Li Susu breathed a little easier after Gongye Jiwu finished the healing process. "Thank you, Senior Brother," she said, flexing her arms a little and finding the pain become almost imperceptible. "Now I can move more normally around Bai Zi Qian."
Gongye Jiwu smiled. "Drink this potion daily, so that it will replenish your qi," he said, gesturing to the bottle on the table beside them. "Sect Leader Zhang Hai said Immortal Zhaoyou used a lot of artifacts and potions to revive Tantai Jin when he found him in the netherworld, so of course we at Hengyang Sect will do the same for you." He held her hand. "Especially now that you've found your beloved."
Li Susu smiled at Gongye Jiwu. "Thank you, Senior Brother," she said yet again, feeling truly grateful for friends that have stayed by her side throughout her long life. They stood, and she followed him to the door to see him out.
Before he left, Gongye Jiwu turned to Li Susu. "Are you happy, Li Susu?" he asked.
Li Susu nodded. "I am, Senior Brother," she replied. "I've never felt more at peace with the world than when I'm here with Bai Zi Qian and Ami. I feel like I can finally rest, and be simply Li Susu who loves Bai Zi Qian and their daughter Ami."
Gongye Jiwu smiled. "Then I'm glad for you, Li Susu." He bid her goodbye, and disappeared, going back to Hengyang Sect.
Li Susu stayed standing for a few moments after Gongye Jiwu left, breathing in the clean air around her, feeling the warmth of the sun on her face, and listening to the birds singing over her. Yes, she has never felt peace like this in her entire life, only now with Bai Zi Qian and Ami by her side.
She remembered Bai Zi Qian's words last night.
"It doesn't matter if what you said is true or not. I take your words seriously."
His eyes conveyed the fear, the doubt, the sincerity and trust he had in her.
"Don't lie to me, Li Susu. Otherwise…"
She had lied to him for so long that even in another incarnation, Tantai Jin, no, Bai Zi Qian, had to plead with her not to lie to him again.
This time, she'll do it better. This time, she won't lie to him again. This time, she'll love him as he deserved, and more.
I promise, Bai Zi Qian, you won't ever have any reason to doubt me or my love for you ever again.
The pouch containing the more than five hundred taels of silver remained beneath Li Susu's bed, but his promise of being with her forever remained in her heart.
Whether you are Tantai Jin or Bai Zi Qian, I will love you who forgot to come home.
To while away the time before the girls and Bai Zi Qian returned, Li Susu did her best to clean out the house and the courtyard. She smiled to herself as she worked. You're turning into a real housewife now, Li Susu, she teased herself. Ye Xiwu would never do this on her own, and Immortal Li Susu would have done this with a snap of her fingers. Li Susu, oh Li Susu, what have you turned into?
She couldn't help but chuckle. She found she liked doing this mundane work, cleaning. And sleeping, and keeping shop, and taking care of her daughter, now daughters, seeing as Ami adopted Bao as her sister. She thought back on Tantai Jin's Bo're Life Dream in the pearl, and somehow finally understood his fascination with a mortal life.
"There you are, you vixen."
Li Susu turned towards the sound of the scathing voice. "Mother Liu," she said, acknowledging the presence of Liu Dong Yan's mother. "To what do I owe the pleasure of your company?"
Mother Liu let herself in through the gates unceremoniously. "We need to talk."
Li Susu pointed towards the house. "Please," she said, leading the way inside. She lit up a lamp to better illuminate the house, as it was getting dark. Then she turned to Mother Liu. "What is it that you want to talk about, Mother Liu?"
"Leave town. Now," Mother Liu said simply. "Bai Zi Qian is betrothed to my daughter, and you will not prevent the wedding from happening."
"Have you talked about this with Bai Zi Qian?" Li Susu asked, unbothered by the older woman's hostility.
"He knows his responsibility to my daughter," Mother Liu replied haughtily.
"Responsibility?" Li Susu said angrily. "The only responsibility Bai Zi Qian has is for himself." She stepped forward, making Mother Liu step back. "You have tormented Bai Zi Qian long enough, Mother Liu. Taking his home, his family's wealth, and I suspect even his parents' lives, it's a miracle Bai Zi Qian let you live, let alone chase him away from his birthright."
"What are you talking about?" Mother Liu muttered, trying to look unbothered by what Li Susu said, but Li Susu knew she was shaken by it.
"Am I lying?" Li Susu challenged. With her powers, she had delved into the past, looking at the events that happened the day Bai Zi Qian lost his parents. This woman in front of her was a proper villain, and yet she had escaped retribution.
Li Susu brandished a small piece of paper at her. "This was the note that you handed to the driver of the Bais' carriage," she said, holding the piece of the past that she had managed to capture. "You bribed him to go to another route, to the more dangerous route, during a thunderstorm. You didn't tell him that the carriage was already compromised, that it was broken already." She unleashed the wrath of the goddess on her, because of her anger at the grasping ambition of this old woman in front of her, which caused Bai Zi Qian to lose the people he cherished the most.
"You're lying!" Mother Liu cried out. "It wasn't my fault!"
