Chapter 147: Nightmare Omen

The kiss, soft and quiet, landed amidst the autumn air above the flowing riverbed. It was a simple touch of four lips. Ning Yi was slightly stunned. The woman before him had trembling eyelashes. A moment later, holding the blanket, she took a step back, her face flushed and her head lowered. But then she raised her eyes again.

"Yun Zhu... Yun Zhu has nothing else she can do. She can only play a few tunes and sing some songs. Besides that... this is all she can do..."

She smiled earnestly, then lowered her head again.

"These past few days, hearing about your situation, Li Heng, I was so worried I didn't know what to do. But you never came. I'm so happy to see you're alright today... But I also know that encountering such a thing, no matter how open-minded you are, Li Heng, you must still be somewhat unhappy. If... er..."

"What you did was very risky..." Ning Yi sighed softly, then reached out and touched her left cheek. Nie Yun Zhu's neck instinctively recoiled, and her eyes darted around, a little flustered. A moment later, she tilted her head slightly, somewhat shyly, and leaned her cheek against his hand, feeling the gentle caress of his palm. Ning Yi also tilted his head slightly, and after a moment, he smiled a complex smile.

"Heh, these past few days, it's really been annoying at home..."

"A bunch of people chattering incessantly, the Su family lot nearly coming to blows, their resentment almost reaching the sky..."

"Hmm, heh, looks like I'm quite pathetic..."

"Messed up the business..."

"Made a huge fool of myself..."

"Got played and then everyone treated me like an idiot..."

"Heh heh, this counts as..." Long after, Ning Yi still seemed to find it amusing as he shook his head. "Heh..."

Nie Yun Zhu stood there, holding the blanket, her cheek pressed against his palm, feeling the warmth there. She hadn't dared to look up before, but only now did she feel a little strange. She lifted her gaze slightly, and in her line of sight, his figure leaned closer. In a blink of an eye, her lips were sealed again.

"Mmm..." Her body recoiled slightly, her back pressing directly against the wooden wall. In the sunlight, Ning Yi's figure pressed in, almost touching her through the thin blanket. But it wasn't unpleasant. One hand also wrapped around her waist, along her back. Rustling leaves were in her vision, and sunlight glinted golden through them. At that moment, she felt light-headed.

When she came to her senses a little, her body was almost lying on the terrace, her back against the wall, so she hadn't completely fallen. Ning Yi squatted beside her, embracing her. Their joined lips separated slightly. He looked at her, still smiling. The smile was a little strange, and also somewhat relieved. At that moment, Nie Yun Zhu was naturally unable to think about these things. Their bodies were almost pressed together, their chests rising and falling unevenly, pressed against each other. It seemed that with every heartbeat, the sensation grew clearer. Ning Yi's left hand was around the side of her chest, almost touching the skin between her breast and ribs. Her lips moved as she tried to calm herself down a little, but she naturally failed.

When she impulsively kissed him earlier, she had tried to consider the consequences of doing so. She just hadn't expected certain things to happen so quickly. She had never experienced these things before, but since he liked it, then...

"Yun Zhu's body has never been touched by other men before, but... if Li Heng wants it, I'm willing..."

Her face was crimson and somewhat earnest, her words as light as a flying mosquito. But at such close proximity, Ning Yi naturally heard them clearly. He merely looked at Nie Yun Zhu's expression, the smile on his face unchanged. And at this moment, a faint sound came from the side of the terrace. Ning Yi and Nie Yun Zhu turned their heads.

Appearing at the doorway to the terrace was Yuan Jin'er, dressed in a green skirt. She had perhaps just returned home, heard voices from the terrace, and thus excitedly ran over to find Nie Yun Zhu. She had only just stepped two paces over the threshold when she froze. Her right index finger was gently bitten between her lips—this was probably her expression when she first entered, still with a smile. Now she was frozen there. The three of them looked at each other. Yuan Jin'er maintained her finger-biting pose, her eyes darting around, her face turning red then pale. Then she suddenly turned around, intending to run.

She ran in the wrong direction, then turned back again, tripping over the threshold and falling with a thud onto the floor by the door. As a girl, from the sound of it, she had quite a terrible fall—even Ning Yi's eyes twitched. What's more, she fell while still biting her finger. Both of her feet were still extended over the threshold, and one of her embroidered shoes had fallen off. She didn't pay it any mind, continuing to scramble and run.

