“Chu Chenyu…”
Lin Luoluo’s voice was barely louder than a mosquito’s buzz.
The manor physician had just finished treating her wound. Chu Chenyu had only just pulled the blanket over her when he heard her weak voice.
Overcome with emotion, he clasped her hand and kissed it repeatedly.
“I’m here. How are you feeling?”
“Not… good…” Lin Luoluo struggled to speak between breaths. “I… I might not… make it…”
Her voice grew weaker.
“After I die… can you… let me drift away with the river… so I can see… Nanxian’s beautiful mountains and rivers…”
“No.” Chu Chenyu’s expression turned rigid, but panic unlike anything he had ever felt filled his eyes. “Without my permission, you are not allowed to leave.”
“Take… care…”
The medicine had already taken effect.
Those two words exhausted the last of Lin Luoluo’s strength.
Slowly, she closed her eyes.
As her hand slipped from his grasp, Chu Chenyu felt his heart plunge into an abyss.
“Lin Luoluo, don’t sleep!”
He grabbed her shoulders and shook her desperately.
“This king commands you to open your eyes! Do you hear me?!”
But no matter how much he shook her, shouted, or ordered her—
There was no response.
She was gone.
That spirited, lively girl who seemed to carry magic wherever she went had left forever.
And something inside Chu Chenyu felt hollow.
Pressing a hand to his chest, he silently asked himself:
What is this feeling? Is this love?
Whatever it was, it was already too late.
Thinking back on everything that had happened between them, he realized—
He hadn’t treated her very well.
Was that why she had left so decisively?
Without regret?
You belong to this king.
You can only belong to this king.
Alive, you are my woman. Dead, you are my ghost.
You want freedom? This king refuses to let you have it.
“Get out.”
His voice turned ice cold.
“All of you—get out!”
Chu Chenyu drove everyone from the room.
Then, personally, he washed and dressed Lin Luoluo, carefully tidying her appearance.
By the time the imperial physicians arrived, they saw the manor physician standing outside, silently shaking his head.
All they could do was sigh and return to the palace to report.
It was not until midnight that Chu Chenyu finally stepped out of the bedchamber.
“Liuyun. What have you found?”
“Replying to My Lord, the assassins were from Jinlou. However, we still haven’t discovered who hired them. The employer was extremely cautious and never showed themselves.”
“Tell Ying Yi.”
Chu Chenyu’s voice was frighteningly calm.
“I want every Jinlou branch within Nanxian to disappear.”
“Yes!”
Liuyun accepted the order and left immediately.
“Steward Wang, prepare the mourning hall.”
“Yes.”
The butler, Wang Fu, quickly led the servants away to make arrangements.
After giving his orders, Chu Chenyu turned and returned to the bedchamber—
to stay beside Lin Luoluo.
The next day, officials who had heard the news came one after another to pay their respects.
Three days later, Lin Luoluo was buried in the imperial mausoleum with the honors of a Princess Consort.
“You heartless little girl…”
Standing before the coffin, Chu Chenyu gently rested his hand on the lid.
“When you get to the other side, you’re not allowed to look at other male ghosts, understand?”
“You belong to this king.”
“If you want to look at male ghosts, you can wait until this king joins you someday…”
“Don’t worry.”
His voice softened.
“I’ve already avenged you.”
“Jinlou will soon be completely destroyed.”
His fingers lightly traced the coffin lid as he quietly talked to the girl inside, recounting bits and pieces of their time together.
He remained in the mausoleum for half the day before finally leaving.
His lonely figure looked unbearably desolate.
On the seventh day—
Lin Luoluo woke up.
Or rather, she woke up from hunger.
Grrrr…
Her stomach growled loudly.
Opening her eyes, she froze.
Where am I? Why is it so dark?
Then realization struck.
I’ve been buried alive…
No, I don’t have any strength right now. I should enter the space first.
With a thought, she vanished.
The next second, she appeared inside her space.
“Haaah… I’m alive after all.”
The first thing Lin Luoluo did was drink some spiritual spring water.
Afterward, she soaked in a bath, changed clothes, and finally picked some fruit to eat.
By now, several fruit trees inside the space had already borne fruit.
Only after eating her fill did she finally regain enough strength to think about escaping.
She tried every weapon and tool stored in her space.
Useless.
She even used all of her internal energy to push at the coffin lid.
Still nothing.
Defeated, she returned to the space.
Seriously? Why nail it shut so tightly? The craftsmanship is way too good!
With no other choice, Lin Luoluo opened Shadow Without Trace, the second layer of her qinggong manual, and began cultivating.
When hungry, she ate wild fruit.
When thirsty, she drank spiritual spring water.
Whenever crops matured, she harvested and replanted them.
Time passed.
