The Guide to Capturing a Black Lotus - Chapter 103: Past Hatred, New Resentments (3)

“Chi chi……”

“Chi chi……”

The hanging cage swayed from side to side. The bird flapped its wings and fluttered down from its perch, looking at the empty food trough, head rolling, and mung bean-sized black eyes full of confusion.

The horizon had just begun brightening, Ling Miaomiao vaguely heard this small sound, struggling to get up, squinting her eyes, then sitting upright on the bed.

It was a cold winter morning. Relying on the support of a strong sense of responsibility, after pinching the web between her thumb and forefinger for a while to wake up, she gingerly crawled towards the edge of the bed, preparing to move her body over the person in the bed and go down to fetch some millet.

Advertisements

“What’s wrong?” The young man turned his head to look at her, his eyes containing a soft, watery hue.

“Feeding the bird.” Miaomiao put on her coat, her face flushed with sleep and still warm, and whispered, “Look, it’s already chirping.”

After waiting for a long time and not seeing any movement, she nudged him and smiled, “Move over.”

Yw Fbldt eke dsv kdvlde vs zlv bla rypp, tygkdt yv bla: “Fzllr, R’zz qlle kv zyvla.”

“R’e cl y qssz vs clzklhl usw.” Nkdt Ykysxkys csole bla blye yde xyel y qynl yv bkx. Fbl qkdkpble ealppkdt yde naspple shla bkx sd bla bydep yde jdllp.

Yw Fbldt sclekldvzu zyke qzyv, dsv xshkdt. Gqvla zlvvkdt bla pbkqv y zlt shla, bl alynble swv obkzl pbl oyp wdyoyalp yde qkaxzu nywtbv bla oykpv.

Ykysxkys, obs oyp qsanle vs pkv ypvakel bkx: “……”

“……Nlv xl rypp.” Nkdt Ykysxkys oyp jdllzkdt sd vbl cle yde wple y byde vs pwrrsav blaplzq sd sdl pkel sq bkx. Ekvb bkp xshl, kv nywple bla pvalvnble swv vbktb vs clnsxl xsal rykdqwz yde okvb bla aktbv byde, pbl bkv vbl cynj sq vbl byde bl bye sd bla oykpv.

Yw Fbldt alxykdle taycckdt sdvs bla yde eke dsv zlv ts. Ekvb y plakswp lmralppksd bl vyzjle ycswv psxlvbkdt sqq-vsrkn: “Zlpvlaeyu, ol pvyule wr vs olznsxl vbl dlo ulya.”

“Xb.” Nkdt Ykysxkys czkdjle okvb y ryka sq clokzelale yzxsde lulp yde eked’v alynv qsa y xsxldv.

Ebyv bl xlydv oyp vbyv vblu pvyule wr zyvl ulpvlaeyu yde pbswze pzllr xsal vseyu.

……He was good at making unreasonable arguments.

Advertisements

“You can keep sleeping.” She pulled his arm down and assured him sincerely, “I’m not staying up either, I’ll come back to sleep after feeding it.”

He didn’t say a word and just looked at her with watery eyes.

“Really.” Ling Miaomiao was stared at by him until a thin layer of sweat appeared on her forehead. Frustratedly, she looked at him for a while, “Then…… then let me go back.”

Forget feeding, forget feeding, going back and laying down should be fine, her knees were sore……

“Is Miaomiao tired?” She felt the hands wrapped around her waist pressing down, Mu Sheng’s eyes were dark, his eyelashes moved, and he looked at her innocently while gently speaking, “Then, sit.”

“……” She stubbornly held her ground and fled toward the outside of the bed on her hands and knees, “No, no, that…… I’m heavy!”

Her eyelashes flicked up quickly, full of serious intimidation: “Really, I will crush your stomach.” Struggling to break free of his hand, she inadvertently scratched the back of his hand, leaving a few faint white marks, “Quickly…… let me down.”

His hand held her, like he was pushing a volume switch, gently grabbing her, pushing back a little, then pressing down: “You won’t. Try it if you don’t believe it.”

Miaomiao was like a cat that stepped on a mine and instantly its fur raised.

“Chi chi……”

“Chi chi……”

The bird hopped twice and found that its cries were to no avail, so it listlessly shrank into the corner, sadly combing its feathers with its beak.

Advertisements

Ling Miaomiao gave up struggling. she gave up and sat on him, grabbing a corner of his shirt and pulling it, like grabbing the reins of a harnessed horse.

“Young man, why don’t you be diligent in your studies and do your morning training?” She looked at him, her tone sullen: “If you continue to do so, the optimal time will be wasted……”

Mu Sheng’s eyes were half closed, long eyelashes drooping, hands idly stroking the side of her waist, licking his lips, and looking very content.

Miaomiao: “……”

“Ding–“

“Ding Ding–“

The long-lost system notification appeared at the forefront of her mind, one urgent beep after another, the booming aftershock still ringing between her temples.

It had been a while since Miaomiao had last received a notification, and it felt as if it had been a lifetime since she heard the mechanical voice of the system.

“System Notification: Mission One, segment 4 out of 4 is starting. Host, please be prepared.”

