…?”
Ji Ziyu glanced at Ji Ziran, seeing him frown. Those two black eyebrows furrowed together on his delicate, fair face stood out quite distinctly, distinctly enough to be somewhat an eye-sore. “Weren’t we looking for a cave? There are many magical beasts that hide in caves during snowy weather. We need to find a relatively safe one.”
Ji Ziran was momentarily stunned, then covered his mouth and chuckled softly to himself. After all these years, being able to hear Xiaoyu say such a long sentence was truly no easy feat!
Behind them, gritting their teeth and managing to keep up with great difficulty, Ji Zilun and Ji Zixin looked at this pair of brothers with a sense of bewilderment how could they still laugh in a situation like this? As for the other one, his expression didn’t even change!
Ji Zixin took a breath, feeling as though the inside of her body was freezing solid. Her two younger brothers walking in front seemed to be moving with effortless ease, especially the seventeenth… If it weren’t for taking care of the eighteenth, she and Ji Zilun might have already been left behind.
Looking back at Ji Zilun, those light-green eyes were fixed on the obvious patch of black amidst the snow and wind ahead, radiating a resentment that sent a shiver through her heart.
Everyone was walking in a state of numbed exhaustion, feeling as though they might simply perish right here in this blizzard, maintaining their walking posture until they froze into ice sculptures. At that moment, Ji Ziyu finally came to a halt. Although his voice remained ice-cold, to them it was undoubtedly like the music of heaven. He said, “We’ve arrived.”
Chapter 022: The Black Child Who Invites Misfortune (Part 4)
The heavy snow had sealed everything tightly. When Ji Ziyu announced they had arrived, everyone felt a momentary surge of hope in their hearts, but upon looking around, both Ji Zixin and Ji Zilun wore rather dismal expressions: Where on earth is it?
Sensing the sudden silence behind him, observing Ji Ziyu’s attitude, and feeling the biting weather, Ji Ziran instantly grasped the reality of their situation. Doubtless, even if there had been a cave, it had long since been blocked off by the heavy snow.
Resealing the snow cave they had just dug out, free from the howling winds and freezing air outside, even in total pitch blackness, both Ji Zixin and Ji Zilun felt considerably warmer. Especially since they had just undergone a massive bout of physical exertion though the cave they dug was small, it was more than enough given their tiny statures and the thick snow.
Once Ji Zilun and Ji Zixin had recovered their wits, they curiously wanted to inspect their surroundings. Unfortunately, it was so dark that absolutely nothing could be seen.
After pondering for a moment, Ji Zixin suddenly clapped her hands together. “I have a night-pearl here.”
Being a young girl, she naturally favored pretty ornaments. Seeing that her birth mother possessed a small night-pearl pendant, she had taken a liking to it and asked for it. That pendant featured a night-pearl the size of an eyeball, resting upon a lotus flower carved from cyan jade below, while the top was fastened with a decorative knot woven from exquisite mermaid silk.
A trinket less than the size of their palms had been carefully tucked away inside Ji Zixin’s garments. Now that she fished it out, it truly brought a gleam of light to their eyes.
The cave was not large, but it appeared to have quite a few winding twists and turns inside.
Ji Ziran could not see and did not care much about the interior of the cave. He nudged Ji Ziyu with his elbow. “Xiaoyu, do you know where this is?”
“I know, oh!” Ji Zixin walked a few steps to take a look, though she didn’t dare venture too far, and upon hearing Ji Ziran’s question, she chimed in, “I heard Royal Mother say that the Holy Temple and the Holy Altar were built above the Qilibia Canyon. At the bottom of the canyon lies the dark Biya River, which hides terrifying magical beasts and monsters. The Holy Temple was built between the two cliffs precisely to guard the rear of the Chu Yun Empire’s imperial palace and protect the empire.”
Ji Zilun drew in a sharp breath and accused shrilly, “I told you that you are an ill-fated Black Child who brings misfortune! This is the kind of place where you belong! You’re the one who dragged us into this state… You, you…”
Ji Ziran gave Ji Ziyu a tug to keep him from radiating chilling auras to scare people, though he had no intention of paying heed to Ji Zilun either. He simply continued asking Ji Zixin, “Then, 15th Imperial Sister, have you heard how we can get back?”
Ji Zixin shook her head. After a moment, she remembered that Ji Ziran couldn’t see, and hastily added, “No. Royal Mother only said… only said this place is the source of all evil, and said… said that no living person has ever managed to walk out of here.”
Ji Ziran wanted to ask something more, but Ji Ziyu pulled him close. “Sleep.”
“Huh?”
“I want to sleep,” Ji Ziyu repeated.
Ji Ziran smiled, leaned close to Ji Ziyu, buried his face into the crook of his shoulder, wrapped his arms around his waist, and whispered, “Alright, let’s sleep then.”
Ji Ziyu wrapped an arm around Ji Ziran’s back and closed his eyes. Both little buns still retained a rather chubby appearance, and the sight of a black-haired one and a white-haired one snuggled together to sleep possessed an indescribably whimsical charm.
Ji Zilun and Ji Zixin had suffered quite a severe fright today and were utterly exhausted to boot. Seeing that both Ji Ziran and Ji Ziyu had fallen asleep, they selected a spot not too far away from the two of them and intended to curl up for a brief nap as well.
Despite the frigid temperatures, the thoroughly exhausted children fell into a deep sleep. Because Ji Ziran had Ji Ziyu serving as a natural heater, he slept with exceptional soundness.
