After learning the meaning of the personal jade pendant from Fifth Gege, I lost all interest in talking, my heart cursing the old ghost for his despicable and shamelessness.
He could trick people, but not like this!
What was the personal jade pendant? It was the token given to the consort when a princess of the royal mansion got married, the betrothal gift in ancient times. Such a thing, rarely shown to others, was described by the old ghost as just an ordinary jade pendant, and the only item allowing me to leave the Half-yin Realm.
If I had listened to the old ghost, wouldn't I have become a consort? I absolutely could not agree to that.
If the old ghost were standing in front of me now, I would definitely spray him with floral water or use my Bone-Piercing Nails on him.
The air in the bamboo house instantly became stagnant due to my silence. I remained half-collapsed on the ground, my chest still aching. On the contrary, after telling me the meaning of the jade pendant, Fifth Gege began to tidy up the bamboo bed that had been smashed.
For a while, I couldn't find a suitable topic and could only watch her re-measure and cut bamboo. Fortunately, Fifth Gege was no ordinary woman; in less than an hour, a brand-new bamboo bed reappeared.
"You should lie down and rest on the bamboo bed. If you are eroded by the yin energy here, it will affect your... your health."
"Oh!"
I responded and tried to stand up, but as soon as I did, my chest hurt terribly. Although I tried my best to suppress any sound, the pain still made me let out a muffled groan.
While rebuilding the bamboo bed, Fifth Gege's shyness had disappeared from her eyes. She walked over, grabbed my arm, and helped me up.
"Don't push yourself if you're injured. Further damage to your heart and lungs would be bad."
Being helped up by Fifth Gege, although a little embarrassed, I didn't want to be left with a lingering illness. A large amount of qi entering the body could very well make me infertile.
I didn't want my father to wake up and find out his son had become a cripple. I could only let her help me onto the bed.
After the yin bamboo was cut, it lost its yin energy, leaving only a cold chill. Lying on it, the burning pain in my chest subsided considerably.
As my body felt more comfortable, my eyelids grew heavy. I still had some questions for Fifth Gege, but my eyelids were too heavy, so I decided to sleep first.
Sleep is the greatest protective mechanism for the body. Although I was somewhat unwilling, I still fell asleep.
I slept very soundly, not having any dreams, and there was always a faint fragrance lingering in my nostrils. When I opened my eyes, Fifth Gege had disappeared, with only the candle on the candlestick burning.
I propped myself up on my arm. My chest, which had been slapped, still hurt a little, but it wasn't as painful as before when I moved. I estimated that I would need at least half a month of rest to recover.
Through the half-open wooden door, the sky had once again turned pitch black. I estimated I had slept for at least five or six hours. Su Dan Novel Network.
Thinking that I had been here for a day and a night and not knowing how worried Zhang Dabiao would be, I tried to stand up from the bed. My chest still hurt a bit, but walking was no longer a problem.
As soon as I stepped out, I bumped face-to-face with Fifth Gege, who was entering the house.
Fifth Gege was holding a food container and looked at me with a hint of surprise. "You've recovered so quickly? Are you leaving?"
"Yes!"
"I've been here for a day and a night. I'm afraid my elder brother will worry about me if I don't go back soon."
Fifth Gege replied with an "Oh" and then moved past me, taking a bamboo table from the corner and arranging the food from the container on it.
Then she looked at me and said, "Eat something before you go!"
I hesitated for a moment and nodded, saying, "Okay." After all this, I was indeed a bit hungry.
There were only four dishes on the bamboo table, all made from bamboo shoots, along with a large bowl of rice and a pot of wine.
We ate in silence, neither of us speaking.
After we had eaten and drunk our fill, I finally asked, "Fifth Gege, although I shouldn't ask for your personal jade pendant, Old Ghost said it's necessary for me to leave the Half-yin Realm. Do you think..."
I couldn't finish the rest of my sentence and could only hope that Fifth Gege could understand my predicament.
Fifth Gege put down her chopsticks and looked at me. "I cannot give you the personal jade pendant."
Upon hearing this, I couldn't help but get a little angry. I had helped you so much, and you even said you would give me the personal jade pendant if I helped you eliminate your evil念分身. How could you go back on your word now?
"You're too un—" Before I could utter the word "trustworthy," I saw Fifth Gege grab my chest. The seal I had hidden in my bag now appeared in her hand.
"I can temporarily lend you my father's seal."
I had planned to take it secretly, but now that the owner had caught me red-handed, I felt a bit embarrassed.
"Let me explain. I didn't mean to take your father's seal. I just forgot to give it to you. I..."
Fifth Gege interrupted me and said, "The reason is no longer important. This item should have belonged to you from the beginning."
Belonged to me? What did that mean?
Before I could understand what was happening, a wisp of white light emerged from Fifth Gege's right hand. After flashing in her hand, the seal made a cracking sound. I saw a layer of something like stone peel fall off from it.
What was originally a small stone seal had now transformed into a square seal carved with a tiger-kuí.
"With this, you can travel freely in the Half-yin Realm. Consider it compensation for helping me deal with my evil念."
I took the tiger-kuí seal from Fifth Gege's hand, my hands trembling.
Not to mention that the tiger-kuí seal could hide my living aura, its age alone made it priceless. This trip was truly a huge profit.
I calmed my excited emotions and asked, "What about Zuo Quan outside?"
"You don't need to worry about him. I will deal with him myself."
After Fifth Gege cleaned up the leftover food, she left the bamboo house, telling me to leave on my own.
In the bamboo forest, there was a candle lamp every ten meters or so, extending all the way to the corridor bridge. As I stepped onto the corridor bridge, I looked back at the bamboo house. My heart was filled with gratitude towards Fifth Gege. Although I didn't get the jade pendant, with the tiger-kuí seal, leaving this place was no longer a problem.
When I reached the back door of the Fifth Prince's mansion, I couldn't help but slow my pace. I didn't know what method Fifth Gege would use to deal with Zuo Quan, but I still wanted to be cautious. After sensing with my Xuan Yang Qi that there were no lingering obsessions, I stepped through the wide-open back door.
At first, I walked cautiously, stopping every few steps. But when I sensed people inside the courtyard, all hidden within the houses, I knew that Fifth Gege was fulfilling her promise.
Then I treated the mansion as my own backyard and walked towards the main entrance according to my memory.
As I walked, I realized I was lost and couldn't find the main entrance of the mansion.
I wanted to ask someone for directions. At first, I could still sense some lingering obsessions, but now I had walked into a dead end. There was no one around, let alone any lingering obsessions.
Furthermore, the mansion's servants were deliberately avoiding me, making it harder to find someone to ask for directions than waiting for the sky to fall.
"Damn it, am I going to be trapped here?"