After being escorted out of the dungeon by the guards, I was stuffed into a sack again and placed on a carriage, being taken back to the Tai Shen Palace.
After a long and bumpy ride, the carriage finally stopped. I was then lifted out of the carriage and carried to an unknown location. Not long after, I was placed on the ground. Only then was the sack untied and I was let out. I looked around at the familiar surroundings and then at the pile of firewood in the corner. It dawned on me that this was the wood storage room where I had been locked up before when I was at the Tai Shen Palace.
"Hey, you guys!" I was about to say something when they walked away as if I wasn't there, locking the door behind them. I rushed to the door, knocking and shouting, "Hey! Can you change my room? I don't want to stay in the wood storage."
However, no one answered. Apart from the sound of chaotic footsteps, there was nothing outside the door. I squatted by the door, sighing as I held A Li in my arms.
Suddenly, I heard voices outside. Listening carefully, I realized one of the voices sounded like Zi Yu, the Palace Master of Tai Shen Palace.
I heard her say, "Did my brother only say this?"
"There's more, Madam. This is the Purple Orchid Jade Cream that the General entrusted to me. He also said that everything is handled and you don't need to worry."
"Since that's the case, I can rest assured. You may leave."
"Yes."
The voices soon faded away. Feeling curious, I stood up, wanting to see if there was any possibility of escape. Suddenly, the door burst open. I couldn't dodge in time and was knocked to the ground by the door.
The butler who entered looked at me lying on the ground, appearing as if I were trying to take my own life. He cautioned me, "Miss, if you want to end your life, there will be plenty of opportunities. No need to rush this."
Rubbing my head, which ached from the impact, I retorted angrily, "End my life? You're the one who should end your life! Didn't you even knock before coming in?"
The butler said helplessly, "Who knew you'd be by the door? If you have a habit of clinging to doors, you should have told me earlier, so I wouldn't bump into you next time."
I was speechless. Just as I was about to use my superior linguistic skills to educate him, he preempted me, "Guards, tie up this young lady to prevent her from doing anything foolish again."
Several burly men responded from a distance, "Yes," and then walked in with ropes. I hadn't expected this cunning butler to have another trick up his sleeve. Seeing the burly men in front of me, I was terrified. "You, you, what are you doing, what are you doing!"
One of the men snatched A Li from my arms and placed him in the corner. Then, the men worked together to tie my hands and feet.
I said angrily, "No one is coming to save me this time. Why are you still tying me up? Let me go!"
The butler looked at my cute appearance and laughed heartily, "Little girl, I must say, you're quite capable. You managed to escape from such a secure place as the dungeon. How can we not tie you up securely?"
"It was all a coincidence, a coincidence!" I argued.
He didn't listen and waved his hand, "Alright, let's go back."
Several men followed him out the door, closing it casually and locking it.
I gritted my teeth and said, "Truly inhuman. Even like this, they still tie me up."
Then, silence enveloped the surroundings. I didn't know how many times I had been bound or stuffed into sacks. There was no novelty to it at all.
"Alas!" I sighed, crawling on the ground like a mutated caterpillar. I felt the coldness from the floor, which was good for cooling my agitated heart.
Suddenly, I heard a faint whimpering sound not far away. I slowly looked up and saw A Li waking up, looking dazed and exhausted.
I crawled towards him and softly called out, "A Li, A Li." A Li slightly opened his eyes, then slowly closed them as if extremely tired, without any other movement. Panic welled up in my heart, and I guessed, "Is A Li in danger? Has his condition worsened?"
The more I thought about it, the more worried and scared I became. I quickly lowered my head to his stomach and shook him vigorously, thinking, "As long as he doesn't fall asleep, he'll be fine. That's how it's always portrayed on TV."
With great effort, I shook him until my head felt dizzy. A Li reacted to my commotion, slightly opening his mouth to sneeze, slowly opening his eyes, and reaching out a small hand to touch my head, saying, "Don't worry, I'm fine."
Seeing him wake up, I was deeply moved, a mix of joy and sadness. With a slight sob, I slowly said, "A Li, you, you're finally awake. Do you know how long you've been asleep?"
A Li shook his head, looking bewildered.
I took my head off his stomach and sat up with difficulty, telling him about my worries. "You slept for a day and a night, with no improvement. I was so worried, worried you would never wake up again."
A Li stretched and sat up, rubbing his head. He transformed back into his human form, a smile on his face, "How could anything happen to me? Don't worry, I'm here to protect you."
"I'm here to protect you." This sentence was like a heavy hammer in the cold winter, striking steadily at my heart, instantly releasing a flower-like joy.
I never expected to be so important to A Li. He had always wanted to protect me. I had always thought he needed my protection. In that moment, I was deeply touched, and tears welled up in my eyes, shimmering like soft stars. With a cute and innocent gaze, I looked at him, moved, "Look at you, you're still thinking of me even when you're like this. You'll really make people cry."
