Chapter 20: Mei Xi (Twenty) A Stick of Incense
The voice was not loud, but it contained a soul-shaking power, as if it came from the call of the Nine Nether Hell.
The air in the hall froze instantly, the jumping flames in the fire pit seemed to shrink a little in fear, the light suddenly dimmed, and Lin Jiaojiao could even hear the roar of her blood rushing in her veins and the loud sound of her heart beating wildly, almost bursting out of her chest.
[Host physiological indicators: Peak stress response! Adrenaline level: Extremely dangerous! Logic module: Emergency plan activated! Emotional simulation unit: ...Insufficient energy...Severe interference...Zizizizi...] The system's notification tone was intermittent, mixed with harsh noises, and it was obvious that the sudden high threat had disrupted its operation.
She couldn't panic, absolutely couldn't panic. Lin Jiaojiao bit her lower lip tightly, the sharp pain forcing her to regain some of her sanity, which was on the verge of collapse. She took a deep breath, the icy air scraping across her throat like a knife, bringing a cruel sense of clarity. She quickly glanced around—the palace doors were closed, and there was nowhere to escape! Wanyan, the two daughters, and Chun were in their respective side rooms. They must not be implicated at this moment.
Open the door! You must open the door! Resisting the Blood Wolf Guard's orders is tantamount to seeking death!
She forced herself to straighten her back, even though her body was trembling slightly with fear. She quickly tidied her slightly messy hair and clothes, trying to make her expression calm. She walked to the door of the palace, took a deep breath, suppressed the turmoil in her heart, and reached out to pull open the heavy bolt.
Squeak——!
The hall door slowly opened. A strong odor, a mixture of the chill of a cold night, the smell of rust, blood, leather, and saltpeter, instantly poured into the hall like an icy tide. Outside, the light of the torches flickered, casting a clear shadow of several figures, like demons from hell, on the cold ground.
The leader was a burly man wearing dark red, thick leather armor that seemed soaked in blood. His face was painted with hideous patterns, revealing only a pair of eyes as cold as ten thousand years of ice. Hanging on his waist was a bronze scimitar with a peculiar shape and a blade that flashed with a cold light. The handle was wrapped with worn leather and exuded a strong smell of blood. He was the leader of the Blood Wolf Guard - Li.
Behind him stood four Blood Wolf Guards in similar attire, with indifferent expressions, like killing machines.
The long spears held tightly in their hands gleamed with a cold metallic luster under the firelight, and there seemed to be traces of undried blood on the tips of the spears. The strong murderous aura was like solid ice, instantly freezing all the air in the hall.
Li's gaze was like an ice-cold probe, instantly locked onto Lin Jiaojiao who was standing at the door. His gaze was sharp and scrutinizing, without a trace of human emotion, as if he was evaluating the value of an object or... a threat.
Lin Jiaojiao felt an invisible pressure like a mountain pressing down on her, making it almost impossible for her to breathe. She resisted the urge to step back, lowered her eyelids slightly, avoided the heart-pounding gaze, folded her hands in front of her, made a respectful gesture, and spoke with just the right amount of trembling and weakness in her voice: "I am Mei Xi, respectfully welcoming the king's envoy. I wonder what instructions the king's envoy has for you, coming so late at night?" She deliberately emphasized the word "late at night", with a hint of imperceptible grievance and weakness.
Li's gaze lingered on her for a moment. Under the dim firelight, the woman in front of him was only wearing a plain moon-white dress, with her long hair untied and casually draped over her shoulders, making her face look even more petite and delicate.
Her skin, fresh from a serious illness, was almost transparently pale, like fragile glass in the flickering torchlight. Her long eyelashes fluttered faintly like butterfly wings, casting a thick shadow beneath her eyes, obscuring the fear within them and leaving only a breathtaking fragility and... a pure beauty that was impossible to ignore.
That beauty, set against the backdrop of the strong smell of blood and the solemn atmosphere, presents a strange and deadly attraction, like a snow lotus blooming in a sea of corpses and blood, so pure that it makes people tremble, and so fragile that people... can't help but want to destroy it?
Li's icy eyes seemed to flicker with a subtle fluctuation, so fast that it was impossible to grasp. The Blood Wolf Guard behind him also seemed to have a barely perceptible flicker of... surprise in his indifferent eyes, but it was immediately covered by a deeper coldness.
"By the king's order." Li's voice was still as cold as the friction of cast iron. "I need to investigate a matter. Your Majesty, please move aside and follow us... to the Sikou Mansion."
Go to the Sikou Mansion?! Lin Jiaojiao's heart sank. Sure enough! Sikou confessed. What did he confess?! Ku Ding? Or me? A chill instantly swept through her body. What kind of place is the Sikou Mansion now? It's the Blood Wolf Guard's execution ground, a hell on earth. If you go there, how can you come out alive?!
[Threat Level: Extremely High! Intent Analysis: Detention/Interrogation! Host Survival Risk: Sharply Increasing! Logic Module: Recommend delaying! Emotion Simulation Unit: …try to…maximize…the host’s beauty…] The system’s alarm rang with a chaotic cacophony and a final struggle.
"Sikou Mansion?" Lin Jiaojiao raised her head, her eyes revealing just the right amount of shock and bewilderment. Her voice trembled slightly, "Royal envoy... what do you mean? I... I live deep in the harem, and have never had any contact with Lord Sikou..."
"Your Majesty, there is no need to ask any more questions." Li's voice was calm and carried an unquestionable command, "The king has given the order, please leave immediately!" He slightly turned sideways and made a "please" gesture, but that gesture was full of irresistible pressure.
The two Blood Wolf Guards behind him immediately stepped forward, like two cold iron walls, blocking all possible routes of retreat for Lin Jiaojiao. The strong murderous aura and smell of blood hit her in the face.
