After Losing His Memory, My Fiancé Has Someone Else in His Heart Chapter 4

Mount Laojun.

The medical consultation led by Master Fuling and several other physician-cultivators had reached a conclusion.

"What?!" Master Qingxu slammed the table and shot to his feet. "Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

Master Fuling rubbed his temples in exasperation. "Senior Brother Qingxu, didn’t you also study pharmacology back in the day? You even cheated by buying pill formulas from me when you couldn’t pass the exams."

Master Qingxu coughed awkwardly. "Ahem! You quack doctor, stop bringing up irrelevant nonsense and focus on the matter at hand!"

Master Fuling sighed and raised his brows. "In any case, the diagnosis is clear—she suffered from a cold but was mistakenly given fever-reducing pills. None of the other physicians present have any objections."

"That mortal—are you certain she hadn’t taken any cold-resistance pills beforehand? Are you absolutely sure she didn’t secretly take fever-reducing pills afterward just to frame my disciple?" Master Qingxu pressed aggressively. "Can you swear to it?"

"No—no—no!" Master Fuling raised both hands to fend off Master Qingxu’s grip on his collar and declared firmly, "Absolutely not."

Master Qingxu continued his interrogation. "Are you absolutely certain she only took two fever-reducing pills?"

"Certain," Master Fuling confirmed. "She was brought here in time, so it’s not too serious. I’ve already treated her with acupuncture. She just needs bed rest for a while."

Master Qingxu stubbornly insisted, "Something’s fishy here. That little girl deliberately stayed out all night under the qionghua tree, catching a chill—just so she could stick around, didn’t she?"

On the sickbed, Gu Meng’s already fragile face paled further.

Tears streamed silently from the corners of her eyes, soaking her hair and the pillow beneath her.

Master Qingxu added, "And now, she really can’t leave. Won’t Li Zhaoye come to visit her? Isn’t this exactly what she wanted?"

Gu Meng parted her lips weakly, shaking her head in silent protest.

Li Zhaoye sneered and opened his mouth to speak, but Master Qingxu was quicker—he silenced him with another spell.

Master Qingxu gloated, triumphantly overpowering the weak and sick. "Whoever benefits is the culprit. Isn’t that simple enough for everyone to understand?"

"Enough, Qingxu. Stop this unreasonable behavior!"

A stern woman’s voice cut through the room as Master Lingxue, the sect leader of the Tai Xuan Sect, strode into the infirmary with her entourage.

After reaching the Golden Core stage, cultivators could preserve their youthful appearances. As one of the three Nascent Soul grandmasters, Master Lingxue had chosen to maintain the dignified look of a woman in her thirties—common among high-ranking officials who preferred an air of maturity.

At the sight of his senior sister, Master Qingxu’s bravado dimmed slightly.

He crossed his arms, puffed out his chest, and took half a step forward to shield Luo Luo behind him, putting up a fierce front despite his wavering confidence.

"I’ve been briefed on the situation," Master Lingxue said as she took the seat of authority, her gaze cool and composed. "Since it’s confirmed that Gu Meng only ingested those two pills, then—"

Her sharp eyes lifted, locking onto Luo Luo. "Disciple Luo Luo of Mirror Twin Peak, do you admit your fault?"

Master Qingxu bristled. "Hey—!"

Luo Luo stood her ground. "Sect Leader, I’m certain I didn’t give her the wrong medicine."

Master Lingxue’s expression darkened with disappointment. "Master Qingxu and Li Zhaoye witnessed Gu Meng taking the pills you provided, and the physicians confirmed she ingested nothing else. The facts are undeniable. Will you still refuse to acknowledge your mistake?"

Luo Luo replied, "I did nothing wrong, so I won’t admit to it."

Master Lingxue demanded, "Then how do you explain this?"

Luo Luo remained firm. "I don’t know, but I’m sure I gave her cold-resistance pills."

"Defiant and unrepentant!" Master Lingxue scoffed in anger. "This is the kind of disciple Qingxu has spoiled rotten!"

Master Qingxu snapped, "Oh, so you’ve had it out for me all along, haven’t you?"

Master Lingxue ignored him, turning instead to the elder from the Discipline Hall standing quietly nearby.

The elder, his heavy-lidded eyes half-closed, recited in a measured tone, "According to sect rules, those who refuse to admit their faults shall be confined to the Reflection Cliff for three days. Admission of guilt exempts punishment."

Then, he subtly glanced at Master Qingxu, as if urging him: Just make your disciple apologize! A simple mistake like this isn’t worth the punishment—let alone the permanent record! And do you know how much paperwork I’d have to do?

Who in their right mind wants overtime?