“System Notification: Congratulations to the host, target character 【Mu Sheng】 favorability has reached 99%, you have reached the eve of victory. Please continue to make further efforts.”

“System Notification: Trigger Mission Two outstanding mission reward incentive, reward content 【Key】. Host, please use as soon as possible. End of Notification.”

After the overlapping sounds faded, everything reverted to silence. It was still a cold winter morning, the half-lowered canopy enclosing a safe and closed space. Everything was so peaceful that nothing seems to have happened.

Advertisements

Ling Miaomiao was unable to come back to her senses for a little while, until she felt a hard object in her subconsciously clenched hand.

She spread open her palm to take a look, it was a small irregular thick glass piece that magnified her sinuous palm lines.

“System, you gave me the wrong thing, right?” Miaomiao was baffled, “A key…… isn’t this a memory fragment?”

Not getting a response, she sighed and carefully looked askance at the black lotus saddle with its eyes closed and began closing her hand, ready to gently put the key away in her arms.

The small, smooth piece of glass inadvertently slipped out of her hand just a moment after she turned it over in her palm.

Miaomiao sucked in a cold breath and reached out to fish in the air, failing to catch it.

She searched with wide eyes, but the memory fragment that should have fallen on the bed was like a drop of water dropped into the sea, instantly dissolving into nothingness.

She sat rigidly, her mind blank for a few seconds, and quickly groped around the bedding.

She felt around either side and over Mu Sheng’s body before her wrist was suddenly caught and clutched tightly, the young man’s eyes filled with a bit of comfortable confusion, as if a cat had its fur smoothed.

He wrapped one hand around her waist and pulled Miaomiao’s hand to his lips for a kiss with the other hand, dragging it out for as long as possible.

Ling Miaomiao sat uncomfortably: “……No, I’m looking for something.”

“……” He paused and finally leaned over and let her down from his waist, “Looking for what?”

Advertisements

“Don’t move……,” Miaomiao hurriedly reached out and pressed down on his shoulders, “Lie still, be careful of it stabbing you.”

She used her arm to roughly gather her stray hairs, staring at the bed with her eyes. The fragment just now seemed like a slippery little fish that wiggled out…… Did the memory fragment fall away, like dew that fell to the ground and simply disappeared?

She felt a layer of sweat on her forehead, slapped her cheeks on either side, and went straight to touching him. Mu Sheng was docile and motionless, and she quickly felt over his clothes like a body search security inspector.

Wait a minute……

Her hand froze, slowly feeling back to his chest, and then reached out and pressed down. Her scalp tingled, and all the blood in her body suddenly seemed to flow in reverse.

Mu Sheng felt her hand suddenly and eagerly burrowed through his collar, fingertips still damp with cold sweat, touching his chest.

It was cold and smooth, like touching a lifeless piece of stubborn stone.

Ling Miaomiao’s fingertips touched the mirror-like surface of the moment, felt from under it, a faint heartbeat, like a faint flame enclosed in ice.

……Embedded ……Embedded in the body ……

She felt as if she was instantly frozen into an ice sculpture, and her teeth were chattering: “……Do you feel it?”

Her voice was a little different, Mu Sheng looked up and found that the girl’s face had taken on a gray pallor, and a fear began to sprout within his heart: “What’s wrong?”

Her hand covered his chest, with a little cry: “Do you not feel it?”

“What?”

He reached out to hold her hand, and the moment he touched her, everything suddenly faded.

The world in front of him seemed to be pulled and distorted, a large opening breaking through space, which then immediately shattered into snowflakes.

The snowflakes fell down, like meteors with a long tail, very slowly, gradually changing into transparent rain.

There was a fine drizzle, long and narrow, coming down diagonally. The open paper umbrella was painted with red plums, dense with rain, and the umbrella was a light pink. Looking from mid-air, it would appear like a flower on a hillock.

This flower moved slowly along the dark and winding mountain road.

The hand holding the umbrella was pale and slender, and the nail color of the ten fingers was red and compelling, like a few drops of blood on snow-white skin.

Her steps were steady, but revealed her eagerness, stepping straight through several puddles, the hem of her skirt stained by the rising muddy water.

There was a river to the side of her, and she walked along a tributary of the river, a little of her appearance was reflected in the water, her red dress, pale jaw, and tilting umbrella frame.

Countless small splashes of water dismantled and distorted her reflection, but very quickly, it would reform.

As if the wind on the ground was dragging her feet, she walked more and more slowly, her breathing becoming more and more heavy.

Finally, she stopped at the riverbank. Slowly she sat down on the mossy boulder and tilted her head to look into the water.

The woman’s face reflected in the water, blurred by the water splashes, seemed to contain a malicious smile: “Overconfident.”

She looked down at it and smiled mockingly, not making any other comment.

Her reflection spoke again, sneering, as if it was not a reflection, but a living soul trapped in the water: “How pathetic, you’ve only held on for this long.”

The rain poured down heavier. Each splash of water came with a fine layer of white mist, and the rain flowed down the umbrella into a small stream and poured on the stone. Her hair at the sides of her forehead were damp and stuck to the sides of her fair face.

