Chapter 6 — Impurity Under My Shadow

07The paper money fell on the sill, as light as a piece of a dead person's fingernail. I reached out and took it. The old mother quickly said: "Don't touch it, Mrs. Shen." But it's late. The moment the paper money was in your hand, the cinnabar writing seemed to come to life, inch by inch seeping red along the surface of the paper. My name is covered in blood. The Buddha pearl on my neck suddenly felt hot. I smell a burning rotten wood smell. Not from paper money. But it flew from the direction of Truong Lac Palace. The Queen Mother stood up on the bed's handrail. "What is this?" I looked at the money. "Money leads the way." The old mother's face became even whiter. "The kind that guides the dead?" I shook my head. "It is to lead the dead to find the living." The Queen Mother's eyes momentarily darkened. "Looking for you?" "Not sure." I turned the money back over. The corner of the banknote has a very small burn mark. That shape resembles half a lotus petal. When the Queen Mother saw it, her breath stopped. "That year when His Highness was mourning, the paper money burned in the palace also had this mark." I raised my eyes to look at her. "Are you sure?" The Queen Mother's voice was very cold. "No one in this life will forget." Suddenly there was a scream outside the palace. Right after that, a palace maid knocked on the door in panic. "Niang, something happened to Truong Lac Palace!" The old mother immediately opened the door. The palace maid knelt to the ground, her face pale. "Miss Tiet suddenly couldn't breathe, as if she was strangled by something." The Queen Mother looked towards me. I went out. Luc Hoai Canh's voice came from the end of the hallway. "Chieu Vi!" He quickly walked over to greet her, his shirt also in disarray. "Chi Lan was still good just now, what exactly did you do to her?" I stopped walking. "Master thinks I can strangle her even a distance from a heavenly palace?" Luc Hoai Canh was stiffened by my question. But soon he frowned again. "You were wrong today." I smiled. "Am I wrong today?" His face changed slightly. I don't look at him anymore. In Truong Lac Palace, there was chaos. Tiet Chi Lan fell in Trieu Thi's arms, strangling herself with both hands. Her face was purple, her eyes were white, and the pearls in her hair fell all over the ground. Trieu cried until her voice trembled. "Chi Lan, Chi Lan!" The surrounding ladies all retreated far away. No one dared to come close. When I stepped closer, I saw that the gray gas had completely wrapped around Tiet Chi Lan's neck. It's like a rope made from dead people's hair. The end of the wire still connected to the broken needle. The old mother hugged the golden bead, her hands shaking so much that she could barely hold it. The Queen Mother said coldly: "Everyone leave." Everyone immediately made way. Luc Hoai Canh stood in front of me. "What do you want to do?" "Save her." "You will save her?" I raised my head to look at him. "Don't worry, Marquis, I am not petty like you." Luc Hoai Canh's face turned pale. I passed him and squatted in front of Tiet Chi Lan. Tiet Chi Lan saw me, tears rolling from the corners of her eyes. She wanted to grab me, but could only let out broken breaths. "Sister... sister..." I looked at the gray string around her neck. "Don't call me so familiar." Her pupils trembled. I raised my hand to touch the Buddha pearl. The Buddha pearl is so hot that it almost melts into the meat. But that wild thing also awakens deeper in the blood. It's like an animal lying on my shoulder, lazily opening its eyes. I said in a low voice: "Bite it." Trieu Thi suddenly looked at me. "What did you say?" Right after that, a low animal roar suddenly rang out in the hall. No one saw anything. But the gray thread on Tiet Chi Lan's neck suddenly trembled. Her whole body arched up, she opened her mouth and vomited out a large mouthful of black ash. Black ash falls on the ground, not dispersing. It slowly gathered into a small handprint. Like the hand of a three-year-old child. The Queen Mother's hand holding onto the old mother squeezed tightly. The old mother muttered: "Your Highness..." Tiet Chi Lan finally took a breath and collapsed on the ground.

cough violently. Luc Hoai Canh immediately came to help her. She panicked and ran away, staring at the black ash mark on the ground. That small handprint moved. It dragged along a piece of ash and slowly wrote a word on the shiny tile floor. Tran.08As soon as the word Tran was written, the sound of the flute in Truong Lac Palace completely stopped. All the musicians knelt on the ground, not even daring to raise their heads. The Queen Mother's face was as cold as the unmelted snow outside the palace. She stared at that word, saying nothing for a long time. Luc Hoai Canh supported Tiet Chi Lan, his voice hoarse. "What does this mean?" No one answered him. But Trieu Thi felt as if her soul had been taken out of her, her whole body sat limply at the banquet table.