Chapter 22: then translation of chapter title

Beautiful sunlight streamed through the tiny prison window, illuminating a small area of the cell.

"Mm!" Yan Lingji sat on the ground, feeling the warm sunlight, and couldn't help opening her eyes, letting out a comfortable little moan; if not for the gloomy surroundings and her master's peril, staying here might be a good choice for her—no need to think of revenge, no need to think of killing.

A sound of wind came from outside; Yan Lingji's eyes widened instantly and she stood up, looking at the shadow appearing on the outside window, but just as she was about to ask about the escape date, the other spoke first, saying something that somewhat surprised her.

"You can escape today." Zhou Shuo felt very relieved; the fire charm technique had helped him greatly. Today Bai Yifei was summoned to Korea, and the news that the Qin envoy had been killed in Korea had already spread.

"Really?" Yan Lingji was startled for a moment, somewhat disbelieving that it would go so smoothly.

"You don't want to go out?" Zhou Shuo peered through the prison window at the startled girl, feeling a bit surprised—had she become addicted to being imprisoned?

"I naturally want to get out, but how are you going to rescue me?" Yan Lingji was certainly not addicted to prison; she outright dismissed Zhou Shuo's guess, having observed these days and found no way to leave at all.

"I, I can't save you, but I can point out the escape route for you. First, you must get out of this prison cell. Also, I need to tell you this: make sure you haven't been tampered with by Bai Yifei, so you don't repeat your master's mistake." Zhou Shuo reminded her with a thoughtful expression.

"You'd better watch what you say." Yan Lingji narrowed her beautiful eyes.

"Since you know what's up, I won't say more—people are coming, you handle it yourself!" Zhou Shuo watched the girl angrily narrow her eyes, then spread his wings and flew away from the window.

"Hmph!" Yan Lingji watched the large bird fly off, let out a cold snort, turned to see the white-armored soldiers approaching the prison with a tray of food and drink, who walked silently to the cell, set the tray before the bars, and turned to leave.

Yan Lingji didn't even glance at the food on the floor, watching the white-armored soldier turn and walk away; a flicker of flame flashed in his pupils, and after five steps his foot faltered, his body swayed as if losing his soul, he turned back, opened the cell door, and undid the shackles binding her hands and feet.

"Come on! Take me out." Yan Lingji flexed her wrist, the corner of her mouth curling; the white-armored soldiers, elite subordinates of Bai Yifei, moved silently like sleepwalkers, turned and led her out of the prison.

Passing through the dark corridor, Yan Lingji arrived at a guardroom, only to discover unexpectedly that the white-armored soldiers on duty had all collapsed, each clutching his own throat with both hands, eyes wide open, their vacant gazes filled with terror and bewilderment, as if they had strangled themselves to death.

"Interesting." Yan Lingji looked at the various deaths of the white-armored soldiers, feeling especially surprised, for these deaths seemed to be the result of her own soul-deterring technique.

"Alright, stop dawdling, let's go out!" A voice came from above; Zhou Shuo, bearing a serpent-eagle form, descended from the roof to stand before Yan Lingji.

"Did you do this? Using the fire charm technique?" Yan Lingji looked at the large bird that had landed before her.

"Of course, don't waste words; the defenses here are very tight, and within a quarter hour the situation will be discovered. You must hurry and follow me." Zhou Shuo spread his wings and led the way outward.

"Hmph!" Yan Lingji watched the bird that took off first, curled the corner of her mouth, and glanced with the corner of her eye at the white-armored soldier who had led her out; his pupils dilated instantly, blood vessels spread across his eyes, he began to struggle violently against the air, but ultimately collapsed to the ground.

Yan Lingji cast a technique on the white-armored soldier, then no longer cared about his life or death, she strode forward with long legs to catch up with the low-flying Zhou Shuo, followed him out of surveillance, evaded several waves of monitoring, and arrived before a room's door; before she could reach out to push it, she heard a clamor rising—the guards in the manor had already discovered the prison break.

"It's already been discovered; are you sure we can escape from here?" Yan Lingji listened to the clamor, couldn't help looking at the bird flapping its wings, staying aloft, having escaped the prison; she had been led along this way, not breaking out toward the outer Bai manor, but running deeper inside.

"No nonsense, push the door and go in, be careful not to be hurt by the mechanism." Zhou Shuo looked at the distrustful girl and urged her repeatedly; now that they'd been found, there was no time to lose.

Heeding Zhou Shuo's urging, Yan Lingji stepped forward and pushed open the door; inside there was no hidden crossbow mechanism, but she still acted cautiously, following his instructions: she covered the room's door, then found a large set of bronze bells, turned the bucket‑shaped bells in sequence, and with a booming sound, a section of the floor bearing an eight‑diagram pattern slid open automatically, revealing an underground passage.

