The 99th Escape: My Godly Lord Lets Me Slip Again

The sandalwood bookshelves in the library are almost reaching the beams, and the topmost books are covered with a layer of dust and can only be reached on tiptoe. Su Qingyuan was stepping on a tattered wooden stool and pushing the "Covenant of the Gods" back when his fingertips suddenly hooked on something else - not the hard shell of the spine, but rather a piece of rags. "Huh?" She raised her eyebrows and stretched her arms up. The thing was stuck tightly, and when it was pulled out, it brought up a cloud of dust and made her cough. When it was unfolded, it was not cloth, but a yellowish roll with frayed edges, and the most striking thing was the words on it - red as freshly splashed blood, trembling slightly. "What the hell?" Su Qingyuan pursed her lips and leaned over the dim glass lamp above her head to look. The characters were crooked and looked like scribbles, but she could recognize each one. "Share the same heart and soul..." She read word by word, frowning more and more, "Bound... 99 attempts to escape failed... Will become the other's vessel of spiritual power..." The last few words pierced his head like an ice cone, and Su Qingyuan shook his hand, and the scroll dropped "plop" to the ground. She crouched down to pick them up, her fingertips touching the blood-red runes, and pulled her hand back as if it had been burned by a hot iron. "Container?" She swallowed and broke out in a cold sweat on the back of her neck. Why does this crappy word sound so familiar? Oh, when I was sorting through the imperial family genealogy a few days ago, I seemed to have seen a similar record, saying that the sorcery of ancient times was banned long ago. But what does it have to do with her? Su Qingyuan touched her chest, which was nothing special, just an ordinary piece of flesh. She wasn't a big shot, the orphan girl whom the emperor had picked up from a burned village three years ago. Her daily work was nothing but cleaning the bookshelves, and she didn't even dare to step out of the door of the Star Hall three times. "Coincidences, surely coincidences." She insisted, but the image of three years ago flashed through her mind - that day she crouched at the entrance of the village crying, the emperor descended like a god from the sky, and the old man leading the group said with a smile, "This child has a unique character. Take her as your adopted daughter." At that time she had foolishly thought it was a stroke of good luck, but now thinking about it, the old man's smile looked like a Wolf looking at a sheep. She jumped up on the ground, her eyes scanning the bookshelf, and finally settled on the dusty wooden box at the bottom. When she opened it, she found her treasures inside - a bag of nearly crushed spicy strips, half a piece of osmanthus cake wrapped in oiled paper, and three crumpled yellow talismans. "Old Chen says this is a hidden talisman that can hold the scent for three hours." She stuffed everything into her sleeve bag, and the sound of her fingers touching the plastic packaging of the spicy strips was particularly loud in the quiet library. She quickly covered her mouth and pressed her ear against the door to listen. It was quiet outside, except for the footsteps of the night guard coming from afar. "Hurry up and go." Su Qingyuan clenched his fists and was about to pick up the scroll on the ground when his fingertips accidentally rubbed against the blood-red runes. "Whoosh --" A sudden sharp pain in her chest, as if someone had pushed a needle into it, almost made her squat down. She clutched her chest and panted, then looked down at the scroll. The blood on it seemed even redder, wriggling on the paper as if it had come to life. "What the hell!" Su Qingyuan was so scared that she threw the scroll back into the crevice of the bookshelf, patted her clothes and rushed out. Just as she ran to the door, she stopped abruptly - her plain white maidservant dress, running around the palace in the middle of the night, wasn't it obvious to tell others "I want to run away"? She rolled her eyes and slipped into the storage room next door. There were piles of old robes inside, which seemed to have been thrown by some low priestess. She casually grabbed a dusty cover and smeared some pot bottom ash on her face - still the leftovers from the last time she secretly cooked hot pot, and didn't expect it to come in handy now. "Perfect!" Su Qingyuan looked into the bronze mirror and, apart from his eyes shining a little conspicuously, looked like a disheveled servant. She nodded contentedly, and just as she was about to push the door open, she remembered something, turned around and took out the half piece of osmanthus cake, and took a careful bite. The sweet taste spread in her mouth, which she had bought when she sneaked to the human world for a temple fair last year. When the vendor said, "This osmanthus cake tastes better with hot tea," she didn't want to finish it and has kept it until now. "When I get out, I'll eat osmanthus cake every day." She muttered to herself and put the rest back in her pocket, then crouched and slipped out of the storage room. Outside the library was a cobblestone path, with lanterns hanging high on both sides, shining as brightly as day. Su Qingyuan walked along the base of the wall, her heart pounding as if she were carrying a rabbit. "Stop!" Su Qingyuan was so frightened that she almost jumped up. She turned sharply and saw a guard in black armor staring at her. The guard looked unfamiliar, presumably new, with a wine gourd in his hand and a smell of alcohol in his mouth. "Who are you? What are you wandering around here in the dead of night?" The guard squinted and walked over. Su Qingyuan's mind raced as he choked his voice