Chapter 200 -
Chapter 200: Chapter
Su Long remained silent for several moments after hearing Bai Ming’s explanation.
The night breeze drifted through the courtyard, gently rustling the leaves above them as both women stood beneath the corridor.
For the first time since the conversation began, Su Long’s expression became unusually serious.
"Bai Ming..."
Her voice was quieter than before.
"I’m not completely certain."
She paused briefly before continuing.
"But I think Han Fuji may be hiding something from all of us."
Bai Ming immediately looked at her.
"What do you mean?"
Su Long folded her arms slowly.
The more she thought about it, the more uncomfortable she felt.
"Have you never found it strange?"
Bai Ming frowned.
"Found what strange?"
Su Long let out a slow breath.
"The wedding."
"The gifts."
"The money."
One after another, she listed them calmly.
"When Han Fuji first arrived in the Barren Lands, he was no different from the rest of us."
"He wasn’t some wealthy merchant."
"He didn’t own businesses."
"He didn’t have powerful relatives supporting him."
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
"Yet somehow he was able to prepare such a wedding."
"He bought decorations."
"He purchased furniture."
"He arranged food."
"He spent silver as though he wasn’t worried about running out."
The more she spoke, the quieter Bai Ming became.
Because she had wondered about those things before.
She simply hadn’t paid much attention to them.
Su Long continued.
"And whenever someone asked where the money came from, his answers were always vague."
A thoughtful look appeared on her face.
"He always laughed."
"Always changed the subject."
"Or gave some excuse that sounded reasonable enough to stop people from asking further questions."
The courtyard fell silent.
Bai Ming slowly lowered her eyes.
Now that Su Long had mentioned it, she realized she couldn’t remember Han Fuji ever giving a proper explanation.
Not once.
Su Long continued quietly.
"And that’s not all."
She looked toward the dark entrance of the residence.
"There have been other things."
"Things that never quite made sense."
Bai Ming’s heart suddenly skipped a beat.
Because she had just remembered something.
Something she had not thought about in a very long time.
Her head slowly lifted.
"Actually..."
Su Long looked at her.
"What is it?"
Bai Ming hesitated.
Then she spoke.
"Do you remember when we first arrived in the Barren Lands?"
Su Long nodded immediately.
Of course she remembered.
Those first few days had been chaotic.
Everyone had been exhausted.
Unsure of what the future would hold.
Bai Ming continued.
"Back then, I went looking for Han Fuji."
Su Long frowned slightly.
The memory slowly returned.
"I remember."
"You went to go give him food."
Bai Ming nodded.
"While I was searching for him, I encountered a group of men."
Su Long’s brows slowly knitted together.
She remembered that too.
At the time, Bai Ming had looked frightened when she returned.
"There were four of them."
Bai Ming’s voice became quieter.
"They surrounded me."
The memory still made her uncomfortable even now.
"They weren’t good people."
"They kept blocking my path."
"They wouldn’t let me leave."
Su Long’s expression darkened.
Although she knew the story already, hearing it again still made her angry.
"What happened afterward?"
Bai Ming slowly shook her head.
"That’s the strange part."
Her eyes became distant.
"Because before anything worse could happen, Han Fuji suddenly appeared."
Su Long remained silent.
Bai Ming continued.
"He saved me from them before he told me to go home first."
"And I did."
At the time she had been too frightened to question anything.
All she had cared about was getting away safely.
But now...
Looking back...
The entire situation felt strange.
A frown appeared on Su Long’s face.
"What happened to those men afterward?"
Bai Ming’s expression became complicated.
"That’s exactly it."
Her voice lowered.
"A few days later, I heard people talking."
Su Long stared at her.
Bai Ming swallowed.
"Those men were found."
A cold feeling slowly spread through the courtyard.
"Some of them were severely injured."
She paused.
"Others were dead."
Silence.
Neither woman spoke.
The night suddenly felt colder than before.
Su Long’s eyes narrowed.
"Dead?"
Bai Ming nodded slowly.
"I didn’t think much about it back then."
"At the time I simply assumed they had gotten into trouble with someone."
"But now..."
She looked toward the dark road outside.
"Thinking about it carefully..."
"They disappeared immediately after encountering Han Fuji."
The two women fell silent again.
For the first time that night, neither one knew what to say.
Because separately, each incident seemed insignificant.
A vague explanation about money.
Mysterious sources of silver.
Unknown connections.
Dangerous men suddenly ending up dead.
Han Fuji disappearing for an entire day without explanation.
None of those things proved anything.
Yet when placed together...
They painted a picture that neither woman could fully understand.
After a long silence, Su Long finally spoke.
"We could be overthinking."
Bai Ming nodded.
"We could."
But neither sounded convinced.
The night wind swept through the courtyard once more.
Finally, Su Long broke the silence.
"I think you should meet Fu Fong tomorrow."
The words immediately caused Bai Ming’s expression to darken.
Her reaction was so instantaneous that it almost seemed instinctive.
"No."