"The Central Plains folks' mechanisms are truly ingenious." Yan Lingji gazed at the revealed underground passage, feeling a hint of admiration, and without slowing, she leapt down into the secret passage, with Zhou Shuo naturally following.

The underground passage wasn't long; at its end stood a large door. Yan Lingji carefully pushed it open, and a piercing cold blast hit her face.

"I hate this place." Yan Lingji looked at the house filled with a chilling, white mist, not hiding her disgust; she cultivated the fire charm technique, and her temperament had been affected, so she naturally disliked cold places.

"Then I hope you won't come here again, follow me." Zhou Shuo flapped his wings and flew into the cold mist, watching a fleeting red butterfly shadow within the haze; his vision gradually cleared, revealing a great ice kiln, its walls three feet thick, with ice spikes growing all over the roof and interior.

"Are you very familiar with this place?" Yan Lingji followed the large bird in stride, feeling somewhat surprised, but after two steps her pace slowed, for she saw in the icy depths of the ice kiln's basement, an ice spike bore a pure white cocoon; this white was not like ordinary ice, standing out starkly in the kiln, hanging from the ice spike, suspended by several threads, the cocoon's head revealed a black fuzzy object—a human head, a woman's head.

"Not really, but I happened to pass through here once with someone, so I just know this place." Zhou Shuo looked at the woman encased in a cocoon, hanging from the ice spike, gave his wings a beat, flew to a suspended thread and perched there, gazing at the dazed Yan Lingji.

"This woman is already dead; you'd better hurry on."

"This is an ice silkworm poison." Yan Lingji looked at the woman wrapped like a silk cocoon, after a moment of dazed staring, she examined her closely.

"Is it a good thing?" Zhou Shuo watched Yan Lingji, who had first been dazed and then examined the woman, and raised his eyebrows; "ice silkworm poison"—the name sounds common, like a gold silkworm poison.

"I can't say it's exactly a good thing, but it's quite rare; ice silkworms are produced in the Western Regions, when hatching they need to absorb large amounts of moisture, they can spit silk to weave brocade, they don't get wet in water and aren't scorched by fire, but the greatest use of this thing is still for refining poison; the Poison King would like it upon seeing it." Yan Lingji gave a brief explanation.

"Since it's a good thing, why wait? Take it! Don't dawdle, be quick with your hands and feet; those people could show up here at any moment." Zhou Shuo, hearing Yan Lingji's explanation, urged her repeatedly: since it's a good thing, why wait? Take it back—you could raise it instead of using it for poison, and it could spit silk to make clothing; a set of garments that repel water and resist fire would be a fine thing.

"You're acting like a bandit." Yan Lingji looked at the bird that kept urging her and rolled her eyes.

"How am I a bandit? I should be carrying out heaven's will; that Blood Marquis is utterly disgusting, actually using such a lovely girl as a gu vessel—truly worse than beasts. Hurry up, let's take the ice silkworm and make him feel some pain." Zhou Shuo flapped his wings, feeling impatient, urging her; if they didn't act soon, there would be no time later.

Yan Lingji rolled her eyes, but still went along, leapt to the ice spike, pulled down the large silkworm cocoon, then from the woman's thick, soft black hair she found a finger‑sized ice silkworm, and took a spare ceramic jar placed beside the ice spike, placing the ice silkworm inside.

"Let's go!" Yan Lingji said after securing the ice silkworm.

"Let's go!" Zhou Shuo, seeing Yan Lingji ready, lowered his body, tugged the white thread beneath him, and with a crack, the entire ice kiln shuddered, a strange sound rang from inside, and a section of ice at a corner slid open, revealing an underground passage.

If entering the ice kiln from the empty room gave one an uncomfortable feeling, then going from the ice kiln into the underground secret passage gave a bone‑chilling sensation; even Yan Lingji couldn't help drawing in a cold breath, for the passage beneath the ice kiln was piled with countless white bones, and before that woman in the kiln, who knows how many women had already been buried here.

"Don't dawdle, hurry." Zhou Shuo had crossed two worlds and had a foreknowledge‑laden plot cushion; he was quite used to the white bones in the underground passage, after urging her once he folded his wings, sprang forward on his claws, racing through the bone‑filled passage like a plump chicken, and Yan Lingji, after regaining her senses, likewise hurried to follow.

The endless white bones kept receding behind her; Yan Lingji closed her eyes and ran headlong, not knowing how long she had run, when suddenly her vision opened to bright sunlight—she found herself in the midst of a ruin, and beyond the ruin lay a corner of Xinzhen City, where white‑armored soldiers could be seen scouring the streets.

"That Bai Yifei..." Yan Lingji's face turned pale, her words unfinished, when a distant boom echoed, and the patrolling white‑armored soldiers on the street instantly withdrew.

"Just a monster wearing human skin; now isn't the time to talk about it—don't linger here, go." Zhou Shuo urged her repeatedly, getting Yan Lingji to leave the ruin and board the arriving carriage to depart.