Chapter Eighty-Nine: Hiding

Lu Zhe and the old healer hurried into the palace with its azure tiles and vermilion ridges. The moment they stepped inside, a vast hall unfolded before them, resplendent with gold and jade. Twelve pillars of white stone, each broad enough for two men to encircle with their arms, stood in orderly ranks around the hall, supporting the entire palace.

Lu Zhe could not help exclaiming in admiration, "How magnificent."

The old healer gave a casual wave. "Goodbye," he said, then strode deeper into the hall.

"Wait, Master, where are you going?" Lu Zhe was jolted back to his senses by the words and hurriedly called after him.

As he walked, the old healer replied, "Just looking around. I want to see whether there are any traces of the miraculous herb. And remember, we’ll meet back here later."

He was already growing distant, and his voice came and went, fading until it could no longer be heard clearly at all.

Lu Zhe stood there in a daze, watching the old healer disappear behind a screen. After a moment, he sighed helplessly, looked around the hall, and suddenly noticed a staircase not far away on the right. Since he had nothing else to do, he quickly made his way over and climbed to the second floor.

On the second floor, Lu Zhe found that the space had been divided into many small rooms, much like private chambers. These rooms were arranged along a narrow corridor, split evenly to either side in perfect symmetry. They were probably bedrooms or the like.

At the sight, Lu Zhe frowned slightly and headed straight for the third floor.

Up on the third floor, he glanced about at random and found the space to be quite large, not nearly as cramped as the second floor, and far more tranquil and elegant than the first. It lacked the splendid opulence below and instead carried an air of refined simplicity, like a scholar’s study.

Lu Zhe quickly came to the center. The arrangement here was very plain: though the area was not small, the entire layout consisted of only a single raised platform with five steps leading up to it. On the platform sat a table, a chair, and a screen, all of them made of wood, lending the place an added touch of quiet grace.

Lu Zhe climbed the platform and came to the table. On it lay only the most ordinary objects: brush, ink, paper, and inkstone, neatly arranged.

Walking around the table, Lu Zhe looked toward the screen behind it. It was pressed close against the rear wall. On it was painted a single scene: a desert and a setting sun about to sink in the west. The last light of evening spilled over the yellow sands, staining them a deep dark red. Apart from the sun, there was nothing else in the painting—no people, no objects. Looking at it, one felt a desolate sorrow.

Lu Zhe drew his thoughts back from the painting, quickly stepped down from the platform, and looked around again. Finding nothing else worth seeing, he went directly to the stairs leading up to the fourth floor.

When he reached the fourth floor, what met his eyes startled him. The floor was smaller than the three below, which was nothing unusual, but what was strange was that its furnishings were even sparser than those of the second floor. In the entire spacious room there was only a bed—a very large bed—hung with curtains on all four sides, placed right in the middle.

Lu Zhe looked toward the bed and saw that it was immense. Five men of his build could lie across it without trouble. At the moment, the bedding on it was slightly raised, as if someone were sleeping beneath it.

He had intended to go around it and continue to the fifth floor, but to his shock he discovered there was no staircase at all. There was no way to the fifth floor. Damn it, the building looked so tall from outside, and yet it only had four levels? Go to hell.

After cursing inwardly several times, just as Lu Zhe was about to turn back down, he suddenly caught sight of the blanket on the bed twitching, as though the sleeper had turned over.

Curiosity stirred. Though he did not want to look, his curiosity ultimately won out. He tiptoed toward the enormous bed.

When he reached the bedside, Lu Zhe bent down. In the faint starlight leaking through the window, he made out the person lying there.

A woman. A very beautiful woman. The kind of woman who could make any man lose his soul and never wish to leave.

Her skin was white and tender enough to seem almost fragile, exquisitely pale even in the night. Her brows and eyes were like a painting, her cheeks delicate and rosy, her face of such perfect beauty that it seemed almost beyond the world.

At that moment, the lovely woman was sleeping peacefully.

"Wow, what a beautiful girl," Lu Zhe murmured in admiration before he could stop himself.

The woman suddenly turned slightly in her sleep, and Lu Zhe was so startled he did not dare breathe. Only after confirming that she had not awakened did he quietly exhale. Just as he turned to leave, however, the woman slowly opened her eyes.

She opened them gently, then slowly sat up and rubbed them, only to discover in surprise that not far ahead of her stood a person—a person who seemed to be heading out.

"Who are you?" the woman asked softly.

At those words, Lu Zhe froze on the spot. Her voice was bright and clear as a wind chime, pleasing to the ear, yet to Lu Zhe it sounded like thunder.

He struggled to turn around and saw that the woman was already fully awake, staring at him in bewilderment.

"H-hello," Lu Zhe said stiffly.

"Who are you?" the woman asked again.

"I, I... I..." For a moment Lu Zhe was at a loss. He stammered, unable to say anything coherent.

"Princess!" Suddenly, a loud shout came from downstairs.

Lu Zhe was alarmed at once. Bad news—someone was coming up!

He hurriedly looked around, intending to find a place to hide, but damn it, the room was empty, not even a single pillar in sight. There was nowhere to conceal himself. Even beneath the bed, the frame was solid wood all the way through.

The footsteps from below drew closer and closer. Lu Zhe felt cold sweat almost breaking out across his back. Yet in this vast room, there was truly nowhere to hide. Besides that huge bed—bed?

At the thought, Lu Zhe looked at it again. Indeed, the bed would be an excellent hiding place. But somehow, he felt a little embarrassed.

That faint embarrassment, however, vanished as the footsteps below grew nearer. Lu Zhe steeled himself. Forget it. I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.

In three quick steps, he rushed toward the woman. She had clearly not expected him to come at her, and her expression changed, but before she could say anything, Lu Zhe covered her mouth and pressed her down onto the bed.

The moment they were hidden beneath the blankets, Lu Zhe heard the footsteps outside stop. Then came the voice of a middle-aged man.

"Princess, are you all right?"

Lu Zhe was astonished. What? Was this woman the princess of the serpent-people?

"Princess, why do you not answer?"

When no reply came after the question, the middle-aged man asked again.

Lu Zhe was lying atop the woman, his right hand tightly covering her mouth. Hearing the man’s voice, he rolled his eyes, lowered his head, and whispered, "Repeat after me. If I tell you to say something, you say it. If you dare say anything extra, I’ll make sure you never speak again. Do you understand?"

The woman, looking at the fierce and menacing Lu Zhe, nodded.

Lu Zhe nodded back, quietly loosened his hand from her mouth, and whispered, "Say that I’m fine."

"I am fine," the woman repeated exactly as instructed.

"Princess, earlier, while I was taking the headcount, I discovered that eleven members of the guard assigned to protect the palace had died. We fear an assassin may have infiltrated the grounds. If the Princess has seen anything, please inform us immediately," the middle-aged man said calmly.

"Say that I understand, and send them away," Lu Zhe murmured in the woman’s ear.

"I understand. You may withdraw," the woman repeated.

"Then, Princess, be careful." The middle-aged man seemed somewhat hesitant, but said nothing more. He cupped his hands and led his men away.

Hearing the footsteps recede into the distance behind him, Lu Zhe let out a long breath, only to suddenly hear: "Can you get off me now?"

Lu Zhe was mortified. He hurriedly sat up, then flipped off the bed in one motion and cupped his hands. "I offended you just now, Miss. Please forgive me."

The woman sat half-reclined on the bed, studied him for a moment, and then suddenly said, "Come here."

Lu Zhe was startled. "What?"