When the Wu and Guo families finally found Wu Meirong, the scene that greeted them was a devastating tableau of raw grief, far more harrowing than anything they could have anticipated. The moment Madam Wu's eyes fell upon her eldest daughter, lifeless in her youngest daughter's arms, a guttural cry escaped her lips before she collapsed, utterly unconscious, onto the unforgiving street. Unaware of her fallen mother, Wu Meirong clung to her dead sister's body, her own sobs tearing through the silence, a profound lament that spoke of a loss too immense for words.
Guo Yingyu walked up to Wu Meirong and said softly, "Meirong, she is gone. Let us take her body home."
Wu Meirong hugged Guo Yingyu, her body shaking with grief. "I should be the dead one. She pushed me away." She sobbed into her fiancé's arms. "I should be the dead one. I should be the dead one. Why did she push me away?"
"Master Wu," Master Guo said, stepping forward, his voice heavy, "the Guo family will hold the funeral. She will be buried in our family cemetery. When she was still alive, we regarded her as our daughter-in-law, the wife of our son."
"Master Guo, she has not gone through the wedding ceremony," Master Wu replied, his voice strained.
"For me, she has," Master Guo stated, his gaze firm.
Guo Yingyu carefully picked up Wu Xiangmei's body and placed it on the carriage. A servant pulled the horse rope, and the horse began to walk away, dragging the carriage with Wu Xiangmei's dead body back to the Guo residence. The Wu and the rest of the Guo family members followed closely behind, a somber procession.
Inside their booked room, Zhao Renshu gently put Ping'an on the bed. He sat next to her. "Wu Xiangmei is dead," he said softly, breaking the news.
"How?" Ping'an asked, her voice weak.
"Xianmu aimed at Wu Meirong, but Wu Xiangmei used her body to block Xianmu's weapon," Zhao Renshu replied. He began to carefully take off Ping'an's clothes to check her injuries. "Where were you during the fight?"
When Ping'an pulled her arm out of her sleeve, she groaned in pain. "I was chasing after two bats that captured Lifeng."
"That's how you tore open the wound again?" Zhao Renshu asked, his brow furrowed with concern.
"I guess so," Ping'an murmured, wincing.
The door opened, and Guo Baiyu walked in with a basin of clean water and a fresh towel. Guo Baiyu put the basin on the table, then went back and closed the door softly behind him.
"What did the two of you do?" Zhao Renshu asked.
Remembering the crash, Ping'an grunted softly. "We fell, crashing into a house."
"What?" Zhao Renshu worried, his eyes wide.
"Renshu, take off her robe," Guo Baiyu instructed calmly, already preparing his medical supplies.
Zhao Renshu quickly took off the rest of her robe. Ping'an's extensive bruises froze him. He still felt guilty because if he hadn't trusted Hu Qingge during that time and Ping'an hadn't been injured, this wouldn't have happened. His thoughts still circled back to his perceived failures.
"What's the matter?" Ping'an asked, noticing his stunned expression.
"When you fell, were you at the bottom?" Zhao Renshu asked softly, his voice filled with surprise.
Ping'an nodded. "Lifeng has been very delicate since childhood. Besides, I am much stronger than her physically."
Guo Baiyu took the water basin and sat beside Ping'an on her left. He gently checked her wound. Two stitches had ripped off, and when he looked at her back, he, too, froze. Her entire back was severely bruised and injured.
"I will not re-stitch," Guo Baiyu said, his voice gentle, "because your wound is almost healed. Your upper back is bruised, and it's going to hurt for the next few days." He applied medicine to her wound and rubbed some soothing ointment on her bruised back. Then, he carefully bandaged her wound again. "You should rest. Renshu, you go boil some pain medicine. One for Ping'an and one for Childe Fang."
Ping'an almost jumped out of bed but was stopped by Zhao Renshu. "Childe Fang is hurt? What about Dachin?" she asked, immediately concerned for her friend.
"He was not injured," Zhao Renshu reassured her.
Ping'an turned to Guo Baiyu. "Thanks," she said, her voice filled with gratitude.
Guo Baiyu kissed her lips tenderly. "You rest. I am going to look at Childe Fang's wound."
"I'm going to boil the medicine," Zhao Renshu said, kissing her on her cheek. "Don't go anywhere without letting us know."
"With this condition, I don't think I can go anywhere," Ping'an murmured, trying her best to give her lovers a smile while showing as little pain as possible.
