Chapter 447: 447. Act according to circumstances

Translator: 549690339

“Gu Xiaoling, did you expect things to go this way tonight?” Lian Shun asked Gu Ling.

“Hmm.” Gu Ling nodded slightly.

Lian Shun snorted lightly, “Why didn’t you stop me then?”

“It’s useless. You’ve done what you should and shouldn’t have done. Whether Ying Ying goes or not, your parents will beat you anyway. Letting her go is a way to get you out of trouble.” Gu Ling’s expression was indifferent.

Lian Shun sighed, “You’re seeing this clearly as an onlooker. It’s indeed my fault. I should have considered what Ying Xiaoying didn’t think of. I was really impulsive at that time. But if given another chance, and Ying Xiaoying actively wants to marry me, I would agree to whatever she wants.”

“That’s because you know your parents won’t object.” Gu Ling hit the nail on the head.

Lian Shun laughed, “You’re right!” His “wilfulness” was actually because someone spoiled him. Even if he messed up, his parents would not be really angry but would only try their best to help him do better. Moreover, what he said to Ying Ying at the time, that his parents would definitely accept her as their daughter-in-law, was 100% certain without any doubt. And indeed, that is the case.

Compared to friends like Gu Ling and Qiao Jing, Lian Shun always felt that he was the luckiest because he had a happy and complete family since childhood. The first setback he encountered in his life was being betrayed by his cousin Duanmu Che, but looking back now, it wasn’t a big deal, and it was precisely because of this that he became friends with Su Liang and Gu Ling, embarking on a more interesting and meaningful new stage of life. Later, when he and his family encountered danger several times, Su Liang and Gu Ling came to the rescue, including his fate with Ying Ying, which was entirely thanks to Su Liang.

As Lian Shun thought about this, he couldn’t help but feel a little emotional. Suddenly he stopped, hugged Gu Ling, and said, “Gu Xiaoling, thank you all for everything over the years.”

Although Gu Ling always looked like he disliked Lian Shun, at this moment, he didn’t push him away but simply said, “I won’t sleep with you tonight, so give up.”

Then, Lian Shun’s hearty laughter rang out in the quiet streets of the capital city. “Gu Xiaoling, has anyone ever told you that you’re getting cuter and cuter?”

“Of course.” Gu Ling replied.

Lian Shun, of course, knew who it was: Su Liang loved Gu Ling the most, and even after getting married and having a child, she still called him the Great God.

The two arrived at Lian Mansion, Gu Ling watched Lian Shun go in, and then turned and left.

Father Lin and Mother Lin hadn’t gone to bed yet, waiting for Lian Shun’s return.

When Lian Shun entered, Mother Lin finally breathed a sigh of relief. Earlier, Su Liang had specifically reminded them that even though the world was peaceful now, there were still some sinister forces lurking in the shadows, waiting for an opportunity to strike, so they must be careful not to go to deserted places alone.

“It was Gu Xiaoling who personally sent me back, and he’s already left,” Lian Shun said with a smile.

Father Lin sighed, “Both of them have been really good to you.”

Lian Shun made a face-holding gesture with his hands, “That’s because I’m so lovable to everyone.”

Father Lin raised the feather duster in his hand that he hadn’t put down, and Lian Shun immediately straightened up, “Father, mother, I was really wrong about the whole matter about our marriage.”

Mother Lin, who deeply cared for her son, quickly said to prevent Father Lin from punishing him again, “What’s done is done, and no outsider knows about it. Let’s just follow the rules and proceed with the marriage. Ying is a sensible girl, she won’t mind, will she?”

Lian Shun shook his head. “No, she understands Father and Mother’s intentions.”

“That’s good.” Mother Lin sighed softly. “Really, it’s Ying’s first time in our house, and she hasn’t even had a cup of hot tea or tasted the dishes I cooked. Now, she has to go back in the middle of the night… It’s all your fault!”

Lian Shun nodded weakly, “Yes, it’s all my fault. Father and Mother, don’t get too angry and harm your health. Go to rest quickly, we have important things to do tomorrow.”

Upon hearing this, Mother Lin said, “Your father and I have already discussed it, and we even asked Old Master Qin to be the matchmaker. Your father will go early tomorrow morning. The betrothal gifts are almost ready.”

