Chapter 60: The Shadow Villa's Lament (Part 2)

  The next day, I was laughing and joking with Su Hui as usual, pretending to believe that I had returned to Xifengyuan and that the terrifying past was just a dream. I wanted to get some information out of Yuan Feibai, but unfortunately, Han Xiuzhu and Xie San Niang always came up with excuses to block my requests. So during dinner, I brought it up on purpose and mentioned to Yuan Feibai that I had been having too many nightmares lately and wanted to ask Mr. Lu to make a silver ornament to ward off evil spirits. Yuan Feibai agreed with a straight face, but in my heart, I was thinking "you're not even a good actor".

  I came again to Lu Yuan's house, he was fiddling with some drawings, seeing me coming in, and beckoned: "Xiulan, pour tea."

  The child came over, poured hot tea into her hands and apologized hastily, but she smiled as if nothing had happened. I glanced at Yu Guang, who furrowed his brow slightly, but didn't say anything.

  I said it with a smile, and Lu Yuan naturally agreed, saying: "After I've dealt with this matter of the secret warehouse, I'll make a silver cuff for you."

  "Dark warehouse?"

  Lu Yuan nodded and said, "Recently, Old Master Bai has been reading an old purple silk book. He says he wants to build a secret cellar under our Xifeng Garden according to what the book says."

  I nodded: "Mr. Lu, do you still remember that we once studied the long-term protective wrist?"

  Lu Yuan's mouth suddenly trembled, just as he was about to speak, a child ran in, pounced on his knees, hugged Lu Yuan and entwined him in play.

  I patted her head: "Does Ah Nong know how to read?"

  The child thought for a moment, nodded and clapped his hands: "Right, ding"

  It's still a real person, I smiled and touched her little neck, and indeed there was no pulse. How old was this child when she died? What method did the mastermind use to control these dead people?

  As I passed by the place where I fell yesterday, in the misty rain, I saw clearly the appearance of that pomegranate, with purple and white alternating, a bewitching and enchanting charm, fragrant and delicate.

  After dinner, I returned to my room and drank Xie San Niang's tea as usual. Then, I bit my arm and woke up. Following the familiar route, I sneaked into the study of Shang Xin Ge. I looked at the bookshelf and found a pale purple ancient silk book with all the characters written in ancient script.

  Luckily, when I was at Xifengyuan, Yuan Fei studied ancient texts and I also served by his side, so I recognized a few characters. After reading a few lines, the doubts in my mind grew more and more. Hmm! It seemed to be a child's diary, because inside it was filled with sorrowful autumn moon and childish emotions.

  However, when the protagonist turned 14 years old, her life story began to undergo tremendous changes. Born in a chaotic world where people could hardly make ends meet, her father and three sworn brothers were from a powerful clan in the northwest. The government finally lost patience with them, raised their flags, and after going through countless hardships, they conquered the world.

  She and her sister became the two princesses of the founding country, she was granted the title of Princess Pingning, her sister was granted the title of Princess Pinglv. She described in detail the grand scene of the day of her coronation and her excited mood in her memoirs, because on the same day that she was crowned as a princess, their father would arrange marriages for them.

  Then she and her, after being conferred, quietly hid behind the screen to watch the two attached horses chosen by their father emperor for them. As I watched, I was also drawn into the story of that princess. Ping Ning Chang Gong Zhu, Ping Lv Gong Zhu, so familiar! After thinking carefully, I suddenly remembered that once when talking about Yuan Fei Qing's marriage to Shu Qi Gong Zhu, who was one year younger than him at 16 years old, Yuan Fei Bai smiled and said that actually, there were two princess consorts in the Yuan family clan. One was Yuan Fei Qing's son, Xuan Yuan Shu Qi of this dynasty, and the other was the first generation ancestor of the Yuan family who married the founding empress Ping Ning Gong Zhu. I thought about it, ah yes! Her name seemed to be Xuan Yuan Zi Lian.

  Yes, I still clearly remember that Yuan Fei once said that the Ziqiu Mountain Villa was actually a mansion given by the Eastern Court's Taizu to Princess Pingning.

