Chapter 32 Damn it, she's having her period?! ...
Feng Tan: ? ? ?
Feng Tan pretended to be dazed and had just woken up, sat up, rubbed his sleepy eyes, and asked, "Why are you poking me, sir?"
Xiao Yinshi repeated patiently, "Come sleep in my arms."
Feng Tan could no longer pretend he hadn't heard clearly, and said with an awkward laugh, "What kind of joke is this, sir? It's very inappropriate, very inappropriate!"
Xiao Yinshi said, "When I regulate my breathing, my whole body will generate heat. You can't stay frozen all night like this."
So it was a kind intention. Feng Tan was silent for a moment, and in that silence, she felt a pain in her lower abdomen, followed by a warm flow.
Damn it, she's having her period?!
Fortunately, she had been on guard and, after being reminded by Menghenabul, had put on a menstrual belt early in the morning.
However, she dragged Xiao Yinshi to swim in the icy sea for a long time last night, and was caught in the rain all morning. She didn't have any painkillers on her, so she probably won't feel too good this time.
Even though Xiao Yinshi harbored ulterior motives towards her body, he currently had no internal energy left. With her current skills, defeating Xiao Yinshi would be a piece of cake. Based on the principle that it's a fool not to take advantage of a good deal, Feng Tan quietly moved to Xiao Yinshi's side.
The heat emanating from the man's internal energy as he regulated his breathing spread around him, and Feng Tan felt much warmer in an instant.
She warmed her lower abdomen with one hand and pressed the other under her face, finding a comfortable position to fall asleep. Unexpectedly, the man's large hand lifted her up, and her head rested on Xiao Yinshi's thigh. The stars were shining brightly above her, and when she looked up, she met the man's deep eyes looking down at her.
Xiao Yinshi gently held the back of Feng Tan's head as she tried to lift it, and said in a gentle voice, "I won't keep generating such intense heat. It will be warmer here later."
Feng Tan's heart skipped a beat. She was tired and exhausted, so she found a comfortable position on his legs and closed her eyes again.
Feng Tan said to herself, "Happy New Year."
She paused, then buried her head in Xiao Yinshi's knees and said, "Happy New Year."
Xiao Yinshi's brow twitched, and he vaguely realized that today was the first day of the Lunar New Year. He never celebrated the New Year, and in official circles, he would refuse guests when offering New Year's greetings, so he had never heard a "Happy New Year" from him.
The boy's breathing gradually became lighter and steady. A slight smile appeared between Xiao Yinshi's brows as he closed his eyes and regulated his inner energy once more.
As the stars gradually faded in the deep black night sky, the vast sea surged beneath the heavens. They sat and lay on the bamboo raft, their eyes locked as they slept.
In the latter half of the night, Feng Tan slowly curled up tighter and tighter, a layer of cold sweat appearing on her forehead, and she murmured that she was in pain.
Xiao Yinshi looked down at her and asked, "Where does it hurt?"
Feng Tan kept her eyes closed and couldn't answer. She pressed her palms tightly against her lower abdomen, wrinkling the fabric of her clothes.
Xiao Yinshi frowned slightly. Could it be that he was still cold?
He used one hand to hold Feng Tan's wrist and moved it away, while his other hand slowly covered Feng Tan's lower abdomen, channeling some warmth into it, and Feng Tan calmed down again.
"Delicate."
......
After waking up, the "delicate" Feng Tan felt refreshed. She stretched and looked into the distance through the scope of her sniper rifle. When she saw the coastline, she breathed a sigh of relief and nodded to Xiao Yinshi, "Jiaosi Island."
According to Su Bai, the person who orchestrated this controlled the entire Jiaosi Island, and Xiao Yinshi deduced that the evil was on Jiaosi Island.
How to get to the island quietly is a problem.
Feng Tan rowed his boat around Jiaosi Island from a distance and found that there were no soldiers guarding the island, and the defenses were not strict. It seemed that this "evil place" was not that important to the person who set it up.
