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墨書 Inktalez
Clearly, Yun Kong's sharply defined face appeared somewhat aloof, and his distant gaze was filled with heavy thoughts.
After a long while, Yun Kong turned his gaze, a hint of barely noticeable sadness flickering in his dark eyes as he calmly replied, "If you evade her pursuit, you will have a chance to survive..."
"Alright," Mei Shuang sighed, "If you don't want to talk, that's fine... After all, she has tried to kill me more than once or twice..."
As soon as she finished speaking, the courtyard door opened, and a small voice came from Xiang Cao, "Young Master, the food is getting cold. Please come in and eat with this young lady."
Inside the courtyard was a small square table and a stool made of bricks. On the table were several dishes: a steaming plate of Sweet Potato, a plate of stir-fried meat with radish strips, a few steamed buns, and a plate of pickled vegetables.
Xiang Cao handed Mei Shuang a pair of chopsticks and said, "The buns and pickles with meat were prepared before we came up the mountain..."
This child was so considerate. Thinking back to her own struggles when she last went up the mountain, it was truly not easy for this slender figure to carry so much.
Having been hungry all day and attracted by the aroma of the food, Mei Shuang wasted no time and began eating as soon as she received the chopsticks.
Perhaps due to Xiang Cao's good cooking skills, after eating one bun and two Sweet Potatoes, Mei Shuang finally felt full. Watching Yun Kong and Xiang Cao eat elegantly, she felt somewhat embarrassed about her own ravenous eating.
After finishing the meal, Mei Shuang offered to wash the dishes but was stopped by Xiang Cao. "Miss, why don't you keep the Young Master company..."
Keep him company? On what grounds!
Mei Shuang asked Xiang Cao, "Xiang Cao, how old are you?"
"Uh, I'm fourteen..." Xiang Cao replied while washing the dishes.
Fourteen? Mei Shuang was astonished; this fourteen-year-old seemed more capable than her nearly twenty-four years.
She peeked at Yun Kong, who was standing outside the gate, and quietly asked, "He's a monk, so why do you call him 'young master'? What is your relationship with him?"
Xiang Cao looked up at Mei Shuang and replied seriously, "I've always called him 'young master'... What relationship? I've been by his side since I met him, just like this..."
Mei Shuang was at a loss for words. What kind of answer was that? Either Xiang Cao was too cunning or she was somewhat naive, not understanding social nuances. How could she not even grasp the meaning of the word "relationship"?
However, looking at Xiang Cao's attitude towards Yun Kong, it resembled that of a servant and master, yet also had a hint of familial ties. It wouldn't be impossible to think of them as a couple, but Xiang Cao was just too young... In short, it was all quite mysterious.
Alright, let's test this naive girl further. "Xiang Cao, how did you know I’m a woman when I'm dressed in men's clothing?"
Xiang Cao glanced at Mei Shuang with a strange expression. While wiping the water off a plate, she answered, "I remember you once said, 'You scared me to death...'"
"......"
Could it be any more embarrassing?
Mei Shuang felt her ears burning and turned to leave the courtyard.
Damn it, she had fallen into this little girl's trap.
Yun Kong had overheard the conversation between Mei Shuang and Xiang Cao. Now seeing Mei Shuang flustered as she rushed out, he couldn't help but curl his lips into a smile, a subtle glimmer flashing in his deep-set eyes.
It seemed that if it were the daughter of Chancellor Mei before, she certainly wouldn't have uttered such coarse words that would make her a laughingstock in high society! However, when she said it in her moment of anger, it didn't come off as too unpleasant; instead, it gave off a sense of straightforwardness.
After eating and drinking to her fill, the only thing Mei Shuang felt was fatigue.
From last night until now, she had been frightened all the way and really needed sleep to replenish her exhausted energy.
The room was warm from cooking, and the bed in the inner room was not damp, making it a cozy place to sleep. Mei Shuang had just lain down for a while when she felt her eyelids getting heavy.
Suddenly, the sky outside darkened; the moon that had been hanging in the sky had quietly disappeared, and the light gradually faded away.
A series of rustling sounds made Mei Shuang alert. She opened her eyes wide in the darkness and looked around, but there was nothing unusual.
After a short while, she heard similar rustling sounds coming from the corner of the wall. Listening closely, it sounded a bit like a mouse stealing food. She had heard similar noises many times while staying outside at night.
However, ever since she was startled by those scurrying mice in Heavenly Prison, she had developed a deep aversion to animals that dared to crawl near her feet.
She then turned over, intending to make some noise to scare away the damn mouse that was disturbing her sleep.
But turning over seemed to have no effect; the rustling continued and even grew louder than before.
Hey, how audacious.
She quietly got up and noticed there was a broom on the bed. She aimed it at the dark corner and threw it over based on her instincts. There was a dull thud, likely hitting the wall, and the sound stopped.
Satisfied, Mei Shuang lay back down, ready to sleep when the noise started again.
Furious, she thought that in this wild mountain forest, even mice had become bold enough not to fear humans.
She got up and fumbled for the Firestarter, lit a candle, and instantly the room brightened.
With the light, Mei Shuang felt a bit braver. Following the direction of the sound, she noticed a dark jar in the corner behind the door. The sound was coming from inside the jar.
