Chapter 18

The last trace of moonlight was also covered by dark clouds. From within the rolling clouds came waves of muffled thunder. The forest was silent; even the flying insects, birds, and beasts had fallen quiet. I carried the princess on my back and carefully walked through the pitch-black night.

It seemed those people would not be able to catch up, but we seemed to have encountered another difficulty.

For example, we were lost.

Maple Leaf Temple was surrounded by continuous mountains, and stretches of dense forest connected to the depths of the mountain region where few people ever went. Although I had investigated the area around the temple before, that earlier bout of running blindly through the dark had taken us away from the route I had originally planned. Now that we had gone so far, I could no longer identify our exact location.

What worried me even more was that the farther we walked, the wilder and deeper the surroundings became.

At first, when we were in that dark forest, at least there had still been some small paths, and the ground had been flat. But now, the trees around us were growing taller and taller. Their roots twisted and tangled beneath them, and wild grass grew everywhere. On top of that, I was still carrying the completely limp princess on my back, so it was inconvenient for me to free my hands and push aside the branches before me. Walking through them became even more difficult. Occasionally, when I came across low branches stretching out, they all scraped across my face with a sharp rustle. Fortunately, I was wearing a layer of disguise mask; otherwise, my face would definitely have been ruined.

Sigh. In this deep mountain forest, I could not figure out the path, nor did I know whether there were any wild beasts inside. If a mountain tiger appeared, then we would truly be finished. But things had already reached this point, and there was no road back. I could only brace myself and continue forward. I also had to hurry and find a place where we could rest for the night. The weather looked somewhat frightening. The dark clouds were heavy, and there was not the slightest wind in the forest. The more stifling and deathly still it was now, the heavier the rain would be later.

“Princess, do you recognize this place?” I asked while looking at the mist spreading ahead, but the person on my back did not answer.

“Princess, are you thirsty? I have a water pouch on me.”

“Princess, do you… need to relieve yourself?”

After several questions in a row, I discovered that a certain princess was actually ignoring me.

We had already walked for almost an hour. She had recovered a little strength by now and could use her hands to support herself against my shoulders and back, slightly lifting herself away. But I could still clearly feel the rising and falling curves pressed against me, the steady heartbeat from her warm, soft chest, and that faint cold fragrance.

The person lying on my back right now was the goddess from countless Great Yue citizens’ dreams. Yet I, who was fortunate enough to be in such close contact with her, could not produce the slightest romantic thought. Because right now, I was almost being frostbitten by the cold air coming off her body.

I guessed that she must be staring at the back of my head with those phoenix eyes, her mood dark and unpredictable, while her beautiful lips were pressed tightly into a cold, hard bluish-white line.

But why was she angry? Just because I had sprinkled flour all over her face earlier? That did not make sense. At such a difficult moment, not only had I not taken advantage of her helplessness, I had relied on my proud self-control and noble professional ethics to resist the temptation of money. I had worked like an ox and horse for her, protected her from danger, and carried her this far. What else was she dissatisfied with? I was almost moved by my own purity and selflessness.

“Princess?”

So I called again. Seeing that she still ignored me, my wicked thoughts could not be suppressed. I deliberately said, “Princess, are we in the back mountain now?” As I spoke, I lowered my voice and revealed a trace of fear. “I heard… this area around the back mountain is haunted.”

The breath brushing steadily against the back of my neck suddenly trembled slightly.

The corner of my mouth curved up, and I said faintly, “Princess, are you afraid of ghosts?”

“Heh, do you think this palace would be afraid of those randomly fabricated stories?” She was finally provoked into speaking. Her tone was cold, but because of her weakness after being poisoned, it carried a few points less intimidation.

Hearing her words, which clearly sounded like she was forcing herself to be brave, I was truly amused this time. I could not control the corners of my mouth from lifting. The intelligence I had gathered before had not been wasted. I knew that when she was young, she had once seen a palace servant hang herself at night and had been frightened. She had even been tainted by evil energy, developed a fever, and fallen unconscious for several days. After that, she had probably developed a psychological shadow. From childhood to adulthood, she had stayed far away from ghost and monster tales. Even now, there was not a single book of strange tales in the prince’s manor.

This was her weakness~~~

My heart felt thoroughly refreshed. I tried hard to lower my voice and said heavily, “This is different from other folk tales. It’s much more interesting than those. The day before yesterday, I heard it from the old gatekeeper at the temple. It’s a real event, and very sinister.”

“This happened right here at Maple Leaf Temple. They never let outsiders know about it. He only revealed it because he had drunk a couple cups of wine and could not control his mouth. Princess, although you can be considered a frequent guest of Maple Leaf Temple, you definitely have not heard of it.”

After building the atmosphere for a moment, I slowly began.

