The Deposed Crown Prince had Three Lifelong Regrets - Chapter 14

Chapter 14

The sky rumbled with thunder, and silver dragons darted among the black clouds.

The wedding procession was completely blocked, and the brutes swarmed forward, causing the sedan chair to topple.

The bride was pulled from the sedan chair. The ground around his feet was covered with bleeding corpses. He staggered away from the procession.

For the first time in tens of days, he felt warmth—someone had come to save him.

Blood flowed into puddle after puddle, constantly spreading along the thin layer of water that had accumulated on the ground, like ever-growing vines.

“Leave some alive! Ask them why they tied up the Song family’s man!”

“Have they grown leopard hearts in their chests?”

Raindrops the size of copper coins hit the ground. The downpour came down furiously, creating a loud slapping sound.

The red veil was tossed off, and the male bride hurriedly knelt in thanks.

The rain washed away most of the white powder on his body, revealing a delicate, feminine face.

“You’re not Second Young Master Song, are you…” Shao Cheng was startled, retreating repeatedly.

On his third step, he reacted, grabbing the man’s wrist and using the momentum to seize his neck.

“Audacious demon, where did you hide Song Xuan Ye?”

“Everyone, look at the others’ faces! He is not Song Xuan Ye.”

Suddenly, the earth shook and loud noises filled the air, drowning out the sounds of fighting and killing, drowning out the flash of swords. It was as if invisible warhorses were galloping, and the relentless sound of iron hooves and horn blasts continued.

Serpent-like dragons moved across the mountain peaks, and horns blared from every gully. In the heavy rain, the soil and rocks on the mountainside were washed away, and a flood descended at an unimaginable speed.

“The Mountain God is enraged! Run! Run!”

Mud layered upon mud, first swallowing the overturned sedan chair, then following the path they took, rushing toward the bodyguards who were still climbing.

These people were not skilled in light footwork, and their horses were lent to others who were more capable, leaving them far down the slope. This was a blessing in disguise. They might survive the impending disaster.

Lu Fengmian and Su Wushuang sat side by side.

Compared to the two women’s melancholy, the young boy seemed exceptionally cheerful. He seemed to have seen a glimmer of hope for survival, and his eyes reflected a brilliant galaxy.

The people left when the sky was about to lighten. To avoid alerting anyone, they would travel slowly. They would probably only return tonight, and arrive back at the camp the night after—and if “Second Master Song” was severely injured, the journey would only be slower.

But this anticipation of their return was soon shattered.

A landslide erupted from the mountains. The rolling, foul-smelling mud and water swept away the trees. Compared to the upheaval of the earth, the turmoil in Lu Fengmian’s heart was no less intense. She had considered leading the group to intercept the sedan chair herself.

Is this retribution? Heaven, do you hate me?

“The flash flood is heading in the same direction they went, but there’s a river fork there. The water will most likely turn away. So, if we go to rescue them, it’s very possible we could save a few. Although the rain has stopped now, we can’t be sure when it will start again.”

Su Wushuang originally ran a shop and worked as a guide in Jizhou. She was familiar with the nearby mountains. She only agreed to accompany them after being instigated by Second Master Song and tempted by ten copper taels.

Who would have thought that Second Master Song would die, and now they would encounter a flash flood?

“I just didn’t check the almanac before leaving home. This is what I deserve,” she said, so frustrated she wanted to cry.

Lu Fengmian felt disoriented, staring at the mountains, unable to focus. She had been taking herbal medicine with ginkgo as an auxiliary for six months to nourish yin and kidney. Unfortunately, the herbs happened to clash with the medicine brewed in the large courtyard, and taking them long-term had damaged her kidneys.

But every cloud has a silver lining. Her memory had improved considerably over the past half-year.

Anger surged through her, momentarily cutting off her breath. Years of accumulated pain flared up all at once. She coughed violently, bringing up traces of blood, and her hatred for herself and the Zhao family intensified.

She thought grimly that if they were to return, besides dragging back some mutilated corpses, they would also push back a disheveled bride.

The Taoist priests remaining in the camp organized a rescue mission. After searching for three and a half days, most of the surviving people returned.

Now, there were very few bodyguards left, and many of those who came for the bounty had died. The bride was completely dead. The phoenix coronet and robes on his head had vanished, and his expression was frozen in death.

Though terrified, he hadn’t been numb like those in the sedan chair.

Shao Cheng, being a strong swimmer with great strength, miraculously escaped death.

When he returned, he was caked in mud, his hair disheveled, but his face was slightly cleaner, as if he had deliberately washed it.

“Are you alright?” Lu Fengmian asked, supported by someone. “Who was he? Where is Young Master Song?”

Shao Cheng scratched his head awkwardly. “I don’t know. He was the only one we found. We also interrogated those porters, look.” He tossed the dead body in his hand into the open.

Lu Fengmian turned her gaze away. She didn’t care about the fate of the person who was initially used as a pawn. What she cared about was whether she would, in the future, resort to any means necessary to avenge her birth mother, even if it meant dragging the people she initially excluded into her hatred.

The world feeds me arsenic, and I will repay it with arsenic.

She tried to recall her time as a beggar, tried to remember attending her mother’s funeral upon returning home after a two-year absence.

Yet, she couldn’t cry. She didn’t even feel sad.

The humiliation was infused into her very bones, already one with her.

It was all for nothing. Lu Fengmian was in the worst mood possible. She didn’t even have the heart to continue chasing a lost cause on Tuo Mountain. She immediately decided to pack up and return to the capital.

It was as if by doing so, she could pretend the events of the past few days had never happened.

