The Deposed Crown Prince had Three Lifelong Regrets - Chapter 21

Chapter 21

The words had been spoken, and she believed that Lu Fengmian could figure out the rest on her own.

The phrase “not some righteous Daoist practitioner” made Lu Fengmian feel ashamed, but she didn’t refute it.

After all, it was evident that this person was indeed involved with unorthodox and evil practices. Aside from a subconscious sense of familiarity, there was no reason to trust her wholeheartedly, and maintaining some vigilance was only natural.

Helping her with the ghost infant did not mean she wouldn’t harm her later.

“Come in and talk.” Lu Fengmian deliberately ignored her choice of words. To avoid an awkward silence, she turned directly toward the door and spoke.

The old man, who had been listening behind the door for a long time without hearing anything, was anxious. When he suddenly heard the call to enter, he was half-scared out of his wits but quickly responded.

“Immortal Master, Immortal Master—it really wasn’t us! We wanted to stop it at the time, but we are just ordinary folks.”

“That demon Daoist calculated the time and came to our town. He used some trickery to make us… make us mistakenly believe that the Cave God had taken a liking to… that person…”

Li Qinghuai opened her mouth, wanting to speak. Considering the consequences of speaking again, she silently closed her mouth.

“What did that demon Daoist do to ‘that person’?” Lu Fengmian was unwavering despite the clamor, and her question was precisely what Li Qinghuai had wanted to ask.

If she were to punish the townspeople who had done nothing, they would resist to the end to escape guilt.

It was better to first exclude them and then inquire about what happened.

“It seems there’s some kind of evil spell that can control ghosts for one’s own use. She kept saying something was haunting her, but no one took it seriously, and she went mad soon after.” The old man spoke, his face streaked with tears and mucus.

His aged face was covered in wrinkles, and his messy hair was interspersed with scattered white strands. He suddenly knelt down toward the bed.

A noise came from outside the closed window—the rustling sound of clothing being pulled.

The volume was not low, but both the person sitting by the bed interrogating and the person lying on the bed watching the show chose to ignore it.

He kept repeating that he was powerless, but for a long time, not a single key point was mentioned.

“You must know something about how Su Wushuang’s sister died, right?” Lu Fengmian got straight to the point.

“Well, well,” the old man stammered, unable to provide a coherent answer. “How would I know about the practices of those evil cults? It was probably because that woman’s birth date and time were yin-aligned, and she had bad luck, so she was targeted.”

The noise outside the window grew louder. Li Qinghuai subtly rolled her eyes.

“Honestly, what else do you want from Mr. Dongpo and the wolf?”

The two young people had been waiting outside the window for a long time and were already unhappy to see their father being interrogated. With the fearlessness of a newborn calf, the brother blurted out a sarcastic remark, not considering any terrible consequences.

The serious atmosphere in the room did not freeze because of this sentence.

Li Qinghuai was lying on the family’s bed, and her composure was as thin as her blood volume. She felt a burning embarrassment on her face.

She glanced at the person by the bed. The other woman, however, was composed and at ease.

“Since that’s the case, my friend is injured and cannot be moved, so I’ll let her stay for a few days, and I will accompany her. We will discuss other matters after we have clarified the situation. Do you have any objections?” Lu Fengmian stood up with a reserved demeanor, pushing her luck.

Her sharp gaze swept over everyone in the room, her imposing presence overwhelming.

Li Qinghuai: “…”

I thought I was the only bandit here. I didn’t expect you to be this way too!

Teachable child.

As the last word fell, another voice was about to rise from outside the window.

“Shameless… Ugh…” The voice was muffled, cut off before it could fully escape.

“Brother, I beg you, don’t say anything more.” Zhilan covered her brother’s mouth, patting her chest lightly, her voice extremely low. “It doesn’t matter how long they stay. Being alive is the capital of life. Rashness leads to losing everything.”