The refusal came without even a moment of consideration.
Su Long was not surprised.
Bai Ming folded her arms tightly across her chest before looking away.
"I have absolutely no desire to see that man."
Her voice carried the unmistakable irritation of someone who had spent years enduring disappointments she would rather forget.
"I tolerated him for enough years during our marriage. If I can spend the rest of my life without seeing his face again, I would consider that a blessing."
Despite the tension hanging over the conversation, Su Long almost smiled.
That sounded exactly like something Bai Ming would say.
Unfortunately, Bai Ming was clearly not in the mood for amusement.
"He spent years making my life miserable."
Her voice gradually grew colder.
"He humiliated me."
"He ignored me."
"He treated another woman better than his own wife."
A bitter laugh escaped her lips.
"And now, after all that, you expect me to go looking for him voluntarily?"
Su Long calmly nodded.
"Yes."
Bai Ming stared at her as though she had suddenly lost all common sense.
For several moments, she simply looked at her in disbelief.
Then she shook her head.
"No."
"Absolutely not."
Su Long sighed softly before stepping closer.
"Bai Ming, listen to me."
"I am listening."
"No, you’re preparing excuses before I’ve even finished speaking."
Bai Ming immediately opened her mouth to argue.
Unfortunately, she realized Su Long was correct.
That only made her more annoyed.
Seeing this, Su Long continued before she could interrupt.
"I am not asking you to forgive him."
"I am not asking you to forget everything he did."
"And I am certainly not asking you to rekindle any relationship with him."
Bai Ming’s expression softened slightly.
Because those had been exactly the assumptions she had made.
Su Long folded her arms.
"What I’m saying is that you should find out why he came to see you in the first place."
The courtyard became quiet again.
Bai Ming lowered her gaze.
Su Long continued patiently.
"Think about it carefully."
"Fu Fong may be a terrible husband."
"He may be selfish."
"He may be a complete fool when it comes to relationships."
Bai Ming immediately nodded in agreement.
"Exactly."
"But he isn’t someone who does things without a reason."
That caused Bai Ming to hesitate.
Su Long noticed immediately.
"You know that’s true."
Bai Ming didn’t answer.
Because deep down, she did know it was true.
Fu Fong had many flaws.
An endless number of flaws.
But he was not the type of person to run across the district simply to invent a random warning.
Especially not after everything that had happened between them.
Su Long’s expression gradually became thoughtful.
"The part that bothers me the most isn’t what he said."
"It’s why he said it."
Bai Ming slowly looked up.
Su Long continued.
"Think about the situation."
"He approached you personally."
"He waited for you."
"He looked nervous."
"And instead of talking about your children, your family, or even your marriage, he immediately started warning you about Han Fuji."
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
"That doesn’t sound normal to me."
The more Bai Ming listened, the more uncomfortable she felt.
Because she had noticed those things too.
She simply hadn’t wanted to acknowledge them.
Su Long slowly exhaled.
"Perhaps he’s lying."
"Perhaps he misunderstood something."
"Perhaps he’s trying to cause trouble."
She paused briefly.
"But what if he isn’t?"
The question lingered heavily between them.
Bai Ming looked away.
For some reason, she found herself remembering the expression on Fu Fong’s face that morning.
Su Long observed her quietly before speaking again.
"If there truly is nothing behind his warning, then speaking to him will change nothing."
Her voice remained calm and practical.
"You’ll ask your questions."
"He’ll answer them."
And if his answers are meaningless, then you’ll know immediately."
Bai Ming remained silent.
"But if he actually knows something..."
Su Long’s gaze became serious.
"Then he is the only person who can tell you."
The courtyard once again fell into silence.
The lantern above them flickered softly.
In the distance, a servant crossed the courtyard carrying a bucket of water before disappearing into the darkness.
Eventually, Bai Ming released a long, exhausted sigh.
The kind of sigh that came from someone who already knew she was losing an argument.
"This is incredibly annoying."
Su Long nodded sympathetically.
"I agree."
Bai Ming rubbed her forehead.
"Why does my life keep becoming more complicated?"
"That question is beyond my ability to answer."
"I wasn’t asking you."
"Good."
"Because I genuinely don’t know."
Despite herself, Bai Ming let out a reluctant laugh.
The sound quickly disappeared.
Her expression soon became serious once more.
After several moments of hesitation, she finally spoke.
"If I agree to do this..."
Su Long immediately looked at her.
Bai Ming pointed a warning finger directly at her.
"I am only doing it because I want answers."
"Not because I suddenly care about anything Fu Fong has to say."
Su Long nodded with complete seriousness.
"Of course."
"And if he starts talking nonsense, I am leaving."
"Reasonable."
"And if he starts discussing our former marriage, I am leaving even faster."
"Also reasonable."
"And if he starts acting pitiful—"
"Run."
That finally earned a genuine laugh from Bai Ming.
"You know.. it’s so funny that we were once enemies now we are more like sisters than before." Su Long muttered with a warm smile which made Bai Ming smile as well.