Chapter 58: A row of puppets at the secret door
"He's gone." Yin Zhiyi lowered his voice and followed Shang Weiting with his eyes.
The young emperor was wearing a bright yellow dragon robe, had no followers with him, and held a green lantern in his hand. The light from the lantern cast flickering shadows on his face, making it impossible to see his expression clearly.
Inside and outside the bedroom, there were twice as many palace maids and attendants as before.
In front of the screen, two palace maids were adding incense to the burner.
Yin Zhiyi held his breath carefully. They were hiding behind the screen now, and they would be discovered if they were not careful.
She tugged at Yan Shiman's sleeve, motioning him to squat lower.
The boy did as he was told.
Originally, due to the height difference, the two were staggered, but now that he squatted down, they were face to face.
Yan Shiman turned his hand, and a ball of black mist appeared on his hand.
Seeing this, Yin Zhiyi quickly pressed his hand down and shook his head at him. Now they were using puppet threads, and there were so many people inside and outside the hall. What if there was a backlash again?
But Yan Shiman was completely unaware of it, with doubt in his eyes, he moved a little closer to her. The boy had very fair skin, which looked even more beautiful under the candlelight, and his pair of innocent peach blossom eyes were captivating.
Yin Zhiyi swallowed subconsciously, then quickly looked away. Damn it.
Before, she just thought that this face was simply pretty, but after spending more time with him, she felt that this face was not only pretty but also attractive, especially in the last few days.
A word suddenly flashed through her mind: "well-behaved and pure."
She felt heat rushing to her cheeks when she realized what she was thinking.
I never thought of myself as a person who is attracted by beauty. It is not good to be blinded by beauty.
Yan Shiman saw all her worries.
In fact, there are only ordinary people in this palace, and it doesn't take much effort for him to control them.
However, the half of the Peacock Feather in his body could no longer be suppressed since he used puppetry more and more often. Unless he found the other half as soon as possible, he would be able to completely get rid of that person's shackles.
-
Fengxian Hall.
The glazed tiles glowed with a faint orchid light in the moonlight.
Suddenly, the palace door was pushed open, and a man came in with a green lantern and steady steps.
The Fengxian Hall enshrines the tablets of ancestors and is solemn and dignified, but very few people come here on weekdays. Each statue in the center of the hall represents a monarch since the founding of the Xianyun Kingdom.
"It's right here. The heart-protecting mirror has the strongest fluctuations."
Bai Zhixing signaled Zhu Qingshan to move more gently, and the two of them lay on the roof of the hall, and the loose tiles were gently pushed aside.
"There is indeed a problem." Zhu Qingshan frowned slightly and said, "Senior Sister, are you sure that Ji Ci really wants to help us?"
"Humph, maybe he deliberately let us find the Peacock Feather first, so that he can reap the benefits."
Bai Zhixing remained silent, neither saying whether she believed it nor whether she did not believe it.
Through the cave entrance, the two could only see Shang Weiting's back, and Bai Zhixing moved closer.
Inside the hall, Shang Weiting placed the green lamp on the altar, knelt three times and kowtowed nine times in front of the ranking of his ancestors. In the dim light and shadow, Bai Zhixing noticed that there was a barely perceptible excitement in his eyes, but his movements were a little unnaturally stiff, like a puppet being manipulated by strings.
His face was abnormally pale.
"Strange..." Bai Zhixing narrowed his eyes slightly, and suddenly found a dark pattern flashing under the altar, "There is something under the table..."
Before he finished speaking, Shang Weiting had already finished bowing and reached out to turn the candlestick on the side of the altar.
Following a muffled sound, a dark hole slowly appeared in the center of the high wall behind the statue.
Shang Weiting did not stay for long, he walked into the dark room holding a green lamp, and after a moment, his figure was swallowed up by the darkness.
The darkroom door slammed shut again.
