The Deposed Crown Prince had Three Lifelong Regrets - Chapter 6

Chapter 6

What arrived before the village was endless darkness. Everything the eye could see was plunged into chaos. Pushing through the thickets, they were constantly being scratched and cut by dead branches and thorns.

The village, a mere illusion conjured by the mountain mist, had long since vanished, leaving only the sound of cicadas to accompany them.

In the shadows, the air seemed to twist faintly, and a copper gong sounded nearby.

“Dry weather, be careful of fire! Corpse-driving from Xiangxi passing through, living people move aside!”

A red glow floated in the air. Only when it drew closer could they see the person leading the way wearing a straw hat and a long, blue cloth gown with a black silk sash, like a harbinger from the netherworld carrying a lantern to capture souls.

The person’s straw hat was pulled low, obscuring their face. With a wave of their hand, paper money instantly filled the surroundings, drifting down like falling snow.

“What is that?” someone exclaimed in alarm.

“What’s there to be afraid of? It’s just a corpse-driver from Xiangxi,” Fox Immortal played the role of a Wikipedia entry, comforting them with a dismissive curl of his lip, “Liucheng is in the northwest of Xiangxi. The terrain there is low-lying, rainy, and hot. Back then, there was a massive epidemic outbreak. Didn’t His Royal Highness the Crown Prince personally go there to organize relief?”

“That wasn’t a small incident. Not long after the epidemic was contained and the lockdown was lifted, a few families from Xiangxi settled in Jizhou.”

Before anyone else could react to this comment, Li Qinghuai couldn’t help but burst out laughing. Her silver-bell-like laughter, neither too loud nor too soft, echoed in the pitch-black night.

This made Lu Fengmian secretly roll her eyes. She had no idea what madness had gripped her now. She simply didn’t turn her head, focusing on leading the group to bypass the approaching corpse-drivers.

“The Crown Prince? I remember the Crown Prince’s surname used to be Zhu. She took her mother’s surname, and only changed it to the imperial surname, Li, after being deposed.” She clutched her stomach, shaking with laughter, which made her wound ache.

No one dared to speak up. Although the daughter of Empress Zhu was deposed, she was still of imperial lineage. Speaking so wildly and absurdly in front of a group of bodyguards who didn’t know her background and had no personal relationship with her was too reckless. Even if the bodyguards had no means or desire to report her, there was still Miss Lu from the Zhao family here, who was somewhat connected to the court and its officials.

Just as expected, Lu Fengmian did spare some attention to look at the person making the outrageous remarks, her eyebrows slightly furrowed.

Li Qinghuai, however, seemed drunk, her words becoming increasingly erratic, “A deposed princess cannot be called the Crown Prince anymore. And since no one else was appointed after she was deposed, the title of Crown Prince doesn’t fit anyone.”

If someone were to ask about Empress Zhu’s youngest son at this moment, she would surely dare to spit out, “Does that congenitally idiotic bastard deserve it?”

Unfortunately, no one took the bait, saving her from that calamity. Otherwise, she might have been seized and pinned to the ground by Miss Lu before the words even left her mouth.

Although the most treasonous words were left unsaid, she still couldn’t avoid being criticized. Luckily, Mo Xianghao was guarding the rear of the team, or else he wouldn’t have missed this good opportunity either.

“You… Zhao Pan’er, don’t talk nonsense!” someone nearby quickly stopped her, afraid of being implicated.

But her pale face tilted to the side, and she looked straight past the speaker, locking eyes with Lu Fengmian.

One second, two seconds, three seconds…

After three seconds, which felt both long and brief, Lu Fengmian coldly lowered her eyes, being the first to break eye contact, returning her gaze to the drifting paper money.

In a moment, she walked quickly toward the corpse-driver. She tilted her sleeve, pouring out a bag of tiny silver pieces, which she slipped into the other person’s hand, hidden beneath the wide sleeve.

When Lu Fengmian first saw the line of people, she knew these were not genuine corpses summoned back by soul-calling. Instead, they were rigged with two bamboo poles inserted through the armpits, with the arms tied to the poles, guided by a corpse-driver at the front and back.

Corpse-driving has followed this principle since ancient times. The true Soul-Calling Art is one of the Four Great Forbidden Arts and could not possibly be performed openly.

Because she had intentionally waved her hand to signal no one to follow, no one heard what she said to the person.

