Chapter 14

Pei Yun gazed intently at her, his deep eyes seeming to hold turbulent waves, or a thousand unspoken words. His lips moved slightly, but in the end, he remained silent.

Xi Xiao had anticipated this. She sneered and walked into the gray light outside without looking back. Her back seemed to sever the last connection with the person behind her.

Just as her figure disappeared.

Pei Yun, who had stood as firm as a rock just moments before, suddenly lost all his aura. His body swayed violently, and his back slammed heavily against the cold earthen wall with a dull thud.

A dark figure silently emerged from the shadows of the low house. It was He Ying. He grabbed Pei Yun's swaying body and steadied him, his voice low and filled with anxiety: "Master, you shouldn't have come in." He Ying's gaze swept over Pei Yun's pale face, his brows furrowing deeply. "This place is extremely dangerous. If someone discovers your identity..."

Pei Yun grabbed He Ying to steady himself, but his unfathomable eyes were fixed on the direction Xi Xiao had left in. He stammered, his voice squeezed out from between his teeth: "I have to keep an eye on her, in case she ruins my big plan...!"

He Ying pursed his lips, his eyes filled with deep disapproval, which finally turned into a heavy sigh. He said no more, his tone tinged with helplessness: "But your health..."

“The medicine…” Pei Yun abruptly interrupted him, his voice hoarse, “…Give it to me!”

He Ying's body stiffened. He gritted his teeth, his hand still trembling as he reached into his robes, took out a pill that emitted a strange and strong fragrance, and handed it to Pei Yun.

Pei Yun didn't even look at it, grabbed it, and stuffed it into his mouth without hesitation. As soon as the pill entered his stomach, an abnormal flush suddenly rose on his pale face. His originally rapid and weak breathing strangely calmed down a little after a moment. He closed his eyes to regulate his breathing for a moment, and when he opened his eyes again, his eyes had regained a few chilling coldness and sharpness.

"Not enough." His voice was still hoarse, but now carried a chilling coldness. "Give me the medicine bag!"

"Master—!" Crane Shadow roared in a low voice, "Those pills are potent poison; taking the whole bag is tantamount to suicide!"

"Give it to me!" Pei Yun turned his head sharply, his eyes, which had just regained a sliver of clarity, now burning with an almost insane obsession and determination.

He Ying's face was ashen, and after a moment, as if all his strength had been drained, he trembled and handed a dark brocade pouch to Pei Yun's burning hot hand.

Pei Yun gripped the brocade pouch tightly. He didn't look at He Ying again, and his voice returned to its previous indifference and coldness, "Tomorrow, bring that person into the palace."

He paused, his gaze falling on the dilapidated window of the low house. "Inform the Marquis that we can proceed. Also, order An Yi to throw the things Yin Huaisi gave us into that room."

Having finished explaining, he said no more. Without lingering, he turned abruptly and pushed open the creaking wooden door of the low house.

Inside the low house, only He Ying remained, standing frozen in place like a stone statue. Finally, he swayed and silently took a step back, disappearing completely into the deepest darkness of the low house, as if he had never been there.

*

Night fell, and all was quiet. Only a few scattered chirps of insects remained in the courtyard. Shuniang appeared silently at the door of the side room, her voice flat and emotionless: "Miss, Madam summons you to the main room to recite your lessons as usual."

Xi Xiao put down the heavy book in her hand, silently got up, and walked towards the main house along the cold, damp cobblestone path.

Halfway there, the hunched figure ahead stopped. Shuniang slowly turned around, and her deeply lined face revealed an unprecedentedly complex expression.

Xi Xiao's heart skipped a beat at the unusual gaze. She stopped in her tracks and tentatively asked in a soft voice, "Does Granny have something to say?"

Shuniang lowered her eyelids slightly, avoiding her gaze. After a moment of silence, her flat voice rang out again, but it seemed to carry a hint of imperceptible hesitation: "Please keep Madam company tonight."

Xi Xiao's doubts deepened. Madam Lan was frail and exhausted, and Shuniang, who was usually very cautious and wished that Madam Lan could sleep and rest day and night, would suddenly ask her to talk more. She suppressed her doubts and simply nodded and replied, "Yes."

Stepping into the main room, the oil lamp cast a dim, flickering light. Madam Lan's silhouette, leaning against the headboard, was projected onto the wall, swaying into a large, indistinct outline. Xi Xiao felt a pang of unease, then resumed reciting with measured intonation.

Surprisingly, Madam Lan seemed exceptionally well tonight. Instead of wearily listening with her eyes closed, she tilted her head slightly, her clear eyes focused intently on Xi Xiao, occasionally nodding slightly in sync with the rhythm of her recitation. Occasionally, she would use her hoarse, weak voice to point out key details in obscure passages. Xi Xiao was surprised, but she diligently took notes.

The sound of recitation gradually subsided, and the room fell into a moment of tranquility. However, Madam Lan did not signal for a break as usual. Instead, she looked at Xi Xiao with gentle eyes and asked in a complex, probing voice, "Tell me about your childhood."

Xi Xiao was slightly taken aback, instinctively unwilling to say more. However, when she looked up and met Madam Lan's eyes, which were full of eagerness and even a hint of pleading, her icy defenses melted away in an instant.

