"Zhang Yajing!" Chu Qingze's eyes widened. "Why did you poison yourself? Weren't you trying to kill me?"
Rong Zhi was somewhat surprised. What had happened between these two in the past few days?
"I don't want to hear your stories. I need to detoxify you first."
Rong Zhi grabbed Zhang Yajing's pulse. Judging by the pulse, it wasn't just one poison, but several mixed together, all highly potent. She had clearly decided to die.
"You two, get out," Rong Zhi said to Chu Qingze and Xia Yunting. Then, grabbing Zhang Yajing's collar, she was about to undress her when Zhang Yajing shook her head.
"No, don't bother," she said, tears streaking her face. Her complexion was already fading, her life force visibly draining. She tightly gripped Rong Zhi's hand, preventing her from treating her. "I want to speak with... Dr. Chu, alone."
Rong Zhi's expression darkened. She released her hand. "Fine. If you insist on dying, I won't stop you." With that, she quickly put a pill into Zhang Yajing's mouth and, before Zhang Yajing could react, pushed it down her throat.
"This will keep you alive a bit longer, otherwise you won't even be able to finish these few words."
Hearing this explanation, Zhang Yajing's rising tension subsided. Her gaze towards Rong Zhi held a hint of gratitude.
"Let's go," she said, grabbing Xia Yunting and leading him out. They didn't go far, however, and stood by the door, listening.
Rong Zhi listened intently, her expression focused. She didn't feel like she was eavesdropping. Her entire concern was for the patient's life. Seeing her tense and serious demeanor, Xia Yunting's mind involuntarily reverted to the past.
Inside, Zhang Yajing looked at Chu Qingze with a face full of guilt.
"I'm sorry, Chu Qingze. You said those things in front of so many people for me. I'm afraid you won't be able to stay in Changping County anymore..."
Chu Qingze's eyes were filled with regret. He wanted to grab Zhang Yajing's hand, but as he approached, the image of the bloodied woman with surgical scars still unbidden appeared in his mind. He hated himself.
He comforted her, "I was staying here to investigate the matter of Swallow Mountain. Now that it's over, I don't care about that."
Zhang Yajing curled her lips into a tragic smile. "You are so good. You finish your business and leave, leaving me to face a disgraced father. Who will see me from now on without saying 'the daughter of a corrupt official'? What's the point of me living?"
Chu Qingze lowered his head.
Zhang Yajing looked into the distance, as if recalling something. "Do you know, for the past two days... I've been reading medical books. I was looking for a poison... a poison you couldn't detect. I wanted to poison you, Chu Qingze. I hate you so much."
"I'm sorry," his voice was hoarse.
"But..." Zhang Yajing coughed twice before continuing, "my father truly harmed people, and you were not wrong... Even if you hadn't poisoned me, even if you hadn't threatened my father with this, my father would still have listened to them... That's just the kind of person my father is, timid and greedy... In the end, I still couldn't bring myself to kill you..."
So, she could only kill herself.
Chu Qingze felt dizzy. Zhang Yajing's face in front of him transformed into that of his master's wife, lying on the cold bed, looking up at the sky in despair, letting out a cry for help.
"Zhang Yajing! You must not die! I wronged you. I will make sure you live well."
Zhang Yajing shook her head. "Sometimes, dying is easier than living."
She reached out to touch Chu Qingze's face, but halfway there, Chu Qingze instinctively took a step back. Zhang Yajing dejectedly lowered her hand.
"Chu Qingze, can I ask you for a favor? Consider it my last wish before I die..."
"Tell me, I will definitely grant it," Chu Qingze nodded forcefully, enduring the discomfort in his body.
"Spend one night with me. Perhaps by dawn, I will be dead."
Though she spoke of death, her tone was remarkably light, as if death were not a sorrowful event but a release.
"Alright, I promise you." His hand trembled as he slowly clasped Zhang Yajing's fingertips. Even at that moment, countless bloody and disgusting scenes flashed through his mind. His face was as pale as paper, yet he did not let go.
When Chu Qingze carried Zhang Yajing out, Rong Zhi and Xia Yunting were watching from the sides of the doorway. Before leaving, Chu Qingze glanced at Rong Zhi.
Rong Zhi gave him a reassuring look. Chu Qingze remembered the pill from earlier and nodded before, slightly staggering, carrying Zhang Yajing out.
When they had walked away, Rong Zhi said to Xia Yunting, "Let's go, follow them."
Xia Yunting asked, "Aren't you giving them some space?"
"One is critically poisoned, and the other's inner demons are affecting his physical condition. Can I be at ease with these two going out alone?"
"If you're not going, I will," Rong Zhi stopped wasting words with him and hurried after them. Xia Yunting quickly followed.
Yunshui Village was close to the mountain road. It was a full moon night. The soft, silvery moonlight and the brilliant starlight cast upon the hillside grass looked truly beautiful.
Chu Qingze, after carrying her halfway, lost his strength and collapsed to his knees.
Zhang Yajing stepped down and knelt on the ground, looking at Chu Qingze. Sweat beaded on his forehead, and his body trembled slightly with fear. His breathing became rapid, making him look even worse than her, the one who was poisoned.
