Reborn: Revenge of the Concubine's Daughter

Chapter 203 Coveting her Yunqi Acupuncture

“Making the world better?” He Danggui sneered and said, “It’s like I am a scourge. What the hell are you doing, Bai Yangbai? It’s irrational. When have I ever said that I don’t want to get married? I don’t want myself to regret, so I don’t want to marry anyone at random. Besides, I will be 14-year-old not 24-year-old after the new year. Even if I am 34-year-old, I will still choose not to marry until my Mr. Right appears. You are just my friend, not my father. It’s none of your business.” It was weird that Bai Yangbai said it. It seemed that she asked too much on Duan Meng and others, and felt sorry for them. She should marry with someone immediately in order to cut off their thoughts since she rejected them. What a weird thought!

Bai Yangbai felt a little puzzled. Indeed, why did he suddenly get angry? He was not one of “the admirers” of He Danggui. But he asked, “Why are you making such an exception to me? Why are you guarding all man except me? Don’t tell me that it because of eyes-affinity. You intertwined with me at Qunxianlou Restaurant when you firstly see me. At that time, I looked terrible.”

He Danggui asked, “So, why are you making an exception to me? You don’t spend more than three days at a place when you travel Jianghu. But you’ve been keeping appearance around me for three years. Even if you like to have fun, there is a lot of fun in the world, isn’t it?”

Seeing that Bai Yangbai couldn’t answer, she answered for him, “First of all, you are trying to find out my secrets. Because you think that I am young but sophisticated, even more experienced than you and know your Agerasia Soup and Yingying Powder. So, you suspect that I am a weirdo who has the method of keeping my appearance just like you. But if you spend a few days in Luo’s Family, inquiring about my life experience and watching the cold reception I got, you should understand that you are much better than me. You are like the dragon that has fun in the world, but I am just like a snake in the mud. Therefore, my mysterious mask was broken, and I am not as mysterious as you think. Why don’t you stay by my side rather than leaving?”

With the copper fan, Bai Yangbai hit the tree beside him, which left a deep scar on the tree. He murmured, “With your cleverness, what can I hide from you? You got me from the very beginning, and I never have the chance to push you to the wall. Besides, I have been your disciple. According to Daguomen Sect’s rules, a teacher for day is a father for life. Now, are you still worried that I am going to do something bad to you?”

He Danggui was surprised and looked at the injured trunk of the tree. She shouted, “Bai Yangbai, have you made progress of your kung fu? Don’t you say that it’s enough for you to fight the local bullies and loafers? You said that it’s useless to have too much of it.” Because of two stunts he showed, she regarded him as Feng Yang just now. He just came by the air and turned the stone into powder. Then he broke the wooden table by his fan. All of them were amazing External Boxing Arts. Even if the stone lock was fake, but the wooden table was genuine and weighted dozens of jin. Even with the use of seniors’ internal force, it was impossible for her to cut it up like that with a broadsword.

Bai Yangbai snorted and said icily, “All is fake. It’s an acrobatic show, and no one can see clearly in the depth of night. The stone lock on your neck is made of flour and lime, which I can break by using a small bomb. And I put a few small snakes around Sun Meiniang, which were dug out in the garden. As for two strokes to the wooden table and trunk, it’s because I have the fan. This copper fan is one of my defensive weapons. It has gunpowder inside, which is a treasure made in the underground ammunition yard of Quan,” Bai Yangbai suddenly waved off a branch with his fan and said, “Ah, I was totally wrong for such a long time. It is not you who admire Quan, but he is obsessed with you! I have been confused about Duan Xiaolou, that kind of fool, who has been deeply captivated by you. I don’t know the second Duan Xiaolou is not Meng Xuan, not Feng Yang. It turns out to be Quan, who is the most keen-witted and capable man.”

“You can’t talk nonsense,” He Danggui gnashed her teeth and said, “Am I not making myself clear? Why are you so sure that Lord Ning has something with me? As his closest teacher, you ought to know that all things are nothing to him except power and wealth. Person like me is worth less than the soil on his feet. Just because I have offended......”

“Ha-ha!” Bai Yangbai burst into laughing. He said, “Little girl, you seem to know him well too, but how could you not know that he is such a busy and important man. How could a man like him let his henchmen send ‘threatening letters’ to a person for three years in a row just because that person cursed him? Zhu Quan in my mind is not so boring. In his eyes, people can only be divided into ‘useful’ or ‘useless’. The former can occupy a small amount of his time, such as me. I can have tea with him in his spare time. The latter is a mass of gas to him and will be ignored when walking in front of him. You said that he had written you threatening letters, didn’t you? How many words does the letters have? I remembered that he could not write more than 100 words to his father.”

He Danggui paused for a moment and then said, “Well, you can think that I am also the former, who is ‘useful’ to him. Anyway, I just want to become the latter, who is ‘useless’ in his mind. Bai Yangbai, would you like to help me? The remuneration is negotiable.”

Bai Yangbai narrowed his eyes and thought for a moment. He said, “Option one, you marry me. Option two, you teach me all your Yunqi Acupuncture. Choose one.”

Hearing that, He Danggui felt angry, but she didn’t show it. She just gave him a sneer and said, “So, the reason why you are lurking in the Luo’s Family and the academy is to learn my Yunqi Acupuncture. Why don’t you say it earlier? Unexpectedly, there is something that has been kept in your mind for three years. And it’s my honor to have that.” She didn’t expect that Bai Yangbai, the Taoist Sage, wanted her Yunqi Acupuncture. When did it happen?

