A Clash of Gods - Chapter 39

Chapter 39 A Strange Scar
Gu Qinghan frowned slightly. She hesitated for a while, and said to Yang Ning, “Ning, go by what the Dowager told you. Take off your upper garment.” She walked over with graceful steps, and helped Yang Ning take off his garment.

“You can go out first and let him stay here,” The Dowager said. The old lady didn’t look back, but she knew what was happening behind her as if there were eyes in the back of her head.

Gu Qinghan’s beautiful eyes showed a look of surprise, but she still respectfully said, “Yes!” She blinked at Yang Ning, motioning Yang Ning to be better-behaved. But in Yang Ning’s eyes, this beautiful woman was amused and cute. He smiled slightly at her. When Gu Qinghan went out, Yang Ning first took off the white mourning dress, and then removed his upper garment.

“Kneel down!” The Dowager pithily said.

Hearing the old lady’s old and cold voice, Yang Ning was in a bad mood. He didn’t know what the old lady was going to do, and knelt down beside her.

After Yang Ning knelt down, the Dowager slowly turned around. Yang Ning was slightly surprised when he saw her face. The old lady had a wrinkly face, aged seventy or eighty. Her skin was shriveled. But Yang Ning was not surprised at these. What surprised Yang Ning were the eyes of the Dowager.

Her eyes opened slightly, but Yang Ning couldn’t see her pupils. Her eyes were white. Yang Ning knew immediately that the Dowager of the Mansion of the Marquis of Honor was actually blind.

The Dowager lifted her shriveled hand and touched Yang Ning’s face. Yang Ning felt sick when he saw that the old lady’s hand was as skinny as the claw of chicken.

That shriveled hand touched Yang Ning’s face, and then slowly moved down to touch his left shoulder.

Yang Ning only felt that the old lady’s hand seemed to have no temperature and was quite cold, so his hair all over began to stand up.

The Dowager stopped when her hand was on Yang Ning’s shoulder, and suddenly said, “Turn around!”

Yang Ning swallowed his anger, wondering what the old lady wanted to do. But he also knew that the old lady was in a high position in the Mansion of the Marquis of Honor. If he needled her, she would definitely get him into trouble. When he thought that if he turned around, he didn’t need to see her wrinkled and horrific face, he immediately turned around. The Dowager touched Yang Ning’s left shoulder again, and moved to his back slowly.

Soon, her hand stopped at a certain part of his back, and she gently stroked it. Yang Ning suddenly got an unusual feeling, and he actually felt a scar on his back.

The Dowager was exactly touching that scar.

Yang Ning finally understood why the old lady asked him to take off his clothes and why she stroked his shoulder. If he guessed correctly, it should be for the scar below his left shoulder.

He was frightened at this moment.

Yang Ning knew quite a bit about his body after his soul was attached to this body. But he mainly paid attention to his appearance and height. In fact, he didn’t notice the scars on his body.

If it hadn’t been for the Dowager, Yang Ning wouldn’t have noticed the scar below his left shoulder.

If the Dowager was really trying to find this scar, why did she know the scar which he didn’t even notice? Could it be that the earl also had this scar below his left shoulder?

If that’s the case, it would be too appalling.

Although they looked almost the same, their identities and status were different after all. Their bodies could never be exactly the same either. The earl had tender and delicate skin, but Yang Ning’s skin was rather rough. Even the lengths of their fingers must be different.

If they had the same scar in the same place on their bodies, it would be simply a fantasy. That was incredible.

He was shocked at the moment. The Dowager had withdrawn her wizened hand. Her voice was softer now, “Your father passed away. He is a good descendant of the Qi Family. He did not bring disgrace to the Qi Family, let alone the title of the Marquis of Honor. From now on, you also must bring honor to the title of the Marquis of Honor.”

“I…” Yang Ning opened his mouth but didn’t say anything.

“You can go now. I’m glad that you come back. You need to arrange your father’s funeral first.” The Dowager’s wrinkly and aging face didn’t reveal any emotion. She turned to the Buddha statue, and put her palms together, hanging a string of rosary beads on her hands. Then she didn’t say any word.

Yang Ning was appalled and had such a panic fear after this.

He was clever. He knew the intention of the Dowager from her moves just now. Although the old lady’s eyes were blind, she could check the contour of face of her grandson with her fingers. Since Qi Ning was her grandson, of course she must be quite familiar with his contour of face.

Fortunately, their faces were exactly the same, so the Dowager didn’t question his identity. Although his skin was rougher, the Dowager didn’t suspect it because he was weather-beaten these days.

He had a darker complexion than Qi Ning. Today, the old and the young were in the mourning hall, but no one took a skeptical attitude. Obviously, they thought it was caused by external factors.

The Dowager immediately withdrew her hand when she touched that scar, so this must be the most important way of confirmation. Yang Ning was sure that there must be a catch in this scar. If there was no scar below his left shoulder, the consequences would be really unimaginable.

The Marquis of Honor was a second class general, so he must be a great figure in the Southern Chu State. Even Duan Canghai, who was strong and had a sharp brain, was only a guard in this mansion. If his real identity was revealed by this old lady, Yang Ning doubted whether he could walk out of the mansion safely.

The old lady was blind but clear-minded, so Yang Ning quickly got dressed and hurriedly left this dangerous place. This house for worship was a little quirky and the old lady was quite horrible, so Yang Ning really did not want to stay here for another half a second.

