Reborn: Revenge of the Concubine's Daughter

“Stone Camouflage” was one of the few matrices that He Danggui learned from Bai Yangbai in her previous life, but it was also the most dangerous one. It needed to be triggered with 125 grams of blood and then, it would have destructive power, but its creator Bai Yangbai didn’t like killing, so there was another simple version of it. That version would cause no death, but it had a defect. Once it’s closed, people outside couldn’t get in and vice versa.

What’s more, the alternating coldness and hotness must be suffering for those in the dungeon. She hoped they could be patient and don’t cause any trouble, because the sound in the dungeon was possible to be heard outside. The diagram of this tactical matrix looked generally like that of Tai Chi in which Yin and Yang were alternating. At the alternating moment, the sound inside could be heard outside.

The most torturous thing was that those in the dungeon would feel extremely cold in Yin as if they were in an ice field. This place was originally in winter and there was ice everywhere so it’s not strange. However, When Yang alternated with Yin, people inside the dungeon would feel hot and fuggy. Would they suspect that she had set a fire outside and tried to roast them to death? Once the chaos began and the enemies heard the noise, the most hidden dungeon would also be exposed.

She should’ve told Lu Jiangbei all of this, but obviously, they didn’t believe her at all. No matter how much she had said, once any problem appeared, they wouldn’t entrust their lives to an irrelevant person like her for no reason. She could only do her best and leave the rest to God by leaving a note in the wax shell she gave to Lu Jiangbei. Would they use the idea on it or not? That’s not what she could control.

The original version of “Stone Camouflage” had no defect and blood sacrifice was also not a very difficult thing to do. Everyone could give 125 grams of blood easily. However, people outside the tactical matrix would die for it. Imperial Guards was a ruthless organization that maintained imperial power. Objectively speaking, they were people having committed countless crimes so she couldn’t kill others to save them.

Although she had no idea who these coming enemies were or what treasure they were scrambling for, she didn’t intend to get involved too much. She just wanted to heal Meng Xuan with the antidote and try to detoxify He He Qi Ri Qing in her body. Alas, they were both poisoned by imperial guards who were already powerful but still liked using poisons. It’s so unreasonable.

She hadn’t seen fights or killings for so long that they all sounded like strange dust of the past. She didn’t want to get involved in such things. Only being safe and sound was what she longed for and what she did now was her trying to get this wish realized... Thinking about it, she took off the gold lock, opened the gear, and took out one of those small boxes. She poured some red powder and scattered it on Xun of Eight Trigram in this Stone Camouflage. Then, she finished preparing the tactical matrix. ƒ𝑟𝐞𝗲𝘄𝙚𝚋𝑛ｏ𝙫𝒆𝒍.𝒄𝘰𝓂

Her purplish-red horse and short brown horse were still tied at the gate of the restaurant. She should’ve left right away since it’s not the evening yet and the torrential rain and those unknown enemies were still on the way, but she was a bit worried about those people in the dungeon. She had done all she could do, so now she could just... She could emulate Bai Yangbai and make divination. Did her best and left the rest to God. What would God do, then?

She couldn’t make complex divination, but she was able to recite the hexagram-records of making 64 hexagrams of I Ching... Then, three spluttering sounds came.

The copper coins fell on the ground. Her faint smile faded. Hexagram Xian? Why would it be?

Suddenly the sound of hooves was heard in distance. She had no time to figure it out and could just leave this place of trouble first. She went out of the gate, mounted one horse, and led the other, but she couldn’t find a horsewhip. Thus, she imitated Du Yao and patted the horse on its rump. “Giddyap! Giddyap! Giddyap!”

She rode the horse and ran 1.5 or 2 kilometers. Behind her dust swirled in the air. At this time, it was drizzling so that the dust got wet and fell. He Danggui didn’t feel tired after running for long. It must be because she had adequate internal force now. She wasn’t happy about this. Instead, she thought of Du Yao and felt guilty. She got Hexagram Xian symbolizing entanglements between men and women just now in the restaurant. Was it about someone there, about her, or about other people and things?

The distant sound of hooves became clearer. There were several ways to enter Ten Mile Slope. It seemed she was unlucky and had chosen the same way with those “villains”. Judging from the sound, there were at least ten horses. She didn’t know who these people were, but since they dared to attack government officers, they were probably some desperadoes. She should avoid them first. “Stop–” She reined in the horse, looked around, and found a low thorn bush in the southeastern side so she hid there with her horses.

“Giddyap!” “Giddyap!” “Giddyap!” Those villains passed. She stifled her curiosity and didn’t try to look at them. If she knew more, she would need to face countless trouble.

After they had gone far away, she stood up and turned around. A man with a red robe was standing behind and she got frightened, but when she saw his face, her panic was replaced by surprise and shock. “Mr. Nie? It’s you! It’s been so long but you still haven’t changed at all!” The man looked down at her while she looked up and kept asking, “Where have you been these years? Why did you leave Luo’s Family without saying goodbye three years ago? Guard Pan said you had paid him for taking care of me. Why would you help me like that?”