Li Susu's eyes gazed at her hard. "I know the truth," she said. Mother Liu stepped back, not doubting the conviction in Li Susu's eyes. "If there's nothing more you need to say, you may leave." She turned away, and completely missed Mother Liu swiftly grabbing the nearest stone figurine from the display table, one that Bai Zi Qian had carved for Li Susu as a gift. There was a sharp pain at the back of her head, and Li Susu crumpled on the floor, nearly unconscious from the pain.
Through her blurry vision, Li Susu saw Mother Liu stand over her. "Then you can take that truth to your grave," Mother Liu said, holding up the lamp. Li Susu could barely lift her hand to stop her from throwing the lamp on the floor, spilling gas and flames which quickly caught on the bamboo floor. Then Mother Liu quickly ran away from the house, leaving Li Susu reeling from the pain in the back of her head.
As an immortal, Li Susu could not be harmed by something as commonplace as a fire. But she definitely wasn't immune to the pain from the blow at the back of her head, nor could she escape the acrid smoke coming from the fire that was quickly spreading through the house. "You won't get away with this, Mother Liu," she whispered, holding up a sleeve to cover her nose and mouth, and attempting, with shaky legs, to walk out quickly from the house.
Li Susu was startled when she heard Bai Zi Qian's agonized cry. "Li Susu!" Hurried footsteps ushered Bai Zi Qian in the burning room, bursting through the door that Mother Liu took care to lock. "Li Susu!"
"Bai Zi Qian!" Li Susu cried out. Seeing Bai Zi Qian's face through the flames sent flashbacks of Tantai Jin saving her through her mind.
Tantai Jin stepping in front of her to take the brunt of Fuyu's fireball. Tantai Jin raising his hands to create a barrier protecting them both from the lightning tribulation. Cang Jiumin absorbing the devilish qi and transforming into the Devil God.
Tantai Jin, gasping in pain as light from her hands pierced his body, breaking the evil bone into pieces.
Li Susu… Kill me, and the All-in-Distress Way will be destroyed.
"Don't –!" Li Susu cried out, but Bai Zi Qian had already crossed through the burning flames to reach her. She couldn't do anything else but hold on to him as he carried her out of the burning house.
"Are you okay?" was the first question Bai Zi Qian asked her as he put her down at a distance away from the fire. He was startled when a panic-stricken Li Susu instead searched his face and his arms for any burns.
"Why did you do that, Bai Zi Qian?" Li Susu asked shrilly as she saw a burn on Bai Zi Qian's left arm. "Save yourself first, why can't you?"
"Li Susu…" Bai Zi Qian tried to calm Li Susu, who had burst into tears, hitting his chest repeatedly.
"Don't risk your life, Bai Zi Qian, not for anything, not even me," Li Susu said, clutching the front of his clothes. "Please…"
Ami and Bao finally caught up, and found Bai Zi Qian comforting a weeping Li Susu in front of her burning house. Bai Zi Qian took one look at Ami, and understood what Li Susu was crying for. Or rather, who.
Just when I had loved him, I lost him.
Bai Zi Qian sighed and looked down at Li Susu, who clutched him tightly. He placed a hand at the back of her head, gritting his teeth with anger as he felt and saw blood cover his hand. He was going to murder whoever did this, but for now, he had to calm Li Susu first.
"Li Susu, look at me," Bai Zi Qian gently coaxed Li Susu, and tilted her chin up to face him, tenderly gazing at her. "You tell me to save myself, but how can I let you get hurt in that fire? If you died in that fire, how can I live without you? This pain is nothing as long as I know you're safe." He wiped her tears. "So please, don't cry, Li Susu."
He held her until she stopped sobbing, while the townspeople who had seen the fire came and helped put the fire out.
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The four of them looked at the burning remains of Li Susu's house.
"Where are we going to stay now?" Bao asked pitifully. Ami and Li Susu looked at each other. With their immortal powers, they could of course build the house up again, but not in front of Bai Zi Qian and Bao.
"Of course you can go back to my house and stay there," Bai Zi Qian said, nursing his burned arm. Ami and Bao's faces lit up, but Li Susu only had eyes for his injury. Seeing her look at his arm, Bai Zi Qian lowered it and muttered, "I'm fine." He walked back to where he dropped the groceries and picked them up, wincing a little as his injured arm bore the load.
"Let me carry some," Li Susu offered, and tried to take the bags he held in his injured arm.
"No," Bai Zi Qian said firmly, seeing a line of blood still trickle from the back of her head and gritting his teeth at the sight. "You're also injured. Hold my arm instead." When Li Susu protested, he wrapped her hand around his arm and tucked it against his body. He turned to the girls. "We'll go back later to salvage whatever can still be used," he said, seeing that they were still looking longingly at the house. "Come on."
The four of them silently walked towards Bai Zi Qian's house. As soon as they arrived, the girls put away the groceries and the packages, while Li Susu tended to Bai Zi Qian's wound.
"I can do it myself, Miss Li," Bai Zi Qian again tried to protest, but Li Susu poured a little of the stinging medicine into his wound, making him hiss in pain. "Miss Li!"
