Bad things happen often

Chapter 54

Yin Xiao looked at the room's furnishings, his smile never fading. This room looked exactly like a young woman's home. Fragrant flowers were scattered throughout, the walls were covered with paintings of flowers and birds, and a large bed stood in the center, draped in purple gauze curtains—a slightly ostentatious display.

Yin Xiao carefully examined the large bed, his brows furrowing slightly. He strode over and pulled back the gauze curtains. Then, he stood frozen before the bed.

Yue Huaixi followed, and was also stunned.

On the bed lay a stunningly beautiful woman. It was a peculiar feeling; this woman was exceptionally beautiful, with indescribable fair skin and a face as lovely as a flower, a beauty that could rival any nation. She simply lay there quietly, yet she inspired endless imagination. If she were to open her eyes and smile, what breathtaking beauty she would possess!

Yin Xiao paused for a moment, frowned, raised his hand, and checked the woman's breath.

“She’s dead,” he said, withdrawing his hand.

Yue Huaixi was shocked. "Dead? No way..." She looked closely at the woman; her skin was translucent, and her cheeks were rosy and glowing—clearly not dead. Yue Huaixi reached out and touched the woman's neck. Suddenly, she jumped back, stammering in fright, "She...she still has a pulse..."

Yin Xiao was taken aback, and then tried to check the woman's pulse. Sure enough, just as Yue Huaixi had said, the woman still had a pulse.

“How is that possible…” Silver Owl exclaimed in surprise.

Still shaken, Yue Huaixi took several steps back. Suddenly, her peripheral vision caught sight of a large stack of papers on the table. She walked over, picked up a sheet, and looked at it. "Uncle Yin Xiao, look, what's this?"

Upon hearing this, Yin Xiao walked over and picked up the paper. It contained a diagram of the human body's meridians. He then picked up other papers and examined them carefully. Then, with a serious expression, he said, "...I see..."

Yue Huaixi was puzzled. Shen Yuan walked over, equally puzzled.

Yin Xiao held up a piece of paper and said, "This is the 'Sacred Prescriptions'... If a child swallows a needle, it can be cured by using a magnet to attract the needle..."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Yue Huaixi was even more confused.

Yin Xiao said, "I once heard that the Shennong family's needle-stone method had a treatment method that used magnets to guide needles and embed them into the patient's body to promote blood circulation."

"Isn't that the same as the silver light flowing through the meridians?" Yue Huaixi realized.

Yin Xiao nodded. "Similar. However, the silver light travels along the flow of qi and blood in the body, while the magnetic needles depend entirely on the healer's will." He turned his head and glanced at the woman on the bed. "If one's skill is profound, one can even use the needles to stimulate qi and blood and adjust the pulse..."

Yue Huaixi also looked at the woman. "So, the reason she has a pulse is because there are needles moving inside her body?"

“That’s right…” Yin Xiao put down the paper in his hand, “Now I understand. That’s why Jiyu Manor is looking for the ‘Three Corpse Divine Needles’… The world is vast, but only the ‘Three Corpse Divine Needles’ has such power. And the magnet that can manipulate the needles can only be made by the ingenious craftsmen of Jiyu Manor…”

Upon hearing these words, the three of them understood what was going on.

“‘Longevity Gu’, ‘Magnet-Attracting Needle’…” Yue Huaixi swallowed hard. “Could it really bring someone back to life?!”

Yin Xiao frowned. "...I'm afraid. According to what you've said, Shen Chen must have common interests with Ling You to cooperate. Ling You's goal is to revive his son...so Shen Chen's goal is probably this woman."

Upon hearing this, Shen Yuan hesitated before walking to the bedside and carefully examining the stunningly beautiful woman. Could it be, as Yin Xiao said, that her father had committed heinous acts in order to resurrect this woman?

"Who...is it?" she murmured to herself, trembling.

"Hehe..." Suddenly, a burst of laughter came.

The three were startled, and then a stone door slowly opened, revealing Zhao Yan to be the newcomer.

Zhao Yan walked in gracefully and performed a curtsy.

