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墨書 Inktalez
Two days later, the fragrance indeed grew stronger, enveloping the entire city. The people were in awe, calling it a miracle, while the Court was filled with worry, determined to uncover its source. Naturally, the Office of Censors took charge, and Gentle had already learned the specific location from Sang Qingxiao, deliberately avoiding it during his search. After several fruitless days, the Court was troubled by the scent, yet no one dared to confront Gentle.
Everyone feared his sharp tongue; after all, his tall tales were quite entertaining, especially to Xuande Emperor. With a breeze whispering in their ears, who would dare speak ill of him? Even the most straightforward and upright Chancellor had never uttered a word against him.
Days passed, and finally, curious and leisurely citizens discovered the blooming location. They rushed to share the news. Exiting through the East Gate and heading southeast, it was about seventy or eighty miles from Jingjing City, nestled within a Qianqian gorge that was quite difficult to find. Surrounded by towering peaks and legends of fierce wolves, if not for someone daring enough to take a shortcut, it might have remained undiscovered for some time.
Seventy or eighty miles! What kind of flower could have such a far-reaching fragrance? No one knew; the Bottom of the Valley was drenched in blood-red hues—strange yet beautiful—but no one dared venture down. People gathered at the gorge's edge daily, filled with scholars and elegant guests, producing poem after poem that echoed with interest.
Could we rough folks go see it? Of course! If we don’t go, who will appreciate it? Those refined individuals are so timid they can barely cheer each other on.
Lian Baoying and Wen Zhaojun were also intrigued by the blooming site and decided to invite Sang Qingxiao along. Wen Zhaojun mentioned that her grandmother loved tending to flowers and that her birthday was approaching; she wanted to dig up a plant to gift her.
Sang Qingxiao laughed at her boldness. "So many people are afraid to touch them; that says something about those flowers. You have such little courage yet still dare to dig?"
"I’m a bit scared, but you surely aren’t," Wen Zhaojun replied. "That’s why I came to ask you to accompany me."
Sang Qingxiao initially didn’t want to go; over the past year, she had been involved in various incidents around the city too frequently, drawing suspicion. However, seeing both girls eager to go—even though those flowers posed no poison—she decided she should protect them since there were risks in descending into the Bottom of the Valley.
Then there was Li Cu; the four of them climbed into Wen Family’s carriage. Along the way, they spotted other official family carriages heading to the same destination. On the uneven narrow path, they encountered an unusual traffic jam that lasted over an hour.
Setting out early in the morning and arriving near dusk, Wen Zhaojun couldn’t help but marvel at how far the fragrance traveled; its intensity remained consistent even as they approached the gorge.
Her steps quickened with anticipation as she longed to see such extraordinary flowers. Finally reaching the gorge's edge and peering down, she gasped in shock and stumbled back a few steps.
Having heard that the flowers were red, seeing them in person was breathtaking—the entire Bottom of the Valley was shrouded in crimson. As a gentle breeze swept through, it resembled ripples forming on a sea of blood.
No wonder no one dared venture down; the color was too vivid. The wind within the valley occasionally echoed with ghostly wails and wolf howls, creating an eerie atmosphere reminiscent of scenes from the underworld.
Wen Zhaojun's initial excitement began to waver as she tightened her grip on Sang Qingxiao’s arm and whispered nervously, "Are there monsters in this gorge?"
No.
Then, is there anything else?
None.
I looked at the downhill path around the canyon; the slope was relatively gentle, and the danger seemed minimal. If we dug up a flower, it should be fine, right?
Indeed, it wasn't dangerous, but this flower...
Sang Qingxiao wanted to point out the flower's nature to dissuade Wen Zhaojun from picking it. Just as she began to speak, a warrior stepped forward from the crowd.
With his emergence, several others eagerly followed him down toward the Bottom of the Valley.
Lian Baoying was curious, "Huh? Didn't they say no one dared to go down? Why are there suddenly people?"
Someone nearby whispered an explanation: they heard someone was willing to buy the flower for a good price—one big silver coin for each flower.
More people arrived, likely having received the news. Once the leading few confirmed it was safe, I would also go down to grab a few flowers.
As those few successfully reached the Bottom of the Valley, more waves of people rushed down, fearing they would be too late. The cultured scholars tried to stop them, unwilling for them to ruin this rare sight, but their frail bodies could not withstand the crowd's thirst for money.
Wen Zhaojun took advantage of the chaos to head down as well. Sang Qingxiao tried to pull her back but failed and sighed inwardly, "You won't listen; you'll regret it later."
The first group to reach the bottom had already begun digging. The financier insisted that not a single root could be broken, so they were careful in their work and had even brought small brushes to clean meticulously.
However, they did not expect that beneath the palm-sized flower lay a root taller than a person, with many smaller roots densely gripping the soil. Indeed, money wasn't easy to earn; yet compared to pure physical labor, this was still much easier.
Wen Zhaojun had also prepared several tools in advance and handed two of them to Sang Qingxiao for assistance.
Sang Qingxiao stopped her again, "You could just pay them a silver coin to help you dig; there's no need for you to do it yourself."
But giving a gift to an elder required personal effort to show sincerity.
Lian Baoying chimed in without understanding fully, "That financier's demand that the roots not be broken shows how difficult this flower is to care for. You're just wasting time and energy; listen to Xiaoxiao. Whoever digs best later, you can raise your bid on-site and buy it."
Sang Qingxiao took advantage of the chaos to pull both of them into a secluded corner, deliberately avoiding the path leading upward.
After a long wait, results were finally emerging.
The fastest among them had cleared a root over three meters long; only a small part remained entangled very tightly. What it was wrapped around wasn't soil or stone; it had edges and corners and holes. The root passed through round holes more than once and into this bottom layer of soil that was sticky and foul-smelling, making cleaning extremely difficult.
Suppressing the urge to vomit, that person opened their large water bottle and attempted to wash off the dirt. The effect was significant; as they removed the filth from what was entangled, its Entity revealed itself—a slightly yellowish milky white color that looked like...
Ah!!!
The man, terrified, threw away the object in his hand, no longer caring about roots or anything else, and shouted, "It's Dead Bones! Under the Demon Flower are Dead Bones! I'm not making any money from this! No way!"
As he yelled, he quickly left the Bottom of the Valley. His frantic behavior caused everyone to stop what they were doing and glance at the item he had discarded. It was indeed a Skull. They then looked down at the half-excavated flower at their feet, and ultimately, not many chose to give up.
Many thought, perhaps only the flower he had dug up concealed Remains beneath it. After a series of mental struggles, digging resumed.
Lian Baoying sensed something was off and asked Wen Zhaojun for a small shovel. With one scoop, she accidentally severed three flowers. Then she began to dig deeper, striking hard ground after about a dozen more scoops. On her final dig, two Skulls rolled out unexpectedly.
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