Chapter 178: Protagonist 16

Gongxi Jianchen had been waiting for a long time after getting ready when he finally saw his niece, Qian, running out from the Spring Pool.

Qian smelled fresh and clean, but her hair was messily tied into a little tuft, lopsided at that, with nothing but a single red ribbon holding it together. All her other hair ornaments were gone.

This must’ve been done by her mother—his eldest sister’s handiwork was actually clumsier than his own when it came to this sort of thing.

“Why is there only one left? Where’s the other hair tie?” Gongxi Jianchen pinched the little tuft of her hair.

Gongxi Yue followed her daughter out.

Her expression remained as cold and indifferent as ever, though today she seemed to be in an especially foul mood. The moment she drew near, it felt as if a wave of cold air hit him straight in the face.

Gongxi Jianchen’s gaze drifted downward—and suddenly caught sight of the other red ribbon clutched tightly in his sister’s hand. Looking past her, he saw where the other end of the ribbon was.

It was tied around Wen Xunzhen’s wrists, binding them tightly together.

So that’s where the other hair ribbon had gone—commandeered by her mother as makeshift restraints.

Thanks to the generosity of her aunt, even the ribbons Qian used for her hair weren’t ordinary ones. They were crafted magic artifacts, tough and able to shift in thickness and length at will—honestly more suited for binding people than for tying hair.

Wen Xunzhen had changed into a clean white dress, but her hair hung wet and tangled over her shoulders. Her face was deathly pale, her whole demeanor dazed and miserable. She looked truly wretched.

Seeing that elegant, lotus-like face now wearing such a desolate and vacant expression, even someone as notoriously spoiled as Gongxi Jianchen couldn’t help feeling a twinge of sympathy. He was, after all, the sort of young master who pitied beauty above all else.

But his eldest sister harbored no such soft heart. Sensing Wen Xunzhen’s faltering steps, she tugged sharply on the red ribbon, making her stumble forward.

“Eldest Sister, Commander Wu has brought people to fetch us. They’re waiting outside. Shall we head back now?” Gongxi Jianchen suggested.

Given how much commotion they had caused, the entire Gongxi Family’s city-wide guard had been mobilized. Commander Wu, the family’s chief protector, had immediately surrounded Golden Radiance City, ready to escort them home.

“This woman’s companions escaped,” Gongxi Jianchen continued. “Why not hand her over to Commander Wu for questioning? Find out where her accomplices fled and what their background is—why they dared attack us in the first place.”

In his mind, landing in Commander Wu’s hands would still be better than falling under Eldest Sister’s personal interrogation. His sister’s temper was infamous. If this woman got stubborn and refused to talk, she might just kill her outright out of impatience.

But Gongxi Yue dragged along the silent Wen Xunzhen without pause, her voice cool: “No need. I’ll keep watch over her myself.”

Wen Xunzhen’s case was unusual—far more severe than the symptoms her younger sister had suffered before. The woman had to stay close to Qian at all times.

Yet Wen Xunzhen was also dangerous. Gongxi Yue couldn’t rest easy letting her daughter be near her unattended. Naturally, she would watch over the woman herself.

“Qian, come here. Do you remember what Mama just told you?” she asked.

Qian nodded vigorously and said loudly, “I remember!”

She reached out and grabbed the hem of Wen Xunzhen’s dress, looking as serious as a little prison warden.

Just moments ago, her mother had given her a mission: to keep a close eye on Wen Xunzhen and stop her from doing anything strange.

Upon returning to the Gongxi Family, another round of scolding awaited them—though the only one who took the brunt of it was the pitiful little uncle. The other little treasure, who had nearly faced danger tonight, received nothing but doting concern from Grandpa, Aunties, and everyone else.

“Our little Qianbao, were you scared? It’s all your uncle’s fault, sneaking you out to play and not even bringing any of the family protectors. Such carelessness!”

“Qian wasn’t scared at all! Oh, what a brave girl you are—so fearless even at such a young age! When you grow up, you’ll be even more formidable than your mother!”

…

Qian rubbed her flushed cheeks, red from all the kisses and pats. She even pulled out a little handkerchief to wipe her face—she was quite the clean freak.

“So this is the scoundrel bold enough to attack the main branch of my Gongxi Family?” Gongxi Yao, after showering his little granddaughter with affection, turned his sharp gaze to the disheveled Wen Xunzhen.

Seeing that his niece still had the woman bound, he spoke up, “Since you’ve brought her back, hand her over to your uncle. Go get some rest, Yue’er.”

