Chapter 110: Discovered

"Realized what? Hmm? Why not say it out loud so we can both realize it together?"

Baili Wushuang strode into the room with a sinister air, the guards outside failing to stop him in time. They crowded the doorway, glancing at one another and hesitating over whether to enter and apprehend him.

"You... you go! The Lady always values you the most," one whispered.

"Don't give me that. Everyone knows you're our role model, old brother. How could I compete with you for this honor? You first, please, heh heh."

"You go..."

"No, you go..."

Di Shuiling lifted her gaze, her faint smile chilling to the bone. "All of you, get out," she commanded.

"Yes."

"Yes."

The group dispersed with a flurry of motion, leaving only the mother, son, and the guard who had sworn his loyalty. The guard, catching Baili Wushuang’s icy stare, immediately lowered his head and retreated quietly behind Di Shuiling. His actions made his allegiance clear.

Baili Wushuang watched the departing crowd and turned to Di Shuiling with a mocking sneer. "Don't be like that. What harm would it do to let them watch? Will it cost you a pound of flesh, or ruin your reputation as a benevolent matriarch?"

Stung by his words, Di Shuiling raised her hand and struck him across the face, her brow furrowing in fury. "Insolent! Is that any way to speak to your mother?"

"Attitude?" Baili Wushuang turned his face away, touching the spot where he was struck. *Hah, it actually hurts.* It was a good thing he was currently a soul-form, or he would have been bleeding. He licked his back teeth, took a deep breath, and let out a laugh that was half-amused, half-bitter. "Do you even have the right to lecture me on attitude? Huh?"

Without waiting for her reply, he pointed at the guard. "What? Too stingy to even offer an explanation? What are you? My mother, the head matriarch of the Baili clan. Yet you have your own people deliberately approach Frost Garden, approach me. On the surface, it’s to send medicine to my brother, but in reality? The medicine—hand it over."

By the end, he was practically roaring.

The guard broke into a cold sweat upon hearing this. His eyes darted around; the medicine had truly been ruined by them, and whatever remained could not be shown to him. If he saw it, there would be trouble. Suddenly, he fell to his knees. "Please forgive me, Young Master. The medicine... the medicine was dropped and shattered by this lowly one. If you want to punish someone, punish me."

"Heh... hehe, what a moving display of loyalty. It’s a pity you’ve got the wrong person." He turned back to Di Shuiling. "Mother, now that it has come to this, do you still intend to quibble? Or do you want me to search you myself before you’re satisfied?"

Di Shuiling’s heart trembled, like a delicate garden flower caught in a gale—fragile and pitiful. She looked exactly like a mother misunderstood by her son, forced into the most humiliating position to prove her innocence. Trembling, she reached out toward the guard, closed her eyes, and inhaled. "Hand it over."

The guard’s eyes widened, and he shook his head in refusal. "I cannot, my Lady."

"Hand it over."

"No..."

Before he could finish, Di Shuiling abruptly shifted her hand, striking a pressure point on the guard. She pressed her palm against his chest, and a mutton-fat jade vial suddenly popped out. She snatched it and tossed it to Baili Wushuang. "Take it and leave. Leave this instant. I will pretend I never gave birth to you."

With that, silent tears rolled down her cheeks. Overcome by grief, she raised her sleeve to dab them away.

Baili Wushuang caught the vial, opened it to inspect the contents, and then replaced the stopper. "How touching. It’s a pity I’m not him. Who are you putting on this performance for?"

"I—" Before she could speak, Di Shuiling’s eyes widened, and she cried out in exasperation, "What are you doing? Is this endless pestering just to humiliate your mother?"

"How could that be?" He gave a mocking look toward the guard. "You should ask your good dog what he’s done."

"What do you mean?"

Hearing her son speak this way, Di Shuiling had a gut feeling that something was wrong—that they had fallen into a trap. But she refused to admit defeat easily; even if she lost, she had to know where she had gone wrong. Yet she was certain her plan had no loopholes. How had she been countered?

***

"Want to know?" Baili Wushuang looked up, rubbing the powder in his palm and letting it drift away. "To tell you the truth, I never trusted him from the start."

"Impossible," the guard said anxiously. If that were true, the Lady would never let him off, and he would have no path to survival. He crawled on his knees toward Di Shuiling, bowing frantically. "My Lady, I swear, the Young Master gave me the medicine! I haven't uttered a single lie!"

Di Shuiling understood her son, just as he understood her, and he knew exactly how to make her feel the sting of defeat. She remained silent, which only satisfied Baili Wushuang further. "I’ll tell you the truth: what I gave him at the beginning wasn't real medicine at all. I just rolled up a ball and dressed it in a convincing exterior. It seems you didn't disappoint me, Mother. I’ve learned a lot today."

"You..."

"What about me? It’s all thanks to you, Mother—you taught me well."

"Get out."

"Hmm? Are you not afraid your husband will see you like this? The gentle, lovely wife in his eyes would be... well, you know."

She knew. A shrew, was that it? He truly was her good son, daring to think and say anything. *Good, this is truly good.*

Di Shuiling was incensed, but her reason told her this was her son, merely blinded by wicked people. She had to stay calm. She closed her eyes and opened them again. She was once again the virtuous woman everyone praised. "What is it you truly want?"

"Nothing much. My brother is in trouble, and I intend to save him."

"Change your request. I cannot agree to that, and your father would never approve."

