Just as Chu Wenruo stepped onto the bank, she froze, and her face instantly changed.
She looked toward the little princess.
The first thing she saw was the six-armed corpse hidden among the reeds.
That corpse knelt in the mud, its head lowered, long hair hanging down, and its skin covered in dark, scale-like patterns, most of the body had rotted and hollowed out completely.
Strangely, aside from a faint smell of blood, there was no foul stench of decay. On the contrary, it gave off a peculiar fragrance.
If one looked closer, they would notice that the corpse's shoulders were unnaturally broad, and on each were bowl-sized scars.
Combined with its six arms, it wasn't hard to deduce that there had once been two more heads on those shoulders.
Three heads and six arms. An eerie fragrance.
It looked almost like a Buddhist wrathful deity statue.
Utterly bizarre!
Even more disturbing was how all six arms stretched forward, as though offering a sword to someone.
And at this moment, the little princess had just pulled that sword from the corpse's hands.
Qingcuo's heart jumped, she hadn't sensed the presence of this corpse at all, which for her was virtually impossible.
This corpse... something was deeply wrong with it.
Realizing this, she moved instantly, flashing forward and shouting, "Put it down!"
Chu Wenruo also scrambled forward in panic to stop her daughter, crying out, "Don't touch that!"
But her foot slipped, and she fell hard to the ground.
Both of them were a step too late.
The little princess, while speaking, had already pulled the longsword free.
She beamed with joy. "Mother, look! I've got a sword to protect you!"
The sword had a strange design, hollowed in the center like a long, narrow eye. Embedded in the pupil was a red gem.
The moment it was drawn, the entire sword turned into a streak of blood-red light and shot directly into the little princess's brow.
And the rotting corpse lifted its head.
What was revealed was a face as pale and flawless as white jade, a woman's face.
Its eyes were pitch black, and it smiled with a dreamy expression.
The corpse opened its mouth and spoke, a beautiful, ethereal voice like a chant echoing in an empty valley:
"The illusory void realm, the hell of Avīci,
Sun and moon in the same sky,
To trade this world in exchange."
As soon as it finished speaking, the entire corpse crumbled into sand and collapsed to the ground.
The little princess's beaming smile froze. Her eyes rolled back, and she collapsed, unconscious.
Qingcuo caught her mid-fall.
Chu Wenruo scrambled to her feet, not caring that she was covered in mud, and reached out in panic to cradle her daughter's face. Tears instantly welled up.
"Ying'er, Ying'er, don't scare your mother. Wake up, please!"
She collapsed to the ground, staring blankly at the sword on Qingcuo's waist. Her lips trembled slightly, as if a dangerous thought was taking root. She clenched her teeth.
Qingcuo quickly circulated some Spiritual Energy to check the little princess's condition, but found nothing. She frowned, then looked toward the mound of sand left behind.
That eerie corpse. That eerie sword.
Just what were they?
"Qingcuo! So this is where you were!"
A familiar young man's voice called out from nearby.
A large turtle swam through the reeds and reached the shore.
Sitting atop it were a man and a woman, Chen Kuang and Shen Meinan.
Chen Kuang had just breathed a sigh of relief. At long last, he had safely found Qingcuo's group and reunited with them.
And they all seemed unharmed.
But then he noticed Chu Wenruo's disheveled appearance, and that the little princess had fainted.
"Madam?"
A sense of dread rose in his chest, and he leapt ashore.
"What happened?"
The moment he spoke, Chu Wenruo trembled and threw herself into his arms.
Shen Meinan's eyes instantly went wide. She looked at Chen Kuang, then at the tear-streaked, waxy-yellow face of Chu Wenruo.
...
"So that's what happened..."
Chen Kuang looked at everyone, feeling a headache coming on.
He and Qingcuo had found an abandoned thatched hut by the shore and cleaned it up to use as a temporary shelter.
It looked like it had once belonged to a fisherman. Old fishing gear still hung inside.
The bed was collapsed, so Chen Kuang had dismantled some planks, laid down straw and torn cloth to give the little princess a place to rest.
Qingcuo had brought spare clothes and helped Chu Wenruo change.
Now calmer, though still anxious, Chu Wenruo asked, "Mr. Chen, what's happened to Ying'er?"
Chen Kuang rubbed his brow. "This might be... the Demon Sword that Qi Sibai has been looking for."
