Chapter 53: Back to My First Life
Jiang Zhishui sat high on the eaves, watching the sunset in the distance. Below, along the long corridor, people from the mansion began to light lanterns for illumination, and darkness fell quickly.
For the past seven days, Jiang Zhishui had not left the Ling Prince's residence. She had thought that time was limited and she wanted to do her best to meet Jing Qianheng's requests. However, he was ordered by the emperor to leave the capital on business and never returned.
Jiang Zhishui waited until the very last moment but he didn't come back. She stood up, stretched her limbs, and moved her body. She had been sitting for several hours and her whole body ached.
Su You had just been watching their princess sitting on the roof watching the sunset when he glanced down at the broken vase the servant had broken. When he looked up again, he saw that the spot where Jiang Zhishui had been sitting was empty. He immediately became alert, jumped onto the roof, and searched around.
The manor was in chaos; a perfectly good princess had vanished without a trace. Lu Xuetang watched the servants rushing around, then leaned against the door with her arms crossed, looking completely indifferent.
Jiang Zhishui arrived at Wangfeng Cliff as promised. She brought nothing with her and stood on the edge of the cliff in a green dress. At this moment, the originally silent forest was suddenly struck by a thunderous roar. The darkness was instantly torn open, and a rift of light flashed before slowly closing.
She was looking up at this amazing celestial phenomenon when suddenly her pupils trembled and she felt an unbearable headache. She shook her head to try to stay awake, but her foot slipped and she fell.
A figure flashed through the forest, and just as the second bolt of lightning struck, that person rushed to the edge of the cliff without hesitation and jumped down with Jiang Zhishui.
——
Under the bright sunshine, the bustling street was lively and vibrant.
In the courtyard of the restaurant, several young noblemen were laughing heartily with wine jugs in hand. A handsome young man walked up to the roof alone. Standing on the high ground, he looked down at the bustling street below. At this moment, a heavy thud came from the roof. The noisy group inside fell silent instantly, looking at the ceiling with puzzled expressions.
The roof tiles were falling down with a clatter. Several young men standing inside stared at the broken tiles and went outside. They curiously peeked out, and the young man standing alone outside saw a shadow outside the eaves. His pupils widened, and he moved his feet to dodge, but it was too late. A head suddenly appeared upside down in front of him.
Suddenly, a human head appeared. The person stared wide-eyed, froze, and didn't utter a sound, while the group of people behind him screamed and cried in terror.
In a moment of crisis, Jiang Zhishui rolled over, barely managing to land on her feet. She glanced around, straightened her hair, and apologized to the person next to her, saying apologetically, "I'm sorry."
She glanced at the young man's face, paused for a moment, and before she could see him clearly, she heard someone shout.
"Who are you?" A young man in blue, who was already quite drunk, was sobered up by her appearance and pointed at her menacingly.
"She was eavesdropping!" someone shouted. The group of people gathered together suddenly turned ferocious and yelled, "Quick, grab her! Don't let her get away!"
Jiang Zhishui had just been struck by lightning and hadn't even figured out where she was when she suddenly encountered this group of people baring their teeth and claws, trying to grab her.
Without a word, they pounced on her. Jiang Zhishui had just dodged one of their attacks and was about to retaliate when her vision suddenly blurred, and she could barely see. In that moment of disorientation, someone appeared behind her and knocked her unconscious.
When she woke up again, she was tied up tightly and thrown in a corner, while the men sat around a table, discussing something with serious expressions.
Jiang Zhishui slightly opened her eyes and listened to their discussion about going to Thousand Realms Peak.
These people were just disciples of some minor immortal sects. They relied on their wealthy family backgrounds and noble births, and as soon as they entered the immortal sect, they thought they could make a name for themselves.
After a few drinks, he became increasingly arrogant, even brazenly proclaiming that he wanted to go and meet the demons and monsters of Thousand Realms Peak.
Jiang Zhishui was stunned by the thunder that day. She lay on the ground in a daze and heard footsteps approaching her. Then someone put a black cloth over her head to block her vision.
Soon after, she and another person were forced into a carriage.
Those people had kidnapped more than just her.
The carriage swayed and rattled for more than an hour. Her hands were tied with ropes, and someone pulled her out of the carriage. Both she and another person had black cloths covering their heads, and she did not know where she was.
Suddenly, she heard someone say, "We've captured Prince Jing Chengrui of Jin and presented him to the Emperor. Let us in right now!"
Jiang Zhishui suddenly turned her head and then remembered who the person she had just glanced at in the restaurant was.
In her first life, she rushed to save Jing Qianheng after the Jin Kingdom was in trouble. At that time, the Jin Kingdom had already fallen apart, and the Jin royal family was said to have been slaughtered without a single survivor.
Unexpectedly, Jing Chengrui was still alive at this time.
Someone pushed them forward. Jiang Zhishui's goal this time was to find the lost part of the system—the Nirvana Artifact. She died at Thousand Realms Peak in her first life, so the artifact was very likely still there.
Since these people had a way to enter Thousand Realms Peak, she saved herself the trouble of figuring out another way and obediently followed them.
Those disciples from the immortal sects thought it would be better to have more bargaining chips, so they captured Jiang Zhishui to make up the numbers, falsely claiming that she was from the Ziyang Immortal Mansion.
