Listening to the creaking sound of the wheels outside the swill bucket, their eyes gradually darkened with helplessness and anxiety. No matter how fearless they were, they were just two little girls of seven or eight, pampered and spoiled, who had never suffered such hardship before.
"It's all your fault! You chose to watch some kind of acrobatics instead of the lanterns. What if someone kidnaps us? What do we do?" The eldest sister, Bai Xi, said coldly.
"Isn't the Suzhou hotpot you wanted to eat also in South City? Why are you blaming me?" Bai Shuo raged, her eyes swirling with guilt, clearly refusing to acknowledge it.
Born together, they knew each other's thoughts with a glance, even with rags stuffed in their mouths.
Suddenly, the ox cart stopped, and their foreheads slammed against the swill bucket, emitting a muffled groan—both smelly and painful. The two sisters glanced at each other, seeing the worry in each other's eyes, and turned their heads away, their bickering ending.
The oxcart stopped heading south and turned to continue moving.
Didn't they just leave the city gate? Are they going back to the city? Bai Xi's eyes lit up, but she gradually realized that something was wrong, and her face turned pale.
They were not continuing to go south, but going north around the city wall. The people who kidnapped them wanted to take them to the north from the beginning, and going through South City was just a cover.
What lay outside the north city wall? There was nothing except the imperial mausoleum. Would Father find them? Would Mother be worried?
Bai Xi and Bai Shuo looked at each other, and Bai Shuo suddenly leaned over and rubbed Bai Xi's forehead.
Axi, don't be afraid. I will protect you, and you must run first if you have a chance!
Bai Xi naturally understood what was in Bai Shuo's eyes. A hint of anger flashed across her eyes, and she shook her head.
Bai Shuo became anxious and hummed twice.
A knock echoed on the swill bucket, followed by a cold, gloomy voice. "Behave yourself, or I'll sell you to a brothel!"
The thumping sound sent a tingling sensation through the bucket, sending shockwaves through the two sisters' scalps. A sudden palpitation of fear washed over them, and the two sisters huddled together in silence.
Hearing the word "brothel," Bai Shuo finally grew fearful. She glanced at her older sister, who remained silent, terrified that Bai Xi would be sold into a brothel.
Axi would one day become queen—it didn't matter if she herself was sold, but nothing must happen to her sister.
If she hadn't listened to the street talk and wanted to see the circus in South City, and hadn't instigated Axi to throw off the guards who were secretly protecting them, the thieves wouldn't have found an opportunity to kidnap them both.
What did these two men want with her and Axi? Were they her father's enemies, or did they intend to kidnap them and sell them for money?
Bai Shuo lowered her head in guilt, dizzy from the swill in the dark, but she remained motionless.
"Brother, these two girls today are really good. You can tell they're excellent quality."
Outside the ox cart, Qian Er was thin and hunched. He rubbed the black air on his wrist, turned his head to look at the swill bucket behind him, and his hand holding the reins trembled slightly with excitement. "We can last for a long time this time, right?"
Qian Da was much calmer. He recalled the appearance and demeanor of the two girls in the swill bucket, and always felt that although they were young, they were very noble. He frowned. "Could girls with such excellent spiritual energy be from an aristocratic family? The capital is under the feet of the emperor. If we touch children of an aristocratic family and alert the Dali Temple, we'll be unable to move forward."
"How could that be, brother? Although these two girls look plump and wealthy, I recognize their clothes—they're just ordinary Jiangnan fabrics. They're accompanied by only one guard. At most, they're children of wealthy families, not the children of noble families. Besides, how can a daughter of a noble family go out to play at such a young age?"
Bai Xi and Bai Shuo, who were in the swill bucket, were about to cry. There really was a daughter of a noble family in Dajing who was raised in a free-range environment from a young age.
