YNRHPCYC Chapter 107

The scene behind the door was very unusual. It was a spacious walkway with green stone bricks on the ground. The walls on both sides were painted vermilion, and the roof tiles were bright yellow.

At first glance, he thought it was an official road within the palace, but Wen Chan soon realised that it was not because there was no one there.

There were no patrolling guards, no palace maids or eunuchs, and you couldn’t see where the end was at a glance. It was a very long, very long road.

Wen Chan looked back at the black-robed man in silence, and with inquiry in his eyes.

Obviously, the black-robed man didn’t expect this phenomenon. He was stunned for a moment and whispered, “The illusion has opened.”

“What illusion?” Wen Chan pressed, following up with the question.

The black-robed man didn’t answer, and the scimitar in his hand spun nimbly before he held it easily. He raised his hand and slashed upwards towards the left wall. A strange light flashed in front of their eyes, followed by a “clang” sound, and the wall was actually cut open by him.

The severed wall fell back, and Wen Chan took a few steps back. He then listened to the bang and watched as the wall in front of him turned into a pile of broken lime and cinders, revealing an identical road.

Wen Chan compared the two roads and found that there was no difference. He turned his head and saw that the black-robed man also seemed to be confused by the scene. He stood on the spot and looked back and forth, not knowing which one to choose.

He suggested, “Why don’t we take the one in front of us? It looks safer.”

After all, it was a road that was in front of them, which meant that someone wanted them to take this road, and the little monk said that the master had been waiting for him for a long time. Maybe if they walked this road, they could see the little monk’s master.

After speaking, he was afraid that the black-robed man would ignore him, and he walked a few steps forward, trying to walk to him. But he seemed to have eyes behind him. He suddenly turned over, jumped to the top of the golden tile, turned his head, and glanced at Wen Chan.

Wen Chan, “……” Did that mean he didn’t want to be around him?

The man in the black robe said nothing, but he obviously followed Wen Chan’s suggestion and walked forward on the tile roof. Seeing this, Wen Chan followed below.

The two walked with one in front and one behind, one up and one down, maintaining their previous silence, and walked for half an hour.

Because the pace was not fast, Wen Chan did not walk out of breath, but he was still a little tired, and at the same time, he was a little uneasy, secretly speculating whether this road was really endless.

But later, Wen Chan found that this road did have an end. After walking for almost an hour, a pointed-roofed house slowly appeared in front of him, and Wen Chan was overjoyed.

The closer he got, the more he could see. When he walked to the front of the house, he was a little amazed. The house looked about two metres high at a glance, with long eaves in front of the door. Two bright red silk cloths were hung under the eaves, which fluttered in the wind, and it looked quite weird.

The vermilion door was closed tightly. It was very silent inside, and no sound could be heard.

Wen Chan stood and looked for a while, not knowing whether to go in or not.

There was a continuous corridor on the right side of the house. Just like before, you couldn’t see the end at a glance, and you wouldn’t know where it led.

He was a little uncertain. He looked back at the black-robed man and saw that he was also at a loss, obviously caught in the same dilemma.

He stood not far from Wen Chan. When he felt Wen Chan’s gaze on him, he clenched the scimitar in his hand, walked to the door first, stretched out his hand, and pushed the door open without any hesitation.

Then he walked in, and Wen Chan followed behind, holding a dagger, always on guard.

The house was more spacious than expected, with bluestone floor tiles and vermilion stone pillars. The room did not get sunlight, so it was very dim, and the visibility was very low.

Since the black-robed man was wearing dark clothes, after walking a distance, he almost blended into the darkness. If Wen Chan fell behind a little, he would not be able to see him. So he quickened his pace and saw the black-robed man looking up, straight and upright.

Wen Chan also followed curiously, and when his eyes were fixed on it, his whole body trembled, and he felt extremely frightened.

Not far ahead, in the centre of the pointed-roofed house, stood an extremely tall Buddha statue, standing on a lotus throne[footnote][/footnote].

Originally, the light in the house was dim, and the roof area wasn’t visible at all. But the Buddha statue seemed to be bending down and looking down, with its entire head suspended above the visible line of sight.

