The autumn rain did not stop. In the dim mountain forest, Su Zhenzhen heard heavy panting coming from behind her.
She turned her head; that farmer was standing behind her, covered in blood and holding a sickle.
The sickle was stained with blood, which dripped down along the blade.
The blood slowly pooled at her feet, soaking her shoes and socks.
Su Zhenzhen turned and ran.
Before she could run far, she bumped into someone.
Su Zhenzhen looked up and saw a young man standing in front of her.
He was wearing a bright yellow dragon robe, his dark eyes staring at her expressionlessly.
Su Zhenzhen jolted awake.
She knocked over the basin resting on her body.
It had started raining again before she went to sleep last night, so Su Zhenzhen had placed a basin on herself to catch the water before going back to sleep.
There was some water collected in the basin, and now it was all spilled around her feet.
No wonder she had such a dream.
Ever since Su Zhenzhen escaped from the Gusu relay station, she hardly even had time to dream.
She finally had a chance to get a good night's sleep, only to be plagued by nightmares.
It wasn't dawn yet. Through the crack in the window, Su Zhenzhen could see the dark blue sky outside.
Sushan sat properly on her chest, tilting its head to look at her.
It was growing fast, getting heavier by the day, and it happened to be pressing right on Su Zhenzhen's chest, making her almost unable to breathe.
Su Zhenzhen reached out, lifted it off her body, and placed it next to her pillow.
Sushan lay down and narrowed its eyes.
With trembling fingertips, Su Zhenzhen touched its head and gently rubbed it.
Sushan tilted its head and rubbed against her palm.
So furry.
So comfortable.
So warm.
Su Zhenzhen reached out to hug Sushan, bringing it into the blanket with her.
Sushan didn't struggle, just lying obediently in the crook of her arm.
Su Zhenzhen pulled the blanket up, and the person and cat went back to sleep.
It seemed the soothing soup she brewed yesterday wasn't strong enough; she would have to add more next time.
Just as Su Zhenzhen closed her eyes, a rustling sound suddenly came from the window.
She quickly opened her eyes.
Sushan also looked up in that direction.
The window was pushed open from the outside, and a young girl stuck an arm in, meeting Su Zhenzhen's wide eyes.
"You're awake."
Su Zhenzhen: ...
Su Zhenzhen loosened her grip on the packet of medicinal powder in her hand, reached up to rub her forehead, and looked at Xiao Yuan, who had once again appeared by her bed in the middle of the night. She slowly sat up and lit the oil lamp.
"What is it?"
"I came to you to change my dressing. Your medicine is better than anything I've used before."
Su Zhenzhen opened her bundle and took out a medicine bottle.
"Take the green one internally, and apply the white one externally." After saying that, Su Zhenzhen tilted her head and fell back onto the bed. "I'm going to sleep."
Xiao Yuan took the medicine herself, changed the medicine and bandages on her wound, and then left Su Zhenzhen's utility room.
In the courtyard, Liaochen had just gotten up to use the restroom.
There was only one toilet in the convent, and it was outside the rooms.
"Master."
"Mhm."
Liaochen nodded, looking at Xiao Yuan. "Have you found out her background?"
Xiao Yuan nodded. "A maid who escaped from the palace."
"A palace maid?" Liaochen frowned, feeling that Su Zhenzhen might be trouble.
Xiao Yuan touched her own arm. "That tyrant's Imperial Guards are looking for her everywhere. If we don't take her in, she'll likely die."
"You're afraid she'll die, but aren't you afraid we might die?" Liaochen's gaze fell on Xiao Yuan.
"Master, the people you've saved are enough to get you killed eight hundred times over."
Liaochen: ...
"I remember you even saved a Mongolian princess before, didn't you?"
"That was much more exciting than this Su Zhenzhen, wasn't it?"
At that time, Liaochen had gone to Xuanfu, a place bordering the Great Zhou and Mongolia, to handle some affairs.
