Chapter 41: Favoritism Part 1

She saw Jiang Huaining again.

Trembling long lashes, gentle eyes.

Everything was a sign of her awakening, and bitterness welled up in Yu Ruoyin’s heart. Her breathing even paused for a moment.

Guilt crept into her heart, overwhelming all other emotions. “Sor… sorry. If only I were stronger… I shouldn’t have brought you out. It was my selfishness. It was me… I…”

Yu Ruoyin’s voice broke intermittently. She had so much she wanted to say, but it all jumbled together.

The guilt mixed with bitterness in her voice made one’s heart ache.

Jiang Huaining couldn’t help but hold her even tighter. The warm embrace enveloped her, and her fingertips pressed against Yu Ruoyin’s trembling lips. “A-Yin is so good. You didn’t make me lose you again. Waking up to see you makes me very happy.”

It must have been because her voice was too gentle. The heart that had just managed to toughen up softened again.

Yu Ruoyin bit her lower lip hard, barely suppressing the urge to cry out loud.

She couldn’t cry. She had no right to cry.

The new troubles weighed on Jiang Huaining, who had just awakened from her sleep. She had been saved, but Jiang Huaining still didn’t know what kind of torment awaited her.

She had clearly resolved to take good care of Jiang Huaining and never cause her more trouble, but many things couldn’t be achieved with determination alone. For instance, she had tried so hard for so long just to let her sleep peacefully, only to end up waiting for her to wake and save her in the end.

Jiang Huaining read the guilt in her eyes and held Yu Ruoyin close. “A-Yin, you took very good care of me. I didn’t wake up against my will. Time flows faster inside the barrier than outside. I woke up only after resting well.”

“But… but your hand.”

Jiang Huaining’s left hand rested against Yu Ruoyin’s waist. Yu Ruoyin could even feel the marks where two fingers were missing on her lower back.

The bitterness didn’t fade; it grew even heavier.

Jiang Huaining quietly hid her left hand behind her back. “New ones will grow back.”

Yu Ruoyin pushed against Jiang Huaining’s shoulders and wriggled out of her embrace.

She stared at Jiang Huaining’s face and saw no trace of discomfort there.

Whether she had woken only after resting well or her fingers would grow back, Jiang Huaining hadn’t lied to her.

Yu Ruoyin finally felt a little relieved. She quietly let out a breath.

Before she could recover, Jiang Huaining hugged her again. “A-Yin, this isn’t fair.”

Of course, she knew what Yu Ruoyin was observing. Jiang Huaining didn’t mind Yu Ruoyin knowing she couldn’t lie, but she did mind a little that Yu Ruoyin didn’t trust her.

Though she had told quite a few white lies, she should still have the right to some trust. After all, she had many secrets she couldn’t voice, and many things wouldn’t hold up under Yu Ruoyin’s close scrutiny every time.

The embrace blocked Yu Ruoyin from seeing her current expression and also released her own longing and worries.

The time in coma hadn’t been long, but she had thought of her the whole time.

Actually, Jiang Huaining hadn’t told Yu Ruoyin many things. For example, the red jade fruit could indeed let her eavesdrop on Yu Ruoyin’s conversations with others, even talk to her and see the scenery she saw. But that required her to be awake. When she was in a coma, she saw and heard nothing. She could only sense that Yu Ruoyin was in danger—not because of any special property of the red jade fruit, but because it was entwined with her spiritual energy. Her spiritual energy automatically protected Yu Ruoyin when she was in danger, which was why she could sever her fingers for her while in a coma.

That was the only way she could help Yu Ruoyin, because she truly couldn’t wake up.

Waking up last time had already been a struggle. Even if she wanted to wake and protect her, she was powerless.

She couldn’t resist her physiological instincts either, but fortunately, help had arrived in time.

At this moment, she felt a bit fortunate. Judging from Yu Ruoyin’s current reaction, if she had forced herself to wake up, Yu Ruoyin might have died of guilt.

Really, very good.

