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墨書 Inktalez
Rou Er looked somewhat like a young lady, but her movements were quick and decisive. She never hesitated, always managing to get things done perfectly before I even had a chance to speak, leaving no room for rebuttal.
I often observed her while daydreaming. When she had nothing to do, she liked to gaze at the sky, and her favorite thing was water. Once, I overheard her muttering to herself, "Everything ends with water."
She repeated it several times, her profile marked by a deep sense of uncertainty that made one feel pity for her.
That day, I woke up early to find that it had rained heavily again. For some reason, the atmosphere in the Underworld had been particularly gloomy lately, with rain falling intermittently. Each downpour brought a sudden drop in temperature, intensifying the damp chill that made me quite uncomfortable.
I disliked this feeling but couldn't prevent it. Fortunately, the baby inside me showed no signs of distress; it remained quiet and peacefully asleep.
"Miss, Aunt Song has arrived," Rou Er said as she placed breakfast in front of me.
I snapped back to reality and saw Aunt Song standing by the door with a slight smile. "Aunt Song, what brings you here?"
"Miss, you asked me to investigate that Maid matter; I have news."
After the incident a few days ago, I had inquired about Little Bugs' whereabouts. Aunt Song mentioned that when she went to punish Little Bugs that day, she had already vanished. Since Little Bugs was brought by Lord Yanzhen, there needed to be an explanation. Thus, Aunt Song had gone to look into it and seemed to have found some leads now.
I picked up my chopsticks and asked, "Where is she?"
"She... she is dead."
With a loud clatter, my chopsticks fell onto the table and rolled away, one piece dropping to the floor. Rou Er immediately bent down to pick it up and returned with a new pair.
"How could she be dead?" I was extremely shocked; this situation was becoming more unexpected than I could have imagined. "What exactly happened?"
"I don't know either," she replied. "I searched for information and rushed over only to find that she was attacked from behind by a ghost and lost her soul on the spot."
"What the hell is that? Can you see clearly?"
"It seems to be a beautiful woman dressed in black."
"A beautiful woman in black?" The description was too vague to be of much help. At that moment, Rou Er placed the chopsticks beside me and whispered, "Miss, you can use spiritual power to view past memories."
I had read about such methods in novels, where celestial beings could use their powers to probe into a person's memories.
But the key was, I didn't know how!
Rou Er looked at me with a faint smile and continued, "If you don't mind, I can help."
"You can?" I squinted at her. Rou Er remained composed and nodded. "Alright." I then turned to Aunt Song and said, "You sit down. I'll see what that woman looks like in your memories; perhaps I will recognize her."
"Yes."
Aunt Song sat on the stool across from me while Rou Er stood before her. She traced a circle in the air with her right index finger, and a pale yellow light circle formed at her fingertip. As she raised her hand, it left behind a shimmering light like stars twinkling.
She placed her hand on Aunt Song's forehead, and in an instant, the pale yellow glow burst forth, forming an egg-sized halo at Aunt Song's brow that grew larger and larger. Then, a transparent shadow rose from the top of Aunt Song's head, becoming clearer as the light expanded.
I saw a frail Little Bugs walking around a corner of what seemed to be a corridor, glancing back nervously as if afraid of being followed. She then opened a door beside her.
After entering, she met someone but hurried out shortly after, preparing to leave.
At that moment, however, a figure dressed in black emerged silently from behind the door. It approached Little Bugs from behind and struck with lethal precision, piercing through her body and causing her to explode from within, vanishing without a trace.
The pale and delicate hand was stained with red blood; she casually flicked it off and then licked it clean. At that moment, a strong wind blew up her wide-brimmed hat, revealing her true face beneath.
I suddenly stood up from the stool, staring in shock at the woman in the painting. Her stunning beauty was something that rarely faded from memory. Although she had lost some of her original delicacy and gained a pallid hue, her features remained unchanged. I recognized her clearly—"Stunning."
The painting abruptly ended there. Rou Er withdrew her hand, and Aunt Song also stood up from her stool, saying to me, "Miss, I followed her back then, and this is the woman I saw. Fortunately, I am good at hiding myself, so I wasn't discovered." She hesitated for a moment, glancing at my expression before asking cautiously, "Miss, do you recognize this ghost?"
Do I recognize her?
How could I not?
She is Stunning, the one who saved me, the one who worked for Jun Chong. So why did she kill Little Bugs?
More importantly, Lianchi had told me just a few days ago that Stunning was locked away by the King of Hell. At that time, I thought his punishment seemed a bit harsh but also fitting for his character, so I didn't dwell on it.
But now that I think about it, even if the King of Hell wanted to punish Stunning, he could have simply chosen not to take her away. If he said no, no one would dare to argue.