“That was an old incident from five years ago, when the old abbot was still alive. At that time, it was winter, colder than previous years. The plants and trees in the mountains had withered, wind and snow had continued for days, and the sky was dim and gloomy. A young man carrying his luggage braved the heavy snow and climbed the stone steps one by one, coming up the mountain to shave his head and become a monk. Later, he entered Elder Yinkong’s discipleship and received the Dharma name Jingfan.”

At this point, I turned my head and said mysteriously to the princess, “Princess, you know Elder Yinkong, right? He is somewhat muddled now, but five years ago, he was not like this.”

In the silent forest, the air was still and unmoving. Only the occasional rumble of thunder could be heard, along with the crisp crack of dry branches snapping underfoot, the rustle of fabric rubbing, shallow breathing, and my deliberately lowered voice. Listening to it, even I felt goosebumps rise.

“After that Jingfan came to the temple, he chanted scriptures and recited Buddhist prayers every day. He worked diligently and treated people kindly. Elder Yinkong liked this disciple very much. The temple was peaceful as usual, but gradually, something became wrong. People began disappearing one after another.”

“First, it was a young disciple who swept the grounds. Then several kitchen monks. Then the duty monk… even the monastery supervisor disappeared. And the last one to vanish was that Jingfan. Afterward, although peace returned, the temple was still shrouded in fear. Everyone said it was caused by ghosts and monsters. Because of this, the abbot and elders invited a precious luminous relic to suppress the evil energy. To the outside, they only said that the temple monks had fallen ill.”

“They originally thought the matter had passed just like that. But in the spring of the next year, on a rather stuffy night, all the monks in the temple were awakened by waves of crying. They followed the sound out and were horrified to discover that ghostly flames flickered in the back mountain, illuminating the forest in a strange green glow. From afar, among the flickering firelight, they could vaguely see black shadows swaying, just like wronged ghosts crying and sobbing in the wind! Everyone was terrified. The old abbot immediately led the martial monks there with ritual instruments. And what was even more terrifying was… when they walked into the back mountain, the circling ghost flames suddenly went out. Then, when a strong wind blew, they discovered that beneath the high pile of dead leaves were corpses that had been chewed until their faces were unrecognizable!”

“The seven corpses they cleared out were all missing monks from the temple. But the only one absent was… the one with the Dharma name Jingfan.”

A flash of lightning lit up the surroundings. Feeling that the person on my back seemed to hold her breath, I [bailiantales.com]smiled faintly and finally said, “So an unwritten rule was passed down in the temple. Every full-moon night, or during thunderstorms when yin energy is extremely heavy, one must never go near the back mountain, because—”

Before I could finish, I suddenly stepped on something round beneath my foot.

“Ah!!!”

“Ah!!!”

“It’s fine, it’s fine. I just stepped on a big mushroom.” I hurriedly said. Just now, out of instinct, I had cried out in fright, but I had not expected the princess to scream even louder than me, almost scaring my legs weak. Now that things had quieted down, I could not help bursting into laughter. “Pfft, Princess, you still say you aren’t afraid. Even poisoned, you can still scream so loudly.”

Before she could retort, the sky suddenly flashed with an especially blinding light, followed by a booming crash of thunder. Very soon, wind began to rise. My heart sank, and I said, “Damn, it’s going to rain. Looks like we’re going to get soaked. Truly, when the roof leaks, it rains all night; misfortunes never come alone.”

As I spoke, I quickened my steps, wanting to look for a cliff wall, cave, or somewhere else where we could take shelter. During a thunderstorm, stopping beneath a tree was very dangerous. In the past, I had heard many tragic stories of martial world seniors encountering rain while competing in martial arts, hiding together under a large tree, and both being struck into charcoal. Unfortunately, before I could take many more steps, the rain poured down in sheets.

The rain was exceptionally fierce and terrifying. Even though the large trees overhead covered the sky, many raindrops still smashed down like hail. I thought that the princess, who was blocking quite a lot of rain for me, must be feeling pain across her back right now.

“…I really want to kill you.” The person behind me seemed unable to endure any longer and said hatefully, “I didn’t expect you to see me in my most miserable state.”

“Hey, Princess, if it were some other young lady, she’d probably be offering herself in marriage by now. You’ve read the books of sages, so you can’t repay kindness with resentment like this. We haven’t even truly escaped danger yet, and you’re already thinking of killing me to silence me. That’s too unrighteous. Besides, I’m clearly the more miserable one right now, all right? You have no idea how heavy you are. I’ve worked so hard carrying you, and my feet are aching to death…”

“What did you say?” She cut off my muttering. Her cold, alluring voice turned over several times on the tip of her tongue, yet seemed to hide a sharp blade, sounding extremely dangerous.

The rain still showed no sign of weakening, pouring down with a loud rush. This fox leaned near my ear and breathed softly, yet her voice stolen content was so clear it seemed to seep into my consciousness. “Do not forget that I know how to use poison. Even though I have not fully recovered my strength yet, I can still take your life with ease.”

