Xiao Wuji lay on the bed, feeling the waves of pain racking his body, and smiled at Lingxiao. "Don't worry, I'm fine."
He asked, "What time is it now?"
Lingxiao replied, "Almost noon."
Xiao Wuji clenched his fists, his eyes turning bloodshot in an instant. His lips trembled twice, and he reached out, grabbing Lingxiao by the wrist.
Suppressing the sob in his voice, he said, "Lingxiao, take me... take me to the execution ground at the Meridian Gate."
Lingxiao nodded. Without a moment's hesitation, she scooped Xiao Wuji up in her arms, grabbed the outer robe from beside the bed to drape over him, and left the bedchamber.
When Prince Han's men entered, they found only an empty bed.
The Imperial Grandson! He had vanished!
When Prince Han received the news, the medicine bottle in his hand dropped onto the table. He closed his eyes and said, "Go to the Meridian Gate, and let him—no, let him watch."
He opened his eyes. "Duke Dingguo served the country and its people all his life; perhaps he, too, would wish to see his grandson send him off on his final journey."
"Once the execution is carried out, bring the Imperial Grandson to the Celestial Prison."
A guard acknowledged the order: "Yes, Your Highness!"
...
In the broad daylight, the white-haired Duke Dingguo knelt upon the execution platform, covered in blood and filth.
Clad in a prisoner's garb, he kept his eyes closed, refusing to look or listen to anything.
The commoners gathered outside hurled curses at the top of their lungs. Duke Dingguo had committed treason and colluded with the enemy, causing Daqing to lose five successive northern cities. To resist the Khitans, Daqing had increased taxes and levied new troops.
All these hardships had fallen squarely upon the shoulders of the common people.
It was at this very moment that Lingxiao arrived, carrying Xiao Wuji.
The instant he saw his grandfather, Xiao Wuji clutched his sleeves tightly, his red eyes dropping to the ground. "Grandfather..."
Sensing something, Duke Dingguo suddenly opened his eyes and looked out into the crowd. With a single glance, he spotted his maternal grandson.
The old man's body trembled. How could he not understand that his grandson had defied imperial decree and returned from Liaoxi!
He shook his head at Xiao Wuji, shaking it over and over again until, finally, tears stained his garments.
"It is noon!"
The executioner tossed down the tally token. Xiao Wuji lunged forward, but Lingxiao held him fast in her arms.
"Your Highness Changsheng!"
Lingxiao held him tightly, feeling Xiao Wuji's body tremble violently, hearing his muffled cries, and then looking back up at the old man on the platform.
Demons and monsters plagued the human world. Whether it was her benefactor, Duke Dingguo, or the Deposed Crown Prince, all of them had their fortune and destiny drained by demons, leading to such tragic ends.
Yet she did not even know who the demons were. She absolutely could not let Your Highness Changsheng take such risks, nor could she expose her own existence.
"Hahaha!"
Duke Dingguo suddenly burst into laughter. "I have fought for my country for forty years! Today I return to the netherworld! I, Li, have no shame before our elders and townsfolk!"
"I only hate that traitors have usurped our authority! I only hate that I am now old and powerless to resist!"
"I only hate that the Khitans plague our Daqing and no one remains to fight them!"
His graying hair fluttered in the wind as he laughed bitterly at the deluded crowd below the platform. "Cursed be this fate! My sons and daughters all died for Daqing! And now I, a traitor who colluded with the enemy, must stain them with disgrace!"
"I refuse to accept this! I refuse!"
The executioner spat a mouthful of wine onto the broadsword and aimed it at Duke Dingguo.
"Duke Dingguo, say no more, and spare yourself some suffering!"
Duke Dingguo shook his head, alternating between tears and laughter. "I beg... I beg all the deities of heaven! I beg the living Buddhas of this world! Whosoever hears me, heed my words and protect my grandson!"
"Spare his life! Spare his life!"
"Changsheng!"
"Changsheng!!"
"Slash!"
The heavy blade fell, blood sprayed several feet high, and the noble head rolled to the ground.
Xiao Wuji bit down on his lips until blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. Lingxiao hurriedly pinched his chin, then placed her own hand over Xiao Wuji's lips.
"Mgh!"
Xiao Wuji could no longer process anything; he bit down fiercely onto Lingxiao's hand. All he could see was that blood, spraying so far, so very far away...
Lingxiao held Xiao Wuji tightly, listening to the cheers erupting all around them, while a boiling, irresistible murderous intent raged within her heart.
Lingxiao heard Xiao Wuji's muffled sobs as he whispered lowly, "Lingxiao, I beg you..."
She looked toward Duke Dingguo's corpse. Given the crimes of which he was accused, his body would likely be left to bake in the sun at the Meridian Gate for several days before anyone was allowed to collect him.
Xiao Wuji could not bear to see his grandfather subjected to such torment.
Lingxiao replied softly, "Your Highness Changsheng, do not worry."
She carried Duke Dingguo's corpse away, left the city with Xiao Wuji, and returned once more to the cliff of trumpet creepers.
Since Xiao Wuji's body was weak, Lingxiao told him to keep watch nearby while she dug a large pit.
