The Noose

A panicked shriek broke the silence of the night sky and it also ruined the beautiful sparks that were flying between Song Caitang and Zhao Zhi.

Song Caitang immediately reached a conclusion, “Something bad happened?”

Zhao Zhi swiftly located the scream according to the layout of the Night Sanctum. “Sounded like it came from Ye Nan’s residence.”

“We need to take a look now!”

Zhao Zhi was excellent at moving quickly from one spot to another, so it merely took them a few light bounces to reach Ye Nan’s residence.

They didn’t even need to ask around to find out what happened because they could hear it all around them once they landed.

“Help! Help! Young Mistress is hanging on a noose!”

Hanging on a noose?

Was that a suicide attempt?

Ye Nan was trying to kill herself?

Song Caitang frowned immediately and ran to the bedroom.

The servants had already carried her onto the bed and were panicking. “What are we going to do? She’s not breathing anymore!”

“But her body is still warm, so I don’t think she hung there for long. Maybe there’s still hope for her!”

“Even if her body is warm, if she’s not breathing then nobody will be able to save her… What are we going to do? She’s the only successor to the Sanctum… is this the end…”

“Enough of this useless talk! It’s more important to call a doctor! For all you know, she could still be saved!”

Even though they were talking over one another like that, they still managed to place Ye Nan on the bed carefully.

Song Caitang ignored their chatter and went straight to check Ye Nan’s pulse, then checked her breathing.

Her heartbeat had disappeared. She wasn’t breathing.

Song Caitang checked her neck next. The imprint of the rope was deep. There was no blood, but it was swollen and bruised. She touched it and was glad to find that the bone wasn’t broken. She hadn’t hung there for too long.

“Move aside!”

Song Caitang immediately decided to perform CPR on Ye Nan.

Once she made sure Ye Nan’s body was flat on the bed, she lifted her chin to open her airway and breathed into her mouth.

She placed her right palm in the middle of Ye Nan’s chest, placed her left palm over her right palm, straightened her arms, then pressed down hard.

After she had done 30 presses, she breathed into Ye Nan’s mouth again.

She was bringing Ye Nan back from the dead… again!

It wasn’t the first time Zhao Zhi had seen her do this and it wasn’t the first time he was watching her do it in this manner. But each time he watched her, he couldn’t help but be amazed.

This was his girl… Song Caitang.

“Make a bowl of Guan Gui Soup! Now!” Song Caitang gave instructions as she continued with performing CPR.

All the servants in the room knew what Song Caitang was trying to do and nobody dared to pull her away. They were all hoping that Ye Nan could be revived. As long as it could revive Ye Nan and allow Ye Nan to continue holding the Night Sanctum up, they were willing to do anything!

But this Guan Gui Soup…

Everyone exchanged confused glances. What was this thing? They’d never heard of it before!

Was it some sort of herb? Medicine? Soup?!

But Song Caitang was too busy to explain it in detail to them.

Zhao Zhi stepped in and said, “Get 2.5 grams of orange peel, 3 grams of magnolia bark, 1.5 grams of cinnamon, 3 grams of processed pinellia, 1 gram of ginger and 1 gram of licorice root, put everything into a pot and add three bowls of water, then let it boil until you only have enough for one bowl of water. That’s what Guan Gui Soup is.”

“Ah! Got it! Thank you so much, sir!”

With these specific instructions, the servants wasted no time in getting it prepared.

Ye Nan was found just in time, so her situation wasn’t too bad. It didn’t take Song Caitang too long to get Ye Nan to cough slightly and for her heart to start beating again. She hadn’t regained consciousness, but at least her heartbeat had returned.

Song Caitang was immediately relieved and was about to raise her hand to wipe her perspiration away when she felt a handkerchief against her forehead.

It was Zhao Zhi… he was helping her wipe her perspiration.

“Thank you,” Song Caitang took the handkerchief from him because she felt a little awkward, “I’ll do it myself.”

Ye Nan’s eyelid twitched slightly, like she was feeling extremely uneasy. Her lips moved slightly and she sounded like she was uttering someone’s name…

Song Caitang leaned closer to hear her better.

When a person was not fully conscious, their voice would become equally garbled. Song Caitang couldn’t tell who she was talking about, but she was certain that this person’s name had two characters.

So, it wasn’t Liao Xingjian or Xin Yongwang.

Who could it be?

She didn’t have a lot of time to think about that. The servants in this place were highly efficient and had brought the soup she wanted.