“You…” Yin Xiao thought for a moment, “Are you a maidservant of Lady Xi of Hero's Fortress?”

Zhao Yan smiled and said, "My name is Zhao Yan."

“Miss Zhao… how could you…” Shen Yuan was extremely surprised.

Zhao Yan slowly walked to the bedside.

Yin Xiao knew she didn't know martial arts, but he unconsciously gripped the hilt of the soft sword at his waist.

Zhao Yan showed no fear. "You really want to know who she is?"

"You know?" Shen Yuan replied.

Zhao Yan smiled faintly at her, nodded, and said with a slight upturn of her lips, each word clear and distinct: "She is the most beautiful woman in the world, Yan Ji... my mother..."

...

Three forces

Zhao Yan smiled faintly at her, nodded, and said with a slight upturn of her lips, each word clear and distinct: "She is the most beautiful woman in the world, Yan Ji... my mother..."

“Yan Ji…” Shen Yuan frowned slightly.

Everyone in the manor knew that Yanji was a beauty her father had redeemed from a brothel and taken as a concubine. However, on their wedding day, Qi Han had swapped her for a dagger. Losing a concubine wasn't a big deal, especially since Jiyu Manor had also gained Qi's weapons; they weren't at a loss. Everyone spoke of this woman with a nonchalant tone. But she clearly remembered the disdain in the old lady's voice, the resentment in her mother's eyes, and her father's complete silence.

What does the appearance of Yan Ji in the underground palace mean today?

"Is this why you colluded with Jiyu Manor to frame me?" Yin Xiao suddenly spoke up, addressing Zhao Yan.

Zhao Yan still smiled, "The one who framed you wasn't the maid, but the person who stuck the feather on the plaque. The maid was merely going along with the flow..."

Silver Owl crossed his arms and chuckled, "What a sharp tongue you have."

Zhao Yan lowered her eyes and said, "Unfortunately, a sharp tongue can never compare to the sharpness of a knife..."

As soon as she finished speaking, the walls around the room suddenly rose up, and a large group of burly men wielding weapons swarmed in, surrounding the three of them.

Silver Owl sighed, "Ah... so there aren't just walking corpses in this underground palace after all..."

Zhao Yan said, "Actually, everything in Jiyu Manor has nothing to do with you. Why should you provoke people you shouldn't have for the sake of a moment of anger and lose your lives for nothing?"

Upon hearing this, Yin Xiao's expression changed slightly. "...Someone you shouldn't have provoked? Hmph, I had no idea such a person existed in the world."

Zhao Yan laughed, "There's always someone better. It's not too late to lay down your arms and surrender now."

Silver Owl drew his soft sword from his waist and said disdainfully, "Nonsense!"

...

...This is a scene divider = =+...

Lian Zhao regulated his breathing for about an hour and a half before stabilizing his internal energy. He quietly exhaled and slowly opened his eyes. Immediately, he noticed an unusual heaviness on his shoulders.

Little Xiao leaned on his shoulder and fell asleep.

Lian Zhao was slightly startled, his cheeks flushing instantly. In just a moment, he suppressed his first instinct to pull away. He remained seated quietly in his original position.

The little one's sleeping face was peaceful and serene, completely unguarded.

At that moment, Lian Zhao suddenly remembered the kitten he had once raised. In the beginning, it would run away quickly if anyone got too close. No matter how kind you were to it, it remained wary, watching from a distance and never daring to approach. As time went on, it slowly learned to be affectionate. Then, one day, it suddenly jumped onto his lap, curled up, and fell asleep.

He smiled unconsciously. How similar the girl who was now falling asleep on his shoulder was to that kitten… He too had been scratched by a wary kitten. But such hurt was nothing. One day, it would genuinely treat him well.

Yeah, it's nothing...

He looked away and lowered his shoulders slightly to make her more comfortable.

"It's just a matter of adjusting your breathing, yet it's taking so long." Wen Su's voice suddenly rang out, his tone chillingly cold.

Lian Zhao looked up at him, but didn't say a word.