Lian Shun was nodding as he listened to the previous conversation, but when he heard the last sentence, he paused, “When did you prepare this? How did you do it so quickly?”

Lian’s mother glared at him, “Could we still count on you? Ever since Xiaoliang revealed that you liked her sister, we started preparing your betrothal gifts.”

Lian Shun was beaming, “Father and mother are truly wise!” He linked arms with his mother and continued, “Has mother ever thought about the possibility that Ying Xiaoying might not want to marry me?”

“Of course, I’ve thought about it. After all, she is Xiaoliang’s sister,” Lian’s mother knew that Su Liang had many female friends, but only recognized one as her sister, which made her quite special. Furthermore, she knew very well the type of girl her son would like.

As Lian’s mother spoke, she laughed, “If Xiaoying refuses, then there’s nothing we can do. We’ll have to rely on Apei and Lian Shan to give us grandchildren sooner.” Even if Yuan Pei didn’t marry Lian Shan, Father Lin and Mother Lin still saw him as their own son.

Lian Shun sent his parents back to rest, and his mother reminded him to go to bed early, not to go out and misbehave, afraid that he would secretly go to find Ying Xiaoying late at night. It wouldn’t be an issue if others didn’t find out, but since they wanted to follow the customs, it was better not to cause a ruckus.

Lian Shun cleared his throat, “Mother, don’t worry. Ying Xiaoying will be sleeping with Su Xiaoliang tonight, so I won’t go there.”

When Gu Ling returned home, Su Liang and Ying Xiaoying had not gone to sleep yet.

After talking about the ruby ring on Mo Yan’s hand, Ying Xiaoying asked Su Liang a core question, “What is really going on with all of this? What secrets are hidden in Mo Yan’s forbidden area? It seems like you know something, Liang. Why are they so determined to capture Xiaogu? It’s not because he’s good at swimming, but because he has something to do with the secret of the forbidden area, right?”

Su Liang looked into Ying Xiaoying’s eyes. She wanted to know because, for a long time, she and the Ying siblings had been tormented by the secret of Xingluo Island and its forbidden area. Ying Ye had even been seriously injured and almost died, leaving him with the mental age of a child even after he came of age.

After thinking it through, Su Liang decided to tell Ying Xiaoying the truth. At this point, if she didn’t say anything, Ying Xiaoying wouldn’t pursue the matter and wouldn’t blame her. However, as Ying Xiaoying’s most trusted person, she should be more honest with her. She believed that Ying Xiaoying, who was Gu Ling’s earliest friend besides Nian Jincheng, would not object.

“Actually, I am the person Mo Yan is looking for,” Su Liang said.

Ying Xiaoying’s expression turned serious, “You are Mo Yan’s granddaughter, but he must not be looking for his own bloodline.” There was no dispute about Gu Ling’s lineage as his paternal and maternal families were both extraordinary, and his looks had a direct connection to his background.

“Indeed, he’s not looking for his bloodline, and Gu Ling has nothing to do with Mo Yan,” Su Liang said. “Mo Yan might not know that I am his granddaughter, but actually, I’m not. That’s the reason he’s looking for me. As for why he approached Gu Ling, it’s because we sensed their intentions from previous incidents and deliberately misled them, making them think Gu Ling was that person.”

Ying Xiaoying felt that the mist that had troubled her for years had been partially dispelled at once, but she still couldn’t make clear the whole story. A barrier seemed to be in front of her, both close and distant, which she couldn’t touch with her own abilities.

“It’s normal for Sister Ying not to be able to think of it,” Su Liang sighed softly. “Because this matter is quite bizarre. If it weren’t for what you’ve experienced, I’m afraid that even if I told you, you wouldn’t believe it.”

Ying Xiaoying shook her head, “No, I’ll believe whatever you say.”

However, when Su Liang told her about being a Transmigrator, Ying Xiaoying was still shocked and took a long time to digest this mysterious information.

“So, Mo Yan is also a Transmigrator like you?” Ying Xiaoying asked. The barrier in front of her eyes was shattered in an instant, and everything became clear.

“He is, but it seems different from me. I came in my soul, while he probably came in his physical body,” Su Liang said, feeling as if she sounded like a fortune teller.

Ying Xiaoying’s eyes narrowed slightly, “Could it be that he came from that deep pool that has drowned countless people?”