The face of this Buddha was carved very delicately, and even the eyebrows could be seen one by one. However, only the outline of its eyes was present, which seemed too simple. In addition, the corners of the Buddha’s mouth were hooked in a weird arc, quite like a cold smile.

Wen Chan shuddered after taking a look and quickly looked away.

Turning his head, he saw that the black-robed man was still watching, so he took two steps towards the black-robed man and asked, “Why don’t we take a break here for a while?”

However, the man in the black robe reacted greatly and took two steps back in panic, which startled Wen Chan a little. After he stabilised his figure, he nodded to Wen Chan and walked to the ground not far away by himself, sitting on the ground against the pillar.

Wen Chan thought about it and didn’t ask anything. He walked to another pillar and had just sat down when he saw the man in the black robe slowly standing up.

He was puzzled and complained in his heart: What happened again?

The man in the black robe walked towards Wen Chan, walked to a moderate distance, and suddenly sat down again. Because there was nothing to lean on behind him, his back was bent, and the scimitar was always in his hand.

It seemed that he felt that Wen Chan was a little far away from him just now, so he deliberately walked closer.

The intention to protect was too obvious.

Wen Chan closed his eyes gently, leaned his head against the pillar, and relaxed his body.

The black-robed man saw that Wen Chan seemed to be dozing, and his eyes kept looking around, like a vigilant little beast. If something suddenly jumped out of the darkness at this time, he would definitely rush up and kill it immediately.

The surroundings fell into silence, with only the sound of breathing.

Suddenly, Wen Chan said, “These days, I have been guessing who you are.”

This sudden voice startled the black-robed man a little, and he looked at Wen Chan without saying a word.

“Actually, it’s not that hard to guess.” Wen Chan slowly opened his eyes, his eyes full of calm and gentle emotions, and he looked at the black-robed man, “Liang Shuhong, it’s you, right?”

As soon as these words came out, the black-robed man’s body became obviously stiff, and the only exposed eye suddenly showed panic, staring at Wen Chan closely.

“Think about it carefully. I haven’t seen you for more than ten days, and you haven’t appeared since my father’s birthday banquet.” Wen Chan said, “You clearly said you would come to visit me. I waited for a long time, but you didn’t come. I thought you were busy with some business……”

Liang Shuhong had been missing in the capital for more than ten days, but no one had noticed it.

There were not many people who had a friendly relationship with Wen Chan. Before Liang Yanbei came to the capital, Liang Shuhong could have been regarded as his only friend.

Being able to treat him like this and being someone Liang Yanbei felt familiar with, Wen Chan could only think of Liang Shuhong.

The black-robed man still didn’t speak, so Wen Chan asked, “Am I right?”

After the voice fell, there was silence for a while, and the black-robed man sighed faintly, “Your Highness, you are always so smart. Sometimes I wish you could be a little dumber.”

The voice was clear and pleasant, no longer hoarse. He raised his hand to take off his mask, revealing half of his side face, and it was undoubtedly Liang Shuhong.

Wen Chan’s heartbeat quickened. Looking at Liang Shuhong, he felt that although his face was still familiar, it was very different from before.

Although Liang Shuhong in the past was also dignified and had a gentle smile that made people relax, his appearance was not outstanding.

But now his face was obviously much more refined, and his picturesque appearance actually revealed a bit of hazy beauty. His drooping eyes were covered by long and dense eyelashes, and his skin was fair and delicate.

This was the Liang Shuhong he remembered, yet at the same time, it wasn’t.

“What happened to you?” Wen Chan frowned, “Where have you been these days? How did you become like this?”

Liang Shuhong was a little sad, and this emotion was particularly obvious. He slowly raised his face and looked at Wen Chan, “As you can see, I have become a monster now.”

Liang Shuhong’s face looked a bit more handsome, and his black robe inexplicably made him look a bit sinister.

Wen Chan thought to himself that Liang Shuhong might not be able to accept it himself. So he softened his voice and asked, “I don’t think you are any different. Why do you always wear a mask and refuse to show your true face to me?”