Ye Nan’s heart was beating again, but her throat would definitely feel uncomfortable after hanging from a noose for a while and she would have some trouble swallowing. But she could still take tiny sips.

The servants could handle it, so Song Caitang left it to them.

She walked around the room and went to take a look at the noose.

After taking a look, she turned to look at Zhao Zhi. “What do you think?”

“The rope is very close to the main beam of the room, so it’s very solid. But the stool isn’t high enough.” Zhao Zhi didn’t have to look too hard to arrive at a conclusion, “It’s very obvious that someone did this to her.

Someone was trying to kill Ye Nan.

But who?

Was this person connected to Liao Xingjian’s killer?

Song Caitang narrowed her eyes slightly.

As the successor to the Night Sanctum, Ye Nan was not only physically healthy, but she was mentally very resilient as well.

She regained consciousness quickly and didn’t seem scared or anxious after finding out what happened to her. She merely thanked Song Caitang in a hoarse voice, “I’ve caused Miss Song trouble again.”

Song Caitang waved it off and stopped her from getting up. “You’ve just regained consciousness and you’re very weak now, so I think it’s best that you rest for a while first.”

Ye Nan lowered her gaze and let out a quiet sigh.

Song Caitang asked, “So… how did this happen?”

Ye Nan shook her head. “I was packing Xingjian’s things and went into a daze. I was too immersed in my emotions and didn’t notice my surroundings, so I ended up breathing in something that caused me to faint without realizing it…”

“Do you know who did it?”

“I didn’t see anyone.” Ye Nan shut her eyes and clenched her fists, as though she was upset with herself for being caught off guard.

Song Caitang didn’t ask her any more questions.

Something bad had happened to the Young Mistress of the Sanctum, so the commotion that followed was not surprising. A lot of people had gathered around, including the suspects in Liao Xingjian’s case.

Song Caitang was hoping that Ye Nan could get more rest but she figured that it would be impossible for her to get any rest at this rate. At the same time, Ye Nan herself didn’t seem to want to rest and got up to attend to everyone.

Since that was the case, Song Caitang felt that it was better to talk about the murder case rather than engage in pointless small talk.

She started, “I know it’s not very appropriate to talk about the murder case at this juncture, but there’s a question I’ve been thinking about for a long time now, and I won’t be able to eat or sleep if I don’t get answers.”

Ye Nan had already managed to take a seat on the reclining chair with the help of her maid. A soft cushion was placed under her waist so that she could recline comfortably without seeming rude.

She breathed slowly and smiled sincerely, “I’m so happy that you’re willing to help with Xingjian’s case, Miss Song. As long as I’m around, his case will always take the highest priority, so you don’t have to feel bad or anything like that, please go ahead and ask what you need.”

Song Caitang glanced at Zhao Zhi.

The look in his eyes was almost the same as hers. When he noticed her look at him, he nodded back at her.

Song Caitang went ahead, “I would like to ask you, Miss Ye, what in the world happened four years ago?”

Ye Nan’s gaze froze and her body shook suddenly.

Song Caitang added, “I’m not asking about what Liao Xingjian went through. I want to know what YOU went through. Where you were and what happened to you.”

Ye Nan stared long and hard at Song Caitang without saying anything for a long time.

Song Caitang let her stare. She stared back and also kept quiet.

Ye Nan slowly closed her eyes and bowed her head, her expression downcast. “I suppose you’re asking because you have some conjectures in mind.”

Song Caitang nodded. “Yes.”

“Actually… there’s no point keeping it a secret anymore. Xingjian has already passed on.”

Ye Nan took a few deep breaths, prepared herself mentally, then replied in a distant voice, “That year… Xingjian and I left to settle some matters but we ran into trouble. A few different groups of bandits ran into one another. They had their own vendetta against each other and nobody trusted anybody, but they were all extremely formidable and there was no way to get out of this situation peacefully. Xingjian and I had no choice but to slash our way out… We didn’t want to get stuck in a trap that someone had laid for someone else. We did our best, but we were still hit by a poison of sorts. We were unfortunately separated, and we also unfortunately… forgot each other.”

“After I got back here, I did some investigations and found out the name of the poison. It’s called Millet’s Dream.”

“Millet’s Dream?”

