This was a story with a beginning and an end. After finishing her recollections, Jiang Yan smiled, put the diary back in her backpack, packed away the millennia-old bridal gown, then stood up and walked toward the tomb entrance. Her experience hadn’t been long; it didn’t take much time to review it all. So when… Continue reading Tricked 173: Unsealing

After Taotao’s resurrection, Jiang Yan’s life changed a little. At first, the change wasn’t obvious. The tomb chamber remained quiet; Taotao never suddenly spoke up, never rambled on about himself, and certainly never tried to rope Jiang Yan into any strange story gatherings. He was quiet, sometimes floating up and down the main chamber, sometimes… Continue reading Tricked 172: A Millennium in the Tomb

The memories with Jiang Chixi came to an end. More precisely, the memories with He Qingfu and Jiang Chixi came to an end. Jiang Yan let out a soft sigh. She closed the diary, shielding her eyes for a moment, then propped her chin on her left hand and sat on the rubble, lost in… Continue reading Tricked 171: Guarding the Tomb

The story was already approaching its end. Hearing He Qingfu’s words, little Jiang Yan was confused, but He Qingfu gave her no time to react. Just before entering the valley, she pushed her down. The girl’s body tilted, and the moment she fell from the horse, she turned into a red string. Just as He… Continue reading Tricked 170: Today You Can Win

After He Qingfu said this, the two spoke no more. Jiang Chixi left the palace with her bundle and boarded the waiting carriage outside. Everything had been arranged, so the journey was smooth and unimpeded. It would take two days to reach the border. Along the way, little Jiang Yan transformed twice inside the tightly… Continue reading Tricked 169: The Dagger

He Qingfu found it hard to refuse this decision. Because Chen Xihe was absolutely right—even if he was determined, even if he promised not to get involved in mortal karma or let his thoughts stray, avoiding karma was not something he could accomplish on his own. Even with her planning, it would be extremely difficult.… Continue reading Tricked 168: Unfit for the Light

He Qingfu in the diary was still struggling with her decision, but Jiang Yan, who had lived through it all, already knew what she had chosen. She slowed her page-turning. There were not many diary entries left. At this point, there was one year until Jiang Chixi would secretly leave the palace, one year until… Continue reading Tricked 167: Chen Xihe

Little Jiang Yan’s voice was very calm. It was as if she were talking about the most ordinary thing. Even though He Qingfu couldn’t see anything, she could still guess the girl’s expression at that moment—it was probably just like Jiang Chixi’s expression when she heard the Nation-Guarding Tree had been struck down by heavenly… Continue reading Tricked 166: My Daughter

The little girl was full of anticipation for the peach blossom rain. Since taking human form, she had never left the underground palace. Everything outside was a curiosity to her; anything could catch her interest, especially something that sounded as beautiful as this. “I’ll ask.” She slapped Little Peach Blossom aside and turned to ask… Continue reading Tricked 165: Death

He Qingfu’s diary was already more than halfway read by Jiang Yan. There really weren’t that many stories between them. By the time He Qingfu’s consciousness crossed over, Jiang Chixi was already forty—not a little girl anymore. Her character was fully formed: decisive, courageous, able to bear the weight of a nation. Most importantly, her… Continue reading Tricked 164: Peach Blossom Rain