Chapter 54: Crossing Time and Space
As soon as she stepped out of the sedan chair, Jiang Xue saw the Crown Prince.
On this “joyous” day, the Crown Prince was also dressed festively, in bright red with gold-embroidered python and auspicious cloud patterns, and a red and yellow crown on his head.
According to Daying palace customs, there weren’t many elaborate rituals for taking a concubine, and the Crown Prince, with his ulterior motives, cared even less.
“Follow me,” he said, striding towards the bedchamber.
Xiao Luohan, her face still covered by the red veil, couldn’t see the path, but no one came to help her!
Jiang Xue felt that the Crown Prince was still trying to make things difficult for Xiao Luohan because of the “ghostly powers,” but they were at the crucial step now, and they didn’t bother arguing with a dying man. They would let him be arrogant for a little while longer.
So she extended her hand to Xiao Luohan and led her closely behind the Crown Prince.
As she followed, Jiang Xue couldn’t help but look around, observing the distribution of the guards.
The closer they got to the bedchamber, the quieter it became, so quiet that it was eerie.
If it weren’t for the red silk decorations everywhere, she would have thought she had entered a haunted house.
When they finally reached the bedchamber, she found that the guards from earlier were all gone.
…Was the Crown Prince that confident? Or was the scene they were about to witness a forbidden taboo that couldn’t be seen by outsiders?
Regardless of the reason, Jiang Xue clenched her fists nervously.
Just then, a flash of bright color caught her eye.
The red fox was standing beside them, its gaze meeting hers.
Jiang Xue suddenly relaxed—even if Elder Sister Red Fox was blocked by the magic and couldn’t enter the bedchamber, as long as she knew she was there, they could both feel at ease.
“Elder Sister Red Fox is with us!” she immediately told Xiao Luohan softly.
Xiao Luohan paused, then nodded slightly, clutching the diary in her sleeve.
The Crown Prince walked quickly and had already entered the bedchamber, leaving only the slightly open door behind him.
Jiang Xue was about to push the door open when Xiao Luohan stopped her. “I’ll do it.”
She gently pushed the door open, as if afraid of disturbing something.
Sandalwood.
A strong sandalwood fragrance wafted towards them, and through the red veil, she could sense many flickering candle flames inside.
Besides that, there was also a faint scent of wine, the smell of the ceremonial wedding wine.
“…I knew it!” she heard Jiang Xue’s trembling voice. “Uncle’s guess…”
Before she could finish, she knew what Jiang Xue had seen.
“Remove it yourself. Do you need me to do it for you?”
It wasn’t her imagination. There was a hint of amusement in the Crown Prince’s voice, as if he was greatly enjoying this.
Sighing softly, Xiao Luohan removed the red veil with one hand.
She first saw Jiang Xue’s back—the young woman was standing in front of her with her arms outstretched, breathing heavily, but even so, she stood firmly, preventing her from seeing what was ahead.
Then, red candles filled her vision, from the table to the floor, burning brightly, flickering, as if some kind of bizarre ritual was being performed.
Xiao Luohan didn’t approach, but said in a deep voice, “My elder sister’s body is missing. Your Highness must have hidden it.”
“Ha… did the ghosts and spirits tell you the answer? How boring!” The Crown Prince’s voice was filled with disappointment. “I originally wanted to see your terrified expression when you saw your sister, but you’re so calm! It seems you’re also a heartless and ungrateful wretch! Princess Zhemei even called out your name before she died!”
The more he tried to wound her with his words, the calmer Xiao Luohan became.
Her real elder sister was currently maintaining the “connection” between the two worlds, waiting outside the palace, ready to send her away as soon as she fulfilled her wish.
She placed her hand on Jiang Xue’s arm, patting it twice, indicating that she didn’t need to stop her, then calmly walked forward, her gaze landing on the “woman” sitting opposite the Crown Prince.
Her elder sister was dressed in the same wedding attire as her, her hands resting on her lap, her eyes closed, her expression serene, leaning back against the sandalwood chair.
But Xiao Luohan immediately saw that there was a silver needle inserted into her forehead and another into the xuanji acupoint on her neck, presumably the “soul-trapping” devices.
After observing, she opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but her throat tightened, and she covered her mouth, coughing violently, her mouth filled with the metallic taste of blood.
Even though she had been prepared, seeing her elder sister, who had died for her country, in this state, Xiao Luohan still couldn’t control her emotions.
“Xiao Luo!!” Jiang Xue hurriedly supported her, patting her back, her gaze unconsciously falling on the bloodstains on the cover of the diary.
“Haha! I thought you were so calm, but it seems just a few glances are enough to break you!” She heard the Crown Prince laugh triumphantly. “Don’t forget! This is your choice—your own choice!”
…The red candle.
Xiao Luohan recalled the four items on the tray that night.
The wine cup representing poisoned wine, the white silk representing hanging, the silver silk charcoal representing death by suffocation or burning Wangmei Pavilion, and… the red candle, which she thought represented death on the “wedding night.”
She had chosen the red candle, and on the “wedding day,” the Crown Prince had indeed shown her a room full of red candles.
She wiped the blood from her lips, exhaled, walked to her elder sister’s body, hugged her, and then knelt down.
At the same time, she used her lipstick-stained fingernail to make a deep mark on the last page of the diary!
“There, you’ve broadened your horizons. Nothing happened, did it?”
She heard the Crown Prince chuckle and saw him stand up from his chair and walk towards her. “The ghosts and spirits you rely on so much are watching right here, right? They can’t do anything, they can’t save you. They can only watch as you sisters reunite in this bridal chamber!”
Hearing this, Xiao Luohan immediately went on high alert.
—”Uncle Seuss said that scum like him, with their twisted minds, when they’re about to kill you, they actually want to watch you die slowly!”
