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墨書 Inktalez
Handing over the crown prince's private seal to a Kun Ze he had known for only two days, and one who was still in the Differentiation Period, was not a decision Xiao Feng made lightly.
The intelligence regarding the hidden guards deployed at the border of Cangzhou and Lan Prefecture had been leaked, and what was supposed to be a secret exchange at the inn had been infiltrated by a large number of assassins. Fortunately, the guards he brought were all elite warriors carefully selected. After a bloody battle, he managed to escape with his life from the onslaught of blades and arrows.
When he awoke from his unconsciousness, Xiao Feng thought he was seeing things. The one who saved him was a Kun Ze.
As the crown prince of the Tianqi Dynasty, he had been taught from a young age that Kun Ze were parasitic beings that depended on Tianqian for survival, and he had always looked down upon such people.
However, the Kun Ze before him was entirely different. He was covered in mud and grass, his eyes wide and innocent like a deer, seemingly unaware that he was in the Differentiation Period. His every movement exuded an untamed wildness that was far more vibrant than those pretentious noble Kun Ze in the capital.
At this moment, Xiao Feng was severely injured and unable to move. His broken blade lay three steps away, and he could only lean against the crumbling wall of the Mountain God Temple to catch his breath. The Kun Ze squatted in front of him, unconsciously twisting the hem of his clothes, with a cloth bandage wrapped around his wrist to stop the bleeding—torn from his own garment.
Xiao Feng stared at the trembling eyelashes of the boy and suddenly remembered the private seal hidden in his dark pouch.
"Take this to General He Mu Ming," he said, tearing off a jade token from his waist and pressing it into the boy's palm. "He will take you to Cangzhou Military Camp."
The Hidden Fragrance Pill was his last lifeline.
Xiao Feng watched as the Kun Ze tilted his head back to swallow the Hidden Fragrance Pill, Adam's apple bobbing in his pale neck. It dawned on him that this child might not even be aware of his own Xin Xiang. Normally, a Kun Ze in the Differentiation Period would be cared for by their family, yet this one wandered alone in the mountains and fields, dressed in patched coarse cloth, with mud from a rainy night still clinging to his ankles.
Giving all of the Hidden Fragrance Pills to this Kun Ze was also meant to prevent any exposure of his Xin Xiang at Military Camp that could lead to unnecessary trouble. Originally, no matter how he thought about it, it should only take two days for him to reach General He Mu Ming's Military Camp from this Mountain God Temple on foot; yet he waited three days without seeing anyone.
The food and water left were running low, and worst of all, a beggar had arrived at Mountain God Temple.
On ordinary days, he wouldn’t even spare such people a glance, but at this moment, he wished to avoid them as much as possible.
Injured and with an inflamed wound causing him high fever, he didn’t know how much longer he could hold on. Was it true that their Tianqi Dynasty would come to an end with his generation?
His father had long been obsessed with alchemy and had harmed himself in the process. Besides him—the legitimate son born early to both his father and mother—all other sons born from concubines had perished. A physician had advised his father once, but an emperor who believed that elixirs could grant him immortality had become delusional; how could he trust their earnest words? Thus, the physician was killed, and naturally no one dared speak out again after that.
Hiding behind the statue of the mountain god, he prayed for the beggar to leave quickly. However, contrary to his wishes, the beggar discovered him and caught a whiff of food emanating from him.
The man’s eyes were bloodshot like a beast’s as he fixed his gaze on Xiao Feng, letting out a low growl of hunger from his throat.
“Damn it!”
Though he was clearly human, the crimson glow in his eyes was more terrifying than that of any beast. Remembering the sights he had seen on his journey away from the capital, it was hard not to guess that this beggar saw him as food.
The beggar reeked of filth, his eyes glinting with a strange light as he advanced step by step.
Xiao Feng gripped the broken blade hidden at his side tightly, waiting for the moment when the beggar would come close enough for him to strike. Fortunately, his skills in horsemanship and archery had not dulled over the years; the beggar stumbled forward and impaled himself on Xiao Feng's blade.
