Chapter 109: The Secret Revealed
Lu Yuanyuan's gaze fell on the object in his hand.
These molts were what she unexpectedly discovered at the bottom of a dry well the night she broke into the palace where Princess Manjushri had lived.
At that time, squatting at the bottom of the well, holding these molted bodies in bewilderment, she had no idea what kind of joke fate was playing on her. She simply put them into her storage ring, intending to study them later. By the time she understood, she herself had already become a figure in the painting.
Unexpectedly, after going around in circles, its original owner finally found it in her storage ring.
Yin Xiaozhu recognized it at a glance.
That's right. That was probably the most humiliating yet unforgettable period of his life, and also the first time he learned to shed his skin and be reborn.
He must really not want others to know about this shameful past.
Lu Yuanyuan raised her eyes, looked at him expressionlessly, and didn't say anything.
If the system were still working, she should immediately fabricate a lie to explain its origin, just like how she concealed the timing of Yin Xiaozhu's second attempt to kill her yesterday.
No, she didn't even need to make up lies. She could just pick out a part of the truth and that would be enough—saying that she found it by chance in the mortal world and found it strange, which was why she put it into her storage ring.
However, there is no system controlling her now.
Nothing could force her to go against her feelings and desires to whitewash the situation.
Seeing that she remained silent, Yin Xiaozhu slowly approached and asked softly, "Why aren't you saying anything?"
His black hair was disheveled, and lingering bruises remained on his brow bone and the corners of his lips, adding a chillingly eerie touch to his gaunt, pale face. He lowered his head and met her gaze, perhaps interpreting something from her silence. Gradually, that reddish eeriness seemed to spread into his eyes as well, faintly revealing a twisted and maddening quality.
Lu Yuanyuan had a fever and was feeling quite unwell, but seeing his expression, she felt an unprecedented sense of relief.
Why should this thorn only be stuck in her heart?
Why should she keep mending and patching things up, doing only superficial work?
She wanted to see Yin Xiaozhu like this—no longer calm, frantic, struggling, or doubting, tormented by the inability to find answers. At this moment, he was no longer the shrewd and impeccably dressed chess player, nor could he look down from his lofty position at ordinary people like her struggling in the mud.
He was finally kept in the dark just like her, and fell to the same place as her.
Still weak and with a vague thought of revenge lingering in her mind, Lu Yuanyuan's eyelids grew heavy, leaving her no time to appreciate his expression.
When Lu Yuanyuan woke up again, she found that she was in a different place. It was no longer a crude cave, but a place that could never be found in the Spirit Treasure Secret Realm—a wooden house. Inside the house, there was even a bed where she could lie down comfortably.
The room was dark, with no lights on. Yin Xiaozhu sat on the edge of the bed, rolled up her sleeve, and was taking her pulse.
Throughout this journey, she had resisted Yin Xiaozhu's advances, not wanting her enemy to know her physical condition or discover her true strength. However, she was now delirious with illness and lacked the strength to do anything. She curled up on her side in bed, her fingers twitching slightly, and closed her eyes in discomfort.
This wasn't the first time Yin Xiaozhu had treated her. As the top disciple of Danqing Peak, his medical skills were undoubtedly first-rate. But this time, perhaps because she was unwell, time seemed to drag on exceptionally long; the time he spent taking her pulse felt particularly long.
No, it shouldn't be an illusion.
Because, after finishing the first round of pulse diagnosis, Yin Xiaozhu surprisingly switched to his left hand and tried again, as if he didn't believe his own judgment. He sat in the dim light, each second ticking by, his posture seemingly growing increasingly stiff, his fingers pressing on her wrist extremely cold.
Lu Yuanyuan instantly recalled some unpleasant memories—the first time she met him, he used a physical examination as an excuse to test whether she was a suitable prey. A sense of vigilance arose within her, and forcibly pulling her drowsy consciousness back, she managed to regain some strength and struggled rebelliously, forcefully pulling her hand away.
She moved, and Yin Xiaozhu seemed to snap out of his daze. He looked over. For some reason, his eyes were chilling, as if he wanted to devour her. Lu Yuanyuan curled up into a ball, desperately shrinking towards the wall, but he didn't say a word, as was unusual, and got up and pushed the door open to leave.
