Floating life reflects two lotuses

The night was still, and the candlelight in the princess's study flickered, casting swaying shadows. Xiao Jinlian sat at her desk, her fingertips gently tracing the runic stone shard she had found. The symbols on the shard gleamed with a cold, eerie light in the candlelight, somewhat similar to the runes she had used to break the formation, but more complex and unsettling.

"What secrets do these symbols hold?" she murmured to herself, her brow furrowed as she stared intently at the intricate patterns. Each engraving on the stone seemed to contain some unknown power, weighing heavily on her mind.

Suddenly, Chu Wanlian's voice rang in her mind, tinged with urgency: "Jinlian, these runes... I feel like I've seen them somewhere before. Not only in ancient books, but also in the symbol records in the laboratory, they've appeared before."

"A laboratory?" Xiao Jinlian looked up, a hint of surprise in her voice. "Are you sure?"

“Yes.” Chu Wanlian’s voice lowered slightly, tinged with a hint of reminiscence. “I’ve seen similar runic patterns in the core research area of ​​the laboratory. At the time, Li Chenyao even said that these symbols might be related to an ancient energy system. We need to investigate further.”

Xiao Jinlian pondered for a moment, then placed the stone tablet on the table, comparing it side by side with the symbols she had recorded when breaking the formation. She picked up a pen and tried to trace the patterns on the stone tablet, but these runes seemed to possess a strange and agile quality, becoming increasingly complex and difficult to decipher the more she traced them.

“Jinlian,” Chu Wanlian continued, her tone tinged with suppressed emotion, “My mother once mentioned that there is a secret place deep within the palace, a place where the royal ancestors worshipped heaven and earth. She said that only members of the royal bloodline can unlock its secrets. And these runes may very well be the key to that secret place.”

"Your mother mentioned the secret place?" Xiao Jinlian's eyes flashed upon hearing this. "If that's true, then the appearance of this stone slab is definitely not accidental."

She examined the stone tablet again, suddenly noticing a ring of tiny patterns engraved around the edge of the runes, vaguely resembling fragments of some kind of map. She looked up, her gaze sharp and calm: "These runes are not just keys, but more like a guide—they point to a certain place."

"You mean... the secret place?" Chu Wanlian's voice was uncertain. "If it really is there, those runes might unlock the secret of my mother back then, and even explain why these runes appeared in the laboratory."

"Whether it's for Mother's secret or to protect ourselves, we must find out the truth." Xiao Jinlian's gaze gradually hardened. "Perhaps the core of this crisis lies hidden in that secret place."

The candlelight flickered gently, illuminating her deep gaze. She lowered her head, clutching the stone shard tightly in her hand, as if making a firm decision. The night enveloped the entire imperial city in the distance, its darkness seemingly concealing countless unsolved mysteries…

"

"Do you know what the 'Land of Offering Souls' means?" Xiao Jinlian's voice was low and slow, yet carried a hint of sharpness. Her fingers tapped lightly on the table, and a bamboo scroll was spread out in front of her. Several lines of ancient characters seemed to leap, pressing down a heavy history on this small study.

Li Heng stood to the side, his hands behind his back, his expression more solemn than ever before. He hesitated for a moment before speaking: "Sacrifice, spiritual power, and perhaps some kind of royal secret. These are all I can deduce from these texts."

Xiao Jinlian remained noncommittal, her gaze fixed on the four characters "Land of Spirit Offering" on the bamboo slip. She raised her hand and placed the rune stone fragment beside her on the bamboo slip: "These symbols match the description in the records. And 'Land of Spirit Offering' seems to have never appeared in official records... like a secret that has been deliberately erased."

“If it’s a secret, then there must be a reason for hiding it.” Li Heng’s voice was calm, but a hint of worry appeared in his eyes. “Lian’er, this matter involves too many things, perhaps—”

“That’s why we need to figure it out even more.” Xiao Jinlian interrupted him without hesitation. “Since the rune points to it, it must be closely related to the royal family’s past, and even the future of this struggle.”

Li Heng gazed at her, his eyes filled with complex emotions. He wasn't unaware of Xiao Jinlian's change—that more decisive, more composed demeanor made the Lian'er before him seem somewhat unfamiliar. But it was precisely this change that made him even more unwilling to let go.

“The bamboo slips mention the phoenix totem.” He changed the subject, handing her a scroll of documents. “I remember there was only one place in the palace with such carvings—the artificial hill in the back garden of the East Palace.”

“The artificial hill…” Xiao Jinlian repeated softly, as vague fragments of Chu Wanlian’s memory flashed through her mind. Her mother’s voice seemed to come from the depths of her memory: “That is a place left by our ancestors, where the deepest secret of the royal family is hidden.”

She gathered her thoughts, put away the stone shard, and tucked it into her bosom along with the bamboo slip: "Let's go take a look."

"Now?" Li Heng was taken aback. "You know that place has been in disrepair for years, and there may not be any clues there. In fact, it may be dangerous."

“It’s precisely because it’s dangerous that it holds the answer.” Xiao Jinlian stood up, her eyes shining with determination. “Brother Liheng, would you be willing to come with me to find out?”

He was silent for a moment, then a faint smile appeared on his lips, as if sighing at her stubbornness, or perhaps admiring her decisiveness: "Then I'll risk my life to accompany the princess~"

The two exchanged a glance, and without a word, strode towards the outside of the princess's residence. At that moment, sunlight streamed in through the window lattice, making the writing on the bamboo slips even clearer—"A royal secret, offered as a sacrifice."