She could feel that Yu Ruoyin cared deeply about her.

What Jiang Huaining didn’t know was that this embrace not only hid her own guilt but also Yu Ruoyin’s.

Her words about unfairness made Yu Ruoyin’s heart drum with anxiety. Yu Ruoyin had lied to Jiang Huaining before, yet she observed her this way to check if she was lying. She suspected herself of taking advantage of Jiang Huaining’s inability to lie, and couldn’t help feeling ashamed and conscience-stricken.

“Jiang… Boss Jiang.” Nan He’s frail voice broke the silence between them.

Jiang Huaining abruptly looked up and finally noticed Nan He, who was fully resisting the altar.

At this moment, Nan He’s Buddhist power had reached its limit. Her body was connected to the blood corpse; the more damaged the blood corpse became, the faster her spiritual power drained. Though she had damaged the altar, she couldn’t suppress it. She was on the verge of having all her power worn away by the altar.

It would be worth it in a desperate moment, but now Jiang Huaining was here.

She wasn’t foolish enough not to ask for help.

Jiang Huaining released Yu Ruoyin and leaped up.

Ignoring the Buddhist light, Jiang Huaining grabbed Nan He and forcefully separated her from the hanging corpse. Though she still didn’t know exactly what had happened, this altar was clearly something sinister.

Jiang Huaining tossed Nan He back to the ground and raised her hand with a fierce push. The entire ceiling collapsed instantly, and the hanging corpses fell one by one.

“Nan Chun!” Fearing the corpses would smash into Lu Qichun still in the blood pool, Nan He rushed over immediately.

With the altar destroyed, nothing blocked her approach anymore.

She smoothly pulled Lu Qichun out and jumped into another room.

Yu Ruoyin was already having trouble standing steady. She hadn’t rested the whole way, and now she was injured by Nan He’s Buddhist power. As the ghostified parts of her body shrank, the fatigue grew heavier. She still carried the coffin on her, and the yin sinking wood dragged her body toward the ground. The collapsing ceiling loomed before her eyes.

Before Yu Ruoyin could be smashed or fall to the ground, Jiang Huaining’s hand hooked around her waist again, easily carrying her out of the collapsing room. She even conveniently grabbed Mei Jingwan, who had tried to escape in the chaos.

They jumped into the room full of black jars and watched the altar slowly sink.

As the ceiling fully collapsed, the hanging blood corpses shattered one after another, and vengeful spirits crawled out from within.

The blood pool also gradually dispersed. She had exhausted herself without getting close to the altar, Nan He had exhausted herself to break a gap in it, yet Jiang Huaining destroyed it casually—so easily… How strong was she exactly?

Yu Ruoyin didn’t voice the question, and Jiang Huaining certainly wouldn’t answer her.

Jiang Huaining also noticed something wrong with Yu Ruoyin’s body. She pinched Yu Ruoyin’s wrist and rolled up the tattered sleeve, revealing parts of her skin charred black, even seeping into the bones. “Injuries from the Buddhist light?”

Jiang Huaining’s expression turned extremely grim, and her gaze toward Nan He lost all friendliness.

Before Jiang Huaining’s gaze could turn icy, Yu Ruoyin raised her hand to block it. “Aun… Auntie Ning, this has nothing to do with Nan He. It was that… that yin messenger who did this to me!”

The “beautiful wife” on the tip of her tongue was forcefully swallowed. The address “Auntie Ning” was no longer just habit; Yu Ruoyin hoped it could cover some of her ulterior motives.

At least it sounded like she wasn’t that eager for Jiang Huaining.

Yu Ruoyin had thought Jiang Huaining already knew everything through the red jade fruit, so she hadn’t planned to explain the causes and effects. Now it seemed she actually didn’t know.

That meant the murmurs she made in the coffin, those uncontrolled declarations, Jiang Huaining hadn’t heard them.

Yu Ruoyin hurriedly steered the topic to the main issue and explained everything clearly to Jiang Huaining.

