Compared to losing Lu Hai Kong, what she had planned should have been scarier. However, after losing Lu Hai Kong, Xiang Zi felt an inexplicable deep fear. With fear came imagination. If Lu Hai Kong had been murdered, then it was alright. But what if he was sold to do hard work, forced to become a servant, or sold to a brothel? Those images made her head hurt.
If that was the case, even if Chu Kong went to hell, even if he would face the danger of ceasing to exist, he would let her disappear in one of the three realms (human, hell, heaven). She couldn't go too overboard.
While walking, Xiang Zi shouted his name. She had never been so excited to see him appear unharmed before her. She searched the whole day without getting any results.
When the sun disappeared, the gates on the north, south, west, and east of the capital were closed. If someone had kidnapped Lu Hai Kong, he would be outside the capital by now.
With only her power, Xiang Zi couldn't find Lu Hai Kong. Lu Hai Kong was the general's son. The general, in order to search for his son, could use some of his power. With that thought, she ran back home.
When the red lights at the general's mansion were lit, the two guards stood more rigid. Xiang Zi was about to rush past them, when she saw Father Song with an apologetic face, coming out together with the general.
Father Song said: "It's my fault for not teaching her well and allowing her to have the guts to cause today's mess. Brother Lu, when I find that brat, I'll bring her here to apologize."
Her heart made a thumping sound. Did something really happen to Lu Hai Kong?
Xiang Zi didn't care about how Father Song will punish her and ran towards them.
"Father, general, Lu Hai Kong what…what happened to him?"
The general didn't even get to speak; she was interrupted by her angry father. "What happened?! You still have the gall to ask what happened?! I haven't taught you well and spoiled you too much. You don't even know the limits of your actions anymore. Today, I'll let you catch up on some lessons!"
Father Song dragged Xiang Zi back home. Even before entering, he yelled, "Lao Zhao, bring me the stick!"
Father Song had never used the stick against her. Although Xiang Zi was afraid of being beaten, she still asked, "Has someone really sold Lu Hai Kong? How come he was sold in such a short period of time? How was he sold? How much did he cost?"
Father Song quivered in anger. "I'd like to sell you too."
"Brother Song," the general interjected. "Yun Xiang is still young. It's normal that she doesn't understand things. My brat was also not in a big trouble. Just let this matter slide."
She did not let Father Song answer. "Lu Hai Kong wasn't in a big trouble? Then what small trouble did he get into?"
General Lu helplessly sighed. "He…he was caught by bad guys. Luckily, our guards arrived in time. He lost half a tooth and was a bit scared. But Yun Xiang, you really shouldn't have taken Hai Kong outside the general's mansion alone."
Hearing that Lu Hai Kong was fine, Xiang Zi felt relieved. She didn't bother with what the general said after that and turned to Father Song. "Father, see, nothing happened. His virginity is still there; his life is still there."
Her pale-faced Father Song was turned to the general when the general was persuading her father. Upon hearing her words, the general stopped and said instead, "Ten years is not very young anymore. There are not many years left before she'll get her hairpin ceremony. Brother Song, strengthening your way of disciplining is understandable. I'll go back now."
Suddenly, Xiang Zi realized that she may have said something wrong. She wanted to amend what she had said, but Father Song grabbed her hand and dragged her. Xiang Zi staggered.
He sternly said, "Come here!"
Thinking about the thick stick hanging in the ancestral hall, her legs started to feel the pain. Without a God's body, being beaten was a vexing thing. Her lips trembled, and her eyes began to fill with tears.
"Father, I was wrong."
Father Song was unmoved. "I've been spoiling you too much. That's why you've become as you are now. Even if you cry tears of blood, you'll still receive this beating today."
"Father!"
Her tears kept falling down. She looked like Lu Hai Kong when he had cried when he was still an infant.
Xiang Zi knelt down and hugged his thigh. With a hoarse voice and tears streaming down her face, she said, "I really know I'm wrong! I'll never go alone with Lu Hai Kong again! In the future, I'll obediently listen to you! I'll obediently stay at home every day and spend my time reading books and doing embroidery."
"Humph," Father Song sneered. "You've already used this tactic."
His face darkened, and he said in a heavy voice, "Don't cry anymore on the street. People will look at us as a joke."
He must be really angry if he spoke in such a tone.
Xiang Zi knew that no matter what she says, she couldn't escape today's beating. Just when she was wiping her tears and was about to stand up, someone shoved the general's mansion's door open. A small person, who didn't even wear a coat and had one red eye, stood at the general's doorway.
His head was bandaged. It must've been from today's injuries. Lu Hai Kong, seeing her on the ground and grabbing onto Father Song's thigh, was shocked for a moment. After all, in front of him, she had always been haughty and aloof. Xiang Zi let go of Father Song's thigh and just knelt on the ground. In her heart, she was wondering why Lu Hai Kong was here. She saw Lu Hai Kong's lips tremble as tears began streaming down. Xiang Zi didn't understand him. The nanny and servants behind him were busy comforting him.
Lu Hai Kong had a stubborn temper. He pushed them away. With tottering steps and wiping away his tears, he ran towards her.
