Mistress of the Underworld and Her Little Celestial Wife - Chapter 100

Mu Yin and Hong Zhuang worked together to pull the coffin out of the icy, bone-chilling water. The moment it was lifted from the water, a layer of frost instantly formed on its surface. Hong Zhuang clicked her tongue as she looked at the ice-covered coffin and said, “How did the coffin end up like this?”

Mu Yin frowned slightly and walked over to stand beside the coffin.

Cold air seeped from the coffin, making it impossible for Mu Yin to touch it directly. The moment her fingers neared the surface, she felt a piercing cold, if she were to touch it outright, it would surely peel off a layer of skin.

Mu Yin was afraid of pain, so she didn’t dare to touch it barehanded.

Hong Zhuang rolled up her sleeves and said, “Step aside, Young Madam. I’ll open it!”

Mu Yin worriedly replied, “Don’t use your bare hands, you’ll lose a layer of skin.”

Hong Zhuang silently retracted her outstretched hand, then tore two strips of cloth from the hem of her robe to wrap around her palms before stepping forward to open the coffin.

Though the coffin had been opened once before, its excellent seal ensured that not a drop of water had seeped in, even after being submerged again.

The heavy lid was set down on the ground with a dull thud. Only then did Mu Yin approach and peer inside at Ah Qin.

Ah Qin remained just as she had been when they first saw her peaceful and serene, her complexion even rosier than before.

“Huh?” Hong Zhuang also noticed the strangeness and leaned in to look at Ah Qin in the coffin. “Young Madam, why does she look so much more flushed?”

The complexion of a dead person was supposed to be ashen without blood circulation, the skin would appear dull, yellowish, and tinged with the pallor of death. Yet Ah Qin’s face bore no such pallid hue. Instead, her cheeks were rosy, and her eyelids had a faint, translucent pink glow.

It was as if, she was slowly coming back to life.

Mu Yin was startled by the thought that crossed her mind. After a moment’s hesitation, she reached out to touch the woman in the coffin.

“Young Madam?!”

Hong Zhuang was shocked, but before she could stop her, Mu Yin had already placed her hand on Ah Qin’s face.

“She’s cold,” Mu Yin murmured, stroking Ah Qin’s icy cheek, running her fingers over it before lightly pressing. “But her skin is still elastic. She doesn’t look like someone who’s been dead for tens of thousands of years more like she just passed away recently.”

Hong Zhuang paled at her words. “Young Madam, don’t scare me like that! She’s been dead for so long, how could she look like she just died? And I remember clearly back in the desert, she didn’t look this lively.”

“Exactly,” Mu Yin withdrew her hand, her gaze heavy as she stared at Ah Qin lying in the coffin. “What in the world is going on?”

Meanwhile, thousands of miles away at the desert’s edge, Ni Miaoyuan emerged from the sands, covered in dust.

“Excuse me, could you give me directions?”

Ni Miaoyuan removed the gray cloak that had concealed her face and approached a middle-aged man feeding camels at the gates of Tushicheng.

At first, the man didn’t notice Ni Miaoyuan. Only when she drew near did he realize she had an entirely different appearance, one rarely seen in these parts, with distinctly Eastern features.

“Y-you! ” The man scrambled to his feet in fright, pointing behind Ni Miaoyuan. “You came out of the desert?!”

Ni Miaoyuan nodded slightly and said, “I came from the other side of the desert. Since I’m new here and unfamiliar with the area, I was wondering if you could tell me where to find an inn. I need to rest for a while.”

The middle-aged man’s eyes widened in astonishment. In his experience, no one had ever crossed the desert before Ni Miaoyuan was the first person he’d ever met who had accomplished such a feat.

There was no inn to be found, so the man invited Ni Miaoyuan into his home and poured her a bowl of water.

“Young lady, this is a desolate village. We don’t have much to offer, but please have some water first,” the man said, handing her a bowl of murky water. “It might taste a bit bitter, but it’ll quench your thirst.”

Ni Miaoyuan didn’t complain. Although grain avoidance meant she didn’t need to eat or drink, the long journey had completely drained her energy.

Back in the Water Prison, she had agreed to help Si Lingqing with a task, but she never expected it would involve crossing the entire desert.

Had she known, she would have negotiated for more favorable terms.

After finishing the water, Ni Miaoyuan expressed her gratitude. “Thank you. May I also ask where the nearest town is?”

“What brings you here, young lady?” the man asked curiously. “You don’t look like you’re from around here your features resemble those from the distant East. You must have important business, right?”

“Yes,” Ni Miaoyuan admitted without hesitation. “I came here searching for some clues. Have you ever heard of the West Moon Kingdom, uncle?”

“The West Moon Kingdom?” The man paused. “You mean that land of immortality?”

“Exactly.”

“Are you another one of those seekers of eternal life?” The man shook his head. “Why would someone as young as you believe in such superstitions? The legends about the West Moon Kingdom are all false. If they truly possessed the secret to immortality, how could their kingdom have fallen?”

The man clearly mistook Ni Miaoyuan for one of those hired by the wealthy and powerful to search for the elixir of life. Such occurrences were rare but not unheard of, and the man had heard rumors of them before.

Ni Miaoyuan didn’t explain. In a way, she was seeking the secret to immortality.

Seeing her silence, the man awkwardly scratched his head. “If you don’t mind, young lady, you can stay here for the night. Tomorrow, I’ll be taking my camels back to the market. I can give you a ride.”

