“Hyah!”
With a delicate shout, dozens of fine horses galloped up Haoyun Mountain like dragons. A purple-robed young lady leaped down, a sword hanging at her waist, golden silk embroidered shoes on her feet, and magnificent pearl hairpins adorning her hair that reflected her beautiful countenance, momentarily dazzling the several people at the entrance.
“Announce to Young Master Tang that I have arrived.” The purple-robed young lady leaped down from her horse, landing lightly with considerable martial skill. Those guarding the entrance were several disciples from Nanshan Gate. After looking at her several more times, one finally recognized her, “So it’s Miss Zhong! It’s been quite a while. Miss’s grace surpasses that of the past – this humble one almost didn’t recognize you.”
Zhong Chunji glanced at that person. She had already forgotten where she had met him and didn’t care, “Is Young Master Tang here?” That person was Song Lin, a disciple under Nanshan Gate. Seeing that she had forgotten him, he couldn’t help but sigh. When they had met in years past, she was still a simple, kind-hearted little girl. Now she had blossomed like a flower, but had also become haughty, no longer recognizing old acquaintances.
“Young Master Tang is at Questioning Sword Pavilion.” The Nanshan Gate disciple opened the door for her. Zhong Chunji led her white steed and strode inside. The group of unfamiliar-faced attendants behind her followed together. Song Lin originally wanted to stop them, but was pushed aside by the crowd, watching in astonishment as this large group of people who didn’t give their names barged into Shanfeng Hall.
Tang Lici and Gu Xitan were sparring at Questioning Sword Pavilion, with Cheng Yunpao watching coldly from the side, arms crossed. Gu Xitan had just learned two sword techniques, and Tang Lici was accompanying him in practice, pointing out the blind spots in his swordwork. Just as they were practicing for the third time, when Gu Xitan’s sword thrust had shed its clumsiness, someone suddenly called out, “Elder Brother Gu, Young Master Tang.”
Gu Xitan turned around. Seeing the purple-robed young lady with bright eyes and white teeth, he was slightly stunned, then smiled, “Sister Zhong! Have you been well?” Zhong Chunji looked at Tang Lici, her face still somewhat pale. She opened her mouth, her mind turning over countless thoughts, but just didn’t dare speak. However, Tang Lici bore no grudge for that needle she had given him, smiling slightly at her, “It’s been quite a while.”
Zhong Chunji recalled how she had pierced him with a needle in Bodhi Valley, causing him to lose his martial power. Her face alternated between red and white, “Young Master Tang…” she said in a low voice, “I… I… last time I was deceived by villains. I didn’t intentionally harm you.”
Tang Lici’s gaze moved from the pearl flowers in her hair to the embroidered shoes on her feet, “I know.” Gu Xitan asked strangely, “What happened? When did you harm Young Master Tang?” Zhong Chunji’s face was completely red, “Young Master Tang, you… you really haven’t told anyone?” Tang Lici smiled faintly, glancing at Gu Xitan. Gu Xitan, understanding the situation tactfully, withdrew and moved far away with Cheng Yunpao.
“Young Master Tang, you treat me so well.” Zhong Chunji said softly. The matter of piercing Tang Lici with a needle had always been a burden on her heart, but she never expected that Tang Lici had never told anyone about it. Tang Lici remained noncommittal. After a moment of silence, he slowly said, “Piercing me with a needle was because you were deceived by others. When I’m in a good mood, I can choose not to blame you. But you stood by and watched someone die, and then killed someone with your sword to cover up your failure to help… do you think a woman who does such things would be likeable?”
Zhong Chunji’s face instantly turned deathly pale. She had completely forgotten about stabbing Lin Bu with her sword. In her heart, Lin Bu held no position whatsoever. She felt guilty about piercing Tang Lici with the needle, but felt no guilt about killing Lin Bu. But she never imagined that Tang Lici would know about this matter, “He… he…” Tang Lici glanced at her sideways, his expression not cold, but filled with an eerie smile, “Liu Yan didn’t die, and Lin Bu didn’t die either. Are you disappointed?”
