In the Imperial Palace, Yingshou Hall.
Behind layers of hanging curtains, mist-like incense curled up from a burner. On a beauty couch sat a woman wearing a black robe embroidered with silver phoenixes.
The woman appeared to be of an age that “knew the mandate of heaven” (around fifty), her beautiful features tinged with a sharp edge.
“Ran’er, the snow is too heavy this year… have you still not gone to Shan’en Temple?” the woman asked the person in front of her cautiously.
Tan Huairan was dressed in an ink-blue casual robe, his hair tied high with a silver crown; he looked remarkably handsome. However, his expression was too cold, as if it were the frost and snow of winter.
He did not respond to the Empress Dowager.
The Empress Dowager’s expression stiffened. She sighed, raised her hand to adjust her hair bun, and continued to ask, “Is there something that has delayed you? Is it something at court?”
Tan Huairan acted as if he had swallowed mute medicine.
Empress Dowager: “…”
Forget it.
Nine times out of ten, it was like this. The remaining half was when, in the middle of speaking, Tan Huairan would suddenly go mad and fall unconscious.
The Empress Dowager was not his biological mother, nor did she care much about his survival. This time, she had only dared to summon him because she had listened to the words from the Ancestral Temple; otherwise, on any ordinary day, she would absolutely not want to see this god of plagues.
Crown Prince Tan Huai joined the army at twelve and returned to court at sixteen. When he left, he was as gentle as jade; when he returned, he was as cold as snow.
When he ascended the throne, the late Emperor’s imperial edict had even changed his name, a rare occurrence. From Tan Huai, it became Tan Huairan.
The Imperial Observatory stated that Tan Huairan carried the national fortune of the Ning Dynasty; whenever there was a natural disaster, as long as he knelt to the heavens, the disaster would cease.
“You should, at the very least, look at the memorials from the Ancestral Temple,” the Empress Dowager said, suppressing her displeasure. “It is only for praying for blessings, and it would only take a few days. Shan’en Temple is not far. We cannot just let this snow continue to fall, can we? And there is the palace banquet in a few days…”
This time, Tan Huairan finally lifted his eyes, though he still said nothing; the coldness in his gaze made the Empress Dowager’s heart jump.
“…Ran’er?” The Empress Dowager could not help but soften her tone.
Tan Huairan: “Ran… er?”
With only these two words, the Empress Dowager suddenly realized where she had gone wrong and quickly corrected herself: “Your Majesty, it was my negligence.”
“Tell the Ancestral Temple that I have my own plans.”
Tan Huairan rose and left Yingshou Hall.
“Your Majesty—!!!”
Not long after Tan Huairan left Yingshou Hall, the imperial sedan was blocked. He frowned and looked down faintly.
“The Second Young Master is gone!!!”
Tan Huairan’s expression changed significantly. Veins popped out on his forehead, and he leaped off the imperial sedan.
Zhan Yueqing was awakened by the soaring, putrid stench.
The smell was like that of rotting meat. He opened his eyes with displeasure and moved his wrists, wanting to cover his nose and mouth, but he heard the clinking sound of chains.
The jangling sound made Zhan Yueqing pause. Looking down, he realized they were handcuffs and shackles.
This pair of shackles was different from the ones in his modern memories; the gap between them was longer, allowing one to move.
Before him was darkness, with only a tiny, soft radiance in the distance, like moonlight.
Zhan Yueqing suddenly reacted to what happened before he lost consciousness, and his face turned ugly.
Borrowing the moonlight, he vaguely judged that this was a very small room, and it was very quiet outside; he was likely no longer in the city.
But who could abduct him from under the noses of dozens of experts? And what was their purpose?
Suddenly—
With a creak, the door was pushed open, accompanied by a rich fragrance.
Zhan Yueqing came to his senses and swayed, shrinking backward—
“Tch, trash. Can’t even bear the sight of candlelight?” The young man’s voice sounded, filled with disdain.
The candlelight illuminated Zhan Yueqing’s face, and the youth’s breathing stalled.
Perhaps because he had stayed in the dark environment for too long, it took a good while for Zhan Yueqing to fully open his eyes.
The man seemed to be waiting for him to open them, as he was simply squatting there.
“Who are you?” Zhan Yueqing frowned, his tone trying hard to restrain himself so he would not panic, though a thought was already beginning to form in his heart.
