Green Mountain
Chapter 389 - 315, Exorcism

Chapter 389: 315, Exorcism

Outside the rear hall, Princess Yongchun was hopping around in the yard, chasing butterflies;

Inside the rear hall, Zhu Lingyun was trembling under the covers.

In the corner of the side hall, Bai Li remained silent, quietly protecting the steamed bun in her arms, letting the fists and kicks land on her body. It was painful, but someone had told her that everyone gets tired, even Executive Officers are no exception.

In less than thirty minutes, Xuan Su, panting heavily, stopped with her stout body.

She snarled, "Considering you’ve been obedient in the past and this is your first offense, I’ll spare your life this time. If there’s a next time, it won’t be as easy as a beating! Clean up this food, and if I see any oil stains on the floor when I come tonight, you’ll get beaten again!"

The Daoist Nuns left without a trace, leaving Bai Li struggling to stand with the help of a wall. As she stood up, the movement tugged at her wounds, causing her to gasp in pain.

She raised her hands, meticulously tidying her hair into a bun, then slowly moved to clean up the food on the floor.

Bai Li exited the side hall, and Zhu Lingyun burst out from the rear hall, crying as she assessed her: "Sister, are you okay? Don’t go against them, they’ll beat you to death!"

Suddenly, Princess Yongchun in the yard said, "They can’t beat us to death, they can’t."

Bai Li looked at her: "Why?"

Princess Yongchun grinned foolishly, "The moment we stepped into Jingyang Palace, we were already dead. We are just relics of the past left in this world, having died once, we won’t die a second time."

Bai Li was slightly taken aback. She walked up to Princess Yongchun, helping her tie up her disheveled hair again, and softly asked, "Are you hungry? I have a bun here."

Princess Yongchun lowered her head, looking at the butterfly on her fingertip. She raised her hand, bringing the butterfly close to Bai Li: "Look, Brother Zhuoyuan came to see me. Quick, greet Brother Zhuoyuan."

Bai Li nodded, smiling as she waved at the butterfly, "Nice to meet you."

Princess Yongchun laughed maniacally, "He flew back from Lingnan to see me, impressive, right?"

"Very impressive," Bai Li pulled a bun from her bosom, placing it in Princess Yongchun’s hand, then handed another to Zhu Lingyun: "Eat up."

Zhu Lingyun looked at her cautiously: "Sister, are you alright?"

Bai Li smiled, "I’m fine."

She also smoothed Zhu Lingyun’s hair: "Keep your hair neat, or they’ll think we’ve surrendered."

Bai Li returned to the rear hall, sitting quietly on the pallet, watching the glow of the sky gradually turn dim. First, the orange-red sunset shone on the golden roof, and then the night enveloped the earth.

...

...

At 5 p.m., Chessboard Street outside the palace shone like daylight.

The Palace lanterns hung high in front of the Great Ming Gate; red gauze lanterns were hung on the eaves of pubs and teahouses; green lamps swung on the eaves of bookstores; night vendors carried white paper lanterns. For a moment, the flickering lights resembled stars, hence the name of the lamp market on Chessboard Street.

In Jingyang Palace, it was time to extinguish the lamps.

Xuan Su sat at the edge of the pallet, casting a sidelong glance at Bai Li: "Aren’t you going to get the foot-washing water?"

Bai Li stayed seated, unmoving.

Xuan Su pulled out a ruler from under the pillow, sneering coldly: "It seems you’ve indeed grown rebellious bones. I must remove them from your body today."

Bai Li nodded: "No need, I’ll get it now."

She turned and went to the small side room, returning with a basin of scalding hot water, and poured it over Xuan Su’s head.

Xuan Su was startled and hastily dragged a Daoist Nun to shield in front of her. Even so, her arms were scalded by the hot water.

The Daoist Nun who was splashed let out a scream, unable to bear the pain.

Xuan Su squealed like a slaughtered pig, watching as the skin on her hands turned scarlet, the searing sensation boring into her heart: "Crazy, they’re all bloody crazy! Beat her, beat her hard!"

As her voice fell, Bai Li had already crouched down in the corner of the rear hall, allowing them to punch and kick.

Seeing this, Xuan Su screeched, "Drag her out for me!"

A group of Daoist Nuns pulled Bai Li out of the corner. She could only curl up, shielding her vital organs and head. At some moment, she felt like a rib had broken. But someone had told her, as long as the broken rib didn’t pierce the heart or lungs, it wasn’t a big deal, at least better than a broken leg or arm.

In the midst of punches and kicks, Xuan Su glanced at Zhu Lingyun, then looked down at Bai Li beneath her feet, provokingly asked, "You sure do protect her, but has she protected you?"

Bai Li gritted her teeth, staying silent.

No one knew when Bai Li had lost consciousness.

Someone cautiously asked, "Is she dead?"

Xuan Su was startled, yet pretended to remain calm, saying, "Dead is dead, haven’t there been deaths in Jingyang Palace before? One more doesn’t matter... enough, stop hitting, fetch me the ointment!"

...

...

When Bai Li awoke again, she was lying on the pallet.

The candles in the rear hall were out, and the air was filled with the scent of golden sore medicine.

In the darkness, she heard low sobbing. Turning her head to look, she saw Zhu Lingyun lying beside her, wiping her tears.

Zhu Lingyun choked up, "Sister, I’m so useless, I didn’t dare to help you just now..."

Bai Li took a deep breath, feeling the air fill her chest, and the broken bones starting to send out excruciating pain.

She let out a long sigh, quietly saying, "It’s okay, fear is just human nature."

Zhu Lingyun quickly added, "Sister, I won’t cause you trouble anymore. Starting tomorrow, I’ll diligently memorize the Taoist Scripture and work hard, no more acting spoiled."

Bai Li didn’t speak.

Zhu Lingyun said again, "Sister, let’s just give in to them, be humble, they really might beat you to death."

Bai Li still didn’t speak.