But Zhang Yajing did nothing. She simply retreated further away.
"I'm sorry, Zhang Yajing, for making you laugh at me." After he finally recovered somewhat, Chu Qingze smiled at Zhang Yajing. Zhang Yajing shook her head.
"Actually, seeing you in so much pain makes me feel quite good."
After saying that, they both laughed.
Chu Qingze extended his hand, and Zhang Yajing took it. They helped each other up and slowly walked up the hillside. They walked extremely slowly, stopping to rest every few steps. But the further they walked, the brighter the scenery became. The grass rustled in the wind, sounding incredibly serene in the night.
After an unknown amount of time, they finally reached an open area. They breathed in the fresh air, gazed at the distant forest, and felt a sense of boundless freedom carried on the breeze.
"Ah, the air is so good," Zhang Yajing took a deep breath, but it triggered a coughing fit.
Chu Qingze was somewhat puzzled. "I've always been curious, when did you start hating me?"
In his impression, Zhang Yajing had always been carefree, openly displaying her emotions, never hiding anything. Therefore, when Zhang Yajing had openly declared her affection for him daily, he truly believed she liked him and didn't think much of it. But when he saw Zhang Yajing feign drunkenness that night and pour out her hatred, he realized that this girl had a hidden side.
She hated him. Chu Qingze actually felt somewhat relieved. Otherwise, he would have been crushed by the boundless guilt.
Zhang Yajing smiled at him. "When I learned that my illness was caused by you, when my father was arrested and imprisoned, when I learned that my father's many wrongdoings were due to your threats."
In fact, there were many other times. Zhang Yajing had fallen in love with Chu Qingze first. Otherwise, she wouldn't have become so conflicted, distressed, and pained when she discovered these things.
"But these loves and hates are not important. Once I'm dead, everything will be resolved." She imagined herself dead, as if shedding all her troubles and returning to her carefree self from before.
"I wonder what that world is like. Will my grandmother and grandfather be waiting for me there... Hey! Look, there's a little rabbit!" Zhang Yajing pointed to a patch of grass in the distance and exclaimed excitedly.
"Rabbit, don't run!"
She shouted and chased after it.
"Hey!" Chu Qingze had wanted to stop her, but seeing Zhang Yajing so excited, and seemingly having no physical problems, he let her go.
Unexpectedly, as soon as Zhang Yajing entered the grass, her foot slipped. "Oof," she cried, falling down.
"Zhang Yajing!" Chu Qingze was startled and rushed forward to check. Seeing Zhang Yajing lying on the ground with her eyes closed, her face pale under the moonlight, Chu Qingze's heart almost stopped.
"Are you alright?" He squatted down and patted Zhang Yajing's face. The next moment, his vision blurred. His neck was grabbed by a hand, and Zhang Yajing suddenly stood up and planted a kiss on his lips.
Chu Qingze was stunned.
"Hahaha... Gotcha?" Zhang Yajing was in fits of laughter, clapping her hands as she watched Chu Qingze's dumbfounded reaction.
Chu Qingze touched his lips. Strange, this feeling didn't disgust him, nor did it bring back the terrifying memories of the past.
"You won't be angry, will you? I'm dying, so don't hold it against me," Zhang Yajing said playfully, but she still cautiously observed Chu Qingze's reaction, afraid he would be angry.
Chu Qingze came back to his senses and said uncomfortably, "How can a young lady be so frivolous?"
Zhang Yajing said nothing, merely tilting her head and smiling.
"It seems you're not completely averse to women. You might be able to marry a beautiful wife in the future."
Marry a wife? He had no hope for that. After discovering Zhang Yajing researching various poisons, he had already resigned himself to death. What if Zhang Yajing killed him? It would be his just desserts. But she hadn't killed him; instead, she had swallowed poison herself.
Zhang Yajing sighed as if recalling something. "I won't live to see that day. Before I die, I've already ruined someone's wedding."
She felt very guilty about this.
She had originally intended to kill Chu Qingze in the mass grave, but as she was about to act, she changed her mind. Chu Qingze was attending the wedding, and she thought that poisoning him amidst the crowd would be undetectable. Thus, she had followed him there under some strange compulsion, but at the last moment, she couldn't go through with it.
She hadn't wanted to cause a scene and would have just gone to die quietly. She hadn't expected to be recognized. The bride and groom must resent her.
"I will compensate them for you," Chu Qingze's words at the banquet were not just empty promises.
"Forget it, forget it," Zhang Yajing waved her hand. "One person's actions, one person's responsibility. If I can live until tomorrow morning, I will apologize to them in person. I hope they will let me enter..."
She mused, though she knew deep down that she likely wouldn't live until morning. Although Rong Zhi had given her some pill that temporarily eased her pain, she had just felt a burning sensation in her internal organs. Her internal organs were probably already damaged.
"I will compensate them." If there was fault, wasn't his fault even greater?
Zhang Yajing lay on the grass, resting her arm on her head and gazing at the starry sky. "Chu Qingze, before I die, you must send me home..."