  How strange! Why would the founding emperor's eldest princess's handkerchief be in this fake Xifeng Garden?

  I continued reading down, her life was very happy, and Fu Ma was also very considerate of her, until one day, everything changed.

  "Does it look good?" A voice came, I was so scared that I fell to the ground, and saw a dim lamp, Yuan Fei sitting in a wheelchair, Su Hui attending beside him, with a cold face.

  "I don't know if Third Master still likes reading children's picture books." I said coldly.

  "Yu Fei Bai" smiled: "I don't know either why Mu Jin likes to come to the study at night to read books."

  My heart skipped a beat, "Yuan Fei Bai" knocked on the wheelchair, "Xie San Niang" came in, saw me standing there, stunned for a moment, then trembled all over and knelt down: "Master, please forgive me."

  "Yuan Fei Bai" blew a gentle tune on the green flute, and "Xie San Niang" immediately had her muscles bursting out all over her body, with steel nails exposed everywhere, including her face. She fell backwards and never got up again.

  "This batch of people's dolls aren't made well, Xiao Xin." "Yu Fei Bai" sighed: "You should know, the Master doesn't like poorly made dolls."

  "Your humble servant is guilty of death. Let me go again tomorrow and catch a few more, they will definitely be healthy live mouths."

  "Yu Fei Bai" nodded, turned her head to look at me, and smiled: "Tonight I didn't want to sleep so early anyway, just in time to accompany Mu Jin to see this purple sandalwood hand-carved."

  Su Hui clapped her hands and the two of them accidentally knocked out Xie San Niang's puppet.

  In my heart, like a raging stormy wave, "Yu Fei" continued to say: "The owner of this handmade embroidery is actually the founding empress Xuan Yuan Zi Lian. It's said that she was a rare beauty, not only proficient in music, but also skilled in painting and dance. The 'Feitian Dance' that the emperor loves to watch in the palace today is said to be her adaptation of a dance from Tianzhu. Such a golden branch and jade leaf, even if married to a husband from a humble background, should have enjoyed all the pleasures of life. However, looking at this handmade embroidery, it seems like a beauty with a short lifespan."

  Indeed, I saw later that Xuan Yuan Zi Li's marriage had changed. I swallowed a mouthful of saliva: "Why, Third Master."

  "In the first year of Dongting's founding, the great emperor Taizu had many famous generals under his command, each with their own troops and influence." He sighed and said, "Muke, tell me, what is the first thing every emperor does after conquering the world?"

  "It's only natural to eliminate those officials who are too powerful and threaten one's imperial authority." I think my voice should be shaking a bit.

  "It's true, actually the Shizu Emperor had three sworn brothers under him, who were also known as the Three Heroes of the Realm. They were the most powerful families in the country at that time - Mu, Ge and Yan. Do you still remember me telling you about this?"

  I nodded slightly: "Mu Gen remembers, it should be Yuanshi, Mingjia and Sima's family, right?"

  Yuandi smiled: "That's right, Emperor Taizu decided to deal with the most powerful minister, Sima family. He soon found evidence of the destruction of the nine tribes of the Sima family. The Yu and Ming families were not fools either, they naturally understood the principle of 'when lips are gone, teeth will be cold', so they contacted the ministers to protect the Sima family. Especially at that time, a member of the Yu family had married into the Sima family, so the Yu family went back and forth for the Sima family, exhausting all their manpower, material resources, and financial resources. Finally, the Sima family was only stripped of their title and reduced to commoners, without being destroyed in nine tribes. Therefore, the ancestors of the Sima family established a rule that one branch of the Sima descendants would be slaves for nine generations to repay the great kindness of the Yu family, while other members of the clan moved to remote and toxic lands, hiding from the world forever."

  "How did the Yuan and Ming families escape extinction then?" I asked in surprise: "I suppose the Xuan Yuan family gave up from then on!"

  "Yu Fei Bai" smiled: "They didn't escape, at least not in their ancestors' generation."