She placed her palm on Xiao Yinshi's chest, feeling the unstable internal energy beneath her hand, and raised an eyebrow, saying, "Recovered by one-tenth?"
Xiao Yinshi lowered his eyelashes slightly, his gaze falling on Feng Tan's Adam's apple, and said, "Less than one-tenth."
He touched Feng Tan's Adam's apple with his fingers, his voice tender and amused, and said, "Lord Feng, when did your Adam's apple get chapped?"
A light-colored gash had appeared on the boy's delicate neck at some point. He hadn't noticed it last night because it was dark, but this morning, with the sun shining brightly, the wound was quite noticeable.
But why isn't there any bleeding?
Feng Tan's heart skipped a beat, but her face remained surprisingly calm. She smiled and waved her hand to brush it off, saying, "I got hurt while chopping bamboo yesterday, it's nothing, it's nothing!"
She changed the subject, saying, "I wonder how well Jiaosi Island is defended? Shall we land on the island tonight?"
“No need,” Xiao Yinshi’s dark eyes flashed with a chill. “We are more than capable of dealing with evil forces.”
Having served as the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard for many years, Feng Tan felt that this man was quite eccentric, possessing an astonishing judgment on certain matters. However, she was not as perceptive as him in terms of keen observation, so she did not ask any further questions.
After using the high-powered scope, Feng Tan put the sniper rifle back into the subsystem. He heard Xiao Yinshi ask in his ear, "There are quite a few novel items. What is this?"
Since taking out the sniper rifle, Feng Tan has not put the subsystem back. Now that the two of them are on a bamboo raft at sea, she has no room to hide and put it back. In response to Xiao Yinshi's question, she said, "It's the storage box that the master gave me."
This was a lie, and Xiao Yinshi did not believe it. He looked at the boy's clear and bright eyes with a half-smile and said, "Lord Feng lying is commonplace. During the trip to the Linzhang sea area, I will not touch your tongue. You can say whatever nonsense you want."
Feng Tan's lips twitched. These words, full of threat yet also containing a hint of...pampering, combined with Xiao Yinshi's sinister nature, felt so strange.
Feng Tan shuddered, breaking out in goosebumps, and asked seriously, "Xiao Yinshi, how do we get to the island?"
Xiao Yinshi said, “In Ling Yixin’s book, ‘The Strange Tales of the Great Huang’, it is written that ‘On the day of the Universal Holy Mother’s Sacrifice in the Gengzi year of the Ming Dynasty, I led my clansmen to visit Evil Spirit Island. We happened to encounter an evil formation, with flames soaring to the sky and female spirits devouring everything.’ Therefore, the evil formation can be viewed by people.”
*
On the first day of the year, a solemn atmosphere prevailed on the secluded island of Jiaosi. The islanders, dressed in clothing adorned with mermaid totems, held torches aloft under the sunlight, their eyes fixed intently on the altar. In the center of the altar stood a towering natural stone platform, its top inscribed with the words "Evil Gate." Before the Evil Gate stood two rows of young girls, around seven or eight years old. Behind the Evil Gate was a high platform made of piled-up firewood, upon which rested a stone coffin carved with the image of the goddess Nuwa.
Standing on the altar were a row of black-robed figures whose faces were covered. Among them was a short, conspicuous figure wearing a red robe, with his nose and lips wrapped in red cloth, revealing only a pair of bloodshot eyes covered with wrinkles.
In the cold winter of the New Year, they are holding their annual Day of Judgment of Evil Spirits.
The red-robed messenger was exceptionally familiar with the procedures for judging evil spirits. As a judge, she had been judging evil spirits for over thirty years, so she skillfully addressed the islanders of Mermaid Island: "Evil spirits have descended upon the world, causing unrest among the islands. To pray for divine forgiveness, on this day of the universal Holy Mother's Sacrifice, I will conduct the judgment, select the evil spirits, and cast them onto the island to comfort the women!"