Su Liang nodded, “As far as we know, it is from there. He has concerns on the other side, which he can’t let go of and wants to return to. He’s afraid that the road back won’t be easy, and he might die inside, that’s why he’s been capturing people to test the way. Ordinary people can’t achieve that. What he wants is valuable pathfinders like me, who are of the same kind.”

Ying Xiaoying furrowed her eyebrows, “Are there many people like you?”

“Of course not,” Su Liang shook her head. “But since there are already two, there might be a third one. At least we can confirm that there used to be a third one, that is, Sheng Yue and Cheng Yun’s mother. But she is already dead. Sheng Yue claimed that she was killed by Mo Yan, probably drowned in the deep pool of the forbidden area.”

Upon hearing this, Ying Xiaoying felt as if she had returned to the dark and gloomy forbidden area. The deep pool appeared as a black mirror in her mind, as if to suck her in, making her feel extremely uneasy.

The near-drowning experience was not without its impact on Ying Ying, but she had always had friends around her since being rescued, and later, the sunny and cheerful Lian Shun accompanied her, so she subconsciously avoided thinking about it.

Even when she voluntarily shared her experience with Gu Ling and Su Liang earlier tonight, she was able to speak about it with ease because they were with her.

At this moment, when Su Liang unveiled the fog for her, the sinister and cruel truth wrapped in the icy water of the deep pool stirred up a huge wave in Ying Ying’s mind. She felt cold all over and her body trembled slightly, as if she was back in the moment when she was floating and sinking in the water, unable to breathe…

Su Liang hugged Ying Ying and gently patted her back, “Sister Ying, it’s okay, don’t be afraid.”

Ying Ying closed her eyes, and some hidden memories flickered like fragments in her mind. She saw it, she saw the bottom of the deep pool!

Ying Ying suddenly opened her eyes, cold sweat on her forehead, she pressed Su Liang’s shoulders and said, “I saw it!”

“What did you see?” Su Liang quickly asked.

“A ray of light!” Ying Ying said, “There’s a ray of light at the bottom of the pool! Could it be the path Mo Yan is looking for? Is there really such a path?”

Su Liang’s eyes narrowed. Ying Ying said that Yue Mei had been forcing her and Ying Ye to practice diving since they were young, training them to hold their breath underwater, indicating that Yue Mei had long been cultivating “guinea pigs” for Mo Yan, but she couldn’t have been told the real secret. Mo Yan may have made up some pretext, leading Yue Mei to believe there were treasures or some such in the forbidden area, thinking there were profits to be had.

Therefore, Ying Ying had a better ability to swim than most, which was also the reason she was able to make it out alive after being brought into the forbidden area. It seemed that most of the others who had been brought in had died inside.

If so, it was indeed possible that Ying Ying had dived deeper than the others and had not been as strongly fearful as they were. So, if she had really glimpsed the secret of the deep pool, it was possible.

“Why didn’t Mo Yan try to get the water out of the pool? Wouldn’t that give a direct view of the path at the bottom of the pool, if there was such a path?” Ying Ying frowned and said.

Su Liang shook his head, “That’s not the kind of path we ordinarily understand, so it definitely won’t be that simple. If it could be done that way, Mo Yan would have done it already, or perhaps he had tried and failed.”

At this moment, Gu Ling returned.

Su Liang shared with him the information he had just learned from Ying Ying. Gu Ling nodded slightly, “I see. We’ll talk about the rest tomorrow, you two should go to bed.”

Su Liang took Ying Ying to stay in another courtyard, while Gu Ling still stayed in their room, responsible for watching over Gu Xiaonuan.

The next day, Su Mansion was very lively.

Early in the morning, Zhengzheng and Ji Xiaoshu went for their morning exercise, and Ying Ye followed them for a jog. Although he was tall, his mentality was not as smart as the two clever kids, Zhengzheng and Ji Xiaoshu.

From the moment Ying Ye arrived, he had fallen in love with the place. He had the benefactor sister and beautiful brother whom he had known for a long time and had been thinking about, two lovely little companions, many toys he had never seen before, delicious food, and he could even hold the Nuannuan baby.

Ying Ying got up, and together with Su Liang, they went to the Yuanming Pavilion. They saw Ying Ye across the lake happily waving at her, then ran to Zhengzheng’s side.