All ten of her slender fingers clasped the boulder next to her, barely supporting herself enough to get up, her fingers almost deformed from the force: “Let me go.”

The face of the reflection in the water could barely be seen through the whirlpool: “My greatest wish is for him to die.”

She laughed softly, staring quietly at the water, her laugh seeming to contain a little mockery. The hand holding the umbrella trembled gently, and only after a long time did she speak: “As long as you live, they can’t let him die.”

Once again she propped herself up, her tone was soft, but contained a small hint of desperate decisiveness: “So, you and I, both must try.”

*

“Second Madam, please do not wait, the master is not coming.”

The maid closed the door with both hands, apprehensively debated for a while, before continuing to mumble, “Master and Madam have been busy these past two days……”

The smile of Bai Yirong faded, the comb she held in her hand crashed against the mirror. The face of the mirror trembled and the red lips of the person in the mirror curled up meanly, “Busy, they’re busy all year round!

“Second Madam…… please do not worry.” The maid looked at her carefully from the side, “There…… is still the Eldest Miss.”

Bai Yirong sneered, “Eldest Miss…… what do you know.” She looked at the person in the mirror with complicated eyes and gently patted her face twice, “What do you think I’ve relied on to stay here until now? It’s not because of Yao’er.”

Her fingers fiddled with her trousseau irritably, “Yao’er, after all, is a girl. Sister can’t give birth so the Master must rely on me to give him a son. I’ve been working hard all these years, and I’ve taken all the bitter pills and prescriptions, but now look at this……” she looked sideways at the maid and said with hatred, “They’ve picked up a ready-made one outside! “

“In the future, in this family, is there still a place for me?” She said this, stood up quickly, kicked away the stool, and hurriedly headed out.

“Where is the Second Madam going?”

“To see what kind of a treasure that little brat is to have persuaded the master to become a philanthropist. You don’t want your own child, but are willing to help others raise theirs!”

The maid followed her a few steps closer and took her arm: “I heard…… that Master and Madam don’t like him much either.”

“Don’t like? They don’t like him, yet they still gave him the surname Mu. They also let Yao’er call him younger brother……”

When the two of them reached the entrance of Lotus Bloom Hall, they were blocked by the servant guarding the entrance, “Second Madam, the master has instructed that you can’t go in.”

“What makes you think I can’t go in?” She stretched her neck to look inside and heard the shouts of several people from inside.

Looking around, the originally transparent windows of the Lotus Bloom Hall were covered with black paper, sealing the inside and turning it into a dark, dark room that looked even more mysterious and odd.

“Second Madam.” He lowered his voice and seemed to feel awkward in discussing this topic with her, “A forgetfulness spell has just been cast inside……” he paused, “If something goes wrong. You will not be able to bear the consequeces, please go back.”

Bai Yirong took a look at the sealed window and reluctantly nodded her head.

Halfway down the hall, the maid was startled and saw her turn a corner and circled back to the back door of Lotus Bloom Hall through the pathway hidden by a bamboo thicket.

“Second Madam……”

“Be quiet.” She pushed through the thicket and approached a low window linking to the interior, “I’m going to see what that little brat looks like.”

“Second Madam, Second Madam!”

She ignored the anxious maid, and gently lifted a corner of the paper dipped in black ink and tung oil stuck on the outside, and pushed it up.

There was light in the room. A dark red light lingered all over the room, and the furniture seemed to have been splashed with a large bucket of dog’s blood, the scene demonic and bizarre. A ray of sunlight just happened to shine through the corner that was lifted, suddenly illuminating a face in the corner.

What came into her sight was a pair of black eyes, the ends of the eyes curved up into a small arc, and were tinged with attractive red. His eyes seemed to be flowing with water; with such a pair of eyes, decorating his small snow-white face, they were like a pair of gems. He only wore an unlined baggy garment, the sleeves and long dark hair billowing from the wind, as if to fly away.

He did not smile, turning his blank and vacant look over, his eyes full of dangerous hostility. The red light emanated from his back, and his eyes reflected a little bit of the brilliant red.

She clenched her fist, her nails nestled into her palm.

This heart-stopping beauty made her stumble backwards, and her sense of crisis reached its peak—— it was said that children were like their mothers, so for the woman who gave birth to such a child, what kind of beauty would she have to be?

Was……was he really randomly picked up by Mu Huaijiang?

“Creak——” the door opened, several people came in chaotically, and carried something out. The boy sat silently at the table, silently looking in the direction of the sun, seeming to have no reaction to the outside world.

The chief steward of the Mu Family and those under him, whispered.

“How many is this?”

“This is the third one to die…… What, the master and the mistress are still in the secret room?”

“Yes, we are counting on you to think of a way out, I don’t have anyone who dares to bring food there anymore.”

“From now on, leave the food at the door and minimize contact with him.”

“It’s not like there hasn’t been anyone who has cast this spell in the past……” the man inhaled, “How come the one inside has become like this? And his hair……”

In the shifting light and shadow, he seemed to be gesturing, “It suddenly grew to the waist, and his body glowed, which was strange and frightening.”