In his view, this had been an unsolvable situation. After all, even if this person had the tremendous luck to find Uncle’s wooden tower, if Uncle refused to come out, who could force him out?
Yet she had actually managed it.
“Promise to cooperate with me in the future and I’ll tell you.”
“Fine.”
“I learned from a friend that your Uncle might use orchid mantises as rings, so my first search was a screening process, selecting all the wooden towers that had orchid mantises.”
“But orchid mantises are found in many places…”
“That’s where your Uncle’s second quirk comes in—he has trypophobia. Last time when the mountain was overrun with poisonous insects, it triggered his fury and he killed all the insects in one go. I heard his complaints with my own ears. So I used honey to attract ants, covering the jar with them. It looks like nothing to you, but to someone with trypophobia, it’s absolutely terrifying. Of course, he could choose not to come out and pretend not to see it, but his wooden tower is so clean, he must have some obsessive tendencies. When I smashed densely packed ants all over his bed, if someone with trypophobia didn’t explode with rage, I’d take his surname.”
“…What’s trypophobia?”
“It’s when seeing densely packed things causes physiological revulsion, an unbearable feeling.”
Tie Ci looked up. The person in blue was already sitting by the wooden tower’s window, watching her expressionlessly as he said, “You don’t need to drink the poison anymore, and I won’t pursue your crime of holding A’Chong hostage either. You may leave.”
Tie Ci said, “Now that I’ve seen you and passed the test, save the person.”
“Did I ever promise to save anyone?”
The same old trick.
Tie Ci smiled.
She said with charming grace, “I only wanted you to come out and see my determination with your own eyes.”
She dragged A’Chong out from behind her. Cold light flashed in her palm, blood splattered, and A’Chong let out a piercing scream.
A finger rolled into the dust.
Blood splashed across the front of Tie Ci’s boots.
This move was so fast and sudden that even the person in blue didn’t react in time, let alone A’Ji, A’Kou and the others who had rushed over.
A deathly silence fell before the wooden tower.
After a long moment, A’Ji let out a great cry and was about to rush forward, but was desperately held back by Feng Huan, whose face had also turned ashen.
“Don’t come near me, don’t threaten me,” Tie Ci said calmly. “I told you, even if you hack me to pieces the next instant, I can kill him first. One finger is advance proof.”
A’Chong had already fainted in her grasp, collapsing limply into a heap, his trailing sleeve soaked with blood.
The person in blue stared at Tie Ci.
At this moment, Tie Ci heard a vast vibrating sound from the distant horizon, as if something was sweeping across the sky and earth.
Accompanied by howling, swirling winds.
The ground was also trembling faintly. Unknown hooves trampled with the momentum of thousands of troops and horses. The entire mountain forest seemed to be rustling, forest seas generating waves, ten thousand beasts roaring.
She also heard those distant, muffled sounds—panicked footsteps on the ground, urgent sounds of parting grass and leaves, sounds of breaking branches, loud calls to each other in strange syllables for shelter, mixed with some official language carrying Yannan accents.
These sounds came from extremely far away, instantly swept away by the increasingly approaching wind.
She looked up at the sky. Somehow the sky had become dark, with roiling clouds.
In front of her was an icy chill as if the air had suddenly dropped dozens of degrees, while behind her was scorching heat as if ten furnaces had been lit.
Wind like knives and frost like swords, tormented by cold and heat.
That was the concentrated fury and killing intent of Duanmu and everyone else, provoked by her brazen challenge. One step further and it could take her life.
Tie Ci lowered her eyes, only pulling A’Chong closer to herself and raising the dagger to his heart.
The finger on the ground still lay there bloodily. A line of deep red had splashed onto her forehead, made vivid by her snow-white skin, making her look as if she had an extra crimson eye on her brow—cold, fierce, and arrogant, gazing down upon the world.
The person in blue looked at her, the severed finger, the small knife.
After a long while, the wind gradually faded, the ground stopped shaking, grass became still and trees quiet, and the cold and scorching heat slowly dissipated.
The person in blue raised his hand, and the orchid mantis lifted its front limbs.
Someone came forward, walked to Tie Ci’s side, and lifted Murong Yi.
Tie Ci didn’t move. She only watched A’Chong.
