Chapter 86 Dongtang and Dongli
The strange woman looked at Dong Tang, blinked, and neither said yes nor no. She simply nodded very lightly, like a leaf brushing against a branch in a gentle breeze.
The sky was already dark and inky, and Dongtang almost missed it, but luckily she caught a glimpse of the woman's swaying hair.
Dong Tang laughed, then put a finger to her lips in a shushing gesture. She slowly backed away, bent over, and curled up to about half her height, squeezing her body into the small hole.
Her movements were swift. The instant she completely withdrew from the East Palace, Dong Tang's expression suddenly became relaxed, her breathing became smooth, and her whole body stretched out. She seemed to feel light and about to fly into the sky.
This time, however, she couldn't be impatient. Dongtang bent down, reached out her hand towards the cave entrance again, and whispered.
"Come."
That hand didn't hover in the air for long. The rough but warm fingertips of another hand carefully touched Dongtang's palm, but then suddenly withdrew. Dongtang reacted quickly, grabbing the woman's wrist and forcefully pulling the timid clam out. She urged.
"hurry up."
Otherwise, we'll be missing the exorcism procession from Lin Su City tonight.
Because Dongtang was still young and short, while the woman was sturdy, she could only crawl on the ground, inching her way out, which took considerable effort.
When she came out of the cave, she was covered in mud, her face smeared with mud, but her eyes suddenly lit up as she looked at Dongtang and grinned foolishly.
Dongtang held the mute woman's hand tightly and led her skillfully through the palace guards, escaping the imperial city like two birds on New Year's Eve.
...
This was the liveliest time in the entire city of Linsu. The bright moon hung high in the sky, and people in each neighborhood lit torches in their homes, illuminating the streets and sky as if it were daytime.
Shoulder to shoulder, foot to foot. Smiles spread from one face to another, children sat on adults' shoulders, laughing innocently, lovers walked hand in hand, friends raised their glasses. Every moment of this night was more precious than gold.
"Ah! I made it! I made it!"
Dongtang dragged the woman along, running wildly through the streets and alleys. He didn't have time to take in the bustling city and headed straight for the central avenue of Linsu City, the most crowded place.
Have you ever seen an exorcism ritual?
There were too many people and too much noise, so Dongtang could only shout loudly at the woman.
The woman shook her head blankly.
"That won't do, there are too many people, we need to go to the front."
Dongtang's eyes darted around, and she clenched her fists very seriously. Then she stretched out her small arms and hands, trying to push away the adult in front of her, while muttering something under her breath.
"Make way, leave me a front seat... My friend has never seen an exorcist before..."
However, she was too small and her voice wasn't loud, so she was easily pushed around by the crowd and couldn't keep up despite her efforts. Just as Dong Tang was at her wit's end...
Dongtang lifted off the ground and landed steadily on the woman's broad shoulders. Instantly, her vision shifted from legs and feet to the tops of people's heads and the procession of people performing exorcisms through the streets.
For the first time, she saw each of the blue-faced, fanged demon masks so clearly. Some Nuo women danced wildly, while others played musical instruments and sang. At the very front of the procession, their entire bodies were like a soft silk ribbon, swaying in various shapes.
"No, no, I don't really want to see it. I've already seen it. I just want you to see it."
Dong Tang quickly closed his eyes and looked down at the woman.
It was unclear whether it was her curved eyebrows or her expression that betrayed her. The woman smiled and nodded, still placing her on her shoulder, but using her taller stature, she squeezed to the front.
The woman pointed to herself, then to Dongtang.
"You mean we can see all of this?" Dongtang asked.
The woman nodded, raised her hand, and Dongtang grasped her fingers, gently shaking them.
The exorcism procession continued forward, intending to walk the entire street, to drive away all the evil spirits, to cleanse the souls of the misfortunes accumulated over the past year, and to allow everyone to forget the pain of the past year.
The woman ran alongside the exorcism procession, even bending down so that Dongtang could touch the Nuo woman's mask and be the first to receive the flower thrown by the Nuo woman, supposedly to bring good fortune.
It was a wild celebration. Dongtang had forgotten what they had done. In any case, as soon as the exorcism procession ended, firecrackers started popping and crackling again.
