He Xiaolan 2

As luck would have it, by the time He Xiaolan heard that Shan Gudao had gone to Luoyang and went there alone to find him, she happened to catch him torturing a child for information.

He Xiaolan couldn't help laughing out loud. She really didn't even need to look for a reason now.

Startled by the laughter, Shan Gudao saw that it was He Xiaolan, and a flash of viciousness crossed his eyes. Then he concealed his expression and approached her with a smile. "Xiaolan, let me explain..."

He Xiaolan drew her sword and forced Shan Gudao back. "Don't come any closer. You're polluting my eyes."

Shan Gudao could no longer restrain himself. "Since you're courting death, don't blame me for this," he said hatefully.

He Xiaolan merely shifted two steps to the side, dodging Shan Gudao's killing move.

She asked herself in puzzlement, "What on earth did I ever see in you? You have neither talent nor looks."

With that, she didn't bother looking at Shan Gudao's expression again—he really was quite ugly, after all. She simply shifted her feet and slashed his throat with her sword.

Shan Gudao clutched his bleeding throat, his face full of disbelief. At last, with despair and unwillingness, he slowly closed his eyes.

He Xiaolan didn't even intend to collect Shan Gudao's corpse. She simply picked up the dying child and found an inn to stay at.

At the inn, she rented a superior room and spent some more money to have the waiter fetch a doctor for the child.

Once the child's wounds had been bandaged and he had taken his medicine, He Xiaolan hurriedly ate something and went to rest.

The next morning, He Xiaolan asked the innkeeper to make some congee for the child. She had only just sat down on a chair downstairs when a sword filled with killing intent came at her.

He Xiaolan didn't dodge. She took up her sword and fought Li Xiangyi.

Li Xiangyi's swordsmanship had yet to reach full mastery. Although He Xiaolan's inner strength was somewhat weaker than his, her sword moves had been tempered through countless trials over several lifetimes, so naturally she had no fear of his Xiangyi Grand Sword. Moreover, Li Xiangyi was indeed worthy of being a child of fortune; as she fought him, her swordsmanship also became much more polished through their exchange.

So He Xiaolan was in no hurry. She treated Li Xiangyi as nothing more than a machine for feeding her moves. The two fought speed with speed, and soon exchanged over a hundred moves.

Seeing that he couldn't overcome her for the time being, Li Xiangyi found an opening and withdrew his sword. He glared angrily at He Xiaolan. "Were you the one who killed my senior brother Shan Gudao?"

He Xiaolan nodded indifferently. "It was me."

Shaoshi, stirred by the inner strength in Li Xiangyi's hand, hummed incessantly. "Why?!"

He Xiaolan remained as nonchalant as ever. "I was passing by and saw him torturing a child to death."

Seeing that Li Xiangyi was about to speak, He Xiaolan continued, "Of course, that wasn't the main reason I wanted to kill him."

Li Xiangyi didn't believe a word He Xiaolan said. He merely stared fiercely at her, waiting to see what else she could say.

He Xiaolan didn't care what Li Xiangyi thought; she was focused on provoking him to death. "He deceived me and didn't want to take responsibility. That was part of the reason."

He Xiaolan drew her sword, and her words finally carried a hint of killing intent. "Most importantly, ugly men are always up to mischief, and he disgusted me. So I wanted to kill him. Do you have a problem with that?"

Li Xiangyi's face was still full of anger. "How can you prove what you said?"

He Xiaolan gave two cold laughs. "You can't even beat me now, so what can you do to me? If you want proof of what I said, go investigate it yourself. I'm He Xiaolan of the Heavenly Secret Manor, and I'll be awaiting your esteemed visit from Mount Yun Yin!"

As He Xiaolan spoke, she tossed her half-eaten bun back onto the plate and picked up her sword, ready to leave. "Oh, right, the child I saved is still in the guest room. I'll leave him to you."

With that, she tossed a silver ingot to the waiter and walked out of the inn.

The buns at this inn weren't good. She might as well go have a bowl of wontons.

Unfortunately, He Xiaolan, who had come out to kill Shan Gudao, didn't get to roam around for long before returning to the Heavenly Secret Manor. He Xiaohui, the manor's mistress, was pregnant.

Because He Xiaolan had been studying medicine all these years, she had found an opportunity to examine He Xiaohui. It was indeed a very serious cold condition, but in He Xiaolan's eyes, it wasn't much of a problem. The Heavenly Secret Manor was very wealthy, and He Xiaolan used many fine medicinal ingredients to prepare a prescription for He Xiaohui.

He Xiaohui hadn't held out much hope, but the manor's physician saw no harm in it, so she obliged He Xiaolan and took the medicine as instructed. To her surprise, after taking it for over a year, she really did become pregnant.

When He Xiaolan returned to the Heavenly Secret Manor, the entire manor was brimming with joy. By the time she reached her elder sister's room, her brother-in-law, who was usually busy with official duties, was hovering around He Xiaohui with a face full of joy, while He Xiaohui herself held her belly, looking pleasantly surprised.

When He Xiaolan came in, Fang Zeshi hurriedly said to her, "Second Sister, quickly, help your sister take a look. How is her health?"

He Xiaolan checked He Xiaohui's pulse. She was in excellent health.

She wrote down several restorative medicinal dishes. "Elder Sister is in very good health and doesn't need medicine. She only needs to eat some medicinal dishes regularly to replenish her vitality, but she shouldn't overdo the nourishment either. She should still get a moderate amount of exercise."

Fang Zeshi listened attentively and carefully put away the medicinal-dish recipes himself, intending to make a copy.

Everyone was bustling around He Xiaohui, and no one noticed the very strange expression on the three-year-old little bean sitting obediently on the couch: He Duobing, whose nickname was Xiaobao.

He Xiaobao had recovered the memories of his previous life as Fang Duobing a month ago.

It had taken him several days to figure out that he had probably been reborn as his younger self. Since the maids all called him Young Master, and He Xiaohui only called him by his nickname, Xiaobao, he hadn't noticed that his surname had changed.

The only thing that felt very different to him was that, in his previous life, he had been extremely frail as a child and had hardly ever gone without medicine, whereas in this life he was in excellent health.

That had only been a minor question, but two days ago He Xiaohui had been diagnosed as pregnant, and had hurriedly sent someone to write to Second Miss He Xiaolan. Only then did Fang Duobing-now He Duobing-realize that quite a lot was indeed different between his two lives.

After Fang Zeshi went to his study to attend to business, leaving only the He sisters and a child in the room, He Xiaolan ate a pastry and said nonchalantly to He Xiaohui, "Sister, don't go out for the time being. I killed Shan Gudao, and I'm afraid the forces under his control will take revenge on the Heavenly Secret Manor."

Never mind how surprised He Xiaohui was; He Duobing's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. Is this my birth mother? She just said she killed her lover as if it were nothing?

Though stormy waves surged in He Duobing's heart, he hurriedly closed his eyes and pretended to be asleep. He still wanted to hear what came next.

He Xiaohui looked back at He Duobing, and only after seeing that he was still asleep did she turn around and scold He Xiaolan. "Have you gone mad? He was Xiaobao's birth father, after all."

He Xiaolan didn't care in the least. "He Xiaobao can think whatever he likes. I can't stand that I was deceived by such an ugly scumbag. I had to let out this resentment."