Chapter 125

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Protagonist:

Shaowei

Liu Qi

That blood-stained blade discarded on the ground let out a loud clang, as if proclaiming that the bloody, bizarre red beauty scene before them was no illusion.

And Shaowei, who had rushed out, though her mind was in confusion, did not doubt for a moment that all this was her own imagining in a desperate situation.

In her nightmares, no matter how helpless, she would only ever imagine herself alone killing through thousands of troops and tens of thousands of horses, and never once imagined someone would come to aid and rescue her. If there was one thing that could possibly comfort her in her imaginings, it would be that phantom riding a green ox.

Shaowei was certain that although she and Liu Qi had an intersection of fate, it was far from the extent of appearing in each other's nightmares; he was an existence outside of imagination, and therefore all the more real.

The dazed Shaowei ran toward that real person; just as she steadied herself, she grasped Mo Li's arm to support her body, and when she opened her mouth there were no pleasantries, no confusion, and no time to exchange news — only uneven breath as she asked Liu Qi: "Your people... can they kill the people here?"

The first words upon reunion were blunt killing, and Liu Qi nodded: "They can kill."

Shaowei immediately said: "Then help me kill them all, except the maidservants and the doctor."

The young woman's eyes still held combat intent and bloodlust that had not subsided, but these words were not merely born of surging revenge; those people had not only severely wounded her and wanted to kill her, they had also seen her and knew her.

Liu Qi: "Deng Hu."

"Subordinate is here!"

"We passed by here, saw a great fire burning, and wished to knock on the door to offer aid; however, evil-doers in the villa gathered with blades and offended us, taking the opportunity to overstep and cause chaos." Liu Qi ordered: "Only by killing them all can this chaos be quelled."

"Acknowledged!" Deng Hu retreated two steps, turned, and drew his blade.

Shaowei released Mo Li and walked straight toward the healthy black horse behind Liu Qi, saying as she went: "Lend me this horse for a use."

In a short moment, having escaped death, her goal was clear and she did not halt; she reached out to grab the reins, one foot just stepping into the stirrup, when the next instant she was suddenly silently and powerfully lifted up.

Shaowei borrowed the force to mount the horse, avoiding aggravating her injuries too much; just as she sat steady, the one who had supported her followed by vaulting onto the horse, seating himself behind her, swiftly taking the reins from her hand, and saying: "I also lend it to you for a use, and will see you a stretch of the way on the same road."

Riding a horse consumes a great deal of physical strength; every muscle and bone must coordinate to exert force, and it will directly wear on the wounds on the legs and hands.

Merely riding as a passenger is much better, and one can even barely rest for a stretch.

Therefore Shaowei did not refuse, but the moment she realized the direction Liu Qi was driving the horse was wrong, she immediately urgently corrected him: "Wrong, I am going to Changling!"

Liu Qi: "I know, ahead there is a small path that can save half the time."

The words had just fallen when he had already urged the horse through a patch of waist-high grass bushes, and ahead indeed appeared a narrow little path.

The horse's hooves immediately kicked up speed; Shaowei's strength was weak, her body swayed out of control and she bumped into the person behind her; Liu Qi was about to say she could simply lean on him to rest, but saw she had already slumped forward, hugging the horse's neck.

She just lay there, breathing slightly, her mind gathering two parts in the wind, and couldn't help asking: "Will we make it in time? I must participate in tonight's Great Sacrifice..."

Since she hadn't died, she must rush without stopping for a moment to carry out her original plan; she had prepared for this for a long time, she must kill those who should be killed, and retrieve what she rightfully ought to obtain.

"We will make it in time." Liu Qi said: "The night Nuo Ritual mostly waits until Hai Hour to begin; Hai Hour is when people settle, and when people settle ghosts emerge. There is still one time unit; we will make it in time."

He was not a verbose person, yet at this moment he said "We will make it in time" twice; Shaowei was soothed, and lay there resting peacefully for a while.

Liu Qi likewise did not ask or speak; all around there was only the sound of the night wind and horse hooves.

Not long after, Shaowei had gathered some strength, propped herself up halfway with both hands, and only then opened her mouth: "Is there water?"

Liu Qi held the reins with one hand, and with the other took down the water bag from the horse's back; his fingers pushed out the wooden stopper, not caring where it fell, and simply handed the opened water bag to the person in front of him.

Shaowei first slowly drank a few mouthfuls, but still choked and coughed for a good while because of accumulated blood in her throat.

Liu Qi silently slowed the horse a little.

Shaowei paused for a while, then continued drinking; she drank half a pot of water in intermittent gulps, and only then felt that from a shriveled beast skin she had slowly been blown full, finally replenished somewhat.

Then she turned slightly, handed the water pot toward Liu Qi, and herself cupped both hands together.