She had saved a woman.
To her surprise, it was a Mongolian princess.
Those Mongolian pursuers had given her quite a hard time.
Fortunately, besides reciting scriptures, she also knew a bit of martial arts.
-
Waking up, Su Zhenzhen found that the weather was quite nice today.
The rain last night had washed away all the dust in the air.
The whole world seemed much brighter, and even breathing felt refreshing.
Su Zhenzhen found a bamboo basket in the small kitchen and prepared to go up the mountain.
Xiao Yuan hadn't left. She was sitting on the high wall of Cixin Convent. Seeing Su Zhenzhen come out, she immediately jumped down from the wall. "What are you going to do?"
"Going up the mountain to find something to eat."
Su Zhenzhen hadn't brought much silver with her, so she couldn't dedicate it all to the convent's small kitchen. She still had to be self-reliant.
She pushed open the convent door and went out, with Xiao Yuan following behind her.
The two of them headed up along a wild path.
There was no proper road up the mountain, so Su Zhenzhen used the small sickle in her hand to chop a path bit by bit.
Suddenly, she crouched down, picked a blade of grass, and stuffed it into her mouth.
Xiao Yuan came over curiously. She looked at Su Zhenzhen, then at the grass, and picked a handful too. Just as she was about to put it into her mouth, she heard the woman say softly, "This is poisonous."
Xiao Yuan immediately dropped it. "...It's poisonous and you still eat it?"
"A little bit is fine. My body is immune to it, so I won't die, but I can't say the same for you."
Ever since Su Zhenzhen transmigrated here, she had been digging up and tasting herbs. Now, this body was immune to many small doses of toxins.
Xiao Yuan: ...
The two continued upwards.
Xiao Yuan saw Su Zhenzhen pick something else to eat.
"Is this edible?" Xiao Yuan had become much more cautious.
"Yes, it tastes pretty good."
After eating a few spider berries, Su Zhenzhen walked ahead carrying the bamboo basket, while Xiao Yuan followed behind, eating a bunch of spider berries she held in her hand.
Spider berries were crisp and sweet, tasting like a mix of blueberry and mulberry. They also looked a lot like blueberries, but with a ring of leg-like appendages resembling a spider, which was why they were called spider berries.
Before Xiao Yuan finished her spider berries, the woman ahead stopped again. She stood staring at an herb, then reached out, picked some, and put it in her mouth.
The spider berries tasted great, so Xiao Yuan leaned over and asked, "Is this grass edible?"
"I don't know."
"You don't know?"
"Yeah, I don't recognize it, so I'm tasting it."
Xiao Yuan looked at Su Zhenzhen. "I suddenly feel like you're a bit terrifying."
Su Zhenzhen: "...You, an assassin, are calling me terrifying?"
That should be her line, shouldn't it?
The two of them wandered around the mountain for a bit but didn't dare go too deep for fear of encountering wild beasts.
Su Zhenzhen discovered a patch of winter bamboo shoots.
She crouched down and began digging for shoots.
Winter shoots were buried deep. After digging for a while, Su Zhenzhen felt exhausted. She tilted her head to look at Xiao Yuan standing nearby. "If you want to eat, help me out."
After digging up the shoots, Su Zhenzhen found a patch of Kalimeris and crouched down to dig again.
Xiao Yuan continued to dig alongside her.
An hour later, the two returned to Cixin Convent with winter bamboo shoots and Kalimeris.
"You're cooking?"
Xiao Yuan watched Su Zhenzhen skillfully peel and slice the bamboo shoots.
"Yeah. Help me wash the Kalimeris."
Xiao Yuan went to wash the Kalimeris.
Su Zhenzhen made a very simple dish of braised bamboo shoots and stir-fried the Kalimeris that Xiao Yuan had washed.
There were a few eggs left in the small kitchen, so she fried three sunny-side-up eggs.
The rice on the earthen stove was almost done.
