Your Sister Isn't Coming Back

"So the reason I'm so ugly is because I was poisoned with Crimson Spider Poison?" Su Yuexi asked blankly.

Sikong Jing glanced at Su Zhenglong again, then nodded deeply.

Su Yuexi asked in confusion, "But why was I poisoned?"

At that, Sikong Jing turned his gaze to Su Zhenglong and sighed. "Father-in-law, it's not right to keep something like this hidden."

"Ah..."

Su Zhenglong let out a pained sigh, his eyes clouded with memories and uncertainty.

"Yuexi, ten years ago, I asked your sister to take your place and be taken away by that Noble Young Master."

"I was also the one who gave your sister the Crimson Spider Poison."

At last, Su Zhenglong's hoarse voice sounded softly through the room.

Su Yuexi's mouth fell open. She couldn't help rising to her feet, staring at her father in disbelief as tears whirled wildly in her eyes.

Her sister hadn't been taken away in her place of her own accord. It had been her father's request.

The face that had been ugly for ten years was the result of her father's poison.

At the same time, Mei Xiaofang's face turned deathly pale. She stared at Su Zhenglong in disbelief.

She, too, had been kept in the dark.

"I wronged you, and I wronged Yuexian even more."

The room fell silent. As Su Zhenglong spoke, tears streamed down his face, and his voice trembled. "I spoiled you too much. I would rather your sister be taken away than let you suffer any harm."

"I was too biased. I thought that after you were poisoned with Crimson Spider Poison, I'd be able to find an antidote soon..."

"But I was badly injured and could no longer look for one. I was the one who made you suffer for ten whole years."

He had kept this buried in his heart for ten years. Now, at last, he had said it.

If Su Zhenglong hadn't been gravely wounded by that Noble Young Master, he would have been confident of obtaining the antidote.

After all, the Crimson Spider Poison had been his to begin with.

But there were no "ifs" in this world.

His elder daughter, Su Yuexian, had been taken away, her life and death unknown. His younger daughter, Su Yuexi, had become the ugliest woman in all of Yun Province, while he himself had lain in bed for ten years.

Whenever Su Zhenglong thought of it, he was tormented to the point of unbearable pain.

Suddenly, Su Zhenglong looked at Mei Xiaofang, whose face was streaked with tears, and said in a trembling voice, "I didn't want to tell you this. I was afraid of shattering the hopes you've held onto. You've always been waiting for the day Yuexian comes home."

"But she isn't coming back. She hates me. She must hate me as her father."

"Ugh..."

Su Zhenglong spat out a mouthful of blood. His face was deathly pale as he rasped, "Xiaofang, I wronged you, too."

After speaking, his eyes rolled back, and he fainted on the spot.

"My husband..."

"Father..."

The mother and daughter were stricken with alarm and hurried over to support Su Zhenglong.

But no matter what they did, they couldn't bring him around. Mei Xiaofang could only hurry off to find Doctor Sun.

Doctor Sun arrived soon after.

The situation was grim. Even after administering powerful medicine, Su Zhenglong remained unconscious, his breathing terribly erratic.

"Master Su is suffering from a severe illness of the heart. Ordinary medicine can't cure it."

"Whether he can pull through depends on whether he wakes up in the next few days."

After saying this, Doctor Sun sighed quietly and left.

Mei Xiaofang bent over the bedside, sobbing. Suddenly, her eyes bloodshot, she glared at Su Yuexi and said bitterly, "It's all your fault. Why did you have to catch that Noble Young Master's eye? You're nothing but a jinx."

"Yuexian isn't coming back, and your father's going to die. Waaaaah..."

Su Yuexi was in tears, too. She had never imagined that all of this had been caused by her father.

At that, Sikong Jing said, "Mother-in-law, you should blame that Noble Young Master. He's the one who—"

"Shut up."

Mei Xiaofang couldn't listen to another word. She shouted, "If you hadn't suddenly shown up and made Yuexi's father force his true qi out again and again, he wouldn't be like this now."

"Our family may have been struggling before, but at least we were all still alive."

Sikong Jing opened his mouth, then closed it again. Seeing Mei Xiaofang so distraught, he knew there was nothing he could say now.

Some things were beyond his power to fix.

"Besides, Yuexi has to take part in the Yun Province Grand Competition trials in seven days. She'll be doomed by then, too."

"What good is it that she's suddenly become beautiful? What good is it?"

Mei Xiaofang felt as if the whole sky had gone dark. To her, all hope was gone; each blow left her in unbearable pain.

She could hardly see any reason to go on living.

Hearing this, Sikong Jing's expression turned serious. He drew a deep breath and said, "Mother-in-law, don't worry. I can restore Yuexi's looks today, and I can help her make rapid progress in martial arts."

The reason he hadn't stopped Su Yuexi from entering the trials was that he wanted her to astonish the whole city.

There had been too few guests today. Didn't everyone in Yunye City mock Su Yuexi?

Then he would make sure everyone knew that Su Yuexi hadn't just become beautiful—her martial arts could also crush everyone else's.

But Mei Xiaofang only gave a few cold laughs. There was no way it could be done in just seven days.

Sikong Jing fell silent again. If his mother-in-law didn't believe him, he would show her through his actions.

So he led Su Yuexi out of Su Zhenglong's room. In the courtyard, he asked solemnly, "Yuexi, do you trust me?"

Su Yuexi stared blankly at Sikong Jing. A few breaths later, she nodded firmly.

This time, she believed Sikong Jing. He was her husband, and he had always given her one surprise after another.

"Good. Then come back to your room with me."

As he spoke, Sikong Jing led Su Yuexi to her room, then said decisively, "First, take off your clothes."

"Huh?"

Su Yuexi's tear-streaked face went blank. Her heart began racing wildly.

She stammered anxiously, "Jing Gege, Father is in that state right now... I'm afraid it wouldn't be appropriate for us to... to do that."

How could they consummate their marriage now? Even if her grandfather hadn't threatened them against it, this still wasn't the time.

"There's no time to waste. There's nothing inappropriate about it."

Sikong Jing shook his head, then said, "Seven days is enough, but I don't just want you to be good enough to fight. I want you to crush the entire younger generation of Yunye. I don't want to see you suffer even the slightest harm."

Su Yuexi opened her mouth, utterly confused. What did taking off her clothes have to do with the trials in seven days?

"Your martial arts talent is exceptional. Ten years ago, with your father's help, you had already planted the seed of martial arts. Even though the Crimson Spider Poison suppressed it, it continued to grow in secret and even forged an incredibly strong foundation."

Sikong Jing continued to explain, "Now that the poison is gone, I'm going to help you draw out that power."

Hearing this, Su Yuexi finally understood. She asked hesitantly, "Taking off my clothes is how you'll guide my true qi?"

Sikong Jing blinked, puzzled. "Of course. What else would it be for?"

In an instant, Su Yuexi's whole face turned bright red.