“No need,” Gongxi Yue refused once more. “She stays with me.”

Gongxi Yao blinked. “What do you mean by that?”

After a moment’s thought, he tried to reason with her: “I know Qian was nearly harmed, and you’re angry. But our Gongxi Family isn’t one to torture people for revenge without cause. Better let my men investigate and get to the bottom of this. What do you say?”

“Uncle misunderstands. I have other uses for her,” Gongxi Yue said.

At this, Wen Xunzhen lifted her head and glanced at her.

Ever since she had risked everything to send Xiao Shou away, she had been prepared to be caught. Once her physical anomaly was discovered and she’d been dragged back to the Gongxi Family bound hand and foot, Wen Xunzhen hadn’t struggled much. She assumed this proud noblewoman wanted to vent her anger on her.

Yet Gongxi Yue had denied that outright.

If it wasn’t to torture her… why keep her close? Could it be to force her to divulge information about Xiao Shou?

Gongxi Yue brought both Qian and Wen Xunzhen back to her own courtyard.

They passed through a grove of night-blooming flowers, glazed lanterns lighting the path. The ground was paved with jade tiles, the beams and pillars exquisitely carved and painted. Even the passing servants wore silk brocade.

Every person they passed bowed low in greeting. From the awe and reverence in their eyes, Wen Xunzhen could sense just how much honor and status Gongxi Yue and her daughter commanded in this vast Gongxi Family.

Not just here—in the entire cultivation world, the name of the Lonely Moon Sword Monarch, Gongxi Yue, was well-known. Countless people revered her.

Lost in thought, Wen Xunzhen was dragged into the room. Once the door shut behind them, Gongxi Yue finally let her go.

Wen Xunzhen immediately took two steps back, putting distance between them. But as she tried to retreat, Qian darted forward, grabbed the loosened red ribbon, and dutifully pulled her back, returning the ribbon to her mother’s hand.

Wen Xunzhen: “…”

Gongxi Yue sat at the table, poured herself tea, and drank.

Her movements looked perfectly normal—no one would know she couldn’t see.

Ever since that moment in the Spring Pool at Golden Radiance City, when Wen Xunzhen’s drug had taken effect, Gongxi Yue had lost her sight.

Now she could only perceive the world through Divine Sense. Divine Sense let her detect whether something living or dead stood before her, but she couldn’t make out their exact appearance.

Yet all the way back, she hadn’t let anyone notice. She acted as if nothing was amiss, moving as usual. Even her uncle, Gongxi Yao, hadn’t sensed a thing.

Wen Xunzhen remembered clearly that moment at the Spring Pool—her face pressed to the cold ground, Gongxi Yue’s hand locked tight around her neck, forcing her to hand over the antidote.

Her voice trembling, she had been forced to tell her that it wasn’t poison. There was no antidote pill—recovery would take three days.

Gongxi Yue hadn’t believed her. To ensure she carried nothing else harmful, she had personally, and with little gentleness, inspected her from head to toe, confiscating everything she had, and forcing her to change into new clothes.

Even though Gongxi Yue couldn’t see, and the one supervising her was just an innocent child, the process had still been unbearable and humiliating for Wen Xunzhen.

Exposing her deformed body to the gaze of others had felt like dying all over again.

This child, whose features resembled Gongxi Yue’s, kept asking incessantly as she changed clothes: “Were you fighting with my mother just now?”

And then: “You better not do bad things! Mother told me to watch you—I’m not allowed to blink!”

Grabbing at her own eyelids, the little girl stared at her unblinkingly. Whenever Wen Xunzhen tried to turn away, the child would circle around curiously and ask, “Why are your buns so small? Not as big as Mother’s!”

Wen Xunzhen could only bite her lip, clutching her clothes tightly. Finally unable to endure, she asked Gongxi Yue, “Are you really going to let your daughter see a body like mine? Shouldn’t you keep her away from me?”

Gongxi Yue sat off to the side, wiping down her sword, utterly unmoved by her agitation. Her voice remained cold and indifferent from start to finish.

“You consider yourself a woman. Then I will treat you as one. No need for such theatrics.”

The words landed like a heavy blow to Wen Xunzhen’s chest. Her head bowed suddenly, and she fell silent.

Never in her life had she been this physically close to another person, much less endured something like this. Even with Xiao Shou, the most intimate they had ever been was a light embrace. Xiao Shou had never crossed any lines—he’d said it was because he cherished her.

But this mother and daughter pair… truly, they were…!

Wen Xunzhen no longer wished to speak another word to them. If they wanted to kill her or beat her, then let them.

