Oops! The Black Lotus Can't Be a Female Supporting Character - Chapter 9
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- Chapter 9 - Live or Die Together
Chapter 9: Live or Die Together
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Rustle, rustle…
The gentle mountain breeze wafted by, causing the flames in the furnace to flicker with the wind, casting a flickering light on the face of Xiao Luanfei.
The wind rustled the leaves of the Bodhi tree, even the red strings hanging from the branches swayed in the breeze, gently dancing.
At the ends of the red strings, wooden plaques were tied, and the wooden plaques collided with each other, producing a “clang” sound, like numerous wind chimes hanging.
Xiao Luanfei looked up at those red strings and wooden plaques, saying, “Second Sister, you probably don’t know, but this Bodhi tree is the tree where the Emperor and the late Empress formed their bond.”
“A bond tree?” Xiao Yanfei followed up.
She truly didn’t know, as the original owner of the body rarely left the mansion except for the two years in the countryside.
Xiao Luanfei smiled and said, “When the Emperor was seventeen years old, he met the young Empress under this bond tree. It was love at first sight, and he earnestly requested the late Emperor to decree their marriage.”
“At that time, the Empress threw her wish plaque here.”
“The Emperor and the late Empress were a loving young couple, deeply in love, and people everywhere praised them. Unfortunately, the Empress had a short life, and the Emperor grieved deeply…”
A loving young couple? Xiao Yanfei listened, silently thinking: Not necessarily, right? If the current Emperor truly had such deep affection for his original wife, how could he have taken a new Empress less than a year after the original one’s death?
The mountain breeze passed by, and the wooden plaques collided with each other again, making a mournful sound.
After Princess Ning Shu and Lu San drew their lots, they came out from the Great Hero Hall, chatting and laughing.
Seeing the Xiao sisters looking at the Bodhi tree, Princess Ning Shu playfully nudged Xiao Luanfei’s arm and asked, “Do you want to make a wish too?”
She leaned close to Xiao Luanfei’s ear with a smile and whispered, “My mother says that the Empress is about to choose a consort for the Crown Prince.”
Xiao Luanfei gently nibbled her cherry lips, and in a fleeting glance, a hint of shyness and sweetness emerged.
“Don’t tease me,” Xiao Luanfei playfully scolded.
“Princess, Luanfei sister, what secret are you whispering about?” Lu San leaned in with curiosity written all over her face.
Xiao Luanfei smiled and changed the subject, “We were discussing how the vegetarian food at the West Forest Temple is excellent. The head chef there is a descendant of royal chefs and excels in preparing vegetarian dishes.”
“Really?” Lu San’s eyes lit up, and she eagerly suggested, “Then let’s go and try the vegetarian food.”
“What’s so great about vegetarian food? It’s just some vegetables and tofu,” Princess Ning Shu complained with a hint of disdain.
“Just give it a try,” Lu San stuck out her tongue and playfully ran over to hold Princess Ning Shu’s arm. “Princess, let’s go.”
Princess Ning Shu couldn’t resist Lu San’s persistence and lazily agreed, “Alright, let’s go then.”
Lu San beamed with joy.
“Miss, you won’t be disappointed; our temple’s vegetarian food is famous,” the young novice Jing Wu proudly said, pointing in a direction. “Miss, this way.”
He led them towards a building located to the west of the temple, and along the way, he didn’t stop talking.
“Our temple has three specialties: protective charms, vegetarian food, and the scripture Repository.”
“All the past abbots were skilled in the art of traditional Chinese medicine, and they’ve collected many precious and rare medical books. Even the physicians from the capital often come to the scripture Repository to study.”
“…”
Upon hearing about medical books, Xiao Yanfei’s eyes lit up, and she immediately spoke, “Elder sister, I’m not hungry. I won’t join you for the vegetarian food. I want to go to the scripture Repository.”
She smiled with anticipation clearly evident in her expression.
Xiao Luanfei looked somewhat surprised at Xiao Yanfei and smiled gently, nodding, “If you want to go, go ahead. We’ll find you in the Scripture Repository after we finish our vegetarian meal.”
