Chapter 83: I’ll Be Back For You One Day
"Stop!"
A deep, commanding voice thundered from the shadows.
They all turned to their left and, to their surprise, standing before them was Fuhan.
He ran towards them together with some other guards as he flashed a quick look at Lin Xu and Yan Mei before facing the head maid.
With a kick, he pushed her away and the bowl of black liquid fell and smashed on the ground.
The other accomplices tried running away but they were caught by the guards he had brought along with him.
"You! How dare you try to commit such a wicked crime.. Take her away!" he ordered and immediately she was dragged away.
"Please... p-please hear me out... ahhh... I can explain," she cried as she was taken away together with the other maids who had assisted her.
"Lin Xu, are you alright?" Yan Mei quickly helped Lin Xu up, dusting her clothes and making sure she wasn’t injured.
"Hmm.. I’m alright, I hope you’re good too?"
"I am." Yan Mei smiled as the two then slowly turned their heads towards Fuhan, who was still standing in front of them, though his expression seemed more solemn than cold.
He was dressed differently, no longer wearing those village-looking robes, he was now more snatched, with a black warrior attire and a sword placed beside his waist.
His hair was packed in a neat ponytail, making him look taken away.
Obviously, the one who noticed all this was Yan Mei.
Stepping towards him, she pointed at him, her face not showing any form of happiness.
"Y-young? You are here as well? I should have known! How dare you show your face in front of us after what you and your Mo Ying did... you humiliated us.. y-you-"
Yan Mei tried to give him a punch on his face but Lin Xu held her back as she faced Fuhan.
"Thank you for helping us, we appreciate it."
"Lin Xu, why are you thanking him? We didn’t even do anything, why were those maids after our life?" Yan Mei had so many unanswered questions.
Finally opening his mouth, Fuhan said, "Miss Lin, I’m sure you have a lot of questions and although I can’t tell you anything, there is someone who is willing to see you and explain, that is if you would be willing to meet with him."
He said, gesturing his hands towards another courtyard behind them.
"No! Lin Xu don’t go anywhere, stay with meee." Yan Mei was dragged away by Fuhan, leaving only Lin Xu standing there, her feet glued to the ground.
[Host, you seem nervous..]
Susu appeared out of nowhere and at this point, she was already used to it.
"Nervous? Who said I’m nervous?" she muttered as she took a deep breath and slowly walked towards the other courtyard.
Once again, it was a place filled with some purple trees.
The moon was full and reflecting on the trees.
As she stepped in, standing before her was the back of someone whose presence had been missed quite a lot.
"You wanted to see me?" Her voice broke the still silence as Mo Ying finally turned.
His deep coffee eyes met her black ones.
The both of them stared at each other like time had stopped. The wind was blowing her hanfu forward while his robe was unshaken.
"It’s been a while," he finally said.
"Listen, I am absolutely not in the mood for anybody’s chitchat. I just want to go back home and forget about all of this, so please say what you want to say and let me go."
Lin Xu muttered, her eyes trying their best not to meet his.
Walking towards her, Mo Ying placed his hands on her chin as he forced her to look at him.
"Don’t look away from me, am I really an eyesore to you? Do you hate me now because you know I’m the general’s son?"
But she pushed his hands away, "Mo Ying, whether or not you are the general’s son changes nothing. Mind you, nothing we had was real. You helped me a lot and I can’t ever repay you for everything. I will be forever grateful to you but apart from that, there is nothing more."
"Is that so?" Mo Ying’s voice dropped lower.
Lin Xu stayed silent, refusing to look at him. Her hands were clenched tightly at her sides.
Mo Ying took another step closer, the sound of his boots echoing softly on the stone path. "Then tell me, Lin Xu... if nothing was real, why did it hurt you so much when I told you to leave?"
She froze. Her breath hitched slightly, but she didn’t answer.
"Or was that just an act too?" he continued, his eyes locked on her face, watching every small flicker of emotion she tried to hide.
"Stop it," she muttered, turning her face away. "You made your choice. You’re getting married to a princess. What else do you want me to say?"
Mo Ying exhaled slowly, his jaw tightening. "I didn’t choose her."
Lin Xu laughed bitterly. "Oh really? Because from what I saw in there, you looked pretty comfortable letting her throw us out."
"I had to," he said quietly.
"You had to?" she repeated, scoffing. "Of course you had to, after all, you didn’t want her to misunderstand, I get it. But those maids trying to kill me, you really pulled one on that."
Mo Ying’s gaze darkened. "That wasn’t my order. I sent Fuhan to protect you the moment I sensed something was wrong."
"Protect me?" Lin Xu stepped closer, her voice trembling. "If you really wanted to protect me, you wouldn’t have even let me come here... you call yourself a general yet you are weak before a woman. If you don’t want her, then why are you marrying her, why?"
Her words hit him like a blade. For a moment, he said nothing—just stared at her, his throat tightening.
Then, almost in a whisper, he said, "Because right now I’m powerless, okay? I’m the general now yet I can’t even marry the woman I want. I can’t even properly protect the people I care about."
He took hold of her hands, "There are people in this house who are monsters, Lin Xu, and I can’t protect you if you are here..."
But Lin Xu quickly looked away again. "Stop saying things like that. I never asked for your protection nor did I ask to be here. I just want to leave and when I do leave, I want you to promise never to look for me or my children. I want you to forget about me and my children."
"This is your life so face it and leave me the hell out of it—"
Before she could say another word, Mo Ying pulled her towards him and kissed her, hard.
His lips crashed against hers rough and desperate, trembling with everything he’d been holding back.
For a second, Lin Xu froze. Her mind went blank, her breath caught somewhere between shock and anger.
But then, she pushed at his chest with both hands, breaking the kiss. "Y-you!" she hissed, her palm striking his cheek with a sharp slap.
The sound echoed through the courtyard.
Mo Ying didn’t flinch. He just stood there, breathing heavily, his eyes fixed on her. "You can hit me all you want, Lin Xu," he said hoarsely, "but stop pretending you feel nothing."
Her chest rose and fell fast, fury mixing with the ache in her throat. "You have no right," she snapped. "You now have a fiancée and she will be your wife in the next few days, so don’t you dare think you can still have your way with me, Mo Ying."
She turned, not answering him but Mo Ying’s next words stopped her in her tracks.
"I’ll be back for you one day, Lin Xu, and I will make you mine!"
He muttered as she then replied, "Congratulations on your wedding, General Mo!"
And with that, she left the courtyard.
Fuhan had sent for a carriage and placed her, Yan Mei, and the other staff in the two carriages. One for Yan Mei and Lin Xu, the other for her staff.
"Make sure they enter the Wu Village safely before you leave," Fuhan warned the guard in charge of taking them and he nodded.
Facing the carriage, he and Yan Mei’s eyes met from the carriage window as her face immediately turned red as she recalled all that had happened some minutes ago.
"Cough! cough! Y-you two should go back safely.. see you soon." he said softly as Lin Xu nodded.
"Eya!" The rider yanked the horses and the carriage began to move.
Mo Ying stepped out and stood beside Fuhan as they stared until the carriage went out of sight.
With the carriage gone, Mo Ying said with a deep voice, "Begin the torture, torture them until they admit who ordered them to hurt Lin Xu!"
"Yes, young master!"