Ye Nan nodded. “That’s right. I can’t really call it a poison because it’s not fatal, yet the effects it has on a person are worse than poison. This thing will make you forget who you are, forget your family and friends and even whom you love. The world will become one big blur, as though you were merely dreaming. During this dream, you can do whatever you want. You don’t have to think about anything, you don’t have to worry about anything, and you can do something that you normally wouldn’t have done if you weren’t in this state, such as falling in love or even committing murder…”

“People are very bold in their dreams. I’m sure Miss Song has had dreams before. Think about the boldest and craziest dream you’ve had in your sleep and you’d understand what I mean.”

Ye Nan’s voice was calm, as though she had buried all her sadness. Her eyes were closed and it was impossible to see what look she had in her eyes. “Since it was just a dream, one would eventually wake up from it. And just like how many forget what they’d been dreaming about once they wake up, after the effects of Millet’s Dream wears off, you won’t remember what happened while you were in that dreamlike state. You would only remember who you are and vaguely remember that you did some things, but you wouldn’t remember any details.”

“If you never get the antidote, then you will never remember what actually happened during that time period. You will be tortured by this memory lapse for the rest of your life, wondering if you did anything terrible. If someone suddenly claims to know you, you would immediately wonder if you knew them during that time and whether anything awful happened between both of you.”

“If you get the antidote, you will remember all the insane things you did during that time. If you did something awful, you will hate yourself. If you didn’t do anything awful, you will find your state of self-denial something laughable and despise yourself. You might have turned out to be the sort of person you hate the most…”

“Millet’s Dream is not fatal but it’s the most evil thing in the world. It will cause turmoil inside your mind and that will result in turmoil in your life.”

Song Caitang became rather curious after listening to Ye Nan. Did something like that really exist? What combination of drugs would result in such an effect?

Nothing came to mind.

But just like how she viewed her transmigration to this world with reverence, she was not one to dismiss anything she couldn’t understand and would not deem it impossible immediately. After all, people from ancient times were very intelligent and inventive, so something like that… might have really existed.

“Did you return earlier than Liao Xingjian?” she asked.

Ye Nan laughed. She was laughing, but she looked like she was crying and her voice was hoarse. “Miss Song is very sharp and you really go straight to the point. That’s right, I returned a little earlier than him. Everyone in the Sanctum kept quiet about it, so Xingjian… had no idea.”

Song Caitang got it now. Ye Nan had gone looking for Liao Xingjian on the night before they got married not only to give him a chance to reconsider, but possibly to come clean about what happened.

She wanted to tell him about what happened in its entirety, regardless of whether he would accept it or whether he would call off the wedding. But in the end… she failed to get those words out of her mouth.

And that turned out to be the last conversation they would ever have.

When she noticed something strange about Ye Nan’s expression, Song Caitang asked quietly, “Do you… really not remember anything? Like… the craziest thing you did, or the people you met? No impression at all?”

“I do have some memories…” Ye Nan smiled bitterly. “If I really couldn’t remember anything, I wouldn’t be so tortured by this entire thing. Millet’s Dream will make sure that you remember the craziest thing you did. A few snippets and images of what happened and who you were with would be left behind. You’d know if the person was male or female and what you’d done together… you just wouldn’t remember who that person is or what they look like. But you’d remember what your subconscious thinks is important to remember.”

Song Caitang was indeed a very direct person. “So, you were with a man at that time?”

Ye Nan kept her head bowed and did not speak.

“And both of you did something crazy together?”

Ye Nan clenched her fists tightly. Her face was pale and she had a pained look on her face.

Her silence was as good as saying yes.

Song Caitang sighed inwardly. But she had to continue asking, “Was that person… Xin Yongwang?”

“I… don’t know.”

Ye Nan’s voice was hoarse and she sounded like she was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. She pressed a palm against her forehead and her body was trembling slightly. “I really don’t know… I can’t remember what that man looked like exactly, but Xin Yongwang has something that belongs to me, a custom made earring I bought after we had embarked on our trip…”

Only those who had been with her during that time would be able to get their hands on it.

“Besides him… it couldn’t be anybody else.”

Song Caitang could see that Ye Nan was really suffering inside.

She loved Liao Xingjian with all her heart, but because of an unexpected incident, she ended up giving her heart to someone else willingly without being even conscious of what was happening to her…

Perhaps she had done other crazy things during this time and the thought of it made her feel ashamed of herself.

“Ye Nan! So much for acting so pure and innocent all the time! You’ve turned out to be a whore!” shouted a high-pitched voice as someone barged into the room.