Inside the apricot blossom forest, there was a secret road leading to the underground palace. Its curved and narrow stone stairs extended downward. Due to its proximity to the sacrificial pit, translucent and sad ghosts occasionally appeared along the way.
This is a video from a visitor visiting the underground palace inside Ding Ling Imperial Mausoleum at the southern foot of Tianshou Mountain. It is the largest Imperial Mausoleum in that area and one of the two Imperial Mausoleums open to the public.
The steps of the secret passage were covered with moss and slippery, though it wouldn't leave any foot marks behind. Xin Mei had just stepped down two steps when she saw a male ghost come through the wall, jumped in front of her, tore off his head and burst out laughing. "Beauty, look, I have no head! Wahahaha."
The female ghost aside scoffed, "What a shame! Look, look, I have no feet!"
The female ghost floated in the narrow secret passage with no feet beneath her blood-stained skirt.
(Silan's thought: Are they really grieving?)
Xin Mei hesitated for a moment. She looked at the male ghost and then at the female ghost. She opened her mouth and was about to speak when one hand came up from behind her to cover it. Lu Qianqiao's deep voice was ringing in her ear. "You'd better not talk. These ghosts are very difficult to deal with." A noob translator, きつね, translated this noob translation. Please read this chapter at xin-shou.site.
He knew too much about Xin Mei's style of speech. If the grieving ghosts of those buried alive got angry, the underground palace would no longer be saved for them.
She nodded. Her lips scratched his slightly rough palms, and Lu Qianqiao shivered slightly——his body was more like a dry mass of withered grass during the transformation period. With just a spark, it was enough to start a prairie fire. He quickly dropped his hand, but he was not willing to be defeated by the blood of his war demon. He held her hand again and gently pulled her. Xin Mei could not help but had to keep up with his pace.
"...the ground is slippery. Stick with me."
Xin Mei could not help looking up at his face. In the darkness, his blood-coloured eyes shone like a wild beast——which was not a pretty sight and even looked creepy.
She looked at it for a long time until Lu Qianqiao asked in a low voice, "Are my eyes that horrid?"
She shook her head. "No, your red eyes were kind of extraordinary."
He dropped his head shyly and smiled. He then tightened his grip on her hand and said nothing more.
The road was full of ghosts, damp and gloomy. The man holding her hand still had a pair of eyes more thrilling than those ghosts. Xin Mei suddenly felt like walking on a sunshine avenue full of flowers. The miserable green will-o'-the-wisp falling one after another was like petals flying all over the sky. The scary grieving ghosts floated on both sides like passers-by A, B, C, and D, standing on the roadside clapping and applauding. While Lu Qianqiao's luminous eyes were like the ever-burning lamps illuminating their journey...
Xin Mei quickly lost her heart to this gloomy, treacherous person.
Along the way, peach blossoms drifted in her mind like devoted labourers. When the walk along the secret passage finally ended, her eyes opened to a vast panorama[1]. The underground palace of the Imperial Mausoleum was extraordinarily grand and spacious. The ever-burning lamps that would last for ten thousand years shined the dark underground into being as white as snow. Well, this was not the key point. The key point was——there were several tables in the northeast corner. On those tables were several familiar monsters, such as Zhao Guanren[2], Yinglian and Tao Guoguo. They all gathered together to play mahjong and had a good time.
"Did all of you move to the underground palace?" Xin Mei walked over and asked curiously.
Zhao Guanren, who had lost badly, raised his miserable face. When he saw Xin Mei's tattered wedding dress, his eyes brightened. He turned his head to look at Lu Qianqiao and saw a considerable cut hole on the chest part of his clothes, exposing his two beautifully curved collarbones. Zhao Guanren[2] was excited. This noob translation was translated by a noob translator, きつね. Please read this chapter at xin-shou.site.
"Come, come..." He secretly waved to Xin Mei. "Tell me, have you two secretly spent time in the bridal chamber? Both of you are in such a mess. Did the General behave wildly?"
Xin Mei thought about the exciting scene in the apricot blossom forest and shook her head. "No, it was me."
"Oh!" Zhao Guanren[2] covered his bloody nose, and he was going to faint with blurred vision[3]. "Miss, you are an exceptional woman!"
Silan came over and gave Zhao Guanren[2] a quick glare. He then counted the number of people around, and somehow, his face became much uglier every second. "Another monster left the Imperial Mausoleum without permission?"
Tao Guoguo replied bitterly, "Brother Silan, they do not listen to our words. They said… they said that Big Brother Qianqiao is dying anyway. Before, they had been forced to stay in the Imperial Mausoleum. Now that Big Brother Qianqiao can't even release his Mist Formation, that's why... that's why..."
