Chapter 190: Encountering a Clear Day Chapter 167: Broken Wing Injures the Crane

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Shaowei

Liu Qi

Soon, Qingwu followed the Liang Prince out in a carriage together with him; she knelt on the soft cushions inside the carriage, occasionally glancing at the street scene through the half-open carriage window.

The steward who accompanied her sighed upon seeing this: "I allow you to go out so that you may serve Your Highness..."

Qingwu hurriedly withdrew her gaze, but the Liang Prince smiled and waved his hand: "Just watch... being sick, cooped up for many days..."

Hearing these words, Qingwu showed a grateful expression, then turned her head to look outside again.

The steward laughed helplessly; this family servant, though not a coarse or stupid person, had not a trace of flattering methods, and even in trying to please there was a clumsy simplicity... yet precisely this made the Prince like her more and more; if she had not been ill for so long, and now it happened that the Prince was fasting from meat and pungent foods for the prayer ceremony, she would long ago have become one of the Prince's people.

But this was also a matter of time; judging by the situation, she would surely be taken back to Liang Guo sooner or later, and since the Prince indulged her, he was not fit to say anything too harsh.

Who would have known that this auspicious green branch had already gradually been stained with the bad habit of arrogance from favor; merely looking was not enough, she even longingly said: "That seems to be a malt sugar shop, so lively..."

The Liang Prince smiled and ordered the carriage to stop, allowing her to buy some: "If you like it, buy more..."

The lively spirit of a young maiden stirred the Prince's nostalgia for the past; the steward had no choice but to casually take out a string of five-zhu coins minted in Liang Guo: "Be quick, do not delay the great matter of the sacrifice."

He also assigned a guard to accompany her.

Qingwu walked quickly, and her heart beat quickly.

Before going out, she had thought simply: once she reached Lingxing Shan, she would hand over those two strands of hair to Shaowei; but after sitting in the carriage, she thought again—the Great Witch God was in charge of the sacrifice, she had to serve the Liang Prince, meeting and talking was truly too difficult, and there was the danger of being discovered.

It would be better to make preparations on both fronts: if she had a chance to speak with Sister Shaowei, she would directly inform her, while leaving her discovery in Cheng Zhong for someone more suitable to handle this matter to pass on—professional matters left to professionals; Qingwu felt she was not clever, so she never tried to be clever.

But as she neared the malt sugar shop, Qingwu felt foolish again—what earth-shattering discovery required preparations on both fronts? It was just two strands of hair... having someone pass them in between, was it not rather inexplicable?

But in the next instant, Qingwu touched the broken Panlian Jie hidden in her sleeve.

This knot was woven by Shaowei herself; at that time she had said that Sister Shaowei studied diligently and sincerely, and surely could make the bond between them extremely firm... this rope knot must have been awakened by the sister, so when she once had thoughts of taking her own life, it had held her back; and today, its breaking drew out this rare white hair, which was perhaps another kind of fate pulling.

Thinking of this, Qingwu hesitated no longer, nor feared being laughed at by intermediaries any more, and walked into the malt sugar shop.

She was not a top-tier spy; there were too many people in Cheng Zhong who could put on a good show, and she had never been able to discover anything abnormal about the Liang Prince, only these subtle, seemingly real yet seemingly false clues; but just like a swallow carrying grass leaves and bits of mud—who knew if they could be used to build a nest?

And even if she was the most useless spy in Shi Jie, before entering the capital she had undergone some training, and basic contact and message delivery was no problem.

Shaowei had once told her about this sugar shop, and the code had long been set; at this moment Qingwu found the malt sugar seller with a bean-sized mole on her left cheek, and asked: "Do you have any made like the Empress of Lishan?"

Malt sugar comes in soft syrup and hard syrup; soft syrup can be used for food and medicine, while hard syrup can be made into simple shapes to attract customers.

The malt sugar seller smiled in surprise upon hearing this: "I would like to have them, but I do not have the boundless magic power of the Empress of Lishan to carve them! Only some amusing little mice and civets and the like!"

Qingwu nodded in embarrassment, then pointed to one compartment and said to weigh up two taels.

Paying and handing over the money, her wide sleeves covered it, completing this secret and unannounced delivery.

As she left, Qingwu's gaze passed over a compartment filled with tiger-head-shaped malt sugar; one "tiger head" had been knocked and had a chipped edge, looking cute and pitiful.

