44 Abandoned Garden (1/2)

Meng Fuyao had been caught red-handed but she chose not to flee. Instead, with a leg dangling off each side of the wall, she hugged her chest, sighing ”Isn't the sunshine just brilliant today?”

A few drops of ice-cold rain fell with the howling of the wind before specks of snow drifted down.

As in reveling in it, Meng Fuyao added, ”Perfect temperature...”

Having eulogized the weather, Meng Fuyao took her own sweet time to get down, and walked toward Zong Yue's door matter-of-factly.

However, she stopped before his door and sniffed around. ”This herb smells horrible,” she commented.

When Meng Fuyao turned her head, she caught sight of Zong Yue sitting on the ground in a lotus position. His face was slightly pale, and there was an empty bowl on the table beside him, from which the smell was spreading.

Noting that Meng Fuyao had seen it, Zong Yue withdrew his gaze. With a wave of his sleeve, the window closed, almost slamming onto her nose.

Meng Fuyao retreated while touching her nose. She could not help but wonder if Zong Yue was prescribing mixed herbs or if he was injured. Eventually, she decided to stay away from the secretive man.

She proceeded into her room to freshen up, and Yao Xun brought in a tray of food for breakfast. Reminded of her hunger, Meng Fuyao dashed to the table and started gorging herself. She wiped her mouth clean and then asked, ”This green congee tastes really special. Is it made from aromatic herb-infused grains?”

Yao Xun shrugged. ”No idea. Sir Zong had me bring it in for you.”

”Eh?” Meng Fuyao jumped, quickly operating a circulatory cycle to test her energy flow. Neither sensing any anomaly nor trusting Zong Yue's character, she sat back down, racking her brains. ”Have you given him the fake herbs?”

”Yeah,” replied Yao Xun, somewhat pleased. ”I had planned to get the real leaves, but those were tough and difficult to pound. The fake ones were much easier to smash, so I gave those to him, and he didn't seem to notice. Holy doctor? Ahah.”

Halfway through his explanation Meng Fuyao had already sprinted out of the room. Puzzled, Yao Xun followed behind, only to see her squatting before the grass and wailing.

”D*mn... Yin Yang Grass... am I blind...”

Meng Fuyao's knees touched the ground, and her butt was protruded as she whimpered and dug into the soil. Her eyes were wide open.

In between digging, she would touch her face – The Ying Yang Grass had the ability to reverse one's energy. For a Yang person, it could cure diseases involving deficiencies, but for a Yin person, the grass would cause a spike in Yang energy in the form of acne, which would keep growing in size unless treated with medicine.

She had injured her foot while lifting a rock and dropping it accidentally. Hence, she was left with no choice but to lay sprawled on the ground to search for the antidote, which was also the seed of the Yin Yang Grass. The seeds were extremely tiny and well-dispersed so she wasn't able to gather enough for a single application.

Meng Fuyao sighed, straightening her back before turning toward Zong Yue's house. She gritted her teeth and shot a million daggers into his house, only to remember that he had gone out to cure King De's illness and wasn't in to see it. As she was looking down in anger, Meng Fuyao remembered an abandoned garden that she had passed by a few days ago. In that garden was an abundance of Yin Yang Grass, and she figured that it would be easier to gather seeds.

She dragged Yao Xun to the northwestern corner of King De's residence, where the abandoned garden was situated. From afar the walls appeared to be peeled off while its roof was torn and tattered. Nevertheless, they were well-constructed, enough to attract spiders to lay their webs. The dried tree branches dangling over the walls swayed in the winter breeze, producing a gloomy and heavy atmosphere.

The duo quickly located the Yin Yang Grass and got to work. A long while later, as they were about to leave with a sufficient amount of seeds, Yao Xun stopped. ”There seems to be someone living in this garden, Miss Meng.”

Meng Fuyao turned around and was shocked to spot a white garment hanging off a branch. The strong winds must have blown it over.

It was already odd that this declining garden existed in King De's luxurious residence in the first place, but the fact that someone was residing in it was astonishing.

Meng Fuyao took a few steps forward and pushed the door, but it was locked. Its lock was completely rusted. After some thought, she went on to climb the wall.

Yao Xun tried to pull her down but was he was kicked to the ground instead.

Meng Fuyao landed on the other side, immediately noticing that it was in a worse condition than the garden. There were weeds and dried up flowers growing everywhere. They were even covering half the door. As Meng Fuyao walked on through the quiet surroundings, her breathing became audible.

Her gaze fell upon the door knocker. It was a pair of exquisite-looking bells, engraved with sumptuous decorative designs. Of course, the grooves were black, and the bells were covered in dirt.

The wind blew, but the bells were still. Amid the dead silence, the friction between the rubbing of dried leaves on the ground produced a hissing sound like that of a snake.

A loud, mournful voice broke the silence. ”Zhangsun Wuji! You impure-blooded, scheming plotter!”

It was a woman's voice, so hoarse, menacing and blood-filled that it could almost numb one's senses.