and said, "Back..." "Sir, the little one is in charge of pouring night incense. He took the wrong way." She deliberately spat on the ground as she spoke, making her voice muffled and hoarse. The guard frowned, presumably disgusted by the words "Night incense", and waved his hand: "Get out! Don't get in the way here!" "Hey hey, get out of here." Su Qingyuan, with her head down, stepped back and, at the corner, ran away, and from a distance she heard the guard cursing. She made her way around, choosing the kind of path without lanterns. As she passed the Lingchong Garden, she heard meowing from inside, the fat orange cat she had fed spicy strips to last time. "I'll bring you something good next time." She whispered into the crack of the wall without stopping. After running for about the time of an incense stick, a small side door appeared ahead, with only two dozing guards at it. Su Qingyuan murmured to himself, "Old Chen bless," and took out a hidden talisman and slapped it on his body. The paper of the talisman melted in the wind, and she felt as if she had really become invisible. She bolstered up her courage to move forward, and the two guards did not react, just a little bit over there. Just as she crossed the threshold with one foot, she felt a sharp pain in her chest, more intense than before, as if something was pulling in it. She looked back and saw that the Starlight Hall in the distance was brightly lit, and that Di Yechen's study should still be lit, right? The god Lord, who always had a cold face, punished her to copy the "Divine Precepts" a hundred times yesterday because she broke a jade vase while cleaning the bookshelf. She had cursed him eight hundred times in her heart at that time, but now... "What are you thinking about!" Su Qingyuan shook his head, gritted his teeth and ran out of the side door. Outside the door was a bamboo grove, and the wind rustled through the leaves as if someone was chasing after them. She ran out of the bamboo grove in one breath before she dared to stop and catch her breath. Looking back at the towering palaces, she suddenly felt a bit unreal - did she really run out? "Rumble, rumble," her stomach growled inappropriately. Su Qingyuan took out the pack of spicy strips, tore open the bag and took a big bite. The spiciness made her inhale and tears were about to come out. "The hundredth run away from the wedding... No, it's the first time." She sniffed and laughed, a little red oil on the corner of her mouth. "Di Yechen, you wait. I'm not a broken container!" She stuffed the remaining spicy strips into her pocket, brushed the dust off her body, and walked towards the human world. The moonlight stretched her shadow long, a few barks of dogs came from afar, and the air was filled with the stench of earth. What Su Qingyuan did not know was that as soon as she ran out of the side door, in the study of the Star Hall, Di Yechen was looking at a water mirror. In the mirror, she was biting spicy strips, with red oil on the corners of her mouth and eyes as bright as stars. He tapped the table with his fingertips and said to the empty room, "Ah Fu, go and change the two dozing guards." Outside the door came Ah Fu's voice: "Yes, Young Master. Well... Do you want to chase?" Di Yechen did not speak. He just looked at the figure in the water mirror, bouncing forward, and a smile flashed in his eyes that he himself did not notice. He picked up a piece of osmanthus cake on the table - exactly the half that Su Qingyuan had hidden behind the bookshelf and forgotten to take away. "Stupid." He cursed in a low voice, but his fingertips brushed the pastry lightly as if touching some rare treasure. Su Qingyuan ran down the mountain in the morning dew. The soles of his shoes were worn thin and the stones hurt his feet. She gritted her teeth and turned a corner when she suddenly heard a sound behind her - not the wind, but the sound of footsteps deliberately softened. "No way? So soon after?" Her heart tightened, she pulled out the second hidden talisman and held it in her hand, but her steps did not stop. The talisman was a treasure given to her by Old Chen, who said it could deceive the consciousness of a high-ranking priest, but the guard she had just managed to get through, the man sent by the Emperor family was probably not so easy to deal with. The footsteps were getting closer and closer, and Su Qingyuan could even smell a faint cold fragrance - the same as the incense in the study of the emperor Yechen. She came to a sudden halt, turned and slapped the talisman on her body, and dived into the bushes beside her. With a splash, the leaves closed, and she held her breath and peered through the gaps. A figure in a black robe stopped at the spot where she had run, her black hair tied in a jade crown, and the corners of her robe swayed gently in the wind. Who else could it be if not Di Yechen? He had something in his hand, and in the morning light, it turned out to be the half piece of osmanthus cake she had left in the library. "Running so fast won't starve you?" Di Yechen's voice was not high, but it was like an echo, swinging in the valley. He looked down at the pastry in his hand, his fingertips rubbing the creases of the oiled paper wrap, and suddenly chuckled, "The skill of hiding things has improved." Su Qingyuan almost choked in the bushes - how did he know it was her hiding? Could it be that he had discovered it long ago? She was thinking about it when she saw Di Yechen put the osmanthus cake in his pocket and turn back. He walked slowly, not like a fugitive, but rather like a stroll. "Strange..." Su Qingyuan waited until he was far away before climbing out of the bushes and patting off the grass on his body. She felt the remaining half pack of spicy strips in her