"Stop whining, Bai Zi Qian," Li Susu said quietly. After putting medicine on the burn, she dressed it skillfully. She did her work without looking at him once. When she had finished with his wound, he gestured for her turn around. "It's your turn," he said when Li Susu protested. "That wound at the back of your head needs treatment."
"I'm fine," Li Susu said. But Bai Zi Qian held her shoulders firmly and made her turn around.
"You're not," he said, taking the medicine and some of the bandages. "You have a cut at the back of your head, and I suspect some bruising as well."
"I'll be fine," Li Susu said, but seeing that Bai Zi Qian was adamant, let him dress her wound. Afterwards, they lapsed into silence once again.
Bai Zi Qian sighed. He would have preferred the panic-stricken Li Susu from this sullen version who couldn't even meet his eyes. This quiet person terrified him more than the hysterical one. "Miss Li," he called softly. When she still didn't look up at him, he called her by her name. "Li Susu." That made her look up. "What happened between you and Mother Liu?"
Li Susu shook her head. "Nothing," she said, wincing at the pain in her head and avoiding his eyes again. When she didn't elaborate further, Bai Zi Qian called her name softly. She sighed. "She talked to me about your betrothal, things got heated, and then she knocked over the lamp and started the fire," she said hurriedly. She started to rise, but Bai Zi Qian held her arm.
"With Mother Liu, nothing is that simple," Bai Zi Qian said. "Tell me, and don't lie to me, Li Susu."
Li Susu met his determined eyes. Don't lie to me, Li Susu, he said emphatically. She sighed, sat beside Bai Zi Qian, and told him everything. Don't lie to me, Li Susu. Tantai Jin was lied to, but this time, Bai Zi Qian wouldn't be. So she told him the truth that he demanded to know.
But is truth really a better choice now? Li Susu wondered as she looked into the devastated face of Bai Zi Qian as he learned of the truth of his parents' deaths. She watched him stand abruptly, walk away from her, and turn his face away from her as grief flooded his entire being. "I'm sorry, Bai Zi Qian," she said softly, a poor condolence to the tragedy that befell him.
Bai Zi Qian took a deep breath, then slowly turned to her, eyes still full of tears. "Thank you, Miss Li, for telling me this," he said. "It doesn't ease the pain of their passing one bit, but at the very least I know the truth behind it all." He clenched his fist. "They are despicable."
Li Susu stood and held his hand. "Let me take care of Madam and Miss Liu for you," she said. She looked into his eyes. "Trust me."
Bai Zi Qian looked down at the hand that Li Susu held. "All right."
Xxxxxxxxxxxx
It wasn't long before speculations about Li Susu's burned house set tongues wagging in town, especially as the beautiful widow returned to her wine shop.
"It must have scared you, Miss Li," some sympathetic women comforted Li Susu.
"I'm all right," Li Susu replied. But one of the women, notoriously one of the gossips in town, held her hand and pulled her down to whisper conspiratorially in her ear. "If you want revenge on that horrid Madam Liu, you only need to tell us."
Li Susu shook her head and politely moved away from them. But the women all understood Madam Liu had visited this beautiful widow to scare her away from her daughter's betrothed.
"They make a better couple, don't you think?" the women whispered together.
Li Susu smiled. The townspeople had long known Madam Liu's greed for the Bai family fortune. Her insistence that Bai Zi Qian and her daughter were betrothed had gone unchallenged until now, with the arrival of the lovely wine shop proprietress. Now that a direct attack on Li Susu had occurred, they knew that the old woman was now growing desperate. They didn't care where the wind would blow, though, just for the juicy gossip that this newcomer had brought with her.
Li Susu chuckled to herself. Imagine the collective horror if they knew Bai Zi Qian already paid my bride price?
"Oh, Bai Zi Qian, you've come," one of the women cried out, and Li Susu turned to see Bai Zi Qian walking towards her.
Li Susu's heart caught in her throat. Bai Zi Qian stood in front of her, clad in white clothes. In her mind, she could see Tantai Jin once more.
"I am Cang Jiumin, disciple of the Xiaoyao Sect."
The Devil God looked down at his black robes, and with a wave of his arm, changed into the white robes of the Xiaoyao Sect disciple.
But as memories of Cang Jiumin flashed through her mind, Bai Zi Qian's voice pierced through them.
"I wish you could see me, and not him."
Li Susu smiled widely through her tears. "Whose son is this, so beautiful in white?" she said, beginning as a light teasing, but then thickening with emotion.
Bai Zi Qian smiled. "I'm off to join the local examinations," he said. "I stopped by to see you before I go."
"Ooooo," one of the women cackled. "After years of Liu Dong Yan nagging you to take the examinations, with one word from our Li Susu, you're finally going, eh?"
"Li Susu, you've really changed this stubborn mule so much," another woman remarked.
"Aunt Zhang…" Bai Zi Qian chided the woman, who simply raised an eyebrow at him.
Li Susu smiled widely. "Good luck," she said, and to Bai Zi Qian's surprise, tiptoed up and kissed him on the cheek.
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