Extremely thrilling
The night was pitch black, and a torn carriage hung from a dead tree growing on the cliff face.
"Thump—"
The thin ice cracked, and the winter lake water pierced Sui Zhixu's skin like thousands of silver needles. She instinctively struggled, but the lake water rushed into Sui Zhixu's mouth, nose, and ears.
The cascading black water also pierced Sui Zhixu's eyes, and her body sank uncontrollably, watching helplessly as the only glimmer of light receded further and further away from her.
"I can't die like this," a vague thought sustained her, and Sui Zhixu gritted her teeth and desperately swam upstream.
"Splash—" Sui Zhixu parted the water, panting heavily.
In the stillness of the deep winter night, not a sound could be heard, making Sui Zhixu's panting all the more noticeable.
She calmly surveyed her surroundings, pursed her lips, and wondered why she was there. The thought of it gave her a splitting headache.
She felt she had something very important to do, but how could she leave this place?
"Swim another fifty meters, hold on, and someone will pass by after the incense stick burns. If you say you are Cong Xiang's daughter, he will save you." The voice, indifferent yet with a hint of warmth, reached Sui Zhixu's ears.
Sui Zhixu cautiously asked, "Who?"
Is it a person? Or a ghost or a god?
No one was there, still no one. A clear voice rang in Sui Zhixu's ears, "You can't just die like this, can you? Swim forward!"
The words stung Sui Zhixu's heart. She didn't want to die without knowing why. Faced with the strong commanding tone, she decided to take a gamble. She had no other choice.
Fifty meters felt like eight hundred miles. When her fingertips finally touched the hard shore, a few scattered lights appeared in the distance.
"Help..." Her voice was so weak it was almost inaudible.
"My lord! There are people by the lake!"
"Let's go take a look."
Even in this situation, Xu thought his voice sounded very young. It was nighttime, and he was probably a merchant trying to avoid being robbed by bandits. She squinted to look, but her vision began to blur, and she could hardly hold on any longer.
"It's a young woman."
The torchlight stung Shu Zhixu's eyes, and she instinctively closed them.
Following the voice in her ear, Sui Zhixu opened her mouth wide and said, "I am Cong Xiang's daughter, please save me."
The young man, dressed in a cherry-red brocade robe, dismounted nimbly and knelt down in front of Sui Zhixu. "You said you were Cong Xiang's daughter?"
The young man's smile was unrestrained, and his casual posture revealed his dashing and debonair temperament.
Sui Zhixu heard him say to himself, "I have indeed heard that the young lady of the Prime Minister Cong is going back to Chang'an soon..."
Instead of pulling her out of the lake immediately, he sent his attendants to scatter around the area. One of the attendants whispered something to Fan Lingzhang, who then glanced at Sui Zhixu's back and above by the light of the attendants' torches, a faint smile playing on his lips.
Upon hearing the word "carriage," Xu followed his gaze and could vaguely see the tragic state of the carriage on the cliff face in the darkness.
Sui Zhixu lowered her eyes in thought. She had fallen off the cliff along with the carriage. If it weren't for the dead tree that had caught her, she probably would have fallen straight down without even a complete corpse, and there would have been no chance for her to be resurrected.
The mysterious voice said that Prince Xuanping did not want her, the daughter of the prime minister, to return to Chang'an, so he sent assassins to kill her.
Sui Zhixu pursed her lips. Now that she had fallen off the cliff, would the assassins come again? After all, they needed to see her body to report back to Prince Xuanping.
"Tsk, they really do look alike." She heard Fan Lingzhang's nonchalant laughter.
She was then pulled out of the lake, and a large cloak wrapped around her.
The jasmine fragrance carried by the cloak was rich and mellow, and Sui Zhixu couldn't help but relax.
As the maid led her into the carriage, she grabbed Fan Lingzhang's arm, her cherry-red brocade robe stained with water.
When he met the man's surprised gaze, he said in a serious tone, "Traveling at night is dangerous, my lord, you should be careful."
Then, Xu sat in the empty seat of the truck and listened attentively as Fan Lingzhang instructed his men to be more cautious in case they encountered bandits or the like.
She felt a little relieved; thankfully, he listened to her.
The carriage slowly arrived at a dilapidated temple. Fan Lingzhang ordered it to be repaired, and then Xu, supported by a maid, sat down on a straw mat inside the temple to rest.
