Chapter 116: Duzhong Palace

Luo Xu asked, "Who is 'They'?"

Little Ming Zhuo replied, "It's my mother."

Suddenly, the robe billowed, as if something had slipped inside it. The crimson fabric fluttered open, and each white rose pattern on it swelled up, becoming bloated and distorted. Little Ming Zhuo's body shook, and he was lifted by the robe as if it were about to carry him away. With a ripping “cila” sound, the robe tore apart. 

Catching Little Ming Zhuo, Luo Xu said, "Since you fell back into my arms, holding you again wouldn't be breaking the promise we just made."

Terrified, Little Ming Zhuo trembled and said, "How could you tear the robe? Now Mother will be furious!"

Luo Xu tightened his embrace, drawing the child closer to him. His thin eyelids lifted, revealing a gaze that carried a nonchalant defiance as if daring the robe to see just how bold he could be. He said, "If Mother wants this robe, I can compensate for it. But if I want Ming Zhuo—will she be willing to give him to me?"

The robe, with its torn seams, swayed a few times as if it had heard something outrageously defiant. Then, suddenly enraged, it lunged toward the two of them. Luo Xu sidestepped swiftly, nudging the box with his foot and kicking it toward the robe. Though this kick seemed ordinary, if the opponent were a Tongshen, it would have left them with broken bones. However, the robe only paused briefly before stuffing the box into its torn opening, "eating" it whole on the spot!

Little Ming Zhuo covered the blood curse mark on his cheek and said, "The box had runes on it. By throwing it over, you've only made Mother angrier!"

From beneath the robe came the sound of chewing, and the box's structure crumbled in moments, leaving only scattered bits of gold and shattered jewels, which trickled out from the torn seam as if the robe concealed a ravenous beast within. After devouring the box, the white roses on the robe were stretched to their breaking point.

Luo Xu remarked, "I've only ever heard of Dianxia being skilled in music, not that he was so gluttonous."

The robe couldn't speak and ignored Luo Xu's words, lunging at them once more. Luo Xu moved quickly in retreat, and Little Ming Zhuo, enduring the curse’s pain, shouted toward one side, "Be careful, there's more over there!"

Luo Xu snapped his fingers, and silver flames erupted, burning the drapes attempting to entangle him into a frenzied dance. It turned out that not just the robe, but these drapes were also alive. They moved and swayed like water ghosts, lying in wait to consume their prey. If one didn't know this was a bed chamber, one might think they had entered a nest of snakes.

Luo Xu asked, "Earlier, you said 'They.' Besides your mother, who else is here?"

"There is also my aunt, great-grandfather, and many other elders," Little Ming Zhuo whispered, tugging on Luo Xu's sleeve with one hand and pointing into the darkness with the other. "Can't you see? Here, there, and over there, it's all packed with them."

The bed chamber's doors and windows were sealed shut, and by the dim light of the silver fire, Luo Xu noticed hundreds of memorial tablets behind layers of drapes. Some stood upright, others had fallen, and some were broken, but all had gold backgrounds with red characters, inscribed with names like Ming Yang, Ming Ye, Ming Zhao, Ming Xi... all from the Ming family!

Luo Xu was not surprised as he looked at those memorial tablets. He simply said, "Instead of playing the filial son in the ancestral hall, Ming Han insists on bringing all the tablets into the bed chamber. Such disregard for etiquette."

Little Ming Zhuo said, "These memorial tablets aren't for worship."

Luo Xu asked, "Then what are they for?"

Little Ming Zhuo let go of his hand and said in a muffled voice, "They're for eating me."

His words seemed to stir something, and the tablets began to tremble chaotically as if mimicking the chattering of teeth in fear. The surrounding drapes tightened, like a drawstring bag being pulled shut, pressing madly toward them. The scene was so bizarre it felt as if they were not in a bed chamber but inside the belly of some colossal creature.

Fluid trickled down the drapes like rain, dripping steadily. A heavy scent of blood mixed with a strange fragrance filled the air. Luo Xu looked up and heard a swallowing sound, as if something was salivating overhead. The liquid continued to flow, gathering at their feet to form a pool of blood.

