Chapter 7 007 Nightmare
Hidden under the table, Lu Yuanyuan absorbed the luck without anyone noticing.
Because her life force was too low, she was not only physically weak and listless, but even in the sweltering summer, her hands and feet were usually icy cold unless she was in the sun. Now, as golden light flowed into her fingertips, her life force steadily increased, and a pleasant warmth permeated her flesh and blood, relaxing her pores. Lu Yuanyuan sighed comfortably, and color gradually seeped into her pale face, as if a layer of peach-colored rouge had been applied.
However, when the health points reached 40/100, the numbers suddenly stopped jumping. The warm current abruptly stopped, as if a faucet had been turned off.
Lu Yuanyuan slowly lifted her eyelids and frowned.
That's all?
Is it a problem with the connection?
Lu Yuanyuan withdrew her hand, pondered for a moment, and, not believing it, changed her position, gently pressing her fingertips on the left side of Yue Hong's calf, but still no reaction. She then moved to the right side, with the same result.
That's right... The last few times she replenished her health, she was either in a daze or caught up in other emergencies, so she didn't think about this number carefully.
Looking back now, it seems that each time she replenished her health, the highest point never exceeded 40.
The first time, she managed to get 35 health points from Yue Hong. This time, her starting health was 20, but it ended up at 40/100.
It seems this is no coincidence. Her maximum health is currently limited.
Lu Yuanyuan stared intently, lost in thought, unaware that her fingers had shifted position several times on Yue Hong's leg, causing his thigh muscles to become increasingly tense. Suddenly, he turned slightly to the side, changed his sitting posture, and awkwardly crossed his legs.
Lu Yuanyuan snapped out of her daze and immediately withdrew her finger.
Yue Hong had never been kind to her before, probably because he didn't like her touching him indiscriminately. She should just stop while she's ahead.
Because her face was covered by her sleeve, she couldn't see what was happening outside. She only heard Yue Hong exchange a few words with his friend before shooing them all away. Once the banquet hall quieted down, the tablecloth was suddenly lifted by a hand, letting light into the corner. Lu Yuanyuan raised her hand to shield her eyes, and was then abruptly pulled out.
The next second, her face was pinched.
Yue Hong had immense strength, pulling her directly in front of him. He glared at her and spat out each word through his teeth, demanding, "What were you doing down there? Were you trying to embarrass me?"
Lu Yuanyuan's cheek was pinched, forcing her to tilt her head back, her words slurred. But remembering the purpose of her trip, she suppressed the urge to struggle, vaguely glossing over the part about touching his knee, and tried to explain, "How could I have embarrassed myself? Your Highness, I absolutely won't go around telling anyone, and they won't know that this person is me..."
Yue Hong narrowed his eyes and sneered, "Who told you to hide under my table? I should have mistaken you for an assassin and stabbed you to death."
Seeing that there were two finger marks on her face from being pinched, he suppressed his anger, moved his fingers, changed the position, and continued to pinch.
This guy doesn't seem like he'll calm down anytime soon. If I really offend him, will the thing I asked him to do later fail?
Lu Yuanyuan's fingers clenched involuntarily. After a moment's thought, she lowered her eyes, pursed her lips, and said softly, "I didn't hide on purpose. I just didn't dare to come out."
This sentence successfully made Yue Hong pause: "You dare not?"
"Your Highness, don't you know? In my first year in Yong, they had an archery competition and dragged me over, saying they wanted to use me as a target. When I was studying at the Imperial Academy, they laughed at me for not understanding Yong's 'Strategies,' and even put toads and dead snakes in my desk. One year during the Ghost Festival, they locked me in the Cold Palace where someone had died, and I didn't get out until nightfall when a palace maid heard me knocking on the door and let me out..." Lu Yuanyuan looked at him, her dark eyes as clear and bright as glass, reflecting his image: "I was just afraid that if they saw me, they would bully me again and make fun of me."
Her voice was soft and weak; she was simply stating a fact, not making a vehement accusation.
However, with each additional word she spoke, Yue Hong's expression grew increasingly grim, revealing a hint of embarrassment. His grip loosened, and suddenly, he released her face and turned his back.
Seeing this, Lu Yuanyuan stopped bringing up old grievances, lowered her head, and rubbed her cheeks, which had been pinched red, with the back of her hand.
After a long pause, she heard Yue Hong's somewhat stiff whisper: "You... what brings you here today?"
It sounds like the anger from before has completely dissipated.
Lu Yuanyuan secretly breathed a sigh of relief, lowered her hand, and said something to him.
Yue Hong frowned slightly, turned around, and stared at her: "You said you wanted to borrow my mother's—"
Lu Yuanyuan nodded.
"Why?"
Lu Yuanyuan lowered her head again: "After returning from the hunt, I had nightmares for two consecutive nights. I thought that if I could read that scripture, I would feel better."