She staggered back a step, “I… I… I didn’t… do it on purpose…” Tang Lici’s expression as he looked at her was quite captivating, that light smile like a snow-white fox that had caught something, “I know very clearly what you did on purpose,” he gently blew air near her ear, “perhaps even clearer than you yourself.”
Her hands and feet turned ice-cold. In her eyes, Tang Lici was no longer elegant and romantic, but had suddenly become more terrifying than a demon beast, “What do you… want me to do…” If the matter of her attempting to kill Lin Bu were to spread, if Zhao Zongjing and Zhao Zongying were to know, if the authorities were to learn of it, perhaps she would no longer be able to maintain her position in the palace. Those comfortable, peaceful days would leave her forever. Even Fangjuan by her side would mock her, and the entire court and entire jianghu would mock her.
Tang Lici reached out his hand and gently stroked the top of her head, saying tenderly, “Be good and go to Bodhi Valley. I don’t require you to be able to exchange him back. As long as you go and silence others’ mouths, that’s all.”
Tears flowed from Zhong Chunji’s eyes, “What if… what if I die? I… I…” Tang Lici’s voice became even more gentle, “So in your heart, even your master is far less important than yourself.”
Her whole body shook. He looked at her with that expression between a smile and not a smile, that kind of gaze she couldn’t bear, “Don’t look at me like that. The things I did… were all unavoidable, all… sometimes I was deceived by others, sometimes it was… was just a moment of confusion, just a moment of confusion.”
She wept, pleading in a low voice. Tang Lici lifted her chin and kissed her lips.
Zhong Chunji suddenly froze. She saw him extend his finger to wipe away her tears, his lips filled even more with that demonic smile. That dark, rich demonic aura made his lips seem to turn black, like a true demon that could see through all her desires.
He was saying: he could give her everything she wanted, as long as she obeyed.
Fengming Mountain, Jihe Valley.
Recently many flowers had bloomed, covering the mountains and valleys. Spring-welcoming pale yellow, romantic spring peaches – a scene of flourishing prosperity. Yu Tuan’er had picked many flowers and arranged them throughout the manor. Tang Lici had also placed many porcelain vases in the rooms, so inside there were clusters of purple-red here and pale yellow there. Rather than showing the beauty of spring flowers, it only showed a chaos of colors.
“Ah—duck duck duck duck—” A little fellow wearing a cotton jacket with longevity peach patterns crawled out from the room. Unlike other children who would flail their limbs about, Fengfeng crawled very seriously, and very steadily and quickly. Upon seeing Yu Tuan’er, he sat down and pointed at her calling “duck duck duck duck…” No one knew what about Yu Tuan’er resembled a duck. A’Shui had corrected him many times, saying he should call her “auntie,” and clearly more than a month ago he had still called Yu Tuan’er “auntie,” but now he insisted on calling her “duck duck duck duck.”
“Oh my! He’s run out again. Where’s your mother?” Yu Tuan’er, who had just returned with an armful of fresh flowers, crouched down to look at Fengfeng, “Where’s Uncle Liu? Where’s Uncle Fang?” She had just searched around the house but hadn’t seen anyone.
“Yee-woo—yo—” Fengfeng looked at her with a smile, his dark eyes wide open, his tender little mouth forming a circle. He made a few sounds and pointed toward the door.
“Little rascal, everything you say is lies. They’re definitely in the house, right?” Yu Tuan’er pinched his face. This little fellow had just turned one year old, but his little mind was quite devious. He couldn’t even speak properly yet but could already lie with gestures.
Fengfeng shook his head, still pointing outside.
“Tell me where they are and auntie will give you honey sugar water.” Yu Tuan’er coaxed, “You definitely saw them, didn’t you?”