Even if these two seemingly real yet seemingly false white hairs had some slight effect, what they indicated was nothing more than an unfinished truth; the departure of the eldest sister of Jiang's Residence was ultimately an accomplished fact... Sister Shaowei had not rested for a long time, injured inside and out, unknown whether she could support herself through this complicated great sacrifice?

She quickly left the shop, and as she boarded the carriage, Qingwu vaguely heard drum sounds and witch bell sounds, and the boiling voices of people.

After Liu Qi left the Taiyi Shu, he had wanted to leave the palace directly, but the Emperor summoned him, so he had no choice but to enter Weiyang Palace.

The Emperor inquired about the progress of all matters and his injuries; Liu Qi knelt and sat to answer, but his voice gradually scattered, and between drowsiness he nearly nodded his head to the ground.

"Bold!" the Emperor shouted; he came to his senses and sat up straight, then heard the Emperor above him impatiently say: "I told you to go back and rest, but you treated it as wind in your ears; now you are dozing off in front of me—if you want to sleep, roll back and sleep."

"Yes, this child minister rolls..." Liu Qi crossed his hands in salute and corrected himself: "This child minister takes his leave; another day I will come to ask Imperial Uncle for forgiveness."

"Asking for forgiveness can wait for another day..." Watching the youth withdraw, the Emperor frowned: "A worthless brat."

"The Sixth Prince has determined that Your Majesty is a benevolent ruler and kind father, and will not blame you for this." The attendant beside him smiled and said: "When showing merit to the Sovereign Father, being a little tired is no problem; when serving the Sovereign Father, one should be spirited..."

The Emperor's eyebrow twitched slightly, and he looked at this adopted son Guo Shi: "Today you have spoken for him more than once; did you collect some benefit from him?"

The attendant smiled and said: "This servant only serves Your Majesty, staying by Your Majesty's side; naturally, whatever I see, I say."

The Emperor neither agreed nor denied, and asked him: "I cannot remember clearly; what is your name?"

"In reply to Your Majesty, this servant's name is Guo Yu."

The tired Liu Qi soon left the palace, leaning against the carriage interior to organize his thoughts.

When he returned to the Sixth Prince's Residence, an imperial guard stepped forward and handed him an item, explaining its origin: "It is from that family servant of the Liang Prince's Mansion."

It was a silk pouch; Liu Qi hesitated for a moment, then opened it to look.

Jiang Jun would sometimes go to the Liang Prince's Mansion to visit; if it were ordinary matters between sisters, that A Jie would not specially use his people to deliver; such a method, at this special juncture, and coming from the Liang Prince's Mansion—he took it upon himself to decide; if he inadvertently offended her, he would apologize to her another day.

Opening it, it was a rolled-up thin narrow silk scroll; upon unfolding and reading it, there were only nine characters: At the Chen hour, behind the Kitchen Courtyard, in front of the Underground Cellar.

The characters for "kitchen" and "cellar" both had errors, but did not hinder understanding; only, what was being referred to for what matter or what thing?

While Liu Qi was puzzled, he looked again at the pouch, and only then discovered two strands of intertwined bright silver hair within.

The silver hair shone in the afternoon sunlight, reflecting into Liu Qi's pitch-black pupils.

He already had a guess in his heart, but it was entirely speculation, with no tangible evidence... under such circumstances, any related evidence that appeared, even as small as the hair strands before his eyes, absolutely could not be explained away by the two words "coincidence."

The hair strands were insignificant, but enough to connect all the fragmented clues in his mind.

Since he had seen it, he could not turn a blind eye; he must go see it with his own eyes. Liu Qi suddenly gripped the pouch and hair strands, turned and went outside: "Deng Hu, quickly mobilize thirty men and horses!"

"As you command!"

Tang Jia: "This..." Why was he going out again and again!

Seeing Liu Qi's departing figure was especially hurried, Tang Jia quickly said: "Prepare the carriage, prepare the carriage, I want to go together!"

Judging by the situation, it seemed something great was about to happen!

He had to follow and watch!

Liu Qi led his men and horses in swift travel; on the way he met He Pingchun, who had just brought the Brocade Cloth Guards out from Xian Tai Gong, and immediately said: "Commander He, come with me!"

He Pingchun had no time to inquire in detail; following along, he rushed to Liang Wang Fu. Liu Qi had just reined in his horse when he said: "We are pursuing the remnants of Princess Yi Ming's assassins to this place; we need to enter and search!"

He Pingchun was startled, but in his heart he knew that although this Sixth Prince was indeed unbridled, he was not as reckless as many claimed; on the contrary, his actions always had solid justification, and he would unexpectedly achieve great merit — this was the conclusion drawn from working together during this period.

