Buried Beneath the Spring, Bones Turn to Dust, Part 3

…A wedding procession?

The sedan curtain slipped from her fingers, falling back into place.

Amid the chattering voices of the young maids outside, Yun Yao belatedly glanced down at the item she’d brushed aside—a square piece of vibrant red silk, adorned with golden hooks, jade pendants, and silver threads woven intricately, unmistakably a bridal veil.

“She” had become a princess sent for a political marriage?

No wonder the sedan’s interior was cushioned with fine silk, smooth and cool as jade to the touch, of exceptional quality. Beside her stood a carved wooden stand, holding a makeup box and a dragon-patterned bronze mirror resting on a redwood case etched with gilded sunflowers.

She picked up the mirror, gazing at “herself” within.

A resplendent phoenix crown, adorned with indigo feathers, was secured with jade clasps, its dangling pearls shimmering, reflecting golden floral patterns at her brow.

Yun Yao’s gaze drifted downward: willow brows, almond eyes, a delicate nose, and lips naturally curved in a captivating arc. Her skin bore the refined elegance of royalty, pampered and flawless, her fingers holding the mirror so delicate they seemed incapable of wielding her Naihe Sword.

And this illusion…
Wasn’t she here to retrieve the Dragon Heart Scale? Why was her soul placed in the body of a princess sent for a marriage alliance?
Did she have to escape a grand wedding to claim the scale?

The more Yun Yao thought, the stronger her urge to lift the curtain and flee. But the sedan had already slowed to a stop. Outside, the young maid who’d spoken earlier was conversing with the armored guards at the palace gate.

Yun Yao parted a sliver of the curtain, peering through the gap.

The lead guard, after speaking with the maid, turned to his companion. “…Report to the Dragon Lord that Princess Changyong’s escort has arrived at the palace. Invite them to Muyun Hall.”
“Yes.”
He turned, raising his voice. “Dragon Guard, receive the ceremonial sedan!”
“—Yes!”

The sedan lurched upward suddenly, nearly toppling Yun Yao, whose frail new body struggled under the weight of the phoenix crown.

After a bumpy journey, she was finally delivered to Muyun Hall.

Veiled in golden gauze, she descended the sedan with a ceremonial fan, passing through layers of palace walls. At last, the lead palace attendant stopped, bowed to “Princess Changyong,” instructed her maid briefly, and departed.

Once he was gone, Yun Yao concocted an excuse about admiring flowers or plants, dismissing all the palace attendants left in the side hall.

Only the maid who’d accompanied her remained.

“Your Highness, why did you send them all away?” the maid asked, her face distressed. “We’re in the Dragon Lord’s palace now. The wedding is imminent. You can’t act as freely as before!”

Yun Yao sat before the dressing mirror in the side hall, the maid naturally stepping forward to remove her crown and comb her hair.
Leaning lazily, her hair loosely pinned, Yun Yao spoke softly. “I sent them away because I heard a demon spy infiltrated the wedding escort.”

“What!?” The maid’s eyes widened in shock.

“To verify, I’ll need to trouble some people,” Yun Yao said, her mirror reflection lazily lifting thick lashes, fixing on the panicked maid. “Let’s start with you.”

“Your Highness, I, Xiao Kou, have served you for years! I’d never betray you!” The maid dropped to her knees, trembling.

Yun Yao’s eyelid twitched, unaccustomed to this. She only meant to probe for information, but the act had to continue.
Watching the quivering girl, she drawled lazily, “Xiao Kou wouldn’t betray me, but how do I know you haven’t been replaced on the journey?”

The maid froze, her face pale and bewildered.

Yun Yao propped her cheek, seeming to ponder before speaking languidly. “Here’s what we’ll do. Tell me everything you know about my identity, origins, and relationships. Where I came from, and where I’m going.”

The maid looked up, confused, about to speak.

Yun Yao added faintly, “Think carefully. If one detail is off, don’t blame me for suspecting you.”

“!”
The maid’s half-formed question was swallowed in panic. Yun Yao listened as she stammered, recounting the princess’s background in exhaustive detail, sifting through information relevant to herself.

After a rough understanding, Yun Yao gained a clearer picture of this illusion’s timeline.

This was still the Qianmen Realm, but in ancient times, shortly after the world’s chaotic separation.
The Qianmen Continent was home to many ancient beasts, with the demon clan reigning supreme, all under the Dragon Lord’s command.

According to legend, this world’s sovereign, Dragon Lord San, rarely managed affairs, preferring to wander the mortal realm.
Aside from his sole kin, the Dragon-Serving Clan, who had served him since the world’s creation and enjoyed his protection, few saw his true form.

Under his “rule,” the demon clan, though unmatched, was rife with internal strife and power struggles, kept in check by his presence. The weaker human and demon races survived in the margins—no formal cultivation sects existed, only a human dynasty and scattered demon tribes, with no clear immortal or demonic domains.

And Princess Changyong, whose body Yun Yao now inhabited, was the most cherished princess of the human dynasty.

“I’m so favored, yet sent for a marriage alliance to retrieve a hairpin?” Yun Yao mused skeptically.

The Dragon Lord, ruler of Qianmen for millennia, had never demanded tributes from the world’s clans. This was the first time. The royal city was in panic, and Princess Changyong, for the sake of humanity, had volunteered to her father for this marriage.

