the big fire: "Mei, you were the first to betray me, you cheap woman! Did you think I would believe that you ever loved me?" He suddenly saw something in his eyes, fixed there, and tears rolled down from his eyes: "Mei!"

  His body remained in that posture, his eyeballs bulging out, as if his twisted soul had left his body forever in the midst of unrelenting hatred and passion.

  Lu Yuan sat stupidly in the midst of the wooden puppets, unable to wake up from his shattered dreams. I shook him hard, but he didn't even notice the flames burning the hem of his clothes. What to do? On the opposite side, Duan Yue Rong hung like a hedgehog, her purple eyes flashing as she weakly said: "Give me the bamboo flute."

  The flames burned brighter and brighter, I put him down, pulled out the steel nail, his whole body was bleeding profusely.

  I snatched the bamboo flute, disregarding the large patch of burns on my hand, and ran over to him. He was extremely weak and couldn't even lift it, so I placed it at his mouth. He smiled mockingly for a moment, but then his purple eyes slowly closed. I thought he was going to die, but suddenly he opened his sparkling eyes again, raised his blood-stained hands, and began to play a melody - surprisingly, it was the same tune as "Longing to be Together".

  In the midst of the flames shooting up into the sky, the two puppets carrying the Dragon Stone mechanism began to move. Duan Yu Rong continued to blow, but her eyes signaled for me to leave.

  I rushed over, wanting to drag the dazed Ruyu out, but halfway through, a huge boulder rolled down and crushed his legs. The intense pain woke him up, and he let out a blood-curdling scream that pierced my eardrums. My heart was like a knife, and I shouted loudly: "Mr. Ruyu, hold on, we'll be able to escape soon!"

  Lu Yuan smiled wryly and said: "Mu Girl, I'm done for."

  "Nonsense, Mr. Lu," I rushed over to push the stone, but Lu Yuan grabbed my hand and shook his head: "Miss, even if I escaped from Meishan Manor, I couldn't escape the demon in my heart. I thought that following White San would mean no more slaughter, but now..." He spat out a mouthful of blood: "Now it's still rivers of blood everywhere. Let me stay here with my son and never suffer the chaos of the world again."

  He pulled out something from his bosom and stuffed it into my hand, pushing me towards the door. I was about to rush over when someone pounced on me, dragging me out of that dreadful stone room. As I turned back, it was Duan Yue Rong covered in blood. The flute sound stopped abruptly, and the broken dragon stone slowly descended with the massive gear. I bit my hand to prevent myself from crying hysterically. Within my line of sight, flames had engulfed Sima Lian's white hair. His hands tightly grasped that unfinished embroidery of a Western peony. Amidst the rolling flames, Lu Yuan calmly sat up and adjusted his clothes, not crying or making a fuss. Smiling, he hugged two dolls, one big and one small, before turning into a human torch in front of me. I wept uncontrollably, screaming hoarsely: "Mr. Lu! Mr. Lu!"

  My voice seemed to have triggered a resonance in the puppet, and the small charred puppet suddenly turned its body, with both hands touching Lu Yuan's burnt body, making a changing tone: "Dad, good girl, come and play with me."

  A deep and mournful cry echoed from the mountain villa, it was unclear whether it was Lu Yuan's, or Sima Lian who was struggling with confusion and hatred, or the countless tormented souls buried in Meiyingshan Villa.

  Flames shot up to the sky, I pulled half-dead Duan Yue Rong towards the path leading to the Dark Mansion. Indeed, it was just like the Purple Residence Mountain Villa. However, as we approached the end of the path, a wall appeared before our eyes. On the wall, there was an eye-shaped hole. I couldn't push it open. Just when I was about to give up hope, I remembered what Lu Yuan had given me. I dug it out and found that it was a triangular prism. I inserted the prism into the eye-shaped hole, turned it, and the wall creaked as it opened. The door swung open, revealing a dark and mysterious forest air that rushed towards us. Just as I was about to pull Duan Yue Rong out, a charred person suddenly grabbed her foot from behind: "A Yuan, you can't leave."

  I pulled outward, but that person happened to let go. Duan Yue Rong looked at me with a smile and said: "You really are mine, otherwise why would you risk your life to save me like this?"

  I am furious in my heart, right, why did I save this guy?

  My brain must have been flooded, why didn't I let go of him and escape as soon as possible?

  Just as he was about to let go, he saw his dim purple eyes full of despair and self-mockery, a desolate meaning, where was there any hint of heroism left.

  I suddenly came to my senses, and now he may have lost his martial arts skills, his body severely damaged, but he is living on that little bit of self-respect, he would rather I let him go now than beg me for mercy, letting me show him pity.

  I swung out my sword, cutting off half of the puppet's head and pulling Duan Yue out with one hand. The large wall closed immediately, and I cut off half of the puppet's arm that was exposed outside. I carried Duan Yue on my back and sprinted away using my light skill, not knowing how many miles we escaped. When I looked back, the stars and moon were invisible, and in the thick smoke and fog, a mountain villa far away still had flames shooting up to the sky, followed by a violent explosion.

  I finally couldn't run anymore, and I threw myself to the ground like a dead pig. As soon as I sat down, I felt something soft beside me. I looked down and saw a purple flower quietly blooming in the dim moonlight, its beauty still lingering.

  I looked at Duan Yue Rong, he also had a bewildered expression, utterly perplexed. Instantly, a strong sense of powerlessness crept over every cell in my body.

  Passion flower, some people say its meaning is sacred love, but others also say that another of its meanings is nostalgic longing.