Chapter 21: Sisters Part 1

When He Meijie first mentioned Sang Xi, Yu Ruoyin had instinctively imagined a vicious stepmother following He Meijie’s train of thought. Later, as the story was overturned time and again, Sang Xi’s image kept changing, and the vague outline she sketched grew even blurrier.

It was only when she truly met Sang Xi that Yu Ruoyin realized she differed from every single one of her imaginings.

She somewhat resembled He Meijie in her facial features, especially her eyes.

It was just that her eyes carried the pain brought by age, while He Meijie’s eyes were much sharper.

The eyes filled with tears held a sense of ashen despair. At this moment, she resembled a withered lotus, its leaves decayed and yellowed, hanging askew, as if the next instant, the rotting roots would drag it into the mud until it fully decomposed.

Yu Ruoyin looked at Sang Xi and unexpectedly felt a twinge of pity.

She stared at Sang Xi, finding her increasingly strange.

Yu Ruoyin vaguely felt that Sang Xi gave her a very familiar sensation. Though it was their first meeting, she pitied Sang Xi and wanted to comfort her pain; even the thought of fleeing had faded.

This was not right.

After all, she was a married woman.

Jiang Huaining did not pay attention to her. She quietly gazed at Sang Xi. “Do you want to live?”

Sang Xi did not answer her. She still passively leaned in Lu Qingzhen’s embrace, her vacant eyes unable to take in anyone. “I lost.”

Yu Ruoyin nearly had the illusion that Jiang Huaining and Sang Xi knew each other, yet Jiang Huaining had just asked about Sang Xi’s identity.

It was too strange.

She had just remembered Jiang Huaining’s instructions and had not yet had a chance to voice them when He Meijie suddenly floated out from inside the Black Umbrella.

He Meijie had thought about many things during this time, suspecting Sang Xi and Tong Sangqian over and over, only to deny it again and again.

She was no longer as extreme as before. Now, seeing the dying Sang Xi, the first thing that seized her heart was pain.

“Little Mom.”

The familiar voice brought light back to Sang Xi’s dim eyes. Her eyelashes trembled rapidly twice, and her gaze turned to He Meijie. The instant she clearly saw He Meijie, it was as if she had been reinfused with vitality. Her whole body regained strength. Sang Xi struggled with hands and feet, actually crawling out from Lu Qingzhen’s embrace.

Her fingers were bent from severe external injuries, yet her target was very clear.

Sang Xi struggled, reaching her hand toward He Meijie. “Little Miss.”

Sang Xi was too gravely injured. Her entire hand was somewhat crooked and twisted, the bones unable to straighten.

“Little Mom!” He Meijie could no longer think of questioning Sang Xi. Her soul arrived at Sang Xi’s side and knelt down, pressing that face against Sang Xi’s palm. “Little Mom, how… how did you end up like this?”

Sang Xi’s hand was already overwhelmed by pain, the blood and filth in her palm thick and pungent.

Though He Meijie was a soul and no trace of fresh red could stain her face, Sang Xi still struggled to wrap her mangled hand with a relatively clean sleeve before fully pressing it against He Meijie’s soul, caressing the prominent scars on her face.

She did not answer He Meijie but instead touched the scars imprinted on the soul over and over, gradually breaking into sobs. “Little Miss, how much it must have hurt you.”

Sang Xi truly did not seem like someone who would harm He Meijie.

She was indifferent to the wounds covering her own body yet wept over He Meijie’s scars.

“I…” He Meijie had many words she wanted to say, but when they reached her lips, nothing came out.

She even began to regret it, regretting why she had suspected Sang Xi.

Anything could be faked.

But twelve years of meticulous gentleness could not.

Sang Xi did not need her regret or her guilt.

She merely tried over and over to stroke He Meijie’s scars, delusionally hoping to make the wounds fade. “Little Miss, where did you go? We looked for you for so long, tried summoning your soul, guiding your soul, every method possible, but we could never find you. I thought you were blaming me, blaming me for not protecting you well, so you wouldn’t come see me… Little Miss, I’m sorry. Mom didn’t mean to. I didn’t know… didn’t know how things came to this. Clearly… I’m sorry, really sorry. It’s all my fault. I couldn’t protect your mom, nor you.”

Sang Xi was too gravely injured. The more urgent her words, the faster the blood surged from her body.

Her body had already begun to stiffen slightly, and the raised hand could only drop helplessly.

She could barely sit up, but He Meijie held her. “Little Mom, the one who should say sorry is me.”

He Meijie felt she had been wrong. She should not have suspected recklessly.

No one cared about her more than Sang Xi.

She would not harm her, nor would Tong Sangqian.

Yu Ruoyin watched in a daze when Jiang Huaining suddenly pinched her arm. She reacted quickly and caught Sang Xi’s words. “Ghost Slave Seal! There’s a ghost slave seal on her soul. Her master seems not to want you two to meet.”

Sang Xi was drawn by her words and subconsciously reached toward the back of He Meijie’s neck, but for her on the brink of death, it was too difficult.

Her arm lifted once after another, only to be forced back down again and again.

He Meijie grasped her arm and guided her hand to the back of her neck. “Little Mom, don’t worry. I did business with them. They helped me resolve the ghost slave seal and promised to help me get revenge. Tell me who harmed you—your enemy is my enemy. This must surely be within their scope of business.”

She looked at Jiang Huaining with expectation, but Jiang Huaining grabbed Yu Ruoyin’s arm and pulled her close.

