Chapter 47 (Part 1) (2/2)
But…
Didn’t I walk over here? It was so dark at night, who could see the path clearly? His face remained adamant.
“Forget it, forget it. Hurry and go, I’ll wait.”
“Yes!” he kneeled on the ground. I waved a hand as if chasing away a fly. He trailed a wisp of smoke behind him as he ran off with the lantern. The room immediately dimmed, and shadows fell across the walls oppressively. I felt a bit bored and glanced at the lamp on the table…huh, the candle was almost finished, the melted wax like red years.
If I’d realized it earlier, I should have kept Little Li’s lantern instead.
I looked about me until I found a stick of bamboo to suppress the candle flame slightly so the light would last until Little Li returned. But the weak flame trembled before the night wind on the verge of being extinguished.
I raised my sleeves to shut the tattered window that had blown open and couldn’t resist turning to smile towards the candlestick holder. “Esteemed little ancestor, you better not go out.” With the chill wind blowing through the Cold Palace like this, I’d really feel frightened if there wasn’t any light…so the candle definitely couldn’t go out. Definitely not. I muttered the words to myself until I was on the verge of praying to the Bodhisattva.
It seemed to fit the mood.
Suddenly, there was a soft pah, and the candle died out.
I stood stunned.
Abruptly, everything sank into darkness except for the moonlight from the window. Faintly, I could hear the sound of footsteps behind me. It turned my scalp numb, and I blurted out, “Little Li, is that you?” That person didn’t reply. My brows furrowed, and I tightened my grip against the window frame, preparing to turn around. “Only you would be so unruly. Don’t scare me…”
Before I could finish, a sharp pain hit my back from a tiny rock, sealing my internal pa.s.sageways. Immediately, a pair of hands rested on my shoulders. My heart sank and before I could scream, someone m.u.f.fled me with their hands…a strong but unfamiliar person.
Curses, who was this?
My body was held in place as a burlap sack covered me…in the darkness, I could only feel my body being lifted up, as if carried on someone’s shoulders. So uncomfortable, I couldn’t even breathe…only panic.
Who was this?
Who was kidnapping me? I tried to protest, but only made m.u.f.fled noises. The effects weren’t very clear…at the very least, no one paid me any attention. He walked quickly but with light steps, his st.u.r.dy body strengthened from martial arts practice. I don’t know which path he picked, but we didn’t meet any guards the entire time.
I hadn’t made any enemies since entering the court, but why were a.s.sa.s.sins capturing me? Aiya, my poor, bullied waist…wait, could this be one of General Qi’s men? That’s not right, his men would kill me directly, not carry me around like this. Was it an enemy from outside the court…but I couldn’t remember a thing…
I wanted to cry, but I had no tears to shed.
My body was thrown aside somewhere–but lightly, so there wasn’t any pain. Hearing the sound of hoofbeats, I guessed we’d left the palace gates. Then came a b.u.mpy ride that jolted my insides into queasy colors…that person rested a hand on my body, as if afraid I’d be thrown off. I gasped for breath from inside the burlap bag, but a strange smell penetrated my nostrils, making me frown as I sniffed it…
Curses, this was a top-notch, unparalleled type of knockout incense!
You’re really ruthless…
It had five times as much potency as the incense at the bathing pool. Curses! This guy must have spent a lot of money, these things cost tons of silver. As a result, my head lolled to one side and I dutifully fainted away.
Actually, my dear kidnapper might not have realized that these things were only half as effective on my body. Though I couldn’t open my eyes and had no energy, my mind was very clear. I could feel the pain in my body caused by the jolting ride and hear the hoofbeats of the galloping horse.
Ours was a very long journey. I didn’t know where he was taking me. Though I had a sudden attack of sadness, most of me felt happy. Actually, I hadn’t been very happy these few days. After waking up in the palace and realizing my memories were gone, I’d been living very cautiously and trying to adapt myself to the emperor’s everything.
The emperor said I was an imperial concubine, but I…
Each and every moment, I tried my best to embrace this role. The emperor that everyone revered and admired gave me his sole affections, yet my heart felt absolutely empty. I didn’t know what it was that I really wanted.
—
The burlap sack had long been removed from my body to be replaced with a high-quality cloud-pattern brocade. This man seemed to have no intentions of harming me. I hadn’t slept well for a long time, but this time I had a dream. It was both bitter and sweet, yet filled with a pain that tore at my heart…it felt so real that I thought I’d die from the pain.
But as to what exactly happened…I couldn’t remember a thing. I was just happy that the painful dream wasn’t real, yet also regretful. At the very least…I was missing something very important from my life, something that couldn’t return once it was lost.
A drop of ice-cold something fell on my face. My eyelashes trembled as I frowned and opened my eyes. My face was damp, and my eyes felt wet. I carelessly wiped away the warm liquid with my sleeves, my heart strangely bitter. Was this a raindrop, or a teardrop…?
Right now, my body was devoid of energy, sore and numb as well as pained…I’d been paralyzed for too long so my bloodflow was a bit sluggish, and even lifting a hand took supreme effort.
Argh, to h.e.l.l with it!
I looked around me and realized the place was desolate and uninhabited. I was in the middle of a bamboo forest, lying on the damp ground. I felt…a bit uncomfortable. Why was I lying here alone?
Where did the a.s.sa.s.sin go? So irresponsible…
With a pa-ta, something else splashed on my face. Raising my face, I saw…the verdant leaves of the bamboo covered with dewdrops at their tips. Another droplet slipped past my collar, the cold enough to make me tremble…but it’d cleared my mind as well.
My feelings were dejected and hard to explain.
How unlucky, I couldn’t even force out enough strength to prop myself up, so I’d have to endure the onslaught from the dripping dewdrops. …speaking of which, why would that a.s.sa.s.sin abandon me here? He hadn’t hurt me or left any marks on my body, but took advantage of my unconsciousness to hustle away. What was the meaning of this?
I weakly crawled forward a bit before I heard the sound of beating wings. The emerald green leaves surged like a wave as a thing rustling sound came from one side. My eyes grew wide. Within the dark green depths of the bamboo stalk was a white-robed silhouette, his steps distinct and clear upon the dry leaves. When he brushed aside some leaves, I saw a tall figure holding a qin appear before me. The sunlight s.h.i.+ning on his form made his long black hair beautiful, and his face had a mild, gentle expression.
I was gobsmacked, and my heart beat wildly. His face and figure filled my vision–those white robes like snow, and that teardrop-shaped mole by the corner of his eye that made him seem like he was weeping. The moment he saw me, he froze in place, not moving a muscle. Though the distance between us was still far, I could clearly see that the serenity of his face had been broken. The qin in his hands fell to the ground…and its strings thrummed.
At that moment, I finally recalled the thing I had forgotten in my dream…
It was a pair of eyes that bore the weight of thousands of 10,000 years of worry, filled with yearning as they looked at me, just like this moment…why did it feel so real?
A warmth crept up from my stomach, uncomfortable and sore, and an unknown gathering of true qi started churning in my dantian region. I wanted to suppressed its wild circulation, and stretched out my hand towards that Immortal to beg for help. But my throat felt blocked, and before I could open my mouth, a pain in my chest turned my vision blurry…then black.
This time, I had fainted for real.
Original and most updated translations are from volaretranslations.