Jiang Huaining believed Yu Ruoyin. While feeling heartbroken for her, she itched to kill Mei Jingwan right then. “You really have gone mad!”

Mei Jingwan hadn’t escaped in the chaos and had knelt down again long ago.

She had done it out of fear, but now she realized Jiang Huaining hadn’t known about her wicked deeds just moments ago. That “you’ve gone mad”…

“Milady, you’re right to curse me now, but what about earlier?” Mei Jingwan pointed at Yu Ruoyin. “Milady cursed me just now only because you thought I would hurt her?”

“It wasn’t ‘thought.’ You were hurting A-Yin.”

“Really just for that?” Mei Jingwan looked incredulously at Jiang Huaining. “What’s your relationship with her?”

Jiang Huaining held Yu Ruoyin and removed the coffin from her body.

She had no patience to answer Mei Jingwan, but Mei Jingwan persisted. “Milady!”

Jiang Huaining didn’t even bother looking at her. “A-Yin is my wife.”

“Wife? Her?”

There it was again.

Still so venomous.

Whether before or after knowing her wife was Jiang Huaining, her expression and tone told Yu Ruoyin she didn’t deserve it!

“Ahem.” Enduring her fatigue, Yu Ruoyin pushed Jiang Huaining away and staggered over to Mei Jingwan. Today, she was determined to compete with her on this. She squatted in front of Mei Jingwan. “Heh, much prettier than you, right?”

She hadn’t realized she was the vengeful type, yet this mattered immensely to her. Even the cold laugh she threw back at Mei Jingwan had to be counted.

She could only repay more, not less.

Yu Ruoyin’s hasty account naturally wasn’t complete. Jiang Huaining clearly hadn’t heard Yu Ruoyin’s petty grievances. She only heard her cough and couldn’t help following her with her footsteps. Yu Ruoyin had just left her embrace, and she pulled her back in. “Did you two quarrel?”

Mei Jingwan now suspected Jiang Huaining was blind. “Milady, what do you see in her?”

Full of doubt and malice. It was clear Mei Jingwan had done plenty of evil, yet she revered Jiang Huaining.

She was targeting her, saying she didn’t deserve it.

Words Yu Ruoyin could say herself, others could not.

“Heh.” She didn’t know where her boldness came from. She hooked her arm around Jiang Huaining’s waist, turned the tables, and hugged her, pressing close in an instant. Her lips brushed the smooth skin and left a bloody kiss mark on her cheek. “Mine!”

When Jiang Huaining stared at her in stunned silence, Yu Ruoyin finally regretted it.

She hurriedly raised her hand to wipe the spot she had dirtied on Jiang Huaining, trying to erase the kiss mark. “Sor… sorry… Auntie Ning, I didn’t mean to, I…”

Jiang Huaining grasped her wrist, stopping her before she could wipe it away.

She gazed intently at Yu Ruoyin and hesitated before speaking. “Could you…”

“Ahem.” Before Jiang Huaining could finish, Yu Ruoyin bent over first, clutching her abdomen and coughing violently.

With the ghostification gone, all the yin energy in her body vanished, and the pains assaulted her instantly.

Yu Ruoyin could barely catch her breath. Jiang Huaining held her to keep her from falling, her fingertip lightly brushing the red jade fruit.

The red jade fruit glowed faintly gold, and the pain on Yu Ruoyin’s body eased considerably, though she was still very tired.

If there were a bed here, she would fall asleep without hesitation.

Yu Ruoyin rubbed her dizzy head and mustered her spirits, responding to Jiang Huaining. “Auntie Ning, I’m fine, actually…”

Her mind wasn’t clear. The words on the tip of her tongue changed several times, veering completely off track. “Auntie Ning, I didn’t expect Granny Zhuang’s bone brush to come from the Wheel-Turning King. No wonder she’s so powerful.”

Jiang Huaining’s gaze darkened. “I’m more powerful than her.”

Yu Ruoyin nodded obediently in agreement. “Of course.”