Reborn as Powerful Minister's Beloved
Chapter 111: The Bamboo Pole Man

Chapter 111: Chapter 111: The Bamboo Pole Man

Zheng Haoyuan was the first to get down from the carriage.

"Cousin, shall I go and take a look first?" Zheng Haoyuan had seen that dark shadow before, although at the time his consciousness had been blurry and he hadn’t really seen the shadow’s true form. But even as a vague shadow, Zheng Haoyuan could feel that it was extremely ugly.

"Let’s go in together." Zheng Nianru had already gotten off the carriage, supporting Fu Dong. Although she wasn’t interested in the mages of Qiandao Temple and their mysterious charades, she was interested in immortality. To be precise, she was interested in bringing back the dead to life.

Seeing this, Zheng Haoyuan no longer tried to persuade her, but Yan Cheng was very supportive of his master’s straightforward nature. Even though he was a man, the sight of that dark shadow gave him the chills, and he feared that Princess Chao Ren, being such a delicate girl, would be frightened.

However, the astute Yan Cheng, upon just entering the door, instructed one of his men to find a piece of black silk to cover up the cage.

"Send a few more people to follow." Zheng Haoyuan spoke worriedly—not only for protecting Zheng Nianru; he was also scared, especially since he had nearly been killed by the dark shadow. But Zheng Haoyuan’s desire for revenge surpassed his fear.

Passing through the quiet courtyard, the Wen Family’s separate estate was no different from a regular household. Yan Cheng had already opened the main room in the central part, and through a side-room connected to the hall, a huge cage appeared before Zheng Nianru’s eyes.

Zheng Haoyuan noticed the cage was much like the one Zheng Muyuan had brought back from the Traveling Palace, but he didn’t pay much attention to it.

Zheng Nianru looked at the cage and saw a large piece of black silk covering all view, with a vague black shadow huddled in one corner of the cage. The height was not unusual, but even a thin man, huddled together, would not be so insubstantial.

Zheng Haoyuan had already stepped forward, scrutinizing carefully.

"Your Highness, Commandery Princess, please be cautious." Yan Cheng immediately caught up, standing beside Zheng Haoyuan, fearing that the dark shadow might make a move. Several loyalists also moved forward to encircle the two.

Zheng Nianru’s courage surged, her curiosity about the black shadow in the cage growing, especially since the shadow she had seen while at death’s door strangely resembled the one before her now—the same blurry and unreal sensation.

"Lift the curtain," ordered Zheng Nianru.

Yan Cheng was momentarily stunned, about to speak out in dissuasion, but Zheng Haoyuan, growing impatient, urged on.

"Hurry up and lift it, we can’t see anything this way." Besides, could his cousin be like the other women? She had never been afraid of anything that belonged to him.

Upon hearing this, Yan Cheng waved his hand, and two guards quickly stepped forward to remove the black silk they had just covered.

The instant Zheng Nianru saw the true appearance of the dark shadow, she shrieked in fright. Hearing the noise, Fu Dong quickly squeezed in, reaching out to support Zheng Nianru. His gaze fell upon the cage for just a moment before he let out a terrified cry, his legs going weak.

Zheng Haoyuan’s swift response allowed him to support Zheng Nianru, and at the same time, the guard beside him caught Fu Dong, preventing both from falling to the ground.

"Cover it up, cover it now—" Zheng Haoyuan barked angrily, and Yan Cheng didn’t wait to give orders, he went to cover it himself.

Zheng Nianru calmed down a bit, thinking that she had seen worse things since then, and the only reason she had been startled was that she hadn’t been prepared. Calming down, Zheng Nianru could even be certain that it was a person, a very strange person.

Zheng Nianru waved her hand, signaling to Yan Cheng that there was no need to cover it.

"Thank you, Fu Gong. I’m all right," Zheng Nianru stood firm, simply a person too thin for their frame. His face resembled that of a mummified corpse, devoid of any flesh, but it was only thinness that marked him. His eyes, pitch-black like ink, were this moment fixed intently on the group before him which included Zheng Nianru.

Zheng Nianru was no longer afraid. The limbs of the Black Shadow People, thin as bamboo poles, supported their empty, flapping black robes and trousers.

Zheng Haoyuan’s hand felt empty, the sensation of warm jade that had lingered in his mind was unshakable. This feeling was distinct from the one he had when clinging to his cousin. It was soft and warm, a touchable tenderness and sweetness, that familiar scent seemed to take shape.

It had the shape of his cousin.

Zheng Nianru gazed at the Black Shadow Person inside the cage.

Zheng Haoyuan, however, did not look at the cage. A bewildering sensation—a feeling even he could not fathom or understand—started to accumulate slowly at the bottom of his heart, building up to restlessness, building until he was at his wits’ end.

"Fu Gong, does this person possess great strength?" Zheng Nianru tugged on Zheng Haoyuan’s sleeve and asked.

She had seen those strange people before, even remembering once having seen a peculiar person, also skinny as a bamboo pole, who traveled with a troupe. Often performing, they used their gaunt arms and legs devoid of flesh to enact various scenes, earning sympathy and some money.

"Ah? Oh—" Zheng Haoyuan guiltily lowered his head, then looked up to the person in the cage. Just as his gaze met the Black Shadow’s muddled eyes, they suddenly sharpened, piercingly locking onto Zheng Haoyuan’s.

Before Zheng Haoyuan could react, Yan Cheng noticed something was amiss, but it was already too late. The Black Shadow leaped like a suddenly erupting cheetah.

"Bang—" A loud noise resounded, and the cage shook violently. Instead of being thrown out, the Black Shadow wrapped its hands and feet around the cage instantly.

"Hiss—hiss—" Where the Black Shadow clung, the cage emitted a strange noise. Plumes of white smoke rose, and the air was filled with the scent of charred flesh, a foul stench that was nauseating.

"Quick, protect the prince—" Yan Cheng retreated in an instant, and Loyalists already had Zheng Haoyuan and Zheng Nianru encircled, quickly moving toward the exterior of the room.

Another loud crash came from inside the room; the cage rolled over on its side, falling to the ground.

Yan Cheng’s expression changed; the Black Shadow looked half-dead when captured, yet now it displayed such abnormal strength.

Unknown to Yan Cheng, the cage had been hit repeatedly by the Black Shadow and had a gaping hole torn open. The Black Shadow had already crawled out, with charred skin from arm to thigh, and its ragged black clothes still clung to its body, tattered and sparking embers.

The moment Zheng Haoyuan and the others stepped outside the room, they hadn’t gone far when the Black Shadow flew out after them. Its tattered clothing flailed in the air like sinister black butterflies, lunging straight for Zheng Haoyuan.

"Ah—" At the moment his nape was seized, Zheng Haoyuan let out a piercing, miserable shriek; Zheng Nianru was pushed by the tremendous force and rolled several times on the ground.

"The prince—Protect the prince—" Yan Cheng shouted, grabbing onto Zheng Haoyuan’s feet without a second thought. Lifted off the ground, he staggered, continuously crashing against the courtyard’s rocky terrain. Several guards immediately joined the tug-of-war, clinging onto Yan Cheng’s waist, trying to pull the Black Shadow Person down from mid-air.

Zheng Nianru, dizzy from the fall, finally propped herself up, only to see Zheng Haoyuan, his neck seized, being stretched by the pulling forces, tongue lolling out.

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