Chapter 73 073 The True Ashes Have Been Scattered
Silence, darkness.
It felt like a heavy blow to the top of her head, the aftershocks lingering long afterward. Lu Yuanyuan opened her eyes amidst intense dizziness, finding herself lying in an unfamiliar place, with a dark stone ceiling above her. Her initial reaction was somewhat sluggish, a full half-beat later, a sharp pain suddenly radiated from her abdomen to her limbs, a vein throbbed on Lu Yuanyuan's forehead, and a hoarse groan escaped her throat.
"..."
Her temples throbbed and pulsated. Lu Yuanyuan took a breath and turned her head slightly, trying to see where she was. Unexpectedly, as soon as she moved the skin and flesh of her neck, she felt a strange pain in her left neck. Warm liquid seeped out, flowing down to the back of her head, wetting her hair and collar.
I reached out and touched it; my palm was wet. I rubbed my fingertips together a few times; it felt sticky and fishy.
Lu Yuanyuan's vision flickered, and her eardrums crackled. After a while, she slowly realized that it was her blood.
There appears to be a wound on her neck.
With no mirror at hand, she could only carefully feel along the edges of the wound. The wound was oddly shaped, an irregular circle, unlike anything made by a sword or other sharp weapon. Fortunately, it seemed that her trachea and major arteries hadn't been damaged. Otherwise, even if she had nine lives, she would definitely be dead by now.
She touched other places and, sure enough, all of her eighteen magical treasures, including her storage ring, weapons, and pills, had been looted.
Lu Yuanyuan: "..."
Lu Yuanyuan stared at the ceiling, her lips moved, and she silently uttered a curse. She tore off a piece of her sleeve and wrapped it around her neck three times to bandage the wound. After a while, she finally caught her breath and struggled to sit up. Her head was still spinning, and she could only sit against the wall.
Memories of what happened before I lost consciousness flashed through my chaotic mind like an old movie playing.
She remembered that after Consort Xie was kidnapped, Third Sister and she split up. She followed the direction Cui'er had indicated before her death, venturing deep into a desolate, dense forest. A torrential downpour, heavy mist, and swaying shadows made the mountain seem as dark as midnight. The moss-covered stones were slippery and difficult to traverse, and small animals seeking shelter from the rain would occasionally dart out from the undergrowth, bumping into her boots. The further she went, the stronger the faint, eerie aura became.
The enemy was, after all, a high-level dungeon boss that appeared and disappeared unpredictably, so Lu Yuanyuan naturally dared not underestimate it, and she was on high alert with every step she took. However, like the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind, she had underestimated the difficulty of the dungeon. When that thing suddenly attacked her from behind, she instantly realized she was no match for it—she didn't even know when it had sneaked up behind her!
In the nick of time, Lu Yuanyuan had no other choice but to grit her teeth and meet the blow head-on. The result of the head-on collision was that she was immediately thrown into a tree and plunged into boundless darkness.
...
After sorting through the events, Lu Yuanyuan silently swallowed a mouthful of metallic-smelling saliva, clutching her aching lower back and abdomen, unable to describe the feeling in her heart. If she had to put it into words, she felt somewhat helpless, yet also felt that the current developments were entirely reasonable.
Sure enough, the clichés that are overused in TV dramas make sense.
Only the protagonist can become the lone dragon-slaying hero. The same script, but played by cannon fodder, will only end badly—either they'll be sacrificed on the spot when they encounter danger, or they'll be captured by the villain and used as tools to threaten the protagonist at crucial moments, only to be sacrificed after being used to their fullest potential.
No matter how you look at it, it all boils down to death.
This is the predetermined fate of cannon fodder.
But perhaps because she was in such a desperate situation, her mind went numb. At this moment, besides feeling helpless, she was actually much calmer than she had imagined.
At least, until this moment, she is still alive, isn't she?
Should cannon fodder be crushed like ants?
As long as she hadn't reached a dead end, she was unwilling to sit idly by and accept her fate.
no way!
Lu Yuanyuan gritted her teeth, her fingers trembling slightly, as she checked her injuries. She quickly loosened her belt and saw a blackened patch on her stomach, like a burn mark.