Meanwhile, Ning Yi and Nie Yun Zhu no longer had the same atmosphere as before. Nie Yun Zhu kept her gaze fixed on him, her eyes darting around. When she saw Ning Yi look back, she immediately lowered her head, then turned to the empty space on her left. When Ning Yi released her, she was still holding the blanket, her back against the wall, her legs curled up.

"I, I... I'll go check on Jin'er..."

She whispered this, glanced at Ning Yi, then got up and chased after her.

"Heh..."

Ning Yi was still smiling. He sat down with his back against the wall at the spot where he had been, leaning his head back and gazing at the sunlight filtering through the rustling leaves. Near the guqin not far away, the smile on his face deepened. It was a happy smile, as if he had gained something...

He, of course, understood the reason for Nie Yun Zhu's emotional change today, and he had been happy about it just now. In this world, there are always some people who genuinely consider you, and whether you need it or not, that's always a heartwarming thing. He didn't really need to hide anything from Nie Yun Zhu; it was just that he hadn't talked about it until now, so there was no need to explain what had happened these past few days. He hadn't expected her to go to such lengths, though.

Now, it's simple... and also troublesome.

From the hall, Nie Yun Zhu seemed to have caught up with Yuan Jin'er, and faint sounds of an argument could be heard. Yuan Jin'er seemed very upset, sobbing. Of course, whether it was truly that severe could only be known by seeing it, but the sound certainly suggested it.

"Sister Yun Zhu, how could you..."

"In broad daylight, the two of you on the terrace, wanting, wanting to..."

"Even if I take a step back, you're on the terrace, outside—I won't say anything, no one on the river saw you... But even if you wanted to do that, you shouldn't... you shouldn't have used the blanket I sleep with..."

"Ning Li Heng is a pervert!"

Yuan Jin'er yelled, giving the wall a hard kick from her side. Being a wooden wall, and having lived here a long time, she accurately gauged Ning Yi's position. The vibration of the kick came through, making Ning Yi feel as if he'd been sharply hit on the back. He moved slightly away from the wooden wall and laughed uncontrollably. His laughter grew louder, and then he couldn't help but pound the terrace several times with his fist.

Yuan Jin'er was filled with indignation, while Ning Yi was utterly shameless. Between them, perhaps only Nie Yun Zhu was the most awkward and shy, caught in the middle. A moment later, she came onto the terrace, her figure in a white dress timid and shrinking, her fingers almost wringing white in front of her. Suddenly, she transformed from a fairy-like image, playing the zither and singing, into a timid young wife who couldn't cook after descending to the mortal world and was scolded by her mother-in-law. Ning Yi looked at her and smiled, then patted the spot beside him. Nie Yun Zhu walked over, shyly bent her legs and sat down, pulling at the hem of her skirt to cover her ankles and socks.

"Uh, what we talked about just now, does it still count?"

Ning Yi clasped her hand and asked with a smile. With Yuan Jin'er's interruption, perhaps all the atmosphere was gone. However, some things that needed to be confessed still had to be confessed now. Some relationships that needed clarification could no longer be avoided. Of course, starting with such words, Nie Yun Zhu became slightly shy again for a moment: "Jin'er, Jin'er is home..."

Ning Yi laughed again. Amidst the golden light, the two figures on the terrace conversed. Nie Yun Zhu was sometimes shy, sometimes serious, sometimes surprised. But in the end, their clasped hands did not let go...

It was already afternoon when they emerged from the small building and set off on their way back. Ning Yi thought about what had happened earlier, the confession or whatever else, and sighed softly: "The wicked old society..." If this had happened over a year ago, when he and Nie Yun Zhu had such a situation, perhaps he would have chosen to find another place to live with her. But now, in the Su residence, there was not only Su Tan'er but also Xiao Chan. And on Nie Yun Zhu's part, she had never intended to put him in a difficult position, which ironically might be what made it difficult for him.

Of course, thinking about it this way, it sounds like a man who took advantage and then spoke cynically about it...

When he passed by Elder Qin's residence, he was about to go in for a visit. He saw Lu Agui standing outside the door, and only then realized that Kang Xian was also there today.

Inside the house, the Zhou family siblings had also followed them there. Seeing Ning Yi, young Jun Wu ran over to demand an explanation: "Teacher, my sister and I went to look for you this morning, where were you?" "Uh, I had something to do this morning..." Ning Yi patted his head. Over there, Kang Xian had just finished a game of chess with Elder Qin. He then exchanged a few greetings with Ning Yi and invited him over for a game. Zhou Jun Wu pulled a small stool over and sat down. Zhou Pei, meanwhile, followed along somewhat silently, occasionally glancing at Ning Yi's expression. Ning Yi chatted idly with Elder Qin and Kang Xian. He had something on his mind, so he frowned as he placed his pieces. After a moment, Kang Xian said: "The city gates will open in a few days. How about we arrange the ceremony for these two children to become your disciples soon?"

