Chapter 114: Flame Part 1: Familiar Feeling [VIP]
"Um……"
The numbing pain rolled through his body like an electric current, and Yaris couldn't help but let out a low moan. After the hot compress, his rosy toes curled up instinctively, and his calf muscles contracted, trying to pull back his ankle that was held in his brother's hand.
"Can't!"
Xiao Yun said sternly, releasing his left foot after the acupuncture and handing it to the doctor waiting on the side, then holding his right foot.
"You have to be patient."
"I know... I just..."
Yaris bit his lip in grievance.
The soles of the feet are naturally sensitive, so how could one stimulate such fragile acupuncture points with silver needles?
Every time the silver needle pierced the acupuncture point on the sole of his foot, his body, which was more sensitive than that of ordinary people, would produce a violent reaction.
After the acupuncture was completed, several doctors would rotate the silver needles at a specific frequency while introducing the hot smoke produced by burning incense sticks made of a mixture of various herbs into his body through the hollow silver needles. It was as if millions of ants were dragging lines of fire from the soles of his feet all the way up, causing pain, itching, and a slight heat flow. Every time, it would make him limp all over and sweat profusely.
“It’s so itchy… so hot…”
"This keeps your leg muscles and nerves active longer."
"I know, but still... well..."
Yaris grabbed Xiao Yun's arm, he could hardly hold back any longer.
"The itchy and hot feeling is really terrible. I feel like I'm about to..."
"It's okay. If you really can't help it, just hold on to me, but you must not move your legs."
"I know... I'll try to be patient..."
Yaris choked and said, his voice a little hoarse.
…
After the acupuncture was completed, Yaris's clothes were soaked with sweat. As all the silver needles were pulled out, his body became almost paralyzed.
However, the treatment is not over.
"Let's go to the bathroom for the next step of the treatment."
"Um."
Yaris obediently put his hands around his brother's neck, and the two of them entered the misty bathroom together. They first used hot water of suitable temperature to wash away the sweat produced during acupuncture. Then the masseur came in and gave Yaris's legs a meticulous massage to consolidate the effect of the acupuncture treatment.
After the whole process, Yaris, who was lying on a warm stone bed slightly above the water and receiving a massage, was so comfortable that his eyes were blurred.
"If you fall asleep here, you'll fall into the water."
Xiao Yun said helplessly, picking up the drowsy Yaris: "For things like sleeping, you have to go back to the room--"
"But……"
Yaris looked at his brother hazily. "Do you feel a sense of familiarity at this moment, etched in our genes? Warm water surrounds us, and we embrace each other like newborns, as if we've returned to our mother's amniotic fluid."
“…”
Xiao Yun was stunned for a moment, his body trembling slightly.
Yaris's words made his mind suddenly go blank, and he seemed to be trapped in a chaotic and disordered maze as if he was experiencing countless dreams at the same time.
He instinctively realized that there was something very important to him and Yaris right in front of him. Grasping that thing would solve all his troubles, but when he reached out to grab it, it slipped through his fingers like a mirage.
"…What's wrong with you?"
A gentle voice rang in his ears. Xiao Yun came back to his senses and said hesitantly, "I just suddenly fell into a strange feeling. I was very depressed and painful. My mind suddenly became confused... But now I can't remember what I remembered at that moment or why..."
"If you can't remember, don't force it."
Yaris put his arm around Xiao Yun's shoulders and said, "If what you think of at that moment is something you must remember, you will naturally remember it when the time comes, even though this may sound like nonsense and irresponsible."
"Thank you, Yaris. I feel much more at ease after hearing your words of comfort."
Xiao Yun then pulled a piece of silk cloth over Yaris and covered him with it: "It's warm here, but also very humid."
"It doesn't matter. With you, the sun, by my side, I can dry up any humidity."
Yaris said coquettishly - in a private setting without outsiders, he would fully reveal his inner childishness without having to maintain the illusion of nobility and maturity.
"Okay, okay."
Xiao Yun hugged him helplessly yet lovingly, preparing to leave the bathroom with him.
At this time, a light, sweet and slightly enchanting aroma wafts into your nose along with the water vapor.
Xiao Yun frowned: "Did they add spices to the water?"
In order to prevent the perfume ingredients from affecting the effect of acupuncture, Xiao Yun explicitly ordered that items used by Yaris - including clothes, shoes, socks, jewelry, hair oil, stationery, ink, etc. - must not be sprayed with perfume, and only flowers and fruits can be placed in the room as natural incense.
But now——
"They didn't add fragrance to the water, it's my scent you smell."
Yaris whispered, "For thousands of years, people have admired Bisarua because of history, believing that spraying Bisarua would bring them closer to the gods..."
