Volume One, Chapter Four: Lifting Her Horizontally in His Arms

Ming Shu nodded. "Really. Look closely at the flowers and trees in the courtyard—they're short and sparse. But the paint on the wooden door has peeled off, and the stone table and chairs are aged, which shows the matriarch has lived here for quite some time. Normally, the plants should be tall and lush."

Mu Xi understood at once. "The plants are newly planted!"

"Yes. The original ones withered and died, so they had to be replaced."

Mu Xi was puzzled. "But how could they all die? Pines and bamboos are easy to keep alive."

Ming Shu lowered her voice. "There’s a powerful sinister aura in this courtyard, constantly devouring the surrounding Yang energy day and night."

Mu Xi was startled and about to ask more when a maid came running in a panic.

"Xue Tuan, where are you? Xue Tuan—" The maid searched the courtyard, her eyes reddened.

Mu Xi was even more shocked. "Xue Tuan... the dog is really gone!"

Ming Shu quickly cast a divination and decided without hesitation. "Mu Xi, let’s go find the dog, or it might really be dead."

"But aren’t we supposed to wait for the matriarch to wake up—"

"Look at the situation. That dog is the matriarch’s treasure. If something happens to it, I’m afraid I’ll have to serve her in illness."

Hearing this, Mu Xi hurriedly supported Ming Shu and stepped out of the courtyard.

Seeing the maid still wandering around like a headless fly, Ming Shu called out, "Follow me quickly, I know where the dog is!"

They headed northwest.

The maid named Yun Xia was distraught, mumbling all the way: "I took Xue Tuan for a walk this morning and met Granny Nian. She pulled me aside to talk about the Third Young Master’s wife. I was supposed to just say a few words and leave to walk the dog, but Granny Nian kept talking."

"Later, Xue Tuan disappeared, and I searched the entire mansion... Xue Tuan is very obedient and never runs off. If I’d known the dog would go missing, I wouldn’t have chatted with Granny Nian for anything…"

Ming Shu thought silently: With your habit of oversharing, even if I kill you, you’d still drift back to chat with Granny Nian.

But the dog’s disappearance was indeed strange.

The divination showed "an unexpected calamity from the sky."

It would wither slowly like the flowers and plants in the matriarch’s courtyard, not die suddenly.

The three stopped in a desolate area at the northwest corner of the mansion.

Here, Ming Shu sensed a faint trace of the dog’s life force.

"This used to be a storage yard. Later, water ran through and it became haunted. Gradually, no one came here anymore. Even I never brought Xue Tuan here..."

Ming Shu furrowed her brows slightly. Haunted? The sinister aura here was not as strong as in the matriarch’s courtyard.

But there was no time to investigate now.

"Search carefully. Xue Tuan has to be here."

They spread out and searched the large area thoroughly but found no sign of the dog.

Noticing the life force fading, Ming Shu steeled herself and asked Yun Xia, "Do you have anything Xue Tuan usually uses on you?"

Yun Xia patted her pouch and pulled out a small cloth ball.

"Burn it."

"Huh?" Yun Xia was confused.

"The dog’s about to die, burn it!" Ming Shu said sternly.

Yun Xia hurriedly pulled out a tinderbox.

As the cloth ball was set aflame, Ming Shu’s fingers moved swiftly, murmuring incantations under her breath.

Mu Xi and Yun Xia watched in amazement as the smoke, which had been dispersing, suddenly gathered into a dense plume and drifted straight southeast.

"Follow the direction the smoke points!"

Ming Shu’s face turned pale. She was already weak, and now performing sorcery from her sect was like draining her very essence!

Yun Xia was still stunned, but Mu Xi had already gone ahead.

The smoke ended at a collapsed wall, where a chaotic pile of bricks concealed a small hole about a foot wide.

Mu Xi’s thoughts stirred, recalling the pile of dog droppings.

Thin and small.

Xue Tuan was a small dog!

She knelt down, digging through the stones while shouting, "Yun Xia, come help!"

Once they cleared the rubble, a furry bundle appeared.

