Chapter 1 of Book 6 (Part 1): Who is the Mouse and Who is the Cat

  Step by step, I walked towards the deeply locked embroidered building, my cold sweat rolled down my face, smearing the powder. The assassination plan must have been exposed, living here, we are like hanging a dung basket on our buttocks - waiting for death (shit).

  Zhen Hua Yuan is the territory of Ye Liu Bing, he doesn't even need to lift a finger, just one call and all the monsters within a hundred miles will swarm in, if they can't kill us they'll exhaust us.

  Standing in front of the courtyard gate, the long-tailed bird's tail sprang up like a flower, drilled into the keyhole, twisted slightly, and opened the heavy stone lock hanging on the door. The courtyard was quiet and deep, the embroidered building stood alone in the dense tree shadows, and the wall was covered with dark green vines. When the wind blew, it fell into the pool beside the embroidered building, and the pool water was clear as ice.

  Staring at the back of Ru Hua, for a long time, I couldn't help but think of making a move, to strike her down with the fastest speed and then escape, or openly challenge Ye Liu Bing, but I still held my breath. Because as soon as I raised my head, I could see the black deep pool hanging in the air above, like Ye Liu Bing's cold and cool eyes watching me. No matter where we went, the black deep pool was always suspended above our heads.

  "Peony, are you feeling unwell?" Gan Ning asked seemingly casually.

  I pretended to clutch my belly and hummed: "It's probably that time of the month for me, a bit of stomachache. Taking some Angelica sinensis pills will make it all right." I deliberately tilted my head back and took another glance at the dark, deep pool.

  A strange glint flashed in Gan Ning's beautiful eyes, I relaxed my grip on the flower seeds and put them back into my pocket, giving up my plan to take action immediately. In a precarious situation, one cannot afford to be reckless.

  As we passed through the semicircular doorway, Hua led us into the Embroidered Building, saying stiffly: "Since you've come, you must strictly observe the rules of the Burial Flower Abyss. There are over a dozen rooms in the Embroidered Building that you can live in as you please, but don't make a mess or disturb anything. Also, without being summoned by the King, you're not allowed to leave the Embroidered Building privately. You're not allowed to wander around everywhere." She seemed too lazy to bother with us anymore, hastily introducing a few words before hurrying off, and deliberately locking the courtyard door on her way out.

  He said, "Isn't this a soft prison? My gaze swept around, under the dim backlight, the winding corridor, the deep boudoir, layer upon layer of beaded curtains hanging low. Although it was elegantly decorated and spotless, there was an inexplicable eerie atmosphere. As we entered a room, we put down the dowry chest and carefully hid it under the bed. Mouse Old Man let out a long sigh, sat on the floor with a thud, patted his heart: "Fortunately, everything has gone smoothly so far. I just saw Ye Liu Bing and was scared out of my wits, my legs are still shaking."

  I gave him a signal and walked to the window, lifting up one corner of the thin window screen as thin as a cicada's wing, and looked out. There were no monsters lurking in the courtyard, but even if I pulled up the window curtain, I seemed to be able to see the dark abyss hanging above.

  The princess and the mouse king noticed that I was not in a good mood. They hesitated, and no one dared to speak rashly. The little princess thought for a moment, then opened a dowry box, took out a pendant lotus incense burner, rubbed it lightly with both hands, and sprinkled a pinch of fluttering powder into the incense burner. A wisp of pale blue smoke rose, spreading out and forming an inverted, rounded trumpet that enveloped us.

  "Lin Gong, what can you say now?" The little princess's voice floated in the misty fragrance: "This is the secret flower smoke boundary of Huatian. Our conversation will be distorted. Even if it reaches other people's ears, it will only be some inexplicable sounds."

  I gave her a look of appreciation. The little beauty was indeed considerate. Gan Ning asked slowly, "Lin Fei, do you think Ye Liu Xing already knows the purpose of our trip?"

  "At least it's not ten times worse, or else how could he say such a thing about catching mice like a cat?"

  Mr. Mouse, Hai Ji, and Little Princess all changed their faces at the same time, and Hai Ji suddenly said: "Is that black deep pool playing tricks? You all had a dream?"

  I nodded, with a heavy heart: "In my opinion, it's more like a strange and bizarre sorcery that lures us into dreams, where we recall all the past events. It's as if... it's equivalent to stripping ourselves bare for Ye Liu Xing to see. Don't you think so? Ye Liu Xing's eyes are exactly the same as that black, deep abyss."

  The old mouse was so frightened that he fell to the ground: "Master's meaning is——Ye Liu Bing knows our dreams clearly? Isn't that seeing through our secrets? It's all over, it's all over. I've dreamed of all the assassination plans arranged by Master for my daughter's wedding!"

  "No wonder the tomb of Hua Xiang is more heavily guarded outside than inside. It turns out that anyone who enters here will be frozen by the Night Flowing Ice, as if it were a mere trifle." Gan Zhen said calmly: "Fortunately, I felt something was off in my dream and suppressed myself when I had the second dream, so the Night Flowing Ice shouldn't have gotten much from me."

  Kaede said: "I and Natsumi are in similar situations. When I feel something is off, I force myself to wake up immediately."

  A master is a master, I grasped Haixia's small hand and gave it a intimate kiss as a compliment. Mouse Gonggong stared with wide eyes. Haixia blushed and struggled free, scolding: "You little rascal, what to do now? Let's just charge out and have a good fight!"

  I looked at the little princess with difficulty, shaking my head. First of all, we can't implicate Huatian, and secondly, Ye Liu Bing has already made preparations, how could he let us succeed easily? Moreover, everything is still just my speculation.

