Home/ There’s A Beauty / Chapter 105 (Part 2)
Emperor Chun opened his eyes and was startled to see General Huwei’s rough face. He then howled mournfully, “Ahhhhh… You, how did you get here? No, I, I, how did I get here? This is a tent! I was just sleeping in the inn! You captured me again? Where’s Chang Shun? That useless dog Chang Shun, didn’t he say no one would come after us? Chang Shun, Chang Shun!”
To conceal his fear, or perhaps to find someone to take the blame, Emperor Chun began shouting Chang Shun’s name.
Liu Wen and the others were also awakened and cursed inwardly: Damn it, this Emperor Chun is addicted to acting! Making a scene every day, when will it end?
Chang Shun stood outside the tent and dared not enter. He stammered, “Master, this servant is here. Please don’t shout, it’s useless. You came back on your own.” He knew Emperor Chun better than anyone else and could naturally sense the difference between the two, so he firmly believed in the theory of “one body, two souls”.
Compared to the current Emperor Chun, he preferred serving the previous one. That person had a good temper and a kind heart; although the other party may occasionally cause trouble, he also takes responsibility.
If only it were always the previous one who woke up.
Upon hearing Chang Shun’s voice, Emperor Chun was furious. What did he mean by “coming back on his own”? Did he think he was a fool? This dog of a servant must have sold him out! He wanted to rush out to confront Chang Shun without even putting on his clothes, but was pinned to the ground by General Huwei.
Meng Changye quickly dressed him in several thick garments and then tied his hands and feet with leather ropes before carrying him out.
‘Oh, yesterday you were treating him like a precious gem, and today he’s all tied up. It seems the general has also contracted this dog emperor’s madness.’ Liu Wen and the others thought to themselves.
Meng Changye isn’t crazy; he just clearly distinguishes between Emperor Chun and the puppy. This body belonged to his puppy, and he couldn’t afford to let it get hurt even a single inch. But he also couldn’t stay still without punishing Emperor Chun.
After feeding him a bowl of porridge and seeing that he didn’t spit it out again, he said, “Someone, bring me a feather.”
The soldier, although confused, still brought an owl’s tail feather. The general then removed Emperor Chun’s shoes and socks and began tickling the soles of his feet.
Emperor Chun had delicate skin and tender flesh, with a keen sense of perception; whether it was pain or itching, he felt several times more discomfort than ordinary people. The tickling made him laugh heartily, and soon he was begging for mercy, tears streaming down his face.
Damn it, can you still punish people like this? Liu Wen and the others crowded around, their faces full of schadenfreude.
After tickling for about half an hour, Meng Changye saw that Emperor Chun had fainted from laughter and finally stopped. He then carefully wiped the tears and snot from his face with a handkerchief. Finally, he lifted the boy onto his horse, wrapped him in a cloak, and set off towards Panlong Mountain. The one who wakes up this time will be his puppy, so his attitude naturally became gentler.
The group traveled for several more days, watching in amazement as Emperor Chun repeatedly changed his expressions. One moment he was howling and cursing, causing the general to fly into a rage, the next moment he was docile and obedient, held tightly in the general’s arms.
Amidst the chaos, the troops arrived deep within Panlong Mountain, standing on the edge of a massive sinkhole and peering down.
“Good heavens, this is the largest sinkhole I’ve ever seen in my life! It could probably accommodate the entire capital!” Liu Wen examined the map and declared confidently, “The underground palace is down here.”
“It’s too deep, completely pitch black, we can’t see anything. Military Strategist, how do we get down?” Someone shouted.
“Find some grass vines and hang it down,” Meng Changye said as he covered the puppy’s eyes and comforted, “Don’t be afraid, I’ll carry you down. Just hide in my arms and close your eyes.”
You Shu pushed his master’s hands away and stared intently at the bottom of the sinkhole, feeling a sense of unease for some reason.
It took several days for everyone to weave the grass vines, leaving a thousand people to watch over them on the top while another thousand descended along the vines. The sinkhole was very deep and shrouded in thick black mist. It took them half a day to reach the bottom of the pit. Along the way, the grass vines were not long enough, and they almost fell down. Fortunately, the pit walls were also covered with thick vines as coiled as dragons, which finally relieved the danger.
As the bottom of the pit was vast enough to accommodate the entire capital city, Liu Wen spent several more days calculating the exact location of the underground palace. Finally, four days later, he dug out the stone gate hidden in the thick moss. The stone gate was close to the ground, carved with many evil spirits with green faces and fangs as well as grand and imposing palaces. Looking at it, one couldn’t help but feel a sense of fear.
Liu Wen examined it closely before saying, “This is it. The sealing stones and grouting around it are intact, so no one should have gone inside before us.”
“How do we get in? Pry the door open?” Meng Changye asked in a deep voice.
“There might be some kind of mechanism inside. If we try to open it with force, we might lose our lives. Look, there is a concave palm print right in the center of this stone door. It should only be opened by someone from the Ji royal family by pressing their palm on it.” Liu Wen guessed and then looked at the tightly bound Emperor Chun, “Didn’t you say you could open the underground palace? Come and give it a try!”