The waiting time was extremely long, about half an hour later, Shang Weiting came out. His face looked much rosier than when he went in just now, and even the cold aura around him was a little less. There was a strange smile on the corner of his mouth.
Wait until the palace door closes.
Zhu Qingshan couldn't wait any longer: "Senior Sister, are we going in?"
"Wait a little longer." Bai Zhixing's heartbeat suddenly quickened.
It was not until a quarter of an hour later, when the two men were sure that no one else would come into the hall, that they easily climbed down from the roof and sneaked in through the side window.
The incense burner on the altar was still emitting wisps of smoke, and the Fengxian Hall was still as solemn as ever.
But for no reason there was a hint of eerie ghostliness in the night.
Baizhi walked closer to the secret door and gently touched the patterns on the wall with her fingers. There were lotus patterns all over the wall, but in addition to the twin lotuses, there were also many six-petal lotuses.
Senior sister’s six-petal lotus.
She didn't believe that her senior sister would violate the sect's etiquette and harm the people. When she first joined the sect, she was very young and was always bullied. It was her senior sister who taught her how to fight back tirelessly. She was such a gentle person and would never do such a thing. But she was too young when her senior sister betrayed the sect, so even if she didn't believe it, she could do nothing about it.
Since she is not my senior sister, there is only one possibility: someone is impersonating her.
She suddenly didn't dare to turn the candlestick. Senior Sister had disappeared for so many years... Could it be that, as Master said, she had already...
Snap——
The candlestick was turned, Bai Zhixing's heart beat like a drum, the secret door opened again, and a cold breath blew in his face, mixed with the smell of decay.
"Senior Sister." Zhu Qingshan took out the night pearl and handed it to Bai Zhixing. The soft light illuminated the steps leading down.
The stone steps are long and winding downwards.
Going all the way down to the innermost part, in a spacious dark room, there is a sculpture in the center, and next to it is a huge white cloth covering a row of something.
But just by looking at the outline, one can guess that it is a puppet.
Previously, He Xi's puppet in the altar was covered by a huge black cloth, which was the same as the current situation.
Zhu Qingshan cautiously pasted a few talismans on himself, then moved closer and lifted a corner of the white cloth.
He moved closer to the Night Pearl to take a look. There were dozens of human-shaped puppets in a disorderly manner. Some were standing and some were sitting under the white cloth. Their faces were lifelike, but their skin was an odd bluish-white color, which was creepy.
Although Zhu Qingshan had captured quite a few evil ghosts, he was still frightened.
He quickly stepped back a few steps.
He was a little puzzled: "Senior Sister, why do they keep so many puppets in the palace?"
"Isn't it unlucky?"
He turned around twice, but he didn't find anything else except the puppet. Was the heart-protection mirror really correct? Peacock Feather would be here?
Could it be on the puppet?
He wanted to lift the white cloth a little more, but was stopped by Bai Zhixing.
Bai Zhixing breathed a sigh of relief after carefully looking at the faces of all the puppets.
No senior sister.
But at the same time, her heart couldn't help but tighten. She originally thought that Peacock Feather and her senior sister were together. After all, the Southern School Heavenly Master had a secret method. If a disciple of the sect, he could integrate the Peacock Feather into his body and store it. This secret method was not only to prevent outsiders from stealing the treasure, but also a way to protect the disciples in times of danger.
Because this secret method cannot be broken by brute force.
She found that each puppet seemed to be different from the ones she had seen before.
"Wait, what do you see on the chests of those puppets?"
When Zhu Qingshan heard Bai Zhixing's words, he also moved closer to take a look, and then he discovered that they all had a blood-red bead hanging on their chests.
"There's such a strong evil spirit on it."
Bai Zhixing thought about the evil spirits they had collected before, and always felt that something was missing, especially since they had found so many women as living sacrifices.
If one wants to control so much evil spirit, sacrificing just a few women is simply a drop in the bucket.
And if they wanted to use the palace as an altar, this is ridiculous.