This was the spot where she was struck by the monster. Fortunately, at the most dangerous moment, her golden core and the Thunderfire Beast bracelet on her wrist acted like protective shields, protecting her heart and saving her life.
Afterwards, while she was unconscious, the Golden Core's spiritual power was focused entirely on healing her most severely injured abdomen. This left no energy to care for other areas, which explains why the blood from her neck was flowing freely.
My ribs hurt a lot, they must be cracked. My body feels very heavy, and my internal organs are also injured.
Why didn't that monster finish her off when she was unable to resist, but instead brought her to this awful place?
Lu Yuanyuan frowned, put on her clothes, tightened her belt, and surveyed her surroundings. The room was quiet and empty, without any furniture, and the temperature was as cold as a freezer. Suddenly, she noticed a figure lying on the ground in the distance.
That's Consort Xie!
Consort Xie lay motionless on her side with her back to her, her hair disheveled, her long, ornate robes crumpled into a mess.
Lu Yuanyuan's breath hitched. She wiped the blood from her chin and tried to stand up, but couldn't. She could only crawl quickly on her hands and feet. Her mind was foggy and she couldn't tell how far she was. She crawled for about ten meters before she finally touched Consort Xie's hand.
Lu Yuanyuan shakily turned her over and pressed her fingertips against the side of her neck to check. Fortunately, she could still feel a faint pulse.
Moreover, Consort Xie did not appear to have any broken bones or injuries. She looked much better than the half-dead Consort Xie.
Lu Yuanyuan felt a sense of relief and immense joy.
Before setting off, she assumed the worst-case scenario would be losing both her wife and her army. She would not only fail to save Consort Xie, but also lose her own life.
But now, Consort Xie is still alive, and everything has not yet fallen into an abyss of no return. That's wonderful!
Lu Yuanyuan embraced Consort Xie, patted her shoulder, and called out in a hoarse voice, "Your Majesty, wake up!"
Consort Xie's face was pale and her lips were white. Her neck was limp against hers, and she remained unresponsive. Lu Yuanyuan paused, touched the other's hands and cheeks, and sure enough, they were as cold as a corpse.
This won't do; it's too cold here. Even though there isn't a single door or window in sight, a chilling wind blows in gusts, feeling like it can seep into your bones. Even a strong and healthy person couldn't stand it for long, let alone a pampered, pregnant palace concubine.
Consort Xie probably never suffered like this in her entire life.
Lu Yuanyuan hugged Consort Xie even tighter, using her body heat to warm her.
This method was a bit old-fashioned, but it had a miraculous effect. After being covered for an unknown amount of time, the dying Consort Xie finally stirred, uttering a few indistinct murmurs and slowly opening her eyes.
Having just woken up and still disoriented, Consort Xie was instantly terrified when she found herself being embraced. She instinctively tried to struggle and scream. The next second, a cool hand abruptly covered her mouth. Consort Xie looked up, tears welling in her eyes, and met a pair of bloodshot yet clear black and white eyes: "Don't be afraid, Your Majesty, it's me."
Upon recognizing Lu Yuanyuan, Consort Xie's expression became somewhat agitated. However, she quickly realized their precarious situation, shut her mouth, nodded, and quieted down.
Seeing this, Lu Yuanyuan released her grip and lowered her voice to a whisper: "Your Majesty, we must have fallen into the hands of that monster. How much do you remember about being abducted by it?"
Consort Xie's face was pale, and she said in a trembling voice, "After you left, I felt a little tired, so I asked Cui'er to help me rest. But as soon as I entered the inner room, she suddenly grabbed my neck tightly. I smelled a very fragrant scent and then fainted. When I woke up, I saw you... Where is this place?"
It seems that Consort Xie doesn't know the way she was brought here either, and can't pinpoint where she is. Lu Yuanyuan touched the cold, hard wall and speculated, "This place, let alone doors and windows, there isn't even a mouse hole. I guess it should be a secret room that needs to be opened with a mechanism, not some dilapidated temple found randomly in the middle of nowhere."
Consort Xie grasped her wrist, her eyes brimming with deep hope: "You can break the wall, right?"