Wen Su crossed his arms and slowly took a few steps forward. "You can't protect her at all..."

Just as Lian Zhao was about to say something, Xiao Xiao suddenly moved and then woke up.

Finding herself resting her head on Lian Zhao's shoulder, she was slightly startled, but her fear vanished instantly. It was a strange feeling; she knew so clearly that she could do this. She wouldn't be punished, nor would she offend anyone. So, she looked up, a slight apology in her eyes, and smiled at him.

"Good morning," Xiao Xiao said, her words tumbling out incoherently.

Lian Zhao smiled and replied, "Good morning."

Wen Su frowned slightly and said, "Xiao Xiao, what kind of behavior is it for a girl to rest her head on a man's shoulder? Get up!"

Xiao Xiao then realized that her chilling martial uncle was standing just a foot away. She immediately jumped up, "Martial...Martial Uncle...I...I just..."

Wen Su had no interest in listening to her explanation; his expression was full of impatience.

Lian Zhao stood up, straightened his clothes, walked to Xiao Xiao's side, and stood quietly.

If Xiaoxiao hadn't sensed the hostility between these two, all her years of learning to read people would have been for nothing. And now, their hostility was even greater than before. Xiaoxiao felt somewhat helpless; they were complete strangers, yet they harbored such intense hostility—and this hostility was practically murderous intent!

"Ah! We can't stay here any longer, let's get out of here!" Xiao Xiao shouted.

“I’ve already searched, and there’s no secret passage that can be opened inside the room,” Wen Su said.

Xiao Xiao's heart sank upon hearing this. It really was a dead end...

Lian Zhao looked up and around. The room was no more than three zhang square, and it was filled with corpses. Anyone trapped here would only face death.

"Then let's go back the way we came," Xiao Xiao said.

Wen Su glanced at her. "Didn't you block the way we came from?"

Xiao Xiao immediately remembered pressing the wrong button earlier, causing the two stone walls to close. Indeed, that path seemed impassable as well. And since Wen Su said that, he must have already tried to open those two walls… Uh, was she really a jinx? How could such bad luck happen to her?

As she was lamenting, something suddenly occurred to her, "Ah, weren't there a few more people who were caught? We can find out by asking them!"

"They've disappeared."

Xiao Xiao was utterly speechless when Wen Su said those words.

"Xiaoxiao, do you still have the map with you?" Lian Zhao suddenly asked.

She nodded slightly. "Yes." She took out a map and handed it to Lian Zhao.

Lian Zhao squatted down, spread the map on the ground, and examined it carefully.

Seeing this, Xiaoxiao also squatted down. However, the map was extremely complicated. Although she had copied one before, understanding it was a completely different matter.

She remembers that when she was a child, she heard people talk about the Three Kingdoms period, mentioning Zhuge Liang's Qimen Dunjia, the Eight Trigrams Formation, and so on. She found it very interesting, so she went back and pestered her master to teach her.

The master smiled helplessly, and told her with an innocent look: "Master knows everything, but I'm helpless with this kind of thing. I can't teach it."

At that time, she felt it was a pity, so she gave up.

Looking back now, her master had clearly lied to her! As the esteemed Left Army Advisor of the Yue Family Army, known for his cunning and treacherous tactics and nicknamed "Ghost Master," how could he not understand the art of Qimen Dunjia? ...Hmm, her master was indeed shrewd and cunning!

However, this is probably for the best. Anything a master refuses to teach is bound to be useless, like internal energy... The problem is... now, the art of Qimen Dunjia is very useful...

Xiao Xiao looked up, sighed, and whispered, "Master... if I'm trapped here and die, it'll all be your fault..."

"Xiaoxiao, what did you say?" Lian Zhao asked when he heard her talking to herself.

“I said, if we’re trapped and die here, then God has no eyes…” Xiao Xiao replied.

Lian Zhao smiled. "Who said we'd be trapped here?"

"Oh, we can go out?!" Xiaoxiao exclaimed in surprise.

Lian Zhao stood up, looked up, drew his sword, and threw it at the bricks and stones above his head.