Liu Qi then slowly poured the water from the pot into those bloody cupped palms; the filthy blood was washed away, yet new strands of blood welled up again.

She used those hands to scoop water again, and barely washed away most of the blood splattered on her face.

Water droplets carrying blood qi splashed in the night, and inevitably sprinkled onto the other person on the horse's back as well.

Several subordinates followed behind Liu Qi; at this moment the road conditions ahead were unclear, so one of them rode forward, holding a torch in one hand to light the way.

As the torch passed by her side, Liu Qi saw several drops of water mixed with blood color lying on the back of his own hand; water droplets of the same pale red color hung on the girl's not-sharp chin; her brows and eyes had been washed pitch-black, clear, sharp; the torch's afterimage burned and imprinted in her pupils.

The water in the pot was used up; Shaowei slumped forward again, and Liu Qi once more controlled the reins with both hands.

The girl lay on the horse's back, her spine rising and falling slightly with her breath, like a bloody, soaking wet beast, silently nurturing her spirit.

At this moment, an irrelevant thought suddenly appeared in Liu Qi's mind: who exactly was the person she ran and fought for? What kind of person could be worth her doing this to such an extent?

Admittedly, every time they met, she was never unscathed, like a fire, always burning; this time almost burning herself out. Only because in this Chang'an City, everywhere stand sharp glaciers, and flames are always hard to survive.

But even though she nearly burned out, a fire source still continued to generate from within; at this moment, though she cherished her strength and was silent, her breath was still blazing fiercely.

Tonight on that mountain villa, she was clearly the cluster of fire burning most fiercely.

The horse's back at this moment made Liu Qi feel especially bumpy, causing one's thoughts to shake along with it.

He suddenly noticed a silver needle on her head that was likewise shaking; he did not know what cruel punishment had been inflicted, but his movement preceded reason — he reached out and pulled that needle out.

Shaowei raised her hand to touch her head, then immediately turned back to question him: "Why did you pull my needle? That is used to regulate inner breath."

Liu Qi went "Ah?" in surprise, suddenly feeling a flustered sense of having done wrong; his movement again preceded reason — he reached out to stab that needle, which he hadn't yet had time to discard, back in.

Seeing this, Shaowei hurriedly covered her head and questioned again: "Can you aim accurately? Give it back to me!"

Liu Qi hurriedly handed it back to her; in his haste the needle tip pointed toward himself, while he looked ahead, avoiding her glare.

Shaowei pinched it over, but then threw it away: "Forget it, it's dirty."

Having said that, she slumped back down again.

Liu Qi said embarrassedly: "Sorry."

At the same moment Shaowei said: "Thank you."

The former apologized for a single needle; the latter realized it was only a single needle, yet she still hadn't gotten around to thanking him.

Liu Qi let out a breath of relief, returning to normal: "Merits and faults offset each other; no need to thank me again."

"That's not how it offsets, and I'm not unreasonable." Shaowei had recovered a little after drinking water, and only now had the strength to ask: "What a coincidence that you just happened to arrive in the capital tonight?"

"Not exactly a coincidence," Liu Qi said. "I deliberately hurried back, not wanting to miss the great sacrifice of the Shangsi Festival."

Shaowei: "You also like participating in the Nuo Sacrifice?"

"I've disliked it since childhood," Liu Qi answered without mincing words.

He said: "When I came, I guessed you would be among the witches of the sacrifice, and perhaps someone did not want you to appear."

Shaowei couldn't help but ask: "How did you guess?"

Liu Qi: "Because I know you would certainly not cry out unless it was a stunning cry, and your enemies are all far from ordinary people."

These words seemed to carry some flattery of goodwill, but Shaowei felt she truly deserved it; she still lay prostrate, yet her words were straight: "You're right, but I'm not afraid of them anymore."

Horse hooves trod over a narrow stream, the stream water splashing like shattered meteors.

Not being afraid now meant admitting she had been afraid before.

Liu Qi was stunned for a moment.

She must be someone who found it very difficult to feel fear.

Liu Qi had come all the way from the entrance of the Robber's Cave with Zhao Qie'an, so he could guess what she had experienced. That she could escape alone from the Black Tomb was truly unimaginable, and the fear she admitted to now only deepened that unimaginable quality.

When others could not imagine what kind of fear she had experienced, she had already stepped out and crushed it, which was why she could candidly admit she had been afraid.

Things that had been crushed did not deserve a victor's repeated elaboration; Shaowei turned to ask: "Then how did you arrive so quickly? I heard you were supposed to..."

"I took the Western Route." Before she could finish with effort, Liu Qi explained it all to her at once: "The Eastern Route had too many and too complicated waterways; the few waterways on the Western Route could all be forded, saving much time. This morning at dawn, I reached the west side of Chang'an, did not enter the city, but immediately detoured east toward Changling; on the way, I heard from Dou Shiyi and the others that you were missing, and so I searched with the Knight Zhao to this mountain villa."