But before leaving, she naturally had to complete the lie.

Xu Bufan, who had always tried to strike up conversations with Lu Fengmian, had harbored resentment toward her ever since his narrow escape from the landslide.

Xu Bufan was a third-rate rogue hero. He wasn’t here for any noble virtues. He had simply found a way to make money and traveled thousands of miles to Tuo Mountain with the mindset of giving it a try.

“Who said Second Master Song was in the sedan chair? Are you blind? The two people look so different. How could you mistake them?” Only resentment remained after his close brush with death.

Lu Fengmian looked wronged. “I genuinely saw Young Master Song at the time. I don’t know what happened. Perhaps it was…”

“Perhaps they switched him.”

“The sedan carriers were all washed away by the flood. Even if you made up a lie, no one could expose you.”

Xu Bufan spoke angrily, yet he was surprisingly close to the truth.

Without needing to pretend, Lu Fengmian felt deeply guilty and nervous, naturally feeling the pain of being exposed and criticized.

She trembled with discomfort, her eyes flickering. At first glance, she truly looked like someone who had been wronged.

“Why couldn’t it be an illusion?” Mo Xianghao had probably guessed the inside story and stood unhesitatingly beside her friend. “Maybe the spirit butterfly was confused. What’s impossible in a mountain full of mixed elements?”

Shao Cheng originally wanted to intervene to smooth things over, but after thinking it over, he felt something was wrong, so he patiently continued to watch.

Lu Fengmian was caught in the center of the whirlpool and couldn’t get out quickly.

She had caused the man-made disaster, and with the natural disaster adding to the chaos, it was extremely difficult for her to escape unscathed. If the casualties had been fewer, things would never have reached this point.

When dissatisfaction spreads, it becomes difficult to deceive people.

“What do you want? What more do you want from me? I merely stated what I saw,” Lu Fengmian settled for less. If she couldn’t get forgiveness, escaping the scene was good enough. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I’m leaving now!”

She said this, bowed three times to the crowd, and turned her head, quickly walking back to the tent.

Even she didn’t know when she had become so hardened, so hypocritical. Lying without a second thought, regarding human lives as worthless.

A moment later, Mo Xianghao entered.

“Will you give up?” Just that one sentence.

Lu Fengmian looked up at her, “Will you? People don’t rise early without incentive. The world’s disasters will never decrease. If it’s not someone else’s turn this time, it will be your own next time.”

“I don’t have the confidence to wait for the next time and handle it.”

What evil deed haven’t I committed in this life? Why should I pretend to be pure? If I give up the chance to drag others down to hell now, I’ll never have the ability to do it again.

Mo Xianghao knew she wouldn’t feel good about it, but she would never change because of it. She had a theory of no retreat, constantly pushing her forward.

Besides, in the competitive world of the capital, how many people had clean hands?

Lu Fengmian was self-consistent and had strong self-regulating and recovery abilities. She loved the Zhao Manor, but at the same time, she hated her uncle and aunt. She could climb a mountain of swords and dive into a sea of fire for the Zhao family’s interests, but she would also put the Zhao family in hot water if it meant making her second uncle’s family pay the price.

Outside the tent, the Taoist priests huddled together in small groups, whispering about something, their gaze occasionally falling upon the tent where the two women had entered.

Xu Bufan was bored sitting alone. He randomly pulled a few people over to complain, but those people had little reaction, or perhaps they were also dissatisfied but reluctant to associate with him.

He had no choice but to squeeze into other groups, stubbornly remaining like a nail stuck to the spot despite all subtle rejections, shamelessly forcing himself into their team.

The sound of birds chirped incessantly. The fallen trees merged into the spring mud, waiting for the coming year to restore the vitality of all things. One tree withers, a thousand grasses flourish—the cycle of life continues endlessly.

In the depths of the dense forest, a coffin half-sunk in the mud was restless. The grating sound of nails scratching was exceptionally clear.

The moonlight faintly appeared, and moments later, the coffin lid was open. A thin figure crawled out, disheveled, hunched, and with its head drooping.

The person had a large gash in their abdomen, yet not a drop of blood flowed out. Only dried bloodstains clung to it.

The clothing, unwashed for years, was stiff. The cold wind poured in, brushing past its limbs and body, passing over countless whip marks.

The scars were long and hideous, like bizarre centipedes crawling in a ditch, winding forward.

The coffin person looked up, following the sound of the flute. The man standing in the dark faintly reached out and pointed deeper into the forest.

The thin figure turned numbly, taking heavy steps, one footprint after another, walking deeper into the dense forest.

The man’s clothes were luxurious, and the technique he used was one of the Ten Taboo Arts. It was the technique of “Fixing Grievance and Locking Corpse,” controlling deeply resentful spirits and preventing those who forfeited reincarnation from ever seeking revenge.

This person was not harmed by him, but any variable that affected his divination had to be eliminated.

His wife had been mentally unsound for many years. Recently, the Zuo Fu Star was shining brightly, signifying that there was hope for the long-suffsuffering person to be reborn, and a noble person would arrive.

This noble person was of royal blood, and he naturally had to show utmost sincerity. Although he couldn’t give everything that was asked of him, anything he possessed could be offered.

The dark night gave his eyes a somber hue, like the settled composure of a dry well.

A slow crimson seeped from the mud beneath his feet, gradually drawing a large magic circle. The light was weak but unusually stable. Just as it was about to be firmly fixed to the ground, one segment suddenly broke, and the entire formation turned into dust.

The Soul Binding Array was shattered. The demon had escaped.