68 Battle of Two Hearts II (2/2)

Yuan Zhaoxu showed no signs of entertaining her. Faced with such a blatant dismissal, she could only shut her mouth. Some time later, she heard him say, ”Your brain needs a cleansing.”

”Eh?” She uttered in perplexion. Upon understanding that she had really provoked him that night, she decided that it was better for her to remain quiet in order to stay alive.

Opposite of her, Lord Yuan Bao stuck his body out and flicked her head, his eyes full of disdain.

”How stupid of me?” Meng Fuyao read his action.

'Yeah, how stupid of me, but if I don't do something stupid now, I might act more foolishly in future...'

Meng Fuyao sniffed and looked up at the hazy moon. In another space and time, what was Mom doing? Did she still have funds for dialysis? Did the research institution compensate for her death? She had always sent Mom to the hospital by bicycle. Who was fetching her now that she was gone?

17 years. 17 years had passed for her in the Five Region Continent. She was really afraid that both universes were parallel, and that her mother wouldn't be able to wait for 17 years. Yet, there were things she couldn't give up on despite her fears. What if both universes were running at different times? What if the supernatural being in the Evergreen Shrine could bring her back? What if Mom had been waiting all this while?

Meng Fuyao raised her head to let the cutting wind blow against her widely-opened eyes. It was so cold that she could almost feel the liquid in her eyes freezing up.

Her body jolted, and the fine frost shattered. Meng Fuyao muddle-headedly looked up and saw that Yuan Zhaoxu had already stopped his horse, and before them was a sheet of verdant mountains. Unobstructed by construction, they galloped forward, embracing the howling wind.

Meng Fuyao couldn't recognize the place, unlike Yuan Zhaoxu, who seemed to be familiar with the landscape. He got off the horse and grabbed Meng Fuyao down. She waited for him to reactivate her acupuncture point, but he did no such thing. Instead, while carrying her, he dashed up the mountain.

He moved so fast that the winding path beneath him appeared almost flat. A bout of dizziness took over Meng Fuyao, but she only let out a bitter smile. 'See, no matter how gentle a person is, he can turn into a lion when provoked.'

Fortunately, Yuan Zhaoxu stopped not long after. Meng Fuyao's head felt heavy. Unable to lift it up, Meng Fuyao only caught a glimpse of white rising vapor while taking in a thick sulfur smell.

Before she could think clearly her body rose into the air.

Boom!

”Ahhh!” Meng Fuyao screamed as a splash exploded upon her plunge into the water. The water was hot, and white gas was surging upward. It was only after she had stood up that she realized she could move again.

She held onto a half-exposed rock to steady herself and wiped the water off her face. Looking around with her body all wet, she noticed that they were in a natural spring and Yuan Zhaoxu had tossed her in earlier.

She stood in the pool and looked toward the shore at Yuan Zhaoxu, who was half-covered within the shadows. Her face flushed, and she felt dizzy. In that moment she couldn't understand Yuan Zhaoxu's motive.

Half a face hidden within the darkness while the other half illuminated by the pale moon, Yuan Zhaoxu watched her quietly, his eyes bright, moist and crystal clear.

”Wash. Wash yourself good. You need to cleanse your brain and understand what you want and should do.”

Soaking in the springwater, Meng Fuyao resembled a homeless dog as she heard every word coming out from that unperturbed man like the shattering of jade stones.

'I'll give you a night's time to cleanse yourself. Cleanse away all the selfishness, indulgence and frivolousness. Don't stop until you learn how not to take advantage of others' tolerance. Don't stop until you learn that you can refuse and avoid, but you have no rights to trample on others' dignity and interfere with their freedom of choice.”

Meng Fuyao shivered in the hot water, and she slowly lowered her body back into it.

”Liking and pursuing you is my business while avoiding and rejecting me is your business. If you don't want to see me, tell me clearly, and I will disappear before your eyes forever. Do you want that, Fuyao? If so, tell me now.”

Meng Fuyao looked him in the eye, water beads flowing down her face. She opened her mouth, but nothing came out.

Yuan Zhaoxu gazed at her from higher grounds, his tone calm but eyes sorrowful.

”You're troubled but unwilling to share anything with me, Fuyao. It's not that I can't accept rejection, but I can't accept your unreasonable repulsion and abandonment. Worse, you'd rather push me into someone else's arms. Fuyao, you're selfish and cruel. You only think about protecting your own heart, and in the process, treat the heart of others as worthless.”