"..." Yue Hong turned his head away: "I can't guarantee I can get it. You can go back and wait."
.
That's what he said. But the very next day, he sent someone to deliver the goods.
On the palace servant's tray lay a scripture wrapped in silk—the Lotus Sutra. Eunuch Zhang bowed and said, "Please, Your Highness, take good care of this book. His Highness the Third Prince told Consort Xie that he wanted to read it himself, and only then did she lend him her private possession."
Lu Yuanyuan smiled and said, "Thank you for the reminder, Eunuch Zhang. I understand."
After the palace servants left, Lu Yuanyuan sat down at the desk, carefully untied the ribbon, turned to the first page of the scripture, and smelled a faint scent of aged ink.
Despite the mortal world's current reverence for immortality, cultivators in the immortal cultivation world only actively came into contact with mortals for the first time five hundred years ago.
In other words, before the exchange between the two realms, mortals were unaware of the existence of such a mysterious world of cultivation above them. At that time, Buddhism was the most prevalent religion on this continent. Buddhist temples of all sizes were everywhere, attracting a constant stream of worshippers and enjoying great prosperity.
Buddhism only began to decline after the rise of Taoism.
Monks are mortals, and their power to slay demons and exorcise evil is incomparable to that of Golden Core cultivators. However, scriptures consecrated by highly accomplished monks who have attained perfect enlightenment and purify themselves of the five aggregates possess a certain power to ward off evil.
This is something Lu Yuanyuan learned in her previous life during a demon-slaying mission in Mount Shu.
Consort Xie possessed a rare Buddhist scripture that had been blessed by a high-ranking Indian monk.
Lu Yuanyuan wasn't sure how effective this would be, but she had no choice but to try. At least she had tried something; it was better than doing nothing.
.
For the next few days, except when she needed to replenish her life points, Lu Yuanyuan did not step out of her palace. Whenever she had time, she would hold the scriptures and make her amulets.
Every night before bed, she insisted on practicing a complete set of martial arts exercises, supplemented by warm-up exercises such as stretching and leg presses. Once, a young palace maid who came to deliver new clothes accidentally stumbled upon her exercising.
Exercising wasn't anything shameful, so Lu Yuanyuan didn't take it to heart.
As the saying goes, "Where there's a will, there's a way." After half a month, Lu Yuanyuan's [combat strength] did indeed take a small step forward, shakily increasing from 5/100 to 8/100.
Before we knew it, it was early July.
There were still no new leads on the skinning monster; it seemed to have vanished into thin air. The fear and gloom that had hung over everyone since the day of the hunt gradually dissipated, like a thick fog melting in the sunlight. Some began to believe that the monster had truly gone far away and would never return.
Except for Lu Yuanyuan.
The dungeon progress remained stuck at 20%. This reminded her that a sword of Damocles was hanging over her head, ready to fall at any moment.
.
That night, the moon was high in the sky. The Second Prince held a banquet in the palace and enthusiastically invited everyone to attend.
In such situations, Lu Yuanyuan basically couldn't refuse. For some reason, at the banquet today, she kept feeling that the eyes of the young master of the Vice Minister and those who were close to Yue Hong kept lingering in her direction. But when she looked back in confusion, they were all doing their own things, as if they weren't even looking at her.
Based on experience, this is the prelude to these annoying guys bullying her.
Lu Yuanyuan put down the porcelain cup and silently made a judgment in her heart.
Fortunately, the Second Prince was in particularly high spirits tonight, keeping the Crown Prince, Yue Hong, and a group of noble sons chatting away. Even if they wanted to bully her, they couldn't get away. The banquet was already in its latter half, and Lu Yuanyuan figured she had dealt with most of the guests. Although she hadn't drunk much, she excused herself, saying she couldn't hold her liquor, and slipped away early to avoid them bothering her when they had a moment to spare.
It was nearly midnight when I returned to my palace.
Lu Yuanyuan changed out of her clothes, which were stained with the scent of wine. Dang'er and Yinping helped her undo her hair, put the hairpin in a brocade box, and then withdrew.
In the stillness of the night, Lu Yuanyuan sat alone in front of her dressing mirror, took out the Lotus Sutra from her bosom, and turned a couple of pages. Suddenly, she heard very light footsteps behind her.
Immediately, Dang'er's voice rang out: "The weather seems to be getting cooler tonight. Princess, please put on a coat. I'm worried that you'll catch a cold sitting here."
Lu Yuanyuan didn't turn around. She rested one hand on her forehead and casually said, "No need, there's no wind in my spot."
Dang'er behind her let out a soft laugh, her tone innocent: "Really? But I think the wind is very strong, so strong that I can smell the wine near the princess's neck."
Lu Yuanyuan paused, her hand holding the book pages faltering, her eyebrows twitching slightly, and she slowly raised her head.