—”So you must be wary of him suddenly rushing forward and strangling you!”
She calmly turned on the stun gun in her hand, setting it to maximum power.
Seeing the Crown Prince’s hand reach towards her, she gripped the stun gun tightly.
The next moment, she heard the thud of a porcelain jar hitting someone! Then the Crown Prince’s furious roar!
“Useless evil spirits! Only resorting to such despicable tricks!”
Now!
As the Crown Prince turned around, clutching the back of his head, Xiao Luohan leaped up!
Like a nimble cat, she silently pounced on him, her eyes flashing coldly, the stun gun hitting the Crown Prince’s neck with pinpoint accuracy!
“Zzz!!”
“Ugh!!”
Just as Uncle Seuss had predicted in his plan, the Crown Prince, caught off guard, collapsed under the powerful electric shock.
But she didn’t relax. She pressed the stun gun against his neck again, then his temples, his eyes, the bridge of his nose… all the most vulnerable spots that Uncle Seuss had marked on the anatomical chart.
Perhaps with her elder sister’s blessing, she felt an immense surge of strength and courage. She didn’t stop until the Crown Prince was only convulsing involuntarily, then put down the stun gun and made another lipstick mark on the diary.
Jiang Xue, who had frozen after throwing the porcelain jar at the Crown Prince, came to her senses and hurriedly stepped forward. “I-I’ll take the stun gun! I can do it!”
Xiao Luohan shook her head. “Please bolt the door. We can’t let the guards come in so quickly!”
Jiang Xue quickly did as she was told, not only bolting the door but also pushing nearby cabinets and tables against it, blocking it completely.
When she returned, Xiao Luohan had already taken the gun with the silencer Uncle Seuss had prepared and was checking the bullets.
Although her hands were trembling, Xiao Luohan’s movements were swift. Once everything was ready, she aimed the gun at the Crown Prince’s forehead.
“Bang!”
It was the fatal shot. After a muffled sound, a bloody hole appeared on the Crown Prince’s forehead.
But Xiao Luohan didn’t stop there. She fired two more shots, one into his heart and another into his chest.
“Is-Is he… is he dead?” Jiang Xue asked, her voice trembling. “I’m not A-Xi, I-I can’t see souls…”
Xiao Luohan didn’t answer, only putting the gun into the diary, then staggering towards her elder sister’s body.
She used all her strength to carry her elder sister down from the chair and placed her among the red candles on the floor.
But the moment Xiao Linghan’s body touched the ground, Xiao Luohan’s vision went dark, and she collapsed as well.
Jiang Xue panicked, calling out her name and trying to help her up, but she heard Xiao Luohan say weakly, “Help me…”
Help me bury my elder sister.
Jiang Xue’s tears flowed as she nodded, biting her lip. In front of Xiao Luohan, she found cloth and paper from the cabinets, placed them around the room, helped Xiao Luohan into a chair, and then lit the flammable materials with the red candles, one by one.
By the time she lit the third pile of paper, the flames had started to engulf Xiao Linghan’s body, and smoke filled the air.
“Let’s go!”
A red figure suddenly appeared in the room, transforming into a human amidst the flames and smoke. “Don’t do anything unnecessary! Come with me!”
“Elder Sister Red Fox!” Jiang Xue was both surprised and overjoyed, her nose tingling. “How did you—”
But she knew this wasn’t the time to ask questions. She quickly picked up Xiao Luohan, who was exhausted, and followed closely behind.
Xiao Luohan’s consciousness was fading. She felt pain and heat all over her body, and her breathing was labored, but she still clutched the diary tightly.
She vaguely felt Jiang Xue carrying her, running through a dark passage.
She seemed to see her elder sister, not in armor, but dressed in a red outfit as she remembered, walking ahead, not too far away, occasionally turning back to guide them.
“After the Crown Prince’s death, the witchcraft that bound me was lifted. I just personally destroyed his soul,” her elder sister’s voice reached her ears, as if through a wall.
“After sending you away, I’ll catch up with Shizhu and return to Beiliao with her.”
That’s good… with Elder Sister escorting her, Shizhu… Shizhu should be…
Before she could finish the thought, she felt something struggling in her hand.
The movement wasn’t large, but it… seemed to want her to “let go”…
So she let go.
Her vision suddenly cleared. She saw her elder sister walking ahead, and the diary, which both she and Jiang Xue cherished, was floating in mid-air, its pages flipping.
Then, in the blink of an eye, it burst into flames!
The ashes transformed into gray moths, rising one after another towards the sky, towards an unknown destination.
Xiao Luohan instinctively reached out to grab the ashes—that was Jiang Xue’s diary! All of Jiang Xue’s important memories since high school!
But her outstretched hand was firmly grasped by Jiang Xue.
“If that’s the price, I’m willing!” Jiang Xue said to her. “I’m willing to exchange a diary for your freedom and future!”
Or rather, it was a blessing that they only had to pay such a small price.
As the diary burned to ashes, a small light appeared ahead, gradually expanding.
Jiang Xue could see clearly! As long as they passed through the circle of light, she could bring Xiao Luohan back to her sister and the others!
“Jiang Xue.”
Hearing her name, Jiang Xue instinctively turned around.
Xiao Linghan was standing behind her, smiling gently and freely.
But in her eyes, Jiang Xue clearly saw reluctance and regret.
“Don’t forget to water my plum blossoms after you return.”
As soon as she finished speaking, Xiao Linghan’s form dissipated, transforming into countless red plum blossoms, flying away in the direction they had come from, presumably to catch up with Shizhu, who was still on the road.
Jiang Xue stood there, watching until she was completely out of sight, then turned and strode towards the circle of light.
“Let’s go home, Xiao Luo. Everyone is waiting for you!”
Leave a Reply