Free Web NovelChapter 884: Chapter 641: Longevity and Prosperity (Happy New Year!)
"Clip-clop, clip-clop, clip-clop..."
In the dead of night, accompanied by the faint sound of horse hooves, Nalan Shuo and his party silently left through the unremarkable back gate hidden deep in the alley behind Earl Mansion.
The hooves of the horses were wrapped in cloth, which meant the sound was almost inaudible unless one was very close.
The team was shrouded in silence; no one spoke. Nalan Shuo and the others had heavy hearts.
The transport route was ingeniously planned, avoiding densely populated areas, and the team moved unobstructed until they left Fushou Manor.
Having left the manor, under the urging of the escorts, Nalan Shuo and the other two had no choice but to hurry, as per the plan, they were to arrive in Lingzhou City by the night of the next day.
It is common for fort towns not to open their gates at night, so it seems likely that Earl Mansion had bribed the military officers responsible for the city gates.
But that was Earl Mansion’s plan, not Nalan Shuo’s. The three of them were safe at least until they arrived in Lingzhou City. However, the fate of the three left in the mansion was uncertain. Nalan Shuo worried the beasts of Earl Mansion wouldn’t play by the rules and would make a move on Yang Xiao and the others first.
They were traveling on a secluded path with rarely a soul in sight, nearly devoid of cart ruts and horse prints. Just thinking about their ancestor’s coffin behind them made Fang Zhou’s palms sweat with tension.
Even though they knew the Divine Turtle Shell was suppressing it, could such a high-level evil being truly be contained? Fang Zhou had no confidence in his heart.
At the same time, the wooden cart ruts crushed the gravel on the ground, making a continuous "crackling" sound, which to his ears, seemed like something was moving inside the coffin.
This feeling was very unsettling, and he had a vague premonition that something was bound to go wrong on the road. He couldn’t help but touch the letter the Great Mage had left him in his chest pocket.
They had just walked less than 5 miles out of Fushou Manor when the sky subtly changed, the hazy moonlight overhead gradually becoming clearer, casting a cold and bright light on the coffin. By the time everyone realized and looked up, a full moon had appeared in the night sky.
The moonlight laid a layer of silver frost on the road ahead. Nalan Shuo’s eyebrows furrowed tightly; he sensed a whiff of danger.
It was customary to see a full moon as a good omen, symbolizing the completion of the deceased’s merit and ensuring a good re-birth in the next life. However, the full moon tonight seemed odd, appearing too suddenly, without any warning—as if it were painted on.
Sure enough, not long after, a pitch-black cloud floated over, blocking a part of the full moon, as if a piece of it had been bitten off.
Fang Zhou, equally shocked, instinctively thought of the second line of the prophecy: "A full moon leads to waning."
It had come true... frёewebnoѵēl.com
The people responsible for the escort also felt uneasy. After walking a few hundred meters, the person in the back of the carriage ordered the convoy to stop. This person was from the bloodline of Earl Mansion, acting as the Supervisor for this operation, wearing a mask, with a voice of a young man.
"We’ll leave you here. Continue along the road ahead on your own. When you arrive at the gates of Lingzhou City, keep a low profile. Show this plaque to the Commander at the city gates, and he will let you in. Remember, keep your mouths shut; don’t say anything unnecessary." With that, the young man took out a plaque from his breast and tossed it to Nalan Shuo.
The plaque felt heavy and cold to the touch, like it was made of jade. Nalan Shuo took it and saw the character "Qi," symbolizing Prince Qi Mansion, engraved on it in a powerful and imposing manner.
"Don’t dawdle along the way. By midnight tomorrow, you must rush to Lingzhou City. Once the ancestor is successfully buried, you will be loyal ministers and valiant generals of Da Jing Dynasty. On the day you are appointed as ministers or granted a marquis title, you will not be ill-treated!" The young man was not old, but his ability to make enticing promises was no less than that of the old fellow in the mansion.
While they were speaking, another piece of the full moon disappeared; at this rate, it wouldn’t be long before it was completely engulfed by the clouds.
This was not a good sign.
However, for Nalan Shuo, the threat posed by the dozen people led by the Supervisor was no less serious than that of their ancestor. It would naturally be best to get rid of them, so after some bargaining, he "reluctantly" agreed.
Nalan Shuo’s official rank was also promoted from Secondary Second-rank to Secondary First Rank, as if these important official titles were being tossed around like a game.
But just as Nalan Shuo and the other two were about to leave, the young man called them back and took out a blood-red Jade Gourd.
"Wait, the journey is long; take these before you go." As he spoke, the young man uncorked the gourd and poured out three pills that looked like elixir.
"What... what is this?" Lou Huixiang immediately became vigilant, showing great resistance, knowing that Earl Mansion’s people were full of mischief. freeweɓnøvel.com
"Corpse Avoiding Pill, this was begged by my great-grandfather from Master Xie of Qingyun Temple. It will ensure your safety along the way," said the young man with a half-smile.
As soon as he finished speaking, several fierce-looking attendants rode forward, surrounding Nalan Shuo and the others, their hands on the hilts of their swords, clearly ready to draw their weapons at the slightest disagreement. This forced Nalan Shuo and the others to comply.
As the three begrudgingly swallowed the elixir, the young man waved his hand, and the attendants stepped forward, prying open mouths to inspect them one by one, making sure the pills were ingested. Only then did they stop, and it was not until this moment that the young man disclosed the truth.
"Gentlemen, there’s something I forgot to tell you. The Corpse Avoiding Pill does ward off corpses, true, but it is also highly poisonous. If you do not have the antidote within two days, you will bleed from every orifice and die in extreme agony."
