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墨書 Inktalez
On a boring afternoon, I found a cool corner shaded by trees, moved a lounge chair over, and opened my silk umbrella. Dressed in a thin white silk gown, I felt relaxed and comfortable. This place was rarely visited, with only the flowers swaying gently. The faint sound of insects chirping and leaves drifting down created a tranquil and pleasant atmosphere.
Lying quietly on the chair with my eyes closed, I found myself lost in thought. I couldn't help but recall the foolishness of swearing brotherhood with Sister Dan Yi and Brother Sima. Although I admitted to having acted recklessly, how could that not be considered a fateful encounter? At that moment, for reasons unknown, I felt an overwhelming happiness at the thought of having them as family, which led me to blurt out the idea of brotherhood. Perhaps words spoken without hesitation are the truest expressions of one’s heart.
It had been several weeks since that embarrassing drunken episode, and I wondered if I had said anything inappropriate in my dreams. Or perhaps I had drooled? When I woke up, it was Sister Beauty who greeted me; how delightful it was to see her so early in the day. I couldn't help but wonder if she was the one who had held me yesterday. I remembered that person carried a unique scent—light and elusive, both distant and close, both inviting and rejecting. It felt familiar, yet I couldn't recall where I had encountered such an intriguing fragrance before.
Just as I was dozing off, Brother Three rushed in anxiously, panting as he approached me from afar. "Sister Four—something's wrong… something's wrong!" he called out. Frowning, I thought that if this continued, he would be the one in trouble; had he forgotten that no one was allowed to intrude here without my permission?
I lazily lifted my gaze and asked in a feigned casual tone, "What is it?" He better have a good reason; otherwise, he would be in trouble.
Seeing my relaxed demeanor only heightened Brother Three's urgency; he grabbed me and ran while explaining, "Yun Ying has been caught by Fifth Lady! She said she wants to teach her a lesson."
A chill ran through me as I scoffed coldly; she finally couldn't hold back. "Brother Three, don't panic. Take your time and tell me what happened."
He turned his head to reply, "They say she tripped Fifth Brother and spoke disrespectfully. I asked some other maids about it; it’s really not a big deal. Yun Ying went out to buy your favorite sweet peach soup and accidentally bumped into Fifth Brother on her way back. Fifth Lady is just making a mountain out of a molehill."
No, not at all; this was an excellent opportunity. Just like when Japan invaded China, they didn’t need a grand excuse—just something useful would suffice.
From afar, even before reaching the front courtyard, I could hear Fifth Lady's voice booming: "You lowly girl! How dare you disrespect your master? Today I'll teach you what it means to be a servant…" In the distance, I could see the whip raised high and Yun Ying trembling on her knees while Fifth Brother sat on the ground crying pitifully—what a little demon! Honestly, after Yun Ying had followed me for so long, I couldn’t bear to scold her even once; how could it be someone else's turn to discipline her?
I quickly broke free from Brother Three's grasp, secretly gathering my energy as I quietly used the Demon Child Sect's technique "Ethereal Drift," swiftly gliding to Yun Ying's side just in time to catch the falling whip.
Upon seeing me, Yun Ying crawled over and hugged me tightly while sobbing, "Miss..."
Feigning innocence, I stared blankly at the whip in my hand as if I didn’t understand how it had ended up there. In panic, I dropped the thick whip onto the ground—damn it! If that whip struck Yun Ying’s frail body, she would surely be left with severe injuries! These people were truly ruthless!
With a sorrowful expression, tears welling in her eyes, she choked out, “Auntie, what has Yun Ying done wrong? Firefly is here to apologize on her behalf. Please show mercy and forgive her this once. I will make sure to teach her a lesson when I return, so you won’t have to trouble yourself.”
The Fifth Lady stared blankly at the whip that had fallen from her hand, filled with doubt. However, upon seeing my frail appearance, she assumed I was merely acting out of concern for the little girl and instinctively blocked the whip. That little devil looked at me with a complex expression; she was truly clever and more difficult to deal with than her mother.
The Fifth Lady huffed lightly, “Fourth Young Lady, you are still young and do not know how to discipline these lowly maids. Today, let me teach you how to manage them. After this, these lowly girls will think twice before disrespecting us, don’t you agree, Fourth Young Lady?”
Saying this, she disregarded my presence and raised the whip again towards Yun Ying. Anxiety surged within me; I couldn’t easily reveal my abilities in front of these people. The impulsive action I had taken earlier was already enough to raise suspicion. I could only hurriedly turn around and tightly embrace Yun Ying.
With a loud crack, it felt as if the skin on my back had torn apart. If I had known I would be hit, I should have worn thicker clothing; that way, it wouldn’t have hurt so much. It was painful—excruciatingly so.
Yun Ying cried out in distress, “Miss—”
Brother Three’s expression shifted from shock at my sudden disappearance to anguish as he rushed over to catch my slipping body. The pain in his eyes was evident; here, he was the only one who cared for me, warming my heart.
I had already used my true energy to protect my veins; this whip would only cause a superficial injury. Although it stung fiercely, I could endure it. But since Yun Ying was a delicate young lady, I pretended to be seriously hurt and fell onto her while whispering “I’m fine” to reassure her.