Right. This man in his thirties standing about fifteen meters away who was expressionless and looked serious was Nie Chun, a guard in Luo’s Mansion before. He looked at He Danggui in distance with some strange light in his eyes. After a long while, he said, “I’m not a worker in Luo’s Mansion. I just lived there for convenience before and I moved out after I found another place to live. I often go back to visit Madam Luo and others but you don’t know it. Third Miss, why are you here? It’s not very safe.”

Shaking the two reins in her hand, He Danggui lied, “I went out of the city to walk horses and tried to find which one was easier to ride. But one of them got away and I found it just now. Mr. Nie, where are you going? You...” She stopped suddenly because she sensed a smell of blood in the direction of Nie Chun. She looked up and down at him and instantly she found that Nie Chun who used to like wearing red robes had worn a bloodstained garment now!

This old friend she hadn’t seen for long became not amicable at once. Honestly, Nie Chun had never been amicable. He Danggui also found some killing intent in his eyes. The knife held in his hand looked clean but the handle of it was wrapped with red wet strips of cloth. He was totally a villain that had killed lots of people now! He Danggui stepped back warily and asked, “Are you also here to walk horses? I’ll leave you alone if you’re busy.”

Nie Chun also sensed he looked too murderous and he couldn’t control it well. He could distinguish between friends and foes but his knife didn’t recognize people other than its owner. He nodded to He Danggui and turned around to leave. When he passed this thorn bush just now, he found someone was in it. He suspected it might be an ambush so he stopped to check. 𝗳𝘳𝐞e𝙬𝙚𝚋𝗻𝚘𝚟𝗲l.𝑐𝑜ｍ

Seeing him leaving directly, He Danggui felt a bit surprised. She took a step forward and asked behind his back, “I heard you got hurt severely when you left Luo’s Family. Are you all right now? Where are you living? How can I find you?” She was worried he wouldn’t answer her so she continued, “You’ve helped me so I should thank you. And I have something to talk to you. I wonder when it’ll be convenient for you?” She had been looking for Nie Chun for three years because of a secret that couldn’t be told.

Taking two more steps forward before stopping, Nie Chun said with his back to her, “It’s your mother’s decision to ask Pan Jingyang to take care of you. You don’t need to thank me for that. You can talk to me now and get straight to the point. I don’t have much time for chatting.”

He Danggui glanced left and right. How could she get straight to the point when it came to matchmaking? Thus, she kept asking, “Can you give me your address? Will you stay in Yangzhou City for long?” It was strange. He said it was her mother’s decision to let Pan Jingyang take care of her but she never heard about that from her mother. Why would Nie Chun be the intermediary?

She stopped talking and then, Nie Chun replied, “Third Miss, your mother and I are together. She couldn’t pluck up to tell you so I’ll do it. She doesn’t live in the Taoist temple now.”

He said this in a calm tone but He Danggui screamed after hearing it. She asked, “You are together? When did it happen? My mother doesn’t live there now? Then, where does she live? How can I find her?” She had visited her mother in Sanqing Temple three months ago but she didn’t find any hint of it. Her mother was just like a devout Taoist nun and practiced meditation day and night. Why were they together suddenly? She did want to make a match but before she could do anything, they got together already. Why was it different from what happened in her previous life?

She asked him a battery of questions but Nie Chun neither answered nor turned around. She sighed and said, “The rain wets the bloom as the bride weds the groom. I can’t stop it. Since you are together, I should go visit my mother, right? When will you hold the wedding ceremony? Did you get the divorce agreement from He Fu?”

Nie Chun turned around slightly and squinted at her who was down to his left. He told her the truth frankly, “There won’t be any ceremony or divorce agreement. At first, your mother just didn’t want to get divorced. Later she heard He Fu got in trouble in the capital. She sent someone to inquire and knew he and his family were leading a miserable life. Then, she told me she had practiced abstinence from meat and copied Sutra of Merit and Virtue for many years to produce blessings so that she could live more happily in the next life. If she got divorced with him when He Fu and his families were in the desperate time, she would commit more sins instead.”

After hearing it, He Danggui sneered and said, “We should care about virtue when we’re with good people, but it’ll only bring troubles if we are soft-hearted to villains. My mother just can’t understand this, but Mr. Nie, you have an insight into everything and excellent kung fu. Since you’ve been together with my mother, don’t you want to eradicate future troubles and lead a steady as well as peaceful life?” If Nie Chun intended to kill He Fu, it would be as easy as to stamp on an ant! However, why did he never try to deal with He Fu and get married to her mother earlier? She had had a vague feeling that Nie Chun liked her mother since her previous life.

Nie Chun took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. He wanted to explain it more clearly, “Your mother and I are together by accident. I don’t fall for her and she doesn’t intend to have a long relationship with me. Third Miss, you’re a grown-up now so you must understand what I’m about to say. I don’t need to hide anything from you. Your mother is in her thirties and her husband isn’t by her side all the time. I’m a man of her age and I don’t have a wife or concubine. We’re together just because of our normal needs. We’re like bed partners or illicit lovers to each other. There’s no need to hold a ceremony. It won’t last long.”