A Li looked at my sudden, even cuter and more naive appearance, and was momentarily lost in thought. He slowly reached out and ruffled my hair like petting a small animal, saying slowly, "Who told you to recognize me as your elder brother."
"Elder brother." The words almost made me burst out laughing. I smiled sheepishly, "You still remember that?"
"Yes, I don't know why, but I remember that event very clearly."
"Then should I call you elder brother from now on?"
A Li shook his head and said, "Elder brother sounds too awkward. We are friends. Just call me A Li."
"Okay, as long as you're okay, I'll call you whatever."
A Li smiled indulgently, slowly stood up, came behind me, and untied my ropes. Freed from the restraints, I quickly stood up and stretched my limbs.
A Li looked around, confused, "Where are we?"
"We're in the Tai Shen Palace. This is the wood storage room of the Tai Shen Palace."
He looked at the pile of firewood leaning against the wall and murmured, "This is the Tai Shen Palace, huh?" Then he asked in confusion, "I remember we were clearly in the dungeon, how did we end up back in the Tai Shen Palace?"
Speaking of this, I was filled with indignation. "A Li, you don't know that those guards and the Tai Shen Palace are in cahoots. That head guard is the brother of Zi Yu, the Palace Master of Tai Shen Palace."
Hearing my words, A Li also sighed, "I didn't expect them to have this connection. It seems this Tai Shen Palace is also a prominent clan with considerable power."
I sighed and slumped to the ground, feeling dejected. "I don't think we can escape. That Zi Yu seems very powerful."
A Li slowly sat beside me and patted my shoulder to comfort me, "It's okay. No matter what difficulties we encounter, I will accompany you through them."
A Li is always like this, maintaining an optimistic and positive attitude no matter the situation. My heart warmed. I wondered what good deeds I had done in my past life to have such a loyal and steadfast friend. That warm current flowed into my heart, making it pound.
With no other options at the moment, we could only adapt to the situation.
At night, the firelight flickered outside. The moving shadows flashed through the small window by the door onto the wall. After a while, the light source stabilized, and a strong beam of light shone through the door and window, illuminating the entire wood storage room.
A Li and I were both curious about this strange light. A Li asked in confusion, "What happened?"
"I don't know. Could someone have come to rescue us?" I guessed, really hoping it was the case.
A short while later, we suddenly heard hurried footsteps outside, and then the door was opened. A maid entered, carrying food, and carefully placed it on the ground.
Are they feeding a dog? I was speechless.
I was about to say something to her, but I decided to ask about the situation outside first. "Sister, what's happening outside? Why is it so bright?"
Seeing me ask, she was startled, then came to her senses. She carefully picked up the food again and left without looking back, closing the door. I cried out in a hurry, "Hey! Don't go! We haven't eaten yet. I won't ask anymore, just leave the food here."
A Li looked helplessly at the heavily closed iron door and asked in confusion, "This place is really strange. You can't even ask a question."
I complained resentfully, "What's going on? If they don't answer, fine, but why did she take the food away? Are they trying to starve us?"
As soon as I finished speaking, my stomach rumbled like a drum. A Li looked at my stomach curiously. I felt a bit embarrassed and covered my stomach, saying awkwardly, "Maybe I haven't eaten all day, and I'm getting a bit weak."
He smiled understandingly and slowly reached into his clothes, pulling out a ripe, but very cold, sweet potato and handed it to me. "This is a sweet potato I bought after coming to Bei Shen Du. I was going to give it to you, but I forgot later."
I didn't expect A Li to have provisions. I happily took the sweet potato and teased him curiously, "A Li, you're too kind. How did it not get crushed by you?"
A Li explained, "Perhaps I took some precautions before putting it in, so it didn't get crushed. Eat it quickly."
Looking at the sweet potato in my hand, my mouth watered. I really wanted to swallow it whole, but I rationally broke the sweet potato in half, giving one half to A Li and keeping the other for myself.
A Li waved his hand, "I'm not hungry. You eat it all."
I shook my head, "You eat some too. I can't eat this much by myself." Well, I admit, at this moment, I could eat a whole pig.
A Li reluctantly took the sweet potato and started eating. While he wasn't paying attention, I turned away and swallowed my half of the sweet potato in two bites.
Then, I slowly turned back, looking dejected again. A Li looked down and saw my empty hands, asking in confusion, "Where's your sweet potato?"
I jokingly explained, "That sweet potato was too eager and ran into my stomach all at once."
A Li was amused by my words and proactively offered me the sweet potato he had taken a bite of, "Eat mine."
I shook my head and refused.
A Li insisted on putting it in my hand, "I'm really not hungry. If you don't eat it, I'll throw it away."
I quickly took it and said happily, "I'll eat it, I'll eat it." Then, in two more bites, it was gone. A Li looked at me in surprise, not expecting me to be such a hidden glutton. He couldn't help but laugh heartily, "Your eating speed is impressive. If anyone were to compete with you for food, they'd definitely lose."
I smiled sheepishly, thinking, "It's not that exaggerated."
Then, I stood up and walked to the door and window to look outside. I saw the servants in the courtyard bustling about, as if busy with something important.
