Chapter 7: The Undead Wriggles

  "Don't worry, as long as I leave this place, I'll still be the Third Prince, and you're my only legitimate princess. As long as you don't betray me, wealth and glory will be yours to enjoy. It's better than being a lowly maid." Xuan Yuan Mu seemed to understand my thoughts and said from upstairs.

  I looked up at him, feeling particularly distressed in my heart, and said softly: "I don't need those things, I just want to live a peaceful life, have a home, have loved ones..."

  The small building suddenly fell into silence, no wind, no yin energy, no sound at all. I sat there until my stomach growled, and then I came back to myself.

  I'm just this kind of person, always able to adapt in a harsh environment. Since I couldn't escape, I could only accept it.

  I opened the window and started cooking, washing pots, rinsing rice, lighting a fire, and even stir-frying a small dish. As I smelled the aroma of food, I finally swept away my mental sorrow.

  I turned around and put the dishes on the table, just to see Xuan Yuan Mu staring at me foolishly.

  "You...do you want to eat something too?" Although the possibility of a head eating is relatively low, out of politeness, I still asked.

  "Actually... I just want to have a home, and family members who won't betray me. The Xuan Yuan imperial clan is full of deceit and betrayal, brothers killing each other for the throne, and I might be one of the sacrifices."

  I blinked at him with my eyes, feeling more and more suffocated in my heart. Maybe we are the same kind of people, the only difference is that he is a dead person, I am a living person.

  It's been several days since I last took a bath, and the large vats outside the courtyard are filled with rainwater, enough for me to take a bath. After boiling the water, I set up the screen in the room on the second floor that has a bathtub, fill it with water, and carefully close the door, also inserting the doorstop, fearing that Xun'er's head might suddenly appear here.

  Letting down her hair, taking off her clothes, and soaking comfortably in the bathtub, she closed her eyes to rest for a while. These past few days had been too frightening, and she truly hoped it was all just a dream. She hoped that when she opened her eyes again, she would still be in the small courtyard of the Western Garden of the Zuo Mansion, and that her little cat would still be alive, accompanying her.

  "If I had the chance again, I would have left the Zuo Xiang Fu early!" Under the warm water's soaking, I muttered to myself, then I felt a chill and couldn't help but open my eyes, seeing that pair of yellow eyes right next to me. Xuan Yuan Mu? He... how did he get so close to me?

  "What...what are you doing?" I was startled and wanted to retreat, but there was nowhere to go. The bathtub was just that big, if I rushed out, I would be seen by this person.

  "What did you say I should do?" Xuan Yuan Mu's eyes were a pale yellow, the corners of his mouth were ambiguous, and the cold air from his words sprayed onto my face.

  "Go away, go away..." I randomly splashed the water in the bathtub, wanting to push the person in front of me away. Xuan Yuan Mu had already retreated to a safe distance.

  His head floated to the window and said: "This is my home, I think wherever I appear will be wherever I appear."

  I clutched at my wildly racing heart, gasping for air violently.

  After hastily washing up, I returned to that carved 'flower' big 'bed', saw that red 'colored' quilt, and felt very uncomfortable in my heart. I hope tomorrow Xuan Yuan Qi can find the blood of 100 pure Yang men and help Xuan Yuan Mu complete his body as soon as possible. I really don't want to see that head floating around again.

  Xuanyuan Qi is indeed the Fourth Prince, it was easy for him to collect the blood of a hundred pure Yang men, filling up a large leather bag, making me feel very heavy.

  "Thank you, Fourth Prince, I will definitely bring Xuan Yuan Mu to see you."

  The Fourth Prince Xuan looked at me coldly and shook his head: "Just don't deceive me."

  I turned around and looked at him strangely.

  "Yesterday I had someone tail you, did you go to the Black Bamboo Forest on the west side of Huangcheng?"

  My heart skipped a beat, did he find out?

  "I..."

  "Could it be that my Third Imperial Brother is already dead? Or are you deceiving me, what kind of sinister plot do you have? To actually use my Third Imperial Brother as a shield to deceive me?" As he spoke, Xuan Yuan Qi's fingers had already clasped around my neck.

  Good heavens, what's going on these past few days? Do they all have a liking for my neck or something? Do they all want me dead or something?

  "Fine, since you don't believe me, then kill me! You'll never see Xuan Yuan Mu in this lifetime!" I shouted, really exhausted. During the day, I ran around for Xuan Yuan Mu, and at night, he scared me. After finally gathering the blood of a hundred pure Yang men, Xuan Qi wanted to kill me?

  Xuanyuan Qi furrowed his brow, released his hand, and turned around: "Let's go, I just can't believe my third brother is already... In these ten years, I thought he was just missing, although he didn't want to come out and see us, but he was still alive."

  "He will come back to see you!" My momentum also fell instantly, and then I ran out of the city with a water bag on my back.

  Going south on Wangfu Avenue past the residence of the Prince of Qi, you can see the Left Prime Minister's estate. Originally I wanted to take a detour, but this road is closest to the West City Gate, where you can find horse-drawn carriages leaving the city.

  The farther I got from the Left Prime Minister's mansion, the closer I was getting. From a distance, I saw Li Yue standing in front of the gate wearing coarse clothes and arguing loudly with the gate guard.

  "I want to see Ling Xue, I want to ransom her, I want to see her, it's been five or six days since I last saw her. Did your Left Prime Minister's estate sell her? I have money too, I want to see her..."

  Li Yue is a tofu maker at the vegetable market. Sometimes I would follow my mother to his place to buy tofu, we were of the same age, although we didn't talk much when we met, but I had a good impression of him.

  I'm dressed as a man, lowering my head, what's going on? Why is Li Yue making a fuss to see me? Ah, he doesn't know that I've become the pure 'yin' daughter for the Ghost King's tribute, he still thinks I'm a maid from the Left Prime Minister's residence, who would have thought this kid would make a scene all the way here.

  I turned my face and walked past the Left Prime Minister's mansion, hearing him loudly shouting: "I want to marry Ling Xue, I want her to be my wife!"

  My head is slightly aching, I didn't expect Li Yue to say something like that, no wonder he was making a fuss about redeeming me earlier.

  Pretending not to see him, I rushed out of Wangfu Avenue and ran towards the West City Gate.

  It's not easy to get back to the small building, I put the water bag on my back on the table in the first floor hall.

  "Xuanyuan dusk, Xuanyuan dusk, the blood of one hundred pure Yang men has been found."

  The house was very quiet, with no sound of Xuan Yuan Wu. I ran to the yard, but found that the dark clouds were rolling at the horizon, and the bamboo forest had changed. There was a strange howling sound coming from there. In my days in this small building, such a phenomenon has never occurred. Tonight is Xuan Yuan Wu's last night, will something unusual happen?

  Hearing the wailing sound in the air, I took a step back. It's still daytime, how could this happen?

  "Xuanyuan, where are you?" My voice was trembling. These days I didn't dare to come back after dark, afraid of being entangled by those 'yin' ghosts. I don't like the terrifying feeling of struggling between life and death.