She began to speak as if possessed. At first, it was just a few words, but gradually, like a stream that had been released from its dam, it flowed out. Later, she even poured out the girl's most secret thoughts, her words carrying a tenderness and dependence that she herself was unaware of, as if she were talking to a close relative.

Madam Lan listened quietly, a gentle smile always on her lips. After Xi Xiao finished expressing her hopeless love, Madam Lan slowly spoke, "Fate is determined by heaven. If that person doesn't like you, it's because he has no taste. You might as well step aside and like someone better."

She seemed to have thought of something, and her voice lowered: "If there is nothing we can do..." Her gaze fell on Xi Xiao's face, with a deep sense of pity, "Don't be stubborn, in the end you will only hurt yourself."

Xi Xiao felt a warmth in her heart, as if the gloom of the past few days had been dispelled by these gentle words. She smiled and nodded vigorously: "Yes, I have remembered what you said, Madam."

That night, under the dim lamplight, they talked about everything from childhood anecdotes to girlish thoughts, from the flowers and plants in the courtyard to their longing for the world beyond the palace walls. Madam Lan spoke more than ever before, though her strength waned and her words came in fits and starts, her eyes shining with an astonishing brilliance, as if in a final burst of energy. Xi Xiao was also immersed in this rare moment of tenderness.

As dawn broke outside the window, Madam Lan seemed to have exhausted all her strength, her face revealing undisguised fatigue. She gently waved her hand, her voice weak as a sigh: "I'm tired, you can go now."

Xi Xiao felt a sudden emptiness in her heart, a pang of reluctance rising within her. Yet, she obediently rose and respectfully bowed, saying, "May you rest well, Madam." She turned and left, her figure quickly disappearing into the brightening morning light.

Inside, silence returned, broken only by the faint crackling of the oil lamp burning out.

Once she was sure Xi Xiao was far away, Madam Lan's last bit of energy completely dissipated. Trembling, she reached under her pillow, took out a jet-black medicine box, and handed it to Shuniang, who had been silently standing in the shadows.

“Give it to him.” Madam Lan’s voice was light and airy, carrying a sense of relief that everything had finally settled. “No need to say anything…”

Shuniang's hunched body trembled slightly. She gave Madam Lan a deep look, then, without lingering, clutched the medicine box tightly to her chest, hunched over, and quietly left the main house.

"Ding-a-ling..." A few extremely faint sounds came from under the edge of the bed beside her.

Several ancient, fragmented tortoise shells, like forgotten pieces of a prophecy, lay silently on the cold ground, as if silently telling a heavy, untold story of divination...

*

"ah--!"

A piercing scream suddenly tore through the somber sky above the palace!

Almost simultaneously, the thick clouds seemed to be pierced by the scream, and a torrent of golden light poured down, instantly coating the cold main house with an eerie glow, as if foreshadowing some long-dormant ominous creature about to break free.

The screams originated from a seemingly bright side room. However, at this moment, the room was filled with a nauseating stench of blood, and the floor was a mess, littered with shattered porcelain shards, like thorns growing everywhere.

In the center of the room, two burly servants were holding down a struggling young maid. The maid's face was fair and beautiful, but now it was contorted with extreme fear and pain, tears and blood mingling and covering her entire face. Broken sobs escaped her throat, and her body convulsed violently like a fish out of water.

Before her stood a fierce-looking old woman, holding a gold needle, peeling the maid's face skin off inch by inch from her flesh. Each time the gold needle moved, it produced a teeth-grinding "sizzle" sound.

At first, the maid still had the strength to let out heart-wrenching screams and pleas for mercy. However, as more and more of her face was peeled away, her struggles became weaker and weaker. Her screams gradually turned into dying gasps. Finally, her head lolled to the side and she collapsed completely, with only the faint rise and fall of her chest remaining. She was on the verge of death.

The fierce old woman frowned and shouted sternly, "Hurry up and carry him into that place! If the person dies, the skin will lose its vitality and will be useless!" The place she was referring to was the demonic cave on the south side where the Gu poison was raised!

The two servants dared not delay and roughly dragged the bloodied and mangled maid out, leaving only a winding, glaring trail of blood on the ground. Maids entered one after another, and in no time, the room was spotless.

The old woman then withdrew her gaze and carefully used a golden needle to pick up the freshly peeled dough and put it into a jade bowl containing a strange, emerald-green medicinal powder.

"Sizzle—!"

The moment the skin came into contact with the medicinal powder, a plume of white smoke with a fishy, ​​sweet smell rose up. The delicate human skin quickly dissolved and mixed with the medicinal powder, turning into a pool of viscous, pink paste.

The old woman washed her hands, picked up a small jade spoon, and patiently and meticulously stirred the contents of the bowl until the paste became smooth and even, without a trace of impurity. Only then did she use the jade spoon to scoop up a small amount, walk deeper into the room, and respectfully apply it to the woman's face in front of the bronze mirror.

In a short while, a miracle occurred. The woman's originally withered and loose skin, like parched land receiving rain after a long drought, greedily absorbed the strange ointment. Her skin became plump, smooth, and even radiated a girlish pink glow at a speed visible to the naked eye.