Yu Ruoyin avoided He Meijie’s hopeful gaze and carefully asked Sang Xi, “You… what is your wish right now?”

“Yu Ruoyin! You mustn’t do business with her!” Lu Qingzhen blocked Yu Ruoyin. “She’s a criminal of the Netherworld.”

“Sister Qingzhen, didn’t you just want to save her?”

“Her soul has a problem. Once her body dies, the entire soul will scatter. If I don’t save her, how can I bring her back to the Netherworld to turn her in?”

Zhuang Ciyue and Xing Ruoyan also hurried over.

Zhuang Ciyue rushed anxiously into the group of fallen people and helped up an old lady with graying hair.

Xing Ruoyan had wanted to go over too but, hearing Lu Qingzhen’s voice, came closer instead. She gave Sang Xi a strange look. “Turn her in?”

Seeing her colleague, Lu Qingzhen immediately complained, “Yeah, she’s the one who raised jade puppets, but both ended up ruined. Now not a single one obeys her.”

“You…” Xing Ruoyan looked at Sang Xi in disbelief. “How did you manage that?”

“Xing Ruoyan, is that the point? The point is she’s awful!” Lu Qingzhen glared discontentedly. If not for the situation, she would have wanted to string up Xing Ruoyan and beat her soundly right then. “Look at what she’s done to those people. If I weren’t strong, I’d be lying there with them.”

Sang Xi leaned against He Meijie, already utterly weak. “Didn’t you see it wasn’t me controlling the jade puppets just now?”

“I saw, but Xia Yu has already gone after him. He won’t get away, and neither will you.”

Sang Xi ignored Lu Qingzhen’s threat and forced herself to look at Yu Ruoyin. “Who are you people? What deal did Little Miss make with you?”

Yu Ruoyin hesitated to answer for a moment.

Sang Xi cared so much about He Meijie; if she learned He Meijie had sold her soul to them, who knew what her reaction would be.

But if she didn’t say it, Xing Ruoyan always would. “They’re from the Four Spirits Shop. Your niece traded her soul flying and spirit scattering to them, and they promised to help your niece and her older sister get revenge.”

“Niece…” Sang Xi was stunned for a moment and looked up at He Meijie. “You knew too?”

“Mm!” He Meijie nodded vigorously.

Sang Xi was slightly dazed. Her gaze looked ahead to the two jade puppets entangled in combat.

He Meijie followed her gaze.

Even from afar, she had a familiar feeling. “That’s… that’s Dad, and my… little sister?”

Sang Xi nodded dully. “Qianqian wanted revenge for you. It’s me… my fault. I…”

She could not get the full words out. Yu Ruoyin could not bear to watch and shifted her gaze away, but Sang Xi suddenly leaned toward her. Her hand had no strength left, so she bit Yu Ruoyin’s pant leg with her teeth. “You… can you cancel the deal with Little Miss and change the trading partner to me…? I know the Four Spirits Shop’s deals are harsh, only doing business with those fated, but my sister cared most about Little Miss. She can’t die. She has to live. She…”

He Meijie supported Sang Xi’s shoulders, helping her up and letting her lean into her embrace. She interrupted Sang Xi’s pleas. “Little Mom, I’m already dead.”

Sang Xi’s eyes lost focus for an instant, as if she still could not accept He Meijie’s death.

At such a time, He Meijie showed an unusual silence from the past. She hugged Sang Xi tightly and whispered softly in her ear, “If I go reincarnate, I’ll forget Mom, forget you, and… forget little sister too. I don’t want to forget you all.”

Sang Xi completely stiffened, tears surging from her vacant eyes. “I’m sorry, really sorry.”

Each apology was filled with self-reproach.

This did not stir up He Meijie’s suspicions; instead, it made her feel some heartache. “Little Mom, don’t be like this. I… can we not talk about this? They said Mom’s tomb is empty. Do you know where her body went? You should know, right?”

Mentioning Tong Weixue elicited an even greater reaction from Sang Xi.

Blood tears welled in her eyes, her gaze fixed sharply ahead, hiding sharp blades. “Big Sis… Big Sis was eaten by He Fengxi. He… he ate my big sis!”

—

Sang Xi was eight years younger than Tong Weixue.

The first time she saw Tong Weixue, she was only two.

Because she was too young, Sang Xi did not remember what Tong Weixue looked like at their first meeting. She only knew from childhood that she had a sister as beautiful as a celestial fairy.

Sang Xi loved watching cartoons as a child and always felt her sister was like the goddesses in them.

Her sister was always distant from her, and the occasional glances carried faint detachment and coldness. But beneath the seemingly aloof exterior was a gentle heart.

She was young and did not know what half-siblings meant, nor why her sister never called their mother “Mom.”

She only knew she liked Mom a lot and liked her sister a lot.

Mom also said she could get closer to her sister.

That was wonderful—she liked her sister the most.

Sang Xi almost made sticking to her sister her most essential homework.

Father always said not to bother her sister all the time, or her sister would hate her.

In Father’s heart, her sister was not close to their family. She was cold and distant, without heart or emotion. What she wanted most was to escape, and what she hated most was family.

Sang Xi thought Father must be too old, his eyes grown dim with age. He could not see her sister peeling eggs for her, feeding her fruit in corners, or braiding her messy hair like Mom did when they bumped into each other. Sang Xi firmly believed her sister just did not know how to express it, so she often argued with her old father on her sister’s behalf.

Father was always indulgent toward her sister but strict with her. Every quarrel, she was punished by kneeling in the living room.

But kneeling was a good thing, because her sister would keep her company.