Shen Meinan, who had previously traveled with Lin Eryou and others, naturally knew all about how Qi Sibai would bring up this "Demon Sword" to everyone he met.
She couldn't believe it. "Qi Sibai spent three years searching for the Demon Sword, only just making it to the Eastern Court Lake, and you show up for one day and run right into it?!"
She didn't know if this was incredibly lucky, or terribly unlucky.
Of course, this was only what she thought. With the victim sitting right here, she wisely kept her mouth shut.
The girl shifted her gaze to Chu Wenruo and recalled how the woman had flung herself into Chen Kuang's arms. Her mood grew instantly cloudy.
She quietly scooted farther away from him.
Chen Kuang let out a long breath. "Right now, it's only a possibility."
But he had a gut feeling, it probably was.
And hopefully it was.
If it truly was the Demon Sword, then at least there was someone they could consult for help.
Otherwise, that would be really troublesome.
He had already asked Shen Xingzhu for insight, but even the Dao Child of the Mysterious Divine Path Sect was helpless and had gone to ask her master.
If even Qi Sibai didn't know what to do...
Well, the princess being unconscious might be the best-case scenario.
Based on their description, the corpse wasn't a monster, it might have been twisted into that form by the Demon Sword.
If the princess turned into something like that..
There would be no need to escort anyone. He might as well just go home and take a nap.
Chu Wenruo looked at him and grabbed his sleeve tightly. "Mr. Chen, what do we do now?"
Chen Kuang patted her back and soothed her: "We'll have to stay in the Eastern Court Lake for a little while."
Fortunately, Shen Xingzhu's single sword strike had wiped out the Wind and Rain Tower.
The Martial Saint Pavilion's influence in Jishao Prefecture was currently crippled. There wasn't much pressure from pursuers for now. As long as they remained discreet, a short stay would be fine.
"Once we're settled, I'll head to the Envious Fish Hermitage and find Qi Sibai. He might have answers."
Qingcuo had already lit a fire and set several fish over the flames to roast.
She paused and asked, "And where do we settle? The Enlightenment Envoy from Zhou has arrived. From top to bottom, the arrest order is already in place. Anywhere with people is dangerous."
"It's safer to stay in the wild."
Chen Kuang poked the fire with a stick and sighed. He glanced at Chu Wenruo.
"You might be fine, but after just three days of travel, the lady is already this haggard. If she stays out in the wild, she may not endure it."
"If she falls ill or gets injured, it will be even more trouble."
Qingcuo had no reply.
She hadn't thought of that.
"Then where else can we go?"
Chen Kuang tossed the stick into the fire and said:
"My home."
Shen Meinan blinked at that and her eyes lit up.
"Your home?"
She scooted back closer, suddenly full of energy.
"Where is it?"
Chen Kuang smiled. "Not far. Just by the edge of the Eastern Court Lake."
...
She awoke groggily, and the first thing she saw was her mother's pale and weary face.
Chu Wenruo had been sleeping lightly, and she held her tightly in her arms.
The little girl blinked, noticing the clothes her mother was wearing weren't right, they weren't rough garments for commoners but fine palace silks.
"Mother, Mother."
She gently nudged her. Chu Wenruo startled awake and held her, whispering, "Ying'er, what's wrong?"
"Are you hungry? I still have half a steamed bun."
Chu Wenruo pulled a dry, shrunken half-bun from her sleeve and offered it to her.
The little girl stared blankly at the bun.
Why is there a bun? Weren't we eating wild vegetables tonight?
She turned her head and saw a familiar prison cell.
The stench of filth and the cries of prisoners filled the air.
Terror gripped her heart. She scrambled to her feet and stumbled into the next cell.
The young man who had saved them... the blind one who gave her food...
She saw him half-sitting against the wall.
Relieved, she reached for his sleeve.
The sleeve moved with his body, and slid down to reveal a face soaked in blood.
That familiar face stared with wide, dead eyes, twisted in agony, unable to rest in peace.
It was Chen Kuang.
And yet... not.
This was his corpse.
Long dead.
Chu Wenruo quickly stepped in from behind and covered her daughter's eyes, her voice shaking.
"Ying'er, don't look."
The girl asked blankly, "Mother... who is that?"
Chu Wenruo replied, "He was your father's court musician... Traumatized too deeply. This morning, his fever wouldn't break and he died."