Xiao Nanhui opened her eyes in the darkness.
She found herself standing on a cold, damp floor, surrounded by circular walls that trapped her within.
It was pitch black all around, save for a small patch of the starry sky visible far above her head, looking as distant as the ends of the earth.
Where was this? Was this the underworld of King Yama? It turned out the underworld was a deep well, and a rather shabbily built one at that.
She hadn't done anything against her conscience in life, but she had certainly killed many people. Would King Yama throw her into the eighteenth level of hell?
She sighed and turned in place, only to suddenly realize she was not alone in this space.
In a cramped, narrow corner stood a high, thin stone bed. A person lay upon it, their stature suggesting they were but a child.
Why was there a child in the underworld?
Was it a little ghost? Or perhaps King Yama’s own child?
Since she was already dead, what was there to fear?
Xiao Nanhui blinked and crept forward on tiptoe to take a closer look.
It was a boy of about seven or eight, wearing a long robe that was far too large for him, as if it belonged to an adult.
His face was turned toward the wall, seemingly in a deep sleep, yet his entire body was held in a stiff, rigid posture. It was no wonder; the stone bed beneath him was so narrow that the slightest shift would send him tumbling off.
Just as she thought this, the child’s body gave a sudden jerk—as if caught in a nightmare—and he lost his balance, falling from the stone bed.
Startled, she found her eyes locking instantly with the child’s as he woke.
It was a youthful face, not yet fully formed, save for those narrow, elongated eyes that had already taken their shape. Their gaze seemed to hold a pool of water, and the surrounding darkness only served to highlight the brightness of his skin—a pallor born of years without sunlight.
He was truly a beautiful boy.
The boy blinked, clarity gradually returning to his eyes. He sat on the ground for a moment before standing up.
"Hey."
The child brushed past her, walking straight toward a corner.
Could he not see her?
Refusing to give up, she followed him and leaned in close.
The boy sat on a stone desk in the corner, his meditative posture perfectly standard. Spread before him was a scroll of bamboo slips, old and tattered, looking somewhat familiar.
However, what came next was even more familiar.
The moment she saw the object on the child’s wrist, Xiao Nanhui was stunned.
It was a string of irregularly shaped beads, looking slightly too large for his small, undeveloped wrist.
Such a precious, rare, and unique item—there could not be two of them in this world.
She looked closely at the boy’s features again, the doubt in her heart deepening.
Was she... in that man’s dream?
The boy lit an oil lamp and began to stumble through the obscure text on the scriptures, chanting for a long time.
She leaned over the scroll, trying to decipher the talisman-like characters, but after a long while, she couldn't make heads or tails of it. Her initial confusion turned to curiosity, and finally, she grew drowsy under the hypnotic sound of the chanting.
When she next opened her eyes, she didn't know how much time had passed. The starry sky above had turned into daylight, and the boy was no longer at the stone desk.
The light was a bit brighter now, and she noticed a spiral stone staircase built into the circular walls. Faint voices drifted down from above. She followed the stairs upward and saw the small figure sitting before a hole carved into the stone. The voices were coming from outside that hole.
She listened carefully for a while. They were discussing national policies and statecraft—utterly tedious. Yet he listened intently, occasionally answering the other person's questions.
She leaned in, trying hard to see outside the hole, but the light was blindingly bright. She could only vaguely make out the lower half of a figure sitting there; everything from the neck up was invisible.
What kind of ghostly teacher was this, imparting knowledge without even showing a face?
She grumbled to herself and pulled back, attempting to climb further up the stone stairs. But when she reached the end, she found the small window in the ceiling was still far beyond her reach.
Were all Right Generals of Tiancheng as unlucky as she? Accompanying someone to the ends of the earth in life, and then accompanying them in a subterranean prison in death. That hundred taels of gold was truly not worth it.
Lifting her eyelids, Xiao Nanhui saw a tray filled with exquisite food being pushed through the hole. There was Shaoxing wine-soaked shrimp, seasonal raw fish, stuffed "four treasures"—each dish was of the highest quality, with every imperfection removed. Even the soups and side dishes were delicately prepared, likely no inferior to an imperial meal.