Lu Yuanyuan hesitated for a moment, then nodded: "Okay, wait until I regain some strength..."
Suddenly, the system's piercing alarm beeped, interrupting Lu Yuanyuan's words: "Warning: Violent destruction of the ancient building structure may trigger a chain reaction, causing irreversible consequences such as the collapse of the secret room, burying key figures, and blocking escape routes. Please think carefully, host."
Lu Yuanyuan: "..."
Damn, those words were a wake-up call.
These ancient buildings with unclear structures, especially the complexly constructed secret chambers, cannot be destroyed casually. If a load-bearing pillar is accidentally broken, and she currently has no spiritual power to create a protective barrier, they will be buried alive in an instant.
Lu Yuanyuan looked at Consort Xie: "Your Highness, this is a secret chamber. If I accidentally collapse something that shouldn't be collapsed, we might be buried here."
Consort Xie murmured in a daze, "What do we do? Does anyone know we're here?"
Lu Yuanyuan pursed her lips, her palms sweating, but she still comforted Consort Xie, saying, "There must be other methods."
As soon as they finished speaking, the two suddenly felt the floor of the secret room tremble, as if a huge building was moving with a rumbling sound. Apart from the sound, there was no light at all, but at this moment, Lu Yuanyuan suddenly felt something was amiss, the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end, and she looked up at a corner of the secret room.
Consort Xie asked anxiously, "W-what's wrong?"
"Shh." Lu Yuanyuan held her breath and focused her eyes, noticing a blurry shadow appearing in the corner of the secret room. Immediately, a ball of fire rose up, and the shadow drew closer.
Lu Yuanyuan was on high alert and stood protectively in front of Consort Xie.
The newcomer gradually revealed its true form. Upon seeing its appearance, Consort Xie fell silent in shock. Lu Yuanyuan was even more astonished and speechless, two inappropriate words popping into her mind: That's it?
Consort Yu and Cui'er fell one after the other into the monster's honey trap, so one can imagine that its human form must have been a charming and handsome man.
But what appeared before them now… could barely be considered a man, albeit one with the prefix "severely disfigured." He had a broad forehead, deep-set eyes, and was quite handsome. But the lower half of his face, starting from his nose, looked as if it had been doused with sulfuric acid; a large hole had been burned into the flesh, his upper lip was gone, revealing his stark white jawbone. Half of his sharp teeth were missing, and the remaining ones were teetering on the edge, while a long tongue dangled from his mouth.
Lu Yuanyuan felt a chill run down her spine.
This hideous, inhuman appearance is enough to give anyone nightmares. How could it possibly bewitch Consort Yu and Cui'er?!
Was it injured to the point that it could no longer maintain its human form?
However, in the brief moment before she was captured, during her fight with this creature, although she couldn't see its beauty or ugliness, she could glimpse that the lower half of its face was intact...
Could it be that someone came in while she was unconscious and beat her up like this? Was it Duan Lansheng and his group?
But this doesn't seem like a wound caused by a magical artifact.
Lu Yuanyuan desperately tried to conceal her weakness, blocking Consort Xie and confronting her. Her thoughts raced, but she couldn't figure it out. The demon clearly didn't intend to wait for her to understand; it suddenly transformed into a black shadow, grabbed her, and sent her flying against the wall. Lu Yuanyuan's vision went black, and she vomited blood. Immediately, her neck tightened as she was chained.
It wanted to strangle her!
Lu Yuanyuan's eyes widened, blood vessels bulging in them, her Adam's apple clenching. In this critical moment of life and death, a strange thought flashed through her mind—there were so many simple ways to kill her. Why was this guy strangling her?
But she quickly lost the ability to think further. The air grew thinner and thinner, and Consort Xie's screams, her thrashing and pounding... everything was kept far away. Lu Yuanyuan's vision blurred; she wanted to scream, she wanted to breathe, and the instinct for survival surged to her hands, prompting her to shove the other person's head hard.
Without the aid of spiritual power, this resistance against the monster was nothing more than a tickle. But then a surprising scene unfolded: Lu Yuanyuan vaguely heard a shrill scream of pain, and at the same time, the restraints around her neck suddenly loosened.