Brother: “Wuwuwu…” Let go!

Li Qinghuai, lingering on the sickbed, finally heard no more strange sounds, and a smile touched her lips.

She was finally in a good mood.

But her happiness was short-lived. A series of high and low-pitched screeches suddenly erupted outside, a chaotic sound that was strangely rhythmic.

Footsteps approached from a distance, hurried and disorganized.

The commotion was so loud that the two people in the room heard it clearly. In the illogical cries for help, she could hear her own name and Lu Fengmian’s.

It seemed the array she had set up was broken…

Li Qinghuai’s face suddenly darkened. She immediately sensed that the situation was becoming increasingly chaotic, subtly on the verge of derailing.

She turned her head away, avoiding the expression of anyone present, and while pulling away from Lu Fengmian’s hand, she said, “I’ve gotten this far; I have my own way of protecting myself. Go if you want to.”

If anyone in the room had the most complex feelings, it was undoubtedly Lu Fengmian.

At that moment, she was not only terrified of what was happening outside and if any civilians were injured. She was also stimulated by Li Qinghuai’s words, which seemed to light a fuse to her dusty memories, culminating in a blast of scattered smoke.

Lu Fengmian turned back, gazing deeply at her for a moment. She bit her index finger and drew a blood curse in the air over her.

The blood curse was connected to the heart. If this person died within ten days, she wouldn’t live much longer either.

But what did it matter?

In life, the purpose of learning skills was to vanquish demons, punish evil, ensure personal safety, and protect loved ones from harm.

The world often said to let bygones be bygones, and even her master had advised her to do her best and that where there is life, there is hope.

Although she wouldn’t dedicate her life to fighting for justice in the world, when it came to her own kin, she would steel her heart and abandon righteousness.

But when disaster struck, how could she bear to abandon her companion?

Fleeing when facing battle was not the act of a great man. Moreover, the person lying on the bed seemed to be connected to the blank space in her memory. No matter what, she would not let her die easily.

She had led people into a trap step by step, and now, in the midst of suffering that she hadn’t caused herself, she desperately tried to save her.

Lu Fengmian’s heart was a jumble of emotions, and her face was like a overturned palette, turning blue and then white. She gritted her teeth, instructing the old man and his children not to open the door unless she knocked and gave the correct password. Then, she violently pushed open the door and ran out.

The arrangements were made, yet she did not feel secure.

After all, the blood curse could ward off demons and ghosts, but not the malice of human hearts.

She was slightly afraid that this family would harm Li Qinghuai.

Firstly, she probably didn’t look like a good person to them. Secondly, there were many incidents in this place, and there might be unforeseen changes. It would be fine if the old man still had a conscience and wouldn’t harm her companion. But if he was utterly dark-hearted and unafraid of threats, or if he was not as simple as he seemed.

Then the life of this ‘Zhao Pan’er’ would be questionable.

After she left, Li Qinghuai reluctantly twisted her body, frowning and staring silently at the ceiling. Her expression was no better than the person who had just left, equally unpredictable and clouded with gloomy gray.

She took a deep breath, resting for a long time before suppressing the surging qi and blood.

Li Qinghuai forcibly changed her state of mind.

The moonlight poured into the room, and the windows were wide open.

The others were not as composed as she was, wandering around and looking anxiously outside.

She wasn’t worried about being murdered by the old man; she wouldn’t consider such an absurd possibility. How could she, a royal noble, die at the hands of a village man?

The imperial observatory had never predicted such an outcome.

After finishing the thought, she simply closed her eyes, but her mind was drawn to a grand opera performed on a stage many years ago.

It was the Lantern Festival. The streets were packed with people, and various lanterns hung across the road.

Many people came to watch the opera, and Lu Fengmian was among them.

The leading male and female roles, the painted faces, and the clowns took turns on the stage, vividly portraying the story of a martial artist who endured hardship and practiced diligently to avenge his family, finally slaying his enemy when he grew up.

