The rain poured down, and Zhu Yue's horse hooves left deep bloody footprints on the muddy official road.
Xin Jiuwei lay prone on the horse's back, the sharp end of the ebony hairpin deeply embedded in her palm. Blood trickled down the hairpin, absorbed entirely by the character "Xun," gleaming with an eerie golden light.
"hiss--"
Suddenly, Zhu Yue stood upright, its front hooves kicking wildly in the air. Xin Jiuwei looked up and saw that the official road ahead was blocked by more than ten men in black. The powerful crossbows in their hands gleamed blue in the rain, and the arrowheads were wrapped with dragon patterns identical to those on the Dragon Breath Arrows.
"Miss Xin." The leader of the men in black removed his bamboo hat, revealing a face covered in burns—it was none other than Han Zheng, who should have died at the post station! "Second Prince requests your..."
The jade pendant around her neck suddenly became scorching hot. Golden-red veins seeped from the phoenix pattern on the mutton-fat jade, weaving into a semi-transparent screen of light before her. The crossbow bolt that had been fired struck the screen and hovered in mid-air as if trapped in quagmire!
Han Zheng's pupils constricted sharply: "The Jade Terrace's protective barrier?! Retreat immediately!"
It was too late. Suddenly, the phoenix in the light screen let out a clear cry, and the hovering crossbow bolts all changed direction. The instant Xin Jiuwei covered her ears, screams erupted behind her—the arrows had precisely pierced the throats of the original owners!
Amidst the ruins of the dilapidated temple, Xin Jiuwei finally opened the gilded box with trembling hands.
"This is..."
Inside the box lay a half-painted, yellowed portrait: the profile of the late Crown Princess playing the zither under the moon. The three small moles on the woman's earlobes were identical to the features of her mother in her memory! Even more strangely, when moonlight shone through the dilapidated roof onto the painting, fine, hair-like characters appeared on the zither strings:
"Wei'er, if you see this letter, go immediately to the dry well at Yaotai."
The moment the copper key was inserted into the hidden groove at the edge of the painting, the entire painting suddenly burst into flames! The flames eerily didn't harm the hand, leaving only a thin, gossamer-like silk fabric in the ashes:
The true edict of succession is hidden within the Dragon's Breath Arrow, and must be awakened by the bloodline of the Xiao family. Xun'er, remember that your father was…
The latter half of the writing was corroded by some kind of black liquid, leaving only a few incomplete characters: "Second Prince...poisoned...Imperial Seal..."
"Clatter."
A bead of cold sweat fell onto the silk handkerchief. Xin Jiuwei suddenly recalled that day in the cellar, Qi Huaiyu's face beneath the mask—those veins fused with the silver, clearly sharing the same origin as the patterns on the Dragon Breath Arrow!
At midnight, the corner tower of the imperial city was battered by torrential rain, its white marble railings swaying in the downpour.
Xiao Xun knelt on one knee in the rain, the black blood on his shoulder soaking through his mourning clothes. Ten paces away, the Second Prince Xiao Jue toyed with the last Dragon Breath Arrow, its tip intentionally or unintentionally grazing the throat of the kneeling man.
"Why is Sixth Brother's injury getting worse?" Xiao Jue leaned down, the dragon-patterned arrowhead lifting Xiao Xun's chin. "I've heard that those wounded by Dragon Breath Arrows slowly turn into the living dead..."
"Your Highness!" Liu Ruhui stumbled over, "The Xin family girl has broken into the old site of Yaotai! She has... she has..."
"What is it?!" Xiao Jue turned around abruptly, the arrow tip drawing blood from Xiao Xun's neck.
"Three dragon's breath arrows! And...and the late Crown Princess's jade pendant!"
Xiao Jue's face turned deathly pale instantly. In that moment of distraction, Xiao Xun suddenly sprang to his feet! He actually gripped the arrowhead with his bare hands, letting the dragon-patterned marks tear at his palm: "Brother, aren't you curious why I've survived until now?"