With tear-filled eyes, I looked at Brother Three and weakly said, “Brother Three, I’m okay.” Then I turned to the stunned Fifth Lady with a pitiful tone and said, “Auntie, please forgive Yun Ying. It’s my fault for not disciplining her properly. You’ve punished her now; let’s just leave it at that.” Otherwise, you better watch out; I won’t go easy on evildoers. On the surface, I appeared fearful of trouble while inwardly warning myself fiercely. Damn it! It hurts so much.
The Fifth Lady looked at me with disdain for being timid and cowardly while I continued to gaze at her with tearful eyes.
“Hmph! Considering your status as her mistress, I’ll let it go this time.”
Brother Three attempted to stand up and argue with her, but I grabbed onto him. The movement tugged at my wound and made me gasp involuntarily. This time there was no need to pretend as I called out in a trembling voice, “Brother Three—” He quickly looked down at me with concern in his eyes.
“Carry me back to Curved Pavilion; it hurts so much—” Upon hearing me say it hurt, he forgot everyone else and swiftly picked me up before hurriedly making his way toward Curved Pavilion.
Buried in his warm embrace, I felt a bit dizzy. As I prepared to leave, I vaguely saw two figures not far away. Squinting, I recognized them as my elder brother and Huan Wen. It was no surprise, really; Brother Three was one of the Five Young Masters, and Huan Liu Gongzi often came to seek his company. From this distance, I couldn't make out their expressions, but they appeared pale and somewhat stiff.
The pain from the whip marks on my back drew all my attention, leaving no room to think about anyone else.
As I walked, a cold smile crept onto my lips. Dear Auntie, since you dared to strike me, you should have the courage to face the consequences. I will make you regret what you did today.
I remembered that Demon Child had once told me about a place with a beautiful name—Prajna Valley. The name was so lovely it made one think it was a paradise. Unfortunately, while the scenery there was enchanting enough to make one feel as if they had stumbled into an immortal realm, the people living there were demons that struck fear into everyone across the martial world. It was said that nearby villagers who ventured up the mountain for firewood accidentally wandered into Prajna Valley and later discovered some dismembered limbs carelessly discarded along the path leading there. Some young heroes, fearless and full of bravado, vowed to venture into Prajna Valley to rid the world of those demons. However, all that remained of them were their young bodies torn apart and fed to wild dogs and wolves on the mountain. After these horrific acts spread through the martial world, Prajna Valley became desolate for miles around. Over time, tales of Prajna Valley grew more mysterious, and many preferred to call it Demon Valley.
Although Demon Child hailed from a prestigious family and was the Master of the world's foremost estate, he was almost merely a figurehead. He spent most of his time wandering outside, leaving all matters within the estate to his loyal steward Liu Bo. Thus, during one of his travels, Demon Child accidentally stumbled into Prajna Valley. Just when he thought he would be torn apart by the legendary demons within, fortune smiled upon him unexpectedly. Perhaps he himself didn't understand how his quirky personality resonated with those demons inside; thus, he ended up mingling with the Ten Monsters daily as if they were old friends. In this way, Demon Child became the only person to survive entering Prajna Valley. His reputation soared in the martial world as tales of him spread like wildfire; some even claimed he single-handedly tamed the Ten Monsters with his kindness, persuading them not to commit evil deeds and sparing their lives. He became a celebrated hero in people's hearts.
In truth—those involved told me that the Ten Monsters were not demons at all; rather, they were individuals who had tamed strange beasts from the valley's bizarre terrain as pets. The unfortunate firewood gatherers had wandered into the darkest part of Prajna Valley known as Dark Current, where monsters roamed freely and were likely devoured. It was said that hundreds of years ago, a Divine Son banished from heaven was imprisoned there, guarded by many celestial beasts sent by deities to prevent his escape. There were also rumors that he had been cast down for stealing a divine artifact from heaven, which was also hidden in Dark Current under the watchful eye of the mighty Yue Zhuo Divine Beast. Later generations speculated that it was an artifact capable of reversing fate.
Of course, outsiders were unaware of this; only those in Prajna Valley—the Ten Monsters—shared this knowledge with Demon Child. The young and reckless challengers who came later underestimated the Ten Monsters due to their youth and arrogance from their noble backgrounds. They spoke disrespectfully to the Ten Monsters and provoked their peculiar tempers; thus, in a very human manner, those so-called demons threw their provocateurs into Dark Current for a hearty meal.
Rumors have a way of transforming reality; what began as whispers soon morphed into that initial version of events. As our hero protagonist—Demon Child—was once again offered as food by the Ten Monsters when he entered Dark Current, he looked at them with his large watery eyes filled with innocence and playfully tugged at one of their braids while pointing at their strange decorations with a pure smile: "You all look so cute!" In that moment, those whom outsiders labeled as demons found themselves utterly captivated by his dazzling smile; years of discrimination melted away into feelings of grievance as they were moved to tears by Demon Child's unprejudiced gaze.
At this point in my thoughts, I lazily picked a grape and satisfiedly ate it while sneering: "Actually, you knew they were just those Ten Monsters all along. You're quite good at pretending."
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