When she returned with firm steps, her eyes appeared clearer. She lightly tossed out a sentence to change the subject and led the group to turn right.

The still-feverish Li Qinghuai squinted, lazily half-yawning behind her hand, deliberately walking in a zigzag manner within the group. However, she received no concern from anyone, and her scattered gaze almost made her stumble and split her legs.

“Tonight, it seems we can only stay at the Joyful God Inn,” a faint voice finally sounded after a long while.

By now, the rain had lessened, fine as ox-hair. Lu Fengmian looked down, pondering the connection between the Second Young Master Song and this Tuoliang Mountain. Yet, her steps still managed to accurately bypass every hidden hole. Among the many bodyguards who were sinking with every step, she walked with remarkable steadiness.

The surroundings were quiet with no one conversing, only the rustling sound of their footsteps. Her clothes had long been thoroughly soaked, clinging stickily to her skin, making her already unpleasant mood even worse.

“That sounds too terrifying, Lu Fengmian, Master Lu, can I share a room with you?” Li Qinghuai blinked her big eyes, asking pitifully, “Or we can just lie in the same bed.”

“I often didn’t have enough to eat when I was little, but I’m naturally beautiful and have a small frame. I won’t take up too much of your space, just give me a tiny bit of room…”

Lu Fengmian’s fingers, which were hanging by her side, couldn’t help but curl up. She looked at her in surprise.

Breaking through the mist and turning to the right, they found that, hidden by the trees, there were five or six teams of corpse-drivers walking in the opposite direction. The path beneath their feet was not wide. As they passed, they inevitably brushed past the dead bodies, making the already nervous bodyguards turn even paler.

“How could so many people have died… With so many dead people, aren’t we in great danger?”

The rows of bouncing corpses looked like they had been dead for a long time. Their cheeks were sunken, their skin pale white, and dark purple lividity was clearly visible.

This question struck a chord with Lu Fengmian. Without special circumstances, the annual death toll in any given area generally remained constant. The sudden appearance of so many extra dead bodies indicated either a rampant epidemic or a wartime massacre.

Jizhou was close to the capital. Whether it was an epidemic or a massacre, it would be a huge event. Even if the noble families in the imperial capital spent their days in debauchery and dissipation, there shouldn’t be absolutely no rumor of it.

Lu Fengmian’s gaze was fixed on Li Qinghuai, her thoughts having already drifted far away. It wasn’t until the other person stepped over the dead branches and walked up, placing her hand over Lu Fengmian’s wrist, that she was startled back to reality.

Sensing the person tense up, her eyes filled with vigilance, Li Qinghuai reluctantly pouted and released her grip.

“Senior Sister, when did you join the sect?” Li Qinghuai asked with a bright smile. However, the youthful innocence she intended to convey was transformed into an eerie chill by her ugly features.

“I’m the lucky type. There were unusual phenomena at my birth, and I was mysteriously chosen by a highly respected Taoist master, so I had no choice but to learn the methods of Yin and Yang.”

For some reason, Lu Fengmian felt particularly irritated whenever she saw her, likely disliking her carefree and frivolous manner, which always reminded her of that muddle-headed fool, the Second Young Master Song.

Lu Fengmian scoffed, “Are you not satisfied with one identity, having to constantly switch between peasant girl and Taoist priest?”

Li Qinghuai listened quietly and let out a mournful sigh.

She knew that her Fengmian had always been a smooth and diplomatic girl, adhering to the principle of self-preservation and observing from a distance. It would take a lot to push her to utter derogatory words.

“Oh dear,” Li Qinghuai stumbled slightly, stabilizing herself by holding onto the other person’s shoulder. Her usual affected, humorous voice was replaced by a dull, yet smiling, solemn declaration: “How many sunrises and sunsets did I have to wait alone to share the moonlight with you?”

Simply judging by the tone, it seemed full of sincere, overt affection, but it came at a terrible time, and Lu Fengmian understood none of it.

“Please answer my question directly. Don’t beat around the bush,” Lu Fengmian scanned the faces of the leaping corpses.

She didn’t hear a sound for a while.

Just when she thought the other person wouldn’t answer, she heard a few long breaths, followed by that solemn confession, “The moon has its phases, and people have their sorrows and joys. Tonight, the dark clouds gather, just like the darkness in my heart.”

“May you be like the strong wind, rising high to leave the courtyard, remaining true to yourself even after traveling ten thousand miles.”

“You are the unwavering love of my life.”