"You don't know?"
I looked at Fifth Princess with confusion, then turned my gaze to Bai Ling'er. Seeing her evasive look towards me, I knew Fifth Princess was lying.
"Fifth Princess, you know what I mean, I want to..."
Before I could finish, Fifth Princess turned and stood up. "You haven't recovered yet, and I'm a little tired too. I'll go out first. You rest here properly."
"You..." As Fifth Princess spoke, she turned and left the bamboo building. Just as she was leaving, I wasn't sure if it was my imagination or if my eyes were playing tricks on me, but I saw glistening tears in the corner of her eyes.
After Fifth Princess left, only Bai Ling'er and I were left in the bamboo building, staring at each other.
"Ling'er, do you think I said something wrong?"
I've interacted with Fifth Princess more than once. Although her personality is a bit eccentric, she wouldn't be so dismissive of me.
Bai Ling'er glared at me with its anthropomorphic eyes. "Oh, I thought you hadn't noticed. It seems you're not completely beyond saving."
I was speechless. I never thought I'd be looked down upon by a snake, even if it possessed the strength of a ghost general.
I chose to ignore its disdain. What concerned me more now was the outcome of the battle between the expert and Zuo Quan. Most importantly, I didn't know if the old ghost imprisoned there was still alive. He was my last hope of finding the corpse of Fang Huixin's daughter.
As the saying goes: It's easy to appease the King of Hell, but difficult to deal with minor demons. Fang Huixin, in my opinion, was a minor demon. I just didn't know if she had actively sought to provoke me, or if it was Elder Li behind her. If I had to compare the two, I leaned towards the former.
Fang Huixin, by all appearances, was just an ordinary woman who had lost her daughter. But Elder Li was different. Wang Jun had once said that Elder Li was someone whose stomp could make Molu Village tremble. If I truly clashed with him, there would be considerable trouble.
Seeing that Bai Ling'er was reluctant to engage with me, I decided to use a bit of provocation. "I thought only I was knocked unconscious by that shockwave. It turns out you, known as the little ghost general, are no better. You don't even know what happened. It seems the expert's decision to have you protect me for three years was truly misplaced!" I deliberately emphasized the word "misplaced."
As expected, my words immediately provoked Bai Ling'er's displeasure.
Its anthropomorphic beautiful eyes visibly "burned" with fierce flames. It looked as if it would incinerate me to ashes if I nodded.
I pretended to be a little scared and asked, "Was the Prince's mansion leveled?"
Bai Ling'er shook its head. "The Prince's mansion is the cornerstone of the semi-yin realm. Even with greater power than this, it cannot be leveled."
I excitedly got up from the bed. "That means the old ghost is still alive?"
*Swish—*
*Thwack—*
I felt a sharp pain on my head. Bai Ling'er was already floating in front of me again. "Why aren't you concerned about the expert who released you?"
"Does he need my concern? He can even use the Tiger Kui Seal, so surely..."
I stopped midway through my sentence, suddenly thinking of something: the Tiger Kui Seal.
Fifth Princess had once said that the Tiger Kui Seal was the personal seal of the Fifth Prince. Even she, his most beloved daughter, would be scolded by him if she wanted to play with it. How could the expert, looking so disheveled, use the Tiger Kui Seal?
I felt my throat grow a little dry, and I swallowed. "Ling'er, don't tell me that expert is the Fifth Prince?"
Bai Ling'er's small tail slapped the air, making a "pa pa" sound. "So you're not completely stupid after all? I thought you wouldn't be able to figure this out."
I was speechless, but I still couldn't understand why Fifth Princess said "I don't know." Even if they had died or something else had happened, they could have just said so.
Seeing my continued bewildered expression, Bai Ling'er said in a tone of disappointment, "The Fifth Prince is dead. The fact that they didn't kick you out is the greatest consideration they've shown you. And you still have the nerve to question it?" Sudan Novel Network
This time, I was completely stunned. Although I had considered that the expert might be the Fifth Prince, the idea of a majestic prince and a disheveled, beggar-like expert being the same person was hard to reconcile.
Besides, the Fifth Prince was the actual ruler of the semi-yin realm. Who had the power to imprison him in a dungeon? Unless the Fifth Prince wanted to go in himself or there was some other reason.
After a moment of contemplation, I looked at Bai Ling'er with confusion.
"Ling'er, you're not tricking me, are you?"
Bai Ling'er let out a disdainful sound. "Me tricking you? If I had that much time, I'd rather trick a pig!"
Watching Bai Ling'er fly out of the bamboo building, I was speechless. It actually compared me to a pig, which made me furious.
After fuming for a while, I finally remembered that Fifth Princess had been gone for half a day. If the expert was indeed the Fifth Prince, and he was now dead, Fifth Princess would be the most heartbroken.
With that thought, I walked out of the bamboo building.
From a distance, I saw Fifth Princess sitting alone in the pavilion. I walked over.
"Sit down!"
Sitting on the newly built bamboo stool, Fifth Princess's slightly frail figure appeared even more slender under the candlelight. It even gave me the feeling that if a gust of wind were to blow, it could scatter her away.
I really wanted to explain that I truly didn't know the expert was the Fifth Prince, but the words stopped at my lips.
Because I really didn't know how to comfort someone who had lost their father.
When my father was in a coma and near death, and my mother had left home, it was like falling from heaven into hell for me.
Wanting my master to comfort me?
That would be as simple as making a sow climb a tree. My master only told me to learn from him. If I learned well, I could earn some money to save my father's life. If I didn't learn well, I would have to watch my father die.
Every time I recalled that feeling, my heart ached.
"Fifth Princess, I understand how you feel..."
"You don't need to say anything. I understand. This was Father King's choice." Seeing my confusion, Fifth Princess continued, "If you don't understand, you'll understand by looking at this." She then threw me a green rhombus-shaped crystal.
"Touch it to your forehead, and you'll see what's recorded inside."
Seeing that Fifth Princess didn't want to talk further, I placed the green rhombus-shaped crystal on my forehead. Images appeared in my mind, like watching a slideshow.
The information in the rhombus crystal was extensive. It would take at least a year to finish watching it all. However, the most frequent images that flashed were from ten years ago, when a group of people were specifically invited to Molu Village.
The person leading them looked somewhat similar to Zuo Quan, who was fighting the expert, but with more righteousness in his features.
Before I could carefully study the relationship between them, the scene changed again. I found myself in a study.
"You've come..."