"Yun Xiang….huwa…huhu!"
He wiped his tears with one hand while he used his other hand to grab her hair.
"You don't want me anymore! You don't want me anymore! No matter how hard I chased, I couldn't keep up with you!"
Her mouth twitched. Xiang Zi came up with a reason to stall for time. "I chased after him to buy tanghulu for you…"
Lu Hai Kong stopped crying for a moment. He stared for a while with his bright, big eyes. Then tears started to stream out again.
"Huhu… It's all my fault. It's because I wanted to eat tanghulu. Now Yun Xiang has to be beaten… It's all Hai Kong's fault. Letting Yun Xiang be bullied, it's all because Hai Kong was not good. I can't even protect Yun Xiang. Hai Kong is stupid, even causing trouble for Yun Xiang."
He walked slowly towards her and hugged her neck, making her neck all sticky. He was crying like the one who would be beaten was him.
Xiang Zi was a bit startled. She let his tears soak into her shoulders. Some also slid against her skin. It felt a little cool and a little warm. She didn't understand. She couldn't seem to get mad at him for soiling her clothes in the human world.
"Don't cry anymore."
She patted his head. It turned out that drinking the soup of oblivion and crossing that bridge had created this effect. Regardless of whom he was in the past life—man or God, no matter what love or hatred existed between them, everything had a new beginning after being reincarnated. You didn't know me; I didn't know you. For humans, fate lasted only a lifetime…
Lu Hai Kong held onto her and continued crying for quite a while. Father Song couldn't stand it anymore. "Alright, alright! I won't beat you anymore. Tonight, you need to kneel in front of the ancestral hall and reflect on what you've done."
Lu Hai Kong slept with her in the ancestral hall. Xiang Zi slept against a pillar while he slept on her lap.
The next day when she woke up, Lu Hai Kong blinked and pulled at his sleeve. He said, "Yun Xiang, look, you drooled a lot while sleeping. I wiped it all away for you."
She raised her eyebrows and poked his forehead. "Don't say things that embarrass me."
He nodded, sat up, and said, "I won't be disgusted."
Xiang Zi twitched her lips.
You won't mind now, because you're still young. Wait till you get your memory back. Then I don't know how you'll look (in a bad way) at me.
Lu Hai Kong held onto her neck and smiled. "When I grow up, Yun Xiang won't be punished anymore. No matter what you do, you won't be punished. I'll protect you."
"How much skill do you have? Don't learn a playboy's lying words."
Lu Hai Kong didn't say anything and kept holding her. This quiet moment in the sun made her want to hug him and fiercely kiss him.
From that day on, the people from the general's mansion felt that the little young master played less, woke up early, treated his homework more seriously than before, and used more strength to learn martial arts.
Did he find out that she was up to no good and was beginning to guard against her? Or… was he really determined to protect her? This was a joke! Xiang Zi used so much energy trying to kill this little guy, yet he still wanted to protect her? When Chu Kong hears this, he would die from laughing.
Anyway, in the future, for a very long time, every day after she woke up, Xiang Zi would see this brat drenched in sweat. He would lay on the edge of her bed and excitedly tell how early he woke up, how long he practiced martial arts for, and how many poems he had memorized.
Listening to him tell me every day about what he did that morning, I was distraught. If…if it went on like this, how could I still fight with you, little bastard?
Those days had lasted till Lu Hai Kong was ten, and she was fifteen. The miss from the prime minister's mansion, Song Yun Xiang finally received her hairpin ceremony.
In that year, on a summer day in July, Father Song prohibited her from being alone with Lu Hai Kong all of a sudden, a stern expression on his face. Xiang Zi knew that it was because of Father Song's Confucianism thoughts. She had ignored him. But in the next month, she really didn't see Lu Hai Kong.
On the Mid-Autumn Festival, the moon was in a perfect circle, and a weird smell came to the prime minister's mansion. Xiang Zi turned her head and saw that there was a wave of smoke rising from the general's mansion. The fire burned for a long while, overshadowing the moon's bright light.
She blinked, thinking about how stern Father Song had been these past days and the missing Lu Hai Kong. Suddenly, she understood. Something had happened in court.
Xiang Zi wiped her mouth, which was covered in mooncake crumbs, and stood up. Father Song asked, "Where are you going?"
"To my chamber. I'm done eating."
Father Song wrinkled his brow and gave orders to the guard. "Guard the Miss. Tonight, she isn't allowed to go anywhere."
She went back to her room. There was an extremely big fire next to them, but Father Song didn't even go to take a look. It must be the order of someone higher up. Otherwise, who would dare to do this at the General's mansion? Lu Hai Kong was doomed this time.
After ten years, he finally reincarnated and broke our seven lifetimes of love.
While walking to her room, they passed the ancestral hall. She suddenly thought of that day when Lu Hai Kong was in her arms, looking at her with bright eyes full of hope. He said she had drooled on his sleeves, so much that it soaked his sleeves. Humph, who would drool so much?
Xiang Zi couldn't take one step further. Let…let me just help him collect his corpse. After all, we had been fighting for so many years.