Bab 4: Chapter 4: Good Dog
Yu Lingxi's only impression of the Desire Realm Immortal City was the great fire happened in the fourteenth year of Tianzhao, turning the Desire Realm Immortal City into a purgatory on earth.
At that time, Yu Lingxi resided in a secluded courtyard in the Zhao Mansion. Despite being half a city away, she could still clearly see the flames reflecting on half of the night sky, causing panic and chaos among the people. No one knew how the fire started, only that from then on, the Desire Realm Immortal City ceased to exist in the mortal realm.
Yu Lingxi was shaken in her heart. As the days of her father and brothers' expedition approached, the black market in the Desire Realm Immortal City became her only hope.
Entrusting this matter to others was not reassuring for her. Yu Lingxi looked at Tang Buli, who was currently nibbling on a pear, and blinked, saying, "A Li, can you do me a favor?"
Half an hour later, Yu Lingxi deceived her family and, accompanied by two alert and taciturn guards, smoothly boarded the carriage that came to pick her up in front of the Tang residence.
The carriage...
Swaying, heading towards the Desire Realm Immortal City.
"Oh, right, you need to wear this." Tang Buli somehow produced two veils, one red and one plain.
She handed the plain one to Yu Lingxi, explaining, "It's a rule in the Desire Realm Immortal City. Many influential and prominent figures visit there for recreation, and they fear being recognized. As a precaution, people wear veils or masks to conceal their identities."
Yu Lingxi nodded in understanding. Following Tang Buli's example, she tied the veil, leaving only a pair of charming and lively apricot eyes exposed, blinking playfully.
Tang Buli observed Yu Lingxi's reaction and suddenly said, "Lingxi, since you recovered from that illness, I feel like you've changed a lot."
Leaning against the carriage window, Yu Lingxi asked, "Changed in what way?"
Tang Buli shook her head, lifting the veil as she bit into a pear. "I can't put it into words, but I sense that you've become much bolder. In the past, even hearing the name Desire Realm Immortal City would startle you."
"Is that so?" Yu Lingxi seemed a bit absent-minded.
Having spent two years by Ning Yin's side in her past life, she had witnessed even more terrifying scenes. What was there to fear in a small, soon-to-be-destroyed Desire Realm Immortal City?
Fortunately, Tang Buli was not one to pry deeply. She lifted the curtain and said, "We've arrived."
Upon entering the gates of the Desire Realm Immortal City, it seemed not much different from an ordinary market, with vermilion gates, emerald curtains, and colorful silk lanterns everywhere.
However, following Tang Buli into the dim underground hall, they saw an imposing relief gate that seemed to reach the sky. Carved with fierce beast patterns, the relief gate slowly opened, as if unveiling another frenzied world. The bustling noise surged like a roaring ocean.
This underground city had no daylight, with lamps burning day and night. People indulging in various activities hid behind masks or veils to conceal their identities. Gambling, fighting, revelry, and feasting on blood and flesh were commonplace.
In the flower tower's wooden cages, several beautiful and numb girls beckoned customers from the street with a half-hearted interest.
Yu Lingxi even witnessed people in a gambling den beating a debtor, screams echoing, while the onlookers enthusiastically shouted, "Beat him to death."
Yu Lingxi frowned and sighed, "Such a place is not worth regretting even if it burns down."
Tang Buli looked puzzled, "Burns down? What are you talking about?"
Yu Lingxi coughed lightly, "Nothing."
Passing through the lively crowd and descending another level, the lights grew dimmer.
The so-called black market was just a desolate row of shops, filled with the stench of antiquity and decay.
Tang Buli led Yu Lingxi into a pharmacy, followed closely by two guards.
The shopkeeper was a delicate and frail young man. However, when he lifted his head from behind the counter, the oil lamp illuminated the scar on the other half of his face, ghastly like a ghost.
"What do you want?" He continued to use the abacus, almost lifelessly.
Ignoring the half-ferocious face, Yu Lingxi asked calmly, "Excuse me, do you have Nine Abyss Fragrance?"
The dry hand manipulating the abacus paused.
The shopkeeper raised his eyelid, glanced at Yu Lingxi, and said, "This is a forbidden medicine, three hundred taels, non-negotiable."
"How much?!" Tang Buli exclaimed, "What kind of rubbish medicine is this, so expensive?"
Yu Lingxi breathed a sigh of relief and quickly said, "Deal!" As long as it could help her father and brothers escape the impending northern expedition, she was willing to pay any amount.
