An Oriental Odyssey

After the young boy, Shitou, left with Xiaoyu, the servants at Ye Manor found their tasks to be surprisingly easier than before. They attributed this newfound efficiency to the little dark boy that the small master brought back. He didn't speak much and seemed unfriendly with everyone, but he took excellent care of the animals. Whether it was feeding them, administering medicine, or grooming them, he did it all skillfully. The horses and livestock were now well taken care of and even the others felt more at ease.

The servants chatted happily with the steward, Xiaoshu, wondering who this boy was. Xiaoshu replied, "There are people like him. Not very talkative with people, but excellent with animals. He only listens to the small master and no one else. He must have some remarkable abilities." 

The young master, Yuan Ning, sauntered over, his face still bearing some of the bruises from the previous scuffle with Yuan An. He was dressed nicely, seemingly ready to attend the wedding banquet.

Xiaoshu respectfully greeted him, "Young Master."

Yuan Ning said, "Go, bring out Black Lion for me. I'm riding him today."

"Apologies, young master. Black Lion is ill and has taken medicine. We've prepared Little Dragon for you instead."

Yuan Ning pouted, "Don't lie! Little Dragon can't compare to the majesty of Black Lion. Quickly bring him to me!"

He pointed at the boy, who simply stood there, looking at him without moving.

"I said, bring out Black Lion!" Yuan Ning's patience was wearing thin, but the boy remained motionless as if he hadn't understood.

Yuan Ning exclaimed in frustration, "You insolent slave! I'll teach you a lesson!"

Yuan Ning tried to push the boy away and fetch Black Lion himself, but the boy pushed back, causing Yuan Ning to fall to the ground.

Jumping up, Yuan Ning raised his fist, "Alright, you! No manners! I'll beat you up!"

Xiaoshu hurriedly stepped in to stop him, "Young Master! Young Master! Don't argue with him! He was brought in by the small master and only listens to small master. Look, you're already dressed up; don't dirty your robes. I'll bring Little Dragon for you."

Yuan Ning's eyes bulged in anger, "How dare this servant! I'll deal with you later!"

Although Yuan Ning boasted, he was actually quite reasonable and let Xiaoshu lead him away.

The other servants chuckled, "You've got some guts! Pushing Young Master to the ground like that. Ah, hurry up and take the carriage to pick up the small master. She won't be riding a horse today."

**(Note in Chinese, there is only a common pronoun 'ta', no differentiation between male and female, i've been using she for Yuan'an so it's not confusing to read, but yeah she's not being referred to as distinctively female)**

The boy nodded and harnessed the carriage to pick up Yuan An.

As he parked the carriage at front doorstep, the boy glanced around at the flowers and plants, squatted down to observe the tiny earthworms burrowing, and a butterfly landed on his nose. The butterfly flapped its wings, tickling him, and he sneezed. When he looked up again, several maids were surrounding a beautiful girl as they came out from inside the house. The boy glanced at them but turned away.

The maids chuckled, "Look at this clueless boy. Hey, don't be lazy, help the small master onto the carriage!"

The boy turned around and saw Yuan An dressed in female attire. He carefully observed her two small round buns on the side of her head, decorated with translucent green leaves. Her thick and neat bangs accentuated her pointed chin and her already attractive face, with her bright and dark eyes, pinkish cheeks, and pearly white teeth. The boy was astonished, yet also nervous, as he stole glances at her, feeling like his heart would leap out as he admired her beauty.

Yuan An, with a carefree attitude, said, "How do I look? I was originally a girl. Do I not look good like this?"

The boy shook his head vigorously and then nodded, "Not bad. Very good-looking."

Hearing such praise, Yuan An laughed heartily. Her teeth were indeed as white as the pearls on her earlobes. The boy was amazed and embarrassed, shyly lowering his head as if looking at her pink and white dress might make his heart burst. "You... you..."

Yuan An acted as if she didn't care, "Me, what about me? You mean how do I look like this?"

The boy continued to repeat in a low voice, as if speaking to himself, "Yuan An... Yuan An... Ye Yuan An..."

Seeing his reaction, Yuan An covered her stomach and chuckled, "Calling me by my name? This boy really has some nerve, daring to call me by my name!"

The maids surrounded Mu Le and scolded him, "This boy has too much audacity, calling the small master by her name!"

But Mu Le was serious, "I called you; you answered. Yuan An... Yuan An... Ye Yuan An..."

Seeing his determination, Yuan An laughed and climbed into the carriage, "Hehe, getting bolder now, huh? Let's go, I don't want to be late!"

Master Ye and Madam Ye each rode on a sedan chair, Yuan An sat in a carriage, while Yuan Ning rode a horse. The Ye family of four passed through the bustling streets of Luoyang City until they arrived at the residence of the High Official Pei. The gates were wide open, and family members greeted them at the entrance. The guests entered one after another, while the carriage drivers and horse caretakers were led to the backyard to rest. The garden was lively, with a band playing music and dancers performing. Familiar high-ranking officials greeted each other.

Among the crowd, Yuan An spotted Zhao Lanzhi from a distance. He was half a head taller than others and stood tall and straight like a poplar tree. Yuan An playfully approached him, patting his back from behind, "Hey, Constable Zhao!"