"Xue Tuan!" Yun Xia exclaimed.

A short arrow had pierced its body, its white fur stained with blood over half.

Mu Xi carefully picked up the puppy and checked, "It’s still breathing, hurry and find a vet!"

Yun Xia took Xue Tuan and ran off.

Mu Xi turned around to see Ming Shu stagger and fall heavily to the ground, her forehead bleeding from the impact.

"Your Highness!"

Mu Xi’s heart jolted. She hurriedly lifted the unconscious Ming Shu, and after a moment’s thought, decided to find Zhao Bo.

But no one answered her calls in the east courtyard.

Not daring to leave Ming Shu alone in the empty yard, Mu Xi carried her back to the matriarch instead.

However, at the gate, Granny Tang blocked her way. "The Third Young Master’s wife was supposed to pay respects to the matriarch but she ran off! Does she have no respect for her elders?!"

"Your Highness has fainted and needs a doctor—"

Granny Tang sneered and cut her off, "Feigning fainting? I’ve seen enough tricks in the rear mansion. Don’t try to fool me! Guards, take the Third Young Master’s wife to the ancestral hall for a proper reflection!"

"You—" Mu Xi was furious.

At that moment, a man carrying a medicine box approached briskly. Mu Xi guessed he was the vet for Xue Tuan. Whether he could save her was unknown, but she had no time to hesitate and shouted, "Please, see to the princess first—"

Before she could finish, two strong servants grabbed her and dragged both her and Ming Shu away.

The vet looked back in confusion, but Granny Tang urged, "Stop standing there! Go see to the dog!"

The ancestral hall was dark, cold, and oppressive.

Holding Ming Shu, Mu Xi rubbed her lifeless body. "Your Highness, wake up... Your Highness—"

Tears fell as she sobbed.

"Mu Xi..." came a faint voice from within her arms.

Mu Xi wiped her tears and smiled through her own. "Your Highness, you’re awake!"

"Don’t cry. I’m fine, just weak. I’ll recover soon..."

Ming Shu didn’t open her eyes. She adjusted her breath with secret sect techniques, gradually slipping into a void-like state.

"Mm, I’m holding the princess."

The two sat on the cold floor.

Mu Xi’s heart was desolate, feeling the mansion was like a massive prison. They would either be dragged out for execution or trapped to die inside.

After an unknown length of time, the door was pushed open.

A tall figure stepped in from the dim light.

Mu Xi was stunned and momentarily speechless.

Fu Zhixun’s gaze landed on Ming Shu’s face, noticing the dried blood on her forehead. His brows furrowed almost imperceptibly. "Take her back."

Mu Xi was filled with grief and confusion, whispering, "Back where? The princess has no home anymore..."

Fu Zhixun was silent for a moment before saying, "If you want to freeze to death here, then stay."

Mu Xi finally snapped out of it and tried to rise with Ming Shu in her arms.

But having knelt so long, her legs were numb; she not only couldn’t stand but dropped Ming Shu.

"Your Highness—"

Ming Shu’s body ached as she withdrew from the void and involuntarily opened her eyes.

In the next instant, her bewildered eyes grew wide.

She saw Fu Zhixun kneeling on one knee, one arm around her shoulders and the other under her knees, holding her horizontally.

He looked at her with eyes as cold as the ancestral hall, his lips moving slightly, "Will she survive?"

Though the words were abrupt, Ming Shu understood. Weak but resolute, she whispered, "Yes."

Fu Zhixun carried Ming Shu out of the ancestral hall.

Along the way, they passed maids and servants, all either rushing or flustered.

Ming Shu knew the reason.

Weighing her words carefully, she finally said, "Xue Tuan can’t be saved, can she?"

Fu Zhixun was slightly taken aback.

Ming Shu looked straight at him. "I can find Xue Tuan and save him. Do you believe me?"

Fu Zhixun raised his sharp brows, the coldness in his eyes dissipating somewhat, revealing a hint of amusement. "If you succeed, I’ll believe it."

Ming Shu took a deep breath silently. "Good. Find me a ginseng root, and I’ll make you believe."