Warm blood splattered onto his sleeve, and when the heavy corpse fell upon him, he found he lacked the strength to push it away.
With great effort, Xiao Feng managed to shove the body off him and leaned against the wall, dazed as he stood up. Just as he thought to take a moment to rest, a loud rumble echoed through the air—the wall suddenly collapsed. Caught off guard, Xiao Feng tumbled through the gap and began rolling down the steep slope behind Mountain God Temple.
...
“Zhi Sheng, where are you going?”
As dawn broke, the villagers began their daily chores, taking advantage of the cool morning air to weed their fields.
Zhi Sheng's parents had passed away early, leaving him to fend for himself. His fields were far away, so naturally, the villagers looked out for him and often greeted him when they saw him.
“I’m going up the mountain to weed. The wild vegetables are coming in season; I’ll pick some to make wild vegetable buns.” Zhi Sheng smiled and exchanged pleasantries with his neighbors before heading straight up the mountain. His fields were not in good condition and required more time and effort to tend to than others.
The mountain path wound steeply, and Zhi Sheng's cloth shoes crunched over dewy grass before he suddenly stopped at a dirt slope.
Before him lay tangled vines strewn about, with a deep drag mark leading down to the cliff's edge. Seeing his field in disarray, he hefted his hoe and swung it at the slope several times, cutting through a series of vines and pulling out a large bundle.
Just as Zhi Sheng prepared to toss the bundle further away, a sudden rumble caught his attention—a person rolled down right in front of him, landing at his feet.
Zhi Sheng was stunned.
He looked left and right; this made no sense. Beyond this slope was a cliff; one could only ascend by going around the mountain. Besides, anyone rolling down from such a height couldn’t possibly be alive.
He held onto the bundle of weeds for what felt like an eternity until a grasshopper leaped out from among them and darted past his face, snapping Zhi Sheng back to reality.
Throwing the bundle of weeds aside, Zhi Sheng shook his hands and gently placed his mud-covered palms near Xiao Feng's nose to check for breath. Fortunately, the man was still alive; it wasn't as if he had dug up a corpse with a single swing of the hoe.
Perhaps it was the abundance of vines on the cliff that had saved this man’s life. However, as Zhi Sheng scanned the area, he noticed a large patch of blood at the back of the man's head and bloodstains on his chest. After brushing aside the man's disheveled hair, Zhi Sheng was taken aback. This man was remarkably handsome, with features as delicate and striking as those of a traditional Chinese doll.
The man's forehead was burning hot, indicating a fever; there was no time to waste.
With that thought, Zhi Sheng tossed the hoe to the ground, hoisted the man onto his back, and dashed down the mountain. On his way, he encountered villagers heading up the hill and managed to shout out, “Keep an eye on my hoe, brother Lin Ye.” Without waiting for any questions about who he was carrying, he hurriedly made his way to Doctor Zhuang's house, where someone in the village knew a bit about medicine.
Doctor Zhuang was enjoying the sun in his yard when suddenly his gate swung open. In the countryside, people rarely bothered to close their doors; neighbors were few and often dropped by unannounced.
“ Doctor Zhuang! Come quickly, this man is about to die!” Zhi Sheng shouted as he entered.
Hearing the commotion, Doctor Zhuang's fan slipped from his face, instantly waking him up. He stretched lazily and turned to look at Zhi Sheng. He saw that Zhi Sheng was carrying someone on his back—clad entirely in black—which didn't seem like a good sign.
But saving a life was paramount. After laying the man on a couch, Doctor Zhuang checked his pulse and then asked, “Do you know this person?”
In a village with only a few hundred residents, it was hard not to recognize someone.
Zhi Sheng shook his head. “I found him on the back mountain; he must have fallen from that Ruined Mountain Temple.”
“Fallen?” Doctor Zhuang pulled open Xiao Feng's collar and saw two or three knife wounds on his chest. If it weren't for Tian Qian's robust physique and the cushioning effect of the vines on the cliff, this man would likely have already lost his last breath.
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