Di Shuiling took several deep breaths to keep from losing her composure. Only her fingernails, digging deeply into her palms, betrayed her true feelings. She was a raging fire, and anyone who came close would be consumed. Mother and son—one meant to save, the other to kill. The atmosphere suddenly became unpredictable.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Bu Feng and the others were truly at their wits' end. Even after setting aside his pride and pleading with the help of Xing Yanzong, they could not change Jin Hu Shang’s mind. And counting the time, if they delayed any longer, death would be all that awaited Su He.

Just as they were furrowing their brows in worry, a sudden fragrance drifted in. This time, it wasn't just Que Yunzi who smelled it; everyone present did. Immediately, Bu Feng hurried to the door to greet the arrival.

In the courtyard under the shade of the trees stood a woman. Dressed in coarse linen, she looked plain and ordinary. Only the aura and poise she carried suggested she was anything but.

"Might I ask your name, honored guest?" Bu Feng asked, cupping his hands.

The woman turned. Her face was as simple as her attire—so simple that it was covered in pockmarks. She glanced at Bu Feng. "There is no need to ask my name. You only need to know that I am not your enemy."

Bu Feng paused, then smiled. "Very well. May I ask why you have come?" He had searched his mind a dozen times over, but he couldn't recall anyone like this in Yuhaitian. Unless...

"For someone."

"Who?"

"You know who."

"You are...?" Bu Feng’s heart skipped a beat. If his guess was correct, then this woman's identity was... He stared at her in astonishment.

The woman smiled calmly. "I am an old acquaintance of his. I know he is in trouble, so I have come to help. Will you lead the way?"

"Yes, yes, please follow me." Overjoyed, Bu Feng hurriedly guided her inside.

***

Turning back, they ran into Xing Yanzong and the others. Que Yunzi asked eagerly, "Brother Bu, who is this?" Why did she carry the same strange fragrance he had smelled that day? Could this be a sign from his old friend?

"Brother Que," Bu Feng said, "this is an honored guest. We have a solution."

"What do you mean?" Upon hearing this, Xing Yanzong and Que Yunzi were overjoyed. Could it be a case of "at the end of the road, a new path emerges"?

"No time for that, saving him is the priority." Bu Feng squeezed Que Yunzi's hand, then gestured for the woman to follow.

The woman entered the chamber and took a small, palm-sized brocade box from her sleeve. She glanced at Yi Qingchen, who was sitting by the bedside. Though confused, Yi Qingchen instinctively stood and bowed to the woman before quietly retreating to Bu Feng’s side. She whispered, "Senior Uncle, who is this?"

Bu Feng held up a finger to his lips. "Shh. Don't speak. Just watch. Don't worry, everything will be fine." Seeing this, and noting that Que Yunzi and Xing Yanzong were also nodding in secret, Yi Qingchen fell silent and watched.

The woman glanced sideways, then stepped forward to have Su He swallow the pill from the box. Finally, she gathered energy at her fingertips and channeled a trace of spiritual power to help him absorb it better and faster. Only after confirming he could circulate the energy on his own did she have Bu Feng ask Yun Xingyu to undo the technique on Su He.

Yun Xingyu entered the room, exchanged a look with the woman, and then stepped forward to release the seal. After whispering a few words to Que Yunzi, he returned to care for Zou Jiren. Thanks to his care, Zou Jiren had awakened and would likely be able to walk in a few days.

Seeing that everything was settled, Bu Feng bowed to the woman. "Thank you, honored guest!"

The woman stopped him. "You are older than I am; there is no need for such a grand gesture. I cannot accept it."

"Knowledge has no age, and the capable are respected," Bu Feng replied. "You saved him and spared us from further humiliation. This kindness deserves our gratitude!"

However, the woman’s following words poured a bucket of cold water on the group, chilling the hope Bu Feng and Que Yunzi had just rekindled. Xing Yanzong, also confused by her intent, asked, "To be frank, Brother Bu and Brother Que have already gone twice to plead for it, but they returned empty-handed. Since you mention this item again, what would you have us do?"

They had begged, and Jin Hu Shang refused. If they didn't beg... they couldn't exactly storm the place, could they?

Just as he thought this, he met the woman’s deep, bright black eyes—likely the most beautiful part of her. They sparkled with a strange spiritual energy. Embedded in that plain face, they looked remarkably out of place.

Xing Yanzong blinked. Had he seen that right? Was she suggesting they *should* storm the place? This... if they could fight, would Bu Feng and Que Yunzi have endured the insults of the Old Man of the Fishing Creek? He dismissed the thought, feeling that if they did that, the situation would escalate beyond control.

The woman shook her head. *Fools, a bunch of stubborn old relics. At this rate, the person would be a skeleton before you ever saved him.*

Bu Feng, sensing her thoughts, asked, "May I ask, honored guest, what your head-shake signifies? Is there something we have done wrong?"

The woman did not hide her feelings. "I am laughing at how you call yourselves masters, yet you are merely fossils who refuse to adapt."

"That is a rather biased view," Bu Feng said. Even if they had many concerns, being dismissed so coldly was disheartening.

"Enough." The woman looked at the sky. "I will see this through to the end. If you have any questions, you might as well follow me and see for yourselves."

"Very well."

After a moment of hesitation, Bu Feng, Que Yunzi, and Xing Yanzong left the room, leaving Yi Qingchen sitting by the bedside, staring at Su He in deep thought.