"Grandfather, do not blame Changsheng for burying you in haste. Things have come to this, and I cannot even afford to give you a coffin."
With red eyes, she used a handkerchief to wipe the old man's face. Using strips of fabric, Lingxiao bound the head and body together to cover the blood-red neck, hoping it might spare the Imperial Grandson the sight.
"Changsheng does not know how much longer he has to live, but this is the most beautiful cliffside Changsheng could find."
He raised a trembling hand, pointing toward the distant trumpet creepers, and his voice broke with uncontainable sorrow, "Grandfather, those trumpet creepers will keep you company. Day after day, through sunrise and sunset, there will at least be scenery to look upon."
Lingxiao walked over. "Your Highness Changsheng, let us lay Duke Dingguo to rest..."
Xiao Wuji closed his eyes as two lines of clear tears traced down his cheeks. Refusing Lingxiao's help, he scooped up the old man's corpse in his arms and walked step by step toward the large pit.
Lingxiao plucked a blossom of trumpet creeper and placed it beside Duke Dingguo.
She pulled Xiao Wuji back up. "Changsheng, take one last look at the old man."
Xiao Wuji lowered his head, but closed his eyes instead. "Lingxiao, let my grandfather... rest."
Lingxiao nodded. The next moment, she stamped her foot hard! With a resounding "Bang!", all the soil cascaded into the pit, instantly forming a grave mound.
As a criminal condemned for treason, Duke Dingguo was not even permitted a gravestone.
Unable to hold himself up any longer, Xiao Wuji collapsed straight to his knees, crying out in agonizing grief, "Grandfather!!!"
Lingxiao paused, turning her back so she would no longer look at Xiao Wuji.
Xiao Wuji could no longer suppress his agony, breaking down into ragged, desolate sobs.
Across the entire cliffside, alongside the sorrow, there rose a burning hatred—an unyielding, indelible resentment and pain.
Duke Dingguo, the Deposed Crown Prince—everything Xiao Wuji possessed had been maliciously stripped away from him.
Lingxiao stood straight as a post until the weeping gradually subsided, and she heard a voice behind her say, "Lingxiao, thank you."
Lingxiao turned around to look at the pale-faced Xiao Wuji, her hands clenched tight. "Your Highness Changsheng, your body..."
Xiao Wuji let out a bitter laugh. "This body of mine is already riddled with holes. When I returned from Liaoxi, a divine physician gave me his verdict: I have less than two years to live. The poison in me is utterly incurable."
Lingxiao paused. There had to be a cure; once they found out who administered it, they could find the antidote.
Xiao Wuji raised his head to look at Lingxiao. "I do not have much longer to live, but Lingxiao, I cannot accept this."
With reddened eyes, he said, "I am not reconciled!"
Lingxiao crouched down. "Your Highness Changsheng, whatever you wish to do, Lingxiao will be right by your side."
Xiao Wuji's lips trembled as he stared intently at Lingxiao. "These past two years, you..."
Before he could finish his question, figures approached them. Instinctively pulling up her veil, Lingxiao hurriedly prepared to scoop up Xiao Wuji and flee.
To her dismay, too many people had been lying in wait specifically for Xiao Wuji, blocking every single direction.
"Prince Han has issued an order commanding Xiao Wuji to proceed to the Celestial Prison."
Lingxiao frowned, but Xiao Wuji gradually came to his senses and hastily pushed her away. "Go."
Lingxiao did not move. Xiao Wuji repeated himself, "Go!"
In the end, Lingxiao retreated, quickly vanishing into the woods.
Xiao Wuji raised a hand to clutch his chest, his pale lips parting as he said, "Take me."
He closed his eyes, tears slipping down his cheeks. When he opened them again, his face was completely devoid of expression.
Digging his fingernails into his palms, he wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and followed step by step.
His grandfather was dead, and his mother—his mother's brothers and sisters, everyone of the Li family—had all perished over the years!
What new tricks did Prince Han have up his sleeve now?
Lingxiao melted into the dim shadows, a scorching pain tingling across her skin. Even such cold daylight was difficult for her to endure.
Duke Dingguo was dead. If she remembered correctly, the Celestial Prison still held her benefactor's father, the deposed crown prince of Daqing.
Lingxiao felt a faint sense of unease, but she could not expose herself and could only follow closely behind them.
...
Meanwhile, at the Zhang Mansion, Zhang Yuan, who had been unconscious for a long time, bolted upright from his bed. Drenched in cold sweat and breathing heavily, he looked as though he had just awakened from a nightmare.
Hearing the commotion, the attendant keeping watch beside him hurried over. "Fourth Young Master! You're awake!"
Feeling a throbbing pain across his face, Zhang Yuan raised a hand to touch it, only to encounter layers of gauze bandages.
Memories of the previous night slowly returned to him. "Last night..."
"Where is Mingshan!"
The moment he asked, he realized his personal valet was nowhere to be seen. The attendant lowered his head timidly. "Mingshan... he is dead..."
Zhang Yuan remembered—in the dark, a head had rolled right to Qin Yanran's feet. He remembered that face! It was Mingshan!
Were there ghosts?