Sui Zhixu glanced at the attendants who were still holding swords while resting. It seemed that they had taken Fan Lingzhang's words to heart and were all extremely wary.
—
Outside the dilapidated temple
"She's really lucky. She didn't die after falling off the cliff. I didn't expect the treasure that Master Wang mentioned to be so powerful." The man in black used his lightness skill to search for her.
"The treasure of Yueshan Sect, coupled with the Taoist temple's formation that has protected her for eighteen years, means that even a powerful king wouldn't have to wait for her to come out before seizing the treasure." The leader of the men in black parted the tall grass, and a faint light came into view.
With the compass in his hand pointing straight ahead, he lowered his voice, waved, and said, "Let's go."
—
"Hand over the treasure." A knife was held to Sui Zhixu's neck, her old wounds reopened, and fresh blood dripped from her fingertips onto the ground.
A quarter of an hour ago, the man in black appeared in the hall without warning. He was highly skilled in martial arts, and the caravan guards were no match for him.
Sui Zhixu glanced at the wounded guards lying on the ground. Even Fan Lingzhang was kicked into the Buddha statue and fell to the ground, his cherry-red brocade robe covered in dust. He spat out a mouthful of blood.
"I don't know what treasure you're talking about." Sui Zhixu appeared calm, but her heart was pounding wildly.
“You dare say you didn’t take out what’s enshrined in the Taoist temple? Hand it over immediately, or else…” The blade was close to Sui Zhixu’s throat.
According to the mysterious voice, Xu learned that it was the mermaid pearl next to her ear that allowed her to return to life. The mysterious voice said that her soul was unstable and the mermaid pearl must not be given to them.
The cold glint of the blade flashed into Sui Zhixu's eyes. "Wait a minute!"
As Xu Yu glanced at the compass, he realized that if its rotation was due to the spell on the mermaid pearl, then the jade pendant in her bosom should also be able to rotate.
"I fell off a cliff and hit my head, so I don't know where the treasure is. But I have a jade pendant from the Imperial Preceptor's Hall. The master you're talking about should be interested, right?"
As Xu listened to the whispers of the group, the man in black noticed her movements, and the blade drew near again, drawing blood from under her skin.
"Have you all made up your minds?" Sui Zhixu's eyes darkened as he noticed the dripping blood.
The leader of the men in black shouted, "Hand it over!"
He then untied the jade pendant from behind his neck and pulled it out from his chest.
Seeing the compass needle spinning incessantly, the man in black snatched the jade pendant and placed it on the compass.
As the clock hands came to a stop, the group exchanged glances, pushed Sui Zhixu toward Fan Lingzhang, and soon disappeared silently into the night.
As Xu fell to the ground, he gasped for breath, the mermaid pearl by his ear swaying, and blood mixed with sweat dripped from his neck onto the ground.
After the battle ended, Fan Lingzhang, who was standing nearby, immediately ordered someone to treat Sui Zhixu's injuries.
She heard Fan Lingzhang muttering about how precious the medicine was, while his attendants were trying to persuade him otherwise.
Although Xu didn't hear what was said very clearly, the pain impaired her hearing, but she vaguely heard something about how it was worthwhile to climb up to Cong Xiang so that she could find out the cause of Fan Lingzhang's wife's death.
The maid sprinkled medicine on Sui Zhixu's wound and re-bandaged it, so that at least Sui Zhixu wouldn't bleed to death before reaching Chang'an.
The bleeding stopped, and seeing that the wound was no longer overflowing, she breathed a sigh of relief. She had barely escaped a life-or-death situation.
She calmed her mind and began to think about the message the mysterious voice had brought her.
In her past life, her destiny was stolen by a so-called "male protagonist system" belonging to a remnant of the previous dynasty. She was ultimately persecuted by him, dying a gruesome death without a proper burial. Now, as the daughter of the prime minister, he's forcibly taking her life-saving possession.
As Xu's hand, which had been hanging by his side, turned white at the fingertips from the force he was exerting.
No wonder she always felt there was something important to do deep down. She fought the men in black with great speed and skill, but she was seriously injured and no match for them. The martial arts in her mind were similar to those of the men in black. Perhaps she was the Prince of Xuanping in the past?
She rubbed her furrowed brows. Thankfully, she was alive again. Amnesia wouldn't affect her revenge. There would be no shortage of grudges between the current prime minister and the people of the previous dynasty.