Bai Xi was appointed Crown Princess of the Eastern Palace at a young age. She was required to learn everything from music, chess, calligraphy, painting, women's arts and etiquette. General Bai felt sorry for his eldest daughter, thinking that after entering the palace at the age of fifteen, she would never be able to leave the palace again. He would take his two daughters out to play on the first and fifteenth day of every month, and even if he was busy, he would have the guards escort them out. The two daughters of the Bai family, one quiet and elegant, the other lively and active, were both incredibly courageous, and such outings were commonplace. However, due to their special status, they sought to avoid attracting attention, so whenever they ventured out, they deliberately changed into the cloth clothing their wet nurse had brought from home. This time, their actions backfired, and they were targeted and abducted.
Spiritual energy? What did the thieves outside mean when they said they possessed spiritual energy? A chill ran down the sisters' backs, and they glanced at each other, seeing the worry in each other's eyes.
If they truly intended to sell them, it would be fine—their father would find them eventually. But if they didn't, why capture them?
The ox cart finally stopped after half an hour of winding roads outside the capital. The lid of the swill bucket was lifted, and Bai Xi and Bai Shuo looked up sharply, meeting two pairs of gloomy, sickly eyes.
"They are indeed good stock." Qian Da waved the candlelight over the two girls twice, then lifted Bai Xi from the swill bucket with one hand.
Bai Shuo, startled, tried to wrap her legs around Bai Xi, but a pair of hands suddenly appeared and grabbed her by the collar.
"Don't worry, little one. You can't get away." Qian Er, much thinner than Qian Da, barely managed to pull Bai Shuo out of the slop bucket with both hands.
The two sisters were thrown to the ground and the rags were taken out of their mouths. They coughed painfully, then looked up at the scene before them despite the dust covering their bodies.
They were in a vast clearing on the mountainside. Behind it was a towering mountain range, shaped like the body of a dragon, winding for a hundred meters, connected to a majestic head that soared in all directions.
Outside the north city? A dragon head? This was the mountain behind the imperial mausoleum outside the imperial capital!
"The mausoleum!" Bai Xi cried out.
Though young, Bai Xi had vast experience, unlike Bai Shuo's naiveté. The usually majestic mausoleum looked especially cold and eerie in the night, sending a chill through the two sisters.
The Qian brothers were stunned when they saw Bai Xi identify the place. Qian Da frowned. How could an ordinary girl recognize this place so easily?
Bai Shuo, upon hearing it was the imperial mausoleum, also felt a sense of foreboding. Suppressing her fear, she stepped in front of Bai Xi and shouted at the Qian brothers, "Who are you? How dare you arrest us? Why did you bring us to the mausoleum?"
"Hmph, you little brats, you have sharp eyes. You actually recognized this place." Qian Er snorted. "Of course you're lucky. We brothers brought you here."
He was about to pinch Bai Shuo's fair face, but Qian Da stopped him.
"Don't make things complicated. I think these two girls are not ordinary people. Let's get this done quickly and return to the city as soon as possible, before they're noticed."
Qian Er withdrew his hand regretfully, but then something suddenly struck him, making him excited. He stopped looking at the two sisters and turned to kneel in the middle of the clearing, facing the mausoleum.
Qian Er pulled a dagger from his bosom. The dagger was pure black, engraved with a nine-headed serpent, and emanated a wisp of black energy. He drew his sword from its sheath and slashed his left wrist without hesitation.
Bai Xi and Bai Shuo screamed, and then saw an even more horrifying scene.
Qian Er's slit wrist revealed nothing but white bones, devoid of even a drop of flesh. The black energy clinging to the bones reeked of decay. The black energy from the dagger and Qian Er's bones tangled joyfully, emitting a sinister chirping sound before merging into one and burrowing into the ground.
Qian Er continued to mutter incoherently, his forehead pressed against the ground, a look of profound reverence, as if awaiting something.
"Who are you? What are you?" Bai Shuo's lips trembled this time, yet she stubbornly stood before Bai Xi.
"Human?" Qian Da sneered, wiping his lips, stained with black energy. "Of course—someone to take you to see the gods."
Even without cutting the flesh, the hazy black energy on Qian Da's wrist was visible, suggesting that beneath this skin, there must be white bones.
Bai Xi and Bai Shuo had heard many stories of immortals and monsters in operas, but they had never imagined they were true, that there were truly beings in the world that weren't "human."