Su Zhenzhen still remembered Master Liaochen's appetite from yesterday, so she cooked a bit more today.
She asked Xiao Yuan to set the bowls and chopsticks, and then went to call Master Liaochen to eat.
The three of them sat at the table to eat, while Sushan crouched on the floor, eating the dried little fish Su Zhenzhen had put in its bowl.
"Master, the convent doesn't forbid meat, does it?" Su Zhenzhen only remembered to ask halfway through the meal.
"If it were forbidden, I would have told you earlier," Xiao Yuan answered first, then picked up a fried egg to eat.
Liaochen didn't say anything, but she didn't touch the fried egg either.
Su Zhenzhen remembered that Liaochen hadn't touched the bowl of steamed egg yesterday either.
It seemed that meat was indeed forbidden, but only for Liaochen herself. Liaochen didn't mind others eating non-vegetarian food inside the nunnery.
After the meal, Liaochen brought out some tea leaves to brew tea for everyone.
"Although the food Master makes tastes terrible, her tea-brewing skills are quite good." Xiao Yuan sat beside Su Zhenzhen, holding Sushan and playing with it.
Su Zhenzhen nodded, watching Liaochen take out the tea leaves, shove them into the teapot, and then pour in boiling water. A pot of tea was brewed just like that.
Su Zhenzhen: ...
Xiao Yuan and Liaochen drank it with great relish.
Although Su Zhenzhen used to be just as simple and crude when drinking tea in the past, since coming to this world, she rarely saw anyone brew tea like this.
The three of them sat around the table drinking tea, while Sushan stood up and pawed at Su Zhenzhen's waistband.
Su Zhenzhen swung her waistband to play with it.
"What do you want?" Liaochen suddenly spoke.
Su Zhenzhen paused her movements, sat up straight, and looked up at Liaochen.
"I want a new identity."
The Tonggui Society was a spontaneously organized women's protection association among the common folk in ancient times, unlike Shen Yanci's brainwashing and money-grubbing organization.
In the original novel, it was said that the Tonggui Society only saved women. If you had a request, you could pick a rose from in front of the Cixin Nunnery, hold it, and knock on the nunnery door. As long as you were not deeply wicked, you would receive sanctuary.
Daoist Liaochen was the organizer of the Tonggui Society.
At first, the Tonggui Society might only be able to provide a bowl of rice and a shelter from the wind and rain.
Later, as Daoist Liaochen rescued more women, more people joined the Tonggui Society, and its power gradually grew.
For example, here, you could even find assassins.
Or someone to forge a fake identity for you.
Su Zhenzhen remembered there was such a place in the original novel.
She wanted to come and try her luck.
She didn't expect to actually find it.
Inside the posthouse in Gusu.
The weather had suddenly turned cold, but Lu Hexu still wore only a single unlined garment.
He sat on the stone steps of the courtyard with his head tilted, able to see a dozen or so scented sachets hanging under the eaves when he looked up.
A plate of ice cubes was placed beside the young man.
His toothache had not yet passed. Lu Hexu reached out, grabbed an ice cube, and stuffed it into his mouth.
The ice cube was crunched to pieces, the cold freezing his aching tooth until it was numb.
The scent of the sachets under the eaves had almost completely dissipated. The biting autumn wind howled past, blowing the sachets to spin back and forth.
Lu Hexu's gaze followed the spinning sachets, a layer of gloom reflecting in his pitch-black pupils.
"Your Majesty, it is time to return to the palace."
Wei Heng stood by his side, speaking softly to remind him.
Lu Hexu stood up and turned to leave expressionlessly.
The uprising in Gusu City had been dealt with, and the commoners had returned to their normal lives.
The Emperor's imperial carriage passed right through Gusu City.
Lu Hexu, dressed in a bright yellow dragon robe, sat inside with a face as cold as frost, gripping a white porcelain bottle in his hand.
