Chapter 15: Xu Ruo? Last Words?

A loud buzzing filled the air.

The force of the slap was tremendous—Xu Ye staggered back, his ears ringing incessantly.

“You, woman, why do you strike without cause?” Lin Buyu, having finally come to her senses, supported Xu Ye with one hand and forcefully pushed the woman away with the other.

“This slap is for the dozens of lives in the Xu family! For my cousin Xu Yinyin, for my cousin Xu Yuan!” the woman shouted, her beautiful features twisted in rage. “If it weren’t for your shamelessness, your lust for that courtesan, how could you have invited disaster into your home? You doomed the entire Xu family!”

With her finger jabbing toward Xu Ye, her accusations were sharp and venomous.

From her words, Lin Buyu quickly surmised the woman’s identity.

“Why wasn’t it you who died, you worthless wretch? Why did it have to be Xu Yuan? Why!” she wailed. “In just half a year, he would have taken his post at the Feng Tian Academy. The Xu family was on the cusp of revival! In just two months, I would have—”

She choked, unable to finish her sentence, and her voice quavered with anguish. “Of all the Xu family, you, Xu Ye, are the one most deserving of death!”

Her fury seemed almost to rob her of reason; she launched into another tirade.

At her words, something shifted in Xu Ye’s mind. Memories began to surface, information about this woman flooding his thoughts.

This was Xu Ruo. Her great-great-grandfather and Xu Ye’s own shared the same ancestor, Xu Jiugong. After the family split, her branch settled in Yu City to the west, where the family flourished, eventually surpassing the main branch. They became known as the Xu family of Yu City.

Relations between the Yu City branch and Xu Ye’s family were tenuous, connected only by the distant bond of their common ancestor. But Xu Ruo and her brother Xu Jun were close with Xu Yuan, who studied at the same academy.

Xu Ye’s father had hoped to mend ties with the Yu City branch, and as Xu Yuan and Xu Ruo were mutually fond of each other, the two families arranged their engagement earlier that spring. They were to marry in just a few months.

“So Xu Ruo is technically my brother’s fiancée. No wonder my brother still thought of her even at the end. No wonder she’s so bitter.”

Thinking of Xu Yuan, the anger Xu Ye had felt toward the woman before him faded away.

He could still recall, vividly, how Xu Yuan had shielded him in the ancestral hall that day.

In both this life and the last, he owed his elder brother a great debt.

“You’re my cousin Xu Ruo, aren’t you?” Xu Ye straightened his back and looked at the woman, who was now standing behind Lin Buyu.

“Don’t call my name! I’m not your cousin!” she spat, her anger undiminished.

“My brother left you a message before he died,” Xu Ye said calmly, meeting her gaze.

“What message?” she demanded, shock overtaking her rage.

“He asked me to tell you: ‘In this life, I regret nothing in meeting you. May we meet again beneath the golden elm tree in the next.’”

Xu Ye repeated Xu Yuan’s last words to Xu Ruo.

She froze, as if turned to stone. Tears began to fall silently down her cheeks.

Lin Buyu, witnessing this, understood most of what had transpired. Though she had no beloved herself, she could empathize with the sorrow of lovers separated by death.

“Miss Xu, if your heart aches, let yourself weep. Today is a day of rest; there are few people in the academy,” Lin Buyu said gently, draping an arm over Xu Ruo’s shoulders.

At those words, Xu Ruo lost all restraint. She clung to Lin Buyu, burying her face in her chest, and sobbed uncontrollably.

“Brother Xu Yuan… He was the only one in this world, aside from my parents, who truly cared for me. After my mother died, I only knew happiness again when I met him… And now he’s gone, leaving me in confusion and grief…”

Listening to her broken sobs, Xu Ye sighed softly, resolving inwardly: “I must uncover the truth behind the Xu family’s tragedy. For myself, yes—but also for those left behind.”

If he didn’t uncover why these evil spirits targeted his family, he wouldn’t have any peace, no matter what advantages his transmigration had brought him.

Above all, he owed it to his brother’s fiancée to give her closure, or this would haunt her for life.

“Wait… ‘May we meet again beneath the golden elm tree…’ The golden elm?” Xu Ruo, still steeped in grief, suddenly looked up in shock. “Are you sure your brother said the golden elm?”

“I’m sure,” Xu Ye replied.

Seeing her expression, he realized his brother’s words might hold a deeper meaning.

“Where are you going now?” Xu Ruo asked urgently, not waiting for Xu Ye to speak.

“We’re heading to the City Medical Office, to see Yinyin,” Xu Ye replied.

“I have somewhere to go first. Wait for me at the City Medical Office. You mustn’t go anywhere until I return!” Xu Ruo hurried out, leaving Xu Ye and Lin Buyu exchanging glances.

…

City Medical Office.

“Junior Lin, Miss Xu is just inside,” a plump medical officer said, leading Lin Buyu and Xu Ye to a patient’s room.

This world’s medical office was much like a rural clinic from the 1970s or 80s in Xu Ye’s original world, though the doctors and decor were distinctly traditional.

“Thank you, Sixth Brother,” Lin Buyu said sweetly to the hefty officer.

“No need for thanks between us, Junior,” he said with a smile, then turned serious. “Since she woke up, Miss Xu’s emotions have been unstable. Please don’t mention her appearance in front of her.”

Xu Ye frowned slightly. On the way over, Lin Buyu had already told him that Yinyin’s life was saved, but her face was likely ruined.

A girl of fifteen or sixteen cares deeply about her looks; the blow of such an injury was unimaginable.

“Don’t mention her face,” Lin Buyu whispered before opening the door.

“I know. She’s my little sister,” Xu Ye replied.

Knock, knock, knock.

Lin Buyu gently rapped on the door.

“Who is it?” A wary, flustered girl’s voice called from inside after just one knock.

“Miss Xu, it’s me—Lin Buyu,” she replied.

“Please, you don’t need to see me, Sister Buyu. I don’t want to see anyone,” came the weak voice from behind the door.

“You—”

“Yinyin, it’s me—your second brother. I’ve come to see you,” Xu Ye interrupted.

“Second Brother!” Yinyin’s voice inside was filled with surprise and delight. There was a flurry of hurried footsteps.

With a sharp click, the door was thrown open. A barefoot girl in a thin robe peeked out, her face alight with joy. “Second Brother, you’re finally awake!”

Her face was covered with pitted scars, her head completely bald, but her eyes remained clear and pure.

Though Xu Ye had seen her face in worse condition before, his heart was still struck hard by the sight. Pity shone in his eyes.

The change lasted only a moment, yet the sensitive girl caught it.

She froze, then suddenly reached to her cheek. Realizing she’d come out bare-faced, she cried out, spun around, and dashed back into the room.

“Go away, please go away!” she pleaded, her voice breaking. “Please, I beg you, leave! Second Brother, I don’t want you to see me like this—please, just go!”

By the time Xu Ye and Lin Buyu hurried after her, Yinyin had wrapped herself tightly in a bedsheet, trembling in the corner, begging them repeatedly to leave.

“Yinyin, calm down. This is only temporary. In time, your face will surely heal,” Xu Ye reassured her, seeing her distress mounting.

“Second Brother, you don’t have to lie to me. My face is ruined. I’ll look like this for the rest of my life,” Yinyin sobbed.

“If you don’t believe me, surely you can trust Miss Buyu. Her master is famed in the imperial city—she’ll be able to heal you,” Xu Ye continued, giving Lin Buyu a meaningful glance.