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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 46: Past Events
Lin Chuyu had exerted all her strength to escape, but how could a mere human with two legs outrun a rat with four? The rat was filled with rage. Just as Lin Chuyu burst through the door and hadn't run more than a few paces, she was tackled to the ground by a black rat. Its claws gripped her neck, making it difficult for her to breathe. The black rat, drooling, said, "Lin Chuyu, with your rosy lips and white teeth, you look so delicate. Your flesh must taste better than that of these livestock."
Lin Chuyu struggled beneath the grip of the black rat, but it was futile. Another black rat transformed into a figure resembling a Guardian and said, "Stop it. Just scare her; after all, she is a guest of the lady."
Lin Chuyu's actions seemed to have completely enraged the black rat. It sneered, "What are you afraid of? Once we drain her blood and chew her bones to bits, the lady won't find her. Who would know we devoured her?"
With its claws pressing against her throat, Lin Chuyu felt her consciousness fading. "Am I... going to die?"
The black rat opened its mouth wide, revealing its sinister sharp teeth as it lunged toward Lin Chuyu's delicate face.
However, Lin Chuyu's face remained unscathed because at that moment, the black rat's head was severed from its body.
The severed head fell beside Lin Chuyu, its lifeless eyes staring at her in disbelief.
Seeing its companion suddenly decapitated, the Guardian was taken aback. "Who dares commit murder here?!"
Dressed in an alluring long feathered robe, Shen Bifan slowly approached from a distance. "He disrespected a guest invited by the lady; he deserves to die. What about you? Do you wish to die as well?"
The Guardian trembled in fear. "Y-You! You dare to kill!"
Shen Bifan fixed his gaze on the Guardian, his pupils narrowing like a tiger eyeing its prey. "If you don't leave now, I won't hold back."
Realizing he was no match for Shen Bifan, the Guardian felt anger but chose to flee instead.
Lin Chuyu managed to pull away the claw gripping her neck and lay on the ground coughing. Shen Bifan did not rush over to help her; he merely stood coldly beside her. "Are you alright?"
Lin Chuyu struggled to sit up after coughing several times and replied, "I... I'm fine."
Lin Chuyu stood outside the villagers' homes, peering inside with a heart full of sorrow as she caught sight of the lifeless body of a villager.
Filled with guilt, Lin Chuyu turned her gaze toward the mansion and walked away, her head bowed. Shen Bifan followed closely behind, and as they walked, Lin Chuyu murmured to herself, seemingly confiding in Shen Bifan, "It's my fault he died. I shouldn't have gone into his home. If I hadn't come out, nothing would have happened."
Shen Bifan's expression remained unchanged; she had grown accustomed to such tragedies. "Even without you, he would have died. It's just a matter of timing."
Suddenly, Lin Chuyu spun around, her eyes red with pain as she confronted Shen Bifan. "Why! Why do you all insist on eating people!"
After a moment of silence, Shen Bifan replied, "Eat people? I've never eaten anyone. The lady never allows me to eat people. I'm different from them."
Lin Chuyu was taken aback and then realized, "Right, you are human, taken by them. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have treated you like this."
"Ha ha."
As Lin Chuyu and Shen Bifan reached the front gate of the mansion, the sound of the butler's laughter echoed through the air. After laughing, the butler said, "She wasn't lying; the lady truly hasn't allowed her to eat anyone. Although she was taken, the lady treats her well. It would be too cruel to let her eat people, wouldn't it?"
Lin Chuyu turned toward the sound. "Butler."
The butler looked at Shen Bifan and asked, "Has the lady restored your memories? Do you remember everything now?"
Shen Bifan's eyes were like still waters as she replied, "Yes, I remember everything."
The butler was momentarily taken aback before smiling again. "But looking at your face, it seems like nothing has really happened."
Shen Bifan responded in a tone as flat as still water, "Indeed, nothing has happened. I only remember that my mother abandoned me. After that, I stayed here to help you guard the gate. I know I should feel angry or upset, but I don't even remember what my mother looks like anymore. I have no particular emotions; for me, nothing has truly happened."
Upon hearing Shen Bifan's words, the butler seemed unfazed. "After all, this is over ten years ago; it's understandable that you have no emotions now."
Lin Chuyu asked in confusion, "Butler, can you tell me why you took her? Why did Madam Jiang want to slander Brother Ji's master?"
The butler's eyes filled with a sense of desolation as he bitterly remarked, "This is the pain of parting due to love."
---
Ji Zichen arrived in the largest courtyard of the estate, where the flowers and plants, even at night, were still vibrant and colorful.
In the courtyard stood the Pink Pavilion, illuminated from within. The door was open, with gauzy curtains hanging. Ji Zichen lifted the curtain and entered. Madam Jiang sat gracefully at a writing desk, pen in hand, writing something. On either side of the pavilion, there were several rows of bookshelves filled with scrolls; Ji Zichen glanced over them and estimated there were no fewer than hundreds.
Madam Jiang seemed to be writing something important. She was aware someone had entered but did not look up. Her voice was sweet as she said, "Your late-night visit must be for something significant?"