The air rushed into her throat, as if she had been on a roller coaster ride from hell back to earth. Lu Yuanyuan coughed painfully, her whole body trembling. She rolled over and got up, only to find the monster covering its face and backing away step by step. Its once fair and smooth skin under its eyes had suddenly burned a bloody hole, and pieces of charred flesh were falling off, almost unable to cover its eyeballs.
...What happened to it? Was it because of the push she gave it?
Lu Yuanyuan glanced at her right hand with surprise and uncertainty.
But there were no weapons in her palms, only blood from when she was bandaging her neck.
No, this is not the time to think. A glimmer of hope appeared in an instant. Taking advantage of the fact that the thing was temporarily distracted, Lu Yuanyuan endured the pain, struggled to her feet, dragged the limp Xie Guifei on her back, and limped out of the secret chamber through the gap.
.
at the same time.
The Luo River is vast and its waters are filled with numerous boats.
The assassination attempt by the enemy state had come to an end, and the corpses were dragged onto the deck and lined up. Thanks to the well-trained Yong soldiers, no princes or nobles died in the chaos. Those who fell into the water were almost all servants protecting their masters—the only exception being the second prince.
Beneath the large ship, a small, covered boat rocked in the waves. Several servants were wailing and wailing as they knelt by the side of the boat, struggling to pull a tall, stout man who was desperately thrashing about onto the vessel: "Your Highness, Second Prince, we'll pull you up right away!"
"Your Highness, hurry!"
Because the weight was concentrated on one side of the boat, it tilted and there was a faint danger of it capsizing.
Two soldiers were still soaking in the river, pushing the second prince from behind to help him board the boat.
Unfortunately, the second prince was already quite heavy, and his several layers of ornate robes, soaked with river water, were as heavy as a melting iron. Despite everyone's best efforts, they couldn't pull him onto the small boat.
The second prince had barely climbed a little ashore when he slipped back into the water, clinging awkwardly to the edge of the boat, and roared in fury, "You bunch of useless trash, haven't you eaten?! Hurry up and pull me up... Ah!"
Before he could finish speaking, the hilt of a sword, gleaming with a faint crimson light, caught on his collar. In a dizzying moment, he was thrown onto the deck. The Second Prince, still shaken, looked up and met a pair of beautiful yet icy eyes: "You…"
The wind and waves grew stronger, and the small boat rocked violently; its hull was only an inch wide. Duan Lansheng stood on it, yet felt as if he were walking on flat ground. Suddenly, everyone heard someone exclaim in the distance, "Look! Isn't there someone else in the water over there?!"
"It looks like a palace maid! Oh my god, she's about to be swept away by the waves..."
Duan Lansheng's brow twitched, and he was about to turn and leave. The Second Prince hurriedly said, "Wait, you mustn't go! Who knows if there will be other assassins? You stay here and protect me! A palace maid, if she dies, she dies, it's fine, don't worry about her!"
Duan Lansheng seemed not to hear him. He leaped away, hovering his sword in mid-air. He scanned the area and quickly spotted the person who had fallen into the water.
In the vast river, she was as small as a grain of sand, blood flowing from her mouth and nose. She was constantly being hit by floating planks, and seemed to have lost consciousness. Her flailing hands gradually weakened, and the waves crashed over her, sinking her frail body. Fortunately, before she was completely swallowed by the river, Duan Lansheng reacted quickly and pulled her out, placing her on the nearest small boat.
The palace maid was petite and probably quite young. After struggling in the water for so long, she had lost her shoes, her hair was plastered to her face, and her chest had long since stopped rising and falling.
The second prince took a closer look, then covered his nose and stepped back, saying with disgust, "It's dead, why bring it up here?"
Duan Lansheng ignored her, kneeling beside her and pressing three fingers against her abdomen. He injected something into her, and the young palace maid convulsed, then suddenly vomited a large amount of water mixed with mud and blood: "Ugh—cough cough cough..."
Someone in the back exclaimed joyfully, "Hey, it's alive! It's alive!"