Finally, she added, “But, please don’t leave the temple.”
Xiao Yanfei obediently agreed.
So, Jing Wu called another young novice with a fair face to guide Xiao Yanfei.
Jing Xuan led her through the temple, and after about the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, they arrived at a building with a sign that read “Scripture Repository.”
The Scripture Repository was located in the northwest corner of the temple, in a somewhat remote location with few pilgrims nearby and only a few monks. The environment was peaceful, with only the crisp chirping of birds circling in the air.
“Squeak!”
As soon as the doors were pushed open, a strong smell of books wafted in.
In the center, there hung a somewhat old portrait of Guanyin with a solemn and gentle expression, a faint smile of compassion on her lips.
On both sides of the building, rows of bookshelves were neatly arranged, each filled with books, giving a sense of the vastness of a mountain of books and a sea of knowledge.
Jing Xuan raised his chin and said with enthusiasm, “In the entire capital, our West Forest Temple’s scripture repository has the most books, including many handwritten copies and some rare and precious editions.”
“This is the accumulated wisdom of several generations of abbots!”
The young novice’s voice was sweet, making people smile involuntarily.
“Very impressive!” Xiao Yanfei complimented in agreement and then asked, “Where are the medical books?”
“They’re over there.” Jing Xuan pointed to the western side of the scripture repository and led her to the bookshelves in the far west.
Inside the scripture repository, there were no candles, so the lighting was somewhat dim.
Xiao Yanfei quickly scanned the medical books on the bookshelf, including some familiar titles like “Shen Nong’s Herbal Classic,” “The Yellow Emperor’s Internal Classic,” “Treatise on Febrile Diseases and Miscellaneous Diseases,” and “Meridians,” but many were unfamiliar to her, such as “Lin’s Acupuncture and Moxibustion,” “Herbal Integration,” and “Golden Chamber Selection”…
Xiao Yanfei casually picked up a book called “Sheng Gong Materia Medica” to see if the herbs in this world were the same as in her world.
“This ‘Sheng Gong Materia Medica’ is a unique copy,” Jing Xuan proudly stated, “Originally, it was a fragment, and Master Huai Yuan spent five years to complete it.”
A unique copy? She definitely couldn’t buy it in the bookstore. Xiao Yanfei slowly turned a couple of pages and thought, it seems she’ll have to buy some common books from the bookstore for now and make do.
At this moment, there was a commotion outside the hall, accompanied by disordered footsteps, approaching this way.
An elderly, hoarse male voice politely said, “Your Highness, this is our temple’s scripture repository.”
More than a dozen attendants dressed in bright red attire surrounded a young man in a pale yellow python robe who appeared outside the scripture repository. There was also an old monk wearing a kasaya, who was the abbot, Master Huai Yuan.
The young man at the forefront had a gentle smile on his lips, deep and thin lips, sword-like eyebrows, and a handsome and extraordinary appearance. The noon sunlight cast a radiant golden glow on him, and his noble demeanor was impossible to ignore.
Xiao Yanfei was stunned. Well, it’s only been a few days since she crossed over, and she’s already seen both the male and female leads.
One is running away, and the other is chasing, happily playing a game of “chase and fire,” and in the end, the unfortunate one is the original owner.
The Crown Prince’s gaze lightly passed over Xiao Yanfei without stopping for even a moment, not caring about such a weak and powerless girl.
“Search!”
The crown prince calmly uttered a word.
With a command, the Imperial guards responded in unison, conducting a thorough and rough search in all directions.
“Abbot,” the young novice Jing Xuan anxiously approached Master Huai Yuan’s side, his round face tensed.
Master Huai Yuan offered a reassuring smile, saying, “No trouble.”
The Imperial guards meticulously searched the scripture repository, even lifting the round Guanyin image to ensure there were no hidden compartments before returning it to its place.
“Bang!”
A tall flower stand in the corner was knocked over by someone, and the potted plants on it shattered into pieces, soil scattered everywhere, creating a mess.
The scripture repository was neither large nor small. In less than half a cup of tea, two guards in brocade clothes came to Xiao Yanfei with sabers strapped to their sides to search for it.
