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墨書 Inktalez
I made up my mind and lifted the boy onto my back, using my lightness skill to leap gracefully until we reached the place where we had hidden our horses before.
The Five-Flower Horse was still calmly grazing. I approached, set the boy down, and gently stroked the horse's soft mane.
I removed our luggage from the saddle and found a set of men's clothing that I often wore. Ye Liuhui's body wasn't very tall, delicate and slender, so it matched the boy's size quite well. I helped him change into the clothes and then took out a handful of silver coins for him.
"Take this. I can't give you whole silver coins; otherwise, someone might suspect you and cause trouble."
Suddenly, the boy grabbed my arm.
"I don't even know where home is anymore. There's no one left at home. Please, sister, keep me by your side. I will serve you for life, bringing you tea and water, working like a mule! Sister, I'm really good at taking care of people; before..."
I waved my hand to interrupt him.
"The person earlier told you not to rely on anyone, and he was right. In life, you must depend on yourself. But don’t be like him and think that everyone in this world is bad and untrustworthy. He just had bad luck and didn't meet good people. You must live better than he did in the future."
The boy looked at me with confusion. After thinking for a moment, I realized my words were indeed difficult to understand; aside from myself, others probably wouldn’t grasp them at all.
Of course, I didn’t need him to understand. I took out paper and pen from my luggage and wrote a brief letter. The letterhead was specifically for the Dali Temple, marked with its unique seal.
When Ren Pingsheng captured me, he was quite composed; after all, there was a part of me that willingly went along with him. So before leaving, I had packed my belongings carefully and brought everything useful.
"Take this letter to the nearest county office and show it to them. It states that Ye Liuhui from the Dali Temple sent you here. After they see the letter, they will send someone to take you to the capital and to the Dali Temple."
As I spoke, I pulled out a map and marked the route to the county office before handing it to the boy and then lifting him onto the horse.
"Da... Dali Temple?" The boy's face displayed extreme surprise, as if he had heard of this institution before.
Time was pressing, and there was no room for lengthy explanations. I took a hairpin from my bag and handed it to him, instructing, "When you reach the Dali Temple, find Lord Luo, the Deputy Minister of the Dali Temple. Show him this hairpin and ask him to place you under someone’s guidance to learn skills. The Dali Temple is where they capture wrongdoers and uphold justice. If you learn well there, you can punish those kinds of murderers in the future, avenging your loved ones."
Tears streamed down his face as he wiped them with his sleeve, smudging his face into a black mess, resembling a thin little cat. It seemed that good things often made people cry more easily than cruel ones.
"Can you ride a horse? Can you read a map?" I asked the most practical questions.
He sniffled and replied, "No, but sister, don’t worry. I can learn quickly on my own. As for maps, I think I can read them as long as the directions are marked."
If I had a selfish motive, well, perhaps it could be justified.
This boy was only thirteen but was remarkably calm and intelligent. If he were an ordinary child, I wouldn't have sent him to the Dali Temple; instead, I would have arranged for him to go somewhere else. If nurtured properly, he could become a pillar of the nation; however, if he went astray, he could turn into another Ren Pingsheng—a disaster beyond imagination.
How could I stand by and watch another Ren Pingsheng emerge? Moreover... this time, he must find happiness.
After quickly sending him off, I hurried back to the Shaft at top speed, retracing my steps through the room filled with remnants of flesh and bone until I stepped into the depths of the Mine.
Though torches burned inside the Mine, it still felt dark and oppressive, as if the wings of death unfurled here, with malevolent spirits forever hovering above. The air was thick with an unshakeable chill and the stench of blood.
Suddenly, I felt a jolt of alarm. This didn’t seem like mere imagination; it was indeed the smell of blood, growing stronger by the moment.
I quickly pulled out a vial and swallowed two universal antidotes from Snowfall Villa. How could I have forgotten this? After all, I had seen Ren Pingsheng making poison; if something happened to me and I didn’t make it back in time, wouldn’t that make me a fool?
I lowered my gaze and noticed the tracks of a mine cart on the ground. Deciding to follow them seemed like a sure way to find someone.
I concealed my figure and groped forward for a while, but I saw no one. Instead, I began to see blood and corpses.
The dead started to appear. All of them were dressed the same, in black, their faces uncovered. The common feature among them was that each had a shiny silver badge hanging from their waist.
I turned one of the corpses over and saw that they had died quickly—not from poison, but from having their throats slit. Just one precise cut severed the artery, trachea, and vocal cords. With such a method, they probably couldn't even make a sound as they died.
This was definitely the work of Ren Pingsheng. Such a clean technique, such decisiveness and ruthlessness—who else could it be? I had seen this kind of cut twice before: once when I had just saved San, and another time on the necks of my brothers at Wanzi Mountain. Remembering my brothers from Wanzi Mountain reignited my hatred for Ren Pingsheng.
What the hell am I doing?! I questioned myself while quickening my pace.
But the further I went, the more blood and corpses I encountered—lying haphazardly, shocking to behold. The more I walked, the more anxious I became. How many people were here? Was Ren Pingsheng planning to kill everyone below?
