Chapter 36 Blood Hibiscus: The Saintess

All the successive Saintesses of Nanyue have inherited the same name.

"Yue Qimeng?"

Tang Yu couldn't resist her curiosity and asked in a somewhat urgent tone.

Fortunately, Wang Shanyue and Xiao Fangliang were equally puzzled, so no one noticed her subtle emotional changes.

Xie Xingzheng looked up at the front, his eyes terribly empty. "That is... the Holy Maiden of Nan Yue."

"Nan Yue? The Holy Maiden?" Wang Shanyue frowned, feeling a chill run down his spine.

Although since the fall of the Southern Moon Kingdom and the decline of the Southern Frontier, few people have talked about this country anymore, and much of the past has been gradually forgotten in the daily peace, he still remembers the folk tales about Southern Moon witchcraft from his childhood, which still send chills down his spine when he thinks about them.

Xie Xingzheng nodded and explained in a low voice: "Rather than calling her a saintess, it would be more accurate to say that Nan Yue used a secret technique to create a kind of human Gu that is immune to all poisons and can control Gu worms. It was with this that Nan Yue became the hegemon of the southern border back then."

Tang Yu's heart sank. She knew nothing about Southern Xinjiang, only having begun to peruse ancient texts after her brother's poisoning, which gave her a rudimentary understanding. It was only through Xie Xingzheng's explanation that she gradually began to form a more complete picture in her mind.

Similar to the grasslands beyond the Great Wall, which were composed of multiple tribes, the southern frontier, constrained by its rugged terrain and dense forests, was originally comprised of different villages, each with its own distinct rules and culture, yet all sharing a belief in witchcraft. Through mutual warfare and annexation, some villages gradually grew in power, even emulating the Great Xia dynasty and calling themselves kingdoms. Among them was the Southern Moon Kingdom, which relied on witchcraft to firmly establish itself as the leader of the southern frontier.

“Nan Yue is inherently warlike. Even though many small countries in the southern border do not want to clash with Da Xia, the south has been plagued by unrest for many years due to Nan Yue’s Gu techniques.” Xie Xingzheng’s voice carried a hint of coldness.

"Although the Great Xia has a strong military, Nan Yue has not been at a disadvantage in the long-term competition by relying on the evil arts and Gu techniques passed down from her."

The foundation of Nanyue was supported by the shamans of the Yuezhi lineage.

They have guarded the Gu King and the Blood Pool for generations, and shoulder the responsibility of nurturing the Holy Maiden.

The Holy Maiden is the most mysterious and terrifying being in Nan Yue. Legend has it that she can not only concoct hundreds of poisons and control thousands of Gu (poisonous insects), but also communicate with ghosts and gods.

"This is a secret technique of Nan Yue. I do not know how it is cultivated. However, I do know that the Holy Maiden must stay in the Myriad Gu Blood Pool unless absolutely necessary and must not leave."

At this point, Xie Xingzheng's expression turned slightly somber as he recalled the battle he had fought to annihilate the Southern Yue. Countless soldiers of the Great Xia had sacrificed their lives to finally reach the Yuezhi altar. The ground was teeming with insects and snakes, so densely packed that it was terrifying, and behind them stood a woman of almost otherworldly beauty.

"At that time, she was only one step away from the Blood Pool of Ten Thousand Gu. However, the Holy Maiden of Nanyue used her blood as a guide to completely seal off the path. No one could step over the Gu worms, nor dared to touch the stone door stained with her blood. As for whether the next Holy Maiden inside is still alive, it is unknown."

Xie Xingzheng paused slightly, then slowly uttered the last sentence: "And the successive generations of Nan Yue Saintesses all inherited the same name... Yue Qimeng."

The room fell into a deathly silence; you could hear a pin drop.

Xiao Fangliang seemed to understand something; this unfamiliar name had tightly stitched together the previously fragmented clues.

He murmured, "So that's how it is... Besides being secluded, the Bottomless Cliff is also full of snakes, insects, rats and ants, which is perfect for them to search for poisonous creatures to create blood pools. As for capturing women from the Southern Frontier, it's to give birth to pure-blooded children, and then use them to create new saintesses."