On the judge's bench stood a little girl who was exceptionally beautiful and lovely. She didn't understand the meaning of this difficult-to-understand language, so she took the finger of the crying little girl next to her and comforted her in Merfolk, "Little Rain, don't cry, how about I give you my new clothes?"
The little girl has been comforting people ever since her grandma woke her up to wipe away her tears. She is eight years old this year. Last night, on New Year's Eve, her grandma made her this beautiful dress. Xiaoyu cried sadly, so she gave her her favorite dress. Hopefully, she won't be sad anymore.
The girl named Xiaoyu wasn't particularly pretty. She sobbed softly, "Xiaoke, didn't your grandma tell you what we're here for today...? We... we're going to... experience something eerie, we might... we might never be able to go home again..."
Xiao Ke's eyes widened, her bright eyes filled with confusion. "Huh? What do you mean?"
While the two little girls were talking, the old woman in the red robe turned around and looked at the girls one by one. When she saw that the eight-year-old girls of the Jiaosi tribe were really mediocre, her eyes showed disappointment. It wasn't until she walked up to Xiao Ke that a chilling lust appeared in her old eyes.
Xiao Ke was so startled by that gaze that her heart pounded, and she stood rooted to the spot, too afraid to move.
After finishing her inspection, the old woman in red robes walked up to a row of black-robed messengers and loudly proclaimed, "Open the Evil Gate!"
After speaking, the black-robed messengers stood in two rows on either side of the evil gate, chanting ancient incantations in low voices. Half an hour later, the tightly closed evil gate suddenly opened, revealing a dark entrance inside.
The old woman in the red robe spoke in a kind voice to the still bewildered little girls, "Good children, come in!"
The towering, eerie gate opened into a terrifying black hole. A little girl saw this scene and her legs went weak. Because she was too young, she burst into tears on the spot.
The old woman in the red robe stepped forward to comfort him, saying, "Good child, don't be afraid. After we get through this ordeal, Grandma will give you candy, okay?"
The little girl blinked her tear-filled eyes and whispered, "Okay."
Led by the black-robed messenger, the little girls entered the evil gate one by one. After everyone had entered, the evil gate slammed shut in the eyes of the islanders, and soon only the old woman in the red robe remained on the platform.
The old woman in the red robe fell silent, leaning on her staff, and stood still, slowly closing her eyes on the high platform.
Only then did the islanders dare to speak up. A woman wearing a headscarf whispered, "How long does it take for the divine messenger to communicate with the sea god?"
She had only been married to Jiaosi Island for a short time and was attending the evil spirit trial ceremony for the first time. She was unfamiliar with the procedures, but fortunately, her neighbor, who was on good terms with her, replied, "It will take about half an hour. The trial will be over in about half an hour."
The woman wearing a headscarf asked again, "What if the judgment is that it's an evil spirit?"
"Sigh, see that high platform made of firewood over there? There's a stone coffin on top. We'll have to go there for another trial. If that doesn't work, we'll have to be thrown to Evil Spirit Island!"
What kind of place is Evil Spirit Island?
"Shut up! I'll tell you later, just you wait and see."
The woman with the handkerchief was from an outer island. They didn't use Mermaid language when they communicated, so Feng Tan, who was in the crowd, understood what they were saying. Feng Tan turned her head to meet Xiao Yinshi's unfamiliar face, and then looked away uncomfortably.
After arriving on the island, Xiao Yinshi took out two gold beans the size of peanuts from his pocket and smiled as he traded with two young fishermen, "Gold beans in exchange for a face, is that possible?"
The young fisherman swallowed hard, staring at the gold coins. This was more money than they could earn in a lifetime of fishing. Overwhelmed with excitement, he asked almost involuntarily, "Will we... die?"
Xiao Yinshi's smile softened further. "No."
The cold-faced Yama rarely smiled, for when he did, bloodshed was inevitable. She watched as he skillfully sliced off their faces with a knife, and then, using a technique similar to that of Meng Henabul, turned the two fresh faces into human skin masks. This truly refreshed Feng Tan's understanding of Xiao Yinshi's cruelty.