“I knew Xiaoye would definitely like it here.” Ying Ying looked relieved.

“I’ll show him today and see if he can be cured.” Su Liang said, “And I now also have a Divine Doctor as a master.”

“That’s good. But don’t put pressure on yourself, if he can’t be cured, it’s not a bad thing for him to live a simple and happy life like a child. I’ll take care of him for the rest of my life.” Ying Ying said.

Soon after, Old Master Qin brought Lian Shun to formally propose marriage to Ying Ying.

Today, Lian Shun was dressed up very spiritedly, and Ying Ying also wore the new clothes prepared by Su Liang.

The elder from Su Mansion who was involved in the matter was Cen Man.

On the day when the two formally got engaged, the Lin’s Family picked an auspicious day for the wedding, which was less than half a month away in the beginning of the twelfth lunar month. Father Lin and Mother Lin worried that Ying Ying might become pregnant and wanted to expedite the process of marriage.

Ying Ying had no objection to any of this. When she saw Lian Shun, she didn’t mention the secret Su Liang had told her the night before.

After Old Master Qin left, Su Liang and Weng Ming both took Ying Ye’s pulse, but whether it could be treated or not still needed further study. After all, it was the brain that was injured, and they dared not administer needles or medicine rashly.

In the afternoon, Mother Lin and Lian Shan came to Su Mansion as guests, of course, for Ying Ying. They gave her a set of valuable jewelry, saying it had been handed down from their ancestors.

Mother Lin had long known about Ying Ye’s situation, so she brought some homemade dessert and candied fruit for him. Lin’s Family had an orange garden in Jiaye City, and Mother Lin’s skill in making dried oranges was unparalleled. Gu Ling had specially asked for her advice before.

In the evening, Ying Ying and Su Liang sat on the rooftop of Yuanming Pavilion watching the sunset, and they could hear the laughter of the children chasing each other in the forest. The kitchen was filled with the smoke from cooking, and Gu Ling was preparing the meal.

Ying Ying sighed, “These are the happiest days I could ever dream of. Thank you, Sister Liang.”

“Don’t be so formal with me,” Su Liang laughed lightly. “Sister Ying, just rest well at home for a while, and wait until the wedding.”

The next moment, Ying Ying asked, “What are your plans for Xingluo Island? Just let me know what you need me to do. As long as I’m in the capital city on the wedding day, I’m fine.”

Su Liang lightly coughed, “Lian Ershan would be heartbroken if he heard that. How can Sister Ying act like she’s ready to abandon him at any moment?”

Ying Ying shook her head, “I’ll take him with me wherever I go.”

Speak of the devil, Lian Shun’s affectionate call came from below, “Ying Xiaoying, jump down! I’ll catch you!” He saw Ying Ying sitting up high, her dress and black hair fluttering and dancing in the evening breeze, extremely beautiful.

Ying Ying glanced at Lian Shun, somewhat disgusted, “So stupid.”

Su Liang smiled and said, “This kind of stupidity is not something everyone can see.” With that, she pushed Ying Ying down.

Lian Shun opened his arms wide and caught Ying Ying steadily, his smile brilliant, “Let’s go shopping together and eat dinner outside.”

Ying Ying landed and shook her head, “It’s fine to eat at home. Xiaogu is cooking.”

“He cooks every day, and we can still eat his cooking tomorrow. But today, I don’t have a chance to talk to you alone. I have so many things I want to say to you.” Lian Shun shook Ying Ying’s hand back and forth.

Seeing Ying Ying frown, Lian Shun quickly changed his attitude, becoming more domineering, “Ying Xiaoying, you must accompany me to go shopping and eat, or else I will go back to my parents and tell them that you bullied me!” He was domineering but not entirely so.

Ying Ying smiled and knocked on Lian Shun’s forehead, “Alright then.”

That night, Ying Ying didn’t ask Su Liang to accompany her again.

Su Liang and Gu Ling read the Antidote Formula together late into the night before washing up and going to bed.

After lying down, Su Liang asked Gu Ling, “Sister Ying asked me today about our plans for Xingluo Island. Of course, the plan is to destroy them. If we can take Mo Yan’s portable space, that would be even better. Should we take the initiative to attack, or should we just watch and see how things unfold?”

Gu Ling gently stroked Su Liang’s hair, “Be prepared and act according to the situation.”