She wasn’t afraid of these people harming Murong Yi. After all, the worst outcome would just be Murong Yi’s death.
These people would understand that if Murong Yi died, she would make them regret it.
She only held A’Chong tightly.
The person in blue watched as Murong Yi was carried into the wooden tower, then said calmly, “I hate you very much.”
Tie Ci smiled as usual, her expression no different from when hearing others sing praises.
“You injured the leader of the Mo tribe, violated the Mo tribe’s dignity, and want me to break my oath to save someone. You must pay a price for this.”
“Please speak.”
The person in blue pointed to a patch of mountain forest on the side of the terraced fields and said, “That is where A’Chong’s elder clansmen rest, the eternal resting place of generations of Mo tribe leaders. Since you harmed their descendant, you must kneel step by step to that place and apologize to all the Mo tribe ancestors. Only then will the spirits of this place forgive you.”
“No!”
Before Tie Ci could speak, Feng Huan jumped out first, rolling up his sleeves aggressively, “She cannot kneel! She is…”
“Feng Huan,” Tie Ci said.
Feng Huan stopped in time, his eyes widening, “Anyway, she cannot kneel! If someone really must kneel, I’ll go kneel!”
A’Ji said angrily, “What business is it of yours to kneel!”
Feng Huan’s voice didn’t weaken at all, “I’m your husband! I’m already part of the Mo tribe! Since I’ve entered your family, shouldn’t I be added to the ancestral hall, recorded in the genealogy, and meet the ancestors? Isn’t it natural for me to kneel? Or are you not planning to take responsibility for me?”
A’Ji was dumbstruck, pointing at him, “You… you… you clearly… you previously…”
Feng Huan said without blushing, “I clearly changed several positions earlier, and you expressed satisfaction!”
A’Ji: “You’re talking nonsense!”
Feng Huan: “If you don’t let me kneel, you’re abandoning me after using me!”
The person in blue: “Shut up.”
As soon as he spoke, A’Ji immediately fell silent. Feng Huan, being very tactful, also didn’t dare speak.
Tie Ci felt that sensation of wind, clouds, thunder and lightning again. Clearly the person in blue’s mood had suddenly soured again.
“There’s one more condition.”
Tie Ci looked at him calmly.
“I once swore an oath that apart from the Mo tribe people, I would never again personally save a life with my own hands. Since someone wants to live through my hands, someone must die through my hands.”
Tie Ci said, “Fine.”
She answered so readily that even Feng Huan didn’t understand the meaning of these words. Only after a while did he react, his face changing dramatically.
“What does this mean? What does this mean? Is it asking you to trade life for life? This won’t do—”
No one paid attention to him. The person in blue pointed toward the burial ground, pointed at Tie Ci, then snapped the window shutters closed.
“I can save the person, but how I save him, how much I save, whether the process is painful—it all depends on my mood.”
In other words, he was already in a bad mood. If Tie Ci didn’t kneel, his mood would be even worse. Even if he detoxified Murong Yi, he would make him suffer greatly or leave lasting problems.
Tie Ci held A’Chong and stood up, picked up the severed finger, and looked toward the burial ground without a word.
Feng Huan followed step by step. A’Ji was still angry, crossing his arms and turning his face away, ignoring him.
The villagers didn’t follow. They looked at the burial ground with complex expressions, then all dispersed.
Tie Ci handed A’Chong to Feng Huan and also stuffed the bloody small knife into Feng Huan’s hands. Seeing A’Chong still unconscious, Feng Huan began chattering, “Your Highness, what kind of person are you? You should only kneel to Heaven and Earth. How can the ancestors of these barbarian commoners deserve your kneeling? It would diminish their fortune…”
Fine rustling sounds came from all directions.
Feng Huan, completely oblivious, continued chattering, “I heard that adult Mo tribe men and women all have a companion venomous creature, like pets, that follow them throughout their lives and are buried with their masters after death, treated as family.” He rubbed his arms with a toothache-like expression, “Your Highness, can you imagine? On either side of A’Ji’s and my bed sleep two pig dragons, pig dragons! Have you ever tried having two pig dragons on either side of your bed, grinning with huge mouths watching you… do things? I went soft right then… Ah, Your Highness, what are you doing!”
Tie Ci had already knelt down without hesitation and knocked her head on the ground with a loud bang.