“Go lie down and rest,” Gongxi Yue said to both of them.

Wen Xunzhen blinked in surprise. Little Qian, already used to this routine, kicked off her shoes and ran over to climb into bed.

The large, intricately carved wooden bed, once its curtains were drawn, became like its own small room. The air inside was filled with the faint scent of calming spirit wood and a cool, clear fragrance that belonged to Gongxi Yue.

Gongxi Yue never slept. She merely sat beside the bed in meditation each night, keeping the child company until she fell asleep.

Qian wrapped herself in the blanket and curled up beside her mother, leaving one side of the bed for herself. Wen Xunzhen, who only climbed up after being pointed at with a sword, curled up on the far edge.

Keeping as much distance as she could from Gongxi Yue and Qian, she closed her eyes, clutching the wound at her chest, listening to their voices.

“Mother, is she going to sleep with us?”

“I’m worried she might do something bad, so I need to watch her… You were scared today, weren’t you?”

“Nope! I squinted my eyes tight!”

“From now on, you can’t run off with your uncle anymore.”

“Then with Auntie?”

“No.”

“Wuwuwu…”

One second the child was fake-crying, the next she suddenly let out a dramatic shriek, then burst into giggles, laughing and thrashing around.

Wen Xunzhen couldn’t help but glance over, momentarily stunned—she saw Gongxi Yue holding both of the child’s arms, tickling her mercilessly. The little girl squirmed like a worm, wriggling and laughing uncontrollably.

Such ordinary, intimate play left Wen Xunzhen dumbstruck. The esteemed Lonely Moon Sword Monarch… was actually tickling a child’s armpits and belly?

After a while, worn out from laughter, the little girl finally nestled against her mother and drifted off to sleep.

Watching from the far side, Wen Xunzhen felt a faint, inexplicable twinge of envy.

Her own mother had died giving birth to her. She had been raised by her father alone, who had told her again and again that her birth had taken her mother’s life—that she was the one who had killed her.

Perhaps because of this, her father resented her. For years, he kept her locked away inside a courtyard deep in Medical Valley, forbidding her to leave, forbidding her from seeing anyone from the outside world.

Through those endless days, her only company had been medical texts and herbs.

When she was small, she’d believed that mastering those medical texts would win her father’s approval. She did, in fact, have talent. But when her father looked at the medicines she concocted, his expression grew complicated. He only told her, “You don’t need to learn these things.”

She remembered overhearing two senior disciples chatting when she was very young—they said men always wanted sons. So for a time, she had wondered: if she were a boy, able to help her father refine pills and inherit Medical Valley, would he treat her better? Would he let her leave the courtyard and see the outside world?

But her father had scolded her fiercely.

“You were supposed to be a girl when you were in your mother’s womb! If you’d been a proper daughter, I wouldn’t have had to wait all these years! Do you have any idea how much trouble your half-man, half-woman body has caused me?!”

The look in his eyes was unspeakably frightening. Beneath his hatred, there seemed to be countless things left unsaid.

Terrified and heartbroken, she never dared bring it up again. Day after day, she obediently drank the medicine her father sent, hoping it would one day turn her into a normal daughter.

It was in that long, hopeless imprisonment that she met Xiao Shou.

Xiao Shou had been the first outsider she’d ever seen, stumbling into her courtyard, covered in wounds. She had saved him.

He had accidentally discovered her physical anomaly, but had told her he didn’t care. He’d even said he liked her, that he wanted to take her away, swearing to find her a spirit medicine that would help her become fully female, so they could spend their lives together.

Running away with Xiao Shou had been the most reckless thing she’d ever done.

Even now, hunted by Medical Valley, she didn’t regret it. She had wanted so badly for someone to love her.

In the corner, Gongxi Yue, seated in meditation, sensed something amiss. She grabbed Falling Frost Wind and pressed the hilt of the sword against Wen Xunzhen’s back.

“What are you doing?” Her voice carried a warning, but as soon as she spoke, she sensed something wasn’t right.

Wen Xunzhen trembled violently, letting out a muffled groan of pain.

Unable to see, Gongxi Yue swept over her with Divine Sense. She could only detect the strange, chaotic swirl of medicinal qi raging through Wen Xunzhen’s body.

The disturbance woke Qian, who rubbed her eyes and sat up.

“Mother?”

“Qian, look at her and tell me what’s happening.” Gongxi Yue pressed her hand to Wen Xunzhen’s bare back.

Qian crawled over for a look, then lifted her head and said to her mother, “She looks like she’s been cooked—she’s all red.”