The vermilion-lacquered and gilded jade carriage, draped with yellow curtains and tassels hanging down to the edges, was shaded by a yellow silk canopy, exuding a solemn aura even without the wind.
Beside the imperial carriage, the embroidered uniform guards, dressed in flying fish robes, with phoenix belts around their waists and embroidered spring swords at their sides, attended on both sides like a flock of ink-black crows.
The carriage moved slowly. Inside and outside the Chang Gate, all the merchant ships at the river wharves were moored to the shore.
The golden bells on the carriage, accompanied by the rumbling of wheels and the neighing of horses, rang out one by one, striking bluntly and majestically on everyone's heart, pressing down on the entire city of Gusu so heavily that even the air dared not flow in the slightest.
But that oppression was not just the majesty of the royal family; what was even more suffocating was the chilling aura emanating from the carriage.
A month before the Winter Solstice, Gusu was washed in blood, and the name of the tyrant was deeply ingrained in the hearts of the people.
The crowd did not dare to look up. Only after the imperial carriage had passed did they open their mouths to breathe, as if they had narrowly escaped death.
The carriage returned to Jinling City. The civil and military officials had long been kneeling outside Chengtian Gate to welcome him. As the carriage entered Chengtian Gate, His Majesty did not show his face.
Inside the bedchamber, the doors and windows were sealed with thick felt, and two standing glazed lamps had already been lit.
Because the golden bricks on the floor were cold, Wei Heng had laid down a layer of felt on them in advance.
Lu Hexu, wearing his bright yellow dragon robe, collapsed onto the white felt.
His long black hair spread out in winding curves. The bright yellow color further accentuated his pale, bloodless skin.
Lu Hexu lay there with his eyes closed, his wide sleeves covering his brows and eyes so his expression could not be seen. He only said in a hoarse voice, "Wei Heng, I want needles."
Wei Heng knew that His Majesty did not like needles, to the point of going mad just at the sight of them.
Wei Heng swallowed hard and opened his mouth to speak, but over there, Lu Hexu slowly moved away the wide sleeve covering his face.
There was no expression on that face; like a stubborn rock submerged in a freezing pool, only a deep, penetrating coldness remained.
Wei Heng looked up, and upon meeting the young emperor's eyes, which were much gloomier than before, a chill rose in his heart again.
It was as if something had changed.
Become much deeper and darker.
Wei Heng bowed and retreated. A moment later, he returned holding a lacquer tray. He knelt on the ground, lowered his hands, and gently placed it on the white felt.
"Your Majesty."
After a low-voiced reminder, Wei Heng bowed and backed out.
The bedchamber fell completely silent.
Lu Hexu rolled over and stared at the lacquer tray.
A layer of cloth covered the tray. The red silk fabric covered the lacquer tray completely, hiding any trace of silver needles from sight.
Lu Hexu stared at the tray, reached out his hand, and pressed his fingertips onto it through the silk fabric.
He felt the needles.
The slender needles, carrying a chill, felt as if they were going to pierce right through his bones.
That little Daoist priest had gotten drunk and did not hear what Lu Hexu said.
The next day, the Empress did not see the Crown Prince, so she sent people to look for him.
His corpse was fished out of a water well and secretly placed in the Empress's bedchamber.
It was said that he had gotten drunk during the night and fell into the well on his own, drowning to death.
The Empress, who loved her son dearly, looked as if she had suddenly aged more than ten years.
"Your Highness's heart meridian is severely damaged; you absolutely must not grieve excessively." The State Preceptor, who had rushed over upon hearing the news, sat beside Gu Fuwan and comforted her in a low voice.
Gu Fuwan knelt beside the Crown Prince, crying until her eyes were completely red. She hadn't slept for several days.
The pain of losing a son was like having her heart carved out.
The Crown Prince lay there quietly, covered with a white cloth, while Gu Fuwan held his corpse, sobbing and whimpering.