A Li guessed, "I guess they are preparing for the sacrificial ceremony."
I asked him with some confusion, "How do you know?"
"I heard someone talking about it on the way here."
"So what should we do now?"
"We can only wait."
"Wait?"
"Yes, only when the opportunity is right can we escape."
"Alas!" I sighed, shedding tears of emotion.
On the other side, Zi Yu wrote a letter to her family and handed it to a servant to deliver to the palace. She then called for the butler and handed him a list, instructing him, "This sacrificial ceremony is of great importance. Go and prepare quickly."
The butler took the list and responded with a "Yes" before leaving.
After giving instructions, she seemed to remember something and slowly walked to the outside of the wood storage room. Standing in front of the iron door, she looked inside through the door and window. She only saw two people lying on the ground, appearing to be heavily drunk, swaying from side to side, sprawled haphazardly, and fast asleep.
Seeing this scene, she let out a slight chuckle. She called for the head maid and instructed, "Prepare some good dishes for them later. No wine, though. She probably won't be used to our Tai Shen Palace's wine."
"Yes."
After finishing these instructions, she left with satisfaction. The maid immediately went to prepare the food according to her instructions.
Not long after, someone was heard knocking on the door and shouting, "Get up! Get up!" The maid knocked on the door with one hand and held the dishes with the other, standing outside the door and shouting loudly, "You're really lucky today. Our Madam is merciful and is rewarding you with some good dishes. Eat quickly."
After saying this, she opened the door, placed the dishes on the ground, and muttered, "Madam is truly merciful to be so kind to these two little thieves." Then, she closed the door and left with peace of mind.
Hearing the woman's words, I was speechless. It seemed they knew nothing and only regarded us as thieves.
A Li secretly opened his eyes to look at me, then closed them again, pretending to be asleep.
My hungry stomach began to rumble again. As soon as the person left, I sat up properly and called out to A Li, "A Li, A Li, come here quickly."
A Li opened his eyes, snickered, and moved closer to me. I gazed at the delicious food with starry eyes. My feet felt like they had springs, and I leaped up, bounced to the door, and with a silly grin, picked up the dishes and ran back to A Li, excitedly saying, "It smells so good! Eat quickly, don't go hungry."
He held his head and still shook it, "I don't want to eat. You eat it."
I was a little worried and asked him, "You didn't eat the sweet potato, and you're not eating the food. Are you feeling unwell?"
"No, I'm not hungry yet."
"Then, I'll save some for you."
Looking at the delicious food, I divided it into two portions, one for A Li and one for myself. Looking at my portion, I couldn't hold back any longer and wolfed it down.
Whether it was because I was too hungry or because it was too delicious, after a few bites, it was all gone. I stared at A Li's portion, my mouth watering.
A Li looked at my longing eyes with helplessness. He waved his hand, "I don't need to eat. You eat my portion too."
"Is it really okay?" I asked cautiously.
"It's really okay."
"Then, I'll just eat a small bite."
"You eat it all."
"No, no, no, I'll just eat a small bite." I insisted. I didn't know why, but I had never felt so ravenously hungry when I was hungry before. Perhaps I was growing. If so, eating a little more wouldn't hurt.
After taking a small bite with my chopsticks, A Li's words kept echoing in my mind, "You can eat it all, you eat it all."
Then, I couldn't hold back any longer. Like a madwoman, I picked up the bowl and chopsticks and ate all the food. Only then was I half-full. I then licked the bowl clean until it shone. Satisfied, I looked at the empty bowl. Then I remembered A Li and looked at him with a wronged and self-reproaching expression.
A Li looked at my guilty and wronged eyes and couldn't help but smile, "It's okay. I'm very happy that you could finish it all."
I blamed myself, "You haven't eaten anything all day. Alas, it's all my fault for having such a big appetite. How can I eat so much?"
A Li shook his head, "You and I are different. You are human, and I am a demon. Demons can go without eating, but humans are different. It's clear that food is essential for you to sustain your life."
I put the bowl aside and thanked him, "A Li, you're so kind, always so tolerant of me. I feel a little embarrassed. How are you feeling now? Are you still uncomfortable?"
I suddenly remembered A Li's health.
"It's fine. It's probably just that I've been too tired these past few days."
As soon as he finished speaking, the iron door was suddenly opened, and a head poked in. It was the older sister who had delivered the food earlier.
The older sister looked at the empty bowls on the ground and said, "It seems you were really hungry. You ate so cleanly. I should have brought more. Alright, hand me the bowls and chopsticks."
I stood up and handed her the empty bowls, saying to her, "Next time, can you make two portions? One portion is not enough for two people."
She agreed, "Okay, if there's a chance, I'll make two portions for you."
Before I could understand what she meant by "if there's a chance," she had already withdrawn and closed the door.
A Li yawned slightly, his eyes half-closed, "I'm a bit sleepy and want to sleep. Do you want to sleep?"
"I'll sleep too."
Saying this, we both leaned against the wall and slept sideways.