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| Rebirth: Back to Zero Author: 祎庭沫瞳 (Yi Ting Mo Tong) |
Chapter 15 An Eldritch Horror (Part 2/3)
Today,
the Fourth Prince's Mansion invited an opera troupe to sing. Jun Chengyan and
his wife and concubines listened to the opera in an impressive theatre while
enjoying dinner. As the master of the house hid indoors to enjoy the show, the
servants could not help but relax and hide from the chilly winds.
With
Ling Qiyang in his hands, Jun Lixuan hopped and gently landed on a backyard
roof. Quickly, the shadow guard who followed the thugs saw Jun Lixuan, and
appeared, After saluting, he pointed to a hidden courtyard.
"Your
Highness, the woman is locked in the west room of the yard. Since she entered
the room, I didn’t hear any movement. I believe she's been drugged and fell
asleep. Only two Grannies are guarding the yard, but they have left for their
meals. Your Highness, you can go in through the back window with Prince Consort
without being noticed." The shadow guard reported in an undertone.
"Excellent."
Jun Lixuan nodded.
The
shadow guard disappeared in front of them.
Once
again, Jun Lixuan hugged Ling Qiyang in his arms. With a light jump, the two
went around to the rear window. Jun Lixuan peeked through the windows panes and
scanned for any presence within the room. After making sure that there was no
one else inside, Jun Lixuan pried the window open and jumped in with Ling Qiyang.
"The
Fourth Prince does not have Shadow Guards? Why hasn't your shadow guard been
discovered?" This mystery had plagued Ling QIyang for a long time.
Jun
Lixuan replied softly, "We never show the Shadow Guards to others, and I
trained them myself. Shadow Guards' existence is prohibited in our empire, and
so the other princes do not dare to do so. On my side, I quietly trained a
group of people. Other than you, only Third Brother and Sixth Brother know of
their existence."
Ling
Qiyang nodded in realization. Since the two brothers knew, they too must have
trained Shadow Guards. Ling Qiyang scanned the room cautiously. The furnishings
were straightforward and minimal. It seemed that it was only for temporary use
and was not intended for extended stays.
Walking
to the bed, Ling Qiyang saw the sleeping woman. Immediately, he knelt down
beside and, stretched out her hand to examine the pulse. After a momentary
silence, he stood up said to Jun Lixuan, "She's drugged. If there is no
antidote given, the earliest she would only wake up is noontime."
"What
do we do now?"
Ling
Qiyang pointed to the stool on one side, "Sit down and wait, it will be
fine soon."
Ling
Qiyang put down half of the bed canopy, took out two small bottles and began to
smear them on the woman's face. Jun Lixuan sat down as instructed and watched
him quietly. There were only two candles lit in the room, illuminating the room
in a gentle orange wash.
Ling
Qiyang worked silently for a while. Then, he stood up and hung up the bed
canopy again.
Even in
this low light, the bright red on his palms drew Jun Lixuan's attention
immediately. He immediately stepped forward and grabbed his hand, "What's
the matter?"
On
after asking, he realized that it was not blood, but something like the dye on
his hand. By now, the red substance had dried and did not stain the robes or
bedsheets.
"It's
okay, I can wash it off with some herbs later." Ling Qiyang shook Jun
Lixuan's hand indifferently while smiling cheekily. The frantic concern made
him really warm in his heart.
Seeing
that his consort was alright, Jun Lixuan looked at the woman on the bed again.
She was still asleep, and she seemed to be okay.
Ling
Qiyang took out a small bottle from his purse, opened the cap, and shook it
under the woman's nose. Slowly, the woman's eyelids twitched and opened her
eyes.
The
woman who had just woken up stared at Ling Qiyang blankly. Seeing that she did
not scream as expected, Jun Lixuan was relieved. However, her scrutinizing gaze
on Ling Qiyang made Jun Lixuan unhappy.
Her
eyes glued on Ling Qiyang for a significant while. Then, her current situation
dawned upon. Just as she was about to scream, Ling Qiyang stuck his index
finger on his lips, gesturing firmly for her to hold back her scream.
Ling
Qiyang whispered. "We saw everything by the tea stand. It is too
conspicuous to rescue you during the day, so we chose this time instead."
The
woman immediately got up, knelt to the ground, and whimpered, "Thank you
for saving me. I will never forget your benevolence and empathy. I will do
everything I can to repay this debt."
Ling
Qiyang hurriedly helped the woman up and said, "This is just a small deed.
I just hope that you can forget this matter after you leave and don't mention
us to anyone."
"Don't
worry, sir, I know that the two of you chose the night to not be exposed. I
will definitely bring this to my grave." The woman was intelligent, and
Ling Qiyang did not have to further explain.
"Thank
you, young lady."
"It
should be me thanking you for saving my life instead, kind sir." The woman
looked at Ling Qiyang as if she was admiring an artistic scroll.
"To
prevent other girls from being preyed on, I will need your help on
something." Ling Qiyang was unaffected by the admiration and said calmly.
"Please
let me know how I can be of help. I will do my best."The woman agreed
earnestly, even before she heard the request.
