nucmednet Chapter 216 'Meng Fuqing? You're dead too?'
Chapter 216 'Meng Fuqing? You're dead too?'
On this day, many people saw a black, incredibly fast monster roaming the outskirts of the city.
When soldiers blocked the road, the thing crashed straight into them, injuring many people.
Upon hearing the news, the imperial court dispatched a large number of people to search for the monster, but it vanished without a trace as if it had never been there.
The traces left on the ground where the monster had passed caught the attention of one man, Xiao Linyuan, the commander of the Golden Guard.
He looked at the drawings of the monster that had been created based on the descriptions and finally confirmed, "What monster? It's clearly a human doing."
He immediately ordered a citywide curfew and ordered the arrest of any suspicious individuals, preferring to arrest the wrong person rather than let one go.
Meng Fuqing only learned of this after sneaking into the imperial city at night.
She made such a big fuss because she wanted to use the imperial court to find Yan He's whereabouts.
She calculated the schedule and figured that, barring any unforeseen circumstances, she would be one step ahead of Yan He. She would wait three days, and if Yan He didn't appear, she would see what happened.
For the next three days, because her identity was not to be seen in the light of day, she did not find an inn to stay in. During the day, she frequented teahouses and taverns, and when curfew came, she would directly enter her spatial dimension.
Only Teng Si was left to investigate the situation at various city entrances and the Yang family residence during the day.
However, after waiting for three days, they did not see a carriage carrying Yan He or anyone with a similar build to Yan He.
The Yang family also did not detect anything unusual.
Meng Fuqing lost his patience. Could it be that they used connections? Were they allowed to pass through at night?
In three days, she learned a lot about the Yang family in teahouses and taverns, and also gained some understanding of the power distribution in the capital.
The current emperor is named Wen Du. He ascended the throne at the age of eighteen and has been in power for seven years.
He and Cui Jiaji, the youngest daughter of the Cui family, were childhood sweethearts and deeply in love. After he ascended the throne, he made Cui Jiaji the empress. However, childhood sweethearts cannot compare to those who are born into the world. In a grand selection, Yang Xueheng was chosen. Initially, she was just a talented woman, but within a few years she was promoted one after another. Now she is the imperial concubine who enjoys the emperor's great favor.
Even if Meng Fuqing didn't understand the many intricacies of the inner palace, just by looking at the character '宸', she knew that the emperor must have lost his mind.
The character '宸' refers to the emperor, and it was bestowed upon the concubine so openly; no wonder the Yang family had such a long reach.
That night, in a house on the outskirts of the city, the sound of whips striking flesh could be heard from time to time.
An old man raised his hand, and the whipping stopped. Someone stepped forward and splashed a bucket of cold water on the face of the person who was suspended in mid-air.
Yan He shivered violently, his consciousness gradually returning. His long, wet eyelashes slowly opened and fell on the two people in front of him.
One of the two men was an elderly man wearing a black cloak whose face was obscured, and the other was a middle-aged man in his thirties or forties with a large belly.
Her body was covered in whip marks, her face was as pale as paper, and her lips were bitten until they bled, which dripped down the corner of her mouth. But even in such a disheveled state, she could still smile.
"I've told you everything I need to say, but you don't believe me... so just kill me if you want..." These words exhausted her last bit of strength, and her head drooped down again.
The middle-aged man noticed that the person hanging in mid-air seemed unable to hold on any longer, and he hesitated before looking at the old man, "Look..."
The two left the dungeon, and behind them Yan He was submerged in the foul-smelling water, up to his neck, but he still did not wake up.
They emerged from the artificial hill and spoke in hushed tones.
"Grand Preceptor, do you think it's true what this person says? Meng Fuqing is just a puppet that Xie Jin pushed to the forefront? How could such a lowly woman have such great abilities?"
The man known as the 'Imperial Preceptor' looked up at the starry sky and asked, "Lord Yang, do you know what I saw when I observed the celestial phenomena at night during the time when the Xie family was exiled?"
Yang Ren pressed for an answer.
"The Purple Palace is dark and unclear, Mars invades the Emperor Star, and three of the Big Dippers are hidden, leaving only four stars hanging alone." At this point, his aged voice lowered a little, "But some time ago, the celestial phenomena changed."
Yang Ren's expression was one of surprise and uncertainty. "What does the Imperial Preceptor mean?"
"Beside Mars, a monstrous star suddenly shone brightly, its color bluish-white, completely obscuring the light of Mars. If this humble monk knew Meng Fuqing's birth date and time, he could calculate his fate, but alas..."
Yang Ren's expression hardened, and he immediately said, "Imperial Preceptor, rest assured, I will definitely be able to get that person to talk."
With that, he ordered his men to take the Grand Preceptor away and make proper arrangements for him, and then hurriedly returned to the dungeon.
"Something terrible has happened! Something terrible has happened! My lords..." A guard ran up to the two men with a look of panic on his face.
Hearing the commotion, Yang Ren turned around and angrily rebuked, "What kind of behavior is this, all flustered and disrespectful?! Tell me in detail what happened!"
The guard's knees buckled and he knelt on the ground.
"The messenger reports... reports that there is no one alive in the manor..."
Upon hearing this, Yang Ren's face went blank, his squinty eyes widened several times over, he was so shocked that he couldn't speak, followed by complete disbelief.
He roared in fury: "Guards, take him away..."
"Does Lord Yang not believe me?" In the thick darkness of the night, a voice with a hint of laughter suddenly rang out. It was clear and melodious, yet it inexplicably sent chills down one's spine.
People in the courtyard looked toward the source of the sound and saw a woman sitting on the courtyard wall. In the moonlight, her skin was as white as snow and her appearance was incomparably beautiful. However, what was extremely frightening was that she had extremely long hair.
She sat atop the courtyard wall, her hair reaching the ground.
"Who...who are you?!" An unprecedented sense of fear swept over him, and Yang Ren shouted, "Men, seize her!!"
Meng Fuqing leaped down from the courtyard wall and slowly walked towards the three people in the courtyard. "Lord Yang, I've come to reunite your family."
As soon as she finished speaking, she suddenly produced a round object in her hand, which she threw on the ground and it slowly rolled to Yang Ren's feet.
Yang Ren met those wide, bulging eyes, stared blankly for a moment, and then suddenly sat down on the ground.
That familiar face... it was clearly his wife!
Then one after another, heads were thrown down by the woman. Each head was a familiar face to him, and they surrounded him as if they had eyes, as if they were going to build him a grave on the spot.
He stiffly turned his head to look at the only two people in the courtyard who could help him. The two men had their hands covered their necks, their eyes bulging out, and their tongues sticking out, as if an invisible hand was choking them.
"Ghost..." Yang Ren managed to utter a single word before his eyes rolled back and he fainted.
Meng Fuqing threw the last head on the ground and used a vine to tie Yang Ren, who was covered in a foul stench, to a tree.
She entered the narrow entrance to the artificial hill, her long hair gradually shortening to its original length. Stepping over the corpses of the dungeon guards, she found Yan He, whom she had dragged to the ground with her long hair.
Having detected that the other person still had warm breath, Meng Fuqing used his healing ability to help her repair her body.
When Yan He woke up, he felt cold but seemed to feel no pain.
Has she gone to hell?
As this thought crossed her mind, she suddenly opened her eyes.
"Awake? Get dressed and come with me."
"...Meng Fuqing? You're dead too?" she murmured.
"..." Meng Fuqing said patiently, "Yes, come with me to see the King of Hell."