"However, there is no need for you to worry. As long as you follow the plan and arrive at Lingzhou City before midnight tomorrow night to bury the Ancestor, someone will naturally appear to deliver the antidote to you. The grandfather of our Ancestor, being a true Dragon Emperor, will certainly not break his promise. You can be completely at ease about this."
The young man held his head high, seemingly very proud of his own bloodline. After all, their lineage was about to take control of the capital city and become the future Royal Family, with the power of life and death at their fingertips, decided in but a mere thought.
After the young man and his group left, Nalan Shuo, along with two others, hurriedly drove the carriage forward. Once certain there was no one tailing them, Nalan Shuo casually took out a pill and examined it closely in the palm of his hand, a move that startled Fang Zhou behind him.
"You... you didn’t eat it?" Fang Zhou felt as if the sky was falling.
"Did you eat it?" Nalan Shuo turned his head, looking at him with an incredulous stare. However, after a few seconds, he resigned himself to it and calmly said, "No matter, even if you ate it, it’s no big deal."
"Heh heh, some people are really foolish enough to eat it, tsk tsk tsk..." Lou Huixiang, with a show of bravado, twirled a pill between his fingers and nonchalantly threw it away, shaking his head in feigned regret, almost unable to contain his schadenfreude.
"Am I going to die?" Fang Zhou, finding no help from Lou Huixiang and somewhat losing his composure, turned to Nalan Shuo.
"Don’t be afraid, you won’t be in trouble. If the people from the Earl Mansion wanted to kill us, they wouldn’t need to go through such trouble; they still need us." Nalan Shuo consoled.
Upon calming down, Fang Zhou also felt that Nalan Shuo made sense. After all, if they were dead, who would deliver the Ancestor to Lingzhou City?
Even if this was poison, it wouldn’t act immediately; perhaps they would have already left the mission and returned to the real world before then.
Of course, there was a premise—that he lived that long. Maybe before then, something else would claim his life.
Nalan Shuo sat in the carriage controlling the direction, while Fang Zhou and Lou Huixiang guarded each side of the coffin. The group proceeded slowly beneath the moonlight.
Looking up, they noticed that what was once a full moon was now only half, turning into a crescent, and the atmosphere around them began to feel eerie.
Not long after, Nalan Shuo looked into the distance and saw a courtyard complex building with no lights, too far to see clearly, its outline barely visible like a giant beast lurking in the dark.
Lou Huixiang became instantly alert, after all, stumbling upon a building in the desolate wilderness was definitely strange.
Nalan Shuo took out a map and found this place marked too, but only with a black frame and no name indicated.
"What is this place?" Fang Zhou whispered.
No one answered. As they approached, Nalan Shuo pulled the reins to stop the carriage. The building was not far from the roadside, and it was impossible to bypass.
Nalan Shuo jumped out of the carriage and looked back at Lou Huixiang, "Fang Zhou, you stay and watch the cart. You’re coming with me to take a look."
Unexpectedly, Lou Huixiang immediately shrank back, shaking his head like a pellet drum and pleading, "I... I can’t do it, my shoulder wound is killing me, uh... Mr. Nalan, you better take Fang Zhou. After all, he is a blessed general."
This place looked ominous, and who knew if the Earl Mansion had hidden some schemes here. Lou Huixiang had no wish to risk danger, hastily passing the hot potato to Fang Zhou. Nalan Shuo didn’t insist and turned to look at Fang Zhou.
"I will go with you," Fang Zhou nodded emphatically. Throughout the journey, he had been vigilant about the coffin, and the ominous premonition that had no reason to persist was always lingering. Rather than staying with the coffin, he preferred to accompany Nalan Shuo.
The two of them, one in front of the other, holding a Paper Lantern, approached the darkened structure. As they drew closer, they finally saw clearly that the place had long been abandoned, with the courtyard door already collapsed and decayed on the ground.
Looking through the courtyard door, the space inside was not large, and at the furthest point stood a spire-topped small temple in deathly silence.
"Mr. Nalan, do we go in?" Having reached here, Fang Zhou still felt apprehensive. He understood the adage of preferring to live by a desolate cemetery than to enter an abandoned temple. Right at the start of the mission, they had entered that Land Temple, which then led to all the subsequent bizarre occurrences, leaving a shadow in the depths of his heart.
"We have to go in. We can’t bypass, and if there really is a problem here, once something is disturbed inside the coffin...." Nalan Shuo did not finish, but everyone understood what he meant.
"If you’re really scared, wait outside for me," said Nalan Shuo.
"No, no, I’d better stay with you." Fang Zhou had seen enough strange occurrences recently; he knew that although it’s Nalan Shuo who goes in, it might not necessarily be him who comes out.
Fang Zhou closely followed Nalan Shuo, the two side by side, entering through the courtyard door and approaching the centered spire-topped temple. Fang Zhou was surprised to find that the temple door was round, just like the Square-Holed Paper Money they carried.
No, not just like—it was the same! The styles were identical, furthermore, the temple walls were peculiarly covered with Talisman Paper, layer upon layer, the innermost almost embedded into the walls, and due to age, many of the pigments had peeled away, blurring the inscriptions and Ghost Talisman designs.
Fang Zhou was confused, but Nalan Shuo seemed to discern something, walking forward alone and lifting the lantern. Soon, with that dim light, Fang Zhou saw an old and worn plaque embedded above the temple door that resembled Square-Holed Paper Money, tucked between the door frame and eaves, bearing three incomplete and unsettling dark red characters.
After careful identification, Fang Zhou’s complexion subtly changed, alarm ringing in his heart—those characters read "Fu Jue Temple."
"See the coffin and follow; when the moon is full, it wanes; at ’Fu Jue’, ascend; refrain from doing good deeds."
The third sentence of this ominous prophecy had, at last, appeared.