Yu Lingxi brought out the silver coins she had saved since her youth, took off her hairpin and bracelets, and even borrowed twenty more taels from Tang Buli to barely gather the money for the Nine Abyss Fragrance.
She took out the carefully folded prescription from her sleeve, compared it, and confirmed everything was in order. She then wrapped the hard-to-come-by Nine Abyss Fragrance together with the prescription, smiling gently, "A Li, I'll return your silver. Tomorrow, I'll send someone to your mansion."
Tang Buli waved her hand generously, "Ah, no need to be so polite between us!"
The feeling of having someone to rely on was truly wonderful.
Yu Lingxi felt a warmth in her heart, "Let's go back."
She was preoccupied with the Nine Abyss Fragrance in her arms. When she turned to leave, she didn't notice a dark figure stumbling in her direction.
"Ugh!"
Her shoulder was bumped, causing Yu Lingxi to cry out in pain. The prescription and Nine Abyss Fragrance slipped from her hands, scattering on the ground.
Tang Buli quickly supported Yu Lingxi and angrily stared at the intruding youth, "Are you blind? Can't you watch where you're going?"
Yu Lingxi's immediate reaction was to crouch down and pick up the medicinal herbs. Looking up, she said, "It's okay..."
Her voice seemed as if it were being strangled, and Yu Lingxi suddenly widened her eyes.
In front of her stood a young man dressed in black martial attire. The fabric was indiscernible, and the upper half of his face was covered by a dark blue-black mask, revealing only a straight nose and pale thin lips.
He held his chest where he had been bumped, and when he glanced, the eyes beneath the mask were slightly raised, conveying a sense of indifference and coldness.
With just half of his face visible, Yu Lingxi recognized him in an instant.
Too... too alike!
She would recognize those thin lips and jawline even if she were turned to ashes!
The young man exuded a chilling aura, and his icy black eyes swept over Yu Lingxi, fixing on the prescription lying on the ground.
A trace of darkness flickered in his eyes.
In a hurry, Yu Lingxi picked up the prescription and the Nine Abyss Fragrance, hiding them behind her back.
The resentments and grievances from her past life, which she had tried so hard to forget, surged up. Yu Lingxi's knees weakened, and she almost uttered the words "Royal Prince" involuntarily.
Her body trembled instinctively, but her anger couldn't be suppressed.
Stay calm, Yu Lingxi.
Even if this person is really Ning Yin, he doesn't recognize you. There's nothing to fear!
Yes, nothing to fear.
With this thought, Yu Lingxi gained some confidence, enduring the chill that seemed to permeate her entire body, facing the gaze of the black-clad youth.
"You've arrived?"
The shopkeeper seemed to recognize the black-clad youth, breaking the silence with a chuckle, "To recover so quickly and be able to move around, truly fortunate."
The black-clad youth withdrew his icy probing gaze and walked to the counter to collect the medicine. Instead of paying with silver, he tossed a bloody iron pendant onto the counter and left.
His steps were swift, and as he passed by, Yu Lingxi could feel a cold gaze sweeping over her, sending shivers down her spine.
Yu Lingxi distinctly remembered in her past life that he had a leg ailment, always carrying a cane and walking very slowly. Is he really Ning Yin?
Yu Lingxi hesitated, but the deep-seated oppressive feeling told her she was not mistaken.
Just as she was thinking, the guard beside her changed his expression, "Miss, you're bleeding."
Following his gaze, Yu Lingxi lowered her head and indeed found her sleeve stained with blood.
Tang Buli was also startled and quickly pulled her, "Are you okay, Lingxi? Where are you injured?"
Yu Lingxi checked her arm, finding no injuries. She then said with composure, "It's fine, not my blood."
It could only be the blood she accidentally picked up when Ning Yin collided with her.
In any case, it was the same in her previous life; his body was always covered in the blood of various unfortunate souls. In the end, she had to endure the nausea and wipe his hands one by one for him, while Ning Yin looked down from a high position, enjoying her distressed yet helpless expression.
Even though she got the medicine, Yu Lingxi's heart remained unsettled, filled with unease.
She couldn't help but think: Could it be that during the years Ning Yin disappeared, he spent his time reveling and frolicking in the Desire Realm Immortal City?
No wonder no one could trace his whereabouts during his exile in her past life.
Countless doubts surged in her mind.
Yu Lingxi gritted her teeth, stuffed the medicinal herbs into Tang Buli's arms, and said, "A Li, hold onto these for me."
