The dark forest, the bleak sky. Xin Mei ran endlessly along the muddy path, her heart pounding so hard it felt like it might leap out of her throat.
Suddenly, a large hand grabbed her, and a certain expressionless man sneered as he pinched her chin.
"Keh keh keh keh! Such a pretty little girl. Come back with me to the stronghold and be my wife!"
Xin Mei turned pale with fright, struggling frantically in the wind.
"No! I won’t marry! I—"
She fell off the bed, her head hitting the floor with a loud thud.
…………
Oh. It was just a dream.
Xin Mei lay on the floor for a long while, listlessly staring at the faded beams on the ceiling, where a sliver of sunlight clung, dust motes dancing in the light. Outside the window, the sound of flowing water mingled with voices. She hugged her blanket and sat up weakly, thought for a moment, then lay back down.
Since she couldn’t leave this room anyway, she might as well sleep.
Yesterday evening, Lu Qianqiao had brought her to the Imperial Mausoleum. Honestly, she had always imagined the mausoleum would be overgrown with weeds, teeming with ghosts and monsters, a scene of utter desolation. But after passing through the thick fog, she was greeted by vast seas of cherry blossoms, the massive stone statues of men and horses along the sacred path submerged in pale pink.
Green mountains, clear waters, white walls, and green tiles—all she found here was peace and tranquility.
But none of that had anything to do with her. The moment they entered the mausoleum, Lu Qianqiao had tossed her into this room.
"Si Lan, keep an eye on her. Don’t let her leave this room."
After giving his orders, he left. She spent most of the night staring blankly at the bed, wanting to strike up a conversation with the man named Si Lan guarding the door. But he was the second coming of the expressionless man—no matter what she said, he acted deaf and mute. The moment she tried to open the door or window, he blocked her like an iron wall.
Frustrated, Xin Mei had no choice but to sleep.
"Brother Si Lan, I heard Brother Lu brought a girl last night. A guest is a guest, so I prepared some food. Could you pass it to her? I hope it suits her taste."
What a gentle voice, what kind words… Xin Mei got up and leaned against the windowsill to look outside. She saw Si Lan take a food box from a girl in a pink dress. The girl glanced up at her, and Xin Mei racked her brain for a long time but could only come up with one word to describe her: stunningly beautiful!
"Thank you for your kindness, Miss Ying Lian."
So Si Lan could speak after all, and he even sounded polite. Ying Lian smiled faintly at Xin Mei before turning to leave.
"...Eat." Si Lan turned back, his expressionless face stiff again, and placed the food box on the windowsill.
Overjoyed, Xin Mei quickly lifted the lid. Inside were two large wooden containers filled with countless delicate pastries, covered with crystal lids. She had starved all night and was seeing stars, so she hastily grabbed a piece of fragrant snow lotus cake and stuffed it into her mouth.
Noticing Si Lan lingering by the windowsill, watching her with what seemed like envy, she thought for a moment and asked, "Do you want some?"
Si Lan ignored her, his face wooden.
She sighed. "Expressionlessness is a disease. You should get it treated."
He seemed to twitch twice before slamming the window shut with a bang.
Xin Mei picked up a piece of locust flower cake and was halfway through eating it when the door opened. Lu Qianqiao, whom she hadn’t seen all night, stood silhouetted in the doorway, watching her. Xin Mei instantly dropped the cake, looked around in panic, and hid behind the large wardrobe.Her cheeks still had a few crumbs stuck to them, and her hair, uncombed after a night's sleep, fell in delicate strands over her shoulders—still resembling a rabbit, the white, fluffy kind.
Lu Qianqiao closed the door and stepped inside. She swallowed hard, her mind conjuring scenes from plays—sealed chambers, dim lighting, villains cackling as they reached out with sinister claws toward the heroine...
She really wanted to hide in the wardrobe right now.
"Come here, sit," he motioned for her to take a seat on the chair.
"...I won't."
"...Come here."
"...No."
He took two steps toward her, and she immediately darted into the chair like lightning.
Lu Qianqiao rubbed his temples. "How did you know how to break the Cloud Mist Array? Who taught you?"
"I already told you I don't know anything about any Cloud Mist Array..."
"Tell the truth."
"The truth is I just have a really good sense of direction..."
He fell silent, simply watching her quietly. His features were deep-set, his eyes like gemstones—a face carved from jade, yet devoid of any jade's warmth. He made no effort to conceal his sharpness, always presenting himself like a renowned blade with its edge exposed.
Right now, that gleaming, frosty edge was pointed straight at her.
Xin Mei met his gaze fearlessly, though he found her courage oddly soft and unimpressive. When he noticed the pastry crumbs still clinging to her cheek, his eyebrows twitched involuntarily.