Last night! There were ghosts! A ghost had come; it was Yaoniang... Song Xiyan! It was her!
The attendant gritted his teeth and forced himself to speak. "Fourth Young Master, also... also the item we brought back last night is gone!"
At this, Zhang Yuan turned ice-cold all over. He scrambled to get out of bed, but his legs went weak and he tumbled forward.
The attendant wasn't quite in sync with him and failed to catch him in time, letting him crash hard onto the floor. The impact reopened the wounds on his face, splitting them wide open.
Frightened, the attendant scrambled to help Zhang Yuan up, but Zhang Yuan shoved him away violently. With bloodshot eyes and on the verge of a mental breakdown, he shrieked, "Where is Yanran! Where is Yanran!"
The attendant dropped to his knees. "Miss Yanran is unharmed; she was merely frightened into a faint!"
With trembling hands, Zhang Yuan recalled everything from the previous night, then shook his head. "Impossible! Impossible! Where would ghosts come from in this world!"
"Besides, given Song Xiyan's cowardly nature, even if she died—even if she died, she wouldn't dare come back to haunt us!"
"Could it be she isn't dead?"
"No! She's dead, she's dead!"
Acting like a madman, Zhang Yuan yanked at his own hair. "I know! I know! Someone must be avenging Song Xiyan!"
"Report this to the authorities! Go! Go report it to the authorities! Someone murdered people in my courtyard! Murder!"
The attendant was stunned. Report it to the authorities?
How could he possibly report this?
Would he tell them the fourth young master's wife had her heart cut out, and someone seeking vengeance had killed the servants in the courtyard and dressed up as a ghost to scare the fourth young master and Miss Yanran?
"Qingyu!"
At that exact moment, a woman walked in. Her phoenix eyes slanted upward as she spoke with biting, ruthless coldness, "Calm yourself down!"
Upon seeing the newcomer, Zhang Yuan cried out, "Mother! Mother! Someone is playing supernatural tricks in my courtyard! Someone murdered my servant and stole the catalyst!"
Madame Bai, the First Mistress of the Zhang Mansion and Zhang Yuan's biological mother, stepped forward and delivered a direct slap that left the deranged Zhang Yuan completely bewildered.
Her bright red, manicured fingernail jabbed hard against Zhang Yuan's forehead. "Have you lost your mind, making such a racket!"
"It's just a servant! If he's dead, he's dead!"
"As for the catalyst being stolen, we'll just go find another one!"
Stunned, Zhang Yuan slowly came to his senses. "Mother..."
Madame Bai let out a cold snort. "Since we have already killed her and taken her heart, we must finish the job cleanly. I underestimated this Song Xiyan; I never expected anyone would still care about her."
"That thief did not kill you, nor did he kill Yanran; he only killed a few servants and guards."
"That being the case, perhaps he didn't come for Song Xiyan's sake after all, and perhaps we can still get the catalyst back."
A glimmer of hope returned to Zhang Yuan's eyes. He looked up at Madame Bai. "Mother, how do we get it back then?"
Madame Bai frowned at him. "You truly have been frightened out of your wits and lost your mind. First, suppress this matter and clean up our tracks before talking about anything else."
"I ask you, after taking her heart, have you dealt with the people in Xiyan Courtyard yet?"
Zhang Yuan shook his head. "Not yet..."
Madame Bai shot him a sidelong glare. "Song Xiyan is, after all, someone from the Duke's Estate. If anyone really comes looking, we must provide an explanation."
"Fortunately, I sent word to the Duke's Estate yesterday, claiming that Song Xiyan died of illness outside. I informed them she contracted smallpox, that her body was already cremated, and her coffin is about to be brought into the estate. Pull yourself together and hold a funeral for her. I have already sent men to deal with those people in Xiyan Courtyard."
"Once these matters are settled, we can discuss how to retrieve the catalyst."
Zhang Yuan nodded. After a brief hesitation, he spoke up again, "Mother, is there truly no ghosts or spirits in this world, right?"
Infuriated, Madame Bai jabbed her fingernail into Zhang Yuan's forehead once more. "No!"
"If there were, how many people in this Daqing would have already been dragged to their deaths by vengeful ghosts!"
Fuming, Madame Bai turned and left. Zhang Yuan was tended to by his attendant, who helped him wash up and change his clothes. As he walked, his foot suddenly struck something hard beneath his heel. Shifting his foot away, he saw a bright red piece of agate lying there.
His face twitched involuntarily. Recovering his wits, he lifted his foot again and brought it down heavily, crushing it to pieces!
"Song Xiyan, you're already dead, you're already dead!"
He muttered under his breath, his words laced with a trace of fierce anger. "You should have died long ago; it was I who let you live two extra years!"
"You agreed to it yourself—even if it cost you everything, you would make my wish come true! Your blood, your flesh, your heart are all mine! They are mine!"
"You made your own choice, so you must keep your word!"
The agate was ground completely to powder. As Zhang Yuan strode away, a gust of wind swept through, scattering the crimson dust and blowing it toward a remote, secluded room.
Someone was hiding inside that room, hands pressed tightly over her mouth, weeping softly.
"Fourth Young Mistress..."