"Gūdū, gūdū."(1)

Little Ming Zhuo clutched his head, his eyes bloodshot. "It’s starting! First the head, then the hands! The bones get chewed to pieces and swallowed whole with the skin and tendons. The hair can’t be pulled out, it gets stuck in the throat, choking...ǒu—"(2)

He gagged violently, and the blood curse on his face flickered like splattered blood. The child crossed his wrists unconsciously, a gesture he had become accustomed to, used to being bound in this way. The sores on his chafed wrists didn’t hurt anymore because nothing compared to the pain of the blood curse. He seemed to be having a seizure again as if it wasn't those monsters doing the eating, but him.

Luo Xu pried Little Ming Zhuo's arms apart. Little Ming Zhuo glared at him—or perhaps through him at others. The drapes tightened further, and the liquid—no, the blood—poured down like a waterfall, threatening to dye them both red. Luo Xu had never been this filthy before. He refrained from casting another spell because he wanted to know what had happened here.

Little Ming Zhuo was still gagging. Luo Xu said, "But you didn’t eat anything."

"The hair," Little Ming Zhuo whimpered. "I can't pull out the hair..."

Luo Xu pressed his thumb down firmly, wiping away the filth from Little Ming Zhuo's face. The blood kept flowing, but Luo Xu tirelessly cleaned him over and over. Despite his earlier gentleness, his tone now carried a hint of harshness, a commanding force that brooked no argument. "You didn’t eat them, Ming Zhuo. I know you."

Little Ming Zhuo's breathing remained rapid, like someone caught in a nightmare. Luo Xu watched him intently, seemingly forgetting about the pain in his own chest. The Imperial Lord was too large to hold Little Ming Zhuo's hand and pretend they were childhood friends. Just then, the once-menacing robe slumped at one corner, light as a feather, draping over them and covering their heads like a woman’s falling hand.

"…The sea floats on the cliff, where fish carry clouds and waves..."

In the midst of the chewing sounds, a woman’s soft humming could be heard.

"…You, oh you, are the naughtiest of all… The stars watch you, the moon watches you… In this world, only you..."

Her voice was as gentle as a spring breeze, wafting through the air and dispersing the strange fragrance. Little Ming Zhuo clutched the robe tighter. This was something his mother had left behind, stained with old, mottled blood, but it wasn’t dirty—instead, it gave him comfort. He had always been alone in his mother’s "embrace," but now, with another person here, he didn’t feel crowded at all.

Luo Xu said, "This isn’t a bed chamber."

In the darkness, Little Ming Zhuo stared at him and nodded.

Luo Xu brought his fingers together, making a grasping motion. "Now that you and Mother have caught me, can you tell me where we are?"

Little Ming Zhuo said, "Inside a stomach."

Luo Xu lowered his hand and asked, "Are we inside Hui Mang's stomach?"

The chewing sounds continued, with the occasional falling of remnants from above. Xiao Ming Zhuo replied, "Whenever it goes mad, it needs to eat. Ming Han said it would eventually burst its stomach, so he put everything it ate in here."

Luo Xu said, "I see. This is a transference array. Everything Hui Mang has ever consumed ends up here."

Little Ming Zhuo’s amber eyes lowered, glancing at the edge of the robe. After a moment, he looked back at Luo Xu and asked in an almost innocent tone, "Were you eaten too?"

"Yes, I have a condition where I can't leave someone’s side. I have to see him all the time. He said he'd take me home to meet his family, but we fell into an ambush, and now my heart is uneasy," Luo Xu said with a reckless air. "I'll pass out if I can’t see him again."

The Author Has Something to Say

Thanks for reading. 

The Translator Has Something to 

The chapter title, "Duzhong Palace" conveys the idea that they are in a "stomach palace" or that the palace is a "stomach". 

Foot Notes

1. 咕嘟 (Gūdū) is a sound like a gurgle.

2. 呕 (ǒu) is the sound of vomiting.