Feng Huan was stunned.
Tie Ci raised her head, with grass and mud stuck to her forehead. She reached out to brush them away.
Feng Huan stammered, pointing at her, then at the direction of the cemetery, and after a long while finally found his voice, “Ah this… ah this isn’t… ah this won’t do… Your Highness, get up! Get up! I can’t bear to watch!”
“Then don’t watch.”
“Can’t I do it in your place?” Feng Huan lifted his robes to kneel.
Tie Ci stopped him, “He wants me to kneel. Don’t complicate things.”
Feng Huan still looked unbearable. Tie Ci didn’t like him acting this way. She looked him up and down and said, “If you really want to kneel, go ahead. Kneel to yours and beg A’Ji’s ancestors to cure your impotence.”
“Who’s impotent! Who’s impotent!” Feng Huan jumped up like he’d been pricked by needles.
Tie Ci knocked her head down again.
Feng Huan fell silent, watching with mixed emotions as she finished knocking, stood up, took a step, and knelt again, meticulously carrying out the person in blue’s requirements.
He heard her murmur, “Today I kneel step by step, praying before graves. If you spirits truly know from beyond, know that these prostrations are extra. I give extra, but you cannot receive extra. I am the Crown Prince, the future Emperor. My kowtows move sun and moon, known by Heaven and Earth. If you don’t want your descendants’ fortune to be thin and seven generations inauspicious, then repay today’s prostrations well, protect Murong Yi throughout this life—no frightening storms, no fear of poison, no harm, no shortened years… all manner of good fortune.”
Feng Huan stood behind her, watching as the slanting sun gilded her thin shoulder lines, straight and true, able to bear sun and moon, and also able to bear the desolate wind of this moment in the graveyard.
She was the golden and precious Crown Prince, the future master of this Great Qian, born with inherent dignity and pride. Her knees should only kneel to Heaven and Earth; even ruler, parent, and teacher might not necessarily make her bend her knees. He had also seen too many imperial and noble families being callous and unfeeling, taking it for granted. He had never thought their Crown Princess would be so deeply loyal, so resolute and determined.
After a long while, he said with mixed emotions, “Your Highness, why go to such lengths?”
“I think it’s worth it, so it’s worth it.”
“That fellow really… must have practiced Buddhist vegetarianism for ten lifetimes to earn meeting you in this life.”
“Don’t tell him about this,” Tie Ci said. “How do you know I didn’t practice Buddhist vegetarianism for ten lifetimes to meet him?”
Feng Huan said nothing, only silently following behind her, helping her clear the weeds and broken stones from the ground.
He suddenly rubbed his arms, “Why is it so cold?”
Looking up again, he saw snowflakes drifting down from the sky.
Feng Huan rubbed his eyes, then rubbed them again.
What kind of joke was this?
This was Yannan, with hot climate and no snow year-round, let alone now in late April deep spring. Weather where wearing thin shirts made you sweat.
He looked at the patch of snowy sky overhead and the still brilliant sunset glow not far away, watched the wind and snow follow Tie Ci, saw Tie Ci’s thin figure kneeling step by step in the wind and snow, and after a moment of amazement said, “What’s this for? Setting the mood?”
Soon he was certain it really was for setting the mood.
After the cold snow, the ground froze over, and the ice formed precisely on Tie Ci’s path to the cemetery. This made each of Tie Ci’s steps kneel on ice shards. Soon her knees were covered with bloodstains, and light red ice fragments fell rustling when she stood up.
Then came a thunderous sound. The sky was suddenly covered by a sheet of yellow, moving like thin clouds. It quickly approached, with wind howling from all sides and trees swaying. Feng Huan felt yellow shadows crashing down on his head, with crackling sounds as small things continuously struck his face, making his skin sting. He touched his hand to his face and felt sand.
This sandstorm quickly swept away the ice and cold, but grew stronger and stronger, rushing straight at Tie Ci’s back, blowing her long hair into chaos and covering her head with sand. Feng Huan watched helplessly as the yellow sand in the wind suddenly gathered like a pestle and heavily pounded Tie Ci’s back.
He cried out in alarm, but saw Tie Ci’s body lower, actually using the force of the sandstorm’s pounding to slide-kneel on the icy road, sliding a full three zhang before stopping, saving herself a stretch of kowtowing.