"What is the truth?"
"After being chosen by the oracle, the high priest's body will change, emitting a fragrance from the inside out. The more they sweat, the stronger the fragrance becomes. To conceal the changes in their body, starting from the first generation, the high priests have claimed that the fragrance on their bodies comes from a perfume called Bisarua, and they have also concocted this perfume."
"Don't those who use Bisalua notice the difference between the smell of the Bisalua in their hands and the smell of the high priest?"
Xiao Yun asked.
He could clearly feel the subtle difference in the taste of Shui Bi Sha Lu Ya.
"I discovered it, but everyone knows that the same perfume will emit different smells when sprayed on different people because of individual differences. Moreover, in order to cover up the original smell, the high priest is in Japan."
"Bisha Luqing?"
"Do you feel that everything about the Holy Family is full of lies and deception?"
"I don't think lying is wrong in the Bisarua incident."
Xiao Yun said seriously, "Humans often deny things they don't understand out of ignorance."
"Will you deny me?"
"Won't."
Xiao Yun answered without hesitation.
…
…
After everything was done, it was already late at night. Xiao Yun lay on the soft bed and fell asleep quickly leaning against the pillow.
In his dream, he walked into a very long corridor. On one side of the corridor were regularly arranged exquisitely carved columns, and on the other side of the wall were niches one after another. In the niches, there were statues of heroes, or portraits of ancient emperors and paintings recording their great achievements.
The corridor was filled with thick white fog. He could barely see things within three meters around him. Anything further away was just a suspicious hazy mist.
What is this place?
(Why am I here?)
(Is it the Dragon Emperor's trap, or...)
Suddenly, a gray-black shadow ran through the thick fog in front of me.
Xiao Yun narrowed his eyes.
The thick fog made it difficult for him to see the gray shadow's appearance. He could only confirm that the gray shadow was wearing the robes of an imperial noble, his body was shriveled like a piece of paper, and he had something that looked like a crown on his head.
(…Where exactly is this place? What is that thing?)
(If only Yaris could enter my dreams!)
(He is proficient in magic and has a natural attraction to darkness. Perhaps he can—)
The moment the thought came to his mind, Xiao Yun felt that there were some extra things around him. When he realized it, his hand was already firmly grasping the slender human figure transformed from Yaris's consciousness.
"Yaris? How could you..."
"I don't know... I was half asleep when I suddenly heard you calling me, and then... I thought I woke up or had a nightmare, but it turned out I was just shifting from one dream to another..."
Yaris's consciousness looked around and asked curiously, "Is this your dream?"
"Yes, it was my dream, but I don't know where this place is."
Xiao Yun then described in detail to Yaris's consciousness the strange gray fog shadow he had just seen.
"...Gray fog shadows? But these pillars, statues, and paintings... look... look..."
Yaris's consciousness trembled slightly.
"Do you know where this is?"
"Memory Corridor, or at least something like it."
Yaris's consciousness said uncertainly.
"The Memory Corridor is a kind of memory maze, but it's so long and complex... Could it be that we have entered the Memory Corridor of the Palace of Light..."
"The memory corridor of the Palace of Light?"
"Yes, the Guangming Palace, as the political and cultural center of the Western Continent, has been rebuilt countless times over the past five thousand years, has changed owners countless times, and has weathered countless storms... Only a place with such a long history and memories like the Guangming Palace could have such a long and complex corridor... But..."
"If this is the memory corridor of the Palace of Light, then that gray fog—"
They both fell silent at the same time.
They thought of the same possibility.
Gray fog is Edmund?
still--
"...Perhaps we can only confirm the answer by meeting Gray Mist himself."
"Um."
…
…
The two walked along the almost endless corridor and soon found a half-open door on the wall covered with shrines.
"This door..."
"Come in—"
A weak voice, as if dying at any moment, came from behind the door.
Xiao Yun and Yaris stopped and considered whether to enter the room which was obviously a trap.
"This is my dream, and I am the master of it. No matter what awaits us behind the door, it will never completely disobey the orders of my master!"
"But what if..."
"Yaris——"
The weak voice sounded again, with desperate sobs.
"Is it you? Is that you outside the door? And Lucien! Are you guys outside?!"
(This guy—)
"—Help me! Come and help me! I admit that I'm an idiot! I didn't realize how stupid I was until now! But I... I just, just... If you don't want to help me, get out of here!"
The pitiful plea suddenly turned into a resentful curse.
"—Do you think I'm targeting you because I'm jealous of your beauty, hate your excellence, and can't stand you being more popular than me? No! I look down on you! Especially you! Yaris! You possess the world's most stunning beauty, yet you've never tasted true happiness in this world, nor do you know the bliss of being with someone who loves you day and night! What a waste! How pathetic!"
