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墨書 Inktalez
"Who is your boss?"
Her voice was low and weak, tinged with a slight hoarseness. Ming Yi furrowed his brow at this, casting a puzzled glance at Uncle Fu, who simply offered them a reassuring look before turning away with his hands clasped behind his back.
"Miss, do you... recognize him?"
Ming Yi stepped closer, bringing his entire face into Xia Muxin's view, his eyes locked onto hers with a mix of caution and complexity.
Xia Muxin stared at him for a long moment, appearing dazed. After a while, she shook her head lightly.
"I don't know him."
"Then do you remember Ouyang Xuan, the man who came down the mountain with you?"
They had searched for three days, from the foot of the mountain to its peak, leaving no corner unchecked. Yet Ouyang Xuan seemed to have vanished without a trace—no sign of life or death. The Ouyang Family was one of the wealthiest in the Tianli Kingdom, and this incident had stirred the entire family into action. Ouyang Xuan had recently been staying in Daimiao Village and spent most of his time at Xia Muxin's home, which was why they had come to her.
However, three days ago, an incident had occurred at Xia Muxin's home. Outsiders claimed that Shen Muhan had brutally killed her entire family, but when people went to investigate later, all they found were bloodstains amidst the chaos—no bodies were discovered. This meant that Xia Muxin's family was also missing without a trace.
The following day, the Xia Family's shop in Town was taken over by someone else. In the two days since, they had continued to supply goods as usual; aside from a change in management, everything else remained unchanged.
This situation was quite disheartening.
Upon learning of these events, the Ouyang Family immediately turned their suspicions toward Xia Muxin. They later discovered that she was Shen Muhan's woman and directed their anger toward the court. Consequently, in every provincial city where they owned shops, white banners were hung as a declaration of their intent to thoroughly investigate this matter and cut off many supply lines.
The Ouyang Family was a prominent clan that monopolized the entire commercial sector of the Tianli Kingdom. Many foreign goods could only be found in their stores. Even basic necessities like rice, oil, and salt were primarily supplied by their chain stores. They also secretly operated an arms market in collaboration with the court. With all these resources severed, the entire Tianli Kingdom was in an uproar as people rallied to help the Ouyang Family find their missing son, Ouyang Xuan.
In Kyoto, the atmosphere was tense these days, with soldiers everywhere. Every household had tightly shut doors and windows, stockpiling food and refusing to go out.
"Who is he? Why did he come down the mountain with me? Where did we go? Why can't I remember anything?" Xia Muxin seemed to be in great distress, repeatedly hitting her head with her hands. After a long while, she still wore a frown on her delicate face and helplessly said.
"Just rest well; you will remember one day," Ming Yi replied, his gaze dimming slightly. He offered a hurried comfort before striding away, followed by Xiao Yan, leaving Auspicious and Propitious behind to watch over Xia Muxin.
*
In an elegant room, Shen Muhan lay on the bed with a solemn expression, completely wrapped in gauze like a rice dumpling, leaving only his pair of eyes exposed. His star-like gaze was extremely cold until the door creaked open, and Ming Yi and Xiao Yan entered with serious expressions. Only then did he shift his gaze toward them.
"Boss, she... has lost her memory," Ming Yi said, his eyes flickering as he struggled to decipher Shen Muhan's thoughts. He spoke with a tremor in his voice.
The "she" undoubtedly referred to Xia Muxin.
Shen Muhan's lips curled slightly before he silently mouthed something to Ming Yi.
The next day, news spread from the Zhushan County office that Shen Muhan was critically ill. This news did not come from the county officials but rather from Ming Yi and Xiao Yan, who had been drinking together in a pavilion the night before. The two men, fueled by alcohol, wept and lamented that Shen Muhan was dying and would not survive three days. By that morning, this rumor had spread throughout Zhushan County.
Sister Tang had moved directly into the county office and wore a worried expression.
"Sister Tang, it’s impossible! You’re a divine doctor; you can definitely save him, right?"
Su Yan-Chu rushed over, kneeling directly before Sister Tang, gripping her arm tightly with reddened eyes, pleading incessantly.
He had just come from Shen Muhan's room and could hardly believe that the one revered by all as a deity now lay on the bed, pale and gasping for breath. He trembled as he approached, wanting to grasp his hands, but all he could see were thick layers of gauze stained with blood. In that moment, fear gripped him—what would happen to Tianli Kingdom without Shen Muhan?