Master Qingxu’s expression shifted slightly. He snorted. "My disciple has a heart of gold. Just yesterday, she even drew the poison from that woman into herself! She suffered all night in pain—how could she possibly harm anyone? Right, Luo Luo?"

Luo Luo appreciated her master’s effort, but she refused to bend. "I’m perfectly lucid. I didn’t make a mistake."

"Very well. Then the punishment stands." Master Lingxue shook her head in disappointment. "If you must blame anyone, blame Li Zhaoye for shifting his affections—not Gu Meng. Haven’t you been taught? As women, we should not harbor malice toward one another."

At this, Master Qingxu perked up with glee.

He smirked, his tone dripping with sarcasm. "Oh, how noble of you! Then why, as a woman yourself, do you so readily assume the worst of my disciple? Isn’t that the pot calling the kettle black? Or should I say—the thief crying ‘Stop thief!’"

Master Lingxue’s temper flared. "You—!"

"Me? What about me?" Master Qingxu puffed out his chest proudly.

Truly, Master Lingxue had met her match in this incorrigible man.

Suppressing her fury, she spoke coldly. "Then tell me—how could a mortal woman with no cultivation whatsoever swap the pills right under your nose? You’re a Nascent Soul grandmaster, attuned to the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. Even the subtlest disturbance wouldn’t escape your senses. Do you truly believe she could’ve pulled such a trick undetected?"

The others present kept their eyes down, feigning obliviousness.

If the sect leader was driven to such… undignified language, Master Qingxu must have truly outdone himself this time.

Master Qingxu held his breath for a long moment.

Finally, he threw all caution to the wind. "Ha! Then I’ll just say it—yes, that mortal pulled it off right under my nose!"

He smirked defiantly, his expression screaming, What are you going to do about it?

In the end, two people were sentenced to the Reflection Cliff.

Luo Luo looked utterly defeated. "Master!"

Since when did a venerable Nascent Soul grandmaster—a pillar of the sect—get punished with confinement?

"Don’t worry about it!" Master Qingxu waved a hand dismissively. "That old shrew has been itching for a chance to get back at me. She’s just seizing the opportunity!"

Luo Luo couldn’t help but disagree. "The sect leader acted according to the rules. The evidence in my case is irrefutable—anyone would’ve ruled the same way."

Master Qingxu sighed. "Must you be so stubborn? Couldn’t you have just said you didn’t remember? What if you really did make a mistake?"

"No," Luo Luo said firmly. "Right is right, wrong is wrong. I wasn’t wrong."

Master Qingxu was at a loss for words. "…"

The biting winds of the cliffside began to howl, and the master-disciple pair hugged their arms for warmth.

Master Qingxu still couldn’t let it go. "That venomous woman—accusing you like that! It makes my blood boil."

Luo Luo grinned. "Master, I'm just a fish caught in the crossfire. When the city gates burn, the pond fish suffer. The sect leader’s words weren’t really about me—she was hinting at 'no one taught me,' which means she’s pointing fingers at you, Master!"

"..." Master Qingxu huffed. "She wronged you, and you’re not even annoyed?"

Luo Luo shook her head. "If a sect leader ignores facts and evidence, favoring her disciples based on emotions like you do, Master, wouldn’t the sect fall into chaos?"

Master Qingxu rapped her forehead in frustration. "You little brat, can’t tell good from bad! Who’s on your side here?"

Luo Luo rubbed her head, still smiling. "Of course it’s you, Master."

Master Qingxu snorted. "We’re a master-disciple team."

Luo Luo corrected him with a shake of her head. "More like partners in crime."

The blizzard howled at the foot of the Cliff of Reflection.

Those being punished were forbidden from using cultivation or magical tools to resist—any fluctuation in spiritual energy would be detected by the formation, worsening their penalty.

Under the formation’s power, the cold was biting, the wind like knives scraping bone.

This time, the Frost Formation had been activated—a taste of one’s own medicine, teaching her the principle of "do unto others as you would have them do unto you."

Master Qingxu, aware of Luo Luo’s condition, felt a pang of heartache. "Look at you..."

He turned and found her cheerfully catching snowflakes with her hands.

"Master!" she said, her voice trembling from the cold. "This punishment is actually pretty great."

If not for the way each word shivered out of her, Master Qingxu might have believed her.

"Why act tough with me?" His lips drooped all the way to his chin.

"I’m not acting tough," Luo Luo replied, still shivering but grinning. "If I really had intentionally made someone suffer in the cold, this would be a good lesson—I’d never dare do it again."

"You’re not upset?"

"You believe in me, Master, and you’re freezing here with me. That’s enough to keep me from feeling wronged."

Master Qingxu paused, his expression softening before he turned his face away.

The wind roared.

After a long silence, the great cultivator sighed softly. "No matter what happens in the future, this master will protect you."