The hall was dimly lit, the palace lanterns flickering. The mahogany-framed mirror in front of her reflected the scene behind her—Dang'er stood two or three meters away, a bloody wound spreading across her childlike face, its edges visibly rotting, oozing a bluish-black sap. Through the mirror's reflection, Dang'er tilted her head, staring at her, her mouth slowly widening into a horrifying gash: "Princess."
With a crash, the stool fell to the ground.
The scriptures fell to the ground, and Lu Yuanyuan quickly ran out of the hall.
The thing in the dangling skin chased after her with a grin, carelessly stepping over the cover of the scripture, its voice gradually becoming high-pitched: "Don't go... Princess, I love your scent... You don't really think those bald monks' scriptures can protect you, do you?"
Upon reaching the stone steps outside the sleeping quarters, it seemed to have had enough of its cat-and-mouse game. Almost instantly, it moved in front of Lu Yuanyuan, stretched out an arm, and suddenly grabbed her neck with such force that it almost snapped her throat!
However, in the next instant, something flickered in Lu Yuanyuan's arms. A soft, bright white light swept across its body. The evil creature was as if it were being scorched by flames, and pieces of rotting flesh fell off one after another. It let out a long, mournful howl and suddenly released its grip, retreating.
As soon as she was free, Lu Yuanyuan collapsed onto the steps, clutching her neck with one hand. With each breath, she coughed painfully, tears welling in her eyes.
Has this guy practiced Iron Palm? He almost twisted her head off!
What she was clutching tightly in her right hand appeared at first glance to be just a palm-sized bronze mirror. But upon closer inspection, one would see that the mirror surface was covered with densely packed Sanskrit text of the Lotus Sutra, written in vermilion ink.
When the moonlight shines on the bronze mirror, rotate your wrist to adjust the mirror's angle, reflecting the moonlight onto the demon. This cool, watery moonlight will instantly transform into a sharp, protective blade, without needing to be infused with spiritual power.
Perhaps because this monster was only a boss in a beginner dungeon, this method worked!
However, before Lu Yuanyuan could catch her breath, she suddenly felt darkness fall around her. Looking up at the sky, she saw that dark clouds had obscured the moonlight. Sensing danger, Lu Yuanyuan scrambled to her feet, grabbed her bronze mirror, and ran towards a crowd.
As it turned out, her nightly workouts were effective; Lu Yuanyuan had never felt her legs so strong. During the chase, the moonlight was intermittent, and she nearly got caught several times. Lost in her escape, she didn't know which way was up, and before she knew it, Lu Yuanyuan had run breathlessly to the Imperial Garden, the place where the banquet had just been held. Finally, exhausted, her knees buckled, and she collapsed to the ground.
The demon was badly injured by the moonlight and was no longer human. Its soft, rotten flesh kept oozing putrid liquid. It let out a venomous screech and pounced on her.
As fate would have it, just then, a group of people emerged from the palace where the banquet had been held—the feast had just ended, and palace servants were cleaning up the mess of cups and plates. The Crown Prince, the Second Prince, and their entourage, still reeking of alcohol, walked out and happened to witness this scene. The Second Prince instantly sobered up considerably and pointed at it in horror: "What...what is this thing!"
"A monster! A monster has entered the palace!"
The palace servants screamed, "Protect His Highness! Someone come quickly to protect His Highness!"
Lu Yuanyuan was dazed and confused from the fall; her sternum was painfully pressed against the bronze mirror, and she almost couldn't catch her breath. Fortunately, someone quickly grabbed her arm and lifted her up from the ground—it was Yue Qi.
He pushed her behind him and coldly ordered, "Guards, protect the emperor!"
Lu Yuanyuan stumbled, but Yue Hong caught her.
The Imperial Guards on duty nearby rushed to the scene upon hearing the news and quickly surrounded the area, pointing their spears at the demon with practiced ease. But it completely disregarded mortal weapons and charged straight at Lu Yuanyuan. Yue Hong's expression turned grave; he swiftly drew his sword, its blade gleaming with a cold, moonlit light.
Lu Yuanyuan was taken aback.
moonlight?
The moonlight was so bright... and it fell right on Yue Hong!
Looking up at the sky, the clouds and fog had dissipated. The moon had finally come out; such a wonderful opportunity couldn't be missed!
Lu Yuanyuan, as if she had eaten Popeye's spinach, suddenly sprang to life, rushed forward in one stride, and shoved aside the obstructing Yue Qi.
Immediately afterwards, everyone present watched in disbelief as their future Crown Princess, completely ignoring the Crown Prince protecting her, rushed out fearlessly, spread her arms, stood in front of the Third Prince, and used her soft chest and abdomen to charge straight at the demon.
Everyone: "………………Whoa!!!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
