Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 71: Capturing
As soon as Ji Zichen mentioned the Vermilion Bird Spirit, Lin Chuyu immediately recalled, "Ah, I remember now! That night when I returned to the inn, I wanted to tell you that the ruins are in the Gap."
Ji Zichen stared at Lin Chuyu in surprise and said, "I had considered the idea of the ruins being in the Gap before, but all the ruins we've found are in reality. I always thought that idea was a bit unrealistic. But it's impressive that you thought of it; you're not as foolish as I thought."
Lin Chuyu felt a bit shy from his praise and quickly shook her head, laughing, "I didn't come up with this idea; someone told me."
Ji Zichen paused for a moment. "Someone told you? Who told you?"
Lin Chuyu thought of Prince Huixin. Although she knew him, she didn't know his name. She replied, "I don't know what his name is."
Ji Zichen also recalled the boy he had followed into the alley. He thought to himself, "Could it be that person?" He decided not to dwell on whether that boy was the one who shared this idea with her; it was no longer important.
Ji Zichen looked at Lin Chuyu with concern. On the surface, her skin appeared normal, but he had indeed seen that Lin Chuyu's arms and cheeks had sprouted Vermilion Bird scales.
"Have you felt unwell recently?" Ji Zichen asked.
"No," Lin Chuyu shook her head. "I haven't felt anything wrong. But what happened? I only remember the Primordial Dan cracking open, and then the Vermilion Bird Spirit came out. After that, I fainted and woke up in the back mountain of Fangwen Mansion."
Ji Zichen stared at her for a moment and decided not to hide anything. "I saw the Vermilion Bird Spirit enter the Vermilion Bird Pearl, and then you fainted."
Lin Chuyu was startled and hurriedly took off the Vermilion Bird Pearl to examine it. The pearl looked just like usual without any abnormalities. She murmured while looking at it, "The Vermilion Bird Spirit is inside?"
Hearing that she didn't feel unwell, Ji Zichen felt relieved. This clearly indicated that there were no aftereffects from the Vermilion Bird Spirit entering the Vermilion Bird Pearl. "That's good," Ji Zichen said. "That's what I wanted to ask."
At that moment, someone knocked on the door and said, "Guest, hot water is ready. Would you like to bathe now?"
Ji Zichen sniffed his clothes and remarked, "After traveling all this way, my clothes smell terrible."
He stepped forward to open the door and told the attendant, "Bring in the hot water; we need to wash off this sweat."
The attendant smiled and replied, "Sure thing!"
After Ji Zichen prepared the hot water, she said, "The water is ready. You can wash up first."
Lin Chuyu's face turned red as she replied, "You go out first."
Ji Zichen laughed, "I'll just wait outside the door."
Once Ji Zichen stepped outside, Lin Chuyu finally felt her cheeks flush as she moved to the bathtub in the inner room to undress. As soon as her clothes were off, she touched the scales on her arms. Each scale was about two fingers wide, and she had long noticed that these scales had appeared on her body since coming out of the Gap.
Currently, there were only two scales on her arms. Although they were on her skin, they didn't hurt or itch; they felt just like her own flesh.
Seeing the scales for the first time had certainly frightened her. She felt anxious and scared, not knowing how to explain it to anyone, too embarrassed to speak of it.
Lin Chuyu thought she must have contracted some strange illness, but now it seemed that this was likely related to the Vermilion Bird Spirit.
Meanwhile, Ji Zichen stood quietly outside the inn, gazing at the evening glow, lost in thought. At that moment, a thin man with a pockmarked face led a woman to a corner nearby. The pockmarked man whispered, pointing at Ji Zichen, "Princess, I don't know if that person is who you're looking for. It's a man and a woman; the woman is wearing beads, and the man has a sword wrapped in black cloth on his back."
Yuxuan and the pockmarked man stood in the corner, secretly observing Ji Zichen. It was indeed her. Yuxuan's eyes reflected surprise, admiration, and worry all at once. She thought to herself, "It really is him. If I don't get the beads soon, my brother will eventually resort to despicable means against him. He can deal with both the Sword and Blade Spirits; I still don't have confidence in defeating him. I'll have to rely on numbers to capture him."
Yuxuan turned to the pockmarked man and said, "You did well." She tossed him a bag of silver coins. The pockmarked man was excited and hurriedly thanked her. Yuxuan added, "You've never seen me before and you haven't seen that person either. You know what happens to those who talk too much."
The pockmarked man nervously replied, "I understand."
Yuxuan instructed him, "You can go now."
The pockmarked man hurriedly left with the silver coins.
Yuxuan silently watched Ji Zichen and thought, "No matter what happens, I won't let anyone kill you before I become stronger."
With that, Yuxuan turned and left the inn. She walked into a dark alley and called over two people. "You two go get more people; we can't let that woman escape."
"Understood."
The bright moon hung high in the sky, casting a haunting light over everything.
After the two had finished bathing, they sat down to eat in the room. Ji Zichen was devouring her food, while Lin Chuyu found it tasteless. She stirred the soup in her bowl with a spoon, pondering to herself, "Should I tell Brother Ji about the scales?"
Suddenly, Lin Chuyu's face turned bright red. "But what if I tell him and he wants to check? That would be so embarrassing..."
Seeing Lin Chuyu stirring the soup into circles, Ji Zichen glanced at her and noticed she seemed lost in thought. Curious, Ji Zichen said, "Hey! If you're not going to eat, just throw it away. Why are you stirring it? It's making me dizzy. What are you thinking about?"
