CHAPTER 657: [651] QING CHUAN CHENG WANGFEI 20 (3 MORE UPDATES)

Everyone just needed to wait quietly for dawn to break the grip of fear, but no one expected a rat to suddenly appear, eliciting a piercing scream from a palace maid, and then, hordes of mutants swarmed towards the garden where they were.

Especially terrifying was the fact that the rats would actively attack them, tearing at their flesh. The situation was now beyond salvation; it seemed the rats had consumed flesh they shouldn’t have, leading to their mutation, so those who were bitten by the rats would turn into the undead just like those bitten by the monsters. In no time at all, they began to mutate into walking corpses. So it was bite for bite until only Su He, Su Mei, Little Yuanzi, and two guards remained, staunchly blockading the bedroom door from the intruders.

In this tense and trembling state, they passed more than an hour until, at last, the eastern sky showed the first light of dawn. As the daylight gradually grew, Xiyuan felt her rigid body finally able to move. Then, she opened her eyes, adjusted to the indoor light, and slowly sat up.

Her personal maids, Little Yuanzi and the two guards, were so exhausted they had collapsed and fallen asleep at the door. Outside, it seemed there was no movement.

She sat up slowly, and the slight noise startled the guards awake, their eyes flying open. As six pairs of eyes met, they held their breath, unblinking and staring at Xiyuan. At the same time, they nudged Su Mei, Su He, and Little Yuanzi awake. Their wary posture made Xiyuan involuntarily look down at herself.

When the other three woke up and saw the Princess Consort suddenly sit up, they had the same reaction as the guards, but since Su Mei and Su He had been with Xiyuan since they were young, they were a bit braver. Hesitantly, they stood up and asked, "Princess Consort, are you awake?"

Xiyuan nodded slightly, hesitation in her eyes, "What’s the matter with all of you?"

At the sound of her voice, tears streamed down Su He’s face, she joined hands with Su Mei, their voices choked with emotion.

"It’s the Princess Consort, she’s alright, she can speak, she’s truly alright."

"What’s with all of you, this reaction?" She had just woken up and must understand what happened last night.

Little Yuanzi was also crying tears of joy. The five of them took turns recounting everything that had happened the night before.

After listening, Xiyuan’s mouth twitched silently. Oh my God, was this the real-life version of "The King" in the Qing Dynasty?

She thought of what Liang Tian had told her, "Go back, take your gift and go back?"

What did that mean? To wake up with a gift? What gift?

She checked her body over and over and found nothing unusual, nor was she carrying anything. She didn’t understand what Liang Tian meant by his gift.

However, she could glean a bit of information from their account, namely, that the main source of blame for this mutated catastrophe was the Taoist Temple and the crux of the issue was Yong Zheng’s desire to perform Alchemy. It was during their alchemical process that something bizarre happened, resulting in this calamity.

"Are those things still outside?" Xiyuan’s reminder brought the five of them back to their senses, "Right, it seems quiet now."

Peeking through the crack of the door, they saw no living creatures outside. Xiyuan thought of something, got up from the bed, casually draped on a robe, and went to open the door, which frightened the two guards who, trembling, stood in front of her with their swords drawn.

As the gate opened, there was no one outside, just the headless corpse that had been chopped before, lying across the yard. The air was filled with the suffocating stench of blood, overwhelming to the senses.

Xiyuan stepped out barefoot, examining the surroundings meticulously, and finally confirmed, "It seems they disappear during the day."

In order to verify if it was as she had hypothesized, she casually tied up her hair, changed into appropriate clothing, and put on shoes. Then, she led Little Yuanzi and the other four, each armed with a knife, cautiously exiting Qin Garden. They discovered that the paths were littered with corpses, most without heads. Thus, she analyzed,

"See? Their fatal wound is the head; chopping other parts is useless except for the head."

"Princess Consort, you’re brilliant. It was the same last night, they wouldn’t die when pierced through the abdomen, but cutting off their head did the trick. How did you figure it out?"

Su He slapped his head, "Are you stupid? Didn’t you notice that all the corpses lying on the ground are headless? It’s easy to deduce!"

"Then, where do those things disappear to during the day?"

"Any dark, damp place, like under bridges,"

No sooner had Xiyuan finished speaking than they passed a stone bridge. Wanting to validate her speculation, she leaned over to look down. Not expecting what she saw, even though she was mentally prepared, she still got so startled that her legs gave way. In a critical moment, she fell into a warm embrace. Looking up, she saw Yun Mi’s face filled with concern.

Xiyuan, surprised, opened her mouth wide, "You, how did you get here?"

Turning her head, she saw the Imperial Guard of the Imperial Family not far away. So how had he managed to appear so silently from the beginning to the end of the bridge?

"Are you alright now? Do you feel any discomfort?"

Xiyuan shook her head, "Nothing at all, not even a reaction. I don’t know why. Could it be that I’ve healed myself?"

"Let the Imperial Physician have a look later, but you too, in such dangerous circumstances, why would you still run outside?"

Xiyuan pointed under the bridge, "We must take advantage of the daylight to burn all these corpses; otherwise, by nightfall, it will be their time to revive. See? It’s not just people but also rats. As horrific as the plague is, that’s how severe this issue is. So, Yun Mi, we must act quickly, and we must seal off Yuanming Garden. Once someone escapes, it will spell disaster for the entire nation. What fate awaits Daqing, I need not elaborate, right?"

Yun Mi had yet to notice the things under the bridge, but upon Xiyuan’s prompting, he couldn’t help but lean over for a look. What met his gaze was not only human corpses but also an overwhelming number of rats, disgustingly repulsive, utterly terrifying.

"How did they end up here?"

"These can no longer be called people. Whether you call them walking dead or something else, what we need to do now is to lift them into a deep pit, douse them with oil, and set them ablaze. We must act fast as we do not have much time; once night falls, another round of slaughter will begin."

Yun Mi frowned, "Our casualties are heavy now, elder brother has already retreated back to the palace, and there are not enough people left in the garden to do this much work. This needs careful planning. So, you pack up as well and head back to your residence immediately. Whether these creatures have appeared in Beijing, no one knows. For now, we can’t concern ourselves with that; we must deal with the filth here in Yuanming Garden first and foremost."