Case 09: “Words Left Unspoken are the Most Hurtful.”

Yin led Duan Gen to the deepest part of the tower. This tower had three sections, underground section, mid-ground section, and upper-ground section. Each section determined its category, for example, the mid-ground section contained information about the world's common histories along with famous people across the kingdoms; in short, it's nothing but political matters. The underground section contained mythical and supernatural information. As for the upper-ground section, it contained information about cultivation and many martial arts styles. From common to the forbidden one everything is stored at the upper-ground.

Yin tapped her finger three times on the wall next to the lantern. The brick walls began to unveil the downstairs to the underground section. The moment Yin and Duan Gen stepped into the stairs. The torches on the wall began to light one by one as if following their walking speed. A few minutes later, Duan Gen arrived in the underground section. The temperature is pretty humid.. it was neither hot nor cold just humid. There's many spider web covering some of the bookshelves and every corner of the walls somehow portraying an image of a haunted house. Duan Gen strolled around without hesitation and began to browse the bookshelf one by one while Yin just stood in front of the entrance door observing him quietly. She can't help but muttered something which sounded like a question..

"It's so rare to see Gen become this serious to save someone. I'm curious about this kid..." she propped her chin and lowered her head to think. But she can't come up with anything, as far as she remembers the only person who can make Duan Gen this flustered is only his deceased granddaughter.. Duan Lin. Alas, no matter how the old man tried his best to save her it ended up futile. As he came up too late to rescue his granddaughter in time.

Seeing that the other party muttered an obvious question and turned silent, Duan Gen couldn't help but sigh. "..the kid's called Liu Meifeng. She suffered an internal disease due to her mixed blood and was destined to die at the age of ten." Duan Gen placed the book on his hand back to its place and took another one as he continued, "I thought by studying cultivation she could prolong her life and so far, it did make her condition better. But it doesn't mean it cured the disease..."

Yin still stood silent as if she's trying to recall something, then she widened her eyes in surprise, "You mean Liu Meifeng the crown princess?"

Duan Gen flipped the book and gave a short, "Mm." Once again, Yin was speechless.. she's both shocked and angry at the same time. She couldn't help but say this solemnly...

"Do you know that this action of yours is considered as kidnapping Her highness?"

"I know... and I'm prepared to accept the consequences of my actions... as long as it could save her and live a normal lifespan."

Yin sighed and helped Duan Gen to browse some books, "What's so special about this kid?"

"She.. is a very talented girl. She already matured enough for a girl at her age and she's a fast learner. Lastly, she could hear the voice of people's hearts… such a young and talented girl it is a waste to let her die just like that."

Duan Gen sighed as he closed the book on his hand and placed it back on the shelf. Then, he approached the next shelf. Yin pondered for a moment, later she seemed to recall something and walked to a smaller bookshelf at the end of the room. She lowered her body to browse some scrolls on the small bookshelf. She opened the scroll and her eyes widened after she read the content inside. She rushed to Duan Gen and gave him the scroll. Duan Gen took the scroll and read its content and just like Yin, his eyes widened and his complexion turned pale.

"Gen, I'm afraid her short lifespan has something to do with her destiny.."

…

...

It's been two weeks since Duan Gen had left and during all those empty days, Liu Meifeng had gotten along well with the three Zhao siblings. Zhao Yan asked Liu Meifeng to stay at his mansion until Duan Gen came back. Although, Liu Meifeng already refused many times but Zhao Yan used Zhao Yu's herbalism lesson as an excuse for her to stay. The Zhao Mansion is located secluded from the village, it took approximately fifteen minutes of walk to reach Yangjiang inn. That's why, when Zhao Yan mentioned Zhao Yu's lesson she didn't dare to refuse again. Or to be precise, she doesn't have the heart to refuse…

The three Zhao siblings were very happy that they finally got a friend around the same age as them. For the first five days, they got along just fine and Zhao Yan slowly opened to Liu Meifeng and even admired her scholarly attitude. However, those peaceful days were disturbed once when Zhao Yan's wife, Yang Baimei returned home from her long journey. Yang Baimei had thought that Liu Meifeng was Zhao Yan's illegitimate daughter. The two of them nearly clashing swords right at the moment. The Zhao siblings instinctively hide behind the wall. Surely, it's not their first time witnessing their parents clashing swords and let out a murderous aura during the fight.

Liu Meifeng observed the situation carefully. It is true that they're glaring at each other and landed a few injuries on each other. Yet, Liu Meifeng can't help but notice.. although, they seemed to genuinely take each other's lives.. but none of them dared to create a fatal wound, even when they had the chance!

