Chapter 33 | Ink East

Edited by renderedreversed

Chapter 33

I looked at the sword in my hand. With my current abilities, I wouldn’t even be able to beat the weakest of them. I looked left and right and, fortunately, found a crossbow not too far away from me. My heart skipped a beat. I quietly moved over and picked it up.

The ongoing fight was as loud and rambunctious as a band of drums. Just as I had picked up the crossbow, a black shadow fell over my back. My heart seized up. I immediately turned around, and without thinking, shot an arrow at the person behind me. Because we were so close, it naturally struck a bullseye...right in his crotch. Behind the black of his cloth mask, I could see his eyes widening. His knees trembled as he screamed. It seemed like I had no time to be tired now.

He dropped to the ground, covering his groin area. It was clearly a move done out of desperation, but part of me still felt it had some insidious intent, trying to appeal to my better nature. On purpose or not, I still fell for it and busily apologized to him, but the person lying on the ground didn’t move anymore. The air was silent for a moment, then a woman’s voice shouted: “Capture her! She is Qi Country’s Princess Qingling!”

I turned and looked. It was the small leader of the group. He...was actually a she. And her voice was rather familiar... The realization came to me after a moment of thought. “Xinyun!”

I didn’t have time to savor the feeling of my ingenuity as a sharp pain hit the back of my neck. Dizzy, my eyes began to slide shut. This was bad, I thought. I was really going to have to kiss Yanwang this time!

Would Chu Kong come looking for me? Upon finding that I was missing, would he be panicstricken like Lu Hai Kong? I suddenly wanted to see his expression, all in a disarray. He was such a prideful person, and besides, he really cared about face, too; even if he needed to fake it, he’d act like he was calm. Not to mention, he didn’t need to go on a rampage because of me. We both knew that we wouldn’t “die”. Wouldn’t it be great fun, to enjoy his distress consequence-free…?

When I next awoke, my whole body was unbearably cold. Although my period was over, this cold was like the continuation of it: I could feel it all the way down to my bones. I rubbed my arms and took a look around. In all four directions, there was nothing but trees. I wondered where this forest was. The snow on the ground was swept. A bunch of people in black were sitting together. They didn’t light a fire. No one spoke. They were silent, eyes closed like statues. I looked at the iron chain at my feet and gently moved a little. The sound of the chain immediately woke a few of the people in black. Even while they were sleeping, they didn’t take off the black cloth covering their face. With only their eyes exposed, I could see their cold gazes as they stared at me.

I pouted and whispered: “Are you out of coal or something? Why isn’t the fire lit? It’s so cold.”

“Do you still think that we’re in the capital of Qi Country, Your Royal Highness?” a female voice ridiculed me. “If you wanted to be warm, you shouldn’t have followed Chu Qinghui to the battlefield.”

I looked over and saw Xinyun sitting on a dead tree behind me. She was now completely different from when she was seducing Chu Qinghui in the capital. I said, “I didn’t want to come.”

If it wasn’t because Chu Kong wanted to go to war, I wouldn’t have been kidnapped.

“That Chu Qinghui actually let you follow him to the battlefield?”

Xinyun’s tone changed. She jumped off the dead tree and stood in front of me. Then, she lifted my chin and stared.

“What tricks did you use to let such a man lose his head like that...”

I thought for a moment and continued to display my best quality, which was honesty. “Body tricks.”

We swapped souls and shared a body. In this lifetime, there were no secrets between me and Chu Kong.

Xinyun stiffened. Her face turned pale and she let out an ugly smile. She moved her lips close to my ear. “Taking advantage of your loose mouth, aren’t you? You’re making me feel bad. I’ll pay you back tenfold. Pay Chu Qinghui back tenfold.”

Her hand touched my throat very dangerously.

“After all, you like him, he likes you. You two will not be together.”

I looked at Xinyun for a moment. “You like Chu Qinghui.”

Xinyun stared at me for a long time. Her eyes were full of hatred. “Princess is joking. Didn’t you already know about this matter a long time ago?”

“But you are a spy of Wei Country.”

I felt that when Chu Qinghui was alive, his love life was really pitiful. The two women who loved him were on his enemy’s side. If he didn’t know that, then it would’ve been alright. But once he knew... Even when these two women willingly came to him, he couldn’t eat and he couldn’t touch either of them. It was something that’d make anyone have a sour heart. But this general didn’t seem to be someone who played his cards reasonably, either. First, he got Xinyun pregnant, then he also got the princess pregnant...

“If this is how it is.”

She grabbed a bunch of my loosened hair and twisted it lightly in her hand.

“If I can’t have him, you also can’t have him. Now I’m not afraid to admit that Chu Qinhui didn’t let me get you the bowl of abortion medicine. I just wanted you two to hate each other. Just watching you stab that dagger into his heart and then poison yourself, did you know how happy I was? Unfortunately, you two didn’t die.”

Unfortunate? This crazy lady...the princess and general had been played to death by you. Wasn’t she the winner here?

Finally, the knot in my heart was solved. So the general had been stabbed by the princess. Presumably, Xinyun let Princess Qingling drink the abortion medicine in the name of Chu Qinhui. The princess must’ve felt unwilling. So when the general came to visit her, she killed him. It must’ve been the dagger in my chest when I woke up. The princess must’ve used all of her strength to get it stuck in my chest. The general was a powerful man and someone who knew martial arts, yet he was stabbed to death by a weak woman. He...must’ve been willing.

