Chapter 16
After doing all this, Rongti never thought about leaving.
He waited until the blood coagulated, until the bloodstains turned black, until the imperial guards finally broke in and surrounded him tightly.
The emperor's tragic death scene was displayed on the bed, which was horrifying to watch.
The soldiers only dared to point their spears at Rongti and did not dare to take a step forward.
Rongti sat upright in a pool of blood, seemingly awakened by the noises around him. He struggled to stand up, his hollow eyes devoid of any expression.
He looked like he had been crying and his back was hunched.
He walked forward slowly, but after only a few steps he fell down again. Rongti seemed tired, too tired.
In the end, he had no choice but to grab the spear blade in front of him and try to stab it into his chest.
The soldiers stopped him and then locked his hands and feet.
The seven stars in the sky have fallen, and the fate of the seven stars of Ziwei is no longer there.
·
Rongti was covered with a black cloth, and a small team of imperial guards marched quickly in the night.
Rong Ti thought he was going to be executed.
When he finally settled down, someone lifted the cloth, but the surroundings were not as desolate as he had imagined.
At least the charcoal fire in the stove was still burning, and the bamboo curtain hung down, blocking the view in front.
Rongti heard the soldier who was guarding him announce, "Madam, the prisoner has arrived."
A piece of plain skirt appeared behind the bamboo curtain.
"How is your Majesty?"
The soldier suddenly said in a deep voice: "I deserve death."
The figure behind the bamboo curtain was silent for a moment, and then Rongti heard a calm voice: "It's his blessing."
"What should we do next?" Wu Wei asked the person behind the bamboo curtain.
"It can't be concealed. Hold a state funeral."
"As for him..."
Rongti felt a surge of energy suddenly rushing towards him.
"The arrival of the Seven Stars of Ziwei may bring disaster. His karma is too deep, and his life is coming to an end."
"General, you can do whatever you want."
"Yes, my lady."
"It's time to choose a new emperor."
·
"Grandma, where are we going?" The childish voice seemed a little timid about the gloomy tunnel.
"Little Yuanbao, let's follow us, and we won't be cold or hungry anymore."
The little boy named Xiao Yuanbao held the old woman's hand tightly and asked casually: "Why did they take us in?"
"Maybe it's because of the kindness of the Bodhisattva. We, Little Yuanbao, must never forget the great kindness of the master, understand?"
"I know. When Yuanbao grows up, I will definitely repay the master." The boy's mood became cheerful. The group walked into the tunnel wrapped in tattered cotton. Occasionally, there was the sound of dripping water. The water droplets fell on the top of little Yuanbao's head, causing his head to shrink.
There was a fishy smell in the air. The consul in front was leading the way, but he stopped and just smiled respectfully, asking everyone to continue forward and he would take everyone here.
Everyone thanked them and marched across a wooden bridge. It was pitch dark under the bridge and they couldn't see anything.
So the fishy smell became stronger.
Little Yuanbao frowned and looked at the old lady, wanting to say something but stopping himself. In the end, he didn't say anything.
At the end, a rock wall appeared, stained with blood.
There was a big pot on the fire, cooking non-stop.
The white-haired old woman stirred the medicine in the iron pot and glanced back at the people crossing the bridge. Her eyes narrowed into slits, and a smile spread across her wrinkled face.
Little Yuanbao hid behind the old woman and saw a long tail quickly rolled up under the old woman's skirt.
The old woman asked everyone to sit down.
Little Yuanbao didn't want to get close and whispered that he was afraid.
After all, some people went there, sat on the ground or on stone blocks, waiting to be assigned.
The soup was smelling worse and worse, and someone couldn't help but ask, what was it made of?
The old woman smiled but said nothing, but she stirred the iron rod in her hand more and more vigorously.
The surroundings suddenly became hot for no apparent reason.
People who were covered with thick cotton wool took it off, wiped their sweat, and fanned themselves.
Xiao Yuanbao looked around and suddenly he saw a woman.
——Standing on the rock wall, Baisha’s face and unusually tall figure were just like the ghosts that the old lady had described.
Little Yuanbao tugged at the old woman's sleeve and pointed at the woman on the rock wall. "Grandma, there's a monster over there. Yuanbao is scared..."
The old man looked in the direction of Xiao Yuanbao's finger, put his palm on Xiao Yuanbao's head, and said softly to Xiao Yuanbao: "There is no monster. It's just a stone. Yuanbao, don't be afraid."
"Really..." Little Yuanbao looked up carefully from the side, and sure enough, the woman was gone, and there was no grass growing on the bare rocks.
