Chapter 14: Bodhisattva Barbarian (Part 2)
A thick mist hung over the Silu Prison, the dampness seeping into the cells. Ni Su huddled on the rough wooden bed. The sudden clang of chains startled her awake.
A shadow flickered on the rough wall, accompanied by the sound of approaching footsteps. The shadow grew larger, looming over her.
A hand clamped down on the back of her neck. Ni Su woke with a start, a hand covering her mouth. Her throat was raw, her body weak. She struggled, but it was useless. The figure behind her reached into a pile of straw, grabbed a bloodstained handkerchief, and wrapped it around her neck.
The handkerchief tightened. Ni Su’s eyes widened, her face turning red as she struggled to breathe. She looked up and saw a pair of fierce, menacing eyes.
The man, dressed as a jailer, took advantage of her weakened state, pressing his knee into her back, one hand covering her mouth, the other pulling the handkerchief tighter.
Ni Su’s face grew redder, the pressure on her chest making it difficult to breathe. The damp blood on the handkerchief stained her neck. A cruel smirk flickered in the man’s eyes as her struggles weakened. Just as he was about to tighten his grip further, he cried out in pain.
Ni Su had bitten his finger. Numb with pain, she didn’t know how hard she had bitten, only that she clenched her jaw tighter.
The man, his face contorted in pain, pulled the handkerchief even harder, forcing Ni Su’s head back.
Her slender neck felt like it was about to snap. The suffocating pain intensified, and she could no longer hold onto his finger.
Just as the man was about to tighten his grip with both hands, a gust of cold wind swept through the cell, making the lamp flicker. But this deep, dark prison had no windows. Where had the wind come from?
A chill ran down the man’s spine. He was about to turn around when something struck the back of his neck. His neck snapped with a sickening crack, and he collapsed to the ground.
Released from the suffocating grip, Ni Su gasped for air, coughing violently. She couldn’t open her eyes. She felt a cold hand gently stroke her back and heard a voice call her name, “Ni Su.”
The coughing stopped. Xu He Xue checked her breathing, the warm air against his cold fingers strangely ticklish.
“She was subjected to the welcome beating, but Master Tian called for a medic to treat her wounds…” The jailer, leading several Yin Ye Si officers towards the cell, looked up and froze. “What… what happened here?”
The chains and lock that should have been securing the cell door were lying on the ground.
The Yin Ye Si officers, their faces grim, reacted quickly, kicking open the cell door. The head jailer and several other jailers hurried in after them.
One of the officers checked Ni Su’s breathing, then turned to the others, pointing at the unconscious man on the floor. “Do you recognize him?”
“Y-yes… Qian San,” one of the jailers stammered.
The officer’s face remained expressionless. “Let’s take this woman back to the Yin Ye Si,” he said to the others.
Then, addressing the head jailer and the other jailers, he said, “This jailer is suspected of attempted murder. We’ll take him back to the Yin Ye Si as well. A formal report will be sent to Magistrate Yin.”
The head jailer, terrified, could only nod.
Ni Su dreamt of her throat burning, dry and painful. Her mind was hazy, filled with images of the mud Buddha temple on Qingyuan Mountain.
She dreamt of the broken back of the statue, revealing its hollow interior. Countless soul fires, like fireflies, flickered within, slowly forming the image of her brother.
Ni Su woke with a start, gasping for air.
She realized she was in an unfamiliar place. A few lamps were embedded in the smooth brick walls. Outside the iron cell door was a square pool with a wooden frame and iron chains. The pool’s walls were stained with old, dark red marks. The faint scent of blood lingered in the air.
A bowl of water was suddenly offered to her. Ni Su instinctively flinched, then looked up and saw a pair of vacant, lifeless eyes.
Xu He Xue, hearing no response and feeling no contact with the bowl, said, “Drink some. You’ll feel better.”
He had been sitting there with the bowl of water for the past few hours while she was unconscious.
Ni Su’s mouth tasted of blood and rust, from when she had bitten the man’s finger. She didn’t speak, obediently taking a sip from the bowl, then spitting it out.