Feng Huan wanted to laugh but felt heartbroken. He covered his face with his sleeve waiting for the wind to pass. The next moment he suddenly felt scorching heat. Opening his eyes again, he saw the icy road had suddenly melted into water, while the wild grass on both sides had caught fire.
Tie Ci knelt and kowtowed in the water like this, splashing when she knelt down, sparks igniting her clothes and hair when she stood up.
If she moved slower, a wild thunder would strike down from the sky, creating a flash of lightning in the puddle, chasing after Tie Ci’s figure.
Her pants were clotted with blood, frozen with ice, soaked with water, hanging heavily in the shape of knees. Her burned hair and clothes fell piece by piece, turning to ash on the road. The road was full of holes—marks left by kneeling knees. In the holes, ice had shattered and was stained with faint pink.
The next stretch of road suddenly changed from earth to swamp. When Tie Ci knelt down, she sank with a squelch, her whole body buried to the waist, then struggled with great difficulty to pull herself out, her entire body already beyond recognition.
At some point, many people and beasts had gathered on the terraced fields above and below, silently watching Tie Ci on this short stretch of road.
Feng Huan no longer had the courage to follow, even feeling grateful that Tie Ci hadn’t let him do the kowtowing instead. On such a road, he probably wouldn’t survive half a zhang.
He looked up at the sky in confusion, not understanding where these strange phenomena came from. Could it really be because Tie Ci had hurt A’Chong?
He shivered.
After experiencing wind blades, frost swords, rain, snow, ice and fire, the cemetery was finally in sight.
There, large archways were woven from vines, covered with various flowers that bloomed in all seasons. If you didn’t look carefully, you’d think it was some recreational park.
The Mo tribe’s burial ground was very simple. Though called a burial ground or cemetery, it was just a marked-off piece of flat land. Their tombs were square-shaped, and next to the square tombs there were often smaller squares. The stone slabs of the smaller squares had no words, only carved animal images—some snakes, some scorpions, some spiders, some centipedes, and some strange shapes, but most should be venomous creatures.
Only now did Feng Huan understand why he and A’Ji had pig dragons occupying their bed when they slept. It turned out venomous pets ate and were buried with their masters, holding higher status than him, a Brother Jin who couldn’t even enter the ancestral tomb.
He had also just figured out that in Mo tribe customs, Brother Jin didn’t mean husband, but referred to a bed partner who could sleep and separate at any time, slightly better than ordinary people.
Tie Ci was very thorough in her work. Before kowtowing, she would sweep the graves, not only kowtowing to the tombs but also offering tributes to the buried venomous pets—bird eggs before snake graves, insects before spider, centipede and scorpion graves. Feng Huan could only bitterly dig for insects, sending them nest by nest for additional meals.
But no matter what Tie Ci did, she always carried A’Chong with her. Feng Huan glanced at the still-unconscious A’Chong and said with lingering fear, “Your Highness, that strike you made earlier was really too fast and vicious. Didn’t you think about what would happen if you enraged them…”
“The fact that they let me charge in here carrying A’Chong shows they really do care about A’Chong’s safety. Besides, I didn’t leave myself without an escape route.” Tie Ci pulled the severed finger from her chest and tossed it to Feng Huan.
Feng Huan was so startled he shuddered and didn’t dare catch it. The severed finger, sticky with bright red, fell onto his clothes. He hastily shook his garments, “Just talk when you talk, don’t throw such terrifying things around without warning… Eh?”
He picked up the severed finger, looked at it again and again, then slowly turned his gaze to Tie Ci, “Huh?”
“Not bad, right?” Tie Ci said, “You can even lick it.”
Feng Huan actually did lick it and said, “Honey?”
As moonlight rose, the “severed finger” in his hand still had a bright luster, completely unlike the gray, lifeless appearance of something separated from a human body.
“It’s a prop. Someone gave it to me, didn’t expect it would come in handy. The craftsmanship is exquisite, isn’t it?”
“More than exquisite, it’s completely realistic. At the time my breathing stopped. But wait, that blood…”
Tie Ci spread her palm, revealing fresh blood.
“That blood was mine.”
Feng Huan stared blankly for a long moment, then jumped up and said, “Brilliant!”