"...You seem to have everything, but you're actually a beggar. From a very young age, you learned to hide in corners and spy on your father and the happy family he formed with another woman. Time and again, in your imagination, you replaced that child surrounded by love with yourself."
"Yaris..."
Xiao Yun, worried that Yaris's consciousness could not withstand such stimulation, tightly grasped the consciousness's translucent hand.
"Don't worry about me. I won't take his crazy words to heart."
"—Crazy talk? Yaris, you actually said I was talking nonsense? You covered up a series of crimes for Concubine Anna, such as killing her husband and forcing his mistress to death. It's not because you still love that woman deep in your heart, but because you also plan to kill them! You incited Concubine Anna to kill those who stood in your way of getting Lucien, and then held Lucien's hand with an innocent look, taming him into a naive puppy who obeyed your orders!"
"You deliberately spared the life of Concubine Anna, allowing her to bully you. You used her harshness and arrogance to highlight your own purity and pity, so that everyone who saw her insult you would inevitably feel sympathy for you and promise to do anything for you!"
"But the gods saw through everything. To curb your dark nature, they stripped you of your health, forcing you to become a flower that can't survive without the care of others!"
"I admit that I'm inferior to you in many ways. I don't have your beauty, your intelligence, or your popularity. But I have all the love of my parents, I have a healthy body, and my wife and mistresses are deeply in love with me, begging for my affection day and night. They say that every time they are held in my arms, they are intoxicated and feel lucky to be a woman!"
"He also praised me. He said I was an excellent rootstock, capable of accommodating all kinds of things from other worlds. He used my body as a vessel to cultivate an unprecedented and great monarch! Yes, I am about to die, but I am not afraid at all. My soul will merge with the new life I have conceived, and I will rule the Western Continent forever!"
"My only worry is the future... Even the greatest emperor needs a queen... If you could stay by His side, He would no longer be lonely. He would be complete, truly eternal... Ah, this is the greatest meaning of your existence in this world. You, like me, were born for Him... Wonderful! Everything is the best arrangement! Wonderful!"
"Edmund! Do you know what you are talking about?"
Xiao Yun shouted in intolerance.
"Of course I do."
A hoarse and eerie laugh came from behind the door.
"Please entrust everything to the soon-to-be-born Crown Prince! He is the most perfect being in this world! He is more perfect than anyone else in the world! He is a brand new species born from the formal fusion of two completely different civilizations! I am deeply honored to be the soil that nurtures this new species!"
Edmund's voice gradually became hoarse and mechanical, like a clockwork puppet.
"I want to go in and check on Edmund's condition... These words are clearly not genuine; it seems more like he's being manipulated by Him..."
"but--"
Yaris's consciousness grabbed Xiao Yun tightly: "I'm afraid there's danger inside."
"It doesn't matter. This is my dream and I am the master of my dream."
"I'll go in with you."
"Um."
With this interjection, the door opened automatically, and the two slowly walked into the empty room. They saw a haggard man sitting on a huge chair. He was wearing a purple robe and a golden crown on his head. His face was full of wrinkles, his eyelids were drooping, and he was extremely thin.
"You finally entered the room."
Edmund raised his eyelids. His eyes were lightless, filled with exhaustion, decadence and turbidity.
"Forgive me for saying so many crazy words to lure you into the room, but this is my only chance to save myself. I don't want to die, and I need your help..."
He looked at the two of them pleadingly, his thin cheeks and sunken eyes making his face look like a skull wrapped in hair.
"During this time, He has been locking me in the mirror dimension, using my body to cultivate a monster. That horrible thing is constantly sucking my life away... Please, save me..."
"Explain the situation clearly first."
Xiao Yun interrupted Edmund's plea.
Edmund choked and began to speak in a vicious and sarcastic voice that seemed to come from hell.
"Honestly, I don't hate the Dragon Emperor. Even though he approached me to get you, and even though he's always looked down on me, I still don't hate him. Over the years of working with him, he's taught me a lot, sometimes magical knowledge, sometimes political tactics, and sometimes just injecting power directly into my body. I'm very grateful to him. Under his guidance, I, who had long been looked down upon by my subjects, have finally felt power and dignity."
"Why do you look so surprised? You didn't think I was deceived by the Dragon Emperor? No, He didn't deceive me. He told me His identity and purpose the first time He appeared before me! I volunteered. I willingly sold myself and my country to Him for power!"
Edmund said smugly.
"Don't be so quick to blame me. If you were ever in my predicament, you would definitely make the same choice! He is indeed evil and cruel, but He did save me! Thanks to Him, I, a powerless and helpless me, was able to escape the fate of having your brothers and the nobles allied to strip me of my power!"