Zhao Lanzhi turned around, pleasantly surprised to see Yuan An in female attire, and quickly bowed in greeting, "Oh, it's Young Miss Ye."

Yuan An, not fond of pleasantries, approached him and whispered, "Cut the small talk! I thought you wouldn't come."

"Why?"

"He was your wanted criminal just a few days ago. Now you're a guest at his wedding?"

Zhao Lanzhi replied earnestly, "That was just my duty. He is still my sworn brother. How could I not come to his wedding?"

Yuan An moved closer and spoke in a low voice, "Honestly, I still feel like things aren't settled! You won't let him off that easily, will you?"

Zhao Lanzhi's face turned serious, and he gestured for her to stop talking.

Yuan An seemed to understand something and got excited, "Alright, alright! It seems I didn't come for nothing today!"

Suddenly, the music stopped, and the wedding host announced, "The newlyweds have arrived!"

Graceful and elegant, Young master Xianya escorted Princess Xinghui from the sedan chair and welcomed her into the mansion. The two of them dressed splendidly, walked gracefully forward. The courtyard erupted with the sound of gongs and drums, music playing, and guests welcoming the couple.

Amidst the festive atmosphere, Yuan An turned her head to look at Zhao Lanzhi. She suddenly noticed that he had gone silent and was nervously observing the surroundings, clenching his fists tightly. He looked extremely tense.

At the same time, in the stable at the back of the Imperial tutor's residence, Mu Le was busy feeding his horse. The carriage drivers and horse caretakers were discussing, "It's been a long time since Luoyang City had such a lively wedding. Too bad we can't go and watch the excitement."

Mu Le put down the basket of hay, pondered for a moment, and then left with light steps. The Imperial Tutor's residence was huge, and he initially followed the sound of music but soon saw smoke rising. That was where the wedding was taking place, with incense burning and smoke lingering.

The crowd watched as Young master Xianya led the beautiful Princess Xinghui and knelt in front of the ceremonial platform. The onlookers admired the perfect match and the deep affection between the couple. But suddenly, they sensed that something was amiss. Why did the groom seem to be in a daze? Why did he freeze in place? It was as if he had been bewitched, unable to move for a long time. People began to whisper, but Young Master Xianya burst into tears.

On the day of the wedding, when they knelt down, the groom started crying. Was he moved or something else? Why did he cry more and more sadly, louder and louder? It seemed like he was calling out someone's name!

Young Master Xianya said, "Ruyue, Ruyue, Ruyue!"

Princess Xinghui was shocked and lifted her veil. She held Young master Xianya's shoulders, "Young master! What's happening?! Who is Ruyue? I'm Princess Xinghui! I am Princess Xinghui!"

Young master Xianya's tears flowed like rain, and his refined appearance twisted into knots. He didn't see Princess Xinghui in front of him; the red-dressed bride was actually Ruyue!

Yuan An, witnessing this, rushed forward. She saw an opportunity and took out the iron skull hand, intending to ambush Jiang Ren from behind and assist Zhao Lanzhi. But at that moment, Princess Xinghui suddenly slipped, and Jiang Ren caught her.

Princess Xinghui gnashed her teeth and asked loudly, "Why are you doing this?!"

Jiang Ren hesitated for a moment, looked at her, and gratefully shed tears. Then, with his eyes wet, he said, "Princess, it's too late..."

Jiang Ren raised his palm and struck Princess Xinghui's acupoint. She fainted on the ground.

Zhao Lanzhi was horrified and stabbed Jiang Ren with his sword.

Jiang Ren fell to the ground, blood flowing from his mouth and nose. Before he died, he smiled at Zhao Lanzhi, whispering, "You can't escape, no one can escape..."

Seeing the dying Jiang Ren, Young master Xianya suddenly saw the dead Ruyue rushing toward him. But Ruyue's face was no longer beautiful; it was pale and hideous. She softly said, "Come with me!"

Thousands of thick candles as thick as arms burned fiercely, and the smoke became denser, obscuring the sunlight.

In the dense smoke, various monsters pounced on people, either damaged skeletons, enormous beasts, decaying zombies, or snakes, insects, rats, and ants. People had no time to escape, screaming in horror. Zhao Lanzhi and Yuan An were also in great fear. The monsters possessed boundless magic, while mortal beings were defenseless, falling to the ground in panic, waiting for death! The grand wedding scene of the Prince Jing's residence and the Imperial tutor's residence turned into a scene of wailing and howling, a hell of blazing fire!

No one could escape, and no one could be saved!

Suddenly, sunlight appeared, and all the monsters vanished into thin air. All the strange phenomena disappeared!

In extreme terror but still alive, the people on the ground gasped for breath.

Zhao Lanzhi turned around and suddenly saw Mu Le standing in front of him, holding a bucket of water and extinguishing all the candles.

Surviving the disaster, Zhao Lanzhi and Yuan An struggled to stand up. He picked up an unburnt candle and found a small substance, similar to what had been in the snake candle holder. Each candle was like this.

Yuan An mumbled, "An illusionary hell, killing people invisibly."

Zhao Lanzhi said, "So that's it..."

"That was the vision Ruyue saw before she died," Yuan An added.

Official Pei and Madam Pei went to Young master Xianya, crying bitterly. Young Master Xianya had already passed away, his eyes bulging, clutching his throat, just like Ruyue's final state, lying lifeless on the ground.