Therefore, after only a slight hesitation, He Pingchun ordered: "Search!"

After all, it was only a search, not an arrest; just treat it as being for the safety of Liang Wang Fu.

The servants of Liang Wang Fu complained secretly one after another: hadn't they already searched recently? Why come search again today? It was only because their Lord Liang Wang had a good enough temper; however, the Lord had already left the city, so today there was no one to prepare any cakes or snacks for this Sixth Prince.

Liu Qi came all the way to the outside of that underground cellar, saw the door was locked, and immediately ordered the mansion servants following him to open the lock.

Last time he came to search, this disused underground cellar had not been specially locked.

That servant said the key was not on him, and the Steward had gone out... The servant had not finished speaking when he saw that black-robed youth suddenly draw his sword; he trembled in fright, just begging for mercy, when the sword light flashed — "Clang!" — the lock was chopped clean through, and the narrow wooden door was kicked open.

Evening light leaked into the cellar, dust dancing; inside it was completely empty.

That trembling servant explained fearfully: "There's nothing at all; it's only because the Steward said two young servants were hiding inside fooling around and were discovered, so it was locked, prohibiting unauthorized entry..."

Preventing servants from fooling around — this was a decent excuse; not only could it be locked, there was also a reason to clean up incidentally. Liu Qi entered to inspect, and saw that even the miscellaneous items piled up last time were all gone, and the floor had been carefully swept.

But no matter how careful, it is hard to leave absolutely no traces; traces will only be seen by those with intent. Liu Qi bent down, and in a corner crevice picked up a broken hair strand, also snow-white, with slight bloodstains on it.

Besides this, because the cellar door was sealed, there was still faint Blood Qi and Medicine Qi here that had not fully dissipated; it seemed the person hidden here had left no more than a day ago...

That is to say, after he last searched, a person was hidden here, and that person was transferred away not long ago.

Therefore it would not be Chi Yang; the timing does not match at all... But why leave white hair? Was there contact with Chi Yang, using this as a hint to remind?

But why suddenly transfer? Even if a cunning rabbit has three burrows, two burrows are already levelled, yet the search in the city has not ceased; risky transfer would necessarily require hidden manpower; at such a critical juncture, more moves mean more mistakes... What is the ultimate intention of this move?

What does Liang Wang intend?

What does Chi Yang intend?

It seems a possibility never thought of might have been overlooked; Liu Qi stared fixedly at the white hair in his hand.

In an instant the evening light completely vanished, the sun set, and Liu Qi's gaze also sank in that instant.

He abruptly turned and ran out.

Before entering the palace to see Que'er he had already suspected Liang Wang; after leaving the palace the suspicion deepened further; this matter was nothing more than further investigation of the mastermind behind the scenes; he wanted to pursue and investigate first, wait for her to return to the city and then act, but now with the emergence of a thought...

Liu Qi's brows and eyes were full of anxiety.

That one thought hid the evil ghost's every scheme, turning the situation into a ten-thousand-fire urgency!

Running out of Liang Wang Fu, Liu Qi mounted his horse.

Seeing that figure riding away like a shooting star, Tang Jia, who had just followed, had trembling lips: "Heavens, where is he going now!"

He hurriedly urged the coachman: "Follow, quickly follow!"

Where the hooves galloped, they lit up countless lamps along the way.

All around lamps were lit one after another; those fires all burned in Liu Qi's heart, strengthening the incomparably venomous conjecture in his heart.

That must be a trap only a madman could devise, disregarding life, exhaling the last breath of turbid Qi to breathe out a blinding smoke, to destroy the unshakeable bedrock that cannot be crushed by external force.

Perhaps for that demonic Dao mad ghost, everything before was trial and error; from the moment he was captured and sought death, the true plan of extermination only truly began.

Forcing her to destroy her own life failed, yet there was still another layer of self-destruction calculation hidden in the ending's tail; she found that corpse, her tightly locked heart-Qi momentarily collapsed, but she was resilient and tenacious, everything was only temporary, heart-Qi could still gather again, but if she once fell into tonight's trap...

The heart of Heaven's Mechanism is upright and firm; the more setbacks, the braver she becomes, only rising in adversity; and that evil ghost wants to drag her down.

Once tonight's heart-burning great fire ignites, then whether she is god or ghost, she will be burned to god-charred ghost-rotten, with no Life Gate left in her heart.

Liu Qi galloped his horse through the city gate that was about to close.

The last time he rode so recklessly was that year's snowy night returning to the capital.