Duan Lansheng showed no arrogance or excitement as he withdrew his hand.
The palace maid's eyelids were swollen, and she struggled to open them a crack. As soon as she saw Duan Lansheng beside her, her breathing suddenly became rapid, as if she wanted to say something.
Duan Lansheng said in a deep voice, "Don't speak, breathe first."
Tears streamed down San Niang's face. She shook her head, and with her last strength brushed the hair that was stuck to her face, whispering, "Sister Lu... the Imperial Concubine... is in danger, in the northwest..."
Duan Lansheng's expression changed.
.
On the other hand.
Outside the secret room was a long, cold, dark corridor with no side paths and a musty smell of dust from a long period of stagnation.
This was the first time Lu Yuanyuan had ever carried a pregnant woman on her back during a major escape. Her vision blurred, her back was drenched in cold sweat, and she could hear two rapid, uneven breaths echoing in her ears. Each deep breath caused a piercing pain in her ribs, like sharp thorns digging into her flesh.
She thought that if her ribs had only been fractured before, they would definitely be broken now.
She didn't count how far she had run when suddenly, a sticky, rapid sound came from behind her, as if some animal was scrambling across the wall. The echoes reverberated throughout the empty corridor, surrounding them from all directions.
Lu Yuanyuan thought to herself, "This time I'm really doomed. That thing recovered so quickly!"
At this speed, catching up with them will only take a moment!
Consort Xie shuddered in fear, her arms tightening around her. Suddenly, as if she had made up her mind, she said tremblingly, "If this continues, none of us will survive. It wants me. You should leave; it will be faster that way."
Lu Yuanyuan angrily said, "No way!"
As they spoke, they finally ran out of the long, winding corridor. Ahead lay a grand hall with a stone archway. Before the archway stood two imposing stone statues, their faces blue and their fangs long; they were of unknown origin. A faint light shone from within the archway, and the walls seemed to be inlaid with luminous pearls.
What place is that?
Before Lu Yuanyuan could think further, the chilling sound behind her was already close to her ear. Instinctively, Lu Yuanyuan ran towards the light source, and the thing immediately turned to chase after her. Illuminated by the luminous pearl, the shadow behind her expanded. Lu Yuanyuan smelled a familiar, fishy odor, and abruptly dodged to the side, a sharp pain shooting across her cheek as a sharp fingernail grazed her. In that dodge, she completely lost her balance, her arms slipping. While Consort Xie tumbled to the ground, Lu Yuanyuan, unable to stop her momentum, rolled to the high platform in the center of the palace, her arm sweeping across the surface.
Thud—thud!
Lu Yuanyuan was panting. To make matters worse, her sweeping motion seemed to have knocked something over from above. Something fell from above, and Lu Yuanyuan, who was right in front of the table, had no way to avoid it. She was hit squarely on the back of the head, and her ears rang with a long "buzz." For several seconds, she couldn't hear anything.
What hit her was a rather heavy jar, crafted from exquisite ceramics and expensive gold and jade. Because it was upside down, the jar's round lid also smashed open, spilling out a large amount of something resembling incense ash, which covered her head and shoulders.
Lu Yuanyuan was stunned by the impact and lay sprawled on the ground. At the same time, the monster that had been aggressively approaching seemed to have seen a nemesis and suddenly retreated into the darkness, disappearing from the stone chamber.
The air quieted down, filled with a strange fragrance. Lu Yuanyuan, her hands trembling, braced herself against the ground and straightened up. Ashes drifted down from her hair and shoulders.
Is this... incense ash?
It doesn't feel quite like it; incense ash shouldn't be this rough.
Lu Yuanyuan paused for a moment, as if she had something to say, and slowly raised her head to look at the high platform behind her.
On that high altar, the lamps were extinguished and the incense burner cooled.
The spot where the porcelain jar used to be is now empty, with only a black memorial tablet with gold lettering standing there.
—The memorial tablet of Yue Fengzhu, a woman of noble birth.
Lu Yuanyuan: "…………"
Whose memorial tablet is this? Whose funeral hall is this?
So, did she accidentally scatter someone's ashes in the whole box just now?
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