  The little princess lightly bit her lip and said softly, "Planning is in the hands of man, but success is in the hands of heaven. You don't have to take it too seriously. Since the plan has failed, you all escape first, I will stay here and be the bride of the night flowing ice." Her face was pale, but her tone didn't have a hint of panic.

  When I heard the word "run", Mr. Mouse immediately became spirited and was about to run away with his belt tightly fastened. I caught him in one grasp, glared at him fiercely, and said in a low voice: "What is fate?"

  "I don't believe it! If I don't rescue Turtledove, I'll never leave Burial Mound of Flowers!"

  Gan Ning smiled faintly and nodded after a moment, saying one word: "Good."

  Ye Liu Bing should be a very arrogant and abnormal monster, to deal with him, we must make good use of this point. My mind flashed, my eyes slowly swept over the crowd around me, pair after pair of eyes staring at me. At this moment, I seemed to have returned to Luoyang, standing in front of my brothers who begged for alms, cheated and stole, talking fluently and planning carefully.

  Night Ice, you want to play cat and mouse? I'll accompany you for a good game! Let's see who is the mouse and who is the cat!

  The trumpet-shaped seal suddenly shook violently, as if it was being slowly torn open by an invisible hand. Blue smoke quickly dispersed in all directions. The little princess softly exclaimed: "Someone is trying to break the seal, can't say anymore."

  It's probably Ye Liu Bing trying to eavesdrop on our conversation! I had a sudden inspiration and gestured to her, staring intently at the boundary as it slowly shattered. When it was almost done, I started acting: "We've successfully infiltrated Mu Hua Yuan, now let's proceed according to plan. The defenses here are lax, we can make a big move." I gave Gan Zhen a signal with my eyes.

  "Night Ice's power is indeed profound, and we must be careful in dealing with him. For some reason, I feel uneasy in my heart. What does he mean by mentioning cats catching mice?"

  I secretly gave Gan Ning a thumbs up, and he said with a half-true and half-false tone that it was easier to believe. I pretended to be nonchalant: "I think Ye Liu Bing is abnormal in the head, so he likes to talk nonsense. Everyone doesn't have to worry about anything. In the next few days, I'll investigate around and feel out the situation." To rescue Ju Danmei, of course, I had to search the entire Mausoleum of Flowers thoroughly. But with that deep pool there, our actions would definitely be discovered by Ye Liu Bing. So I simply told the truth, letting Ye Liu Bing have the illusion that everything was under his control. With his abnormal psychology of playing cat and mouse, he wouldn't make a move against us until the very last moment.

  "Ha Ji said with a smile: 'When are we going to assassinate Ye Liu Bing?'"

  "Wait until the wedding night, then 'kill'!" I said with a vivid tone. If Ye Liu Cheng was eavesdropping on our conversation, he would patiently wait for that day to arrive. And what we needed to do was to take action before the wedding and kill him when he least expected it!

  "What does 'Kua' mean?"

  "Cut off his little brother. Let him never marry a wife!" I made a knife-cutting gesture, jumped onto the bed and rolled around laughing.

  This bed is really too big for me, who has become smaller, and can accommodate all five of us sleeping side by side. The smooth ivory bed, the fragrant satin canopy, the crystal-clear red agate pillow... let's indulge in it a bit.

  That night, I slept well and replenished my energy. The next day when I woke up, on the emerald dressing table in front of the window, a black ice flower had mysteriously appeared.

  Hai Ji, Gan Ning Zhen and Xiao Gong Zhu surrounded the dressing table, staring at Bing Hua without blinking. When asked, no one knew when Bing Hua appeared. I couldn't help but feel a chill run down my spine, and suddenly thought that this might be Ye Liu Bing's deliberate show of skill.

  "How was everyone's sleep last night?" Suddenly, Ye Liu's face appeared in the ice flower, with a cold and mysterious smile.

  The little princess composed herself and replied, "Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. I have been resting well." After a pause, she continued, "I was thinking of taking a walk around, may I have your permission?"

  "Of course you can. You are now the mistress of the tomb of flowers, do whatever you want." Ye Liu Bing gazed at the little princess for a moment, her eyes gleaming with an icy light that seemed to pierce through our very souls.

  After a while, there was a knock at the door. I opened it and saw that Dog Tail was standing outside with his tail wagging respectfully, saying: "Greetings to the young princess, His Majesty has ordered me to move into the courtyard from today on, to serve you."

  The little princess looked at him coldly, not saying a word. The dog's tail humbly said: "You finally came, it seems that General Yanwei has not yet become old and confused. I've been saying all along that Huatian should form an alliance with the foreign tribe through marriage."

  The little princess suddenly stretched out her hand and slapped a crisp slap on the dog's face.

  "This slap is to teach you a lesson on behalf of the ancestors of Huatian." She said, "The king has spoken, I am the mistress here, and I can do whatever I want. Besides, please call me madam."

  The dog's tail changed color, covering his face, and said in a stifled tone: "Yes, madam, I understand."

  A soft, icy laugh echoed from the Ice Flower: "The little princess is gentle on the outside but strong on the inside, quite like General Yingtai's heroic spirit. I have prepared an early meal for you at the Hundred Flowers Pavilion, please do me the honor of joining me."

  The little princess looked at us, hesitated for a moment, and then said with profound meaning: "Bring your maids along, you might feel more comfortable that way."

  The dog's tail foxed us with a suspicious glance, dryly saying: "Leaving the flower field for many years, I don't even recognize my wife's personal maid." Walking up to us, he pretended to pay his respects and carefully examined us. Fortunately, our appearances had changed greatly, and we were not recognized by him.

  The little princess calmly said, "You don't even recognize your ancestors anymore." She walked towards the door, and the dog's tail quickly followed, no longer bothering to ask us questions. I turned my head back for a glance, and the ice flower on the dressing table had vanished without a trace.