Past and present figures seemed to brush past each other under the city gate, rushing in opposite directions.

Unlike her, in this matter at this time, he is an outsider isolated from despair and pain; this outsider, using the fruit of the cause she planted and the clue passed by her A Jie, accidentally became a knower who could glimpse this trace... If he cannot stop this from happening, his fault can never be erased!

The galloping hooves stirred up countless smoke and dust, just like the gray fire smoke floating above Lingxing Shan.

The long procession carrying fire to sacrifice to heaven had already ascended Lingxing Terrace; Crown Prince Cheng led the sacrificial participants up the three-tiered high altar that could hold a thousand people; before the sacrificial tables filled with livestock they offered incense, poured wine, and kowtowed.

With the drum sound rising, the Great Shaman led a crowd of shamans on this mountain peak altar to begin the sacred sacrificial dance.

At the other end of the altar stood that statue of a plague god with red face and angry eyes, fully two men tall; around it firewood soaked in fire oil was already piled full.

The seasonal plague gods differ; the summer plague god is red vermilion; at this moment, inside this red ghost statue symbolizing the collection of plague and poison, the purification of disaster, a real evil ghost was trapped.

This sacrifice to heaven was also to appease the people's hearts; at this moment around the altar, under the maintenance of the Imperial Guard and Embroidered Uniform Guard, many commoners gathered to watch, shouting resentful sounds like "Burn the evil," "Execute the evil," "Burn the demonic Daoist" to death.

Even so, that plague god statue looking fierce and evil still inspired awe; during the procession in the city no one dared offend it; only a child held a stone and smashed it hard; though small, he actually smashed a fist-sized hole in the statue.

That child was precisely Xiao Yu; at that time she hid in the dark, fled after committing the crime; as the Great Shaman's house-raised little dog, she did not fear a mere plague god demonic Daoist.

Along the way, through that hole one could faintly see; that statue was crafted by a skilled artisan, using wood for bone and silk for skin; inside the plague god statue was placed a cross-shaped Thunderwood; the demonic Daoist was bound on it; her wide Daoist robe was covered in blood and filth; white hair disheveled; injured eyes wrapped in bandages; head drooping, unconscious.

On the mountain peak the night wind howled; as the sacrificial dance ended, the minor shamans prostrated on the ground; the Great Shaman in black robes and red skirt raised high long bird feathers with both hands; robes as if flying; gazing at the vault of heaven.

The Great Shaman who should communicate with High Heaven was silent at this moment; only wind sound and fire sound; she stood silently under this boundless black sky, yet there was another kind of silent shock, as if great squareness has no corners, great sound is rarely heard.

However in Qing Wu's view below, this was clearly great sorrow without awareness; Qing Wu shed a tear; Liang Wang patiently comforted: "Don't be afraid; after burning the evil, then... everything will be fine..."

How could it be fine? How could it be fine!

Even if the demonic Daoist dies, it cannot exchange back the immortal-like eldest sister of the Jiang family!

Placed in this situation, watching this shaman dance, Qing Wu only then truly experienced this grief and indignation.

On the altar, Attendant Shaman Yu Si Wu had already spoken in place of the Great Shaman.

"—Beholding this demonic thing, the red earth stretches a thousand li! Burning its bones and flesh, to thank Heaven and Earth!"

"—Now following Heaven's Mandate, burning and executing the demonic Daoist! Only praying for sweet rain, pity us common people!"

"—Burn!"

With this cry of "Burn," the Great Shaman lowered her high-raised arms; the right arm holding the feather swept down as if wielding a sword; this act was equivalent to the command of gods and spirits; the two Imperial Guards standing by the plague god statue smashed their torches onto the firewood; a great fire boomed up, accompanied by the people's loud shouts.

"Burn!"

"Burn!"

"Burn Evil!"

Mountain birds startled, the fire roared, and Yu Si Wu continued performing the duty of serving the deity, speaking for the Witch God: "Golden Armored General, heed the command!"

A figure clad in Gold Bronze Armor, face covered by a Gold Bronze Divine Mask, stepped forward and stood at the Witch God's rear side, listening respectfully, like a towering divine general awaiting the Witch God's command.

Tales say the Golden Armored Divine General specializes in subduing Plague Gods, usually played by Military Officials, appearing only during Living Person Sacrifices.

Yu Si Wu ordered with resounding authority: "Fire Arrow, Execute Evil!"