Ning Yi looked at Zhou Jun Wu, then at Zhou Pei, and smiled: "You still want me to teach them like this? Won't they be very disappointed in me?"

"Victory and defeat are common in warfare, as Grandpa Fuma says. This isn't what Teacher is best at, so even if they lose, it's because they're too despicable. I still really like the telescopes and such..."

Zhou Pei was silent for a moment: "I'm learning the way of calculation from you, not business..."

"How about it?" Kang Xian laughed. Elder Qin pulled young Jun Wu's hand beside him: "Two good children."

"Since that's the case, of course I'll teach them. But let's hold off on the disciple ceremony for now; it's a bit too conspicuous."

Kang Xian thought for a moment, placed a chess piece, and after a few more minutes of small talk, finally asked: "Are you troubled recently?"

"Yes." Ning Yi picked up a chess piece and nodded.

"Actually, I've been waiting for you to come ask for help these past few days, but you never did..."

Ning Yi glanced at him: "Heh, Elder Kang's generosity..." He hadn't thought of this and laughed, but Kang Xian was somewhat serious.

"Those who achieve great things are not necessarily proficient in everything. I know your character; you don't wish to owe favors easily, which is why I didn't interfere before. But to this extent, it's something that can be resolved with a mere gesture. What's difficult about speaking up? Does our friendship make you feel that even this small favor is too much to owe me?"

As he said this, Ning Yi looked around and also became slightly serious. After a moment, he finally nodded: "Alright..."

In the vast city of Jiangning, this might have been just a small corner where idle people gathered. A pebble tossed into a pond creates a small ripple, then is smoothed away amidst the wind and rain. Soon after, the city gates opened, and Li Pin left Jiangning for Tokyo to seek an official post. Before leaving, he even consoled Ning Yi about the matter with the Wu family. Yushan Academy resumed classes, and some children dropped Ning Yi's course. Su Zhongkan also seemed to want to stir up trouble in the academy, encouraging some masters to discuss and ostracize Ning Yi. However, under Ning Yi's usual self-contented demeanor, these efforts had little effect for the time being.

Everything was developing as everyone expected. The Wu family had secured the imperial merchant status and was preparing for it. Su Tan'er tried to stabilize the Su family's situation, but it seemed to be on an inevitable decline. She invested large amounts of capital into what was originally a market targeting the Wu family. In everyone's eyes, it was probably just a woman's hysterical preparation to flood the market with low-priced goods and disrupt it. Of course, since it hadn't been implemented yet, not many people were actively trying to bring her down.

Externally, thanks to Su Tan'er's efforts, there was only a slight decline. The others were probably waiting for Su Tan'er to truly step down or for everything to settle before considering abandoning the Su family. Even if the Su family retained a medium-sized scale later, some people would still abandon them. As for within the Su family, the pressure on Su Tan'er was growing heavier. Su Boyong had not yet passed away, so he could still hold on for the time being, but how long he could last seemed difficult to say. Some cousins and younger relatives who were originally close to the eldest branch now began to gravitate towards the second and third branches.

In the outside world, people were excitedly discussing the Wu family's ruthless tactics this time. They were also enthusiastically talking about the poem 'Drinking Wine with Pei Di,' Ning Li Heng's embarrassment, and his current quiet, downcast state. Of course, what was discussed more was the future structure of the textile industry and the Wu family's expansion. For another month, there was no movement. The situation in Jiangning's textile industry appeared to be rapidly changing and brewing. People were almost forgetting Ning Li Heng. At a time when no one understood or felt it necessary to understand his recent movements, some things finally began to emerge like a nightmare.

That was in late September. Exactly one month had passed since the annual textile industry gathering after the Mid-Autumn Festival. During this month, everything had been so clear, but then one day, without any warning to the outside world, things began to turn strange.

If this were a thousand years later, it would be like a stock that steadily and predictably reached its peak. Just when everyone believed it would continue its rise, it plummeted and crashed without warning. No one even understood why. And when people finally began to understand, they could at last see the darkness hidden within those past events, and the figure that had loomed over everyone from the very beginning...