After all, he was still a young monster, and he finally couldn't help but burst into tears. When Tu Guoguo's little brother, who looked like a meatball, saw his older brother crying, he wailed loudly. He turned around and threw himself into Lu Qianqao's arms. He sobbed softly, "Brother Qianqao, don't die!"
Lu Qianqao lifted him a little, made him sit on his arm and gave him a reassuring pat on the back.
"Whoa, whoa, what's there for you guys to cry about?" Zhao Guanren[2] sighed. "On the contrary, this will only make the General feel even worse. Come, come. Come to my side. Let's reshuffle the mahjong."
He dragged a few small monsters with unstable emotions to another room, and the crying gradually became inaudible.
Silan's face was ashen. "General...why don't I go out and bring back those evil monsters who have fled secretly..."
More than three hundred monsters and demons were in the Imperial Mausoleum. Some of them were demoted generals banished to the Imperial Mausoleum. They were locked up inside by Lu Qianqao's Mist Formation to stop them from going outside to harm people. Now that Lu Qianqao was suffering from his transformation, he could not control his body nor deploy his troops. Based on common sense, this was the most suitable time for the demoted generals to escape.
Lu Qianqiao shook his head. "Just look for them, but don't hurt anyone."
Silan left with several powerful demons. Soon, only Xin Mei and Lu Qianqiao were left in the underground palace. He deliberately turned his back on her and stepped forward before whispering, "There are many rooms here. So you can rest in any room."
...that's it? Peach blossoms had been floating in her mind for half a day, and now he threw this sentence to her?
"Lu Qianqiao." She called from the back as she grabbed a handful of her hair. She was feeling a little upset. "You... aren't you going tell me something?"
He paused for a moment and finally turned around. His blood-red eyes turned black in just a moment of eye contact with her, and then his eyes moved away quickly.
"About what?" He asked in a low, husky voice.
"I...I don't know." She also didn't know what he should say to her. Shouldn't he have made the decision himself?
He was silent for a moment and then said, "In fact...I still don't want you to stay in the Imperial Mausoleum. You should return to Xinxie Manor immediately."
The illusion of floating peach blossoms disappeared with a 'poof' from her head.
"You're still acting like that?" Her eyes glared at him again.
"Now that you have decided to stay, find a room to rest. Don't worry about anything."
Well, they just went back to square one.
Xin Mei bowed her head and thought for a moment. Suddenly, she felt timid and did not dare to ask that question. But still, she asked, "Lu Qianqiao, is it really bothering you to marry me? You… truly don't want to marry me."
He said he didn't hate her but didn't like her enough to risk his life to marry her. Whether it was true or false, it hit her harder than any mortification. He gave her a doll and always took care of her quietly. She didn't have a wrong idea, did she?
She stared anxiously into his red eyes.
He was silent for a long time. When he raised his eyes again, he looked at her without avoiding her eyes. "...that was false."
Xin Mei blinked, trying to figure out the truth behind his words. Suddenly, he took something out of his sachet and raised his hand to throw it at her. She caught it and looked at it carefully. It was a finished doll with golden armour and a silver helmet, holding a long knife, pointing forward majestically. This noob translation was translated by a noob translator, きつね. Please read this chapter at xin-shou.site.
Her General Daren[4].
"A gift." He said and immediately turned away. His ears were as red as an agate.
She smiled at once and ran light-heartedly to his side like a rabbit as she looked up, trying to see his expression. He tried his best to keep his face away from her. Xin Mei held down his shoulder and craned her neck like a goose. She just put her face close to him and stared curiously at his expression.
......he seemed to have been beaten quite badly by her. The left corner of his mouth was skinned and slightly swollen. While the right corner was still bleeding, and his face was suspiciously flushed. En… she just made him feel embarrassed.
Seeing her staring at the wound, Lu Qianqiao raised his hand to cover his right face. He glanced at her lightly and coldly said, "...rest."
"I'm not tired. I'm sorry I broke one of your teeth just now. Does it still hurt? Open your mouth, and let me see your wound."
"No."
She removed the vial of precious wound medicine from her chest collar and waved it in front of him. "Then, let's apply this medicine to the broken skin on your mouth."
...if you get any closer, I don't know what I will do.
He held his breath and felt stiff all over. She pushed him onto the bench and handed him tea to rinse the wound. His body, in its transforming state, was highly responsive to all external stimuli due to its awakening of strength. The moment her fingertip touched the skin with the ointment, he shivered.
Her soft fingers slowly spread the ointment on his wound. Her white, porcelain face was right in front of his eyes. Her eyelashes were clear and countable.
He felt happy but also in agony. He wanted to push her away, but at the same time, he hated to part with her.
The ardent blood of his war demon began to surge forward. He could feel a sharp and strange pain under his skin. His ten fingers grabbed the handle of the stone chair with great force. With the sound 'ka', he crushed the horn of the small animal carved on the handle.
Xin Mei was startled. "Does it hurt so much?"