Xiao Yinshi handed the completed mask to Feng Tan. Seeing her standing there in a daze, he said in a deep voice, "Womanly compassion?"
Feng Tan took the mask and said, "No."
“The money and goods are settled, it’s a fair trade, there’s nothing to say,” Feng Tan looked at the two bloodied and mangled faces at her feet, then looked up at Xiao Yinshi and said, “My lord, wait for me, it will only take a quarter of an hour.”
The young fisherman had already fainted. Feng Tan tore open his clothes, took a piece of intact skin from his back, and then, imitating Meng Henaboul's method, pieced the skin onto his face so that he wouldn't rot and die.
The young fishermen, focused solely on making money and lacking medical knowledge, didn't understand that such a large wound could become infected and inflamed. Feng Tan pursed her lips and carefully re-stitched it for them. Xiao Yinshi looked at Feng Tan like this, chuckled briefly, and said, "Lord Feng, you truly have the heart of a bodhisattva."
Feng Tan carefully put away the last thread, stood up, and responded to Xiao Yinshi's sarcasm, "I wouldn't call myself a bodhisattva. I'm just as ruthless as you are, but why should an innocent person lose their life when I can protect them?"
She turned and left after speaking, clearly unwilling to listen to Xiao Yinshi's sarcasm since they were on different paths. The man pondered for a moment, then lifted his eyelids, his dark eyes fixing on the slender, stubborn figure ahead, and followed after him.
......
Looking at the unfamiliar face behind her, Feng Tan looked away and turned her gaze back to the stage.
Dark clouds slowly obscured the sun, and a cold north wind tousled the white hair of the old woman in the red robe. She looked up and gazed at the two words that slowly appeared above the evil gate: Evil Spirit.
The old woman in the red robe tapped the ground with her cane, shouting, "Evil spirit, who are you?!"
The islanders below the stage stirred with excitement. Who could it be? Whose daughter could it be?
The sky grew increasingly dark, black clouds blanketing the entire island, gradually obscuring the sun. A sudden gust of wind whipped through the air, sending everyone stumbling and trampling. Feng Tan was bumped into, staggering back two steps before falling into the arms of someone behind her. The person's large hand gripped her waist, their warm breath brushing against her neck. Feng Tan smelled the cool, woody scent, her body going limp from the warmth of the breath on her neck. She pulled away from Xiao Yinshi's embrace, and when she looked up at the platform again, she saw a lovely little girl standing in the stone coffin, looking around in confusion.
Xiao Ke had just walked through the long passageway and somehow got separated from the other little girls. Just as she was about to call out, she smelled a pleasant floral fragrance. When she woke up again, she was standing on a stone coffin on a high platform.
Xiao Ke looked around in the crowd and saw her elderly grandmother with tears in her eyes trying to climb onto the judge's platform. She cried out, "Grandma!"
The old woman in red robes gestured to the black-robed messenger to move the eyesore, but the old woman clung to her leg, pleading, "Divine Messenger, Your Excellency, the judgment must be wrong! My little Ke has always been well-behaved and sensible; she couldn't possibly be an evil spirit! Please, don't take her to Evil Spirit Island! Please..."
Before she could finish speaking, she was dragged away by the black-robed messenger.
Xiao Ke panicked even more and shouted in the direction her grandmother was being dragged, "Let go of my grandmother! Grandma!"
The old woman in the red robe remained unmoved, her face cold as she continued the proceedings. She addressed the islanders who had gathered around, saying, "The evil spirit has appeared! Islanders, please light your torches and follow me to vanquish the evil spirit and cast it onto Evil Spirit Island!"
The islanders' anxious hearts finally settled down, especially those who saw that their girl was unharmed. Smiles appeared on their faces as they joined the others in saying, "Slay the evil spirit and cast it into Evil Spirit Island!"
After saying this, they waved their torches and threw them onto the pile of dry wood that had been prepared earlier.