Wang Shanyue felt goosebumps all over his body and a chill run down his spine, but he couldn't help but ask, "Then... in the case of the human-faced dog, why did the people of Southern Xinjiang kidnap the children of Great Xia?"

“They are test subjects.” Tang Yu said coldly, her face extremely grim. “Within the Great Xia territory, it is not easy to find women from the Southern Frontier, let alone children. From conception to birth, it takes at least eight or nine months. The fact that you found so many infant corpses in the urn shows that they are not confident about this matter either. Those children who were kidnapped and turned into human-faced dogs may have been sacrifices used for experiments.”

"You beast!" Wang Shanyue cursed angrily, his face turning ashen. He never imagined that the truth behind the "human-faced dog" case was a hundred times more cruel than the so-called human trafficking he had imagined.

Suddenly, he remembered something, took out the bell that Tang Yu had torn off earlier from his pocket, and asked, "That little girl... could she be Yue Qimeng? Could the red figure in the mist and the eerie bell sound have been her?"

Tang Yu nodded. "While it may not be entirely her, I have a vague intuition that she can control the Gu worms with the sound of the bell. That's why she took the bell off. You must keep it safe."

Wang Shanyue nodded emphatically, his knuckles turning white from the effort. As for the girl's identity, now that she was in their hands, they had no trouble finding out.

Xiao Fangliang looked at him with some relief and rarely praised him, saying, "You seem to have become smarter."

Wang Shanyue scratched his head and smiled sheepishly, but he didn't see the hint of melancholy in his eyes.

*

That night, everything returned to calm.

The curtains hung low in the room, and steam rose from the bathtub, blurring the room into a hazy mist. Tang Yu closed her eyes, leaned back against the sturdy wooden tub, and slowly exhaled a breath of stale air.

Like a nightmare, they escaped death from the jaws of the beasts in the lower realm, then faced off against the Southern Frontier at the night banquet by drawing the Heavenly Bow, were captured at the Yaohua Pavilion, were thrown into the Blood Pool, and were finally rescued by Xie Xingzheng, with the two of them barely escaping danger.

All these thrilling events piled up, yet who would have thought that only two days had passed?

She wasn't a person who easily worried. She was used to living a carefree life on Yunling Mountain, where her life was so simple that all she had to do was eat, drink, and have fun.

But after descending the mountain, one mystery after another appeared around her, enveloping her like a thick fog. Even after peeling back the surface fog, more mysteries were hidden behind it.

And all these mysteries are closely related to her.

My body slowly slid down until the water completely covered my head. The strands of hair that floated on the surface of the water, which should have been jet black, had ends that looked faded and had a brownish tinge.

After a long while, Tang Yu finally poked her head out of the water, breathing in the fresh air, and her mind cleared up a bit.

Her slender arms clung to the edge of the tub to steady herself. Her eyelashes, still wet with water droplets, blinked a few times before disappearing back into the water, leaving no trace. Her gaze shifted to her left arm, where the white gauze wrapped around the wound was soaked through, revealing the bright red bloodstains beneath.

Her eyes gradually darkened.

The scratch on Yueying happened to be the crescent mark, which saved her the trouble of hiding it from everyone.

But... what exactly does this crescent moon mean?

At first, she thought it was a mark of the Southern Frontier, but she had never seen it on the masked man or other women from the Southern Frontier. Later, after learning about "Moon Dream," she thought it was its mark. But Xie Xingzheng said that the title of Southern Moon Saintess was passed down from generation to generation, and when the next Saintess matured, the previous one would die, and only one could live in the world forever.

This explains why both Xiao Qimeng and Yueying have this mark on their bodies.

Perhaps... this is Nan Yue's mark?

Tang Yu became increasingly confused and couldn't make sense of it. Having soaked in the hot water for too long, a wave of fatigue washed over her, so she got up, took a towel, and wiped the water droplets off her body.

As the white cloth brushed against her alabaster-like skin, she recalled the excruciating pain she felt in the pool of blood, as if being burned by raging fire.