Once all sound was silenced outside, Lu Yuanyuan rubbed her face vigorously to stay awake. She struggled to sit up, groped her way to the floor, and tried to push open the door to escape. However, the house was protected by a barrier; even with her spiritual energy, she couldn't open it.
Lu Yuanyuan clenched her fist in anger and slammed it against the wall.
What exactly is this place?
It's absolutely impossible to build a house in the Spirit Treasure Realm. Even if you build one in the morning, the monsters could tear it down by night.
But such a simple environment doesn't feel like returning to Mount Shu.
Does Yin Xiaozhu's decision not to kill her mean he intends to keep her in this unknown place as his backup blood bank?
After several attempts, she still couldn't break through the barrier, and in doing so, she consumed a lot of spiritual energy. With her shoulders against the wall, Lu Yuanyuan was so weak that she could barely stand, so she had no choice but to retreat back to the bed. She dozed off for an unknown amount of time before being woken up by a hand.
Yin Xiaozhu sat on the edge of the bed with a bowl of medicine in her hand and helped her up by the shoulder: "Get up and drink your medicine."
Lu Yuanyuan pinched her thigh. She knew she was feeling listless and her mind wasn't clear, so she dared not be careless. She also refused to drink what he offered and asked in a hoarse voice, "What... is this?"
Yin Xiaozhu paused for a moment: "Antipyretic medicine."
"I won't drink it unless I watch you brew the medicine!"
In the scuffle, the medicine bowl was knocked over by someone, spilling the hot medicine all over his clothes, and scalding the back of Yin Xiaozhu's fair hand. He frowned, and seeing Lu Yuanyuan scrambling to the farthest place from him, he lowered his eyes slightly, said nothing, and first cleaned up the broken pieces and crumbs on the ground.
After going out for a while, he returned to the house and, surprisingly, began to change his clothes right in front of her.
Lu Yuanyuan's eyes widened.
Only his shirt was soiled, so he took it off. However, several layers of clothing were soaked through, and when he finally took it off, his flat, broad chest was fully exposed. Suddenly, as if sensing the gaze behind him, Yin Xiaozhu pulled his black hair out from his collar and turned to look at her.
Seeing her face turn pale and red, but without any shock, Yin Xiaozhu narrowed his eyes slightly: "So you knew all along."
Was he referring to the fact that she knew he was a man all along?
So, does that mean Yin Xiaozhu had already suspected that she had discovered his secret?
Things have gotten this bad, there's no need to pretend anymore. Lu Yuanyuan sneered, not to be outdone, and retorted sarcastically, "If you don't want people to know, then don't do it in the first place."
Yin Xiaozhu didn't answer. After adjusting her belt, she went out again.
Lu Yuanyuan forced herself to stay awake and kept staring at the door, but this time, she didn't have the energy to hold out until he returned.
When I woke up, it was already the next day.
Lu Yuanyuan swallowed and tasted a bitter flavor on the back of her tongue, as if she had been given medicine. However, when she raised her hand to touch her forehead, she found that her temperature had actually dropped considerably.
It seems that although Yin Xiaozhu is despicable, cunning, and full of lies, the medicine she brought last night was not a lie; it really was antipyretic medicine.
Not wanting to sit idly by, Lu Yuanyuan, having regained some strength in her limbs, propped herself up on the bed and decided to try again to see if she could leave.
Although she couldn't see what was happening outside, she had a feeling that this was just a temporary rest stop along the way, and unlikely to be Yin Xiaozhu's secret hideout. In such a poorly defended place, the chances of escape were much greater.
Lu Yuanyuan put on her boots, walked to the door, and listened intently to the sounds outside.
Before breaking down the door, she had to check if anyone was outside. Otherwise, she might spend a lot of effort to break down the door only to find someone standing outside, which would be a waste of her time.
Today was an unlucky day; she could vaguely hear two voices outside.
"...I warned you long ago, killing her back then would have been the end of it...but trouble was bound to happen sooner or later...hiding her...isn't a long-term solution. She's not helpless; if we don't keep an eye on her for a moment, she'll definitely escape..."
"...I know what I'm doing..."
One of the voices sounded quite familiar; it seemed to be the voice of Yin Xiaozhu's mysterious friend who had visited her late at night!