Upon hearing “honey sugar water,” Fengfeng immediately turned his head away, not even glancing at her.
“Almond milk?”
Fengfeng resolutely turned his head away and remained motionless.
“I’ll give you meat to eat. Really, a little thing whose teeth haven’t even grown in properly likes to eat meat.” Yu Tuan’er complained, “Hurry up and say where they are?”
Fengfeng turned his head back and pointed at the floor below, “Mm-mm.”
“Below?” Yu Tuan’er asked strangely, “How could they be below?” She felt around on the ground, “There’s a secret passage below?”
“Mm-mm.”
“How could there be a secret passage?” She was greatly puzzled. Having lived at Jihe Manor for so long, no one had ever told her there was a secret passage below. A’Shui had been reluctant to go out recently – how could she suddenly have gone into a secret passage? Wasn’t Fang Pingzhai beating drums? How could he have also gone into a secret passage? What had happened in the short time she was out picking flowers? Her expression suddenly changed, “Could it be—something happened to him? Where are they? Quickly tell me where they are?”
Fengfeng crawled to a tall, round flower stand in the great hall and lifted his little hands to pat the stand repeatedly. Yu Tuan’er grabbed the flower stand and twisted it around. With clicking sounds, muffled mechanical noises came from Liu Yan’s room – a secret passage had actually opened. Her figure rose and she rushed toward the opened secret passage door. But the passage door closed as soon as it opened, immediately sealing shut again as if it had never been open.
In the vast Jihe Manor, only Fengfeng remained on the surface, crawling back and forth between the empty rooms, shaking this and pulling that for a while. When no one was around, he looked around for a bit, gave a small yawn, curled up under the flower stand in the corner, and went to sleep there.
Yu Tuan’er rushed into the secret passage. Below was filled with medicinal odors – some extremely pungent, others fragrant, a mixture of five different scents that made breathing even more uncomfortable. Below was not a long tunnel, but rather an enormous room, as large as three rooms of the Jihe Manor above ground. The room was lit by lamps, with dust-like particles floating everywhere, making it impossible to see clearly what was around.
“Hello? Hello? Where are you? Sister A’Shui? Fang Pingzhai?” Yu Tuan’er vigorously waved her sleeves, trying to fan away the dust before her eyes, “Where is everyone? Cough cough… what is all this?”
“Little sister.” A’Shui’s voice came from the far end of the room, “Just stand there, don’t come over.”
“Why?” Yu Tuan’er gradually adapted to the dim lighting below. She could vaguely see Fang Pingzhai and A’Shui standing at the other end of the room, where there were also tables, chairs, and cabinets, with someone collapsed on the ground. She was greatly shocked and flew over, “What happened?”
The person collapsed on the ground was Liu Yan.
Under the dim lamplight, with strange odors permeating all around, Liu Yan’s entire body was trembling as he lay on the ground. Yu Tuan’er reached out to help him up, “Why aren’t you taking care of him? What’s wrong with him?” A’Shui grabbed her hand, “Wait, don’t touch him. You can’t touch him right now.” Only then did Yu Tuan’er see clearly that Liu Yan’s entire body was covered with a kind of red spots, his whole body trembling, obviously in great pain.
“He took the Scarlet Ghost Nine Heart Pill,” A’Shui said in a low voice, “I think he… he took the part of the Scarlet Ghost Nine Heart Pill that contains deadly poison, which is why it’s taking effect so quickly. You can’t touch him. If you touch him now, you’ll be infected by him and become exactly the same as him.” Yu Tuan’er’s face turned pale in an instant, “Why did he take poison? He said he had already successfully refined it. He said he didn’t need my help drinking the poison medicine. Why did he take poison himself?” A’Shui bit her lip and shook her head. Yu Tuan’er shouted loudly, “I said I would test the medicine for him! Why did he still drink the poison medicine himself? What I said counts! I absolutely wouldn’t regret it! Why… why did he do this?”