“What a look of pure moonbeams,” the man muttered, forgetting he was a kidnapper. “It is no wonder you are the heaven-grade medicine man stolen from the Flying Swallow Pavilion.”
Zhan Yueqing’s eyes widened slightly.
From the time at the Treasure Pavilion, he already had suspicions about his identity, but now that it was confirmed, a strange panic arose in his heart.
If a medicine man was truly so precious and sought after by everyone, then his situation was dangerous.
Did Tan Huairan know all along? Is that why he sent so many people to protect him?
“I don’t understand what you are talking about.” Zhan Yueqing pretended to be stupid.
The man laughed out loud: “It doesn’t matter. After all, you were too young when Zhan Jing stole you. If not for the Flying Swallow Pavilion sending word, the Deputy Pavilion Master wouldn’t have known you were here.”
Zhan Yueqing’s mind spun rapidly. He moved his body and quietly felt for the strap at his thigh—
There was a poisoned dagger there.
There was also one in his long boots.
The clothes he wore were layered, with the knees specially thickened, as if they were afraid that if he knelt too often, he would bruise them.
Despite being this thick, the clothing was light overall, with complex patterns. Paired with Zhan Yueqing’s small frame, it made him look like a soft, harmless, and noble young master.
The kidnapper had underestimated him and did not search his body.
Zhan Yueqing put on an innocent look, “My father? What does this have to do with my father?”
The young kidnapper sneered, “Your father? Your father is an idiot. He couldn’t even manage to cover up his corruption in the imperial examinations, leaving behind a tail. He died well. If such a person were used by the ‘True Dragon,’ it would be even more terrifying; one only fears a fool who tries to use his brain.”
Zhan Yueqing rarely agreed with this in his heart.
Zhan Jing was indeed an idiot.
True Dragon? Was he referring to Tan Huairan?
No! Zhan Yueqing immediately denied this idea in his heart; it was not Tan Huairan.
In 997’s mission, there was the task to assist Zhang Qiu. Since Tan Huairan was already the Son of Heaven, this so-called True Dragon must be Zhang Qiu.
Was the Flying Swallow Pavilion actually standing on the side of the male lead, Zhang Qiu?
“However, he did do one good deed,” the kidnapper’s tone shifted again. “The situation in the Pavilion has been chaotic these years. If you had been in the Pavilion, you might not have lived this long. In this sense, it is fate.”
Zhan Yueqing frowned, still acting the fool, “What are you talking about…”
The kidnapper paused, his expression full of disdain; he grew even more careless, “You are also an idiot.”
Zhan Yueqing moved slowly, softening his tone, looking very frightened, “Yes, yes, my father said the same thing. You just said that my father died? How could he die? Did you kill him?”
The kidnapper chuckled, “You are truly stupid. Are you still speaking up for your father? Do you know what your father wanted to do when he revealed your location to me before he died?”
Zhan Yueqing blinked and lowered his eyes—
Either to use him as medicine, or to give him to someone else, or as the ancient zither seller had said, to auction him off.
There was not a single good path; every one of them was the same as dying.
Zhan Jing truly had not a shred of affection for the original owner.
As he thought this, he tapped 997 in his mind, only to find it had no response.
Zhan Yueqing could not help but feel annoyed; 997 was truly a jinx—why did it have to curse him to have an accident during the day!
He wondered if Tan Huairan could find him…
“I don’t know,” Zhan Yueqing’s train of thought returned instantly. He looked at the kidnapper, “Then what is the relationship between my father and you people?”
The kidnapper grew impatient this time, “Why do you keep asking? Shut up!”
He suddenly grabbed Zhan Yueqing, dragged him out, and covered Zhan Yueqing’s lips with a cloth.
This sudden movement made Zhan Yueqing’s heart jump to his throat, and he instantly hid the dagger in his sleeve.
The kidnapper’s strength was incredibly immense; he dragged him with just one hand.
Where was he taking him?
But the next instant, Zhan Yueqing had no time to think, as his eyes were covered.
The scent of the incense became more and more intense. Zhan Yueqing felt the poison markings on his legs burning with pain, and beads of cold sweat seeped from his forehead. Before long, his small face turned pale.
He stumbled, greatly reducing their speed. The kidnapper became even more dissatisfied, “The medicine man is really weak as hell… I haven’t even done anything to you, so what is it? Did the tyrant spoil you soft?”
Zhan Yueqing: “…”
Son of a bitch… If he could return safely, he would definitely pull this man’s tongue out.