The woman held the bamboo tube that Dongtang had just given her in her hand. She followed Dongtang across the stone bridge and watched as he threw the bamboo tube into a bonfire. Instantly, the bamboo tube cracked open with a loud bang.
"See, that's how you play it."
Dongtang smiled and tugged at the woman's clothes, urging her to try it on too. The woman's face was flushed red by the campfire, and a thin layer of mist rose from the tip of her nose as she ran.
The woman stood far from the campfire and tossed the bamboo tube in. Suddenly, a loud crackling sound rang out from the fire, and the flying sparks startled her. She cried out and hid behind Dongtang.
Amidst the rising and falling sounds of firecrackers, Dongtang's triumphant smile mingled with the noise. But the woman was never angry; she simply smiled and followed her past one stall after another, watching the girl take out copper coins and buy two portions of pastries, placing them in her hands.
In just two hours, it felt like a dream that lasted a lifetime.
...
As night deepened, the people on the street gradually dispersed. The revelry drove away the evil spirits, and the person also returned to their family, keeping watch by candlelight all night long.
Dongtang led the woman back to the place where they first played with firecrackers, and they stood in front of the bonfire.
In previous years, Dongtang would always feel lonely at this time. She would sit alone by a bonfire that had not yet been lit, waiting quietly until the first light of dawn appeared on the horizon, when she would return to the Eastern Palace, which was filled with the smell of myrrh.
Thinking of this, Dongtang suddenly shuddered. She knew she could escape the Eastern Palace, even the Imperial City, but she could never leave Lin Su City. Her soul seemed to be trapped here forever; she didn't know what lay outside Lin Su City, and she didn't know if she could survive if she went out.
Was it because she wasn't brave enough? Dongtang sniffed her nose, which was red from the cold, and moved closer to the campfire.
Suddenly, someone gently patted her shoulder. Dong Tang was startled, only then realizing that she wasn't alone this year. The woman sat down beside her, grinned at her, reached into her pocket, and held out the bag to Dong Tang.
Lying in the woman's palm were two rough jade carp pendants, with thin red strings attached.
Perhaps it's not even a jade pendant, just a slightly more lustrous stone.
"When..." Dongtang picked up a smaller one in surprise, then suddenly realized.
"Ah, I get it. Did you secretly buy it when I was shopping?"
The woman nodded and hung another, larger carp on her left waist.
Dongtang warmed the carp in his palm, hung it on the right side of his waist, looked at the woman, and mustered up the courage to ask a question.
"You...you can't speak, can you?"
The woman nodded.
"Then what's your name?" Dongtang pressed.
The woman shook her head again. She reached out and wrote two words on the thin layer of snow on the ground.
"Dumb."
This is hardly a name. Dong Tang erased the two characters and began to rack his brains, resting his chin on his hand.
Perhaps it was good luck, but just then the first light of dawn appeared on the horizon, and the white light of the round sun instantly eclipsed the brightness of the campfire and dispelled the chill. But Dongtang felt a little lonely. She knew the goodness of dawn, but she was still attached to the night that had just passed.
Suddenly, Dongtang's eyes lit up, and she said.
"How about this, you can call yourself Dong Li, and I'll teach you how to write it."
Dongtang wrote stroke by stroke with her finger on the snow-covered ground, while talking to herself.
"It's the dawn..."
...
It seems that's all there is to it.
After that, Dongtang and Dongli would only exchange a smile when they met at the East Palace. They wouldn't say much, but would quickly lower their heads and go back to their own business.
Dongtang noticed that her body was gradually growing bigger, but she was becoming more and more timid. She no longer dared to crawl out of that hole, dared not look for Dongli in secret, and even her tacit smiles became extremely rare.
Therefore, their relationship could hardly be described as familiar, much less to the point of sacrificing one's life for the other. Dong Tang hugged her knees tightly, burying her face in her arms, her fingers gripping her sleeves tightly.
She couldn't understand why, after all these years, Dong Li was still so foolish. His Highness the Crown Prince had never intended for her to survive the winter, drawing her blood daily, intending to use other servants after she died…
Before Dongtang could continue thinking, a flicker of candlelight suddenly appeared in her peripheral vision, the flickering flame licking the damp wall below. She quickly looked up and saw the tall, handsome young man from that day, dressed in black, using his outer robe to shield the small flame in his arms.