Lu Yuanyuan stiffened, pressed her ear against the door, but still couldn't hear clearly or see what was happening outside. She looked around, moved a stool over, stacked it on the table, climbed up, and peered through the narrow gap above the door. Now she could finally see outside.
Yin Xiaozhu had his back to her. In front of him stood a dark-skinned, strong man with his head bowed. Judging from his clothes, he was just an ordinary villager. However, the man's expression was blank, and although he was speaking, his lips were stuck shut and he was clearly a puppet being controlled.
Because of the change in distance, their voices became much clearer.
Yin Xiaozhu seemed unwilling to continue the previous topic, so she paused and asked, "Where are the things?"
The manipulated villager said, "Alright, alright, I knew you'd think I was being long-winded, so I won't say any more... Not to be rude, but you were in such a hurry. It's a wonder I was able to deliver it to you in time. The thing is in this guy's chest pocket."
Although the face was completely expressionless, Lu Yuanyuan could still detect a vivid tone of complaint in it.
Yin Xiaozhu's gaze fell downwards, and he reached into the villager's clothes to take out a long, narrow box, which he then opened.
When the contents of the box came into view, Lu Yuanyuan felt as if she had been struck on the head with a club, and her breath almost stopped.
This thing is...
No, how could this thing possibly be in Yin Xiaozhu's hands!
The manipulated villager said, "However, she won't even take regular fever reducers. How do you plan to get her to take this?"
Yin Xiaozhu stroked the box and said calmly, "I will make her eat it."
Because of the angle, she couldn't see Yin Xiaozhu's expression, but she could hear the coldness and unquestionable tone in his words.
The object in the box was a strange, flowerless plant with roots still attached, its entire body shimmering with a faint sky-blue hue.
Lu Yuanyuan had seen this thing in her previous life.
In her past life, someone had brought this thing to her and made her eat it.
However, at that time, the person who brought this item to her was not Yin Xiaozhu, but Duan Lansheng.
That was long after she and Duan Lansheng had become Daoist partners, and there were less than two months left before Duan Lansheng's tribulation.
Not long ago, she had an accident during a mission down the mountain, suffering a minor injury that left her with a limp. After returning to Shu Mountain, she didn't go on any missions, but she didn't want to just lie around at home doing nothing. So she spent most of her time on Danqing Peak, helping to organize files, running errands, and delivering things, treating it as a form of rehabilitation for her leg.
On Danqing Peak, encounters with Yin Xiaozhu were inevitable. However, due to changes in many causes and conditions, Yin Xiaozhu didn't have the opportunity to probe her spirit upon their first meeting and thus inadvertently discover her unique constitution. Therefore, in her previous life, Yin Xiaozhu never used her as a life-extending tonic.
In her eyes at that time, Yin Xiaozhu was a gentle, kind, and perfect senior sister, yet she inexplicably felt a sense of unattainability, as if she were an immortal in the clouds. Perhaps because she was too insignificant and posed no threat in her previous life, merely a small shrimp among the countless disciples of Shu Mountain, Yin Xiaozhu's attitude towards her was indifferent, no different from her attitude towards other disciples.
However, in her previous life, she had very poor interpersonal relationships in Mount Shu.
Yin Xiaozhu's equal treatment of her was precisely what made it a rare and precious quality.
Yin Xiaozhu never mocked her for her limp.
Later, as they met more often and became a little more familiar with each other, Yin Xiaozhu would occasionally give her guidance on her cultivation. She was a perfect senior sister who was flawless no matter how you looked at her.
What's puzzling is that, even though Yin Xiaozhu was quite friendly to her back then, Lu Yuanyuan occasionally had a strange and subtle intuition—she always felt that the other party didn't like her. Because of this, she felt guilty and examined herself, wondering if it was because Yin Xiaozhu and Duan Lansheng were close friends and so outstanding that she felt inferior and jealous whenever she saw him, leading to this unfounded and shameful hostility?
That's getting off-topic.
Returning to the contents of the box, this was something Duan Lansheng brought back for her during the time she frequently traveled to and from Danqing Peak. He said it was medicine he had obtained by chance during his recent trip down Mount Shu, and it could help her bones recover better.
Why did something that Duan Lansheng clearly gave her in her past life end up in Yin Xiaozhu's hands in this life?
Lu Yuanyuan gripped the door frame tightly, alarm bells ringing in her mind.