In conclusion, both Zhao Yan and Yang Baimei were people who can't control their anger. Their temperaments were just like a walking bomb if the switch had been turned the bomb would explode. Surely, they're not in a state to listen for any explanations… unless…

"Wha—Meifeng!" Zhao Yu was utterly shocked when she saw Liu Meifeng jump between Zhao Yan and Yang Baimei. The two adults were also shocked, their weapons nearly took Liu Meifeng's head. Fortunately, they stopped in time leaving only an inch from her neck. From other viewpoints, Liu Meifeng looked like a kid who didn't cherish her life while that's not the case at all.

Liu Meifeng is someone who likes to bet on something even if her life is at stake. She won't carelessly jump in-between the two raging bulls just like that if she hadn't measured her successful attempt. Since Liu Meifeng noticed that the two adults didn't mean to 'kill' each other, surely they're not using their full strength. Which means they still could control their own strength and momentum in order to avoid a fatal injury. She had already made a bet that these two adults wouldn't mistakenly kill her. At worst, she might just get a slight injury on her body. Seeing that she had won her first bet, Liu Meifeng can't help but rejoice inside her heart.

"Greetings to Lady Yang, my name is Duan Meifeng the granddaughter of the grandmaster of cultivation, Duan Gen." Liu Meifeng placed her hand on her chest as she bowed slightly. Only then, Yang Baimei finally had the chance to observe Liu Meifeng carefully. When Liu Meifeng stared directly at her eyes, Yang Baimei was startled for a moment. Later it disappeared from her face as if nothing happened.

Both Zhao Yan and Yang Baimei put down their weapons. Yang Baimei walked around Liu Meifeng while observing her from all directions and said, "How do I know you're not lying? Your eyes were exactly like those sea people and as far as I remembered. Duan Gen never had a mixed generation in his family tree." Still smiling Liu Meifeng calmly explained, "The lady is right but that's because this child is not his biological granddaughter." She took a few breathes and continued, "This child is a mixed-blood, my father was the sea people while my mother is the earth people. We originally lived in Qianghai kingdom but alas due to my extremely weak condition my parents had given up on me. Fortunately, heaven gave this child a blessing for this child who had crossed paths with grandmaster Duan Gen. After that, this child was adopted as his granddaughter. Five days ago, the esteemed grandmaster went on a journey to search for something. This child was originally left alone at the Yangjiang inn, since the esteemed grandmaster and Mr.Zhao are well acquainted.. Naturally, Mr.Zhao also knew about this child's condition and offered this child to stay at this mansion until he comes back. This child sincerely apologizes for causing a misunderstanding." Liu Meifeng lowered her head apologetically.

After hearing everything, Yang Baimei couldn't help but took pity on Liu Meifeng as well. However, she refused to reveal it and pretend not to care at all.

"Is that so? Very well, I shall believe you…" Yang Baimei turned to Zhao Yan, "As for you, since it is a misunderstanding I won't make a fuss over this problem. But if I found that you were cheating on me, you might as well prepare your own funeral three days before I found out." Yang Baimei looked away arrogantly and returned to her own bed-chamber. Although, Zhao Yan and Yang Baimei are a married couple, but the two of them have been sleeping separately since Zhao Yun was born.

Zhao Yan already got used to Yang Baimei's temper, so he just ignored her and approached Liu Meifeng, "Why did you jump in the middle? What if we accidentally killed you?"

Liu Meifeng smiled, "Forgive me for being careless, but this incident was caused by me. I can't just let Mr.Zhao get into a fight with his wife."

Zhao Yan pinched his forehead in distress, "This is my affair, next time don't just jump in like that. If something happens to you, Shifu will kill me and my entire family."

That's actually possible since Liu Meifeng knew how much Duan Gen cherished her. She bowed again and apologized to Zhao Yan.

"Just.. forget it. Remember to prioritize yourself, your life is not the only one at stake here." Zhao Yan said, then he also retreated to his bed-chamber. Seeing that the two raging bulls had reached a conclusion and returned to their cage. The three Zhao siblings finally come out from their hiding place.

"You're probably the most insane woman I've ever met." Said Zhao Yi who's half-serious.

Zhao Yu caressed Liu Meifeng's neck gently and pressed her lips,

"Are you okay?"

"Mm, I'm okay."

Seeing that Liu Meifeng was still smiling as if nothing happened, Zhao Yu couldn't help but gritted her teeth silently and hold back her anger.

"Come with me."

Zhao Yu pulled Liu Meifeng with her, Zhao Yun wanted to pursue the two girls but he was held by Zhao Yi. "Don't follow them, can't you see Yu-jie is really angry right now? Just let the two of them talk, after all, Meifeng jiejie almost lost her life." Zhao Yun frowned as he watched the two slender figures retreat from the main room.

…

After pulling Liu Meifeng out of the main room, Zhao Yu led her to the garden. She didn't speak a single word during the way, but Liu Meifeng could hear exactly what she said deep inside her heart.