"Acknowledged!" The Golden Armored General received the command loudly, took the Long Bow, and a Fire Arrow whose Arrow Body was coated with cinnabar and Arrowhead wrapped in Fire Oil Cloth.

Shaowei looked at the Plague God Statue starting to burn at the other end of the Altar; the Evil Ghost was trapped within it, and she too seemed trapped in hard stone, only that cluster of fire in her heart refusing to die climbing out from the stone, as if dissociating another her, watching herself from a bystander's perspective.

At this moment Shaowei hallucinated; she thought, perhaps she should be the one to shoot this arrow, she would not shoot a vital point, only wishing to wake Chiyang in pain, and in wakefulness burn him to ash; as this thought arose, she seemed to truly see herself draw the bow, nock the arrow, pull the bowstring bit by bit to full draw—

At this moment, the mountain wind blew fiercely, skewing the flames burning the Plague God Statue, the fire uneven, sparks flying wildly, the cloth on one side burned through by flying flames, and instantly snow-white hair fluttered and scattered from within, like winter moon snow, suddenly filling Shaowei's sight.

In the winter moon's icy river, cold water wrapped around her suffocating; now it seemed she was sealed in stone, with a similar feeling of suffocation.

Back then struck painfully by a hateful section of Bamboo Pole, she surfaced, opened her eyes and saw a green bamboo, a Violet Shadow, a Light Boat, and endless winter snow.

Her whole body inexplicably surrounded by imagined cold, staring at that wildly dancing snow-white hair, she actually felt a few parts dazed.

Physical Strength long exhausted, the dissociated person was dazed, but this dissociation was not unusable by her; Shaowei shifted her perspective from herself to this entire grand sacrifice, overlooking and sensing all, only feeling wind sounds and human voices all too surging, even this Heaven and Earth falling into deafening clamorous madness, as if to cover her eyes, block her ears, seize her voice, push her forward.

But Chiyang was her capture, this sacrifice brought about by her, the Witch God wanted to execute the demonic Daoist...

Shaowei did not understand why, yet the rebellion imprinted in her bone and blood made her inexplicably vigilant, this vigilance awakening the instinct belonging to Mountain Forest Beasts; she knew nothing, had no evidence, what she saw held no clues...

But she should unconditionally listen to herself, even if it was a dazed, unclear animal instinct...

In the phantom, she hesitated, slowly collecting and releasing that Bow and Arrow, but the Bow and Arrow in reality was not controlled by her, Fire Light howled leaving the string!

All chaotic thoughts merely an instant; Shaowei disregarding anyone's gaze, she ran out, reached out trying to grab that arrow, but grasped empty air.

The Fire Arrow flew out, following the wind direction, speed shockingly fast, and the crowd shockedly saw the Great Witch God's figure like wind, actually chasing the arrow!

Same instant, the Festival Platform Below suddenly erupted in noisy chaos; at the Festival Platform Other End, the direction the arrow pierced, a dark figure rushed forth recklessly, he extended his Right Hand to grasp the Arrow Body, knocked back by this Force Impact, even with his Right Hand blocking with full power, the arrow's residual force still obliquely pierced his Left Shoulder, and the person fell kneeling on the ground.

Shaowei abruptly stopped, looking at the kneeling Liu Qi with incomparable shock.

"That is..."

"Sixth Prince?!"

"Sixth Brother... why disturb the Great Sacrifice!"

Various voices clamored in great chaos; Liu Qi's Right Hand covered the wound, the Arrowhead's fire extinguished in his flesh and blood, but ignited in Shaowei's eyes.

Besides fire, Shaowei's eyes also reflected Liu Qi's eyes; perhaps from pain, his eyes held tears; at this moment ignoring all condemning voices, he said to her again: "Find... until."

This voice was drowned out, but Shaowei heard clearly, even no longer needing to hear; his appearance, his actions had already given her the answer!

Tearing away the Divine Mask obstructing her sight, Shaowei sprinted toward that cluster of blazing fire.

External fire utterly could not stop Shaowei's steps; she plunged into the Sea of Fire, reuniting with that person she thought she would never see again.

Found her, found her... found her!

Bare-handed she snapped the Plague God Statue's bone wood, also tore the thick Rope binding its arms; losing this restraint, that person with tightly closed eyes, face disguised, fluttered toward Shaowei.

Snow-white hair scattering, Shaowei held her tight with both hands, like holding a thin, long, broken-winged injured crane, taking her to escape this Sea of Fire Purgatory cursed by Evil Ghosts.

??: (Ending here won't be a cliffhanger~)

? Next chapter updates on the 23rd daytime