Ling
Qiyang smiled and stuffed her a bottle of medicine. He then leaned forward and
whispered what she needed to do into her ear. The woman's expression was first
overwhelmed with surprised. Then, her lips curled into a sinister smile as she
chuckled. Finally, she looked at Ling Qiyang and nodded.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Today,
the Fourth Prince's Mansion invited an opera troupe to sing. Jun Chengyan and
his wife and concubines listened to the opera in an impressive theatre while
enjoying dinner. As the master of the house hid indoors to enjoy the show, the
servants could not help but relax and hide from the chilly winds.
With
Ling Qiyang in his hands, Jun Lixuan hopped and gently landed on a backyard
roof. Quickly, the shadow guard who followed the thugs saw Jun Lixuan, and
appeared, After saluting, he pointed to a hidden courtyard.
"Your
Highness, the woman is locked in the west room of the yard. Since she entered
the room, I didn’t hear any movement. I believe she's been drugged and fell
asleep. Only two Grannies are guarding the yard, but they have left for their
meals. Your Highness, you can go in through the back window with Prince Consort
without being noticed." The shadow guard reported in an undertone.
"Excellent."
Jun Lixuan nodded.
The
shadow guard disappeared in front of them.
Once
again, Jun Lixuan hugged Ling Qiyang in his arms. With a light jump, the two
went around to the rear window. Jun Lixuan peeked through the windows panes and
scanned for any presence within the room. After making sure that there was no
one else inside, Jun Lixuan pried the window open and jumped in with Ling Qiyang.
"The
Fourth Prince does not have Shadow Guards? Why hasn't your shadow guard been
discovered?" This mystery had plagued Ling QIyang for a long time.
Jun
Lixuan replied softly, "We never show the Shadow Guards to others, and I
trained them myself. Shadow Guards' existence is prohibited in our empire, and
so the other princes do not dare to do so. On my side, I quietly trained a
group of people. Other than you, only Third Brother and Sixth Brother know of
their existence."
Ling
Qiyang nodded in realization. Since the two brothers knew, they too must have
trained Shadow Guards. Ling Qiyang scanned the room cautiously. The furnishings
were straightforward and minimal. It seemed that it was only for temporary use
and was not intended for extended stays.
Walking
to the bed, Ling Qiyang saw the sleeping woman. Immediately, he knelt down
beside and, stretched out her hand to examine the pulse. After a momentary
silence, he stood up said to Jun Lixuan, "She's drugged. If there is no
antidote given, the earliest she would only wake up is noontime."
"What
do we do now?"
Ling
Qiyang pointed to the stool on one side, "Sit down and wait, it will be
fine soon."
Ling
Qiyang put down half of the bed canopy, took out two small bottles and began to
smear them on the woman's face. Jun Lixuan sat down as instructed and watched
him quietly. There were only two candles lit in the room, illuminating the room
in a gentle orange wash.
Ling
Qiyang worked silently for a while. Then, he stood up and hung up the bed
canopy again.
Even in
this low light, the bright red on his palms drew Jun Lixuan's attention
immediately. He immediately stepped forward and grabbed his hand, "What's
the matter?"
On
after asking, he realized that it was not blood, but something like the dye on
his hand. By now, the red substance had dried and did not stain the robes or
bedsheets.
"It's
okay, I can wash it off with some herbs later." Ling Qiyang shook Jun
Lixuan's hand indifferently while smiling cheekily. The frantic concern made
him really warm in his heart.
Seeing
that his consort was alright, Jun Lixuan looked at the woman on the bed again.
She was still asleep, and she seemed to be okay.
Ling
Qiyang took out a small bottle from his purse, opened the cap, and shook it
under the woman's nose. Slowly, the woman's eyelids twitched and opened her
eyes.
The
woman who had just woken up stared at Ling Qiyang blankly. Seeing that she did
not scream as expected, Jun Lixuan was relieved. However, her scrutinizing gaze
on Ling Qiyang made Jun Lixuan unhappy.
Her
eyes glued on Ling Qiyang for a significant while. Then, her current situation
dawned upon. Just as she was about to scream, Ling Qiyang stuck his index
finger on his lips, gesturing firmly for her to hold back her scream.
Ling
Qiyang whispered. "We saw everything by the tea stand. It is too
conspicuous to rescue you during the day, so we chose this time instead."
The
woman immediately got up, knelt to the ground, and whimpered, "Thank you
for saving me. I will never forget your benevolence and empathy. I will do
everything I can to repay this debt."
Ling
Qiyang hurriedly helped the woman up and said, "This is just a small deed.
I just hope that you can forget this matter after you leave and don't mention
us to anyone."
"Don't
worry, sir, I know that the two of you chose the night to not be exposed. I
will definitely bring this to my grave." The woman was intelligent, and
Ling Qiyang did not have to further explain.
"Thank
you, young lady."
"It
should be me thanking you for saving my life instead, kind sir." The woman
looked at Ling Qiyang as if she was admiring an artistic scroll.
"To
prevent other girls from being preyed on, I will need your help on
something." Ling Qiyang was unaffected by the admiration and said calmly.
"Please
let me know how I can be of help. I will do my best."The woman agreed
earnestly, even before she heard the request.
Ling
Qiyang smiled and stuffed her a bottle of medicine. He then leaned forward and
whispered what she needed to do into her ear. The woman's expression was first
overwhelmed with surprised. Then, her lips curled into a sinister smile as she
chuckled. Finally, she looked at Ling Qiyang and nodded.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Translator's Notes:
The final part is so epic! Super funny and cool! You have to read it!!!
oho that sinister smile tho :>
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