sleeve pocket and suddenly realized, "Did he deliberately let me go?" The thought was snuffed out as soon as it popped up. Impossible! That's Di Yechen, the notorious cold-faced deity in the three realms, who was punished yesterday to copy a book for breaking a bottle. How could she be let go today? It must be a trap. She muttered, quickening her pace down the mountain. As she ran, her stomach started growling again. Just as she felt the spicy strip and was about to bite it, she remembered the appearance of Di Yechen just now and suddenly lost her appetite. It was the last time that Old Chen had sent someone to bring it from the human world, saying it was "the most delicious food on earth." She was breathing while eating, and Di Yechen happened to catch her, frowning so much that he could kill a mosquito, and said, "Mortal garbage deserves to be placed in the Star Hall," then turned and left. But the next day she found that the bag of spicy strips she had hidden under her pillow had been flattened, and even the corners were neatly arranged. "Crazy." Su Qingyuan took a bite of the spicy strip, her eyes brimming with spiciness, but her mind was a bit confused. By the time she reached the small town at the foot of the mountain, it was already dawn. The town was quite lively, with the cries of steamed buns and the playfulness of children mixed together, a stark contrast to the quietness of the divine realm. Su Qingyuan found a wall and sat down, looking at the people coming and going, and suddenly felt a bit lost. Where to run? Old Chen has said that he runs a grocery store in Qingfeng Town on the south side. If it doesn't work out, go to him. But it would take at least half a month from here to Qingfeng Town, and she had no money on her, just half a pack of spicy strips and half a piece of osmanthus cake. She would either starve to death or die of exhaustion. "Little girl, do you want to buy a steamed bun?" An aunt carrying a basket passed by, the meat buns in the basket were steaming and the aroma was wafting into her nose. Su Qingyuan swallowed hard, touched the empty bag and shook her head: "No, thank you, Auntie." Seeing her embarrassment, the aunt took out a bag of vegetables from the basket and handed it over: "Take it, look at you child, your face is pale from hunger." "How dare you..." Su Qingyuan tried to push it back, but her stomach growled unwillingly. She blushed and took it, took a big bite, and the hot vegetable filling mixed with the aroma of flour was a hundred times better than the divine dew. "Thank you, Auntie!" She said, mumbling as she ate. The aunt smiled and waved her hand: "Looking at your outfit, are you from the mountains? "Where are you going?" "I... I'm going to Qingfeng Town to look for my grandpa." Su Qingyuan rambled on, but her heart gave a jolt - how could she have a grandfather? In this world, she seemed to know no one except Old Chen. Just as the aunt was about to say something more, she suddenly pointed behind her, her face turning pale: "Official... Sir Guan!" Su Qingyuan's heart gave a jolt. Looking back, he was so scared that he almost dropped the bun on the ground. A few guards in black armor were standing not far away, with the word "Emperor" on their waists, looking this way. These are the black-armored guards! The most powerful guard of the imperial family, said to be able to chase the demons for three days and three nights without panting. "Oh no, oh no." Su Qingyuan stuffed the remaining buns into his mouth, wiped his mouth and ran out of town. She heard the roar of the guards behind her and the scream of the aunt, so frightened that her soul was almost dead. She deliberately chose narrow alleys to crawl through, and the footsteps behind her grew closer and closer. Seeing a dead end ahead, she stomped her feet in anxiety and suddenly saw a dog hole in the wall. "Never mind!" Su Qingyuan lay down and crawled into the hole, not caring that her skirt was torn. Just as she got out of half of her body, she heard someone speaking above her head. "This form is much more agile than the last time I got through the drain." Su Qingyuan looked up and her soul almost flew - Di Yechen was sitting on the wall, playing with the half piece of osmanthus cake in his hand, looking at her with a half-smile. "You... Why are you here?" She glared in anger and tried to go back, but the black-armored guards behind her had already chased to the entrance of the alley. "The Black Armor Guards are on duty. Get out of the way!" The leading guard shouted, his footsteps getting closer and closer. Di Yechen jumped down from the wall and landed right in front of Su Qingyuan. He bent down and pulled her out of the dog hole so fast that she didn't have time to react. "What are you doing!" Su Qingyuan struggled to shake off his hand. "Just shut up if you don't want to be taken back to copy the book." Di Yechen said in a low voice, pulling her to jump onto the roof beside. When Xuanjia Wei rushed into the alley, the two of them were already standing on the roof. Su Qingyuan looked down and was so frightened that his legs went weak. The house was at least three zhang high, and the people beneath it were like ants. "Let me down!" She clung tightly to the sleeve of Di Yechen, her voice trembling. "Let you down to feed the Black Armor Guard?" He raised his eyebrows and pulled her to jump onto another roof. "Who said yesterday that 'I'm not going to break containers'? Are you scared?" "I'm not afraid at all!" Su Qingyuan was tough on her lips, but her hand grasping his sleeve tightened even more. She noticed that there was some dirt on Di Yechen's sleeve, the same color as the mud at the foot of the mountain - he wasn't coming down from the mountain just now, he had been following her all the time.