Ni Miaoyuan smiled. “Thank you, uncle.”

After spending the night in the desolate village, Ni Miaoyuan lay awake, listening to the howling winds outside. Sleep eluded her.

She had walked through the desert for nearly a month, mostly flying with a sword. Yet the desert was far vaster than she had imagined no matter how long she flew, she couldn’t find any villages or even discern directions. She had no choice but to rest in shaded spots during the day and travel at night, guided by the stars.

This nocturnal lifestyle had disrupted her sleep cycle. Even now, with the night deep and dark, she felt no drowsiness. Only as dawn approached did exhaustion finally overtake her, and she managed a couple of hours of sleep leaning against the headboard.

After watering his camels, the man knocked on Ni Miaoyuan’s door, and together they set off for the market.

In less than half a day’s journey, Ni Miaoyuan began to see signs of human habitation.

Upon reaching the market, she thanked the man and they parted ways.

Ni Miaoyuan wandered through the marketplace for a long time before finally purchasing a map and some supplies needed for entering the city. After replenishing what she lacked, she followed the map’s markings to the largest town in the area.

The name of the town was unfamiliar to Ni Miaoyuan, but that didn’t stop her from making inquiries. Eventually, she found lodging at an inn.

To call it an inn wasn’t entirely accurate, it was more like a communal living space, with some people rumored to have lived there for several years.

Ni Miaoyuan was assigned a quiet room. After paying for her stay, she casually asked the black-haired, curly-haired child who had shown her upstairs.

“Does anyone in your town know about the West Moon Kingdom?” Ni Miaoyuan asked, handing the boy some loose silver coins.

The grubby little boy took the money, pointed at a figure not far away, then turned and ran off without another word.

Frowning, Ni Miaoyuan walked over.

The person was a middle-aged woman with a plump figure, dressed in a garment blending red, gold, and brown hues. Her neck, head, hands, and shoulders were adorned with silver ornaments, one nostril even bore a silver nose ring connected by a chain to her ear.

At that moment, the woman sat cross-legged on a cushion, a tattered book open before her. With closed eyes and hands pressed together, she murmured something under her breath.

Unable to decipher the book’s script, Ni Miaoyuan sat down cross-legged opposite her, mirroring the woman’s posture.

The woman opened her eyes and, upon seeing the unfamiliar face of this Central Plains woman before her, raised her eyebrows in surprise. “A young and beautiful maiden from the East, what brings you before me? Do you, too, wish to hear the whispers of the divine?”

Ni Miaoyuan pressed her palms together and gave a slight bow. “I heard you know about the West Moon Kingdom. There’s something I’d like to ask.”

At the mention of “West Moon Kingdom,” the woman froze. Her brown eyes studied Ni Miaoyuan for a long moment before she finally smiled. “Ah, I see now. I can see the thread upon you, you’re searching for someone, aren’t you?”

Ni Miaoyuan met her gaze calmly. “The other end of that thread is held by another. If I don’t help, I won’t find the person I seek.”

The woman nodded. “What do you wish to know about the West Moon Kingdom? Is it about their immortality?”

“No,” Ni Miaoyuan replied. “I want to know about the princess of the West Moon Kingdom.”

The woman frowned and fell silent for a long while before looking at her again. “Very well. It’s not a complicated tale. Let me tell you about the kingdom’s last twin princesses.”

Twin… princesses?

“Tens of thousands of years ago, the West Moon Kingdom was the most prosperous nation in the desert. They were fabulously wealthy even their palaces were built of gold. It was said they were a divine race, with the royal family being immortal from birth.” The woman spoke calmly. “The most famous among them were the twin princesses of the royal line.”

“Twins were considered auspicious in the West Moon Kingdom. The princesses were doted upon from birth. But when they turned eighteen, envoys from the Central Plains came seeking a bride and so the elder sister was sent away in marriage.”

Ni Miaoyuan frowned. Before she arrived, Si Lingqing had already told her about the events in the dream of the West Moon Kingdom. She had always thought there was only one princess, Ah Qin, in the West Moon Kingdom. How could there suddenly be an ‘elder sister’ now?

“What was the elder sister’s name?” Ni Miaoyuan asked. “Was it Ah Qin?”

The woman shook her head. “Ah Qin was the younger sister. No one remembers the elder sister’s name. According to the customs of the Central Plains at that time, women who married had to adopt their husband’s family name, so the elder sister’s name was not recorded in the later annals of the West Moon Kingdom.”

Ni Miaoyuan furrowed her brows and said to the woman, “Sorry to interrupt, please continue.”

The woman went on, “The elder sister was also an unfortunate princess. She was married to the crown prince at the time for diplomatic relations between the two countries. But men in the Central Plains didn’t have just one wife. After the princess married, she discovered her husband actually had over a dozen… what’s the word for it?”

“Concubines.”

“Yes, her husband had over a dozen concubines. Besides the concubines, even the male servants who attended to him could have relations with him. The princess couldn’t accept it. She couldn’t bear to share a husband with so many women.”

“So, three years after the princess married, she died in an accident.” The woman sighed and said, “But the princess’s death wasn’t the end. To stabilize diplomatic relations between the two countries, the Central Plains demanded the king of the West Moon Kingdom marry another princess to them. That princess was the one you mentioned Princess Ah Qin.”

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