Records of Mysterious Things in the Southern Dynasties

Chapter 538 The Belated Bodyguard

"Who?!" Ren Yuan exclaimed in surprise, "Elder Sister Yu Huan?!"

"Yes." Tao Hongjing nodded and said, "She should be quite old, but she looks no more than twenty years old, young and beautiful. In any case, Hou Jing likes her very much and is determined to marry her."

"He even threatened to kill Xiao Yan if the princess disagreed," Tao Hongjing sighed.

"Damn it, who does he think he is?!" Ren Yuan roared in fury, "I'll kill him!"

"..." Tao Hongjing was taken aback and looked to Chen Baxian for help. Could it be that the princess was his uncle's confidante?
Chen Baxian shook his head slightly and explained softly, "The princess saved my third brother's life. At that time, in order to revive him, she reverted to her seven or eight-year-old state."

"So when we went to rescue Chen Shuai, we asked Sister Su to wait for us outside the city. Who would have thought, alas..." He sighed and said, "We were actually sent away twenty years later, leaving the two of them behind."

"I have already broken my promise to the princess, I must go and save her!" Ren Yuan said solemnly.

"Uncle-Master, please don't act rashly!" Tao Hongjing hurriedly advised, "Hou Jing has already become an ancient god by taking advantage of the conquest of Jiankang and destroying the miracles of the Dreamland! He also has many powerful subordinates who are extremely difficult to deal with."

"During the siege of Taicheng, Xiao Yan ascended to godhood despite bearing the curse of the First Emperor, and even with the aid of the divine artifact, the Mirror of Time-Tracing, he was still defeated and his fate is unknown." He solemnly reminded him.

"Later, when those princes attacked Jiankang, they also received divine assistance and were defeated by Hou Jing...and that was before he became an ancient god."

"Now that he has become a Slaughtering Ancient God, we have absolutely no chance of winning!" he said, looking at Ren Yuan with an almost pleading expression.

"My martial uncle is the only hope to save humanity; I can't let myself be in such a desperate situation!"

"How did I become the only hope?" Ren Yuan asked, frowning. "I'm made of iron, but how many nails can I hammer? Just because I can expend my divine power to save my second sister-in-law doesn't mean I can save everyone."

“Yes, the world has been completely destroyed, what hope is there?” Chen Baxian nodded and said, “Even gods are not omnipotent.”

"Yes, there is absolutely no hope now." Tao Hongjing glanced at his disciples outside, who were completely lost in despair, and sighed, "All of us, the entire country, have indeed been destroyed. The disease is terminal, and there is no cure."

As he spoke, he raised his head and looked at Ren Yuan with hopeful eyes: "But in your era, there was still hope to turn the tide!"

“We’ve entered a new era,” Yang Zhong sighed.

"No!" Tao Hongjing shook his head and said, "If the Treasure Mirror of Tracing Light can bring you here, it may also send you back."

"Are you sure?" Ren Yuan asked in a deep voice.

"I guessed," Tao Hongjing said honestly. "Su means to travel back. Isn't Su Guang the meaning of time reversal?"

"Hey..." Chen Baxian said with disappointment, "It's just a name, maybe it's just something that sounds nice and was just randomly chosen."

"Yes." Tao Hongjing nodded and said in a deep voice, "But as long as there is even the slightest possibility, we cannot give up!"

"Where is the Treasure Mirror of Light now?" Ren Yuan asked.

“It has become the foundation of Taicheng,” Tao Hongjing said.

“Then we must go to the palace no matter what,” Ren Yuan said softly.

~~
As dusk settled, it enveloped the scarred city of Taicheng in a hazy veil.

The palace, however, was brightly lit, as if it were daytime. Hundreds upon hundreds of palace servants were bustling about, making final preparations for the upcoming wedding. Everyone worked in an orderly and seamless manner, like a precisely functioning machine. Yet there was no sound of conversation, no sound of footsteps, not even the rustling of cups, plates, or chairs; the entire inner palace was eerily silent, like a tomb.

It wasn't until Hou Jing's military leaders, members of the imperial family, and civil and military officials entered the palace that the area in front of the Taiji Hall became noisy.

Actually, it was the military leaders of the Heavenly Slaughter Army who were making a lot of noise. They were making vulgar jokes and swearing constantly.

The civil and military officials of the former Liang Dynasty all hung their heads and remained silent, as if they had lost their parents.

"One by one, don't look so long-faced!" Song Zixian, one of Hou Jing's generals, glared at them fiercely.

"On this joyous day of our Cosmic General, everyone should be smiling!" Another general, Guo Yuanjian, also glared and puffed out his beard.

"Sigh..." The aristocratic gentlemen had lost all their former arrogance, all forcing smiles, their laughter sounding more like crying...

"Haha, hahaha..." There was no way around it; Hou Jing's men never hesitated to kill members of the aristocratic families.

"That's more like it. Keep laughing, don't stop." Song Zixian teased them deliberately, "Anyone who dares to stop halfway, I'll kill their whole family tomorrow!"

"Haha, hahaha..." Wang, Xie, Huan, Xi, and other high-ranking nobles laughed incessantly, not daring to stop for a moment. They had utterly disgraced their ancestors.

From the moment they submitted themselves to Hou Jing, they could no longer consider themselves noble...

"Hahahaha!" Hou Jing's military leaders burst into laughter, thoroughly enjoying themselves.

~~
The laughter, whether arrogant or dry, swept past the bronze bells on the eaves and reached the Laiyi Hall in the inner garden.

Inside the Laiyi Hall, the air was filled with the fragrance of sandalwood, and the gilded bronze mirror reflected Xiao Yuhuan's elfin face.

Palace maids, holding ivory combs, carefully styled her hair into an elaborate bun, adorning it with exquisite pearl hairpins. Gazing at her radiant face in the mirror, her lips parted slightly, a sigh swirling in her throat, her eyes filled with resentment… She had toiled for decades to grow into such a beautiful woman, only to end up submitting to an old beast.

What a terrible life...

She glanced at the busy palace maids around her through the bronze mirror. She used to be able to talk to them, but now they had all become emotionless tools. She felt a deep melancholy, yet there was no one to confide in.

In a daze, her thoughts drifted back twenty years, when she could still leisurely chat and laugh with her friends on the ship a thousand miles away. But in the blink of an eye, she was all alone, never to return to the ship, never to see her friends again.

"If A Yuan and the others were still here, they definitely wouldn't let me be bullied." Xiao Yuhuan sobbed sadly, ruining her makeup.

Ignoring everything else, she shook off the palace maid who wanted to redo her makeup and buried her face in her hands, weeping bitterly.

"Waaah, you liar, Yuan! You promised to be my bodyguard..."

"Here I am?" Then a voice from the depths of memory rang out behind me.

"We're just a little late."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yuhuan trembled and looked up in disbelief at the face reflected in the mirror—a face she would never forget.

She bit her hand tightly, her eyes brimming with tears as she looked at her reflection in the mirror, a surprised smile spreading across her face. But as she smiled, she cried even harder…

(End of this chapter)