The princess killed the general and lost the child. She must’ve been in despair and took the poison.

I sighed in my heart. If Chu Kong and I had drank the Soup of Oblivion, didn’t change genders, and reincarnated properly in the general and princess’ body, we’d be cursed with this bad fate from the very beginning. It’d get more tangled as we grew up. This really was a play of pitiful love.

Unfortunately...we changed this love play into a comedy. Heavenly Emperor Li, I’m really sorry.

Xinyun tugged at my hair, the pain in my scalp showing just how hard she pulled. She smiled at me coldly. “But it doesn’t matter. Letting you live a life more painful than death is also a good choice.”

Looking at this lady playing with fate, I sighed. I believed that every person’s heart had a good and honest side. Only when it grew crooked would it become like this. But didn’t the act of living force it to become like this?

In order to cooperate with her, I carefully made some recommendations: “Light a fire first, otherwise I’ll be frozen to death before you’ve had your fun.”

Xinyun stared at me for a moment. “You seem different from before.”

Naturally, a princess carrying the honor of a country wouldn’t bow to anyone. But I...in order to postpone my meeting with Yanwang, wouldn’t care about temporarily lowering myself to someone.

“Get ready, we’ll be going,” Xinyun shouted.

I saw the group of people in black quickly rise and form a row.

Xinyun looked at me indifferently. I could see the sarcasm in the pits of her eyes.

“Princess Qingling is feeling cold. Maybe she’ll feel better walking with us.”

I looked at Xinyun. Suddenly, I had the impulse to drag her with me on the road to the Netherworld. This lady’s heart was too evil. It would be best to go back and recycle her soul. The world would be better off.

Following this group of Wei Country’s spies was full of hardships. The days were cold. Fires couldn’t be lit day or night. No matter the time, dusk or dawn, we needed to hurry. There was only a little time each day to rest; otherwise, we were always on the move.

The princess’ body was already in a bad state. Now that it had been pushed past its limits, things had gotten even worse. First I caught a cold, then I began to vomit blood. My eyes couldn’t see things clearly anymore. My feet felt so heavy that it was difficult to lift them. They had to drag me around with a rope, else I wouldn’t move at all.

Xinyun was determined to leave me in the wilderness full of snow. At this point, I was hoping she would just kill me with one blow. It’d be more comfortable. Even if I struggled, I wouldn’t be able to live more than twenty years.

I didn’t know how much time had passed. My body was already numb to cold and pain. When I opened my eyes, I saw sunlight. Closing them, I saw the road to the Netherworld become clearer and clearer.

In this state between life and death, I thought I saw a man anxiously running towards me. Death penetrated my body and filled my bones. I was about to cross the road and then...

I felt a fierce slap. He shook me.

“Open your eyes! See what happens when you dare close your eyes!”

Damn you...was there ever a hero who saved the beauty using your method?

Don’t even talk about being late; you’re also rude.

“I’ll take you to a physician.”

Chu Kong lifted up my body. He took two steps and began to scold me. “I told you that you aren’t allowed to sleep in the snow! You’re not allowed to close your eyes in the snow!”

After those words left his mouth, my heart felt empty. My soul was flickering in and out...So I closed my eyes in his embrace.

The road to the Netherworld opened in front of me. No soul collector came to lead the way. I didn’t hurry. Without the chains, without the cold and pain of torture, I stood quietly beside Chu Kong and stared at him in silence.

The general’s chin was stubbled. The chase of the last few days made him look a little haggard. His body was stiff. His hand touched the princess’s neck. He wouldn’t be able to feel a pulse, I thought. But it was okay. Chu Kong obviously knew I wouldn’t “die”. Still, his expression in that moment made me suddenly remember Lu Hai Kong from many years ago. That boy’s sadness had been well-sequestered in the depths of my heart, but one look at Chu Kong made it tumble out.

“Stupid...thing.”

Chu Kong gritted his teeth. I didn’t know if he was cursing me or himself; all I could hear in his voice were the hidden injuries that I just couldn’t ignore. What kind of bad memories had the snow brought to him?

I sighed and was about to embark on the road to leave, when suddenly, Chu Kong said, “If you’re still here, listen very well.”

I stopped and earnestly listened.

“This debt, I’ll get it back for you.”

I nodded. That was a must. If Chu Kong didn’t abuse Wei Country a little, then he’d feel guilty for me.

He nipped the corpse’s lips.

“Also, when you go to the Netherworld, you’re not allowed to kiss Yanwang’s cheek.”

My mouth twitched. This wasn’t something I could decide on my own. If Yanwang forced me, what could I do?

Chu Kong embraced the corpse for a while.

“You’re not allowed to kiss him. Remember to wait till I get down.”

You must be kidding! It’d take twenty years for him to come down to the Netherworld! Was I supposed to wait twenty years down there, just for him?

I...I should just first run away...

Before embarking on the road to the Netherworld, I turned and looked at Chu Kong’s lopsided back: lonely and desolate. It didn’t seem like it was his; he always had a straight spine, stubborn and yet trying to be brave. I suddenly felt that perhaps waiting twenty, thirty years for him...that was no big deal.

Comments:

One of the more sad chapters. Crying.

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