Yep, she's really angry…

The two of them walked towards a wooden bench, Zhao Yu sat down as she pulled Liu Meifeng along to sit as well. Even so, they still didn't say anything and the atmosphere turned awkward. But their hands are still tightly intertwined, refusing to let go…

Liu Meifeng can't stand this awkward silence anymore and decided to speak the truth, "Actually.. I've predicted both Mr.Zhao and Lady Yang weren't seriously fighting."

As if hearing something interesting, Zhao Yu finally willingly looks at Liu Meifeng and quietly waits for her to continue speaking. Seeing that Zhao Yu is willing to listen to her reason, Liu Meifeng licked her lips and continued, "From an outsider's viewpoint, they might look like enemies who were forced to get married. While that's not the case at all… if you take a close look at how they fight, you can see that both parties deliberately missed their chance to land any fatal injuries on each other. And I recalled you mentioned that this is not their first fight, yes? It is most likely, they're just one of those people who can't control their anger. Once they have vented enough, they will stop and might even forget about what they were angry about."

Zhao Yu listened carefully, she couldn't help but ask "Then, why did you jump in?"

Liu Meifeng chuckled and shook her head lightly, "Although, it isn't a big problem. But for a married couple to fight like that, it is clearly not a healthy relationship. Tell me.. how was the last time you saw your parents getting along with each other?"

Zhao Yu pondered for a moment; she couldn't quite recall how was the last time her parents get along. But she does remember before Zhao Yun was born, her parents never fought so brutally just like earlier.

"I couldn't quite recall when they ever got along well.. but I remember, they weren't like this before Zhao Yun was born."

"Then, something must've happened… but as an outsider, I'm not allowed to get involved with their affairs. And since you're still a kid, I doubt they'll hear your voice either. However, it doesn't mean I want you to stay away from this matter. Just speak your voice when it's necessary, although there's a chance you might get hurt…"

Zhao Yu was about to say that she doesn't care about anything about her parents' affair since they never treated her kindly. But she doesn't want to leave a bad impression on Liu Meifeng, so she just nodded her head obediently. Sadly, even if she didn't say it Liu Meifeng could still hear the voice of her heart. She couldn't help but stare at this adorable little girl next to her.

"Oh, and one more thing."

"Hmm?"

"You claimed to have weak health which caused your parents to abandon you… you.. why did you never tell me about this before?"

Liu Meifeng's whole body became numb instantly, that moment she had forgotten that Zhao Yu and others were still hiding behind the wooden wall. Naturally, they could hear everything she said earlier.

"This.. um…" for the first time, Liu Meifeng turned speechless. She doesn't know what to say and is trying to come up with something. Zhao Yu didn't press her to give a quick answer either, she patiently waited for an answer.

After thinking for a while, Liu Meifeng decided to tell Zhao Yu half the truth about her life. She did feel guilty but she had no other choice and had to lie about her condition, "My parents were… poor. My father was a fisherman while my mother is a housewife. They expect me to help with the house chores… but the moment I felt exhausted my breath turned disordered and my lungs hurt so much as if it were pricked by a knife. My parents tried to find a physician to cure this disease and the physician happened to be Shifu. He said my body was originally weak due to my mixed-blood. He even said that it is a miracle that I'm still alive, especially when I'm the first child. Usually, the first child of a mixed-blood would die right after they were born. I was… lucky enough to survive up until now. But since I can't do any heavy chores, my parents thought I'm useless and in the end… they decided to leave me to my own fate."

Hearing such a bitter story about Liu Meifeng's life, Zhao Yu frowned and hugged her. Liu Meifeng was a bit startled by this but later patted Zhao Yu's back. She could hear Zhao Yu cursing her parents inside her heart which actually sounded a bit funny.

"It's fine… though, I had a bitter life where not many children could experience. But I couldn't help thinking.. it might be a blessing in disguise."

Zhao Yu looked at Liu Meifeng who's still on her arms, "How could it be a blessing?" Liu Meifeng smiled beautifully and answered, "Because I met you. If I didn't have this disease my parents won't abandon me and I might not meet Shifu either. Even if I meet Shifu, I'm pretty sure my parents won't allow me to travel with him. If that were to happen, how could we meet? How could I treat your wound during the festival? How could we hold each other closely right now?"

Hearing such direct answer Zhao Yu's cheek smeared red and reflexively created a slight distance from Liu Meifeng.

"A-anyway, you are not allowed to hide anything from me from now on. Especially when your life is at stake! Promise?" She said abruptly. Liu Meifeng was in a trance for a moment, because for as long as she remembered. There's only one person who would scold her out of care like this… and that person is Huang Liangjin, her former best friend.

Seeing that Liu Meifeng didn't answer anything, Zhao Yu turned anxious and tugged on Liu Meifeng's sleeve, "..Promise?" Liu Meifeng regained her senses and looked at Zhao Yu with meaningful eyes. She licked her lips and couldn't help but secretly apologize to Zhao Yu for making another lie,

"Promise.."