Chapter 350: Achilles’ Heel
Xie Youchen had known Jiang Qingli for thirteen years, ever since they first met when she was ten.
But this was the first time Jiang Qingli had ever looked at him like that.
Because of another man.
Xie Youchen was silent for a long time before he slowly said, "Yes. The news came last night."
He admitted it.
Jiang Qingli asked in disbelief, "Why didn’t you tell me?"
If she had known, she would have set out for the Lower District to find Qin Muye last night!
Xie Youchen knew exactly what Jiang Qingli would think, what she would do. That was precisely why he had kept the news from her.
The young man looked into her eyes, his tone placating. "Ah Li, let me handle this, okay?"
"No. When are you going to the Lower District? I’m going with you."
Jiang Qingli took his chin in her hand, staring into his eyes as she said seriously, "Xie Youchen, Qin Muye is my Beast Husband. He needs me right now. I can’t selfishly let him suffer there all alone."
"Didn’t you hear what that person said? His body can’t handle a long journey right now. What if he..." Jiang Qingli couldn’t bring herself to say the word, trailing off as her voice trembled. "What if something... happens to him... What then...?"
"He won’t die." Xie Youchen looked at her, making a promise. "I swear, I will personally bring him back and have him standing before you, alive."
"Once he’s back in the First District, you can perform your healing. He’ll recover quickly."
Jiang Qingli stared at him, her expression not wavering in the slightest.
They stared at each other in the silence, locked in a silent standoff.
Jiang Qingli was the one who broke the standoff.
She said nothing, only calling out to him softly, "Brother."
’Jiang Qingli really is the person who understands me best in this world,’ Xie Youchen thought.
She knew his weaknesses completely.
Over their many years together, that single word had become an inextricable source of both pain and pleasure for Xie Youchen. It was the spell she had mastered.
All Jiang Qingli had to do was recite the spell that was hers alone, and she could effortlessly shatter the defenses he had spent a sleepless night erecting.
Xie Youchen lowered his head, feeling as if he’d heard something inside him shatter.
His hands on her shoulders tightened slightly.
He suddenly asked, "But have you ever thought about me?"
Jiang Qingli froze.
Xie Youchen rarely let his emotions show.
He was skilled at hiding his feelings, at appearing calm and composed in her presence, as if he could handle anything with ease.
But even those most skilled at deception have moments where the mask slips.
The mark that connected their souls began to burn with a scorching heat.
Xie Youchen’s hands trembled uncontrollably. When he raised his head again, his eyes were bloodshot.
He stared into her eyes, enunciating each word in a hoarse voice:
"When we were little, you always loved exploring."
"That summer, when you were ten, you stepped on my shoulders to climb the osmanthus tree in the backyard. You fell, and I couldn’t catch you. You got a four-inch gash on your arm from a stone, and it was pouring blood."
"You told Aunt Jiang that you’d just lost your balance. You never once said it was my fault."
"But you fell because I failed to catch you."
"From that moment on, I swore to myself that I could never let you get hurt again."
Jiang Qingli never thought Xie Youchen would still remember something from so long ago, much less that he’d been blaming himself for it all this time.
She opened her mouth to speak, her voice soft. "That was so long ago..."
"But I remember," Xie Youchen said, lost in the depths of his memories. "I remember how your eyes were red from crying while the ointment was being applied."
"Just as I remember how you vanished from my arms that night."
On that night three years ago, Jiang Qingli had collapsed in a pool of blood.
When he had rushed to her side, she had softly called out "Brother," and then her eyes had closed.
When she awoke again, her body held an unfamiliar soul.
He had failed to protect her.
For over a thousand nights, there wasn’t a single moment that Xie Youchen didn’t blame himself.
He blamed himself for not noticing something was wrong sooner, for not staying by her side, for being powerless to stop what happened...
He was not a worthy protector.
He was guilty.
Xie Youchen didn’t know when he had developed this paranoid, almost pathological, protectiveness.
After Jiang Qingli returned, his condition had improved significantly, as if those feelings had never existed.
But after receiving that phone call last night, those paranoid emotions within Xie Youchen were triggered once more.
He had cut off the flow of information and demanded that they send Qin Muye back to the First District.
He would bear any and all responsibility himself.
He just hadn’t expected Qin Muye’s condition to worsen, or for the situation to blow up in front of Jiang Qingli.
"Ah Li, I don’t want to see you get hurt."
"I can’t let you get hurt again."
"Please, stay here. Okay?"
This was the same Xie Youchen who always stood before her like an omnipotent shield, yet now he was pleading with her, his voice almost begging.
For a moment, Jiang Qingli’s resolve wavered.
She knew Xie Youchen was only thinking of her safety. The Lower District was nothing like the Upper City District; some noblewomen might go their entire lives without ever setting foot there.
But Jiang Qingli had a reason she had to go.
"Brother, please trust me, okay?" Jiang Qingli squeezed his hand, reiterating her point. "I can do this. I need you to support me."
"Of course, I’m going whether you support me or not. It’s not like you can lock me up, right?"
A dark storm brewed in Xie Youchen’s eyes.
’In fact, if he wanted to, he could keep Jiang Qingli locked up in the Xie Family estate.’
’Jiang Yi and the three Beast Husbands weren’t in the First District, so their information wasn’t as timely.’
’Everyone in the Xie Family was one of his people.’
’He could imprison Jiang Qingli here without a soul knowing.’
’Keep her imprisoned by his side.’
’Once this whole affair was over and the outcome was set in stone, he could grant her freedom again.’
’Or... she could live with him here. Forever.’
’For a man like Xie Youchen, who wielded immense power, faking a person’s death would not be difficult.’
But—
"Brother..."
The girl threw herself into his embrace, her arms circling his waist. It was a familiar warmth, a warmth he could never give up.
Xie Youchen’s gaze shifted as he looked down at the girl in his arms.
Completely oblivious to the darkness in his heart, Jiang Qingli simply shook his arm gently, cooing in the same playful tone she used as a child, "You’ll be there to protect me anyway, hmm?"
"I know you’re the one who treats me best."
She tilted her head up and planted a light kiss on his cheek.
"I like you the best."
It was just like a long, long time ago, when she would clamor for a bedtime story and he would sit by her bed, reading to her.
One story told of a mother who dipped her child in the Netherworld River, making him impervious to any blade. But she held him by the ankle as she did, leaving it as his one fatal weakness; a blow there would kill him.
At the time, Jiang Qingli had asked, "Why didn’t she just dip his ankle in after she took him out?"
Back then, Xie Youchen had simply found her childish question amusing.
Only now did he realize he was the same way.
Jiang Qingli’s very existence was his Achilles’ heel.
A fatal weakness he was powerless to resist.
After a long silence, Xie Youchen heard his own voice say:
"Fine. I’ll go with you."