She was a cultivator of alchemy, yet she had never seen such a plant before, neither in her past life nor in this one.
It's understandable that she didn't recognize this thing in her past life, since she was too focused on romance back then and didn't put much effort into her cultivation. When Duan Lansheng told her to eat it, she trusted him completely and ate it without asking any questions.
Because of her lack of academic knowledge, she didn't realize that this thing couldn't be found in the books of Shushan.
But in this lifetime, she had put in all her effort to study it. She wouldn't dare say she was incredibly skilled, but at least she had a very good grasp of the theoretical lessons. She was 100% certain that she had never seen this thing in the alchemy and medicinal herb manuals of Mount Shu.
In fact, if she hadn't seen Yin Xiaozhu take out the exact same thing today, she would hardly have remembered that Duan Lansheng had given her something like this in her previous life.
The system was gone, and there was no way to find out what it was. But a strong intuition told Lu Yuanyuan that she had to find out what it was.
Figuring out what it is might just clear the fog, help us emerge from the mist, and unravel more mysteries about our past lives.
Before that, she absolutely could not touch a single bite of this stuff.
She didn't trust Yin Xiaozhu. As for Duan Lansheng from her past life—she had trusted him, but he ultimately killed her.
So, what should she do?
Continue to act uncooperatively, just like a few days ago, refusing to touch anything Yin Xiaozhu offers.
However, she couldn't be sure he wouldn't resort to force. Besides, she had overheard Yin Xiaozhu's tone just now. She had a premonition that even if she refused, he would find a roundabout way to get her to comply.
Moreover, her real goal was to get her hands on that plant.
If she wants to know the truth, she'd better have a sample in her hand so she can accurately compare and find out what it is.
What should she do?
How can I get Yin Xiaozhu to give this thing to me instead of putting it in my stomach?
Lu Yuanyuan gritted her teeth slightly. Just then, through the crack in the door, she suddenly caught a glimpse of Yin Xiaozhu turning around and walking into the house.
She was still standing on a chair, on a high place, and upon seeing this, she immediately climbed down. However, misfortune never comes singly; as she reached the ground, a violent wave of dizziness washed over her, and with a loud crash, she and the chair fell to the floor, her head taking a solid hit.
Her eyelids felt hot, as if warm liquid was about to drip down. Lu Yuanyuan's vision went black, but she saw the door being kicked open, and someone rushed towards her, picking her up in their arms: "Yuanyuan!"
The crisp scent of snow filled her nostrils.
……Snow?
How could it possibly snow this time of year?
It must have been a really bad fever that melted off her sensory nerves, and then she hit her head. Not only could Lu Yuanyuan smell the snow, but she also felt incredibly cold, and her jaw was trembling.
The sounds of rain, wind, and animal howls had all faded away, leaving only complete silence. The next second, something cool landed on her forehead and melted.
Lu Yuanyuan opened her eyes to a desolate, greyish-white sky. In the depths of winter, thick clouds hung heavy, and withered branches tore through the boundless heavens. Snowflakes danced in the wind. And she lay on the snow.
Lu Yuanyuan felt slightly lost, as if something was missing from her mind, but she couldn't remember what she had forgotten.
Instinctively, she tried to sit up, but she couldn't muster any strength in her limbs. Her fingertips were frozen blue, and the temperature was steadily dropping towards her heart. With difficulty, she lowered her gaze and found her chest empty, where a patch of bright red, almost black, blood had dissolved.
...Oh right, she remembered. In order to revive Yue Hong, with the help of the system, she traveled back to Yue Hong's childhood and became his aunt, Princess Manjushri.
Today, she finally gathered enough materials and was about to return to the original timeline. She decided to take this last chance to release the little monster that she had kept by her side.
As a result, he was outmaneuvered and tricked by the little monster into going to a remote place where it pierced his heart and drank his blood, and then left him to die in the snow.
Where is the system?
Why haven't you taken her back to the original timeline yet? Are you going to wait until she's completely dead before taking her back?
Just then, a series of hurried and chaotic footsteps reached Lu Yuanyuan's ears. In fact, she had heard them a few seconds earlier, but because the life force of this body was constantly draining away, she was slow to react for a few seconds.
Has Eunuch Shen come looking for us?
As she instructed, Eunuch Shen waited for her outside the woods.