Oh, she remembered that she didn’t avoid him when she used the acupuncture to successfully save the little sparrow that a vulture had killed. Seeing that, he shocked for a moment, and then he just kept silent and contemplated. So, it turned out that he treated her differently just because she got the Yunqi Acupuncture. And he planned to get it three years ago. For her, she wanted to continue their friendship of the previous life, but he had been coveting her Yunqi Acupuncture. As the saying went, “An innocent man gets into trouble because of his wealth.” Even if an immortal figure like Bai Yangbai couldn’t escape from the common customs.

Bai Yangbai nodded his head frankly and said, “I am very curious about your acupuncture technique, and I am very fond of the result which can bring the dead back to life of this acupuncture. So, by your side, I have more chances to see that. But in these three years, I couldn’t know anything about that, even now, nothing. Speaking of this, the Yunqi Acupuncture is the first thing that I am dying to figure out in the ten decades. As for you, girl, I am curious about you, and I appreciate you. Sometimes I feel a little sorry for you, which is all true. Seeing that you are clever and transparent but are trapped in the strange circle of obsessiveness, I feel deeply sorry and want to pull you out. Didn’t you ask me to pretend as a rich businessman to make a proposal? Why don’t we get married by taking advantage of this opportunity and let me help you out of the misery?”

He Danggui stepped onto the grass and pinched up a green foxtail with dew. She stretched out her hand to Bai Yangbai and said, “Let’s sit down and have our talk. My legs are sore for standing so long. It seems that although you and I looked like intimate and tacit three years ago, but all of that is superficial. We have a lot of misunderstandings between us.” If those words were said by Meng Xuan or any of others, instead of Bai Yangbai, she would be badly mad and then broke with the person. But it was Bai Yangbai, the kind of person without any burden that she most wants to be. He was the closest person to her heart. If she had alienated him, would she have become a loner?

Bai Yangbai sprawled on the grass and asked, “Talk about what? Do you think that I’m asking too much? But sorry, this time, I won’t accept any changes. If you don’t like to talk with me about business, you can also go to find Meng Xuan. You said that you are afraid of troubling him, but actually, you don’t trust him anymore. I suggest you to ask him for help. I know a little about him, and he is not as bad as you think.”

“Oh? How much do you know about him?” He Danggui dropped the dew off the green foxtail, and her face also felt a little coolness. She said, “I do not believe that you know him better than me.”

Bai Yangbai yawned and half squinted his eyes. He said, “Although your relationship is close, you may be not a patch on me about understanding Meng Xuan. But it doesn’t matter. It will be not interesting if a man and a woman understand each other too clearly. How about the two options about my rewards? Which one do you prefer?”

He Danggui said in a dull nasal voice, “Do you have to talk to me in anger? I don’t even get angry that you want my Yunqi Acupuncture and have been lurking around me for three years. Are you going to be indifferent with me just because I want to hire you to make peace with Lord Ning? You are a smart person. Can’t you distinguish it whether I made use of you or truly treated you?” Everyone had secrets. Bai Yangbai hid his secret recipe, and she also needed to be careful to keep her secret. It had nothing to do with generous or petty. It was because there was a great secret in her acupuncture which her grandfather had discovered. She could not easily show it to others, otherwise sooner or later she would be killed.

“Girl, no matter how wise a person is, he would make mistakes,” Bai Yangbai smiled bitterly and said, “From my perspective, you often got confused, especially on love. It seems that you know almost everything but love. I don’t know what is going on between you and Quan. But if you are really disgusted with him and would rather die than be his woman, in that way, there are only a few people who can help you at present. And even if there is one can help you, the person also needs to take a lot of risks. The probability of success is only 50%...”

“How did you figure that out?” He Danggui interrupted, “I think it’s 90%.”

Bai Yangbai lowered his voice on purpose and said, “Here is the most important thing. No matter who you are going to find, Meng Xuan or me, it’s absolutely useless to pretend propose. According to my understanding of the Quan, he is determined to own you, even if you got married. If your husband is not strong enough, and he was given an opportunity, he would try to get you. He is the man–who wouldn’t give up until he reaches his goal.”

He Danggui frowned and said, “Don’t frighten me with your nonsense. I have been very afraid, so that’s why I need your help. Can’t you take my side this time? I am only an insignificant person, and that couldn’t influence on Lord Ning’s great cause, nor will it be a betrayal of him. Why don’t you trust me after what I am saying to you? Zhu Quan doesn’t love me at all, nor care for me. It is a definite success with your assistance!”

Scratching his eyelids, Bai Yangbai recalled, “A year ago，I went to Daning and stayed in Quan’s mansion for a couple of days. I saw his several fair-haired concubines. At first glance, I think one was you, because the figure is so similar with you. Ah, not only did they wear the same clothes, but they also wore camellias without gold or silver on their hair. Because I just left the Luo’s Mansion, I could clearly remember that they were dressed exactly like the last time I saw you. At that time, I sighed that women just liked to follow the fashion and all liked a certain style of fashion at a certain period of time. Then when I came near to see their faces, I was slightly surprised. They all looked more or less like you, and one of them was 60 or 70 percent like you.”