Chapter 605

The moment the silver needle pierced Lin Mei's belly, Lin Mei's whole body convulsed, her legs kicking wildly, her hands as if trying to dig into the ground.

Black blood gushed from beneath her, the bloody smell mixed with a nauseating stench drifting in the air.

We've seen many bloody, nauseating scenes; our tolerance is relatively high.

But Liang Bo couldn't.

He vomited.

The whole process lasted about ten minutes.

When Lin Mei stopped convulsing, Bai Shulan pulled out the silver needles one by one, then turned to Liang Bo and said: "First take her to clean up and settle her, then come back for the prescription I wrote. Over the next few years you two must not only properly nurse your bodies but also accumulate virtue and do good deeds, otherwise you won't live past two years."

Liang Bo didn't know whether he had heard Bai Shulan's words; he just stared at Lin Mei lying in the filthy blood, his expression… indescribable.

It was hard to tell whether it was fear or disgust.

I thought, for this couple who once loved each other as strongly as metal, whether they could survive this incident aside, their marriage was probably truly over.

Liang Bo's fear of Lin Mei had already been etched into his bones.

Anyone who shares a bed long‑term with someone who once gnawed on their own flesh would instinctively fear them.

As for disgust… that's a matter of personal conscience.

"What are you standing there for?!" I snapped, "Your lives are bound together by the Yuanyang Tongxin Lock—if she can't live, you won't either."

Liang Bo seemed to have thought of something; he quickly forced himself up, went over and helped Lin Mei up.

Then he felt for his phone, made a call, and had someone come pick them up.

After Liang Bo and the others left, Li Qingying immediately cleaned the blood on the steps and street, rinsing it clean.

This ordeal had already pushed past nine; Hui Moqiong called to ask, and we also inquired about his side.

The gate of the Jūnzhú Shān Chenghuang Temple was shut, with no movement for now.

After this incident, our plan was disrupted; we'll likely have to push it back.

Liu Junyan said he would go check the situation himself, and asked me to stay at the pawnshop in case Liang Bo returns later.

If that side indeed requires action, we'll notify me to go over.

We can only split up.

Liu Junyan left; I took a hot shower and changed into clean clothes.

When I came out again, Li Qingying had already cleaned the floor, and I urged her to wash up.

She complained while coming in: "The bloody smell is tolerable, but where does this rotten stench come from? My clothes are ruined."

I said: "I suspect Lin Mei's child wasn't conceived naturally; the hidden truth is known only to the couple themselves."

Li Qingying went to the back, while I sat behind the counter of the Nan Shu Fang, my mind full of thoughts.

The Yuanyang Tongxin Lock binds husband and wife, or lovers; when one is injured, the other shows the same wound, and they heal together.

During this process, the influence and consumption on each other are shared equally.

But Liang Bo and Lin Mei's injuries were not split evenly, nor did they heal together; their lifespans also seem bound—what's going on?

After thinking it over, the only explanation I can think of is that Lin Mei is pregnant.

Just then, footsteps sounded outside again.

I thought it was Liang Bo returning to get the prescription from Bai Shulan; I looked up and saw the cloaked redeemer.

Wasn't he supposed to come a month later to fetch the Yuanyang Tongxin Lock?

Tomorrow is the third day of the first month… no, I seem to have been mistaken all along.

This lunar February only has twenty‑nine days, no thirtieth.

So a full month is from the first of February to today, not to the first of March.

"Shopkeeper, I've come to take the Yuanyang Tongxin Lock."

He stood in front of the counter; I sat inside it, clasping my hands tightly together, staring at his cloak.

Even now I still haven't decided whether to give him the stone.

I also want to clarify his relationship with the hermit Zhu You—whether they are enemies or colluding to set a trap for me.

But I also understand: if he's a friend, asking won't cause big trouble; if he's an enemy, asking is pointless.

Still unwilling, I lowered my demand: "Are you Ā Chén? The dust of Fan Chen? Or the dust of Wang Fan Chen?"

He hesitated, obviously not expecting me to ask such a question.

He countered: "What does that have to do with redemption?"

"Of course," I said. "Even if my senior sister Yu Nian were standing here now, she would ask the same, for in her heart Fan Chen and Wang Fan Chen are two completely different beings."

I used Yu Nian to test his heart a little.

He remained silent for a long while, then suddenly laughed, his laughter full of self‑mockery and bitterness.

There were chairs in front of the counter; he sat down on one.

We sat like that, facing each other across the counter, and I could clearly feel the cold aura emanating from him.

Then he spoke: "I am Wang Fan Chen, I am Fan Chen, and I am the redeemer Ā Chén."

"Yu Nian is the love of my life, and also the person I owe the most to."

"Back then, to avoid the blood rain, my master and I stood under the eaves of the Yin Dang Hang; I fell for her at first sight."

These words, Yu Nian also told me not long ago.

They match.

"The predecessor of the Jūnzhú Shān Chenghuang Temple was the Jūnzhú Shān Daoist Temple; my master was the temple's abbot. Because he cultivated virtue, accumulated merit, and benefited the world, his achievements were outstanding, and he was appointed as the Chénghuáng Lǎoyé of that region. The temple was then converted into a Chenghuang Temple, directly subordinate to the Chenghuang Temple administration, so every so often my master would bring me to the Chenghuang Temple to report."

"I remember after my master reported and left, I received some guidance and stayed in the Chenghuang Temple to cultivate. During that time I had a lot of contact with Yu Nian, our feelings grew quickly, and my master, knowing this, never said anything nor stopped us from being together."

"For over a decade our relationship remained stable, until one day my master told me I might become the next Chenghuang Lord, but before that I would undergo an emotional tribulation. The tribulation is hard to pass, yet if I and Yu Nian could obtain the Yuanyang Tongxin Lock in the Sānshēng Diàn and let the Shang Cang see our 'love as firm as metal,' the chances of passing the tribulation would greatly increase."

"That was the first time I heard of the Yuanyang Tongxin Lock; I was still young and impulsive, wishing to instantly bind my feelings with Yu Nian's, never to part in this life or the next."

But I didn't know that after my master went looking for me, he then went alone to look for Yu Nian.

When I brought up the Yuanyang Tongxin Lock with Yu Nian, she readily agreed; I was overjoyed, yet I had no idea that at that moment she had already made other plans in her heart.

In the Nineteen Cave-Heavens, inside the Three Birth Hall, before the Yuanyang Tongxin Lock, we performed the rites of bowing to heaven and earth, bowing to our parents, the husband and wife bowing to each other; at the moment the ceremony was completed, just as I was filled with joy, feeling myself the happiest person in the world, Yu Nian flipped the Yuanyang Tongxin Lock and pushed me onto that Golden Light Avenue.