pool
Ah Shi was supposed to come with me to the pool that night, but I was afraid that my bare bones would scare him, so I didn't let him come.
I went to the palace pool alone, wearing a large cloak. After checking that no one was around, I hid my cloak behind a rockery and jumped into the water.
The water was murky, covered with seaweed and rocks, and my skeletal frame was quite light, so I kept floating to the surface. No matter how much I struggled, I just kept floating. The only thing I could do was turn over so that my head was facing down to look.
Just as they were getting into the search, they heard a voice: "Why is there a cloak here?"
Oh no! I quickly thrashed around trying to sink, but instead made a noise that attracted attention. The person exclaimed, "What's that skeleton on the water?"
I quickly stopped what I was doing and tried to put a soulless skeleton inside.
That person was actually quite responsible; it didn't take long for them to find someone to row over and pull me onto the boat.
The two men casually tossed me onto the corner of the boat. I saw the younger one say to the older one, "Brother Tiger, why are there bones in the palace's pool?"
The guy called Tiger snorted, "What's so special about this? The palace is a place that eats people alive. She still has some bones left, she should be grateful."
"Then what do we do?"
Tiger replied, "Sigh, she's pitiful. I think she's only twenty years old. Let's find a place to bury her."
"Oh, but the palace is so big, where would be a good place to bury him?"
"These unclaimed corpses were buried in the garden before, but I never expected that the Imperial Concubine would take a fancy to those bright flowers after entering the palace and even build a Hall of Light. Now, I don't know where to bury them anymore, so I might as well just throw them in a dry well."
A dry well? Dry wells are usually quite high; with my bare bones right now, I probably couldn't climb up...
But if I move, those two will be terrified... Oh well, let them be. Maybe I'll even run into some little devils that we don't usually see.
The two men carried me towards the edge of the pool, but we were too conspicuous. We hadn't gone far when we were stopped by the patrolling imperial guards. The guards asked with displeasure, "What are you doing?"
The more experienced Tiger quickly put me down and said, "We are the craftsmen of the pool. We were patrolling tonight when we found a skeleton floating on the surface of the water. We just pulled it out and plan to find a place to bury it."
The imperial guard's expression hardened: "Bones have suddenly appeared in the palace. Why weren't you informed?"
"Huh?" Tiger shook his head: "This...this is pretty normal, isn't it? Why do we need to report this?"
"Of course, we don't know if this skeleton was murdered. There are still scars on her shoulder. You can leave it to me. I'll take the skeleton back to have someone examine it."
Examine? What's there to examine? Oh right, the marks on the shoulders of that senior's skeleton were quite deep. Although they had faded considerably after being refined by the supervisor, you could still see some traces if you looked closely...
This is getting more and more complicated... I can't move or speak now, so I plan to go back with the Imperial Guards. If necessary, I can sneak back to the Imperial Observatory when he's not looking.
After the soldier carried me back and handed me over to the coroner from the Imperial Guards, the coroner opened his eyes wide and immediately left with the Imperial Guard, closing the door tightly behind him.
After a long while, the door reopened, and Muli entered.
He walked in alone, carefully examined my shoulder, then looked at my chest. After a long while, he casually took out a small dagger and tried to pry open my ribs, but my frame was too strong and he couldn't pry them open at all. He then raised the dagger and stabbed me. I quickly dodged, rolled off the bed, and looked at him: "What are you doing?"
He was startled by me, and when he heard my voice, his face was still pale, but he had calmed down. He turned his head and asked me in confusion, "Xu Yi?"
"It's me."
"Oh," he breathed a sigh of relief, then looked me up and down again. "Your Imperial Observatory's magic is truly amazing. You can actually transform into this form, and it's so lifelike."
“I’m just a skeleton anyway, never mind…” I waved my hand: “If you think it’s magic, then it’s magic.”
He walked around the bed and came over to me, asking, "Did I hurt you just now?"
"No, my bones are very hard."
“Then…” he pointed to my chest: “What’s that?”
Remembering his earlier attempt to pry open my ribs, I quickly covered my chest: "That's my heart, it's my heart."
"Oh, uh..." His face flushed for a moment: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."
Perhaps someone outside overheard our conversation, for the coroner's voice came from outside: "Commander Mu?"
Oh? There's someone else outside? Mu Li took off his clothes and draped them over me, covering me up quite a bit before whispering, "I'll take you back to the Imperial Observatory."
"Mmm," I nodded, and the next second Mu Li picked me up. Just as I was feeling uneasy, Mu Li spoke up: "Don't move, you're just bones now."
Yes, I am now an inanimate object, so I naturally let my hands and feet hang down, pretending to be an inanimate object.