Having said that, she turned and quickly followed in the direction Ning Yin had left.
The guard, feeling uneasy, hurriedly clasped his fists at Tang Buli and also followed.
Leaving Tang Buli standing in place, holding the medicinal herbs with a confused expression, muttering, "Is she going to settle the score with that person?"
In a blink of an eye, the familiar and slender figure had not gone far.
The orange and yellow light of the lanterns adorned the bustling street, with performers dancing, and people wearing various masks shining brightly. Only he, draped in a black robe, was darker than the night.
Yu Lingxi struggled to make her way through the restless crowd.
Turning around a street corner, she reached a magnificent seven-story building, and Ning Yin had disappeared.
Glancing up, Yu Lingxi saw a shiny plaque hanging on the grand door of the building, reading "Beast Arena."
She wanted to enter but was stopped by her personal guard.
Qingxiao was a loyal and straightforward person. Apologetically, he said, "Miss, you cannot go to such a place."
Yu Lingxi asked, "Why?"
Qingxiao glanced at the influential figures coming in and out of the place and lowered his voice, "Inside the Beast Arena, they don't fight beasts, but people. Influential families raise slaves and force them to fight on stage, betting and enjoying the spectacle..."
Qingxiao's words ended here.
Yu Lingxi recalled Ning Yin's madness in her previous life, filled with evil, and figured he must enjoy such bloody entertainments. This place might be his hiding spot.
Surveying the extravagant and absurd nature of this extravagant den of vice, Yu Lingxi understood in her heart: indeed, he had always been inclined toward pleasure-seeking from a young age; he was not a good person!
Thinking back to the desolation after her death in her past life, countless thoughts surged in her mind...
After some impulsiveness, rationality slightly prevailed. Ning Yin was not an easy person to deal with, and even if there was anger in her heart, a careful plan was needed.
Yu Lingxi stood for a while, seeing Ning Yin not coming out again, and decided to leave. However, at this moment, the gate of the Beast Arena opened, and a familiar figure was roughly pushed out, shackled with clanking chains.
"Stop running around!"
The assailant had a brutish face, shouting, "The honored guest has been waiting for you. Why haven't you gone to bow and apologize?"
Seeing that figure, Yu Lingxi momentarily forgot to leave, just standing in the crowd, witnessing the absurdity and strangeness of this world.
The youth in the black robe was tied with shackles, violently kicked in the knee pit, falling to the ground, and the newly bought medicinal herbs scattered around him.
He looked somewhat embarrassed, but his back remained straight, and his pale lips pressed into a thin line. He tried to stand, shivering, but without success.
Two guards in imposing outfits approached, pressing his shoulders ruthlessly. The youth knelt again with a thud.
"Let him go this time. He'll be needed for a duel later."
A portly man in a brocade robe emerged from the carriage, wearing a ridiculous theater mask. He placed his hand in front of the carriage and said, "If he's injured, what's the point of fighting later?"
Upon hearing this, the two guards finally released the young man.
"Lucky you, the esteemed guest is willing to spend a considerable sum to have you participate."
One of them kicked the youth, saying with a malicious tone, "Little beast, bow and welcome the distinguished guest!"
The youth lowered his head, and under the mask, a deep and dark atmosphere was evident. Kneeling beside the carriage in a humiliated posture, he crawled slowly forward.
"Look at him, such a good dog!"
Surrounded by brightly dressed men and women, they laughed and jeered as if the young man pressed on the ground were some filthy creature, their eyes filled with disdain and disgust.
The man on the carriage seemed quite satisfied with his performance. He patted his round belly, then stepped on the youth's back with his spotless boots, using him as a stepping stool to descend!
This man was fat, with a mind full of schemes, and his weight was beyond ordinary.
The youth groaned, his entire upper body pressed down, hands veins bulging, trembling.
The dark half of the mask was knocked off, rolling aside, revealing the young man's injured, pale, and handsome face.
Sweat dripped from his jaw, and his disheveled hair covered his gloomy eyes.
At that moment, the last trace of luck in Yu Lingxi's heart disappeared.
A heavy hammer seemed to fall in her ears, thundering loudly.
Separated by the bustling crowd, she involuntarily took a step back, feeling as if some cognition was collapsing, turning the world upside down.
Indeed, it was Ning Yin, the young Ning Yin.The Regent who was insufferably arrogant, forever wearing a purple robe, laughing while slaughtering, the man who terrified the entire world three years later...
Now, he was being ruthlessly stepped on, kneeling and bowing to some unfamiliar noble.
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