Chapter 408 - 218: "Dan Demon

Chapter 408: Chapter 218: "Dan Demon

Feng Bei looked up at the familiar sleeping face, tucked tightly under the covers.

’Is it because of him?’

"Miss Feng Bei."

After dismissing the others, Zheng Erniang closed the door and approached Feng Bei.

Feng Bei took a step back.

Zheng Erniang furrowed her delicate brows, then stopped and smiled faintly. "I thank you on my lord’s behalf, Miss Feng Bei. If you hadn’t brought the ’antidote,’ I truly wouldn’t have known what to do about his illness."

Feng Bei gave a calm nod in response.

The Second Lady gave a slight bow. "Please don’t think me rude, Miss Feng Bei, but I have a question, and I was wondering if you could enlighten me."

Feng Bei fell silent for a moment. She glanced at Zheng Xiu on the bed and clenched her fists. Her voice trembled slightly, but her expression remained cold and serene. Without waiting for Zheng Erniang to ask, she had already guessed the question and answered, "We met by chance."

The Second Lady was taken aback.

But Zheng Xiu, fast asleep, mumbled a name in his sleep: "Madam Zheng."

Feng Bei puffed out her cheeks. Zheng Erniang hid her mouth behind her long sleeve, concealing the faint sorrow in her eyes as well. A secret smile touched her lips. "I understand. Then, I’ll have to trouble you to look after my lord tonight, Miss Feng Bei."

With that, Zheng Erniang gracefully exited, closing the door firmly behind her.

Feng Bei raised a hand, her lips parted, but she hadn’t had time to refuse.

’She left too quickly. Yes. That’s what happened.’

Feng Bei quickly found an excuse for herself.

It wasn’t that she was willing, but that Zheng Erniang hadn’t given her a chance to voice her opinion.

In the room, candlelight flickered. Feng Bei sat by the bed. The presence of an outsider had made her feel awkward and uneasy, but now that it was just the two of them, she felt her heart calm.

After a moment of silence, Zheng Xiu’s deep, even breaths were occasionally punctuated by a faint snore.

She watched his face, instinctively leaning in closer and closer until their lips were almost touching. In his "sleep," Zheng Xiu subconsciously puckered his lips, only to find empty air.

A glimmer of glee, as if from a successful prank, appeared in Feng Bei’s eyes. She whispered, "Still pretending?"

’After all, she knew exactly how he snored when he was truly asleep.’

’He couldn’t fool her.’

Zheng Xiu’s eyes blinked open. He reached out from under the covers and gently took her hand. Just as Feng Bei was about to pull away, Zheng Xiu cried out, "It hurts!" and she had no choice but to let him hold it.

Zheng Xiu began to knead her soft palm with a rhythmic pressure, alternating between heavy and light, as if sending a secret message. Feng Bei understood, but a pleading look crossed her face. "Don’t..."

Zheng Xiu stopped. "Why not?" he asked, puzzled.

’He sensed something was off between them.’

’Or rather, with Feng Bei.’

Feng Bei took a deep breath. In one swift motion, she flipped over and straddled him over the covers, pinning his other hand. Their fingers intertwined as they locked eyes. A smile Zheng Xiu knew all too well suddenly appeared on her face—domineering and unrestrained, like a brazen bandit queen claiming her prize.

"When you look at me now, do you see Xie Luohe, or Feng Bei?"

Feng Bei burst into wild, unrestrained laughter.

Zheng Xiu was stunned.

But as her laughter died, she reverted in the next instant to her usual cold aloofness. "You can’t tell the difference."

"Neither can I."

"It’s been ten years." Feng Bei lightly bit her lower lip. "It’s not that I have no feelings for you. It’s just... I can no longer tell who I am. Who is the one that brings you joy? Who is the one who married you? Who is the one who spent the last ten years by your side?"

"Back in the mortal realm, I’m still Feng Bei, not her."

Zheng Xiu was about to say something.

But Feng Bei stubbornly shook her head. "But the one who married you in the beginning... was her."

"Have you ever considered that ’Xie Luohe’ never existed from the start? The real Xie Luohe and Gongsun Mo were taken by the Darkness a hundred years ago. All that remained in the painting were the memories and past recorded by Gongsun Mo. It was you who lived out the life of Xie Luohe. You’re still you."

Zheng Xiu tried to correct her way of thinking.

"But I still find myself wondering why... wondering who I am," Feng Bei said, her tone like one talking in a dream. "It’s just as she said that night. She has become a riddle, a riddle that will live in my heart for all eternity."

"Think about the Monk."

"I know. I have the same sickness he does. It’s just..."

"Enough." Seeing the pain on Feng Bei’s face, Zheng Xiu pushed through his own exhaustion, sitting up to gently embrace her. "If you can’t figure it out, then don’t. There’s no rush. Let’s just treat that century in the painting as our past life. In that life, you were Xie Luohe, and I was Gongsun Mo. In this life, we get to meet all over again. Ahem," Zheng Xiu cleared his throat twice. "Hello, pretty young lady. I am Zheng Xiu, Marquis Zhonglie. I’m rich. Very rich."

This was the first time he had truly held her as "Zheng Xiu."

Not as the phantom Gongsun Mo, not as Zheng Shan the Incarnation, and certainly not as Xiaoma the Evil Child.

But as Zheng Xiu—the one and only Richest Person, Marquis Zhonglie, Zheng Xiu.

Seeing his mock-serious expression, Feng Bei froze for a moment. He always managed to do this, to soothe her feelings and wipe away her anxieties with the simplest of gestures. Always. Feng Bei breathed a sigh of relief.

"Feng Bei." A smile returned to her face. "’Feng,’ for the auspicious arrival of a phoenix. ’Bei,’ for the geese that fly south from the north... Feng Bei."

"It’s a beautiful name."

They embraced in silence.

"Right, about that reward we agreed on..."

Zheng Xiu was suddenly pushing his luck. But a promise was a promise.

Resigned, Feng Bei leaned in and gave Zheng Xiu’s lips a quick peck, like a little chick pecking at rice. The roots of her ears instantly flushed crimson. Her perfectly shaped earlobes, with every fine detail visible, looked like translucent, ripe grapes, making Zheng Xiu want to take a bite.

A wave of heat washed over Zheng Xiu. Even though they had been husband and wife for ten years inside the scroll, this charade of "getting to know each other again" gave him an unexpected, thrilling rush. It was the bliss of a reunion after a short parting being sweeter than a honeymoon.