"My father is Bai Xun." A slightly trembling yet forcedly calm voice suddenly rang out. Bai Xi struggled to her feet, quietly shielding Bai Shuo with her body and glaring fiercely at Qian Da. "My father is General Bai Xun, the Pillar of the State, and I am His Majesty's personally appointed Crown Prince's legitimate wife. It doesn't matter if you're human, demon, or ghost—if you dare touch us, His Majesty and my father will not let you go."
Qian Da frowned at Bai Xi's words, thinking he'd indeed provoked two formidable opponents. He'd guessed these two girls were no ordinary people, but he hadn't expected them to be General Bai Xun's daughters. With Bai Xun's daughters missing, the capital would surely be in turmoil. Even escaping unscathed would be difficult, let alone collecting tribute.
Qian Da glared fiercely at Qian Er, who knelt on the ground, his heart wavering. If the Divine Lord erased their memories and secretly sent them back to the city, no one would know what had happened. Nowhere else in the world could there be so many children with such high-grade spiritual roots. If he and Qian Er were to survive, they couldn't stop providing tribute to their master.
Just as Qian Da was hesitating, a gust of cold wind swept by, and a stench ten times more putrid than before rose from the ground. A three-foot crack appeared in the open space, and a man wrapped in a black robe appeared above the crack.
Seeing this man appear, the Qian brothers showed joy, and quickly knelt on the ground and shouted, "God!"
God? The Bai Xi sisters looked at each other in bewilderment. Could this monster be a god?
The man lifted the black robe, revealing an evil and ferocious face.
Bai Shuo's body was mostly hidden behind Bai Xi.
The black-robed man only took a glance at Bai Xi, his eyes full of greed.
"Little child, are you the Crown Princess chosen by the Emperor?"
The black-robed man had a fishy odor that could not be concealed, and his pair of bloodshot eyes clearly showed that he was not human.
Bai Xi's hands hidden behind her back trembled slightly, but she met the black-robed man's blood-red fierce eyes calmly. "Yes, I am the Crown Princess appointed by His Majesty. You'd better—"
"Let you go?" The black-robed man laughed arrogantly, and a fishy evil wind blew. "I am not afraid of the Supreme Lord of the Nine Heavens Palace. What can a mere mortal emperor do to me?" He licked his lips, his teeth sharp, looking at Bai Xi with unconcealed joy. "You are worthy of being a baby reincarnated with the fate of the Queen Star—you are indeed a natural spiritual product. After I eat you, the injuries on my body can at least be recovered by half!"
"Congratulations, God!" When the Qian brothers heard this, they no longer cared about the fear of kidnapping the emperor's daughter-in-law. Qian Da flattered the black-robed man and asked for credit. "As long as the Lord God is in good health, it will be worth it for us brothers to risk our lives to capture these two spiritual items from the capital." He knelt and took a step forward, stretching out his wrist with black energy. "Lord God, we..."
"What's the hurry!" The black-robed man snorted coldly. "After I have enjoyed them, will I treat you unfairly?"
"I dare not, I dare not." After being yelled at by the black-robed man, Qian Da immediately dared not speak, and pulled Qian Er to retreat timidly to the side.
"Monster, don't eat my sister!" A clear and beautiful voice sounded behind Bai Xi. Bai Shuo had emerged from the shadow that Bai Xi had been protecting her with. She opened her hands to block Bai Xi and shouted to the man in black robe: "I am Bai Xi, the Crown Princess appointed by His Majesty! She is my sister Bai Shuo. Eat me, and you let her go. As long as you let her go, my father and His Majesty will never seek revenge on you!"
"A Shuo! What nonsense are you talking about? I am—" Bai Xi's face changed, and she was about to pull Bai Shuo back, but this time she couldn't pull away Bai Shuo's body that was protecting her.
"It's all your fault! If you hadn't wanted to go to South City, how could I have been tied up and brought to this damn place! Bai Shuo, you evil spirit, I hate you the most!"
Bai Shuo stared at Bai Xi, yelled at her with red eyes, and held her body down tightly.
Bai Xi's lips trembled, and tears instantly filled her eyes.
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