They say that since his wife's death, the Jade Emperor has been searching for a more suitable vessel, but his requirements seem too strict, and few people can meet them.
These young people who had just entered the immortal sect only knew one side of the story and not the other. They thought that since the emperor's wife came from the Ziyang Immortal Mansion, they could just grab any woman to fill the position and no one would find out. Even if they were discovered, they could just say that they had grabbed the wrong woman and that wouldn't be a big deal.
Jiang Zhishui listened the whole way, barely managing not to laugh out loud. They were too naive, to the point of being beyond redemption.
These men thought their plan was perfect, but they couldn't even get past the guards. The guards simply arrested them. They couldn't fight back or escape, and they cursed the disrespectful guards until one of their accomplices was beheaded. Only then did they realize their predicament, and they collapsed to their knees, too afraid to make a sound.
Once inside the cage, the black cloth covering Jiang Zhishui's head was removed. Jing Chengrui glanced at her from across the room before looking away.
Many people have been captured here, including demons and immortals. The demonic beasts are chained by the throat and limbs, and they roar and howl from time to time. The huge cave is filled with people from all walks of life, and there are countless prisons inside the cave walls. Looking up, you can't see the end of them at all.
The cell where Jiang Zhishui and Jing Chengrui were imprisoned was located on the middle to upper floors. Looking down, there was a crater of lava and a monster with a gaping maw.
Jing Chengrui walked to her side, looked at the hideous and terrifying faces of the monsters below, and sneered, "This is nothing more than hell."
Jiang Zhishui turned her head and asked, "Aren't you afraid?"
"I've seen much worse things, so I think it's okay."
"You're a prince of Jin, how did you get arrested? I thought you were in cahoots?"
“Fools have their own way of doing things. They feel proud of themselves for deceiving me. I thought that instead of running away from home, I might as well follow them and try my luck.”
Jiang Zhishui stared at him; Jing Chengrui now seemed rather gloomy.
The sixth prince in the second life, Jing Chengrui, is sunny and cheerful, and has an optimistic outlook on things. He has no interest in vying for power, and his attitude towards the struggle between the crown prince and Jing Qianheng is purely one of watching the show.
Jiang Zhishui asked suspiciously, "Did you deliberately let yourself be arrested?"
The ropes binding Jing Chengrui suddenly snapped. He approached Jiang Zhishui with a small knife, cut the ropes off her hands, and said calmly, "You're the same. You've been pretending to be unconscious the whole time. I don't think you're an ordinary person either."
In his first life, Jing Chengrui did not know Jiang Zhishui. Their first meetings were always peculiar, but coincidentally, they always ended up as prisoners together. It was truly a matter of fate.
Jing Chengrui walked right into the trap to find someone, and Jiang Zhishui also confessed to him that her purpose was to find something. The two were of the same mind and immediately decided to cooperate.
After breaking free of the cage, the two moved together. Jiang Zhishui led him towards a secluded path. Jing Chengrui found it strange and couldn't help but ask, "You seem to know this place very well?"
Jiang Zhishui said, "If you're going to steal something, you should naturally prepare in advance."
She had lived here before, so of course she was familiar with it.
"Your Highness risked your life to find someone, but have you considered how you will leave after you find them?"
It's really strange. Although the experiences in the first and second lives are very different, they are surprisingly consistent in some aspects. Is it a system glitch? Why does it feel like some things always happen repeatedly?
Jing Chengrui laughed and said, "I hadn't thought about it."
Jiang Zhishui: "........."
This person says he's changed, but it seems he hasn't really changed; he still acts without considering the consequences.
Jiang Zhishui asked, "Who are you looking for?"
Jing Chengrui said, "A person who acts as an accomplice to evil might kill me the moment she sees me."
Jiang Zhishui frowned, thinking to herself, "Does he have a death wish? Is he deliberately looking for death?"
No one knows the true identity of the Azure Jade Emperor. He only emerged after the Jin Kingdom was destroyed. Does Jing Chengrui know? The Azure Jade Emperor who now roams the Three Realms is none other than Jing Qianheng.
Jiang Zhishui: "By the way, why did those people capture you? And why did they want to offer you up to Emperor Qingyu?"
“I told them that I knew who the Azure Jade Emperor was…” Jing Chengrui paused, then said, “They didn’t believe me, but they still kept me by their side, probably still clinging to a sliver of hope that what I said might be true.”
Jiang Zhishui casually asked, "Do you really know who the Azure Jade Emperor is?"
Jing Chengrui looked at her, remained silent for a moment, and said in a low voice, "I know, he is from Jin like me, he is my younger brother Jing Qianheng."
Jiang Zhishui understood those people's feelings a little better. The casual tone he used made it hard to believe he was telling the truth, but it was indeed the truth.
Jing Chengrui leaned against the wall, staring blankly into the distance. "The Jin Kingdom was destroyed because the Jing family's ancestor was an ancient demon dragon. The royal family were all humans who inherited the demon dragon's bloodline. Not only the royal family, but all the people of the Jin Kingdom were demons who protected the demon dragon. It's just that everyone was very good at disguising themselves and pretended to be very human."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Zhishui looked surprised. She hadn't expected him to suddenly reveal such a huge secret; it was simply unbelievable. Wasn't the Jin Kingdom destroyed because of an internal rebellion?
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