Lin Jiaojiao's face paled instantly. She knew that any further explanation or delay would be futile. The Blood Wolf Guards obeyed the king's orders, not personal favors. If she resisted, a cold blade would be pressed against her neck in the next second. What should she do?! Shi Hu! Shi Hu, where are you?! She screamed frantically in her heart. At this moment, the only one who could save her was Shi Hu and the supplies he had recovered, but Shi Hu... was far outside the city.
At this critical moment!
"Wait a minute!" A slightly old voice, filled with anxiety and worry, suddenly sounded from the corner of the hall.
Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw Ku Ding, who had been curled up in the shadow of the corner, as limp as mud, struggling to get up at some point. His face was as pale as paper, and his whole body was shaking like a sieve, but there was an almost crazy, desperate light burning in his eyes. He rolled and crawled in front of Lin Jiaojiao, with his arms open, like a hen protecting her cubs, blocking her and the Blood Wolf Guard.
"Royal Envoy! Your Excellency Royal Envoy!" Ku Ding's voice was hoarse and sharp, with a crying tone and desperate courage, "This matter...this matter has nothing to do with Concubine Yuan, it's all...it's all my fault, it's me, it's me who colluded with Sikou, it's me who transferred the supplies! It's me...I'm the one who monitored Concubine Yuan! Concubine Yuan...Concubine Yuan doesn't know anything! She was deceived by me! Your Excellency Royal Envoy! If you want to catch...catch me! Please...please let Concubine Yuan go!" He cried and kowtowed desperately, his forehead hitting the cold ground heavily with a dull "dong dong" sound, and blood instantly dyed the ground red.
Kudin's sudden action stunned everyone.
Lin Jiaojiao stared in shock at the humble yet resolute figure standing in front of her. Kuding…he…she had never expected this cowardly, profit-seeking villain to actually leap out and take the knife for her at this critical moment? Was it a change of heart? Or…for his family? Or…for that last glimmer of hope, the one she had “protected”?
Li's gaze, like an icy blade, instantly pierced Ku Ding, its gaze filled with undisguised disgust and murderous intent. "Kusi Ku Ding?" he said in an icy voice. "Perfect! Take them all away!" He didn't bother to listen to Ku Ding's explanation. The Blood Wolf Guard only cared about the results, not the process. Since he had come forward to admit it, it would save him trouble.
Two Blood Wolf Guards immediately stepped forward and roughly lifted up Ku Ding, who was still crying and struggling, like a chicken.
"Princess Yuan! Princess Yuan—take care!" Ku Ding let out a desperate wail, his voice as shrill as a night owl.
Lin Jiaojiao watched Ku Ding being dragged away with mixed feelings. Ku Ding's betrayal was a fact and he deserved to die, but his actions at this moment made her heart inexplicably ache. However, the greater crisis was not resolved.
Li's gaze turned to Lin Jiaojiao again, his cold eyes did not waver at all: "Your Majesty, please." His voice carried a final warning.
Lin Jiaojiao's heart sank to the bottom. She looked at Li's emotionless eyes and knew that any explanation and pleading would be in vain.
She slowly raised her hand and gathered the scattered hair on her temples. Her movements were elegant and fragile, almost desperate. The firelight danced on her pale and beautiful face. Her long eyelashes drooped, casting thick shadows under her eyes, covering the emotions surging in her eyes.
That beauty, under the shadow of death, is even more thrilling, with a suffocating and destructive charm.
She opened her lips slightly, her voice as soft as a sigh, with a barely perceptible tremor and... a strange calmness. "Your Majesty... could you please allow me... to change my clothes?" She pointed to her thin robe, "The night is cold and windy, and I... am weak. I'm afraid... I'm afraid I can't hold on..."
This was her final delay. She was gambling. She was betting on whether the Blood Wolf Guard would hesitate even a moment when faced with her incredibly fragile beauty. She was betting on whether Shi Hu could return in time.
Li's gaze lingered on her face for several breaths. Deep within those icy eyes, a subtle, elusive...ripple seemed to flicker across them. It was like a tiny stone dropped into a frozen lake.
Perhaps it was the harmless vulnerability she displayed at that moment? Perhaps it was the impact of that beauty, a shock that even a killing machine couldn't fully resist?
Time seemed to have frozen. The only sounds in the hall were the crackling of the burning firewood in the fire pit and Ku Ding's desperate cries that gradually faded away after he was dragged away.
Just when Lin Jiaojiao was about to despair——
Li spoke slowly, his voice still cold, but it seemed to have lost some of its previous urgency: "One stick of incense."
He turned sideways to make way for the palace door, but his eyes were still fixed on her like a hawk, his posture like a hunter admiring the final struggle of his prey.
Lin Jiaojiao's heart suddenly relaxed. She suppressed her surging emotions and bent her knees slightly: "Thank you, King's envoy." She turned around and walked quickly towards the inner room. Every step she took felt like walking on the tip of a knife, and her back was painfully pierced by the cold gaze.
[Host Behavior: Delay successful (brief). Threat Level: Extremely High (persistent). Logic Module: Emergency Plan in progress… Emotional Simulation Unit: …Energy Core: Severely insufficient… Warning! …] The system's notification tone was weak and cacophonous.
Lin Jiaojiao rushed into the inner room, slammed the door shut, and leaned against the cold door panel, breathing heavily. Cold sweat instantly soaked her underwear. One stick of incense... only one stick of incense! Shi Hu... Shi Hu! You must come back! She clasped her hands together and prayed frantically in her heart.
Outside the window, the night was as dark as ink. Deep in the royal court, from the direction of the Sikou Mansion, faint shrill screams could be heard, like the wails of hell, echoing in the silent night sky, creepy.
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