She quickly spread more precious wound medicine and cut a piece of gauze to stick on it to stop him from accidentally rubbing it off.
"Is that why you all moved to the underground palace for fear of being discovered?" She began to wash the wound on his other cheek and asked.
Lu Qianqiao's ears were buzzing. Xin Mei could only hear a vague 'hmm' coming from him.
Endured, endured, endured...the word endurance was like a knife hanging on top of his head. Nobody was as good as him in having facial paralysis. Furthermore, he was pretty good at restraining himself.
His heart seemed gripped by something, and he felt an agonising suffocation returned, just like the night his eyes had a sudden colour change. His blood was stirring wildly, and he trembled slightly. He could not move. It seemed to him that things would become out of his control if he moved a little.
Xin Mei tidied up the wound and saw his hair was messy. There was still a slender blade of grass sticking to it. She smoothed his hair, removed the grass and smiled. "Lu Qianqiao, I am not an executioner. You don't need to be so nervous."
His eyelashes were shaking violently. The colour of his eyes was changing back and forth between red and dark. Their radiance was flickering.
Xin Mei waved her hand before his eyes. "Hey, there's something wrong with you. I'll get Silan..."
He suddenly closed his eyes. When he opened them again, the bright blood-like colour had disappeared. Now, his two eyes became as black as ink.
The prey was right in front of you! Grab her! A cold voice said from the depth of his heart.
He obediently followed the urge of his war demon blood as he could not defy his demon instinct. His five fingers, like hooks, silently clasped her shoulders, and with a gentle tug, the soft prey fell into his arms.
He lowered his head and bit her lip fiercely.
He could smell her, which was fragrance and sweet.
He wished he could put his whole body inside her…he stretched out his arms, rubbing her tightly in his arms. He caressed her lips harshly and fanatically. The bitter taste of the precious wound medicine got into his mouth, while the gauze pasted on the wound was rubbed off because of their movements.
He felt that he was trembling, and it might also be Xin Mei who was shaking. His entangled lips were going deeper and deeper. There was a fine fire flow between the skins that had come in contact with each other. The tip of his tongue could not resist the urge to entangle with hers gently. His actions were crude, nervous and intense.
......the precious medicine mixed in his mouth felt very bitter. The injured skin of his mouth was hurting. He couldn't breathe as he felt very painful.
Xin Mei was thinking about unimportant things randomly until his hot lips fell on her neck as he started to suck and nibble. A strange feeling rose from deep inside her body because of this.
She instinctively wanted to struggle, but suddenly, he pushed her away. He then put his hand over his heart and cowered on the stone chair while trembling violently. Thin blood gurgled from his qi qiao[5] and in an instant, it dyed his clothes red.
Xin Mei immediately got up from the ground. Without thinking of her weakened legs, she raised her hand and chopped his neck first. Then she picked up the passed-out Lu Qianqiao and shouted as she ran, "Silan! Zhao Guanren[2]! Liu Qianqiao's qi qiao[5] is bleeding!"
The new bride whose 'first kiss' was forcefully being taken away did not even have time to ponder about it. She was currently busy saving her frail and sick groom.
The author has something to say: I am really exhausted. . .
The process of writing this chapter was as follows: every night, I spend about 4-5 hours finishing a chapter, and the next day, I spend half a day revising or even rewriting it.
Somehow, I had forgotten to save the manuscript for this chapter. This nearly made me crazy. I had to drag my body up till now just to finish retyping it. Though my fever is gone, I still cough every day...555
Therefore, during the Mid-Autumn Festival, I will take three days off and temporarily stop posting new chapters during those days. I will resume with new chapters on September 25.
Dear ones, look at my pure eyes... How can we prevent a child from halting in submitting her manuscripts during the Mid-Autumn Festival for her health...
P: Happy Mid-Autumn Festival, everyone. The doctor has advised tongxie[6] Shi Si[7] to temporarily stop eating mooncakes, so she can only look at the mooncakes in her hands with envy.
Footnotes Full List
- Chinese idiom: to come to a wide clearing
- respectful term of address for a man
- Chinese idiom : dizzy and eyes dimmed
- title of respect toward superior
- seven apertures in one head - 2 eyes, 2 ears, 2 nose holes, 1 mouth
- Internet slang: refers to a young fellow in an affectionate way
- the author
Noob Translator's Musing
Does Lu Qianqao know about Xin Mei's curse? Did she, in a way, make Lu Qianqao's curse activate earlier than it should? He's still 24 years old. Isn't the war demon curse only happening when they reach 25? If I'm not mistaken, there's one month left before Lu Qianqao turns 25. Hmmm…
Who would have guessed that Xin Mei is a strong girl? She could even carry LQQ single-handedly.
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Who would have guessed that Xin Mei is a strong girl? She could even carry LQQ single-handedly.
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A Match Made In Heaven