Below, flames roared. Xiao Ke stood on the stone coffin, trembling with fear. She stumbled and climbed down the platform, her new clothes catching sparks. The cotton fabric would ignite at the slightest touch. Terrified, she rolled around on the platform.
The black-robed messengers timed their attack perfectly. Just as the flames extinguished and the clothes were no longer injuring her skin, they poured a bucket of water over Xiao Ke. The flames were put out, and water dripped from Xiao Ke's naked body. She felt ashamed and tried to cover her body with her long hair. Looking at the unfamiliar and aggressive gazes of the islanders below, she stared blankly, gasping for breath, tears streaming down her face.
The old woman in the red robe looked at the girl's bare, fair skin and beautiful face, nodded in satisfaction, took off her red robe and covered the girl's body, and said to her subordinates, "Take her to Evil Spirit Island."
Xiao Ke was terrified and dared not move in the arms of the black-robed messenger. In her dazed vision, she saw that the other girls had all hidden back in their parents' arms, her grandmother was nowhere to be found, and her new clothes had been burned to ashes and shattered on the judgment table.
Feng Tan quietly clenched her fingers and followed them unnoticed. Then, while the black-robed envoy was using the restroom, she knocked two of them unconscious, stripped them of their clothes, and handed one of the garments to Xiao Yin, raising an eyebrow to indicate that he should put it on.
Xiao Yinshi took the clothes, bent down, picked up one of the men's swords, and drew it. The long blade illuminated the man's cold and indifferent eyes. Wherever the blade swung, a long gash was opened between their necks, and blood gushed out. The two men on the ground were lifeless.
Feng Tan paused, her fingers tightening her belt. The title of ruthless Yama was well-deserved. She looked at the blood droplets gradually appearing on Xiao Yinshi's delicate and smooth jawline and kindly reminded him, "Xiao Yinshi, you have blood on your face."
Xiao Yinshi donned the black-robed envoy's attire, covering his lips and nose, revealing only a pair of eyes covered by a human skin mask. The smile in his deep eyes was somewhat cold. "Let's go, into the Tiger's Den."
Only by entering the Tiger's Den could they find out the whereabouts of the fifty million taels of silver. Feng Tan felt like she was climbing the ladder on a knife's edge. She followed Xiao Yinshi's footsteps, and the two of them silently mingled behind the black-robed envoys who were walking ahead. They boarded the ship that was leaving the island and headed towards Evil Spirit Island.
The distance between Evil Spirit Island and Mermaid Island was neither too close nor too far. The ship traveled for a whole day and arrived at Evil Spirit Island under the moonlight.
The black-robed envoys remained silent throughout the journey. After disembarking, they split into two groups and returned to their quarters to rest. Feng Tan seized the opportunity to break away from the group and hid with Xiao Yinshi at a bend in the path.
She observed the island warily. Unlike the two small islands they had landed on before, this island was heavily guarded, with soldiers standing almost two feet apart. At night, the soldiers patrolled repeatedly with torches in hand, and the area was surrounded by sentries, making it as secure as an iron barrel.
When Feng Tan looked at Xiao Yin, Su Bai's map could only take them this far. The two communicated with their eyes and sign language:
"Sir, where do you think the stolen silver from the national treasury is hidden?"
"underground."
"underground?"
"Fifty million taels of silver is a large sum of money, and it is impossible for it to be displayed openly. There must be an underground passage."
Feng Tan suddenly remembered the architectural structure of the Dahuang Palace, which also had an underground palace as large as the one above ground. People of high rank and power always had a backup plan when they sat in the halls, in case of unforeseen circumstances. Silver smuggled in like this must have been placed in an extremely hidden place.
Where is the entrance to the underground palace?
"It's hard to find, but... there's a way."
Feng Tan raised an eyebrow, signaling Xiao Yinshi to continue.
"Hold the emperor hostage to command the feudal lords, and find someone to guide us."
The question is, who has access to the island's core secrets?
Based on his years of experience in solving cases, Xiao Yinshi was certain that the stolen silver was there. Feng Tan followed his gaze and smiled inexplicably, "That's it."
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