She had no idea how long.
By the time she stopped, Lin Luoluo had cultivated her qinggong to the fifth layer.
Her internal energy had increased significantly.
But the strangest thing—
Why had she suddenly become so strong?
She could uproot a fruit tree as thick as a water bucket without the slightest effort.
Even Lin Luoluo herself was shocked.
Could it be from drinking spiritual spring water every day?
Whatever.
She grinned.
At least I can finally get out of here!
Leaving the space, Lin Luoluo raised a hand and slammed it forward.
Bang!
The coffin lid flew straight off.
She immediately leapt out of the coffin.
Then, after a moment of thought, she carried the lid back and placed it neatly on top again.
Dusting off her hands, she looked around.
Aside from burial treasures, the tomb chamber was completely empty.
Well… technically, all of this belongs to me anyway.
No point being polite.
With a wave of her hand, she swept everything into her space.
At the stone door, she spent quite a while fumbling around before finally finding the hidden mechanism.
The moment she stepped outside—
Boom!
The stone door slammed shut behind her.
A cold gust of wind rushed down her back.
Lin Luoluo shivered violently and rubbed her arms.
Brrr… so cold!
Looking at the endless corridor before her, she couldn’t help but sigh.
The imperial family sure had money.
Every few meters, a glowing night pearl was embedded into the wall.
How many pearls must this have taken?
I wonder if I can pry one off…
Her body moved faster than her brain.
To her surprise—
She actually succeeded.
“Hehe…”
Her eyes sparkled.
I should take a few more.
So all along the corridor, Lin Luoluo pried off every other pearl.
Just as she neared the end—
Click.
She froze.
Slowly lowering her head, she looked at her foot.
Oh no.
I stepped on a trap.
In an instant, rows of tiny holes appeared in the walls.
Without hesitation—
Whoosh!
Lin Luoluo vanished into her space.
The moment she disappeared, countless arrows shot out from the walls.
A quarter of an hour later, she cautiously emerged again.
Seeing the floor covered in arrows, she patted her chest.
Thank goodness I dodged fast.
Otherwise, I’d have turned into a porcupine.
After that scare, Lin Luoluo moved forward much more carefully.
Fortunately, the rest of the journey was uneventful.
At last—
She successfully left the imperial mausoleum.
“Hahaha!”
Lin Luoluo took a deep breath of fresh air.
“I, Lin Luoluo, am finally out!”
“So this is what freedom smells like!”
Then she paused.
I wonder how much time has passed.
Are Uncle Zhong and the others still waiting in Yancheng?
Using qinggong, Lin Luoluo sped down the mountain.
Only after getting far away from the imperial mausoleum did she stop and enter her space to rest.
The next day, while walking along the road, she spotted a bullock cart waiting at a crossroads in the distance.
Her eyes lit up.
Quickening her pace, she approached.
“Hello, Uncle! Does your cart take passengers?”
“It does, it does,” the old man replied cheerfully. “We’ll leave in about half an hour. Quite a few villagers are heading into town for market day.”
Then he asked curiously,
“Where are you headed, miss?”
“Are there carriages for hire in town? I want to rent one to Yancheng.”
“There should be, but Yancheng is awfully far. Hard to say whether anyone will agree to go.”
“Alright. Thank you, Uncle.”
Lin Luoluo found a seat and sat down.
Before long, four or five village women arrived and climbed aboard.
The old man cracked the reins, and the cart slowly set off.
An hour later, they reached town.
After getting off, Lin Luoluo handed the old man a small piece of silver.
“This—Miss, this is too much!” the old man said awkwardly. “I don’t have enough change.”
After hesitating, he tried returning the silver.
“Miss, take it back. Consider the ride my treat.”
“It’s alright. Please keep it.”
She pushed it back into his hands.
“I actually wanted to trouble you with one more thing.”
“Could you help me find a reliable carriage?”
“Don’t worry!” The old man patted his chest confidently. “I’ll make sure you’re satisfied.”
Before long, he returned with a middle-aged man behind him.
“Miss, this is Li Da. Li Da, this young lady wants to go to Yancheng.”
After introducing them, the old man left.
“You’re heading to Yancheng?” the man asked.
“Mhm. Fifty taels. Will you take me?”
“Yes!” the middle-aged man blurted out immediately, delighted. “When would Miss like to leave? I need to head home and let my wife know.”
“One hour from now. Meet me here.”
After he left, Lin Luoluo wandered around town.
She bought several sets of men’s clothing and changed into one.
Passing a mask stall, she picked out a silver fox mask and put it on.
Then she enthusiastically stocked up on all kinds of food, storing everything inside her space.
When the agreed time arrived, Lin Luoluo returned to the meeting place.
And so—
Her journey to Yancheng began.