As the only daughter of the prime minister and the head of a powerful local family, she spent eighteen years in a Taoist temple to help him survive a great calamity. She was able to obtain more information about Prince Xuanping than she had in her previous life.
Su Zhixu glanced at Fan Lingzhang leaning against the faded pillar out of the corner of her eye. She needed to get home alive.
—
The following morning, Fan Lingzhang specially hired a stable horse-drawn carriage.
Sui Zhixu glanced at Fan Lingzhang; he was quite capable to find a carriage in the middle of nowhere.
At dawn, the golden sunlight shone on the young man's cherry-red brocade robe. The conditions last night were difficult, and his hair was disheveled, but it still could not hide his heroic spirit.
"Please, follow my wife."
As he boarded the carriage, his gaze lingered on the last, smug smile on the man's face. He was truly a seasoned businessman; his smile never faded.
The dilapidated temple was not far from Chang'an, a half-day journey. Through the carriage, Xu heard the guards inspecting the place, and by lifting a corner of the curtain, he could see the plaque of the Chang'an city gate hanging high above it.
Her slender hands gripped the fabric tightly, her nails drawing out strands of silk. Sui Zhixu stared intently at the words on the plaque. She had arrived in Chang'an, and she was determined to find out about her past life and avenge herself.
The lady's peach blossom eyes revealed a resolute determination; she only lowered the curtain after passing through the city gate.
Upon entering Chang'an, Sui Zhixu was placed in a separate courtyard by Fan Lingzhang. She overheard Fan Lingzhang sending a trusted confidant to the Prime Minister's residence to deliver a message.
Fan Lingzhang explained to Sui Zhixu that he was a merchant and a widower who had just finished his mourning period, and that taking her to the Prime Minister's residence rashly would ruin her reputation.
Upon hearing this, Xu nodded and saw that Fan Lingzhang had invited a doctor to treat her injuries.
Sui Zhixu entered the room and sat on the edge of the bed, waiting for the female physician to apply medicine to her. The physician's movements were gentle, unlike the rough methods used by the maid last night. Before leaving, the physician gave Sui Zhixu many instructions.
Xu Xiang and A Man were their traveling physicians, and they might not always be as meticulous as the physicians in Chang'an.
After changing the dressing, Xu felt sleepy and leaned against the bedside for a short rest.
"My lord, something terrible has happened!"
Fan Lingzhang had just seen the doctor off when he saw the man looking flustered and asked, "What's wrong? What happened?"
"I just went to the Prime Minister's residence, and it just so happened that the head of the family's younger brother was there. When he heard me talking about Madam Sui, he immediately beat me up and threw me out, saying that the Prime Minister's wife had died on her way back and that they wouldn't accept an imposter."
Fan Lingzhang frowned deeply. "Dead? What about Prime Minister Cong and Patriarch Sui?"
"I've inquired as well. With the year drawing to a close, the court has important matters to discuss, and His Majesty has kept those two in the palace for quite some time. They haven't returned yet. What do we do now? Could we have really rescued a fake Lady Sui?"
Fan Lingzhang paced back and forth outside the house, saying, "Let's observe the situation first, and send someone to guard the palace gate. Cong Xianghe should come and report as soon as he comes out with the head of the family."
The noise outside was quite loud, and it was clear that Xu Gang had just been woken up by the noise.
"Wake up! If you don't wake up, the Prime Minister's mansion will bury you."
Sui Zhixu: "?"
I'm still alive, so who will bury me?
“They found a fake you, and your uncle preemptively buried you. By the time your parents returned from the palace, it was too late.”
As Sui Zhixu lay on the bed railing, blinking, her mind racing. If she were to bury "Sui Zhixu," she would be dead on the surface. Even if she returned, she would be mistaken for an imposter, and people would suspect her of any designs on the Prime Minister's residence. Some might even think she was a spy sent by a political enemy.
Sui Zhixu glanced at his clothes. The maid named Aman had changed out of her tattered Taoist robe and was now wearing a brand new dress. Ignoring her injuries, she didn't look like someone who had fled; she seemed more like someone who had gone on a spring outing.
Of course, it's close to the end of the year now, so it's not time for spring outings, but it's still the attire of a wealthy family.
Sui Zhixu got up and, trembling, changed back into the tattered and blood-stained Taoist robe that was placed on the screen.
If the mountain won't come to me, then I'll go to the mountain. Since her so-called uncle acted this way, she caught him off guard, making him and his backers watch how she returned.
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