Ji Zichen approached the desk, his gaze stern as he said to Madam Jiang, "I suspect that the white mouse I saw back then was you."
Madam Jiang continued to write attentively, her strokes light and delicate as she replied, "Why do you think it was me?"
Ji Zichen offered his conjecture. "You referred to my master as a Scoundrel; you must have some entanglement with her. You brought Bifan here to torment my master."
Madam Jiang smiled, dipping her pen in red ink. "You guessed correctly; it is indeed me. Do you wish to kill me?"
Ji Zichen replied, "I only want to know why."
Madam Jiang chuckled lightly. "What difference does it make if you know? I haven't tormented Bifan, have I? I believe she is better off here than in The Divine Alliance Under the Covenant. Do you want Bifan to be like you or your master, constantly wandering in search of relics and engaging in perilous endeavors? I'm not imprisoning her; she is the gatekeeper. If she wants to leave, no one will stop her."
Ji Zichen countered, "That's because you've sealed her memories."
Madam Jiang laughed softly. "Do you really think so? Have you considered that perhaps she doesn't want to remember the past? What use is there in recalling memories of a mother who abandoned her?"
Ji Zichen was left speechless.
Madam Jiang paused her writing, rolled up the scroll on the desk, and stood up to place it back on the shelf. Ji Zichen asked, "What are you writing?"
Madam Jiang's eyes lit up, seemingly intrigued, and she answered without hesitation, "The Journal of Thoughts."
Ji Zichen was taken aback. "The Journal of Thoughts?"
Madam Jiang nodded, appearing to cherish the moment as she gently stroked each scroll. "In this place of neither life nor death, only by recording the events of each day do I feel alive."
She turned back and said, "I suppose you didn't come here just for that, did you?"
Ji Zichen replied, "Can you answer me two questions? No lies."
Madam Jiang smiled. "That depends on what the questions are."
Ji Zichen asked, "What’s going on with Uncle Chen's sleepwalking?"
Madam Jiang looked puzzled. "Uncle Chen? Who is that?"
Ji Zichen clarified, "The person you had Bifan send back."
Madam Jiang chuckled. "Oh him, I don't know what's going on. Bifan is the doorkeeper; you should ask her about it."
Ji Zichen pressed on, "Where is Zhuque?"
Madam Jiang gazed deeply at Ji Zichen and gave a strange smile. "Zhuque? I don't know what you're talking about."
Ji Zichen stared coldly at Madam Jiang and suddenly said, "I know Zhuque is here because Uncle Chen has seen her. Bifan has already grown up safely. I can overlook this matter, but my master needs Divine Tears to detoxify. I know you have a grudge against my master, but if I don't get an answer, you won't be able to leave this tower."
---
"Separation brings suffering?" Lin Chuyu repeated the phrase. Although its literal meaning had already conveyed the essence of the matter to her, she was unaware of the details and curiously asked, "Butler, can you tell us more?"
The butler glanced at Shen Bifan and said, "Since Madam has unlocked your memories, I believe she intends for you to know about the past. In truth, our Divine Clan is quite pitiful."
"Pitiful?" Lin Chuyu asked, confused.
The butler gazed at the round, bright moon and continued, "We often dig tunnels. Hundreds of years ago, we discovered the Hundred Lantern Alliance Ring Gap. In the eyes of humans, we were merely rats scurrying through the streets, hunted by everyone. We dared not show ourselves; the night was our only protection. Before the Divine Realm Rift appeared, I was just a palm-sized black rat. Back then, I scurried through houses and alleys just to find something to eat."
"If we were spotted, we would be beaten to death. At that time, I couldn't even transform into human form. If it weren't for the fact that time is frozen here, how could we have had so much time to cultivate into humans? The human world did not welcome us; we could only hide here. We survived in the shadows—doesn't that seem pitiful to you?"
Upon hearing this, Lin Chuyu felt a pang of sympathy but did not interrupt the butler's narrative.
The butler continued, "Hundreds of years ago, when we first discovered the Hundred Lantern Alliance Ring Gap, we didn't know that living in the Gap would grant us Eternal Life. Initially, we merely used the Gap to travel swiftly from one place to another. Later, Madam Jiang uncovered the secret of the Gap, and our Divine Clan turned the tide; she created a paradise for us."
"With this paradise, we no longer had to fear humans. Though we existed in the same world, it felt like a different realm altogether. This place had separated from your world; the Gap kept the outside at bay. At first, we were content with our situation, but as we cultivated and became human, some of us fell prey to human vices. We began to understand hatred, and many of our kin sought revenge against humanity."
"For thousands of years, humans ignored our Divine Clan. When we gained the ability to retaliate, our way of survival began to change. Some of our kin started capturing humans to keep as livestock here. Gradually, we realized that humans were not so different from us; they were even more cowardly than we had thought. We began to indulge in pleasures suppressed for millennia—the villages grew larger and larger as more captives were taken."
"Among those captured was a particularly captivating man."
The butler's gaze fixed intently on Shen Bifan as he said, "That man is your father—Shen Shuwen."
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