“You, move aside!” One of the square-faced Imperial guards said imperiously to Xiao Yanfei, who stood still in front of the bookshelves.
Xiao Yanfei complied, moving to the other side with her face half lowered, paying no attention to the Imperial guards or their purpose.
There was about four feet of distance between the bookshelves, making it easy to hide from view.
However, the square-faced Imperial guard still made a round trip inside and then walked proudly to the front of the crown prince, bowing and reporting, “Your Highness, nothing was found here.”
The crown prince surveyed the surroundings and was the first to exit the scripture repository, indifferently saying a single word, “Let’s go.”
The other Imperial guards followed, with Master Huai Yuan and Jing Xuan, the two monks, walking behind them.
Xiao Yanfei was left alone in the scripture hall.
Tall bookshelves obstructed her view, and she couldn’t see the people at the entrance. She only heard the crown prince’s calm voice asking, “Abbot, what other places are there in the rear temple?”
Great Master Huai Yuan said, “Over there is the Guanyin Hall and the Medicine Master Hall. In the northwest are several Buddhist pagodas…”
“Why haven’t you left yet?” Xiao Yanfei thought to herself while absentmindedly reaching for a book on the shelf.
As she was only halfway through pulling out that book, she heard a “drip” sound, and some liquid suddenly dripped from above.
On the book “The Holy Herbal” placed nearby, there was an unidentifiable red liquid.
Xiao Yanfei’s heart skipped a beat, and then another drop of dark red liquid fell, adding another red stain to the book, which was shockingly vivid.
Is this blood?!
She swallowed hard, with a sense of foreboding in her heart.
Suddenly, she understood what the embroidered guards were searching for just now.
“Silencing the witnesses,” “swift and ruthless,” “dying on the spot,” and other words rushed into her mind in an instant.
Xiao Yanfei suppressed the urge to look up, feigned composure, as if she hadn’t seen anything, pushed the half-pulled book back into the shelf, and turned to walk out.
But as soon as she took a step, a ghostly figure appeared in front of her, leaping lightly from the high rafters above.
Upon landing, it was silent, like a lithe and agile black panther.
She’s done for!
Xiao Yanfei’s pupils suddenly contracted.
In the next moment, she felt a cold sensation at her neck, as a gleaming, sharp sword was lightly placed against her throat.
The sharp blade lightly sank into her soft skin, causing a sharp, piercing pain in her neck.
This was a demonstration, as well as a warning.
Xiao Yanfei’s neck was covered in goosebumps, and her spine tensed as she saw the icy intent in this person’s eyes. The ominous omen from earlier flashed in her mind.
She didn’t want to die!!
That was her initial reaction.
The instinct to survive prompted her to quickly open her first aid kit with her thoughts. Then, the crescent-shaped birthmark in the palm of her left hand grew warm, and she held a brown glass bottle of cough syrup.
Without a word, she raised her left hand, making the black-clad person in front of her see the small glass bottle in her hand, staring intently at each other.
Standing in front of her was a young man in his twenties, tall and slender. He was a head taller than Xiao Yanfei, looking down at her with a cold and stern expression.
His raven-like long hair was tied up high at the back of his head, his eyebrows were as dark as ink, his eyes were as cold as stars, his nose was high, and his clearly defined face was incredibly handsome, leaving people in awe.
This was an extraordinarily handsome man, even if he was dressed in a simple black robe with a torn sleeve, looking somewhat disheveled, it couldn’t hide his innate nobility.
Xiao Yanfei raised her delicate chin, her eyes like polished gems locking onto the young man’s gaze without flinching.
No one said a word, but both of them understood each other.
With the young man’s skills, he could easily take Xiao Yanfei’s life in a breath, but before she died, she could at least smash the glass bottle in her hand on the ground.
The sound of shattering glass would be enough to alert the Crown Prince and the Imperial guards outside the scripture repository.
Xiao Yanfei stared at him unwaveringly, her gaze not shifting in the slightest.
She had laid her thoughts out plainly – either let her live, or they would both die together…
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Translated By: Allthingsfluff