Xia Muxin was also gravely injured and reportedly had lost her memory. Although he did not know what had transpired during this time, he feared what would happen when she eventually woke up and remembered everything.
Given her personality, she would never choose to live alone.
Sister Tang lightly patted the back of his hand, shaking her head with a sigh.
"Life and death are fated; I have done my best."
Su Yan-Chu's hand slipped from her arm, and he fell to the ground like a marionette with its strings cut. An hour passed, then two, yet he remained in that state...
Word of this spread quickly, and by the third day, the palace dispatched Imperial Physicians—more than a dozen of them. With the combined efforts of the Imperial Physicians and Sister Tang, they managed to save Shen Muhan's life, but he was left in a vegetative state. This news shocked the entire nation. The following day, Northern Desert allied with a small nation to attack Celestial Glass.
The battlefield was engulfed in flames of war, with only Shen Muqing holding the line.
In desperation, Tian Ming Rui personally led troops out of the station. Zhao Weiran at that moment recommended his two sons; more hands meant more strength. Thus, they set off.
*
In a makeshift military camp, an ordinary-looking woman found herself bound hand and foot, her mouth gagged with a cloth strip. Her cunning eyes darted around wildly.
Suddenly, a mirror was presented to her.
"Are you satisfied with your appearance?"
Rong Li ripped the cloth from the woman's mouth and smiled wickedly.
The woman glared at Rong Li with her clear eyes, turning her face away.
"Oh, right, I forgot. You can't speak."
Rong Li suddenly realized something and pulled out a delicate bottle from his chest. He pinched the woman's chin and poured a pill into her mouth. Moments later, the sound of her furious complaints echoed in his ears.
"Are you out of your mind? Even if you're going to give me a mask, it should be something stunning, breathtakingly beautiful! What is this ugly thing? Who do you think would want to see that? Don't you know I like beautiful things? If not, why would I only have eyes for my uncle and not for you? It's because your face is so hideous that it doesn't catch my eye..."
After saying this, she tilted her head back slightly, exhaling through her nose. Even in such a predicament, she could still infuriate someone.
Rong Li's face darkened to an extreme degree, with dark glimmers swirling in his eyes. That damned woman actually said he was ugly.
"What? You think I'm not good enough for you? If you don't believe me, go take a look at yourself in the mirror and see that pathetic face of yours. I’ve been starving for two days because of you; otherwise, I would have thrown up already. You think you can silence me forever? Go ahead and try; just know that as long as I get the chance, I'll speak out."
The woman felt the air around her suddenly drop in temperature. She glanced at him but then caught sight of her own reflection in the mirror—her pockmarked face and sausage-like lips ignited a fire in her chest. If her hands and feet weren’t bound, she would have climbed on top of him to punch and kick him.
Although she didn’t care much about appearances, this was just too hard to look at.
It was simply unbearable.
"Xia Muxin, don’t think just because you have some advantages that I won’t dare to do anything to you. Do you believe I won’t slice your face open?"
This was the first time Rong Li had ever spoken to a woman like this. At this moment, he had completely lost his patience and growled softly.
"Oh, so you know who I am—Xia Muxin? Do you want to know what kind of person Xia Muxin is? You might want to ask around in Daimiao Village; they’ll tell you that I always repay those who cross me."
Xia Muxin remained completely unfazed by his threats. After all, he not only dared not harm her, but even had to think twice before making any threats, considering how desperately he needed her knowledge on how to make explosives.
Moreover, she was bound hand and foot every day, with her mouth gagged. Aside from eating and using the toilet, the only movement she could manage was a few stretches; even sleeping was a struggle under such constraints. No one could endure this.
Now, with her face disguised in such a ghastly manner, he expected her to be angry? There was no chance of that happening.
If it came down to it, she would rather perish than submit; she had no fear of that.
"You... you're ruthless."
Rong Li gritted his teeth, his expression dark and menacing. He pointed a finger at Xia Muxin, fury simmering in his eyes for a long time. Eventually, he managed to squeeze out a few words through clenched teeth.
Xia Muxin merely curled her lips into a smirk, looking at him coldly. Suddenly, a strange light smile crossed her face as she unabashedly replied, "Thank you for the compliment. Remember a few days ago when I said those three words to you? Now you're returning them to me. How delightful! Perhaps within three days, everything you've imposed on me will be repaid in double."
Before the last syllable of her "oh" could fade away, Rong Li could no longer restrain himself and stuffed a cloth into her mouth. He shot her a cold glare and felt an instant relief as the world around him brightened considerably.
- End of Chapter -
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