  "When an emperor has a mind to kill, he will not stop, but instead will become more and more intense with the passage of time, like a needle in his heart and a thorn in his throat." "Yuanni" sighed: "However, the relationship between the Ming and Yuan families is too good, they advance and retreat together. The Ming family is quite smooth, and the Yuan family is extremely cautious, making it impossible for Emperor Taizu to find an excuse."

  "Taizu Emperor secretly gathered evidence of their crimes, in order to delay their rebellion, so he pretended to be friendly with the two families again. He married his two favorite daughters, the founding princesses, to the next generation leaders of the Mingyuan and Mingfeng families. The eldest princess Xuan Yuan Zi Li was married to Yuan Li Nian, and Princess Ping Ning Xuan Yuan Zi Mi was married to Ming Feng Cheng."

  "Could it be that Emperor Taizu sacrificed his own son?" I said with a frown.

  "It's just a smile": "Since ancient times, for the imperial family, everything is sacrificable, including oneself."

  "He" looked at me: "Muxin, tell me, if you were Emperor Xuan Yuan, what would you do?"

  "No one is perfect, and gold has its flaws; I will naturally think of ways to find their weaknesses."

  "Not bad, Yuanri was a martial arts enthusiast, and Mingfeng City was rich. His eyes stared at me intensely: "Until one day, a monk from Tianzhu presented an ancient scripture that surpassed the present, the True Scripture of Non-Duality.""

  "This true scripture has two volumes, the Scripture of No Laughter and the Scripture of No Tears. They must be practiced together to grasp its essence, achieve invincibility under heaven, and fulfill a grand vision." His eyes were somewhat wistful as he turned to ask me: "If Mu Yi one day becomes all-powerful, what would you most want to do?"

  I smiled and shook my head: "So-called grand ambitions often turn to nothing, the invincible often become solitary heroes. If one can live a peaceful life with loved ones, isn't that the greatest blessing? Therefore, Mu Ge won't be infatuated with being all-powerful, nor will she think of practicing such martial arts."

  He listened, looked at me with a puzzled expression for a while, and sighed: "I always thought Mu Di was just a clever little boy, but it turns out that he indeed has great wisdom in his heart."

  I scratched my head, still couldn't figure it out. Where did I have great wisdom? In the past, wasn't I always scolded by Jinxiu for being ambitious? I just smiled and continued to listen to him speak.

  "Taizu Emperor knew the profound meaning of these two classics, but he gave each of the two true classics as dowry to Yuans and Mings respectively." "Yu Fei Bai" smiled.

  It suddenly dawned on me that it's no wonder Yuan Qingwu said that the Tearless Sutra is the Ming family heirloom, and the Laughless Sutra is the Yuan family heirloom.

  "Taizu Emperor told his two sons separately that the Wuyin Scripture was a secret book of the martial arts world, and told Mingfeng City that there was a great treasure in the Wu Lei Scripture."

  However, the true "Wú Xiào Jīng" is when one's martial arts skills have advanced to a high level, but they have already become demonic, relying on absorbing people's fresh blood and vital energy to survive. At this point, if one were to practice the Wú Lèi Jīng method, they could achieve enlightenment, but their body would return to normal, and many of their loved ones would be killed by the practitioner, leaving no joy in the world, hence the name "Wú Xiào Jīng". The more one practices the Wú Lèi Jīng, the more foolish they become, so many people are unable to continue practicing it. When practicing, if not being harmed by enemies, then it is due to not understanding self-control and dying. If combined with the Wú Lèi Jīng, occasionally there are those who achieve success, but often their emotions change greatly, forgetting past grudges, yet they do not recognize their parents or loved ones, treating them as enemies and killing many. The practitioner themselves know this, but only see the completion of their skills without tears.

  I was chilled to the bone there.

  He smiled and said, "Indeed, within a year, Yuan Li suddenly contracted a serious illness and lost the ability to manage the family. So, Xuan Yuan Zi Li took over the management of the Yuan family and resigned as the commander-in-chief of the Kyoto Imperial Guard, returning to the ancestral home of the Yuan family in Xi'an."

  "The principle is finally practiced without laughing."