An older servant nearby stepped forward to comfort her, "Your Highness, please take care of your health."
How could Gu Fuwan listen to anything now?
She cried until her eyes were red and swollen, barely able to open them.
Half of her hair had turned white overnight. The frost-like white strands mixed in with her ink-black hair, resembling dark clouds covered in snow, a shocking sight to behold.
The State Preceptor looked at the Empress, "Actually, there is still one method that might save His Highness the Crown Prince..."
Gu Fuwan violently looked toward the State Preceptor, as if she had found her pillar of support.
"What method?"
The State Preceptor spoke slowly: "Soul exchange."
"Find a young man born in the same year, same month, and same day, preferably of the same bloodline, and exchange souls with His Highness the Crown Prince during the first seven days after death."
"There is, there is." Gu Fuwan grabbed the State Preceptor's hand, struggling to open her red, swollen eyes. "State Preceptor, there is such a person."
"Since there is, then we must start preparing in advance. We must ensure that, before the first seven days pass, that body and the Crown Prince's body are conditioned to the most compatible degree."
Supporting the Empress as she sat aside, the older maidservant glanced at the National Preceptor, then at the Empress.
"Your Majesty, in this world... does such a bizarre thing as soul-swapping truly exist?"
"What nonsense are you spouting?" Gu Fuwan had already descended into madness from the pain of losing her son. She grabbed the maidservant's arm tightly, her peach-pink nails digging into the flesh, her eyes glaring at the old servant as if she were her son's murderer.
The maidservant immediately shut her mouth and remained silent.
Inside the side hall of the Mystic Treasure Hall, Lu Hexu was force-fed a bowl of medicinal decoction, draining his body of all strength.
It seemed no one had discovered that he was the one who killed the Crown Prince.
After committing the murder, Lu Hexu felt a splitting headache, as if someone were hacking at him with an axe, intending to hollow out his body and soul.
He began to lose his memory of whether he had spoken to that young Daoist priest, whether he had followed the palace maid to the imperial gardens, or whether he had actually killed the Crown Prince.
He returned to the Mystic Treasure Hall and sat quietly until the bustling noises from outside pulled him out of his chaotic state.
He saw the National Preceptor appear before him once again.
"Hold him down."
The surrounding young Daoist priests stepped forward, pinning his limbs to the ground.
Lying there, the young man saw yellow banners hung all around, inscribed with twisted scriptures written in cinnabar. Every stroke exuded a chilling gloom. Despite the bright colors, it only made the surroundings seem even more deathly still.
Stripped completely bare, he was thrown beneath the yellow banners.
Someone rolled him over.
Though his body felt heavy, his physical senses had not disappeared.
Heavy iron chains once again pressed him to the ground.
The National Preceptor still maintained his transcendent, immortal-like demeanor.
Yet, the hand pressing against the back of his neck felt as if it wanted to snap it in two.
[Kill, kill, kill!]
[Go to hell, all of you, go to hell!]
[The Emperor of the Great Zhou, his son, they all deserve to go to hell!]
Lu Hexu opened one eye to look at him.
He saw the National Preceptor's twisted expression.
[Kill!]
A sharp silver needle, dipped in an unknown potion, pierced his skin. Lu Hexu subconsciously let out a muffled groan, causing the iron chains to rattle.
The scriptures spread from his neck down to his ankles, repeatedly pierced and carved into his skin with silver needles day after day.
The needles were incredibly fine, accurately piercing the flesh. It wasn't the sharp pain of torn skin, but rather like countless red-hot splinters driving straight into the depths of his muscles, darting through his veins and into the crevices of his bones. Yet, not a single scar could be seen on the surface.
Day after day passed, until seven days later, the seventh day after the Crown Prince's death, the purification the National Preceptor spoke of was complete.
No traces could be seen on the young man's pale skin.
But as soon as it was smoked over a blazing charcoal basin, the intense heat would reveal the dark patterns on his flesh, binding him like vines from his neck to his ankles.