Suddenly, there were light footsteps overhead.
"Someone is coming." Bai Zhixing's eyes flashed, and the next second, she lifted the white cloth to cover the upper body of her and Zhu Qingshan.
The footsteps were getting closer and closer, and she held the breastplate tightly in her hand.
Until a familiar voice came from outside: "It's me."
Bai Zhixing frowned, and after a moment, the two of them walked out from under the white cloth.
Zhu Qingshan almost looked at Ji Ci coldly, but Ji Ci rarely did not refute his provocation. He just snorted coldly, and then looked at Bai Zhixing with burning eyes.
Zhu Qingshan was so angry: "Hey! You..."
Bai Zhixing lowered her eyes to avoid Ji Ci's gaze, but she still saw his pale face in her peripheral vision. When she saw that she ignored him, a hint of loneliness flashed in her eyes.
"Qingshan, forget it."
Zhu Qingshan wanted to say something, but after being stopped, he was left with only grievance.
His clenched fingers almost dug into his flesh.
A bright light suddenly appeared in Ji Ci's eyes, but Bai Zhixing's next words reversed their emotions again.
Bai Zhixing looked at him calmly, and without any warning, Ji Ci couldn't help but avoid her gaze. He came here obviously wanting to apologize, but now he felt like something was stuck in his throat after being looked at like this, but he was afraid that if he didn't say it now, he would never have another chance.
"I...I'm sorry..."
Bai Zhixing exhaled, and the long-standing depression in her heart seemed to be about to pour out at this moment: "Ji Ci, forget it, I don't blame you for the last time you hurt me with the sword. You sent us a message to remind us, and we are very grateful. This matter is settled, but we have different positions."
She didn't need his apology. Bai Zhixing had an indescribable emotion in her heart. She actually had no right to be angry, right? He was not wrong. If he was wrong, then I was the one who made the biggest mistake by agreeing to let him go with me in the first place. After all, it was a complete lie from the very beginning.
Ji Ci listened to her repeatedly saying "we" and his heart felt like it was being tightly grasped by a big hand. He was about to suffocate in the next second. She and Zhu Qingshan are us, so what is he? In her heart, is he just an outsider?
His face turned pale, but the corners of his eyes turned red quietly: "Don't you believe me?"
"Is there any need for trust between us?"
Bai Zhixing's voice was very cold, as if this could truly separate the two of them.
She didn't think Ji Ci could abandon his camp and his family.
Then they are the enemy.
-
After Yin Zhiyi received the communication token from Zhu Qingshan, he and Yan Shiman immediately went towards Fengxian Hall.
Yan Shiman smiled and asked, "Miss, are you familiar with Zhu Qingshan?"
Yin Zhiyi thought for a moment and said, "It's okay."
She actually likes Zhu Qingshan very much, but this liking is not the same as that. She thinks Zhu Qingshan is quite interesting.
But Yan Shiman is too sensitive, no matter what the matter is.
So, she added: "How long have I known him? I am still the most familiar with you."
"Miss, you don't have to explain to me. I'm just asking casually."
Yin Zhiyi glanced at him out of the corner of her eye and saw that his depressed expression had obviously improved a little after he finished speaking.
…
Along the way, there seemed to be more patrolling guards than when they came in just now.
And some of them even had hibiscus flower tokens hanging around their waists.
But when you get to the area near Fengxian Hall, it's even more deserted than the Cold Palace.
Things used to go incredibly smoothly.
The two men turned the candlesticks according to Zhu Qingshan's instructions.
The secret door opened again.
As soon as he entered, Yin Zhiyi saw the scene of the male and female protagonists breaking up. Ji Ci said coldly: "Okay, in this case, I have nothing to say."
Bai Zhixing's expression was expressionless, but Yin Zhiyi saw that her hands were almost purple from pinching, and it was obvious that she was not at peace in her heart: "Okay."
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