She frowned slightly, wondering how she hadn't noticed it when she entered. Given the situation, it seemed that a greedy mouse had fallen into the jar that was used for storing grains.
Holding the candle, she approached the jar and looked inside. Mei Shuang's eyes widened instantly, and she gasped, nearly dropping the candle as it flickered in her hand.
Inside the jar was half-filled with a mass of various poisonous insects—some long, some short, some big, some small—all dark and writhing together. When illuminated by the candlelight, some even emitted an eerie black-red glow, churning and rolling over one another, with some spitting venom. The sound she had heard earlier was indeed from the hard shells and exoskeletons rubbing against each other.
Mei Shuang was horrified. Had she really spent half the night sleeping next to a jar full of poisonous insects? Damn it! Who on earth would be so cruel as to put such a thing in her bedroom? If one of them got out, would she even survive?
She felt her hair stand on end and panickedly waved the candle around, relieved to find no signs of any insects crawling out.
Gathering her courage, she approached the jar again, fighting against her strong sense of nausea to take a closer look at the insects inside.
She saw that these poisonous creatures were entangled with each other, attacking and devouring one another regardless of whether they were of the same kind. It was a scene of bloody ruthlessness, and soon enough, half of them were dead or injured.
After watching for a while, Mei Shuang felt dizzy. Damn it! Who put all these damn bugs here? What were they trying to do?
Strangely enough, these insects were focused solely on fighting and showed no signs of trying to escape. Mei Shuang held up her candle to examine the jar's walls closely; they glimmered with a faint dark light. It seemed that the insects feared getting close to the walls of the jar even more than they feared each other, as they continued to bite at one another rather than risk touching the sides.
Mei Shuang stood there in a daze when suddenly a soft yet eerie voice came from behind her. "Sister, what are you looking at?"
Startled, Mei Shuang turned around and gasped as she recognized the person before her. "Mei Ru? My heavens! How are you here? I thought you were dead!"
Mei Ru stood about ten feet away from Mei Shuang, her hair styled in a traditional bun reminiscent of before entering the palace, dressed in a light pink garment that accentuated her graceful figure.
Looking at the astonished Mei Shuang, Mei Ru gently stepped forward to the tank, took a look, smiled slightly, and turned to ask Mei Shuang, "My dear sister, have you seen these things before?"
"Mei Ru? Did you make these?" Mei Shuang asked in disbelief.
"Sister, don't be afraid; these are all good things... Let them fight fiercely. When only one is left, we can talk then..." Mei Ru's eyes clearly reflected Mei Shuang's terror, which pleased her greatly. She then smiled and raised her wide sleeves, magically pulling out a palm-sized white Porcelain Bottle. "Sister, listen, what do you think is inside?"
Mei Shuang focused and listened carefully; indeed, there was a sound of something scratching against the bottle wall.
She was horrified. "Is it also a poisonous insect?"
"Yes, once only one is left in the tank, I'll let it out and let them fight again. At that point, it will be a great success... Sister, guess who will win in the end?"
Looking at Mei Ru's gentle yet harmless smile, Mei Shuang felt an itch all over her body and shivered involuntarily, stepping back.
When Mei Shuang felt she had bumped into something, she turned around in fright. Behind her stood a shelf that had appeared out of nowhere, neatly arranged with bottles and jars. Some jars were even open, emitting faint wisps of steam.
"What is this..." Mei Shuang exclaimed in shock!
Mei Ru gracefully approached, picked up a small bottle from the shelf, pulled out the cork, sniffed it at her nose, then smiled slightly and handed it to Mei Shuang. "Sister, since you've seen it now, you might as well drink it... As long as you drink it, you'll forget some things you shouldn't remember..."
Mei Shuang was so startled that she felt like a leaf in the wind, repeatedly shaking her head and backing away. "No, I don't want to..."
Suddenly, Mei Ru's expression changed dramatically; her previous smile turned into a fierce and ruthless glare. She reached out and grabbed Mei Shuang; with just a slight pressure, Mei Shuang found herself unable to move.
She watched helplessly as thick brown liquid dripped from the vial into her mouth. Mei Shuang exerted all her strength to scream, "Help! I don't want to! I don't want to!"
"Miss, wake up, what's wrong with you?"
Mei Shuang suddenly opened her eyes, drenched in sweat and gasping for breath, still murmuring "no."
Only when she saw the fragrant herbs in front of her did she come to her senses. She glanced at the corner of the room, finding nothing there; Mei Ru was nowhere in sight. Outside the window, the moon hung high in the sky, illuminating the courtyard.
It dawned on her that it had just been a dream of the Southern Branch.
Her terrified cry also startled Yun Kong.
As Xiang Cao wiped Mei Shuang's sweat, she said to Yun Kong, "Miss must have had a nightmare..."
Mei Shuang lifted her gaze to Yun Kong, noticing his brows slightly furrowed and his dark eyes filled with unspoken words.
"What did you dream about?" Yun Kong asked softly.
Mei Shuang seemed not to hear him, staring blankly at the corner of the room as she recalled the fragments of her dream. If it could be called a dream, it was too vivid—so clear that it felt as if she had experienced it herself.
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