Lin Chuyu snapped back to reality and stammered, "I... I wasn't thinking about anything."
Ji Zichen found it amusing and thought, "You look so troubled and yet say you’re not thinking about anything."
Ji Zichen replied, "If you’re not thinking about anything, then why are you acting so dazed? You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. If it's a problem I caused, you can just tell me directly."
Lin Chuyu shook her head. "No. It's not your problem; you and I have no issues at all."
"You and I have no issues at all?" Ji Zichen chuckled. "When did we ever have a problem?"
Lin Chuyu paused for a moment, realizing her words were inappropriate. Her face flushed as she said, "Just eat your food and stop talking nonsense."
After they finished eating, they cleared the bowls and chopsticks. Ji Zichen walked over to a wall where a painting hung. The painting depicted a woman in her thirties but portrayed her as if she were in her twenties. A typical painter wouldn’t have such skill; it seemed to be the work of a master.
The woman in the painting had delicate features and natural beauty. She wore a flowing dress that made her appear like a fairy stepping through waves. Her face was beautiful, with a slight smile that exuded an air of nobility, as if she were standing right before them. However, her brow was slightly furrowed, hinting at some hidden sorrow.
Ji Zichen couldn't help but softly exclaim, "The artist truly has remarkable skill."
But then Ji Zichen wondered aloud, "But why is this painting hanging in an inn? It doesn’t seem to fit at all."
The other person smiled slightly and said, "All the guests who stay here come from backgrounds like yours."
Ji Zichen asked, "Who is this woman?"
The other replied, "This is the Queen of our Desolate Central Plain."
Ji Zichen was taken aback. "You dare to hang the Queen's portrait here for people to admire!"
He sighed and said, "This is for my lady's remembrance. Each guest room has one, meant to ensure that no one forgets the Queen. By the way, since you are new here, you might not know who my lady is. She used to be the Queen's maid and took care of Princess Yuxuan and Prince Yuge. The Queen was very strict with them. Over ten years ago, Benefactor Wang betrayed us, and my lady escaped from the palace with Princess Yuxuan and Prince Yuge."
"That night, there were too many Pursuers. My lady got separated from them. I heard they fled to a neighboring country; some say they are living in the border Holy City. I only heard this, so I don't know if it's true."
Ji Zichen was taken aback and thought, "Yuxuan? So this must be her mother. It seems she is indeed part of the old master's faction."
He collected the bowls and chopsticks and asked, "Is there anything else you two guests need?"
Ji Zichen smiled and replied, "I'll call for you if there's anything."
The man nodded and left.
Lin Chuyu exclaimed, "The woman in the painting looks just like the one we met wearing a mask!"
Ji Zichen nodded. "Yes, she does resemble her. This woman must be her mother."
Lin Chuyu said, "So she is a princess! But why is she mingling with the Sand Bandits?"
Ji Zichen turned his gaze away from Lin Chuyu and said, "Who cares why she is with the Sand Bandits? Let's just sleep; we need to get up early tomorrow."
Lin Chuyu asked, "Aren't you curious?"
Ji Zichen replied, "Why should I be curious about her?"
"Ouch!" Ji Zichen suddenly bumped into the corner of the table and exclaimed in pain, "It hurts! That really hurt!"
Seeing him stumble into the table corner made Lin Chuyu laugh. "You can't even watch where you're going; are you blind?" Before she could finish her sentence, Lin Chuyu suddenly gasped and rushed forward. "Is it your eyes...?"
Ji Zichen was feeling around like a blind man, carefully touching the table as he sat down in pain. He grumbled, "I... I can't see again..."
At that moment, the door was suddenly kicked open by Yuxuan. Lin Chuyu gasped as soon as she saw Yuxuan and exclaimed, "It's you!"
Ji Zichen could hardly see anything; upon hearing someone kick the door and noticing that Lin Chuyu recognized this person, he straightened up and asked solemnly, "Who is it?"
Yuxuan was unaware of Ji Zichen's condition. She saw Ji Zichen leaning against the table, facing her. Although Ji Zichen could not see, in Yuxuan's eyes, it felt as if they were making eye contact. Yuxuan said, "To protect your life, I can only do this."
Though Ji Zichen's eyes were closed, he recognized her voice. "You are Yuxuan!"
Without hesitation, Yuxuan ordered, "Take that woman away!"
Outside the door, Yuxuan had brought a team of twenty Yu Ren soldiers. The soldiers entered with chaotic steps. Hearing the commotion, Ji Zichen instinctively stepped back but tripped and fell backward onto the couch, losing consciousness.
Yuxuan found it strange; she couldn't understand why Ji Zichen seemed so uncoordinated. However, her intentions were not focused on Ji Zichen. Seeing Ji Zichen faint, Yuxuan commanded, "Take her away!"
Two soldiers stepped forward and dragged Lin Chuyu out of the room.
Lin Chuyu struggled in the midst of the soldiers. "Let me go! Please let me go!"
The soldier holding Lin Chuyu growled, "Be quiet! Or I won't be polite!"
Yuxuan approached and struck Lin Chuyu on the back of the neck. Lin Chuyu's vision darkened, and she too fell unconscious.
Yuxuan instructed, "Put her in the carriage; we are returning to Holy City."
Ji Zichen lay on the ground, unaware of how long he had been unconscious. When he finally opened his eyes, he could see again, but the room was empty—there was no one left.
Comment 0 Comment Count