2 Chapter 2 The Down-and-Out Female City Lord


    Trantor: Exodus Tales


    Editor: Exodus Tales


    “I’m not a vagrant; I was just robbed, lost my money, and then identally ate some poisoned porridge…” Zhu Minng hastened to exin.


    “What’s the difference? She has already achieved her goal,” the Empress said coldly.


    “What goal?”


    Zhu Minng had barely finished speaking when he realized how stupid his question was.


    What other goal could there be?


    If the Empress were overthrown, there would be plenty of ways to humiliate her, one of which was like now, having her supreme position defiled by coption with a social outcast such as a vagrant. Such a rtionship would instantly transform her erected pride and sanctity, her untouchable aura, into “vile” and “filthy.”


    Even the most humble rats in the streets could intimately entwine with the most sacred Valkyrie; what difference would there be between her and a prostitute, oh, no, at least a prostitute still chooses her clients.


    Having realized all this, Zhu Minng couldn’t help butugh bitterly.


    So he had been used as a tool to insult a woman, indeed, there was no such thing as free porridge in this world.


    “By the way, there were many refugees who were knocked unconscious by the poison along with me… could they also…” Zhu Minng suddenly remembered this detail.


    “You want to die; I can grant you that right now.” The Valkyrie’s teeth were nearly ground to dust, her eyes gleaming with murderous intent.


    If she weren’t so weak right now, she would have torn Zhu Minng to shreds.


    “Cough cough.” Zhu Minng’s face was full of embarrassment, why did he always say the wrong thing at the wrong time?


    The Valkyrie appeared distraught, but before long, her gaze sharpened as she fixed her eyes on the small window, clearly contemting an escape.


    As much as she wanted to kill the man beside her, the Valkyrie had picked up a crucial piece of information from Zhu Minng’s words: that there were more vagrants imprisoned outside besides him.


    If a different man were sent in every day, she would prefer to bite her own tongue and die rather than endure such disgrace.


    She had to find a way out; she did not want a repeat ofst night’s ordeal, and this was only the beginning.


    “We need to find a way to get out of here,” Zhu Minng said seriously.


    The Empress didn’t listen to Zhu Minng’s words. She wasn’t driven mad by this incident; she wasn’t hysterical, enraged, or weeping bitterly. Perhaps deep down she felt this way, but she would only show her despair and pain after calmly resolving the predicament at hand and achieving her revenge.


    In any case, they needed to find a way out.


    “Great, little guy, you’re awake,” Zhu Minng suddenly said excitedly.


    Zhu Minng opened his right palm and, as if performing magic, produced a milky-white Ice Bug.


    The round body of the Ice Bug asionally rippled with circles of translucent and tender white flesh, which looked somewhat naive and adorable as it wriggled. Its tworge eyes even more so, sparkling with a hint of the extraordinary.


    The Empress nced at Zhu Minng and noted he was holding a small white bug in his hand, prompting her to snort dismissively.


    Blissfully ignorant optimism—he even had the mood to y with bugs.


    “Go, go unlock the door; I know you can do it,” Zhu Minng said to the Ice Bug.


    The Ice Bug crawled up the stone wall and quickly found the iron bars.


    “ng~~~~~~”


    Before long, the sound of a chain falling followed.


    Seeing this, the Empress’s eyes suddenly brightened, her face unable to hide her joy.


    “Heh heh, my little Ice Bug can do anything,” Zhu Minng smiled at the Empress.


    “Help me up,” said the Empress, her body feeling somewhat weak, apparently under the effect of a persistent love poison.


    Barefoot, she stepped onto Zhu Minng’s shoulders.


    With an effort, she climbed out of the dungeon and hesitated, looking back at Zhu Minng.


    Zhu Minng stood in the dungeon, his gaze fixated on her.


    Indeed, the Empress turned around, left the dungeon alone, and left Zhu Minng behind.


    The dungeon’s stone walls were smooth, and without someone to lend a hand, it was impossible to climb out.


    “Women, the prettier they are, the less trustworthy.” Zhu Minng shook his head in resignation, about to have the Ice Bug spin some silk for him to climb, when suddenly, footsteps as light as a cat’s rang out above him.


    “Put this on, and I’ll pull you up.” The Empress, having found tworge sacks somewhere in the dungeon, tore them open and made a makeshift clothing.


    A smile immediately appeared on Zhu Minng’s face as he quickly donned the sack cloth and grabbed the delicate hand that the Empress extended to him.


    …


    After pulling Zhu Minng up, the Empress was panting, the poison still lingering in her body, and despite her great strength, she now seemed no different from a weak girl.


    “Follow me, don’t make any sound,” the Empress whispered.


    “You’re very familiar with this dungeon?” Zhu Minng also whispered.


    “I used to keep myself here,” she replied.


    Zhu Minng was puzzled.


    Keep yourself here??


    Are you sick?


    …


    The Valkyrie was indeed very familiar with the dungeon; even without guards, Zhu Minng wouldn’t have been able to find his way out—it was as vast as abyrinth.


    Eventually, they managed to leave the city through a secret passage.


    Outside the city, Zhu Minng smeared himself with the dirty mud on the ground, and also smeared two streaks across the Valkyrie’s fair cheeks.


    “Let’s take shelter at my ce for a while,” Zhu Minng said.


    The Valkyrie didn’t respond, which Zhu Minng took as consent.


    On foot, they headed towards the outskirts of the city, and soon saw squad after squad of guards rushing along the road—clearly, news of the Valkyrie’s escape had spread.


    …


    After three days and nights of travel, Zhu Minng and the Valkyrie finally made it back to Xiaosang Town.


    Xiaosang Town was a gathering ce for sericulture farmers, with many traders from outside the citying here to purchase raw silk and silk materials. The poption was bing increasingly transient, gradually making it a ce teeming with all sorts of people.


    The more outsiders, the better for hiding. Zhu Minng and the Valkyrie had been traveling by night and dared not rest much during the day,pletely exhausted.


    Upon entering his small courtyard and house, Zhu Minng copsed onto his bed and fell asleep.


    The Valkyrie made do with two chairs pushed together andy down across them without a word.


    She, too, was very tired, and with the events that had urred, her heart was under extreme strain. But she didn’t fall asleep immediately; recalling the recent events, her eyes unwittingly began to moisten.


    Zhu Minng, who had been sleeping soundly, soon ceased his snoring and opened his eyes. He watched the Valkyrie lying on her side, slightly curled up, and noticed the slight shimmer on her eyshes… and he couldn’t help but let out a soft sigh.


    Although the two of them had a rtionship of mutual need rather than affection, Zhu Minng still felt some regret.


    To himself, it was just having consumed poisoned porridge, spending a night in the dungeon, and a few days of travel.


    But what about her?


    She was the Eternal City Lord, her power and chastity stripped away, reduced to hiding in a small house reeking of silkworm dung. Her calmposure these past few days, along with asional bouts of despondency, no doubt were not easy forgetfulness of the humiliation but rather the transformation of all the inner fury and indignity into the resilience of revenge.