When he came out, Gu Qinghan was waiting for him in the courtyard. She was standing under the pipal tree gracefully, watching the vines hanging down from the courtyard wall.

Hearing the movement, Gu Qinghan turned around. When she saw that Yang Ning was approaching, she stepped forward and lowered her voice, “Ning, you didn’t make the Dowager angry, did you?”

Yang Ning shook his head. He wanted to know whether his guess was right or wrong, so he deliberately said, “Dowager… Grandma…” He pretended to be in a daze, wondering what he should call that old lady. Seeing that Yang Ning spoke with a stutter, Gu Qinghan thought Yang Ning was scared by the Dowager, so she said softly, “Your grandma has always been like this. She loves you in her heart. Don’t think too much.”

Yang Ning hurriedly said, “Grandma touched my shoulder.”

“Oh?” Gu Qinghan said, “You mean the scar in the shape of flower below your shoulder?” Her eyes rolled slightly and she said in a soft tone, “Your grandma misses you, so she wants to be close to you. She doesn’t mean anything else. Ning, I still need to talk with the Dowager. You can go back to the mourning hall first and stay there, okay?”

Yang Ning thought that Gu Qinghan really knew about the scar below his shoulder. Gu Qinghan said that the scar was in the shape of a flower, but he did not know what kind of flower it was. His guess was correct, because the Dowager was indeed verifying whether he had that scar.

But he was now even more horrified. It turned out that he was really the same as the dead earl. They both had a scar below their shoulders, and its shapes were exactly the same. If there was any difference between their scars, the Dowager would immediately find it and he would not easily muddle through.

He was just making a guess at the beginning. But now he was sure that this unheard-of fantastic story really happened to him. Yang Ning suddenly felt his head swimming, unable to figure out the reason.

Gu Qinghan saw that Yang Ning was dumbfounded, but she seemed to be accustomed to it. She approached until her pretty face was almost level with Yang Ning’s, and said softly, “Ning, what are you thinking?”

Yang Ning came out of his trance, only to see that Gu Qinghan’s beautiful face was quite close to him with a look of care. Gu Qinghan’s facial features were defined, and her skin was tender and alabaster. She didn’t apply any lipstick, but her beautiful lips were still pink and tempting, like a ripe cherry, making people want to take a bite.

That played havoc with Yang Ning’s mind. But he knew that he couldn’t bite this cherry, so he shook his head and said, “No…nothing.”

“Then you can go to the mourning hall,” Gu Qinghan whispered, “I’m going to see the Dowager.” With a soft smile, she walked into the house gracefully.

She had always been caring for Yang Ning, which was contrasted with her aloofness when facing other people in the mourning hall.

Yang Ning left the courtyard and followed the way he had walked along before. But he kept thinking about the scar below his shoulder. He was eager to find a mirror to see what was on his back.

Suddenly he thought of Xiaodie. He had already entered the capital, so Xiaodie must also have come here. But he did not know where she was. If he wanted to find Xiaodie, he must first find out which escort team brought her to the capital. He was now impersonating the earl of the Mansion of the Marquis of Honor, so he wondered whether he could take advantage of the power of this family to investigate this matter.

What that escort team did was a dirty deal of human trafficking, and they had backers behind the scene. Even if their backers were the nobility, they didn’t dare to expose their business above board. And the escort team which was the direct handler would also try its best to cover its tracks. Therefore, even if he used the power of the Mansion of the Marquis of Honor, he couldn’t get to the bottom of this matter quickly.

The Marquis of Honor was not only a marquis, but also the General Wei, a second class general. So Yang Ning believed that the power of the Mansion of the Marquis of Honor in print or in private would not be small.

But what he saw now in this mansion was just the tip of the iceberg. He was not clear what forces were available for him to use.

He thought about this while walking, and unconsciously wandered to the edge of a pond. There were many pavilions and terraces in this mansion, and the number of ponds and pools here was also large. This pond was quite large among all ponds in the mansion. There was also a rockery by the pond. Duan Canghai was sitting on a rock on the edge of the rockery now, leaning against the rockery and holding a wine bag in his hand.

Yang Ning approached, and rich aroma of the wine immediately assailed his nose. Duan Canghai was red-faced, which was caused by drinking.

“This guy was humiliated in the mourning hall today, so he must be upset. This burly man can’t vent his anger, and can only hide here and seek solace in drink.” Yang Ning sighed in his heart. Today when Third Elder Lord led the crowd to throw a fit at Gu Qinghan, Steward Qiu didn’t say a word. Instead, Duan Canghai came forward, so he must be a courageous and upright man.

Duan Canghai leaned against the rockery and his eyes were half-open, muttering something vaguely. Yang Ning stepped forward and lightly kicked Duan Canghai’s leg with his tiptoes. Duan Canghai raised his hand and waved, cursing, “Fuck off! Don’t mess with me. I…I am not a man to be offended…”

“Duan Canghai, what are you doing?” Yang Ning coughed, “You let me get out?”

Duan Canghai was stunned when he heard the voice, and opened his eyes in an instant. Seeing that Yang Ning was standing in front of him, he stood up quickly, staggering a little, “Your…Your Excellency, it’s you. I…” When he found that he was still holding a wine bag, he forced a smile, “Just…just a quick one…”

At this time, it was already a bit dim. Yang Ning looked up at the sky before sitting down on a smooth rock on the side, and asked, “You want to drown your sorrows because you are humiliated today? Water still flows, though you cut it with your sword; and sorrows return, though you drown them with wine. Don’t you know this?”