Light Dance Jiajing

That day, Nanny Zhao came running to look for Meng'er in a panic. Zaihou and Xiao Quanzi had not returned since noon. At first, they thought that the two had missed the time because of playing, but after waiting for a long time, they still didn't see them, so they went to look for them separately. They searched the whole palace but couldn't find them. Meng'er had just felt a little better in the past two days. Hearing this, she didn't care about her headache, put on some clothes, let Luzhu and Luluo accompany her, and hurried out to look for them. Meng'er started coughing after walking a few steps, but she didn't care about much. Zaihou was a sensible child and would never run away and not come back for a day. He would not let Meng'er worry, so something must have happened.

She was ill these days, and everyone was busy taking care of Concubine Kang. Zaihou and Xiao Quanzi rode horses and shot arrows in the mountains every day. Meng'er was familiar with the places they often went to, but it was dark and Meng'er couldn't find any trace of them. Zaihou and the others seemed to have disappeared out of thin air. It was already completely dark, but Meng'er still didn't give up. The three of them continued to grope on the rugged mountain road. Suddenly, Luluo cried out, she accidentally stepped on empty air and sprained her ankle. She couldn't stand up for a long time. She finally stood up with the help of a branch, but she fell back after taking a step. Meng'er had no choice but to let them go. Green Bamboo rested on the spot. She was too timid to stay in such a dark place alone. She wanted to get up and follow them no matter what, but she couldn't move after struggling for a long time. Meng'er had to comfort her and said that they would be back soon and they would go back together when they returned. The mountain road became narrower and narrower, and the mountain wind blew. The lantern swayed with a flickering flame. Green Bamboo pulled Meng'er to explore the winding path. Suddenly, Green Bamboo missed a step and fell into a big pit that was two people high with Meng'er. The lantern tilted and the flame was immediately blown out by the wind.

Fortunately, the pit was not very deep, and the two frightened people were not injured, but it was impossible for them to get out. Meng'er was wondering if this was a deep pit used to catch animals, when she heard a strange laugh from above her head, and then a light was lit, and several lanterns slowly surrounded her. Meng'er looked up and saw a boy about her age standing on it, looking at her with a smile. Meng'er thought that this might be a trap that had been dug long ago. As soon as she fell down, this person appeared. He must have come with bad intentions, so she didn't say anything and just looked at the boy coldly.

The boy stared at her with interest for a long while, then suddenly burst into laughter and said, "Mian'er, I have been waiting for you for a long time. Do you know who I am?" Seeing that Meng'er did not speak, he continued, "I am your brother who was born on the same day as you. Have you forgotten?"

Mei'er narrowed her eyes and asked, "Are you Zaiji?"

The boy chuckled, "Yeah."

Mei'er's heart sank and she asked, "What do you mean?"

Jae-gi said gently, "Don't worry, I won't do anything to you, but..." He sighed, "Your precious brother is not so lucky."

Meng'er asked anxiously, "Where is Hou'er? What did you do to him?"

Jae-gi still looked lazy: "Don't worry, I didn't kill him. If I killed him, you would only suffer for a while, which would be boring. I want you to suffer slowly, watching him step by step towards death but being unable to do anything, just like you watching your mother go crazy but being unable to do anything."

Meng'er asked angrily: "Did you kill my mother?"

Jae-gi chuckled: "Yeah, in fact, you all deserve to die. Now she is just crazy, isn't it a great bargain?"

Mei'er gritted her teeth and asked, "What do you want?"

Zaiji murmured to himself: "What do I want?" He suddenly turned cold and said: "I just want to torture you, just like how you tortured me back then. I want you to feel what despair is, watching your loved ones fall down without being able to save them. Do you know what this kind of pain is? Humph, you don't know. My mother died of hatred because of you, and I was expelled from the palace because of you. I was only five years old at that time, and I was thrown into this cold palace alone, but I survived. You are luckier than me. You have a mother and a younger brother. I thought you would be miserable after being expelled from the palace, but I didn't expect you to live a happy life. The slaves in the cold palace only have money in their eyes. Humph, I have been careful in the past two years. I have plenty of patience. As long as I can make you suffer, hehe."

Meng'er looked at Zaiji's distorted face and couldn't think of anything else to say to a madman. She just asked, "Where's Huo'er? Where is he?"

Zai Ji said nonchalantly: "Why are you in such a hurry? My people are planting a Gu on him. Haha, this is the Gu King that I have searched all over Miaojiang for."

Meng'er didn't know what the Gu King was, but she thought it must be very scary. She said angrily, "You despicable villain, if you hate me, then kill me. Zaihou has no grudge against you, so why do you want to harm him?"

"Yes, there is no hatred, but I hate you. When you heard that he was going to die, did you want to die for him? Ha, I won't let you. What's the point of you dying? Only when he dies will you be in great pain, and your mother will be in great pain. You will spend the rest of your life guarding your crazy mother in pain."

Meng'er was furious: "Mad man, you mad man, as long as I am alive, I will never let you go."

Zai Ji said calmly, "I didn't want to live a long time ago. I'm going to die anyway. Think about it, your life is more painful than death, what regrets do I have? By tomorrow, the blood parasite will be planted, and by then even the Golden Immortal can't save his life. If you can stop me now, maybe he can be saved. It's a pity that you can't save yourself. You might as well struggle hard tonight. Starting tomorrow, the blood parasite poison will extend from his arm. When the black line reaches his heart, it will be his death, two years at the fastest and three years at the slowest. Ha, knowing that there is no cure but having to try every possible means, and finally watching the person you care about most die, how can you know the taste of this kind of pain if you don't experience it? I'm really looking forward to it!"

Then Zaiji left, and his lanterns disappeared with him. Suddenly, a tinder was thrown into the cave, and Zaiji's voice was heard from afar: "There are small animals in this mountain at night. You can't die..."

Only she and Luzhu were left. It was pitch black in the cave. The howling mountain wind blew past their heads, which was very creepy. Luzhu shivered and clutched Meng'er's arm tightly. She was two years older than Meng'er and a little taller, but much more timid than Meng'er. Meng'er had no time to comfort her. She just wanted to leave here quickly. Zaihou must not be in any danger. She didn't dare to think any further. She thought that since she didn't go back so late, everyone must be looking for her. Thinking of this, she held her breath and shouted, but she didn't see anyone until her voice was hoarse. The mountain was too big and this place was really remote. It seemed that no one would come here.