However, all the dead were black-clad figures; I didn't see any bodies of the underground laborers. Perhaps Ren Pingsheng had let them all go.
But why didn't he use poison?
Every corpse bore knife wounds; it was not poisoning. At first, the cuts were precisely on the necks; there were about a hundred corpses I saw, and then the locations of the cuts began to become chaotic, though most still resulted in a swift death with one blow. As I moved further along, there began to be cases of two or three cuts.
No matter how skilled one is in martial arts, facing a hundred opponents would eventually lead to exhaustion, especially since Ren Pingsheng was still recovering from serious injuries.
Wasn't this a form of suicide? This didn’t seem like Ren Pingsheng's style at all.
I couldn't afford to look at the corpses on the ground any longer; I just rushed forward desperately. I didn't know how long I ran or how many bodies I passed by until finally, deep within the cave, I found Ren Pingsheng in a stone chamber.
Ren Pingsheng's face was pale, blood trickling from his mouth; his blue clothing was stained so much with blood that its color was unrecognizable. When I saw him, he was gripping the hair of an Elegant Attire Man, lifting his limp body as he slowly sliced through his neck amidst his cries for mercy.
As blood gushed forth, Ren Pingsheng's gaze burned with hatred, yet a cold smile lingered on his face. Suddenly, he threw the corpse to the ground, and his curved blade transformed into a long scythe. With a fierce swing, he struck heavily into the chest of the lifeless body lying limply on the ground.
I watched as he crazily hacked at the corpse, using such force that he was gasping for breath, so much so that even his keen awareness failed to detect my presence. He vented his fury without restraint until he could no longer hold back and spat out a mouthful of blood.
In a flash, I wrapped my arms around him from behind. His furious aura surged suddenly, nearly overwhelming me. Just when I thought he might unleash his power to injure me, his body suddenly stiffened.
He stood frozen in place for a long time, but gradually the temperature around us began to drop, and his breath started to return to calmness and tranquility.
"Ah... Ying?" After a long while, Ren Pingsheng finally spoke, his voice hoarse as he tentatively asked.
"Ren Pingsheng, it's enough now. You don't need to do this anymore. Let's go..."
I thought to myself that he had already killed the person he most wanted to kill. I had actually allowed him to murder several hundred people without reproaching him; perhaps I had begun to lose my way as well.
"Ah Ying, why did you come here..."
His breath suddenly relaxed, the long handle of the scythe touching the ground as his body softened and leaned against it.
"How long have you been here?" I didn't answer his question but simply asked this instead.
Ren Pingsheng showed no surprise and did not try to hide anything from me.
"Seven years," he replied calmly.
His tone caused a sharp pain in my heart. Having endured two years of torment was already unbearable; how had he managed to survive for seven? From what Qiu had told me, they had learned skills together in their youth. Although Ren Pingsheng was a few years older than Qiu, he must have been at least sixteen or seventeen when he first entered Mirror Gate. Therefore, these seven years must have started when he was very young, and yet he had managed to live through it all for seven years!
It must have been very difficult... those years...
"Do you hate me, Ah Ying?" Ren Pingsheng's question was always so out of the blue.
Should I nod or shake my head?
"This is the last time. No more exceptions. You are not allowed to kill anyone, not even in situations like this! You need to tell me, and then we, the Official Authorities, will help you eliminate this threat. You cannot take matters into your own hands!" I said sternly.
Ren Pingsheng chuckled lightly, nodded, and replied softly, "Mm."
I released my grip, and Ren Pingsheng turned away, a look of disappointment on his face.
"Is that all the hug I get?"
"You, you, you!!!... How annoying!"
After sending him off, my bag remained slung over my shoulder. I pulled out one of Ren Pingsheng's Long Robes from inside and threw it at him.
"Don't you even check what time it is? How dare you take advantage of me! Hurry up and change; it's filthy and covered in my blood!"
Ren Pingsheng cheerfully caught the robe, took off his clothes, and put the Long Robe on.
"Hey, you're not hurt, are you?" I asked as I changed into another outer garment, feeling frustrated.
"Are you concerned about me, Ah Ying?"
"Come on, I'm just worried you'll get hurt, and then I'll have to deal with the trouble."
"Ah Ying is worried about me? That makes me very happy."
"Enough with the nonsense. Let's get out of this place of troubles quickly. Then, you can hide your identity and start anew. I promise I won't betray you."
Worried? What a joke! You're a murderer, an executioner—feel sorry for you? Not a chance! My stance is quite clear.
"Start anew? Has Ah Ying come to her senses? Are you willing to join me?"
"Shut up! I've put up with you for long enough; don't push your luck!"
Somehow, the fear of Ren Pingsheng had started to fade away. Maybe it was after seeing him today that I felt this way; this terrifying person was, deep down, just a fragile and lonely child.
"Well, that's not going to work. If Ah Ying doesn't stay with me, there's no way to start over!"
I couldn't hold back any longer and turned to slap him, but I noticed his expression suddenly turned cold, revealing a look of great surprise. That surprise gradually transformed into a heavy expression on his face as he quickly raised a finger to his lips, signaling for silence.
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