The metallic taste lessened, and she took a few more sips, each one an effort. When Xu He Xue moved the bowl away, she rested her cheek against the bed and asked hoarsely, “Where is this?”
“The Yin Ye Si,” Xu He Xue said, placing the bowl aside. “It’s much safer for you here than in the Guangning Prefecture’s Silu Prison.”
The Yin Ye Si, under the Emperor’s direct command, controlled the keys and tallies of the palace, supervised officials, gathered intelligence, and answered to no one but the Emperor. It was known as the “Underworld of the Mortal Realm.”
“What did you do?” Ni Su asked weakly, her chapped lips barely moving.
“I asked someone to write a letter informing Director Han Qing of the Yin Ye Si about your situation. The Emperor is re-implementing new policies, and the winter examination was his first decree. Your brother was a scholar participating in the examination. The Yin Ye Si will investigate this thoroughly.”
There were other reasons as well. Director Han Qing had once been indebted to Grand Councilor Meng Yun Xian and was likely loyal to him. And Meng Yun Xian, having just been appointed, hadn’t yet made his first move.
If he hadn’t made his move yet, then the winter examination was a good place to start.
“I didn’t expect someone to try to harm you so quickly.”
Xu He Xue had taken the risk of sending the letter to the Yin Ye Si because he feared that whoever had hidden the body, upon discovering their secret was exposed, would silence Ni Su permanently.
Compared to the Guangning Prefecture Yamen, the Yin Ye Si was an impenetrable fortress. Outsiders couldn’t easily reach inside.
“Someone who could receive news so quickly must be no ordinary person.” When Investigator Tian Qi Zhong had brought her and her brother’s body back to the city, it was still early. Only a few people near the Yamen had seen them. To be able to hear about it, know she was in the Silu Prison, and bribe a jailer to kill her so quickly—these weren’t things an ordinary person could do.
Despair and grief tinged her hoarse voice. “Xu Zi Ling, based on their timeline, my brother was murdered while I was traveling with you.”
Xu He Xue was silent for a moment, then said, “Once the Yin Ye Si gets involved, the truth will come to light.”
“Will it?” Ni Su asked doubtfully.
“Are you giving up?” Xu He Xue, unable to see, could only sense her direction. “Ni Su, if you were truly giving up, you wouldn’t have bribed a jailer in the Silu Prison to send a letter to the Grand Commandant’s residence.”
Ni Su didn’t reply.
The letter she had sent to the Grand Commandant’s residence was actually written by Cen Shi. Years ago, during the southern bandit rebellion, Ni Su’s grandfather had saved the life of the Zezhou governor, surnamed Cai. His granddaughter, Lady Cai, was now the wife of the Grand Commandant’s second son.
Cen Shi had written the letter, mentioning this past event, hoping to give Ni Su a place to seek refuge in Yun Jing.
“Where did you get the money to pay someone to write the letter?” Ni Su suddenly asked.
Xu He Xue, caught off guard, hesitated, then lowered his eyelashes. “I used yours. I’ll return it to you when you leave the Yin Ye Si.”
“You’ve been dead for over a decade. Do you still have money in Yun Jing?” Ni Su coughed, her throat feeling like it had been cut by knives.
“I also have an older brother. He’s much older than me. At home, he was always under the control of his wife and often short of money.” Xu He Xue, hoping to distract her from her pain, spoke of his past life. Memories surfaced, and a flicker of emotion crossed his cold features. “I was young then, and afraid that I would also marry a shrew who wouldn’t let me buy sweet cakes, so I buried some money under a crooked tree.”
Ni Su, her body aching, her mind sluggish, understood that he was trying to comfort her. Tears welled up in her eyes from the pain, but she managed a weak smile. “You like sweet cakes?”
Xu He Xue thought for a moment. “I don’t remember what they taste like anymore.”
Ni Su hummed in response. The candlelight in the cell was dim. She looked at him. “You asked someone to write that letter for me. I can’t possibly ask you to repay me.”
“Xu Zi Ling, when I get out of here, I’ll buy you sweet cakes.”
Leave a Reply