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墨書 Inktalez
The footsteps of the women finally faded away, disappearing into the night.
Inside the dye vat, a suffocating silence enveloped us, leaving only our hurried and chaotic breaths.
The cold, sticky indigo dye soaked through my clothes, penetrating every inch of my skin, wrapping me in a layer of icy film.
The nauseating stench mixed with the pungent smell of the dye made me dizzy, as if a stone was lodged in my throat, preventing me from coughing out loud.
“Liu Liu,” Xie Yao's voice was low and hoarse, carrying the remnants of recent terror. He moved closer to me in the darkness, the scent of dye growing stronger.
He did not rise immediately, seemingly trying to calm his emotions. I could feel his intense body heat seeping through the damp fabric, contrasting sharply with the cold dye surrounding us. That stark difference kept my heart racing.
I curled up in a corner of the dye vat, tightly clutching a few sheets of paper, carefully feeling my way around.
What my fingertips touched was a wet, limp mass; the once-clear writing had been completely blurred by the dye, turning into indistinct patches of dark blue ink that were no longer recognizable.
A wave of despair surged within me, as if the last glimmer of hope had been thoroughly soaked by this filthy dye.
I couldn't help but let out a whimper from my throat, tears instantly blurring my vision, mixing with the dye on my cheeks and leaving a cold, sticky trail down my face.
“The prescription…” My voice was weak and choked with sobs. “It’s all ruined…”
Xie Yao said nothing. I could feel him reaching out in the darkness, gently touching my hand that held the prescription.
His hand carried the same coldness and scent of dye, but in the dark, his fingertips seemed to have a faint warmth that offered a silent comfort.
“Don’t be afraid,” he whispered, his voice imbued with an undeniable firmness. “If it’s ruined… we’ll think of another way.”
I couldn't answer; I just felt a wave of immense helplessness engulfing me.
I took such a huge risk, almost getting caught, only to end up with a pile of meaningless scraps of paper.
This world really is as he said, always trying to taint everything, leaving no trace of purity.
We lingered in the dye vat for a moment longer, waiting until we were sure the outside was completely quiet before we quietly crawled out.
The night breeze blew past, carrying the pungent smell of dye, and my sticky clothes clung to my skin, making me want to escape this place immediately.
Xie Yao swiftly scanned the surroundings, confirming that there were no patrolling guards before he quickly pulled me out through the back door of the dye workshop.
The moonlight was hazy, casting a glow on our bodies stained with blue marks, like two monsters emerging from the ground.
I dared not return to my courtyard; if I went back like this, I would surely be discovered.
Xie Yao didn’t take me to his hiding place either; he seemed to be contemplating the best escape route.
"Let's go to the well," he whispered, leading me away from the main road and specifically choosing those dark alleys.
When we reached the well, Xie Yao quickly drew up several buckets of water with the winch. He didn’t hesitate and poured one bucket over my head.
The cold water washed away some of the dye on my body; although it didn’t completely cleanse it, it at least diluted the pungent smell and sticky sensation.
He didn’t give me a towel, so I could only use my hands to vigorously wipe my cheeks and hair. But the indigo color stubbornly clung on, with several strands of hair dyed an odd shade of blue that looked shocking under the moonlight.
Xie Yao rinsed off briefly as well, but it seemed his dye problem wasn’t as severe as mine; perhaps it was due to the different material of his clothes.
We stood by the well, our clothes soaked through, the night wind chilling us to the bone, yet my heart was stirred with an unprecedented mix of emotions.
Xie Yao stood beside me, his profile somewhat blurred in the moonlight, exuding a silent solitude.
"The Liang Residence ancestral hall..." he suddenly spoke, his voice low, "Aside from that prescription, did your mother leave behind any other items during her lifetime? Perhaps they hold clues?"
A scene flashed through my mind in an instant.
Before her passing, my mother had carefully sewn a sachet embroidered with my name onto her...
"Liang Liuliu!"
A sharp reprimand suddenly rang out from not far away, startling me into a shiver.
The harsh reprimand was like a thunderclap, shattering the silence of the dark night.
We barely had time to discern the source of the voice when Xie Yao had tightly grasped my wrist.
He almost dragged me, crouching low as we swiftly slipped behind a pile of clutter.
Before my breath could steady, hurried footsteps approached from afar and then hurriedly receded, seemingly unaware of our presence.
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