“Young lady, where are you from?” The moon hung high in the sky. A woman’s graceful figure suddenly appeared in the dense mountain woods. A middle-aged man with a valiant demeanor and distinct features asked suspiciously.

He was about to ask more questions, but the martial artist turned his head and glared, revealing a large area of deep red markings on his cheek.

The questioner choked, the breath neither going up nor down.

The dream changed unpredictably. When the scene stopped twisting again, heavy rain was pouring down from the sky.

Blood gushed out, splattering a large area onto the martial artist’s cheek.

The rainwater mottled the bloodstains on his face. Five or six mutilated corpses lay scattered at his feet. Although they were killed with a single blow, the enduring hatred was evident, as every corpse was brutally disfigured.

After a long while, the martial artist finally raised his hand to wipe his cheek, but unexpectedly, even more blood stained the back of his hand.

With one wipe, layers of blood covered his face.

The killing was endless. It was the darkest moment just before dawn.

Li Qinghuai was awakened by the loud thumping sound of someone banging on an iron door.

When she first woke up, she was as dazed as usual. Then, realizing that the chaotic footsteps around her hadn’t stopped, she frowned again.

It took a while for her to realize that the footsteps outside were steady and seemed well-trained. They were likely the Embroidered Uniform Guard (Jinyiwei) ambush team, who had been stationed forty miles away, rushing over after seeing the signal she had released.

The Emperor had always been generous to the heir, and this time, he had dispatched forty Jinyiwei for her to command.

She quickly scanned the vicinity and found that the two children of the old man’s family were still guarding her side.

The cold wind swept in from outside the window, and the surrounding air was as cold as iron.

Zhilan was momentarily stunned, but she was quicker than her brother to tightly close the window panel.

Outside, clusters of torches formed fiery dragons, swimming across the river and sea, continuously churning.

But she closed it too late. Li Qinghuai had already inhaled the cold air into her nasal cavity, causing her lungs to sting as if poked by needles, and a fine, tingling sensation spread throughout her body.

Lying on a sickbed in this remote place for so long, she had almost forgotten who she was. She immediately used all her strength to stand up, supporting herself on the edge of the bed to get to the floor, and stumbled toward the door to push it open.

Li Qinghuai no longer cared about appearances. At this moment, her back was very straight, and her expression was weary. Despite being covered in dirt, the nobility emanating from her core was undeniable.

This indifference of a person in power could not be cultivated in a single day.

She thought—

It’s been too long.

Really too long.

As the royal heir, she didn’t expect sincerity without vested interests. Just maintaining a proper facade was enough. As long as the flattery wasn’t nauseating, the relationship could be considered decent.

Friendships were built solely on mutual willingness.

She had a few pleasing servants in her childhood, but unfortunately, they all died.

Since ancient times, those in power have had distant familial affection. Her father wanted her to close her heart and lock away her love amidst the cold realities of human nature, to hone her shrewdness within the high walls of the palace. Thus, whenever someone plotted against her, whether her father knew or not, he would not interfere to remove the obstacles.

The servants and guards who were commanded to serve and protect her naturally died one after another due to her own powerlessness.

The friends of her innocent youth either died or scattered.

By close estimation, her relationship with Lu Fengmian was not deep, and they had even had unpleasant encounters in their youth, but at least she had once protected her life at great risk. Whether or not there was an underlying profit calculation was not important. Having someone she found agreeable willing to side with her was what Li Qinghuai desired.

Lu Fengmian represented more than just a single person. Her existence showed Li Qinghuai the past, the unrecoverable history.

Now, even if Lu Fengmian had amnesia and they were no longer connected; even if her adoptive mother, the Elder Princess, weighed the pros and cons and didn’t want her to create a rift with the Emperor; even if they were destined to part ways and face punishment after returning to the capital.

She still wanted to repay her debt of gratitude to Lu Fengmian