That proved that the toxins in the blood pool were not useless to her. Although she knew she had been immune to all poisons since childhood, everything should have its beginning and its limits.

She had been soaking in the blood pool for at least an hour. Xie Xingzheng, whose martial arts skills were so high, jumped in to save her, but in a short time, his blood vessels became blocked, and he even lost his sight.

However, apart from losing too much blood due to her injured left arm, she actually felt refreshed after waking up on Xie Xingzheng's back.

It's really too strange.

Perhaps... once she obtains the Blood Hibiscus and returns to Yunling Mountain, she can ask her parents about her origins. She can also visit that grave herself.

*

Tang Yu slept very soundly, as if trying to replenish all the energy she had exhausted over the past few days. She slept until the next morning when she was awakened by Wang Shanyue's loud knocking on the door.

She groggily got up, her head still foggy, and groped her way into dressing with her eyes half-closed. It took her quite a while to open the door. Before she could even speak, Wang Shanyue hurriedly pulled her away.

Perhaps because he was still feeling weak and unsteady, he was dragged along and his steps were unsteady, so he didn't have time to ask what was wrong.

It wasn't until she was led to the front hall and surrounded by strangers that she snapped out of her daze, involuntarily taking a half-step back and cautiously asking, "What... what happened?"

The leader, dressed as a eunuch, approached with a smile: "Young Master Su, His Majesty requests your presence in the palace. He wishes to reward you; please come with me."

Tang Yu's heart skipped a beat; this was exactly what she wanted. Yesterday she was still thinking about when she could ask for the Blood Hibiscus, and unexpectedly today she received an imperial decree summoning her to the palace. It was truly a case of meeting a pillow when one is sleepy, quite a coincidence.

However, upon entering the palace, they found the palace gates tightly closed. A palace attendant stepped forward and greeted them, saying, "His Majesty is currently discussing matters with Lu Si in the Imperial Study and has no time to receive guests. He instructed that if Young Master Su arrives, we will first lead him on a tour of the palace."

Lu Sizheng...

Tang Yu raised her eyes to look at the vermilion palace gate, her brows furrowing slightly. The image of the person who had tried to steal credit at the Beauty Market that day came to mind. Her beautiful peach blossom eyes seemed full of smiles, but they were hypocritical and like a mask.

I have a feeling that this person is very dangerous.

Meanwhile, inside the palace.

Lu Ya took out an exquisitely decorated iron box from his sleeve, no bigger than the palm of his hand, and handed it to Emperor Chu Wen.

"This box was obtained by me when I was pursuing the remnants of the Southern Moon. It is made entirely of black iron and has a mechanism inside. If you break it by brute force, I'm afraid you will destroy what's inside."

Emperor Chu Wen turned the iron box in his hand, feeling a chill seep into his palm from the box's surface, and his heart instantly turned cold. He slowly put it down, his eyes deep, and said in a low voice, "You let him escape. I am very disappointed."

Lu Ya lowered his head, his expression respectful, yet he showed no sign of fear.

Emperor Wen of Chu sneered, then changed the subject: "However, preventing the credit from falling into Xie Xingzheng's hands is also a testament to your hard work."

There was a moment of silence in the hall. His gaze fell on the iron box again, and he asked with a hint of inquiry, "You presented this unsolvable box to me, and then asked me to summon that itinerant doctor to the palace... Do you think he can solve it?"

Lu Ya looked up, a half-smile playing on his lips: "Does Your Majesty still remember Su Muzhi of the Heavenly Mystery Sect back then?"

Emperor Chu Wen was slightly taken aback, then raised an eyebrow: "Of course. When I first ascended the throne, the borders of the Great Xia were in turmoil, with frequent wars. At that time, the mechanical aid provided by the Tianji Sect was considerable, among which the Tianji Crossbow was the most outstanding. I remember... it was made by Su Muzhi."

His gaze sharpened as he stared at Lu Ya: "What does this have to do with that itinerant doctor?"

Lu Ya slowly curled the corners of his lips: "The itinerant doctor Su Yutang is the daughter of Su Muzhi, the genius of Tianji Sect at that time, and Tang Yuan, the second young lady of Tang Clan."