"Um..." Xin Mei, observing his slightly trembling brows, helpfully suggested, "Facial paralysis is really a condition—it should be treated. There's a doctor in Greenwater Town whose acupuncture is quite good..."
Expressionless, he reached out toward her, and she immediately paled, glancing around for somewhere to hide.
Her arm was caught anyway. Xin Mei panicked, debating whether she should scream and faint or resist to the death to protect her virtue, when unexpectedly, he pulled her to the window and opened the wooden shutters.
The vibrant scenery of spring rushed in. Outside, pear blossoms bloomed beautifully, white as cotton, while a few delicate flower demons laughed and played on the branches. In the distance, the mountains were lush and green, dotted with rural homes.
"Three hundred and sixty-two demons," Lu Qianqiao spoke, his voice calm. "The Imperial Mausoleum is their home. I won't let them out to harm others, nor will I allow outsiders to come in and hurt them."
After all, the Imperial Mausoleum was royal property. A few ghost stories were harmless, but if the emperor learned that a group of demons had taken up residence here, living freely and happily, the cultivation sects would likely be sent to exterminate them the very next day.
Xin Mei scratched her head and muttered an "Oh."
"I don't care how you broke the Cloud Mist Array. Since you pose a threat, I won't let you leave until this matter is resolved."
He released her arm.
Xin Mei looked horrified. "You... you're being unreasonable..."
He almost seemed to smile. "I've never been reasonable."
Xin Mei felt she ought to firmly state her position. "Even if you keep me locked up until I'm old and gray, I won't marry you to be your bandit queen!"
He glanced down at his hand, truly tempted to rip off that head of hers—so stubborn, so impossible to reason with—and kick it like a ball...
He turned and strode away, sleeves flaring, instructing Si Lan outside the door, "Watch her. Don't give her anything to eat except water. No one else is to approach."
Si Lan bowed respectfully. "Understood, General."General? What kind of nonsense general is he, being a Demon?! Xin Mei was fuming, racking her brains to chase after him and hurl insults, but after much thought, she couldn’t come up with anything sharp enough. Left with no choice, she resorted to kicking a pillow in frustration.
"Brother Qianqiao..." A childish voice called from outside the window. She turned to see a chubby little Bird demon floating unsteadily in the air, much smaller than the one they had encountered at the Imperial Mausoleum before. It looked no more than three or four years old, wobbling in the air like a fat duck rather than a bird.
Lu Qianqiao reached out and picked it up. In that moment, sunlight fell on his face, softening his usually expressionless features in an oddly tender way.
"Big brother says he’s ready now. He wants to know when you’ll give him the Inner core?" the little Bird demon asked in a sweet, milky voice.
"Right away." Lu Qianqiao patted its tiny head stiffly.
The food box had been taken away by Si Lan. Xin Mei sat by the window, clutching her empty stomach in a daze. Before she knew it, she had dozed off, dreaming of feasting on a huge plate of braised pork knuckle, drooling all over her sleeve.
By nightfall, Si Lan, seeing her pitifully enduring hunger, couldn’t hold back any longer. "If you just tell the truth, you won’t have to starve."
Xin Mei turned her head away with a proud huff.
"Those who oppose the General never end well."
"What kind of general is he, being a Demon?" Xin Mei scoffed.
Si Lan was furious. "Who told you he’s a Demon?! He’s the honorable General of Agile Cavalry of Qiong Kingdom! He’s been winning battles since he was fifteen!"
"...A prostitution general?" She was stunned.
"General of Agile Cavalry!" Si Lan was on the verge of losing it.
"If he’s a general, why isn’t he fighting? Why is he holed up in the Imperial Mausoleum?"
Si Lan’s expression darkened. "The emperor is blind and listens to slander. He demoted the General to guard the Imperial Mausoleum..."
Xin Mei suddenly understood. "Ah, so he kept losing battles, and the emperor got mad and banished him to the Imperial Mausoleum!"
Si Lan slammed the window shut in anger.
Late into the night, when no sound came from the room, he began to worry. After all, she was just an ordinary girl who had eaten nothing but two pastries all day. She might fall ill from hunger. Glancing at the food box beside him, he hesitated over whether to sneak her a bite.
Suddenly, the sound of rummaging came from inside. Si Lan hurriedly pulled open the window, only to be struck by a gust of wind from within. Caught off guard, he was sent flying and knocked unconscious.
Xin Mei sat atop Qiu Yue, patting its head in praise. "Well done!"
Thankfully, she had Qiu Yue as her trump card. She hadn’t used it the first night precisely to wait for this moment when his guard was down.
"Qiu Yue, let’s fly away quietly now."
She hugged Qiu Yue’s neck tightly and gave the order.
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