Mysteries of the Great Zhou Dynasty

Chapter 119 The Disappeared Corpse

The moment the door opened, Rui'er forcefully threw the prepared powder forward. However, the other side was prepared. The guards at the front were fully armed, wearing masks and gloves, and carrying shields.

Poison—ineffective!
If the first attack misses, there's no point in trying again. Moreover, the confined space is small, and if poison is used, there's a high chance of accidentally injuring one's own people.

“I won’t make the same mistake twice!” said Zhao, the deputy general who had just led the group. He spoke coldly, his sword gleaming in the cold light. “You can surrender now and maybe you’ll live.”

"Impossible!" Rong Wanyin and the others drew their swords and charged forward, and the two sides clashed instantly, a fierce battle erupting. Inside the secret chamber, shouts of battle and the clanging of weapons mingled together, creating a chaotic scene. Just then, a sharp blade flashed past, slashing straight at Rui'er. Rui'er had never seen anything like this before, and her legs went weak with fear. She leaned against the coffin and collapsed to the ground.

"Rui'er, be careful!" The mute old woman rushed over and hugged Rui'er tightly.

With a sharp "crack," the razor-sharp blade struck the coffin, sending wood chips flying and shattering the sturdy coffin into pieces. The blade, undeterred, then slashed directly at the mute woman's back.

"Dumb woman!" Rui'er cried out, quickly covering the wound with her hand. Yan Mingzhang and Su Zhan helped bandage it, and thankfully the wound wasn't deep, and the bleeding finally stopped.

Rong Wanyin and the other three lined up in a row, wielding their swords so tightly that they could not get through. Step by step, they forced the guards out of the secret room. Finally, the door of the secret room closed with a "thud"!
"What...what happened?" Yan Mingzhang pointed to the broken coffin, which was empty. "Why isn't the Medicine King's body inside?"

However, the coffin was completely empty; there was no Medicine King at all!
Rui'er stared wide-eyed at the mute old woman: "Mute old woman, what's going on? Where's Master? Didn't you say Master was sleeping in this box? And, you can talk? No... that voice just now, it was Master's voice! Mute old woman, could you be Master? You are Master! Right!"

The mute woman turned her face away helplessly and slowly said, "Rui'er, I'm sorry for lying to you for so long, but there are many things I can't help. I'm not your master, I'm just... impersonating her."

"Pretend?" Rui's eyes widened, somewhat unable to believe what she was hearing. But what she was about to hear was even more unbelievable.

“Actually, the Medicine King is you,” the mute woman said in a hoarse voice.

Everyone turned to look at Rui'er, who was more bewildered than anyone else: "Dumb Granny, what are you saying?"

"You certainly won't believe what I'm saying, but it's all true," the mute woman said, holding Rui'er's hand. "Your master, everyone calls her the Medicine Queen. She's about my age, and I don't know why, maybe because of her long-term exposure to poisons, she... Fifteen years ago, she suddenly aged rapidly. She was only in her twenties then, but overnight, her hair turned snow-white, and her face aged drastically, looking like she was eighty or ninety. She wasn't willing to just grow old and die quietly like that, so she made many attempts and finally created a medicine to reverse aging using the Dream Eater flower... The Dream Eater flower is terrifying; just smelling its pollen can cause amnesia. When made into pills and the dosage is controlled, it can cause amnesia for an hour or even several days. Different methods and different dosages result in different effects. I always tell her to burn these terrible flowers to prevent them from harming people, but she disagrees. She thinks it's people who are harmed, not the medicine... But haven't these medicines harmed her enough?"

Two lines of clear tears streamed down the mute woman's face, and then she suddenly coughed violently. Rui'er quickly patted her back and said, "Mute woman, don't say anything. Tell me slowly when you're better." The mute woman waved her hand and firmly refused, "No, I have to tell you. If I don't tell you today, I may never have the chance to tell you again."

The mute woman wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes: "That medicine can indeed make one's appearance reversed after taking it. The Medicine King tested it on dozens of rabbits and succeeded, but she couldn't bear to experiment on humans. No matter how I tried to dissuade her, she wouldn't listen. Finally, she took the medicine. The Medicine King's appearance changed to that of a teenage girl."

"Just when we both thought we had succeeded, she began to fall into frequent deep sleep. One day, I discovered that another personality had appeared in this body, a girl with the mind of a seven or eight-year-old. She called herself Rui'er. Perhaps this was a side effect of the drug..."

"Mute woman, you're lying! It's not like that, it's not like that!" Rui'er clutched her head and sobbed uncontrollably, doubting and denying herself. "I'm Rui'er! I'm not Master!... Master must hate me to death, right? Why did I appear? Who am I...?"

“No, your master doesn’t hate you, she loves you very much.” The mute woman hugged Rui’er tightly and comforted her. “As time goes by, the Medicine King’s slumber is getting longer and longer, and she is afraid that you will not be able to protect yourself, so she wants to teach you everything she has learned in her life. Every time she wakes up, she will select good books and leave questions for you to solve. She teaches you this knowledge through books and words. And I play the role of the transmitter.”

“No wonder Master never answers my questions right away… That’s why she always wears a veil and doesn’t let me get close… I always thought she didn’t like me…” Rui’er murmured to herself, “So, she loves me, right?”

“She loves you, and I love you too. You deserve to be loved.” The mute woman stroked Rui’er’s face, opened her mouth, but could only utter a weak sound, “Live well… Rui’er…”

The mute woman exhaled her last breath and closed her eyes. Her hand swept across Rui'er's cheek and slid down limply, as if all her life had been drained away.

"Grandma!" Rui'er hugged Grandma's body, sitting there blankly. Then, tears fell one by one, finally gathering into a stream. Rui'er's body began to tremble violently. "Grandma, you don't want me anymore either? Didn't we promise to go catch fireflies together in the summer?"

"Ah! Ah!" Rui'er broke down in tears, moving all who witnessed it.

Suddenly, Rui'er seemed to be overwhelmed with grief, her eyes rolled back, and she fainted.

"Rui'er!" Rong Wanyin caught Rui'er in her arms, and everyone rushed over, some pinching her philtrum and others fanning her.

After a moment, Ruier finally slowly opened her eyes.

"Let me go, I can do it myself..." an old voice rang out, startling everyone.