*Ooh, he eats well.*
She reached out to grab a piece of crispy pastry, but her hand passed right through it. In the end, she could only crouch back in her spot, dejected, watching someone else eat.
The boy ate very slowly, taking only a tiny portion of each dish. Finally, he placed his chopsticks back in their original position and pushed the tray back out through the hole.
She recalled the rumored rules of the imperial household: one must not eat greedily, no dish should be finished entirely, and no dish should be left untouched. In short, it was a torturous way to eat.
Eating so little all day, never seeing the sun, and lacking even a decent space to move—it was no wonder no one could grow up to be sturdy and robust. Was he truly a prince? Could he be some shadow body double found by the late Emperor?
Countless stories from popular novellas popped into Xiao Nanhui’s head. Tales of "swapping a leopard cat for a prince," "stealing the dragon to change the phoenix," and body doubles replacing the real person. She entertained herself with these thoughts until the sky grew dark once more.
The boy returned to his stone bed, just as he had been when she first arrived.
Sunrise, sunset. The moon hid, the moon appeared.
The boy repeated the exact same routine every day. She stayed in the corner watching him, so bored she began counting the bricks on the walls.
Until the third night, when she saw the boy seemingly caught in another nightmare.
That small, thin body couldn't even curl up properly; he just lay stiffly facing the wall, his thin robe outlining the shape of his spine, which seemed to be trembling slightly.
She was seeing him dream within his own dream.
The feeling was somewhat magical, and it touched her heart.
She had never seen the Emperor like this, with all his vulnerability laid bare.
Though she knew he couldn't hear her, she couldn't help but step forward and call out softly, "Hey, wake up. You're having a nightmare."
In the next instant, the boy actually opened his eyes.
He seemed to be looking at her face before slowly sitting up.
Xiao Nanhui felt a bit eerie and took a few steps back. To her surprise, the boy also stood up and walked a few paces, stopping exactly in front of her. He then raised those dark eyes and stared straight at her face.
Being stared at made her skin crawl. She murmured, "You can see me?"
It took a long time before the boy furrowed his brows. "Why are you still here?"
*He can see me?! You could see me and you didn't say a word, letting me talk to thin air all these days. How embarrassing!*
She didn't dare bully the adult version, but surely she could bully the child?
She reached out to pinch his face, but her hand once again met nothing but air.
Xiao Nanhui snapped in frustration, "You can see me and hear me, so why did you ignore me these past few days?"
"Why should I pay you any mind? If I attended to every one of you, how would I finish my lessons?"
Her eyes lit up. "What? Others like me have appeared here out of nowhere before?"
The boy nodded. "Only they do not linger like you. Most disappear after half a day."
Xiao Nanhui made a helpless gesture.
"I want to leave too, but I don't know how to get out."
The boy turned away indifferently, as if it were a common occurrence. "It matters not. When the time comes, you will naturally leave."
*Hah, look at that catchphrase, look at that mannerism. He really has been like this since he was a child.*
She followed him relentlessly, pouring out all the doubts in her heart.
"Then tell me, what exactly am I? Am I a ghost? Do you have 'yin-yang eyes' that can see spirits?"
The boy seemed to greatly disdain her self-important guessing. He said leisurely, "If I could see ghosts, it would mean you are already dead. Are you not afraid?"
She picked at her nose. "If I'm dead, I'm dead. I already agonized over that question while I was alive; now I don't have to worry about it anymore."
The boy finally looked up at her, remaining silent for a moment before speaking. "Mother told me that you are all people I will meet in my life. Seeing you now is merely meeting ahead of time. There is no need to dwell on it; we are destined to meet again later."
At the mention of his mother, a flash of loneliness appeared in the boy's expression.
He had not yet cultivated that "lying alone by the green lamp and ancient Buddha" demeanor of his later years. Though he appeared much more mature than other children his age, some emotions could still be read on his face.
Xiao Nanhui cleared her throat, feeling she should act like an adult. She put on a compassionate expression. "You have a mother? Where is she? Why does she leave you here alone?"