Every day when Emperor Chun woke up, he had to face a dark forest, pythons as thick as buckets, porcupines with sharp spines on their back, and calves as strong as tigers. It was already considered fortunate that he wasn’t scared to death. When in danger, he could only howl and cry, which was of no use at all. On the contrary, the ‘other him’ was extremely calm and composed, which made people can’t help but believe the theory of “one body, two souls”.
Therefore, whenever it was Emperor Chun who woke up, Meng Changye would always tie him up, gag him, and carry him on his shoulder to prevent him from hindering everyone.
“Go open the door,” Meng Changye untied the ropes and gave him a light kick.
Emperor Chun staggered and almost fell down, but he dared not get angry. He had no choice but to walk over and press his right hand into the concave pattern. The stone gate remained silent for a long time. Under the intense gaze of everyone, he switched to his left hand again, but it was still of no avail.
“Didn’t you say we needed royal blood? Cut your palm and try it again,” Liu Wen suggested.
Meng Changye felt a bit reluctant, but meeting Emperor Chun’s pitiful and murky eyes, he felt like vomiting. He took out a dagger from his boot and decisively made a cut. These past few days, Emperor Chun had been carried around by General Huwei. Although the other party’s attitude was rude, he always risked his life to protect him in times of danger. Emperor Chun naturally assumed that General Huwei loved him but dared not show it due to their opposing identities. So not only did he not restrain his arrogance, but it grew even stronger.
Seeing a bloody wound on his palm, he said with grievance, “General, you have such a cruel heart. How could you treat me like this?”
Meng Changye almost vomited out the dinner from last night. Looking at the mocking eyes of his subordinates, he couldn’t help but feel ashamed and angry. “What the hell are you dawdling about? Open the door of the underground palace for me right now!”
Emperor Chun was a despicable person who never turned back until he hit the wall. Seeing the general’s fierce expression, he finally put his blood-stained palm in the concave pattern. A quarter of an hour passed, two quarters of an hour passed, three quarters of an hour passed. The blood in the palm of the hand had solidified, but the stone door remained motionless, which greatly disappointed everyone.
“If I had known he was so useless, I would have killed him halfway through. Why would we keep him alive until now!” Someone muttered.
Meng Changye glared at the man and waved his hand. “Try to pry it open.” He then tied up Emperor Chun again and threw him in a safer place.
A thousand strong men tried to pry it open all night long and even tried to dig it up, but to no avail. The stone gate was as heavy as a mountain, and the surrounding soil was as hard as iron. Without a special method, it was absolutely impossible to enter.
Liu Wen took out the map again to study, and his usually composed state of mind began to become agitated and unstable.
“When will he wake up?” He looked at the boy in the general’s arms.
“Let him sleep. He’s exhausted today, and injured too.” Meng Changye turned over the boy’s right palm, frowning at the cut. If he had known blood wouldn’t help, he would never have cut it. He had promised to protect him, to prevent anyone from harming him in the slightest, but he didn’t expect that the person who hurt the boy would be himself.
“Alright, stop blaming yourself. A single cut won’t kill anyone,” Liu Wen whispered in his ear. “Once your puppy wakes up, we’ll have him try it. Didn’t he say this body belongs to him, and Emperor Chun is just a wandering ghost who had occupied the magpie nest? In that case, it’s useless for Emperor Chun to go and press his palm; only the rightful owner can do it.”
The other deputy generals, though finding this absurd, had no choice but to try it, even if it seemed hopeless. The boy certainly had more of a noble aura than Emperor Chun.
Meng Changye sneered, “Didn’t you all refuse to believe him before?”
“We’ve started to believe him a little these past few days. No matter how much someone pretends to be crazy, they wouldn’t abandon their own life. Your puppy is clearly quite skilled, but Emperor Chun could only stand stupidly and wait in one place to die. That defies common sense. Anyway, once he wakes up, let him press it. If that doesn’t work, we can only go home.”
Meng Changye pulled the boy into his arms and nodded indifferently.
Thin sunlight passed through the thick fog, birds began to chirp, wild beasts began to hibernate, and another day passed unnoticed. You Shu woke up in his master’s warm embrace, but refused to get up, instead burying his head in his arms.
Meng Changye chuckled softly, “Wake up. We found the entrance to the underground palace while you were asleep yesterday.”
“Where?” You Shu sat up immediately.
“Here. Young Master Ji, could you please take a look?” Liu Wen stood not far away, his feet resting on two massive stone doors.
You Shu immediately ran over, and upon seeing the relief carvings on the stone doors, he exclaimed in surprise, “How could this be the Gate of Hell?”
Thinking back to when he was lost in the Soul Realm, he had to push open this door to enter the underworld. The relief carvings and patterns on the door were still fresh in his memory. But he quickly dismissed this inference, simply because this door had an additional palm print on it, with some blood stains on it.
Seeing him sniffing the blood on the concave pattern, Meng Changye said awkwardly, “I heard from Emperor Chun that only the blood of the Ji royal family could open the underground palace, so I cut your palm. I’m sorry.”
“It’s alright, as long as it helps you.” You Shu looked at Liu Wen and said slowly, “I almost forgot to tell you, although this body is mine, I am not a member of the Ji royal family, so I probably can’t open this door either.”
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