Chapter 64: Soul-Shattering Jade Banquet (Part 2): Do You Have Proof That I’m a Fake? Part 1

Wen Yu’s brain turned to mush in an instant, and she froze in place, unable to move.

In the previous days, she had knelt by the bed and clearly confirmed multiple times that the silver snake had no breath. She had cried for a good while because of it and only fell asleep from exhaustion. She remembered it clearly; there shouldn’t have been any mistake. But why had the silver snake woken up again?

After the bewilderment came wild joy. She woke up? That was great! Her actions had been correct. By killing the silver snake that wanted to leave, the current silver snake was the one that wanted to stay!

Wen Yu was overjoyed and rushed to the bedside. Before she could call out, the woman suddenly turned her head. In the dim darkness, her black pupils had vanished, leaving only a patch of ghastly white, with red blood threads wriggling out from the corner of her eye, gradually covering the entire iris. Her body also twitched faintly.

Something was wrong….

The smile on Wen Yu’s face stiffened and slowly faded.

That was absolutely not the silver snake!

That woman’s gaze had always been cold, but there was always a hint of tenderness at the corners of her eyes and brows. It was never like this!

Fear was like an icy hand slithering over her heart. Wen Yu shuddered and staggered back a step. Just as she was about to scream, the woman on the bed flipped over and leaped down like a wild beast, pouncing on her and pinning her straight to the ground!

The table was knocked over along with her. Wen Yu’s vision exploded with stars, her mind blank, unable to move. In a daze, a pair of hands devoid of any warmth slid onto her legs, clamping down on her joints like iron vise grips, squeezing tightly.

Stars still spun before her eyes, and the sounds of the overturned table and chairs had yet to fade from her ears when, in the next instant, world-shattering pain assaulted her. It slammed into her spine and pierced into her skull, as if about to burst out.

She opened her mouth, but her throat felt clogged. Not a sound escaped, yet the crisp sounds of bones cracking rang in her ears, one after another, like bolts of lightning lashing viciously across her body, splitting her skin open and tearing her flesh, shattering her tendons and bones together.

Before she could even let out a scream, darkness swallowed her vision. When she woke again, she lay on the ground, half her face pressed against the floor. Her head and face were soaked in cold sweat, her body splayed like a dried fish, gasping as if she were dead.

A section of hem lay horizontally before her eyes, dragging along as its owner moved. The silver snake’s pair of ice-cold hands had withdrawn from her legs and slid upward, as if about to snap her fragile lotus-root-like arms as well.

Wen Yu was terrified. She burst into tears, which slid down from the corners of her eyes, mingling with the sweat. She felt her wrists gripped, the fingers exerting force to bend them. She could already hear the bones creaking and popping. The pain was unbearable. She wanted to struggle free from the silver snake but was as powerless as an ant trying to shake a tree, so she cried even harder.

On the brink of death, a spark of inspiration flashed in her mind. Wen Yu’s pale lips trembled as she hummed the East City Jade Banquet, the tune that soothed nightmares.

The figure before her went still for a moment, and the hands gripping her wrists loosened.

Wen Yu kept her eyes tightly shut, not daring to move, softly singing the tune. The silver snake listened quietly for a bit before leaning down to scoop the girl into her arms. She carried her swaying to the bedside and set her down.

The familiar scent of clean fur from the bedding wafted to her nose. Wen Yu was dizzy but couldn’t relax in the slightest.

She buried her face in the pillow and felt the edge of the bed sink slightly with a faint creak. The woman lay down as well, pulling the covers over them out of habit and drawing her into her embrace. They lay in silence for a while, as if about to fall asleep.

The excruciating pain from her broken legs left Wen Yu’s mind muddled. In her haze, she thought the woman had fallen asleep and tried to struggle, but she couldn’t budge the hands around her waist.

She began to cry softly again, afraid of waking the woman. She secretly cracked her eyes open to look. But she discovered that the silver snake’s blood-red eyes had never closed. They stared at her quietly from inches away, right by her face.

Wen Yu’s breathing stopped, and she didn’t dare make another sound.

It seemed she had angered the silver snake.

How had this happened?

Was it because she had killed with her own hands?

But she had no choice….