The boy gave her a strange look, returning to his stiff, formal self.
"Mother must accompany Father. Naturally, she cannot come to accompany me."
She was even more puzzled. "Then why does your father leave you here alone?"
The boy looked at her. "Why should I tell you?"
She was choked by his words, feeling a bit awkward. She feigned disdain. "It seems you don't know yourself."
The boy lowered his head in thought, then spoke. "So this is the 'provocation tactic' my teacher spoke of."
Having her tricks exposed repeatedly was truly embarrassing. Coupled with the grievance of being stuck here for no reason, she simply plopped down on the ground and began to sulk.
The air returned to its previous silence.
The damp, cramped space was oppressive, draining one of all strength.
The boy stared at the scriptures spread before him, but suddenly found he couldn't focus.
"Why have you stopped talking?"
She gave a huff and turned her body away.
There was another silence behind her. Just as she was about to give in and look back, the boy's voice suddenly rose, low and quiet.
"Almost everyone who knows my secret is no longer in this world."
Xiao Nanhui turned back, speaking with total sincerity. "I don't count as a person anyway, so it's fine if you tell me."
The boy stared at her blankly for a while, then suddenly smiled. Realizing something, he quickly pulled back his expression.
"Father says I have hysteria. Until this illness is cured, he cannot let me out."
"Hysteria?" She felt something was wrong with that explanation, but she couldn't remember what it was for a moment.
"I must learn to control my emotions. Anger, sadness, joy, and fear will all cause me to lose control. And once I lose control, everyone around me will suffer."
This time, it was her turn to be silent.
She remembered why she was here.
"Hey," the boy called softly. "I have told you so much, yet you still haven't told me your name."
Xiao Nanhui looked silently at the boy's face, feeling as if time and space had frozen in that moment.
She opened her mouth. "My name is..."
*Xiao Nanhui...*
A voice suddenly rang in her ear.
She startled, then rubbed her ear. "Did you hear a sound?"
The boy shook his head gently, still watching her. "What did you say your name was?"
*Xiao Nanhui...*
The voice grew closer, as if it were inside her head.
She stood up, about to say something to the boy, when her vision suddenly went black. Her entire body was pulled by a force, and she began to fall.
She entered that groggy darkness again. After an unknown amount of time, she followed the voice that had been calling her, walking toward the light.
In the light, there seemed to be a blurry figure, swaying back and forth, back and forth...
*Ugh, so annoying.*
She lunged forward, grabbing the shadow, and suddenly woke up.
The first thing she saw was a face as large as a flatbread, set with a pair of thick eyebrows and large eyes that were darting around as they looked at her.
"You're awake?"
Xiao Nanhui bolted upright in bed. Then, like someone who had just woken from sleep paralysis, she rubbed her groggy head.
She looked at that large face—the one she had thought of day and night, the one that had haunted her dreams. Her lips trembled, she let out a wail, and she pulled the person into a tight embrace.
Bolao, his head nearly crushed by the squeeze, cursed loudly, "What's wrong with you? Hao Bai! Hao Bai! You quack, didn't you say she was fine..."
The door was kicked open, and a physician in white robes strode into the room, bringing with him the scent of rouge and powder.
"Move aside, let me see."
He extended two fingers, pretentiously checking her pulse. Then, stroking his non-existent mustache, he said leisurely, "From this pulse, her body is quite robust. It's just a congenital lack of intelligence; I'm afraid that's beyond my abilities..."
She knew this wandering physician would have nothing good to say.
"Get lost."
Xiao Nanhui raised a leg to kick him, but the man nimbly dodged. He had clearly gained some skills during their time in Bi Jiang.
Bolao remained standing to the side with his arms crossed, his expression suspicious. "Is she truly alright?"
Hao Bai pointed at the person on the bed with lingering fear. "Look at her posture—does she look like someone who's unwell? I was the one who set that leg of hers. Look at that strength, that flexibility..."
She propped herself up. She did feel a slight dizziness, likely from being bedridden for too long.
