Chapter 183: Behind the Curtain

Chu Mingheng had cast a golden statue of her?

What was that dripping beside it…

Only now did Lan Wu notice that ever since entering this Golden Hall, she had been hearing the steady drip-drip of water. The hall was too quiet, making the sound all the more distinct.

It wasn’t until she shifted her gaze to the pool beneath the lotus pedestal supporting the golden statue that she saw water seeping drop by drop from the central lotus flower into the pool below.

No—that wasn’t water… was that blood?

Lan Wu suddenly realized something and sharply turned to look at Chu Mingheng, who was kneeling on a cushion in the center of the hall.

Chu Mingheng had originally been bowing his head, gazing at the ground. Now, as if sensing something, he slowly lifted his head and looked forward, his eyes dark and unfathomable like stagnant water.

“A’Wu, soon, I will see you again,” he uttered these words softly, then rose from the cushion.

Lan Wu noticed he had grown thinner again. As he stood, his body swayed slightly, as though he could barely keep his balance.

Where was that blood coming from?

Was it Chu Mingheng’s blood?

Watching Chu Mingheng rise and walk toward the hall’s entrance, Lan Wu hurried to follow him. Though only a few steps away, it felt as though she could never catch up. Just as she reached the entrance, a blinding white light filled her vision.

The dream was ending.

“Your Majesty—”

Lan Wu only had time to call out to him once before her consciousness returned abruptly, and her eyes snapped open.

The book she had been holding fell to the floor, and the velvet blanket draped over her slipped down. The hall was silent, as though everyone knew she was sleeping and had deliberately avoided disturbing her.

Lan Wu rose from the chaise longue, reached up to touch her forehead, and felt only a layer of cold sweat. Paying it no mind, she called out to the attendants outside, “Prepare the carriage. We’re going to Wuji Temple.”

“Now, Your Highness?” Lian Qiao was surprised. It was already well past midday, and dinner would soon be served. If they left for Wuji Temple now, it would likely be dark by the time they returned.

“Yes, now,” Lan Wu replied. She was too eager to see who was enshrined behind that curtain. If in her past life, Chu Mingheng had cast a golden statue of her, what about this life? Who would be behind the curtain now?

“As you wish, Your Highness,” Lian Qiao said, bowing as she retreated from the hall.

A quarter of an hour later, Lan Wu was seated in a carriage bound for Wuji Temple.

The sky gradually grew overcast.

By the time they arrived, a light drizzle had begun to fall. Palace attendants held umbrellas, escorting Lan Wu into the temple.

The monks at the temple showed no particular surprise at her sudden visit at this hour, receiving the esteemed Guifei as they always did.

As Lan Wu entered Changsheng Hall, she suddenly paused and turned to look at the monk standing guard outside the hall’s entrance.

“May I ask, Master Buwei, which deity or Buddha is enshrined in this Changsheng Hall? I have been coming here to meditate and pay respects for some time now, but I have never known who lies behind the curtain. Could you enlighten me?”

She had wondered about this before, but as it was a sacred Buddhist site on the holy mountain, it would have been improper for her to simply lift the curtain and look for herself. Thus, she had never paid it much mind.

But the scene from her dream today was now deeply etched in her mind, impossible to shake off, leaving her feeling both oppressed and furious.

Is Chu Mingheng a fool, unable to even distinguish right from wrong? Although there is no concrete evidence that the blood dripping from the lotus belonged to Chu Mingheng, she could think of no one else but him.

After all, what could Chu Mingheng not do? Even her rebirth into this life was something he had begged for.

At the thought of this, Lan Wu couldn’t help but tremble all over. She truly wanted to confront Chu Mingheng…

But then she felt only discouragement. Chu Mingheng had always been someone who would stop at nothing to achieve his goals. After her death, he gradually became that mad and obsessive person. How could she blame him for being so determined to seek another lifetime for them?

Mujin gently supported Lan Wu’s body. Being close, she naturally understood Lan Wu’s reaction. Seeing her tremble involuntarily, it seemed less like she was cold and more like she was trembling with anger.

But after a moment, she slowly regained her composure.

As for Lan Wu’s question, Buwei found it truly difficult to answer.

He lowered his head slightly, clasped his hands in a gesture of respect, and replied softly, “I beg Your Majesty’s forgiveness. Usually, only the abbot and Master Huifan enter this place. All the arrangements within the hall are handled by the two masters themselves. Others are not allowed to approach, let alone enter. Regarding the question Your Majesty has asked, I am afraid this humble monk cannot provide an answer.”

Only the abbot and Master Huifan enter?

Lan Wu glanced toward the curtain-shrouded area in the center of the hall and said nothing more, simply stepping over the threshold.

In truth, Lan Wu knew that her golden statue would not be behind that curtain. If it were, that would be truly bizarre. After all, it belonged to her previous life. In this life, without reason and without Chu Mingheng commissioning a statue of her, such a thing should not exist.

But if it wasn’t a golden statue, what could it be?

And why was it deliberately concealed with a curtain, shrouded in such mystery?

Lan Wu walked forward and instinctively pulled aside one edge of the curtain.

In a daze, the setting sun seemed to filter through the thin windows, casting golden rays across the floor. The figure kneeling in the hall remained silent and despondent, yet as he rose, he gradually exuded an aura of coldness and authority. Backlit, his expression was indiscernible. He turned and walked straight out.

It was merely a fleeting moment of confusion. When Lan Wu blinked, the hall before her was once again empty. Outside, a light rain fell silently, soaking the earth.

Lan Wu turned her head and pulled open the curtain before her, revealing clearly who was enshrined within.

The hem of the curtain was adorned with several smooth glass beads. As the curtain swayed, the beads gently collided, producing a crisp, tinkling sound—clatter, clatter…

The moment she saw it clearly, Lan Wu’s eyes widened in disbelief. In that instant, only her suddenly rapid breathing could be heard in the hall.

This—this was—a mirror—!

A bronze mirror taller than her entire person stood quietly in the very spot where her golden statue had been in her previous life. In the mirror, her figure was now clearly reflected, capturing her astonished, stunned, and caught-off-guard expression.

How absurd, absurd, and yet… utterly fitting.