Ping'an offered a brave, tremulous smile to the two men, watching them until the door clicked shut. Only then, with the finality of that sound, did the tears she'd so fiercely held back finally cascade down her face. A dull ache settled in her chest; she couldn't recall how she'd ended up on Guo Baiyu's back, but the moments before that were searingly clear. Her father's radiant smile for Xiong Lifeng, the tender pat on her sister's head, the worried murmur in his voice – every gentle gesture, every nuanced tone, was something Ping'an had yearned for her entire life, a silent prayer never answered.
Her right hand curled into a tight fist, pressing hard against her trembling lips, desperate to stifle the raw sobs that threatened to escape. Gazing up at the indifferent, towering ceiling, she made a silent, heartbreaking promise: this would be the last time. She understood now, with a clarity that felt like a fresh wound, that no matter how tirelessly she tried, she would never, ever receive the same precious love and attention her father so freely gave to Xiong Lifeng.
Guo Baiyu stood at Fang Yaoting's bedroom door and knocked gently.
"Come in," Fang Yaoting's voice called out.
Guo Baiyu opened the door and walked in. He put the medicine box on the table. Fang Yaoting walked to the table and sat in the chair, his arm exposed.
"Take that arm out. I'll look at it," Guo Baiyu instructed.
Guo Baiyu cleaned the wound carefully, applied medicine, and then he wrapped Fang Yaoting's arm with fresh bandages.
"What is bothering you?" Guo Baiyu asked, noticing Fang Yaoting's subdued demeanor.
"Can I ask you something personal?" Fang Yaoting asked, his gaze troubled.
"Ask," Guo Baiyu replied simply.
"When Ping'an rejected you and walked away with Renshu, did you feel angry and sad?" Fang Yaoting confessed, finally voicing his deepest insecurity.
"I think my world had collapsed," Guo Baiyu admitted, a distant look in his eyes. "What happened between you and Dachin?"
"Nothing," Fang Yaoting said, frowning. "He might not feel the same way I do."
Zhao Renshu walked in just then and put a bowl of steaming medicine on the table.
"Drinking it will help relieve your pain," Guo Baiyu said to Fang Yaoting. "Please make sure the wound is clean and dry."
The two men walked out of the room and closed the door, leaving Fang Yaoting alone.
Fang Yaoting lay on the bed and muttered to himself; his voice laced with a bitter resentment. "Lee Dachin, you bastard. I protected you and I am injured, yet you don't even show up to check on me. I will make sure that you get the same amount of pain as I did."
That evening at dinner, the friends sat around a large table prepared by the innkeeper. The waiter placed all sorts of different dishes on the table. Fang Yaoting looked unhappy because Lee Dachin was not there. Everyone else was eating heartily, but Fang Yaoting only picked up his chopsticks and idly played with the rice in his bowl.
"Childe Lim, how is the street?" Guo Longtong asked, trying to make conversation.
"All the bodies have been cleaned up," Lim Peizhi replied. "The people are helping to wash the blood away."
"I need to make a suggestion," Huang Hongse said, interrupting.
"What?" Guo Longtong asked.
"Because we are all friends here," Huang Hongse stated, "we should simply call each other by our names."
"I agree," Ping'an said, her voice still a little weak but firm.
"If my wife agrees, then I agree," Zhao Renshu said, looking at Guo Baiyu for confirmation.
Guo Baiyu nodded his assent.
"A toast to us," Lim Peizhi raised his cup.
Everyone raised their cups and drank.
"It's a pity that Dachin is not here," Guo Longtong lamented. "I can say on his behalf that he agrees."
"Where is he anyway?" Huang Hongse asked.
"He went home to check on his uncle and his uncle's family," Guo Longtong replied. "I'm not sure why he has not come back yet."
"I have given him painkillers. He should be fine," Ping'an reassured them.
"Where is his house?" Huang Hongse pressed.
"I'm sorry," Guo Longtong said, looking uncomfortable. "I promised Dachin I would not tell anyone where he lives."
Fang Yaoting suddenly smashed his chopsticks on the table. "I'm full!" he declared, and went up the stairs frantically, leaving the table.
"What happened to him?" Guo Longtong asked, bewildered.
"Let's eat," Guo Baiyu said calmly, dismissing the outburst. "Only him can solve this this problem on his own. This is a problem that we cannot help him solve.