If she had just let the silver snake go out like that, she definitely would have died.

She didn’t want her to die!

Wen Yu still felt she had saved a life. But meeting those slightly sorrowful red eyes, she couldn’t help pondering: was that really the case?

She suddenly recalled her mother—that beautiful, tall woman with a fine voice. Under her father’s orders, she never went out and often liked to sit in the courtyard to sunbathe.

Her mother was very gentle. Her hands had magic; no matter how dirty the clothes or bedding, they came out spotless in her care. She was also good at coaxing people. Her face often bore painting-like bruises: around her eyes, at the corners of her lips, on her forehead, along with clusters of bloodstains and red handprints.

Whenever Wen Yu asked about them, her mother would smile and take her short little fingers, pressing them to her face patiently, as if reading a picture book.

Doesn’t this look like the moon? Or the sun?

Ah, you say it’s a star? No problem. It doesn’t matter what you call it.

Actually, these are gifts from your father because he loves your mother so much.

You want them too? No, you don’t need these drawings. Mother will give you real stars later.

She wanted stars, but her mother forgot after saying it, always seeming to have headaches. So she didn’t mind.

In the middle of the night, she often nestled in her mother’s arms, smelling the faint soap scent on her, which let her sleep peacefully. If she didn’t get that embrace one day, she would wail!

Her mother couldn’t stand her crying and would always hurry over, without time to fix her messy hair or clothes. At those times, the soap scent would turn bloody, mixed with that disgusting red liquid. Wen Yu didn’t like the smell but couldn’t refuse her mother’s embrace. Those hands patted her gently, one after another, while singing opera tunes to her.

Right, that opera tune.

Her mother always said it was a song of happiness. If she listened enough and learned to sing it, she would be as happy as the protagonist Yu Yan in the opera. She had thought so before, and she still did. She also said that a pretty girl like Wen Yu would surely meet a man to her liking and live a life of unbridled joy.

Wen Yu had asked her: Really?

Her mother replied: Really. Now be good and sleep.

Wen Yu closed her eyes and swallowed the words she wanted to say.

But Mother, seeing your unhappy face, how could I sleep peacefully?

Later, a veil shrouded her memories. Years flowed by like water, silent and traceless. She couldn’t recall what happened, only remembering that day she finished playing with her kite in the courtyard. When night fell, she went to find her mother.

She didn’t find her in the room. Instead, she saw a woman half-sprawled in the corner of the courtyard. Several servants with long sticks stood nearby, her father at the front, clutching a handful of hair, his curses loud and piercing.

You dare run?

Tired of good days?

Need to starve you a few meals to behave?

What the hell do you want?

Go out and embarrass us?

Saying the Wen Family man is useless?

You want to ruin my reputation, don’t you?

Her father heard the noise behind him and turned. The upper half of his face was pitch black, the lower half’s lips opening and closing.

Look, keep looking. If you dare run again, you’ll end up the same!

Later still, Wen Yu woke from a nightmare in the middle of the night, fell off the bed, and cried for her mother but got no response.

Still tangled in the bedding, she cried and looked up, seeing her mother seated at the table in the faint moonlight. She crawled over on her elbows and tugged at her mother’s trouser leg.

Drops of icy liquid dripped from the table edge onto her hand. She pulled back, wiped it on her clothes, and stood up.

Her mother was slumped over the table, her body bathed in moonlight like a silent plaster statue. Beside her hand was an overturned bowl of honey water, smelling sweet. Wen Yu dipped her fingertip in it and sucked it into her mouth. A revolting stench and bitterness surged from her throat, making her double over and vomit violently, the world spinning.

Her mother was dead.

Her father said it was because she kept trying to escape that she died.

The outside world is dangerous. Do you have the ability to protect yourself? You’re old and faded, can’t do hard labor. Do you have a way to earn money? Can you survive? Everyone thought you were the Wen Family lady with an enviable happy life. If you run out now, aren’t you slapping your own face? Can you bear the spit and pointing fingers?

She couldn’t bear it, so she drank the poison.

Under the torment of her shattered legs’ agony, Wen Yu slowly recalled the true cause of her mother’s death.

Did she die because she tried to escape the Wen Family?

No, she died because her escape failed.