Blood flowed down his arm, and tiny golden threads moved within the black blood—the very patterns on the Dragon Breath Arrow!
The dry well in the ruins of Yaotai is bottomless.
Using the faint light from the jade pendant, Xin Jiuwei climbed downwards, the scratch marks on the well wall becoming increasingly dense. Those marks, varying in depth, were clearly made by a child using their fingernails!
The sight at the bottom of the well gave her stomach cramps—
Nine small skeletons were arranged in a circle, each with a broken arrow lodged in its chest. On the central stone platform, a fourth intact dragon's breath arrow pierced a yellowed letter:
"On the ninth day of the seventh month of the Bingyin year, the ninth test subject died. Xiao Jue was right; only the blood of one's own flesh and blood can neutralize the poison. Tomorrow, we'll use Xun'er..."
The letter crumbled into dust between her fingers. Looking up, the largest line of inscription on the well wall came into view:
"Mother, please don't kill me—Xiao Xun, six years old"
"boom!"
As the dilapidated palace doors of Yaotai were kicked open, Xin Jiuwei had just sheathed her fourth arrow. Xiao Jue stormed in with dozens of assassins, his face contorted with manic killing intent: "Hand over the arrow!"
"Why the rush, Your Majesty?" Xiao Xun's voice came from the shadows. With each step he took, a flower formed of congealed black blood bloomed on the ground. "Perhaps you should first explain about the children in the well..."
"Shut up!" Xiao Jue suddenly snatched the crossbow bolt. "Fire!"
The moment the rain of arrows struck, Xin Jiuwei raised her jade pendant. Four dragon breath arrows flew from her sleeve, forming a golden array in the air. Even more astonishingly, the incoming crossbow bolts turned halfway through, pinning the assassins to the pillars!
The palace doors opened again, and Xin Xiyao slowly entered, holding a bright yellow scroll. As she unfurled the edict, four dragon breath arrows suddenly emitted a deafening whistle!
"The late Crown Prince's edict is here." Her voice echoed through the ruins. "Xiao Jue poisoned the late Emperor and harmed the imperial heir; the evidence is irrefutable!"
The moment the dragon's breath arrow pierced Xiao Jue's chest, Xin Jiuwei witnessed an unbelievable scene—
The four arrows turned into golden dust inside his body, while the black blood in Xiao Xun's wounds dissipated like the receding tide. Even more strangely, the jade pendant around her neck suddenly flew up, merging with Xiao Xun's blood in mid-air to form a complete dragon-patterned jade pendant!
"I see..." Xin Xiyao gently stroked the jade pendant, "My mother divided the jade pendant in two back then, leaving one half for me and the other half..."
Her gaze towards Xin Jiuwei suddenly became complicated: "Here you go."
The official road leading north was covered with the first snow.
Inside the carriage, Xin Jiuwei caressed the intact jade pendant. Xiao Xun's shoulder wound had scabbed over, and he was currently using a dagger to whittle a piece of wood.
"What is this?" she asked.
"It's for Yunzhou." The shape of a small pony gradually appeared in his hand. "He said he wanted to put it in the military tent."
Suddenly, Xin Yunzhou's strange cry came from outside the car: "Elder sister! I really didn't steal any drink... Ouch!"
Xin Xiyao grabbed his ear and lifted the carriage curtain: "Look at the good soldiers you've led!" She tossed him a military report: "They've only been in the Northern Border for three days and they've already attacked the Rong prince!"
Xin Jiuwei took the military report and suddenly burst out laughing—at the end of the report was a crooked little figure poking another simple drawing of a crown with a spear.
Xiao Xun suddenly grabbed her hand: "After we get home..."
"I need to find out about my mother first," she interrupted softly, "and about that well..."
"I'll stay with you." He placed the carved wooden horse into her palm, "forever."
Outside the car window, the snow fell silently.
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