“Here.” Liang Shuhong raised his hand and pointed to the left side of his face. “Every night, strange patterns will appear, and ears will grow on the top of my head. I want to kill people when I see them, and sometimes I can’t control myself.”

“Do you know why you have become like this?” Wen Chan had actually guessed some of these in advance.

Liang Shuhong was not good at martial arts. But he had a very good literary talent. He was a scholar who paid no attention to outside matters and had no interest in wielding swords and guns. But if the man in the black robe was really him, it meant that he had experienced things that ordinary people couldn’t understand.

However, Wen Chan was not an ordinary person. At least he had seen those monsters with his own eyes. So he believed that he could understand what happened to Liang Shuhong.

“After the birthday banquet of His Majesty that day, my mother asked me to burn incense at Yanxiang Temple. So I came to Yanxiang Temple from the palace. But when I got here, I found that although the door was open, no one went in or out. Even the monks who usually guarded it were nowhere to be seen. I felt something was wrong, so I came in to check. On the altar in the main hall, I saw a plate.”

Liang Shuhong narrowed his eyes slightly, recalling the moment with a dazed expression, “There was a palm-sized red fruit on the plate. I ate it in one bite, and after that, I fainted with severe pain all over my body. When I woke up, I had become like this[footnote]You probably shouldn’t have eaten anything that was found in such uncertain circumstances.[/footnote].”

Wen Chan, “???”

After listening to it, he felt that he had overestimated himself a little, and he couldn’t understand what Liang Shuhong had experienced at all. Could it be that he became like this just by eating a fruit?

“Was it some kind of demonic fruit?” Wen Chan asked in confusion.

“I don’t know either. I’ve never seen it before.” Liang Shuhong said.

“You haven’t seen it before? Why did you want to eat it then?” Don’t you know that you can’t eat anything randomly?

“I can’t remember why I wanted to eat it myself. I just remember taking a look at the fruit, and then I picked it up and ate it in a daze. I think I was possessed[footnote]Sorry, buddy. I misunderstood you.[/footnote].” Liang Shuhong said, “I have sent letters to my family these days, telling them that I went to have fun somewhere else and asked them not to worry.”

“You have been in the capital all the time. You killed those people in the Northern District, right?”

“Those people must die.” Liang Shuhong’s face sank, and his eyebrows were stained with hostility, “The monsters of Yanxiang Temple have cast demon poison into the water in Yanxiang Temple. None of them would have been spared. Within ten days, they would definitely have all become monsters who could only suck human blood and had no thoughts or consciousness.”

“Was there that kind of a demon in Zhong Guoyi’s cell that day?” Wen Chan asked again.

“Yes.” Liang Shuhong replied, “They replaced Zhong Guoyi and put a group of demons in there, trying to use them to spread the demon poison in the capital. After I stopped you that day, I thought of a way to solve those monsters. I was away for a while, but I didn’t expect someone to open the cell. When I returned, the demons had been released.”

“In other words, when you went back, all the guards of Gecha Mansion had not died?”

“My sword can turn monsters into dust, but it can only cause knife wounds to ordinary people. So after I returned at that time, I locked the door and sealed all the guards who wanted to escape in the Gecha Mansion.” Liang Shuhong said indifferently, with no expression on his face, “After they were all dead, I killed the monsters. Later, the bodies of the guards were transported to the burial mound, and they all rose up in just two nights. So I killed them all.”

Disbelief appeared in Wen Chan’s expression, “You don’t look like such a ruthless person.”

Taking the Northern District alone into consideration, those people were all living people before they were demonised, including men, women, young, and old. It was hard for him to imagine how the gentle and elegant Liang Shuhong could do it.

“Kindness is useless, Your Highness.” Liang Shuhong seemed to be hurt by his expression and turned his gaze away. “I have no choice. Once a trace of demon poison is brought into the capital, everyone will die.”

“As long as Liang Yanbei is in the capital, the demons of Yanxiang Temple will not be able to release the demon poison to the capital. They could have only relied on that one opportunity. So in order to defend the capital, I could only kill them all and leave no one alive.”

Wen Chan was surprised and suspicious when he heard Liang Yanbei’s name, “What does this have to do with Liang Yanbei?”

Translator’s corner

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