An eight-year-old kid emptied his scumbag father's warehouse and followed his grandparents into

Jing Chunxi only felt the sound of wind whistling past his ears. The sound was like the roars of wild beasts coming from all directions, or the shrill howls of countless wronged souls in the darkness.

She felt her body falling continuously, as if being dragged towards the abyss by an invisible giant hand, the speed getting faster and faster, and the feeling of weightlessness made her internal organs twist into a ball.

At the same time, her soul floated upward like a dandelion blown by the wind. Every struggle made the connection between the soul and the body more fragile, as if it was about to break free from this cage-like body in the next second.

In her last bit of hazy consciousness, she tried her best to shout out the word "enter", wanting her thoughts to penetrate the fog and enter the familiar refuge space.

But at the moment this thought arose, an invisible force wrapped around her consciousness like an iron chain. With every struggle, the shackles tightened an inch. The cold feeling of confinement spread from her eyebrows to her limbs and bones, and even her fingertips could not move.

A piercing pain suddenly hit her, as if thousands of poisoned arrows were piercing her heart simultaneously, their barbed arrowheads churning through her flesh. She wanted to cry out loud, but her throat felt like it was filled with water, and even the faintest sob was blocked in her chest. She could only let the excruciating pain rage wildly within her body.

With a loud bang that shattered her eardrums, she felt her body explode into countless pieces like glass, and each piece flew into the void with a burning pain.

The last bit of light was extinguished before her eyes, and she completely lost her mind like a puppet with its strings cut, falling into a darkness where even time did not exist.

When she regained consciousness, she found herself drifting across a boundless wasteland. Waist-high withered grass swayed like ghostly hands in the thick, impenetrable black fog.

She ran desperately, but her legs felt like they were stuck in the mud. Every time she lifted her foot, she exhausted all her strength. The black fog was as thick as ink, wrapping around her limbs and dragging her deeper into the depths.

A chaotic noise came from all directions, like many people crying and roaring at the same time, or like the sound of wild beasts gnawing on bones.

She wanted to scream for help, but her memory was like washed silk, all the names and faces blurred into a blur. Her brain was throbbing with confusion, and it took her a long time to even figure out who she was.

The biting cold spread from the soles of her feet up her back, making her teeth chatter. She curled herself into a small ball, digging her nails deep into her arms to try to get some warmth, but there was only a dead cold beneath her skin.

After who knows how many days and nights had passed, a furry kitten suddenly snuggled into her arms. Its warm body felt like a small stove against her heart, its soft paw pads pressed against her neck, and a soothing purr emanated from its throat.

When the little paws hugged her waist, it was as if a lonely boat had finally reached the harbor, and even the raging black fog dissipated slightly.

The fear slowly receded like the tide, and she buried her face in the warmth and sobbed softly. But every time she was about to regain consciousness, she would be pulled back into the vortex of drowsiness.

In a state of half-sleep and half-wakefulness, I could sense the shadowy figures around me. The sounds of crying and whispering seemed to come through heavy water. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't tell whether those blurry faces were sad or happy.

"Grandpa Jing and my uncle clearly warned you not to come again, so why did you insist on coming? Do you want to kill my sister?"

Early in the morning, the gate to Xichun Gui was firmly blocked by Jin Jie'er, Mingzhu, and Yan Jie'er. The three girls, arms tightly linked, formed a frail yet stubborn human wall, refusing to let Xu Zize even a single step inside.

Chuntao and Tangshuang, along with several maids, also stood in the rear, their faces frosted with icy glares, their gazes like needles piercing the Crown Prince without hesitation. The former courtesy and respect had long since vanished, leaving only a cold and silent hostility.

Although no one in the mansion said what had happened, from the fragmentary words and rumors brought back by the maids and old women that day, everyone had already pieced together the truth - the person who caused the princess to fall into a coma and die was none other than this man who had once been deeply trusted by her and had a noble status.

Therefore, no one treated him kindly anymore, and every look was filled with silent condemnation.

"I knew that pestering me all day would lead to nothing good!" Jin Jie'er's voice trembled with anger. "You must fulfill the promise you made to us that day at Qingshan Villa! We only have one condition - from now on, you are not allowed to come to see me again!"

When they got angry, the three sisters had already forgotten the distinction of seniority and regarded him as a disaster, as if his existence itself was the biggest curse on his sisters.

Xu Zize looked at the three young women desperately protecting their sister, and his throat felt like it was clogged with thorns. He wanted to say, "If she wakes up, please tell her..." But the words were on the tip of his tongue, and he swallowed them back. What right did he have to say anything? What words could possibly make up for all this?

He turned abruptly, his steps heavy and unsteady, as he stepped out of the Moon Gate, almost as if fleeing. A gentle breeze followed him like a shadow, but Xu Zize suddenly stopped, his back to him, and spoke in a voice so low it almost broke: "Send a message to Qiyue... If the princess wakes up, tell her... the whole truth."

"September, follow me!"

He spoke with great difficulty, each word piercing his throat like a knife. He paused for a long moment before speaking again. His voice had regained some of its hardness, but it couldn't conceal the fatigue within. "From today on, you will be stationed in the front yard. You will no longer be required to serve me. If the princess finds any problem, please report it to me immediately."

"Your Highness?!" Qingfeng suddenly stopped, staring at his master's back in disbelief. But he still bowed his head and replied sternly, "Yes."

Xu Zize didn't turn around. His lips were pressed tightly together, his profile appearing cold and desolate in the morning light. He spoke again, his tone commanding: "Select one hundred men from the Jinwu Guards to covertly protect the two palaces. No mistakes are allowed."

He suddenly looked up at the sky with a desolate look, as if he was confronting the sky, blaming it for its injustice and hating it for its ruthlessness.

After a moment, he spoke a firm order, word for word, in a voice only the secret guards could hear: "Leave six men to defend the princess. If she is harmed... bring her head to me."

The leaves in the courtyard trembled silently, as if a dark shadow had retreated after receiving an order, and everything returned to dead silence.

He still stood there, his fists clenched until the knuckles turned blue, as if he wanted to hold something in his palms, but in the end he had to let go and walk out of the yard step by step - every step seemed to crush a part of his soul.