"Later, He implanted that thing into my body. At first, it wasn't ferocious. It simply sucked the life out of women through my body, occasionally eating a few noisy children... During that time, the three of us got along very well, until... that thing saw you for the first time!"
"When did it happen?"
Xiao Yun asked.
“The one where we held a remote dialogue to discuss the disaster in Dharavia and the post-disaster reconstruction.”
After saying that, Edmund began to complain.
"From then on, that thing started to hate me. It kept telling me how beautiful and delicious Uncle Jaris was, like a soft, fragrant cake on a plate. Uncle Lucien was hard and hot, but he was also beautiful and delicious, but it would take a very, very long time to digest completely... Unfortunately, they were both difficult to catch, so it had to make do with eating Father first... Oh my God! It wanted to eat me! It actually wanted to eat me!"
At this point, Edmund scratched his hair in pain.
"I knew it was a monster. I knew it was a monster from the beginning. It feeds on human energy, spirit, and even flesh and blood. But I didn't expect it to devour even me, the one who gave birth to it! How stupid I am! I am so stupid!"
"So you're asking us for help not because you know you're wrong, but because you know you're going to die?"
Xiao Yun said somewhat coldly.
"...You can judge my actions however you want, but if you want to defeat Him and that unborn monster, my cooperation is indispensable."
Edmund looked up and told Xiao Yun and Yaris grimly, "He is not here for the time being."
“…”
Xiao Yun and Yaris's consciousness said nothing.
Edmund continued as he looked at the two men who were contemplating this information which meant so much to them.
"He would leave the Eastern Continent periodically and return to his True Human Empire—everything in that country was under his absolute control. However, if his consciousness was away from his main body for too long, his strength would inevitably weaken. He would need to return to his main body regularly to replenish his energy and regain his strength."
"Another reason is that the thing within me is about to mature and be born. It is very greedy and dangerous. I must greet its birth in my most powerful state to prevent it from escaping my control."
"...Now is the best time. The monster inside me hasn't been born yet. It will take at least five days for Him to come back."
Edmund murmured emphatically.
"If I were you, I would definitely jump at this opportunity!"
"But why do you want us to believe that what you are saying now is true and not a conspiracy?"
Xiao Yun asked back.
"Yeah, why should I let you believe me?"
Edmund laughed at himself. "I've deceived and plotted against you time and time again, and now even more so... But I'm also truly afraid of death! I really don't want to die! More than gaining power, I'm more afraid of being torn apart and eaten by that monster! I want to live. At least, what I want most right now is to live!"
"In order to survive, I took advantage of His temporary absence and used the power He gave me to sneak into your dreams and beg you... Everything I do now is to survive..."
“…”
Xiao Yun looked at Yaris's consciousness: "Can we trust him?"
"I have no idea……"
Yaris's consciousness spoke frankly.
"Please! Believe me for the last time! Believe that I'm a coward who just wants to live! Idiot!"
Edmund folded his hands and looked at the two of them pleadingly.
"I'm not a good person, but I really, really want to live! As long as I can survive, I don't even mind losing the throne!"
“…”
An indescribable feeling surged in Xiao Yun's heart.
Yaris's consciousness suddenly asked, "Is Su Wei'erte Yang one of the victims, or is she your accomplice?"
"That woman..."
Edmund gnashed his teeth. "How could that Maleficent be a victim?! According to Her plan, after the monster was born as the crown prince, they first announced that I was seriously ill. At the same time, Maleficent used dark magic to accelerate its growth, allowing it to grow into a twenty-year-old young man in just one month. Finally, the monster replaced me on the throne, becoming the first and last emperor of this country."
"So there is no actual Crown Prince?"
"Yes."
"Since there is no Crown Prince, why is the Finance Minister asked to prepare the budget documents for the Crown Prince's birth celebrations?"
Xiao Yun was surprised.
"It was two months ago that you asked the Minister of Finance to prepare the budget for the Crown Prince's birth celebrations. At that time, you had not yet borrowed Queen Anna's living room to meet with Him, nor had you been invited into the mirror dimension."
Edmund showed a pitiful expression. "During the days He was away, I, acting as the Emperor, asked the Minister of Finance to prepare the budget documents for the Crown Prince's birth celebrations. I know Ulysses is one of your men. Once he discovers this strange document, he will report it to you. Then, if you can track it down, I'll have a chance to save my life."
"...Unfortunately, the development of the matter was completely contrary to my expectations. Fortunately, He wanted to use my identity to rule this country, and no matter how dissatisfied he was, he had to cover up my lies, which indirectly led to your investigation of the Black Witch Su Weilt."
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