The boy remained calm, a wire between his fingers, and swiftly dismantled the lock on Dong Tang's cage. He then drew his cold blade from his waist and cleanly severed the chains binding Dong Tang's hands and feet.
"You've arrived..."
The boy moved too fast; Dong Tang hadn't even had time to react. Saliva slid down her dry throat, her voice hoarse.
"We've wasted some time getting away; we shouldn't delay any longer."
Lin Chengye nodded, helping Dongtang to her feet and letting her weight rest on his shoulders. The prolonged kneeling made Dongtang sway, her legs feeling as if they had just grown back and were difficult to control.
"This way." Dongtang composed herself and pointed ahead.
Lin Chengye raised the candle and shone it on the wall Dongtang pointed to. Because it was damp, it was covered with moss. To the naked eye, it looked no different from an ordinary wall, as if the Crown Prince's bedroom was a square dungeon. Lin Chengye raised his hand and knocked on the wall. The wall actually made a "thump, thump" sound, obviously indicating that there was a larger space behind the wall.
"Press down the second brick on the east side of the third row, the seventh brick on the west side of the fourth row, and the fourth brick on the east side of the seventh row in that order."
Dongtang remembered very clearly that she had entered and exited this door countless times.
Lin Chengye pressed the buttons one by one as instructed. Suddenly, the wall made a soft rubbing sound. Gears and hinges meshed somewhere, and the wall gradually split open from the middle, creating a passage just wide enough for one person to walk through.
"typical?"
Lin Chengye suddenly frowned. This scene was very familiar, just like... the Guanyin statue in the Thousand Buddha Kingdom.
However, the opening of this door is also quite remarkable. It is actually more like a basic mechanism, and it would be difficult for ordinary craftsmen to complete such an exquisite work.
"Yes. Actually, this dungeon is only a small part. At the deepest part of the tunnel, there is a larger space that is different from other places. It is warm in winter and cool in summer, and very dry."
"His Highness the Crown Prince seems to be raising a... insect there. I don't know what it is."
Dongtang had almost gotten used to her legs. She released Lin Chengye, took the candle from her hand, and walked ahead. This tunnel was full of traps and forks in the road; one wrong step could mean being killed by a hidden weapon.
"Please stay close to me."
"...Do you know where this tunnel leads?"
Lin Chengye's voice came from behind, and for some reason, it sounded a bit strange to Dong Tang.
Dongtang shook his head and answered as he walked away.
“I haven’t been to the other half of the tunnel. I only obeyed His Highness’s orders to guard the deepest part, next to a special hexagonal brick. His Highness’s exact words were…”
“You shall stand guard at the door, and neither speak nor look.”
A man entered from the other side of the tunnel and fed the mother weevil three times a day, until the last day, when he fed her only once. If he does not return on a certain day, simply press the hexagonal brick and leave immediately.
Dongtang's voice echoed on the inner wall of the tunnel, but she did not hear a response from the young man for a long time.
Dongtang turned around and suddenly saw that the young man had stopped at some point, standing far away from her, looking at her with an indescribable complex expression.
"So... you're the one who blew it up."
Blown up? Was that an explosion? Then, the woman who raised the mother silkworm? Dong Tang's mind suddenly went blank, and the world spun around her. In her vision, the boy's figure gradually blurred, but those extremely complex eyes remained so clear.
She pressed the hexagonal brick and left that day. She heard a rumbling sound behind her that lasted almost until midnight, but she dared not look back, dared not think about it, until she ran back to the dungeon before she dared to catch her breath. Looking down, Dongtang saw that the hand that had pressed the hexagonal brick was trembling.
She kept running away. She was running away from why, running away from what was happening on the other side, running away…
"...Are you saying I killed someone?"
Dongtang trembled as she hugged herself, her expression filled with terror as she looked at Lin Chengye. She murmured again.
Did I kill someone?
Author's note: I've been flattered these past two days. My collections have increased significantly, and I've also received many comments and "nutrient solution" (a form of online support).
The working class will try to add an extra chapter tomorrow, thank you everyone! (bowing in gratitude [heart emoji])
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