He temporarily skipped the intermediate process, and now said: "I'm still late; I should have arrived one or two days earlier."

"Wrong." Shaowei's voice was still uneven, but the stubbornness within could not be shattered by the jolting of horse hooves; she said: "You are not late; you could not have come earlier."

She had always been domineering, wanting to possess even the hardships that could forge her all by herself.

When she came out of the Black Tomb, she brought out an Iron Sword and threw it away outside the Robber's Cave. But she also brought out another sword; that invisible sword, once obtained, would not be thrown away.

Liu Qi watched the back of her slowly sitting up straight; the night wind lifted her disheveled black hair, a strand drifting across his nose tip, gentle as wind, sharp as a sword.

The youth lowered his eyes, glanced at that black hair that came near and went far and had its own mind, and smiled faintly: "I was wrong, you are right, I understand now."

This was another shock, just like the one in Taiqing Pavilion in Wuling Commandery; now he could easily accept her differences, but the feeling of shock had only become obscure, not lessened.

Shaowei only looked forward, urging him again: "Faster."

Liu Qi said nothing; the speed of the horse's advance answered for him.

Shaowei said: "You will give me a ride tonight, and I will give you something..."

She said: "By then, you must watch closely."

"Good." Liu Qi shouted "Giddy-up," and one horse with two people galloped together into the surging night illuminated by firelight.

Tonight there were no stars and no moon, only the endless East Wind.

The firelight behind had already receded; the fire ahead was faintly visible.

Above the altar built in the open air by the mountain were placed bronze braziers with burning bonfires, and torches stood high all around.

The firelight burned roaringly, making crackling sounds; the splashing sparks seemed to all fall upon Yu Si Wu's heart.

She stood solemnly in the shadows behind the altar; behind her were the prepared witches, a team of over sixty, yet missing the most important one.

The masked witches seemed to have become ghosts and gods, but beneath the masks all were nervous and uneasy.

Outsiders might not know the specifics, but these witches were very clear: Hua Li was missing, said to have been taken by an evil spirit.

What they did not know was that not only had Hua Li gone missing, but two Wu Nu had also died.

On Yu Si Wu's pale face was already a hint of numbness.

The two male witches guarding A Zhou last night had fallen asleep for no reason, and A Zhou was missing. Early this morning, corpses were found; in a grove outside Changling, she had "hanged herself."

The death of the other Wu Nu was even stranger; this Wu Nu did not participate in tonight's great sacrifice Wu Dance. Usually she was responsible for steaming sacrificial cakes in the shrine; this time she followed along to make tribute items, so she had previously had no chance to contact Hua Li, only that day they both entered the Black Tomb to participate in the Nuo exorcism; upon careful recollection, when lining up, this person "happened" to stand on Hua Li's right side, but upon truly entering the Black Tomb, they went in two directions and had no further contact.

But just that, this Wu Nu died last night in the kitchen, her mouth stuffed with sacrificial cakes fresh from the pot, appearing to have been choked to death alive.

By now, whether it was truly an evil spirit causing trouble, or someone deliberately targeting Hua Li, targeting the shrine, and destroying all evidence in time, had become very difficult to distinguish...

At noon today, the Emperor learned of this; the vexed Emperor only left one sentence: 【A single little fox cannot bear a great task.】

At that time, Yu Si Wu was kneeling behind the Taichang Temple Minister; hearing these eight characters, she felt a heavy curse had descended.

The Emperor would certainly investigate this matter, but that was only for the dignity of the Imperial Family's sacrifices; it was necessary to find out whether it was an evil spirit or human doing.

The Son of Heaven did not care about the life or death of a small witch; the Son of Heaven's worries were the unceasing bad news, and the ill omen represented by the sudden extinction of the auspicious signs that had just appeared.

But the sacrifice that had been set had absolutely no possibility of cancellation; the Emperor had already led all the ministers to gather.

"—Boom!"

As a drum sounded, Yu Si Wu desperately thought: the curse had taken effect; this was the last great sacrifice dance presented by the witches of the shrine before the Emperor.

Another drum sounded; the witches would ascend the altar when the third drum fell.

In the firelight, directly in front of the altar, under the guidance of the Taichang Temple Minister who had finished kneeling and reading the sacrificial text, the Emperor, kneeling in order with the Royal Clan and Ministers, solemnly performed the kowtow to heaven and earth; this Son of Heaven's rite was called "Welcoming the Gods."

Zhu Zhi, kneeling at the very end of the Military Officials, also prostrated and kowtowed on the ground with unprecedented devout posture; as he raised his head, he gazed intently at the high altar, his eyes full of longing.

"—Boom!"

The third drumbeat fell; the witches were about to ascend the altar.

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