How had he ended up with such a foolish disciple?

"If you can’t take it, just say the word. I’ll shatter this damned formation and take you with me to defect from the sect!"

"...Master, let’s not go that far."

When the night’s toxic energy flared up, Luo Luo secretly formed a sword-finger gesture and squatted on the ground, drawing aimless patterns.

Amid the raging snowstorm, cold sweat dripped down her forehead.

The sweat beneath her robes froze instantly, cracking like brittle ice with every slight movement.

Luo Luo grinned through gritted teeth. "Master, listen! Don’t I sound like a crispy wafer?"

Master Qingxu: "..."

Yes, yes, you’re a wafer.

By the dead of night, Luo Luo turned her head with the sluggishness of a zombie, her gaze vacant like a ghost’s.

She murmured, "Master..."

Master Qingxu shuddered. "Yeah?"

She asked, "What do you think Li Zhaoye is like in the eyes of others?"

Master Qingxu answered offhandedly, "Strong. Arrogant. Aloof."

A prodigy in his youth, too proud to bother with most people.

Luo Luo nodded. "Just like how he is now."

Around outsiders, he always put on the act of a cold, untouchable swordsman—silent, avoiding pointless interactions.

His very bones radiated an arrogance that looked down on the world.

Master Qingxu agreed. "Extremely punchable."

"But Master," Luo Luo said, her stare unnervingly intense, "you and I both know he’s not like that around those he considers his own."

Master Qingxu blinked. "Are you saying we’ve become outsiders now?"

Luo Luo resumed drawing circles in the snow.

After a long pause, she muttered, "Master... I really miss Li Zhaoye."

Master Qingxu did a quick calculation—right now, Li Zhaoye was probably keeping watch over Gu Meng as she slept.

He scowled. "Don’t waste your thoughts on him!"

"Master," Luo Luo hesitated, "there’s something..."

Master Qingxu’s instincts screamed trouble. Rubbing his throbbing temples, he sighed. "Go on. This master can handle it."

Luo Luo raised her left hand.

Her sleeve slid back, revealing two intertwined crimson soul marks forming a double-heart shape on her wrist.

Its glow had dulled significantly, pulsing weakly in time with her heartbeat.

Master Qingxu’s jaw dropped. "How much of your soul-blood did you waste? Were you feeding the fish in the Black Abyss Sea?"

Luo Luo: "..."

Luo Luo: "It’s not like none of it came back. I recovered quite a bit."

Even she didn’t sound convinced.

"At the time, I just kept scattering it into the sea, so..." The more she spoke, the more it sounded like chumming waters. She shook off the absurd thought. "I didn’t notice how much was lost. But even after I returned, it kept fading."

"What?"

Master Qingxu was stunned.

Soul-blood didn’t just vanish without reason.

"How is this possible?" Frowning, he ignored the rule against using cultivation in the Cliff of Reflection and pressed two fingers to her wrist, channeling a stream of spiritual energy.

Ahem, ahem! The Discipline Hall elder outside the formation coughed exaggeratedly as a warning. "Ahem!"

Master Qingxu paid no attention, even as the elder coughed his lungs out.

After a long moment, Master Qingxu’s expression turned grave. "It’s true. Your soul-blood is still dissipating. Slowly, but still—this can’t continue."

Luo Luo stared at her wrist.

"I don’t know why, Master," she whispered. "When the soul-blood fades, my wrist aches... and so does my heart. I feel like Li Zhaoye... might be hurting even more than I am."

Master Qingxu inhaled deeply and looked skyward.

What kind of mess was this?!

"Don’t worry," the great cultivator declared solemnly. "Once we’re out of this prison—ahem—once we’re free, this master will drag Li Zhaoye to you, even if I have to tie him up!"

"Hey! Hey!"

The Discipline Hall elder shouted through a megaphone from the cliff above. "That’s enough! No more spiritual energy! Leave some room for courtesy—we’ll have to face each other again someday!"

On the day they left the Cliff of Reflection, Master Qingxu kept his promise—he hauled Li Zhaoye before Luo Luo.

BANG!

With a mighty slam of the precious hall doors, Master Qingxu made it clear he intended to lock the two inside until the end of time.

Li Zhaoye glanced indifferently at the sealed exits before turning to Luo Luo, his gaze laced with mockery.

Luo Luo looked up at him.

Their eyes locked, neither yielding.

"Li Zhaoye," she called.

The corner of his lips twitched in acknowledgment.

She asked, "Is there something terrible forcing you to stay away from me?"

He arched a brow and scoffed. "Overthinking it."

She pressed on, "Do you really love Gu Meng?"

His expression darkened. "Didn’t you learn your lesson last time? What else do you plan to do to her?"