At the foot of Five Qi Mountain, there was a wide river.
Inside a cave, there was an open space with more than ten black-clothed people.
A man looked at the sky and said slowly, “Boss, it’s time.”
At this moment, the full moon hung directly overhead. The moon reflected in the water, and when a breeze blew, the moon in the water shattered into shimmering ripples.
At this time, a group of villagers appeared at the river’s edge. Seven women wearing ceremonial clothes had their hands and feet bound and were placed separately on seven bamboo rafts. Candles burned on the rafts, appearing somewhat terrifying in the moonlight.
The villagers knelt by the river, kowtowed, and then left.
After the people had gone far away, the black-clothed people in the cave came out and pulled the rafts’ ropes to shore.
The sacrificial young women were so frightened tears kept flowing, but they didn’t dare cry out loud, fearing they would anger the River God and suffer even crueler punishment.
“Walk this way.”
The black-clothed people used ropes to lead the young women into the cave.
The cave entrance was pitch black. After passing through a stone chamber, there were candles, and it gradually brightened.
Going further inside, the temperature grew colder and colder. Entering the last stone chamber, the young women were immediately frightened speechless.
There was a shallow pit here, densely packed with black insects.
Those insects had originally been lying quietly on the ground, but upon seeing the young women enter, they became agitated.
Yun Chu narrowed her eyes.
It seemed these were the gu worms.
She just didn’t know if these were all of them.
She held her composure and continued observing without revealing anything.
At this time, another black-clothed person appeared. Based on the attire, this person should have a higher status than the black-clothed people who had brought them in—the leader perhaps?
That person commanded in a hoarse voice, “Extract their heart’s blood.”
Two black-clothed people picked up sharp knives and walked over.
The young woman at the very front immediately screamed in terror.
Seizing the opportunity!
Yun Chu crushed the pill in her sleeve.
This was a nemesis for gu worms that Wu Yun had developed.
After the pill was crushed, the powder scattered in the air. Those immature gu worms immediately became even more agitated. Some near Yun Chu even trembled all over and instantly lost their life force.
“Boss, the gu worms are acting strange!” a black-clothed person cried out. “For some unknown reason, several have died.”
“Boss, trouble!” A black-clothed person ran in from outside the cave. “Many people suddenly appeared outside and have surrounded the cave entrance.”
The leading black-clothed person narrowed his eyes. “Take the gu worms and retreat first. We’ll come back after the storm passes.”
After speaking, he walked toward a stone chamber to the side.
Yun Chu turned her steps and followed into the stone chamber. Inside were all mature gu in pairs.
She was about to go in when she was discovered, and they surrounded her.
Having traveled widely over these years, plus with Chu Yi’s hands-on instruction, Yun Chu’s martial arts had improved considerably.
She abruptly drew the soft sword from her waist, stabbed the foremost black-clothed person to death with one thrust, then pressed forward in attack.
“So the problem is among the sacrificial offerings!”
The leading black-clothed person’s eyes darkened. With a wave of his hand, he ordered everyone to surround and attack Yun Chu.
At the same time, footsteps outside the cave drew closer and closer.
“Boss, we can’t continue entangling. We must retreat quickly!”
The leader also knew this principle and said coldly, “You few cover our rear. You few take the gu worms and retreat through the secret passage!”
“No one is permitted to leave!”
A blade came slicing through the air, landing horizontally before several people.
Immediately after, Chu Yi appeared in a flash, pulled out the large blade inserted in the stone crevice, and held it horizontally at the neck of the leading black-clothed person.
He shouted coldly, “Everyone stop!”
Those dozen or so black-clothed people didn’t dare move.
Soon, secret guards from outside surged in and controlled all the black-clothed people.
Yun Chu used her short sword to cut the ropes binding those young women.
The young girls cried while hugging each other, saying in disbelief, “We don’t have to die, do we? But we’ve offended the River God. Our village is finished…”
“He is not the River God,” Chu Yi said coolly. “Look carefully—he’s just like every one of us, with a nose and eyes, two hands and two feet. He bleeds, he feels fear…”
He directly slashed the leading black-clothed person’s arm, and immediately blood flowed out.
He continued, “He merely borrowed the River God’s identity to trick villagers into sacrificing you innocent young women to raise these insects. Go back. Tell the village chief and elders, tell your families—from now on, there’s no need to sacrifice to the River God anymore!”
Yun Chu took out all the pills from her sleeve, mixed them with water, and sprinkled them in the shallow pit. She also sprinkled the powder on those paired mature gu worms. Before long, all the gu worms had died.
Chu Yi pulled over some dry firewood, tossed a fire starter into the insect pit, and led everyone in retreat.
The sinful cave burned. All legends about the River God ended here.
Yun Chu and Chu Yi left the village and set out to return to the capital.
The capital was extraordinarily prosperous.
After the current Emperor returned victorious, he was to wed his Empress.
At the same time, the noble Princess Imperial was being married off to the legitimate fourth son of Duke Xingguo’s manor. The Princess Imperial’s residence was right beside the palace—one could say it was magnificent and splendid.
Chu Changsheng, dressed in wedding robes, sat before the mirror. Yun Chu stood behind her, combing her long hair.
“Back when we mother and daughter first met, you were still so small, couldn’t speak, and just looking at you broke one’s heart…” Yun Chu’s tone carried nostalgia. “The first word you learned to say was ‘Mother.’ I’ll remember that day forever… In the blink of an-eye, my little girl has grown up—seventeen years old now, getting married today. Time passes too fast, too fast…”
Chu Changsheng looked at herself in the mirror. For some reason, she seemed to see another version of herself. In that brief instant, she saw another self living a desolate life.
She couldn’t help but say, “If in this life I hadn’t happened to meet Mother, I think I probably would never have spoken for my entire life, would have trapped myself in a small plot of land my whole life until death… Meeting Mother was probably the luckiest thing in my life.”
“This was also the luckiest thing in my life,” Yun Chu pinned up her long hair. “Five years ago, your Father Emperor began building the Princess Imperial’s residence for you, right beside the palace—you can enter the palace just by walking out the door. In the future, no matter what grievances you suffer, you must enter the palace and tell your brother, or write to your parents. Don’t hide or conceal any grievances. Remember?”
Chu Changsheng raised a smiling face. “I’m the pearl held in the palms of Father, Mother, and Brother’s hands. I definitely won’t let myself suffer grievances.”
At this moment, Chu Hongjue walked in from the doorway. “Hmph, if that fellow Murong Bi dares make Elder Sister suffer grievances, my fists will certainly not spare him.”
Today he wore festive clothing—red robes that brought out the youth’s high spirits. It was just that he was a bit short in stature.
He walked to Chu Changsheng’s front, turned his back, and crouched down. “Elder Sister, get on. I’ll carry you on my back.”
“With your small frame, forget it,” Chu Hongyu arrived belatedly. “Changsheng, let your brother see you off in marriage.”
His empress enthronement ceremony was set for noon today, which didn’t conflict with his sister’s wedding departure time. This was his sister’s lifelong major event—he absolutely would not be absent.