Did you notice that she and the little monster had been in the woods for so long without making a sound, and you were worried, so you came looking for them?
But soon, Lu Yuanyuan realized something was wrong and frowned slightly.
Because the footsteps weren't the crunching sound of boots on the snow; instead, they sounded like the person was barefoot.
Lu Yuanyuan turned her head in confusion, her vision blurred for a moment, and she saw a boy swaying as he appeared behind the tree.
He was a boy of about thirteen or fourteen years old. His hair was not tied up, and he was only wearing a loose outer robe. His face was pale and thin, with delicate features that were neither male nor female, and there was still blood on the corner of his lips.
Yin Xiaozhu?
Strange, didn't Yin Xiaozhu already escape? Why is she back?
As intelligent as he was, he should have been well aware of the consequences of killing Princess Wenshu, the most favored princess of Yong Kingdom. That's why he deliberately lured her to a secluded place before making his move.
The longer her body was discovered by the soldiers of Yong, the farther he could escape.
What's even stranger is that the moment his eyes met hers as she lay dying on the snow, his whole body visibly froze, his pupils contracted, and he stared straight at her.
Why did he make that expression?
Didn't he already know that she was dead in this location?
Suddenly, Yin Xiaozhu's eyelashes trembled slightly, and he strode towards her. He clearly had a pair of human feet that had already materialized, but perhaps because his gaze was fixed on her, he stumbled and staggered, his steps uneven. Just as he was about to reach her, he tripped over something in the snow, his palm pressing forward and sinking into something soft buried beneath the snow.
It was that little orange lamp that he had left in the snow.
It was already useless trash, and when it was pressed like this, it was crushed even more thoroughly.
...
Everything ended at this point.
Lu Yuanyuan woke up covered in cold sweat, her vision blurry. She groped her way to the bed, realizing she was no longer on the snow but on the floor, and that she was finally back in reality.
A fleeting dream.
This was the first time she had such an immersive dream.
In her dream, she forgot everything in reality, including that she had broken free from the system, and truly believed that she had returned to being Princess Manjushri.
It should have been realized long ago that the very nature of a dream is that it doesn't correspond to reality. The real young Yin Xiaozhu isn't directionally challenged; the scenario of him running away and then coming back to see her is absolutely impossible to play out in real life.
The dream seemed long, but in reality, it felt like only a short while had passed. Lu Yuanyuan stirred and felt herself being held in someone's arms.
Right, she remembered that just before she fainted, Yin Xiaozhu seemed to have rushed over and carried her to the bed. He had just put her down and was still leaning over her.
Just then, Lu Yuanyuan suddenly felt something warm dripping onto the back of her hand.
She looked up in surprise and felt Yin Xiaozhu release her.
Yin Xiaozhu's face turned pale. He stared blankly at her, slowly took two steps back, and suddenly vomited a mouthful of blood in front of her.
Upon seeing his appearance, Lu Yuanyuan's heart skipped a beat.
No, his reaction is wrong.
Something's not right.
...She was wrong!
That snowy field just now wasn't some immersive dream, but rather—her sea of consciousness.
Because of her weakened state and the heavy impact of her landing, her mental barrier had become fragile, and a crack had appeared in her sea of consciousness. Yin Xiaozhu was drawn into her sea of consciousness, transforming back into the little monster, and thus, she saw her memories as Princess Manjushri.
Just like when she broke into Duan Lansheng's sea of consciousness back then, Duan Lansheng, the master of the sea of consciousness, did not recognize that she was in his own sea of consciousness.
She entered her own sea of consciousness and forgot about reality.
However, the guests she brought into her sea of consciousness still retained their self-awareness.
The reason why the boy Yin Xiaozhu in the snow turned back to find her was because he discovered that in "Lu Yuanyuan's" sea of consciousness, he saw the vast white snowfield that should have belonged to "Princess Manjushri." He was eager to find out where he was.
When he saw clearly who the dying person on the snow was, he unveiled her and solved the equation "Lu Yuanyuan = Princess Manjushri".
Just as the atmosphere between the two reached its peak and was about to explode, a faint, clear hum suddenly rang out in the air.
Crackling sound—
The cabin door was broken into pieces.
Duan Lansheng appeared outside the shattered door, his face frosty. Before the person inside could catch their breath, he suddenly attacked with his sword.
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