After hearing this, I truly wanted to stop and wipe away the rainwater and bitter tears on my face.

It was bad enough that my efforts were thankless. Now I even had to endure this kind of threat. What was I doing all this for? But indignation was indignation. Right now, I could only coax her good-temperedly. “Don’t be angry. Just now, the rain washed me so badly that I said the wrong thing. What I meant was, Princess, even when drenched by rain, you are like a peacock playing in water, without the slightest trace of misery. Uh, and thanks to your delicate and light body, I’ve carried you for so long without feeling tired at all, hahaha…”

“Shut up,” a certain princess said coldly.

Fine. She was not even willing to hear nice words. I curled my lips, knowing she was also feeling uncomfortable from the rain. So I looked around, bent down, and tore off a wild taro leaf as large as an umbrella canopy from the bushes. I handed it behind me. “Hey, Princess, you’ve recovered a little strength now, right? Come, hold this leaf. It can block some rain.”

She did not speak, but accepted it as told.

I could not help thinking of my childhood. Once, Master took me out, and we encountered rain halfway. He had plucked this kind of large lotus-like leaf by the roadside, and each of us held one as we walked through the misty drizzle. Back then, I had looked at his back from behind. His green robes were always clean, unstained by even the slightest dust or mud.

I could not help sighing. As I walked, a small path suddenly appeared in the rain and mist.

At first, I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. But when I walked closer and looked, not only was there a path, there was also a small wooden house in the distance. It looked like the kind hunters in the mountains used for resting.

Could it be that we had gone in the right direction and finally left the wild forest? Haha, truly, when the path winds, a new scene appears! I happily lifted my chin toward the front and said to the princess, “Princess, look. There’s a small wooden house over there. We have a place to spend the night.”

Because I was too happy and had let down my guard, I accidentally choked on rainwater. I instantly felt exhausted. “Princess, you should help shield me from the rain a little too.” She really had no conscience. Did she not see how hard I was working… Huh? Wait!

Only then did I realize that the person on my back’s breathing had grown much weaker. I hurriedly called[stolen content] out twice. “Princess.”

“Princess, Princess?”

There was no response. I was about to call again when the leaf used to block the rain suddenly fell, and immediately after, my shoulder sank.

“Princess?!”

I was shocked to realize she had passed out. Her forehead was also burning badly. I quickly ran to the small house, pried open the lock, went inside, and set the princess down to check her. After examining her carefully, I finally discovered two spreading bloodstains on her lower leg.

I lifted her trouser leg. Sure enough, she had been bitten by a snake. Could it be that she had already been bitten by a venomous snake when we were being chased by the saber man earlier? Mm… no wonder she had been running so slowly before. But why did she not tell me sooner? Was she afraid I would take the chance to harm her? Did she need to be this suspicious?!

For some reason, I became angry.

If this person died from a snakebite, what meaning would all my effort these days have?!

She would not have had her throat sealed by one stroke of my sect’s sword technique. Things would not have developed according to my plan. She would not reveal a look of disbelief and regret, then say to me, “I calculated everything, yet still fell into your hands!” It would not be perfect at all!!

No, I could not accept this!

I quickly sealed several of her acupoints and used internal energy to force out seventy to eighty percent of the poison. Then I braved the rain outside to find herbs that could counter snake venom, crushed them into a paste, applied them, and carefully bandaged the wound. After working for a long time, I saw the purple-black color fade and her temperature drop somewhat. Only then did I let out a breath of relief. Fortunately, she had not been bitten by some extremely venomous snake.

Now I had time to look around the wooden house. It was fairly clean inside, so someone probably came here often. Aside from [read the original at bailiantales.com]a bed, there was also a simple stove made of bricks and stones. I used the dead branches and leaves piled in the corner to block the gaps in the door, and only then did I light a fire and start the stove.

The rain outside was now pouring down overwhelmingly, and the house was also tightly sealed. The firelight would not leak out, so we should not be discovered.

If I did not light a fire to keep warm, a certain princess might escape the snake venom only to have her body collapse from catching cold. I looked angrily at the unconscious person over there, irritation rising in my heart. Did I owe this person something in my previous life…? Forget it. I would treat this as repaying the life-saving grace. From now on, we owed each other nothing, and I would take her life later.

In any case… there was still more than a year before the deadline. There was no need to rush. In any case, after returning, I could see her every day. One day, when I caught a good opportunity, I would start slaughtering. I was not anxious at all. Not anxious…

My consciousness gradually became a little hazy. I was also tired and sleepy now, but being soaked all over felt terrible. I patted my own face and walked over to the princess, thinking of helping her remove her outer clothes so they could dry by the fire. But then I saw her brows furrowed, her slightly pale lips opening and closing as she murmured broken sentences in a low voice.

I lowered my head and leaned closer to listen. Only then did I understand what she was saying.

“Don’t leave me…”

In her dazed state, she grabbed the corner of my clothes, fragile as a child.