Deep into the night, Ji Ziran experienced a sudden jolt in his heart and abruptly snapped awake. The moment he came to his senses, he noticed that Ji Ziyu’s breathing pattern was off, he was already awake. “Xiaoyu?”
“Shh…” Ji Ziyu turned his face, pressing his lips against Ji Ziran’s ear. “There’s movement inside.”
Chapter 023: Evil (Part 1)
Startled, Ji Ziran held his breath and listened intently to the sounds echoing within the cave.
The noise sounded muffled, as though it were traveling from a very distant and deep place. Moreover, it sounded unmistakably like the howling of wild beasts.
With a jolt of alarm, he gripped Ji Ziyu’s hand tighter and lowered his voice. “What’s going on?”
Ji Ziyu didn’t push him away; realizing the other was feeling anxious, he offered an explanation: “I didn’t notice it when we came in, but there should be things inside that we can’t handle.”
“Then right now…”
“Something must have happened inside, I suppose.” Ji Ziyu’s tone remained quite nonchalant.
Ji Ziran blinked. “What happened?”
“Mm,” Ji Ziyu continued answering with patient forbearance.
Speechless, Ji Ziran clarified, “I’m asking what specifically happened inside.”
Only then did Ji Ziyu realize Ji Ziran was asking for specifics about what had occurred inside. He calmly dropped a single line: “I don’t know.”
Ji Ziran almost choked on his own breath.
Outside should be nighttime right now; if the few of them mere little buns ventured out into the freezing wasteland, they’d undoubtedly be frozen solid into icy dumplings with frozen wrappers and fillings.
Yet the situation inside remained unclear, and judging by the sound, it was still quite a distance away from them. But if it were a formidable magical beast, this little bit of distance would offer zero protection.
As Ji Ziran furrowed his brows, racking his brain over what to do, he suddenly heard Ji Ziyu say, “My fault.”
“Huh?” Ji Ziran was completely bewildered.
In that same icy-cold tone, Ji Ziyu stated, “I didn’t sense any other presence, so I thought this place was safe. I never considered that a magical beast far stronger than me could completely conceal its presence from my detection.”
Ji Ziran blinked in sheer disbelief though he was blind anyway, and even if he weren’t, he wouldn’t be able to see anything in this pitch darkness. After blinking, Ji Ziran even reached out to tap his own ear, reassuring himself that he hadn’t misheard just now.
Torn between laughter and tears, he groped around blindly in an attempt to pat Ji Ziyu’s head. “What kind of nonsense are you thinking?”
Ji Ziran thought to himself that if anyone was the oldest here, it was certainly him, yet he was also the biggest burden. Even when they were digging the cave earlier, he hadn’t contributed much effort. On the other hand, despite Xiaoyu’s perpetual expression of keeping strangers and acquaintances alike at a distance while constantly radiating chilling auras, he was surprisingly dependable when it counted.
Just like all the way down here, where everyone had followed him without a shred of doubt, trusting that following him would lead them to a cave.
Naturally, Ji Ziyu could perceive the emotional fluctuations in Ji Ziran. Having stayed in the dark for so long, his enhanced vision allowed him to discern the smiling expression on Ji Ziran’s face, and he felt a trace of puzzlement: What on earth is there to be happy about?
After lingering for a moment, Ji Ziran asked with lingering uncertainty, “Is that sound… getting closer and closer?”
Ji Ziyu nodded. “And the speed is quite fast.”
“We’re getting out of here!” Ji Ziran made his decision instantly. “The cave is too small. If we really can’t handle whatever it is, there won’t even be anywhere to run.”
As he spoke, Ji Ziran groped around toward the source of the breathing sounds, intending to shake the two snoring little buns awake.
Actually, Ji Ziyu wanted to point out that if it were a magical beast they couldn’t handle, escaping outside the cave wouldn’t give them much hope of survival either. Nevertheless, he walked over to the cave entrance sealed with snow and placed his hand directly upon it..
Ji Zixin, Ji Zilun, and Ji Ziran—who had just woken up and was about to explain the situation to the two little buns and urge them to get up heard a resounding boom.
The cold wind outside rushed in abruptly, causing the unprepared children to shiver involuntarily.
Ji Zilun shrieked, “You two madmen! What are you doing in the middle of the night! This Prince…”
The freezing air snapped Ji Zixin to her senses instantly. Previously, she had mistaken that terrifying “wooshing” sound for the wind, but now that she listened closely, her face drained of color in sheer terror. “What is that sound?”
Before Ji Ziran could explain, his hand was seized by Ji Ziyu, and he was dragged along as they stumbled toward the exit. He could only shout instructions to the other two while running: “Run!”
Chapter 024: Evil (Part 2)
The outdoors was entirely blanketed in snow, illuminated by the moonlight to an extraordinary degree of brightness.
Ji Ziyu pulled Ji Ziran along for a stretch, but given Ji Ziran’s little body, running was far slower than simply rolling across the snow. Glancing back, he saw Ji Ziran’s dark eyes opened wide in utter, helpless bewilderment fair enough, from birth until now, Ji Ziran had never actually run a day in his life.
Pondering for a second, Ji Ziyu scooped Ji Ziran up, hoisting him across his shoulder and arm, and their speed shot up instantly.
A half-choked cry of surprise got stuck in Ji Ziran’s throat. Feeling the small bundles of muscle bulging along the arm Ji Ziyu used to hold him, he narrowed his eyes: Are the two of us really born from the same womb?
He hurriedly shook his head, when they were in the same womb, hadn’t he seen it with his own eyes!
Ji Ziran felt slightly short of breath; there was no logical reason why such a stark difference in physical conditioning should manifest like this.
Ji Zixin…