  He smiled and said, "The Taizu Emperor personally bestowed the Huashan Purple Residence on Yuan Li, for him to recuperate from his illness. Yuan Li had just returned to Xi'an and told outsiders that he was much better, but not suitable for receiving guests. However, Yuan Li's illness had worsened, so severe that except for his beloved Princess Xuan Yuan Zi, he couldn't recognize anyone else. He had to constantly absorb the powers of others in order to survive, and those who were drained of their powers often only left behind a layer of human skin."

  I suddenly remembered that Yu Qingwu had said before that she wanted to suck the blood of the Yu family, and at that time I thought she was a madman. Now thinking about it, what she said was all true, which means that if Yuan Feibai hadn't killed Yu Qingwu back then, Yuan Feibai and I would have been sucked dry of our flesh and blood.

  "I blurted out, 'In the early years, it was said that the ancestors of our family were great heroes who killed the demon king of Xi'an, but the real story is that the demon king of Xi'an, who everyone talks about, was actually Yuan Li, right?'"

  "Exactly!"

  "What happened after that?"

  "Yuán Lǐ Nián and Xuān Yuán Zǐ Lí were deeply in love, even though he knew he couldn't control himself, many of his close brothers and sons had been drained dry, yet he never harmed the Princess. The Princess ordered the construction of an underground palace beneath the Purple Mansion, a labyrinthine prison to hold Yuán Lǐ Nián, where every day fresh humans were brought in for him to feed on, practicing the Wu Xiao Jing. Yuán Lǐ Nián's martial arts grew stronger by the day, and his demonic powers also increased, until eventually even the Dark Palace couldn't control him."

  "What can we do?" I asked in dismay

  "The Empress knew that her father, the Emperor, had harmed Yuan Li and his family, so she decided to put an end to this tragedy. She obtained a poisonous potion called 'Zhēn Liè' from her good friend, King Miao. Anyone who ingested it would suffer intense heart pain every day. If anyone had physical contact with someone who had ingested the Zhēn Liè poison, they would either lose their cultivation or die."

  "The Princess was a treasure, and naturally did not want to share her love with another son. So she took the loyalty oath herself, endured the intense pain, and led Yuan Li into the underground palace. She put down the Dragon Stone, and the two remained inside forever. The descendants of the Yuan family later named that palace the Purple Mausoleum."

  I looked at him: "That Purple Hill Palace is the Dark Palace, right? The Dark God clan was actually the descendants of the Sima family. They stayed behind to guard the original family's Purple Hill Palace, right?"

  "Mu Ge is so clever!" He clapped his hands, seemingly overjoyed, with a hint of an inexplicable glint in his eyes: "The Empress Dowager left a will for her son before entering the Zilong Palace, stating that the Yuans must serve the Xuan Yuan family for nine generations. After nine generations, if the Xuan Yuan family is without virtue, the Yuans can take their place."

  "What about Ming's family?" I stuttered.

  "The ancestors of the Ming family, Ming Fengcheng was the smartest in that era. He deliberately made Taizu Emperor think he loved petty gains and had no great ambitions. However, even so, Taizu still didn't trust him. Ming Fengcheng understood this, so after leaving Kyoto with his family, the Mings also retired to their hometown, returning to the Eastern Wu fiefdom. Later, although both families still did things, they were never reused."

  "The Ming family's ancestral teachings, do not look at the Tearless Sutra, while the Yuan family buried the Smileless Sutra and the secret of the Demon King forever in the Purple Imperial Palace. The people in the Dark Palace will forever guard the Purple Imperial Palace, no one can enter the Purple Imperial Palace. Except for the head of the household, no one can enter the Dark Palace."

  "The Ming and Yuan families had been on good terms for generations, but were ruined by the generation of Ming Ning. Ming Ning wanted to bring glory to his ancestors, he originally wanted to ask Lord Qin to marry his son Ming Fengyang, but the Qin family chose Yuan Qingjiang instead. This was not what his father wanted, but Ming Fengyang took Yuan Qingwu from the Yuan family, and Yuan Qingwu even urged her son to practice the tearless sutra."

  "Who are you, and how did you know so much? And where did you get this purple ribbon from?" I asked in a low voice.