"How long... have I been asleep?"
Bolao held up three fingers.
"Three days?"
Fragments of her dream flashed through her mind. She seemed to have stayed in that ghostly place for three days as well.
Was that truly just a dream? Why did it feel so real...
While she was dazed, Bolao leaned in again, staring intently at her face. "I don't think it's a congenital lack of intelligence. She must have damaged her brain in the fall; she can't even count fingers anymore."
Xiao Nanhui pushed his face away, too tired to deal with him.
"Where is His Majesty? Is he alright?"
The room went silent for a moment. Her expression changed instantly, and she hurriedly tried to get out of bed to put on her shoes.
Seeing this, Hao Bai spoke up. "What's the rush? I haven't said anything yet. If something had truly happened to that one, would you be seeing this scene when you woke up?"
She was bewildered, but mostly anxious. "Then what is the situation?"
"The arrow that hit him in the back was indeed dangerous, but his life is no longer in peril. It's just..."
Hao Bai paused, seemingly weighing his words.
"Just what?" she pressed, growing more frantic.
"It's just that he hasn't woken up yet. Even if he does, I don't know what state he'll be in."
The events at Biemeng Cave before she lost consciousness flooded back into her mind, mixing with the fading dream and giving her a headache.
What was all of this about?
"I have to go see him. Just one look. From a distance..."
Bolao suddenly spoke up. "I suggest you don't go near him."
"Why?"
Bolao’s eyes widened in disbelief, as if he couldn't understand why Xiao Nanhui would ask such a stupid question. "Why? That lackey Ding Weixiang hates your guts right now. He'd like nothing more than to tear you into a thousand pieces. That's why."
The leg she had extended toward the door finally pulled back.
"When did you and the Emperor get so close?" Hao Bai asked from the side, his legs crossed, his words cutting straight to the point.
Xiao Nanhui steadied herself and gave him a perfect answer. "I personally escorted His Majesty. Is it not my duty to care whether he lives or dies?"
Hao Bai gave a mysterious smile, seemingly unwilling to let her off so easily. "You know he is actually..." He paused deliberately before continuing, "Do you not have any other thoughts?"
Bolao narrowed his eyes sharply. "Actually what?"
Hao Bai pointed at Xiao Nanhui. "Go ask her."
Just then, a voice came from outside the door. "Is Master Hao here? Lieutenant Ding requests your presence."
"Coming."
Hao Bai gave Xiao Nanhui a meaningful look, then rose and drifted away, leaving her and Bolao staring at each other.
She was terrified that he would follow up on the previous question, as she truly didn't know where to begin. So, she spoke first. "I have something important to ask you. How did you find us?"
What she really wanted to ask was: *When you arrived, what exactly did you see?*
Bolao stared at her for a moment and asked back, "You don't remember anything? You don't even remember why the Emperor was hit by an arrow?"
Her heart hammered against her ribs. She lied instinctively. "I don't remember. I only remember encountering a group of assassins, very similar to the ones we met in Muerhe. I fought with them, and then, and then..."
She couldn't keep the lie going.
*Ugh, it's all because I've been lying here so long; my brain is even more useless.*
Just as she thought she was about to be exposed, Bolao followed her lead.
"No wonder, no wonder. They say the sand and stone in Lingxi are loose, and one mustn't speak loudly in the caves, or there's a risk of the earth collapsing. But you—you actually fought in there. I suppose that's why a whole section of the place collapsed."
"Collapsed?" Xiao Nanhui murmured to herself.
Did their fight cause the entire grotto to collapse?
She knew that wasn't the truth. But Bolao was convinced of it.
"Could it be false? When we received the Night Owl's message and rushed over, we found your location almost without effort because that entire section of the caves had completely caved in. A whole battalion of soldiers dug for a day to get you two out. You're truly lucky to be alive."
Xiao Nanhui fell into a brief silence. Then, she remembered another matter that weighed on her heart.
"What about my adoptive father? Is he well? Did he come with you? He..."
Before Bolao could speak, a series of hurried footsteps sounded outside the door.
***