Muli carried me out of the house and said to the coroner, "I'm taking her to the Imperial Observatory. You don't need to worry about this matter."
The coroner and soldiers standing outside saluted in unison and replied, "Yes, sir."
I walked out of the Imperial Guard without any trouble, jumped down from his arms, and thanked him, saying, "Thank you."
"You're welcome," he shook his head. "What are you doing at the pool?"
"Oh, I found a very beautiful fish in the pond during the day, so I thought I'd go see it again in the evening."
"So, have you found the fish?"
“No,” I shook my head, “I was just looking for it when someone found it and pulled it out.”
"Then I'll come with you?"
"No need. This is just my personal hobby. Once the Imperial Guard gets involved, the nature of the matter changes."
"Okay, then be careful. If you need any help from me, just come to me."
“Hmm,” I nodded, “I should be going to the pool these days. If I encounter or hear any bones at night, please help me check if it’s me and bring me back to the Imperial Observatory.”
“No problem.” Muli nodded.
We soon returned to the Imperial Observatory. To my surprise, Ah Shi was still waiting for me. As soon as he saw me, he came up to me and asked, "Auntie, how did it go? Did you find it?"
"No, I was floating on the surface the whole time. Eventually, someone pulled me up, but they didn't find anything."
"Oh," A-Shi nodded, looking at Mu Li: "Then what's this, Commander Mu?"
“Oh,” I replied, “the people who were salvaging the body ran into the Imperial Guard, who took me back, so that’s how it is.”
Ah Shi scratched his head: "Okay, I knew I should keep you company."
"No, the pool is close to the imperial court. It's not appropriate for either the Imperial Guards or the Imperial Observatory to go there in a big way. Besides, it's not a big deal. I'll just go find it myself tonight!" After saying that, I thanked Muli: "Thank you for bringing me back. It's very late. Go back and rest early. You should too, A-Shi."
“Alright,” A-Shi bowed to me and Mu-Li, “then I’ll go and rest first.”
After A-Shi left, Mu Li smiled at me and said, "Okay, I'll be going now too."
After the two left, I went back to my room to rest, planning to try tying some stones to myself tomorrow.
For several days in a row, I searched for the little loach in the pool at night. After several days of repeated testing, I found that the weight of the stones I tied to my body was just enough to make me sink to the bottom of the water without affecting my movement underwater.
The pool was too big, and there were many stones and debris at the bottom, as well as seaweed and algae, so visibility was not very high. I could only search slowly, and I still didn't find anything today.
I was untying the rope to surface when I saw two people having a tryst inside the artificial hill next to me. Just as the man was about to turn around, I quickly lay down on the ground and didn't move, but I still startled him: "Ah... what's that?"
The woman was in high spirits when she was suddenly stopped. She looked dissatisfied, but when she turned around and saw me, she fainted...
The man completely ignored the woman, pulled up his pants, and ran away...
I went over and saw the woman, disheveled and unconscious. I kindly tidied her clothes and, after going outside, found Mu Li and told him the woman's location before returning to the Imperial Observatory.
Unexpectedly, rumors spread the very next day that there was something unclean at the pool... When His Majesty's decree reached the Imperial Observatory, I raised an eyebrow. This was, in a sense, an opportunity given by Heaven.
Then, he and the other members of the Imperial Observatory pretended to surround the pool, and then openly went into the water to look for loaches.
As soon as I got into the water, I heard two "chirp" sounds. I quickly followed the direction of the sound and saw the little loach. Just as I reached out to grab it, I realized that something at the bottom of the pool had been startled awake...
My scalp tightened, and I quickly turned my head to look. First, I saw a fluffy, coral-like circle. As the mud and algae covering it fell away, I realized it was a pair of antlers… Looking down, I saw its eyes—bright, bell-shaped eyes, brimming with a domineering spirit… As it raised its head, the movement slowly spread to its body, swaying and bending until it disappeared from sight… I couldn't even determine its length… Clumps of mud that had covered its body slid off, revealing shimmering golden scales. When its eyes locked onto me, I clearly felt my body being immobilized…
Its head was enormous. It raised its upper body and slowly approached. I watched as its massive face drew closer, its whiskers and mane billowing back due to the water's buoyancy and forward momentum, incredibly graceful and fluid… As it drew nearer, the pressure on my body grew heavier and heavier… Finally, it stopped an inch in front of me, twitched its nose as if confirming something, and after a long while, it turned back and lay back down at the bottom of the pool. The floating algae and mud, no longer stirred, fell away, covering its massive body once more and disappearing into the pool's depths…
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