It was a vicious curse.
Carved into the flesh, locked into the soul.
Life after life, forever plunging into the eighteenth level of hell.
The news of the Crown Prince's death could not be known by others.
The Empress secretly disposed of everyone who knew.
The Emperor was currently in secluded cultivation. Before His Majesty found out, she had to bring her son back to life.
Following the National Preceptor's instructions, on the seventh day, the Empress had the Crown Prince's corpse moved into the National Preceptor's Mystic Treasure Hall and laid beside Lu Hexu.
The sky darkened.
Holding a soul-guiding lantern, the National Preceptor circled around him and the Crown Prince.
"The eternal light extinguishes not, illuminating the path for the soul. If the lamp goes out, the soul is lost... Come back, oh soul, come back..."
The weather was hot, and the corpse emitted the stench of rot.
Lying there, Lu Hexu was face-to-face with that swollen, bloated visage.
"Light the charcoal basins."
The late July weather was already somewhat stifling and unbearable.
Seven charcoal basins were brought into the side hall, surrounding the Crown Prince's corpse and Lu Hexu.
The temperature inside the hall steadily rose. Lu Hexu felt the cursed texts on his body begin to surface, biting like ants.
It was so hot.
It felt like fire was burning his body.
Lu Hexu sweated profusely. The sweat beaded on his skin, making the black cursed texts look even more glaring, as if they were trying to crawl out of his flesh.
Lu Hexu fainted.
It wasn't until the next day that he woke up.
Gu Fuwan sat beside him, reaching out to hold his hand.
"My son, my son, look at your mother..."
[Her precious darling, did it work? It must have worked, right?]
Lu Hexu's throat was unbearably parched. He opened his mouth and hoarsely spat out two words, "Stupid fool."
The expression on Gu Fuwan's face slowly shattered, and she let out a heart-wrenching scream.
Lu Hexu lay there, covered with a Daoist robe. Amidst Gu Fuwan's shrieks, he laughed maniacally.
-
Lu Hexu abruptly opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was the red lacquer tray.
His hand was still resting on the tray.
With a slight downward press of his fingertips, he could feel the shape of that silver needle.
The cursed texts on the skin of his back began to gnaw like ants again, drilling into his flesh, churning finely.
Lu Hexu propped himself up and sat.
He pressed the silver needle through the silk cloth.
Once.
Twice.
Thrice.
With every press, he called out Su Zhenzhen's name.
Su Zhenzhen.
Su Zhenzhen.
Su Zhenzhen.
The bone-deep pain suddenly became bearable.
The silver needle now brought not only pain but also something else.
Lu Hexu stood up and rummaged around the bedchamber.
Finally, he found the box that held the imperial seal.
He tossed the imperial seal out of the box, then took the empty red sandalwood box back to the lacquer tray.
The lights in the hall were dim.
The autumn wind howled outside the palace windows.
Lu Hexu raised his hand and lifted the red cloth over the lacquer tray, revealing the silver needle inside.
A slender silver needle was exposed before Lu Hexu.
Staring at it, he extended his fingertips, picked it up, and gripped it tightly.
The sharp tip of the silver needle pierced his skin. Lu Hexu threw it, mixed with bloodstains, into the box.
One needle.
As the silver needle fell into the box, Lu Hexu stood up holding the box and walked to the warm pavilion on the side of the bedchamber.
The warm pavilion was not large. The items inside had all been removed, leaving only a single stand.
Hanging on the stand was a plain silk scroll painting.
The woman in the painting was not yet finished; only a shallow outline had been sketched. Yet, even with such simple lines, one could see her outstanding beauty.
Lu Hexu looked at the unfinished Su Zhenzhen in the painting and spoke in a low voice, "If I want to kill you once, I will put in one needle. If I want to kill you twice, I will put in two."
If I miss you once, I will put in one needle. If I miss you twice, I will put in two.