Moreover, if he did bring Stunning back, why was there no one in the Underworld Palace who recognized her? Even if she was imprisoned or punished, there should have been some news about it. Lianchi didn’t know either, which was very strange.
Thus, I concluded that the King of Hell must have done something to Stunning. The look on her face in the painting seemed bloodthirsty and completely different from before.
"Miss? If you are not feeling well, would you like me to help you rest for a while?"
Rou Er's voice brought me back to reality. I slowly glanced at Aunt Song and asked, "Aunt Song, where did you see them?"
"In a room behind the Underworld Palace. It was originally used as a storage room; generally, ghosts wouldn't dare to approach it easily."
I nodded and placed my hand on my forehead, softly saying, "You may go! Do not spread this matter around. But if you see that woman in black again, you must tell me."
"I understand. I will take my leave."
After Aunt Song left, I looked at the breakfast in front of me and suddenly lost my appetite. My mind was filled with the scene of Stunning harming Little Bugs, and my heart ached.
“Stunning... what happened to you? If you have any troubles, you can come to me!”
Rou Er stood by my side, accompanying me. I didn’t eat, and she didn’t urge me either, until the light rain outside gradually stopped. The sky grew darker, and the daylight felt almost like dusk, just like the mood of a person, shrouded in an unshakeable fog.
“Miss, if you’re worried, you can go take a look over there. What if it’s just a coincidence?”
I naturally wanted to go see, but that place was the Underworld Palace. Baby had told me not to approach it for her safety, and I had always remembered that. However, regarding Stunning—I thought for a moment and said to Rou Er, “You go find Lianchi and bring him here.”
Rou Er didn’t ask further and immediately went off. I stood up and walked outside, looking at the wet ground and letting out a heavy sigh.
Although Lianchi was one of the King of Hell’s people and seemed like the kind of man who spoke half-truths, I knew he had never lied to me. Since he had given me news about Stunning, he wouldn’t hide her current whereabouts from me.
But he said he didn’t know, though he didn’t rule out the possibility that she was in the Underworld Palace. This only confirmed that the King of Hell was keeping secrets from all the ghosts regarding this matter.
The feeling of being lost continued until Rou Er returned and said to me, “Miss, Lord Lianchi has been locked up by the King.”
“What?”
At that moment, I was fiddling with the Qilin Hairpin in my hand. When she said this, I trembled, causing the hairpin to fall to the ground.
Seeing this, Rou Er went to pick it up. But just as she touched the Qilin Hairpin, she let out a sharp scream and fell onto the ground, staring at the Qilin Hairpin with a pale face. The hairpin on the ground emitted a soft glow that was gentle and soothing.
I looked at her expression and picked up the hairpin myself. “What’s wrong with you?”
To my surprise, she grabbed my hand tightly; her grip was so strong that her nails dug into my flesh. With urgency and hope in her voice, she asked, “Do you recognize Shizui?”
“Shizui.”
With a thunderous sound, something seemed to flash through my mind, colliding briefly before settling back into place. She swallowed nervously and explained, “My husband is named Rong Zhi, and in the human realm, he goes by Shizui.”
“So you are Jian Rou?”
I asked in surprise, never having imagined I would meet her in such an environment.
She nodded. “When I was alive, my name was indeed Jian Rou. I had a younger brother named Molin. Shizui is my husband. I know he is the first Rakshasa of the underworld, Rong Zhi, so after I died, I never reincarnated because I wanted to see him again. I cannot go to the human realm, so I can only wait here.”
I took a moment to process this, suppressing my shock as I adjusted my emotions and asked, “Then why are you here in the Underworld Palace?”
“I don’t know. I had been lingering at the boundary between the underworld and the human realm because I knew he would return to the underworld and would have to pass through there. Not long ago, on a full moon night, there was a disturbance at the boundary, and I felt his presence. But by the time I appeared, there was nothing left. Soon after, I was captured by the Grim Reaper. I fought desperately against it, but then I encountered the King of the Underworld. He said nothing and just let me stay in the Underworld Palace, saying that here I would wait for what I longed for.”
I frowned, feeling a surge of anger. Why was everything connected to the King of the Underworld?
“I sensed his presence from this Qilin Hairpin, so do you know where he is?” Jian Rou grasped my hand, trembling with excitement. “I do not seek to share a future with him again; I only wish to see him once more and let him know that I am doing well. Even if it meant dying for him, I have no regrets; everything was my choice. I want him to let go of his guilt towards me and live well.”
I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, then grasped her hand firmly and pulled her into the room, closing the door behind us. Turning to face her, I said, “Shizui is already in the underworld; he visited the Underworld Palace just a few days ago.”
Jian Rou trembled at my words, tears streaming down her cheeks.
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