Chapter Fifty: The Cicada (Please add to your favorites and recommend!)

The sunlight filtering through the curtains seemed somewhat bleak. Wu Yue stood before the window, gazing out in a daze. Below was a fountain and the high walls of the courtyard. The room was still shrouded in white. It was no longer the same place as that night, yet what difference did it make?

If all of this is an illusion, then how am I to return to what is real? An emptiness echoed within, no different from an ordinary mortal. The midsummer world once blooming in my heart, the dream I held so dearly, had vanished without a trace.

Wu Yue struck the glass with his fist, his hand aching from the impact. No time, no people.

Twilight sand poured from the sky. The Garden of Eternal Life was vast, yet fate wove its own coincidences. Li Suizhu carried Wu Yue on her back, standing before two figures—a man and a woman—who looked down upon her with cold detachment.

"So it is true, your feelings run deep. We've followed you for three days," said one of them. "You may call me Crimson."

Li Suizhu stood on guard, her whole being alert.

"There's no need to be so tense. I am Dusk," the other one said with a slight, mocking smile. "I can tell you, there is not a soul within a thousand miles. Perhaps you would prefer it that way."

"What do you want?" Li Suizhu replied coldly, refusing to set Wu Yue down. Wu Yue breathed, his breaths steady and rhythmic, like one deep in sleep.

"Why, to kill and take treasure, of course," Dusk said with a smile.

"Then by all means, come and try," Li Suizhu retorted, standing firm.

"But, the two of us have always admired those with such deep devotion. So, we have a business proposition for you."

"What sort of business?" Not a hint of vigilance left Li Suizhu's eyes.

"Very simple. You give us one treasure, and we protect you for three days."

"No need," Li Suizhu replied crisply, without hesitation.

"Oh?" Their eyes flickered.

"I don't need it. Our safety is none of your concern." Though Li Suizhu was young and quick-tempered, her mind was sharp. She would not nurture a threat.

"Little sister, no need to speak so absolutely," Dusk said with a mischievous smile.

"If you aren't going to fight, then get out of the way!" Li Suizhu showed utter impatience.

"Oh dear. Even if the deal falls through, let us not break ties. Please, don't be angry." Dusk spoke lightly.

The two exchanged a glance, a trace of cold amusement passing between them, but they retreated into the distance. Li Suizhu breathed a sigh of relief. Though she was surrounded by treasures, their power was limited.

She took out her compass, noting a green dot more than two thousand miles away, and was instantly gladdened. Producing a white bead, she crushed it gently, and then the two of them soared into the sky.

At that moment, two figures reappeared—Crimson and Dusk.

"She just left like that?"

"She's gone."

"So brazenly?"

"Brazen, yes."

"Damn." They cursed in unison.

"This is your fault, with your talk of letting out the bait for bigger prey."

"You agreed, and now you blame me?"

Half an hour later.

"Enough, let's go after them. We can't lose such a fat sheep."

A streak of white light, a streak of red, tore through the dusk-colored realm, piercing the veil of sand, striking the shield that suddenly appeared around Li Suizhu.

"Interesting. Keep up," said a young man, wielding a massive bow.

"Haha. What a presumptuous little brat," muttered a man cloaked head to toe in black.

On a distant peak, another figure watched the sky, observing Li Suizhu dart across the horizon. "It seems this tranquility is about to shatter." His body blurred into a shadow, following in pursuit.

"The scent of treasure, the stench of greed—how detestable. In the name of the God of Light," whispered a handsome blond man in white ceremonial robes, his eyes cold and merciless.

"Light shall judge evil, and flames will burn away sin," intoned several knights behind him.

"The cicada has emerged," a pair of eyes suddenly appeared in the branches of a tree.

From a cave, a woman in white, stunningly beautiful, climbed out—Ren Ruyi. Her aura was even colder, her beauty more striking, her bearing like a snow lotus on a mountain peak or a wild rose in the field.

"That voice did not deceive me," she murmured, striding several miles with a single step.

Another figure appeared—Shen Gonglei, who had vanished earlier, staff in hand, its tip encircled with faint thunder.

"Vengeance and grievances will be settled today. Time waits for no one." Shen Gonglei's staff trembled, and he vanished in a surge of lightning.

A long while later, yet another figure appeared—Teng She. His clothes soaked with blood, he trudged onward, every step labored, his eyes filled with hatred.

Counting the numbers, there should still be the man from the world of science fiction, but he was nowhere to be found.

The sand blowing against them grew ever fiercer, flashes of light occasionally flickering around Li Suizhu. The green dot in the compass seemed to have noticed her as well, moving in her direction, though neither quickly nor slowly. But Li Suizhu paid it no mind.

Two groups converged. Li Suizhu wore a humble, courteous expression. Opposite her stood two men: a burly soldier and Zong Shen. Was it the howling wind, or the harshness of the environment? Both bore an air of aloof pride.

"Greetings to Your Highness, Princess Jinping," said the soldier, his expression devoid of respect. Zong Shen's face briefly flickered with worry before settling into indifference.

Li Suizhu smiled kindly, hesitating over how to speak. She had hoped, if she met any Qin people, to ask for help with Wu Yue. But seeing Zong Shen, she grew hesitant, knowing something of the grievances between him and Wu Yue.

"What happened to Brother Wu?" the soldier asked, both of them ignoring the fact that Wu Yue was being carried on Li Suizhu’s back.

"He should wake soon," Li Suizhu replied calmly, at once deciding to lie. Women have a talent for lying, but Li Suizhu was still only a girl.

The soldier grinned and said no more. "That's good. Brother Wu is a formidable fighter. We'll have to rely on him in the Garden of Eternal Life." He spoke as if in passing, but glanced at Zong Shen.

Zong Shen lowered his head in silence.

"Princess Jinping, where shall we go next?" the soldier asked.

"Just call me Jinping," Li Suizhu answered, tightly gripping a bamboo talisman in her hand. "I lack experience; you make the arrangements."

"Very well," the soldier replied, without modesty. "This place is perilous. The Garden of Eternal Life is somewhat safer—no deadly traps. But the people here are another story. They're all mad with killing."

"Therefore, Princess, I ask that you heed my directions. Do not act on your own, or bear the consequences yourself." His tone grew blunt. "If I've offended you, I will answer to the First Emperor when we return to Luoyang."

Yet Li Suizhu felt oddly reassured by his words. She smiled, replying, "I am not unreasonable. I will do as you say." At this moment, Li Suizhu truly resembled a princess of the inner palace: calculating and insincere.

Zong Shen, head bowed, let a trace of mocking smile curl at his lips.

Li Suizhu sensed it, but could not tell good from ill.