There was a sudden loud noise behind me.
Everyone turned around and found that the bridge they had just crossed was broken and sank into the abyss.
Some people looked panicked, and some tried to ask the old woman what happened.
The next moment, countless poisonous insects crawled out from the cracks in the rocks. A noisy sound came from above the bare rock wall, and black rats quickly fell from the rock wall like a waterfall.
The women screamed and the men were torn apart by poisonous insects and black rats.
The woman pounding the pot stopped what she was doing and stood aside, watching the screams of pain. The rat, the first to fall to the ground, was crushed into a pulp, blood and flesh flying everywhere, and it squeaked and screamed.
Some people ran to the edge, were pushed and squeezed, desperately trying to survive.
Little Yuanbao was held in the old woman's arms, with one of his eyes looking out through the gap.
He saw the old woman beside the pot pick up a piece of skull from the pot and chew it greedily, laughing as she ate, and watched the man whose ear was bitten off by a rat fall to the ground.
The weight on my body suddenly became lighter.
The arms that were around him dropped.
A hole appeared in front of Xiao Yuanbao, a bloody hole.
The old woman fell down and crushed Xiao Yuanbao, and a whole piece of flesh on her back disappeared.
A dark area appeared under the bridge.
Segment after segment of the huge body twisted and crawled out from under the bridge. The heads covered with human masks tilted back strangely, revealing their jaws and wriggling mouthparts.
It's eating people.
Layers of blood oozed out from the mouth and soaked the human skin, which was extremely terrifying.
Little Yuanbao burst into tears, his whole body twitching unnaturally.
The body that was pressing down on him was flipped up by the walking legs, and the human face that was leaning back recovered. The body composed of multiple segments curled up in circles and surrounded Xiao Yuanbao.
The man's face was covered in blood, but it looked exactly like the man that Xiao Yuanbao had seen on the rock wall.
The human face spoke: "Oh, there's a little baby here."
The old woman over there rushed over and called the mouse to pounce on Yuanbao after hearing it.
"Wait a minute." The human-faced figure said, and then its huge body twisted and slowly crawled towards Xiao Yuanbao.
She used her feet to tear open little Yuanbao's clothes, took a look, and giggled: "It's still a boy."
"I think these people are enough for the Longevity Pill. I'll keep this little kid as a companion."
She blew a breath at Xiao Yuanbao, and the person who had just been crying and shouting became silent in the blink of an eye. He no longer twitched in fear and fell into a deep sleep.
"Sowlet." The human face looked at the old woman beside him, "Eat it, but you have to leave some minced meat for making medicine. Don't make me rush you."
"Yes, Master." The old woman bowed and waved her hand, and the poisonous insects and black rats vanished. The broken wooden bridge reconnected at both ends. The walking legs beneath the human face picked up the little boy and crawled down to the valley floor, gradually becoming silent.
·
"I'm so tired. I can't do this job anymore! Why do you just know how to torture us?" Xiuhua threw the linen cloth away, sat down on the wooden board with her legs swinging, her face full of complaints.
Bi Yue, who was diligently wiping the wooden board beside her, turned around to look at her and replied coldly, "Then I'll go and tell the master later."
"You little tail! All you know is to tell on the Master!" Xiuhua was furious and pounded the floor hard. Her expression was distorted by the pain, but she continued, "We are not her maids. Why should she have the final say?"
"Be careful, Master will ask you to dance again." Biyue threw the linen cloth to Xiuhua's hand and said, "Wipe it off quickly. Master said he will take us to eat steamed cakes later."
"Hmph, Gu Luoyan has a little tail, she looks like a human..." Xiuhua said, her voice getting smaller and smaller. She picked up the linen cloth in dissatisfaction and rubbed it again, muttering: "One day I will surpass her, just wait and see!"
"I'm waiting." Gu Luoyan's voice suddenly appeared in front of him.
Xiuhua was startled and looked up at Gu Luoyan, who had appeared out of nowhere. Her face changed. Biyue laughed, called out "Master" and pounced on Gu Luoyan, then turned sideways to show her the floor she had mopped, her face full of pride.
"You'll reward us Biyue with a basket of steamed cakes later." Gu Luoyan touched the little girl's head, then looked at Xiuhua who was still crawling on the ground and joked, "Are you being lazy again?"
Bi Yue grabbed Gu Luoyan's hand and nodded vigorously, complaining, "She even spoke ill of the adults."
"You!" Xiuhua glared at Biyue fiercely. Since Gu Luoyan was there, she didn't dare to get angry and fell silent again.
