189 . 1 – Gone Missing

  “Oh…… then I’ll be called a poor host . ”


  “It’s okay, I happen to be thirsty . ”


  “Huh, is that so? Then what else can I get you, Commander Luo?”


  With that, Gong Tianqing intends to get out of bed once more . When he heard that, Luo Hong almost spit out the water in his mouth .

  “I’m fine, I’m fine!”


  “Oh……” Unease emerged in Gong Tianqing eyes, and she stared at Luo Hong, “Are you really fine?”


  “Yes, yes, I’m fine . ”


  “Then okay . ”


  Gong Tianqing breathed a sigh of relief, and then suddenly assumed an expression of remembering something .

  “Commander Luo, do you want–”


  “No need!”


  Luo Hong flatly rejected Gong Tianqing’s kindness . Gong Tianqing’s eyes dimmed .

  “If you make a commotion because of me and startle Xue Qilin, I will have to bear the consequences…… If she learns that I sneaked into the Merak Temple, she will definitely be mad……”


  “That’s…… true . Sorry for, for causing you trouble……”


  Gong Tianqing lowered her head . Luo Hong sighed helplessly .

  “If someone is to blame then that would be me, since I am not able to see you during daytime . ”


  Upon hearing this, Gong Tianqing suddenly raised her head, and then said anxiously as if to defend something, “How, how could that be! According to Aunt Teacher Luo [1], you are a law-abiding and dutiful person who punished many wicked people, you are a good person, Commander Luo!”


  “It’s not like that…… Qing [1] was a kind person . She was white [2], and so everything in her eyes was to some extent stained with white . I’m just a dog, that’s all . I may be considered as a good dog if the owner is upstanding . But if the owner is crooked, then I am a bad dog . ”


  “Is, is that so……”


  Gong Tianqing doesn’t quite understand .

  Luo Hong nodded, and then uttered in a heavy and stiff tone .

  “And my current owner can’t be regarded as–”


  When he reached this point, Luo Hong, who appears to have suddenly noticed something, shook his head bitterly .

  “I seem to have spoken too much . Young Lady Gong, pretend you didn’t hear that……”


  Gong Tianqing opened her mouth to speak . But before she could say anything, she was blocked by Luo Hong’s words — “let’s get back to the main point” .

  Luo Hong restrained the feelings that finally emerged in his eyes and gazed at Gong Tianqing with an expressionless look on his face once more . His eyes are deep and profound, as if they can draw people into them .

  “Young Lady Gong, I was entrusted by Officer Gong to send you a message . ”


  “Grand–” Gong Tianqing was greatly shocked, “Grandfather?”


  “Yes, it was Officer Gong Jing . ”


  Gong Tianqing didn’t know how to react for a long time .

  She showed a rather complicated look on he face, and her lips quivered, not saying anything for a while Indescribable emotions broke out inside her and gripped her heart tightly, making her feel breathless .

  As things stand, why would grandfather…… Gong Tianqing lowered her head and quietly gazed at the quilt half-submerged in the dark .

  “Don’t you want to know what the message is?”


  Luo Hong’s voice seems to come from under a tombstone .

  Gong Tianqing trembled and finally raised her head . She asked stammeringly, “Wh, what is it……”


  Luo Hong didn’t answer immediately . Instead, he poured himself another cup of water .

  As he slowly brought the tea cup to his lips, he finally said in a quiet, virtually emotionless voice, “Your brother is sick in bed . ”


  “Little, Little Yang?”


  Gong Tianqing opened her eyes wide and uttered thusly in a high-pitched voice .

  “Yes, he is too sick to get out of bed . ”


  As her heart began to beat fiercely, Gong Tianqing asked worriedly, “Is, is it that serious?”


  “Mhm, medicine and acupuncture have no effect . ”


  A weak cry, as if it emerged from the friction between bones, rose from deep in her throat .

  In an instant, Gong Tianqing’s eyes lost all spirit and turned into lifeless holes filled with endless darkness .

  Brother is dying? Really?

  “How could……”


  Gong Tianqing murmured thus in a hoarse voice, as if she hadn’t had any water in a long time .

  Although she had long since predicted that such a day would come, she didn’t expect that it would come so soon . She broke out in a cold sweat .

  –it’s all because of me .

  Grief was followed by intense self-blame .

  –I am unnecessary .

  The deformed flower rooted deep in her heart, which was sidelined for a while, bloomed again .

  If it weren’t for me, mother wouldn’t have died…… brother wouldn’t be so weak . Mhm, it’s all my fault, it’s my fault that brother’s life is coming to an end early .

  Gong Tianqing bit her lower lip unconsciously, and striking bright red flowed out . However, she doesn’t seem to notice it . She’s just whispering “it’s my fault” again and again .

  There has to be something that can be done…… there has to be something that I can do! Gong Tianqing is craving worth .

  As if seeing through Gong Tianqing’s thoughts, Luo Hong suddenly said a word .

  “–but . ”


  His voice seems to carry a sweet fragrance, luring Gong Tianqing to reflexively ask “but what?” .

  She sounded both eager and impatient, like she’s clutching at a straw . Because the word “but” may herald a turn for the better — or in other words, a glimmer of hope .

  For some reason, Luo Hong was silent for a long time . Although Gong Tianqing asked several times, but he didn’t say anything, as if brewing something .

  In the end, when he sighed and put down the tea cup–


  “You can save him . ”


  He uttered thusly in a plaintive tone .

  “I……?”


  Gong Tianqing looked straight at Luo Hong . In her almond eyes, there are intense, undiluted feelings .

  Under the lass’s gaze, Luo Hong slowly stood up and extended his hand to Gong Tianqing .

  “Young Lady Gong, I am here to pick you up . Your clan –”


  His eyes are deep but bright and his voice is calm and clear .

  “– needs you . ”


  Like a sun that suddenly appeared in the dark, these words illuminated Gong Tianqing’s world in an instant .

  But in her world full of light, there is no path .

  –path to her happiness .

  ＊


  [1] – Aunt Teacher Luo / Qing is Luo Qing (died in Vol . 1) . By the way, the surname Luo of Luo Qing (洛青) and Luo Hong (罗轰) are different characters

  [2] – white is associated with light, goodness, innocence, purity