The sound of the wind whistled past his ears, and he was taken out of the small hut.
The moonlight was very bright, illuminating the pile of wide-eyed, dead bodies inside the room.
The room was filled with them.
Zhan Yueqing could see nothing, feeling only his body grow heavy, as if he were being pushed into a carriage.
The fragrance grew stronger. Zhan Yueqing judged the kidnapper’s position by the intensity of the scent—
The kidnapper cursed and swore while shackling his hands and sealing the windows. Just as he was about to leave…
Zhan Yueqing suddenly stepped on his waist.
His hair was disheveled, and his eyes were covered by a black handkerchief. With his pale face mostly covered, he looked like a beauty whose gender was indistinguishable.
This movement awakened a certain ambiguous impulse in the kidnapper’s heart.
Zhan Yueqing struggled, lifting his chin, signaling for him to untie the cloth over his mouth.
The kidnapper’s throat went dry, and his breathing stalled again.
Zhan Yueqing caught this momentary pause and narrowed his eyes slightly.
The kidnapper was alone.
“…What are you doing?” The kidnapper’s voice had changed.
Zhan Yueqing lifted his chin again, appearing to have something to say.
Driven by a whim, the kidnapper glanced at the sky—there was a quarter of an hour left… if he really wanted a romantic encounter, that would be enough; after all, he could only last for half a quarter of an hour.
He hesitated for a moment, approached Zhan Yueqing, and untied the cloth binding his mouth.
—As fast as lightning, the moment the binding was undone, Zhan Yueqing bit the tip of his tongue and sprayed blood directly into the kidnapper’s face!
This happened so unexpectedly that the kidnapper never imagined that Zhan Yueqing would know about the special nature of his own blood. His vision went black instantly, and the places where the blood touched began to sting—
Zhan Yueqing’s heart was jumping out of his throat. He fiercely slammed his body into the kidnapper, using all his strength to shove him straight out of the carriage!
Immediately after, he hooked his face onto the window frame of the carriage, using the uneven surface to snag the blindfold off his eyes, and jumped out of the carriage—
This was actually a dilapidated street, and it looked like there was no one around.
Zhan Yueqing’s heart went cold.
No one could save him.
He could only save himself.
The confusion he felt when he first transmigrated had completely faded; Zhan Yueqing was now strangely calm.
He struggled quickly to break free from the shackles, even though his wrists were bruised purple and even bleeding.
After his hands could move, Zhan Yueqing took off his shoes. The shoes had originally been a bit too big, but he didn’t want to cause trouble for anyone, so he hadn’t told anyone and just made do.
He never expected they would save his life today!
Once the shoes were off, the final shackle fell away.
All of this happened in only a few moments. Now free, Zhan Yueqing ran for his life—
The kidnapper finally wiped away the blood, endured the pain, and chased after him with one eye half-blind.
Zhan Yueqing’s scalp instantly tingled, his adrenaline surged, and he practically exerted all his strength.
“Help—”
“Run, your mother! Get back here!!” the kidnapper roared, “Do you think the tyrant is a good refuge?! Within three years, he will definitely die! Come back!!”
Zhan Yueqing did not want to hear anything; he ran with all his might, and only one thought remained in his heart—
He had to get away!!!
He had to run!!!
And—
“997, where have you gone!! You said you would let me fight the boss, but the boss hasn’t even appeared, and I’m about to die!!!”
[I…] 997 suddenly spoke, but the static was intermittent, and nothing could be heard clearly, [I seem to be suppressed…!]
It suddenly spoke, startling Zhan Yueqing. Something on the ground tripped him, and a sharp pain shot through his foot—
“Damn it!! 997, why are you suddenly back…”
Zhan Yueqing’s vision went black as he fell to the ground. Whether it was his imagination or not, he heard the trembling of the ground, as if a large force of men and horses were rushing over.
The kidnapper reached him in an instant, grabbed his throat with one palm. Zhan Yueqing felt dizzy, feeling an icy coldness at his neck. He looked down and saw the kidnapper’s blade.
…This neck of mine is truly plagued by disasters, Zhan Yueqing thought subconsciously.
“Don’t come any closer!! Come any closer and I’ll kill him!!!”
The kidnapper yelled, shaking Zhan Yueqing back to his senses. He looked up, a trace of surprise flashing in his eyes—
The one who had arrived was Tan Huairan.