"Then punish Xiuhua by giving her only half a basket of steamed cakes." Gu Luoyan said with a smile.
"Hmph, half a basket is just half a basket, who cares..." She smacked her lips and muttered to herself.
"It's filled with osmanthus and jujube paste."
Gu Luoyan swallowed her saliva when she saw Xiuhua.
She walked over and pulled up Xiuhua, holding one by each hand, and said to them, "That's it for today. Let's go and eat some steamed cakes."
·
When I walked back to Taohuawu and before I even went up to the small building, the fragrant aroma had already filled the yard.
The two girls pulled Gu Luoyan and couldn't wait to go upstairs.
As soon as they opened the door, Qiu Niang was arranging steamed cakes and brewing tea. When she saw the three people, she greeted them happily.
Nian Qing stood by the table, staring at Gu Luoyan with burning intent. From the moment he entered the room, he watched her comfort the two children before he found the opportunity to get closer to Gu Luoyan.
"Nianqing." Gu Luoyan called her.
"Don't you want to try a piece? It's steamed by Li Shisan himself, so it should be good." Nian Qing pointed at the steamed cake on the table.
"I'm not hungry, but you are. Go and try it."
"It smells like greasy fruits and flowers. I don't like it. I really don't understand why you people eat this kind of thing." Nian Qing whispered close to Gu Luoyan.
Gu Luoyan teased her: "Then what do you like?"
Nian Qing stared at Gu Luoyan intently, not saying anything for a moment. He blinked a few times before saying, "Chicken, duck, fish, beef, mutton, lungs, and hearts."
"Pfft," Gu Luoyan leaned over to Nian Qing's ear and whispered, "I thought you liked me."
It seemed as if his fur exploded. Nian Qing shook his body and patiently prevented his tail from showing. In the end, he only heard Gu Luoyan laugh, and his heart in his chest was heaving violently and stopped beating.
The person in front of him turned to one side the next moment, his brows furrowed.
Nian Qing took three steps over to support her, and only then did he notice that there was a small raised piece of skin moving on the back of her right hand.
The woman actually withdrew her hand, clearly not wanting her to see.
"It's okay... I'll be fine after a while." Gu Luoyan said.
"You!" Nian Qing's expression changed, and his tone became gloomy: "You promised not to lie to me."
Nian Qing forcefully pulled Gu Luoyan's hand over and carefully examined the ridges on the back of her hand. Gu Luoyan felt the palm holding her hand suddenly turn cold.
"Who did it?"
Gu Luoyan did not answer.
"You're like this again." Nian Qing's face showed irritation, her pupils were changing, and the blood in her body turned cold.
Gu Luoyan looked at Nian Qing, and her brows, which were wrinkled due to pain, finally relaxed.
A hint of tears appeared in her usually calm eyes, and she didn't know what to say.
In the end, he just slowly embraced Nian Qing, leaned against her shoulder, and whispered softly: "You can't beat 'him'... I'm fine."
"Gu Luoyan!" Nian Qing hugged her tightly, almost gritting his teeth and saying, "Tell me, no matter who it is, I'm here."
Tears dripped down Nian Qing's neck. She didn't hear another reply. Gu Luoyan finally said, "It's time to let go. Someone is watching. His eyes are everywhere."
Gu Luoyan got up from Nian Qing's embrace and struggled to break free from her. Before she could completely push away, Nian Qing grabbed her wrist. She saw Nian Qing's eyes turn into a pool of black water, and she heard her say, "Let's see who dares!"
Then everyone in the room suddenly collapsed, and Xiuhua Biyue didn't even have time to put down the steamed cake in her hand.
Only Gu Luoyan stood beside Nianqing intact, her wrist held captive by her, unable to move. Her wrist had turned purple and was painful from the grip.
"Okay, no one will look at you anymore." Nian Qing said.
"What's outside?" said Gu Luoyan.
"If I don't speak, they will sleep forever." Nian Qing turned to Gu Luoyan and said, "I am a demon. Whether I can defeat them or not is up to me."
"Who is it?"
Gu Luoyan hesitated, her hands trembling slightly.
The red-leafed flowers on the table were blooming brightly. Gu Luoyan looked at them, her silence was more powerful than words.
Li Shisan always told her about the taboos in the academy, so Nian Qing must have known about them.
Nianqing said, "I understand."
The next moment, his eyes returned to normal. Everyone in the room woke up, not quite understanding what was going on. They only saw Nian Qing taking a piece of steamed cake and eating it expressionlessly.
It is tasteless, yet has a mixture of flavors.
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