“…”

It didn’t sound like a wedding—more like a sacrifice.

Yun Yao asked a few more casual questions to mask her intent, then posed her most pressing one: “Do you know about the Dragon Heart Scale?”

“Who in Qianmen doesn’t?” Xiao Kou hesitated, whispering, “The Dragon Heart Scale is the sole reverse scale of the Dragon Lord’s true form, the source of his life force.”

“Life force…” Yun Yao murmured, then smiled faintly. “Then why hasn’t anyone taken it to claim the title of world sovereign?”

“—”
Xiao Kou looked up, horrified, then bowed hastily. “How could that be, Your Highness? Forget the weak humans—even all the demon, human, and demonic clans combined couldn’t match the Dragon Lord. He’s the ancient true dragon, the last of his bloodline since Qianmen’s creation!”

Yun Yao paused, her smile like tinkling bells. “Just a jest. Why so scared?”

The maid, believing her, relaxed and slumped back to the floor.

Having learned enough, Yun Yao planned her next move and dismissed the maid. “I’m tired and need rest. Leave.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”
Relieved to be cleared of suspicion, Xiao Kou hurried out.
At the door, she paused, whispering, “Your Highness, the Dragon Lord may visit today. Shouldn’t you prepare…?”

“No. Go.” Yun Yao cut her off lazily, leaving no room for argument.

Xiao Kou complied.

Once alone, Yun Yao’s gaze fell on the makeup box by the mirror—the same one from the sedan.
Before disembarking, the maids had brought it, and Yun Yao overheard it was sealed with a restriction only she could open, untouchable by others.

“Valued so highly, it must hold something for self-defense.” Yun Yao brushed her hand over the box, its silver water-pattern restriction melting like ice.
Opening it, she looked inside and paused.
Her brow lifted slightly as she retrieved the contents.

—A book.

This princess was a bookworm?
Carrying a book in a locked box, brought thousands of miles from home to her future husband’s palace?

Seeing the book, Yun Yao’s interest waned. She’d never liked such things, even dozing off during sect lessons unless watched by her seniors.

Out of respect for the illusion, she opened it.

Her eyes glanced over it, then froze—

The book wasn’t filled with dry mortal knowledge but delicate, floral handwriting, likely the princess’s own.

“…

*Gui Mao Year, Ren Shen Month, Day 21*

I accompanied Father to the northernmost Hanshan Palace for this year’s hunt.

Backed by Luojin Mountain, its snow-capped peaks and jade-like lake of boundless blue are a true mortal wonder.
Tomorrow, I’ll ask Father to visit the lake.

…

*Gui Mao Year, Ren Shen Month, Day 24*

After days of pleading, Father let me visit the lake.
The scenery is breathtaking, truly a marvel of nature. The man fishing by the lake was just as striking.
If he weren’t frozen in ice, he’d be even more so.

Fearing he wouldn’t survive the night, I had the ice block moved back.

Xiao Kou disapproved, warning me not to bring back strange people. How could that be? He’s so handsome, his heart must be kind.

…

*Gui Mao Year, Ren Shen Month, Day 26*

Luojin Mountain’s ice is solid.

I thawed him for two days and nights, and Xiao Kou said any more would cook him, but he still hasn’t woken.
Father visited the hall today. Fearing trouble, I didn’t tell him and had the man moved to my bed to hide him.

…

*Gui Mao Year, Ren Shen Month, Day 29*

He finally woke.
But I don’t think he’s human.

He has demon clan eyes, blue, brighter than Tianyu Lake at noon, like the blue agate Father gave me years ago.

He looked at me without speaking.
So pitiful.
He can’t even speak human words.

…

*Gui Mao Year, Gui You Month, Day 1*

He says he remembers nothing but his surname, Yan. I named him Yan Liang—Cool Yan—because he’s always cold, even in the capital’s summer heat.

Oh, I brought him back.
Secretly.

…

*Gui Mao Year, Gui You Month, Day 9*

I made Yan Liang a guard by my side. The palace people bully him, maybe because he’s too handsome.
Are all demon clans this good-looking? I suddenly want to visit the demon domain.
Yan Liang said he’d take me, but I don’t believe him—he’s so weak.

…

*Gui Mao Year, Gui You Month, Day 18*

An assassin came to the palace today.
Yan Liang saved me.
Despite all the palace guards failing, he moved his fingers, and the assassins fell.
He’s so powerful, but he lied to me.

Who is he?

…”

The book was thick. Yun Yao leaned back in the chair, flipping through it boredly.

From her years reading tales in the immortal realm, this princess’s journal was hardly novel.
Especially now, inhabiting the princess’s body, her situation was clear—

The Dragon Lord, ruling Qianmen for millennia, never demanded women from the clans. Why suddenly choose a human?

Obviously, Yan Liang was him.

The world’s sovereign, wandering Qianmen, either fell into a trap or, bored, froze himself by the lake, only to be “rescued” by a northern princess.
The Dragon Lord, seeking amusement, played along, while the princess thought she’d saved a pitiful soul, keeping him close and caring for him. Over time, they fell in love. Later records say the princess, unaware of his power, risked her life to save him, enduring torment and nearly dying.
Through their bond, the Dragon Lord fell in love, vowing to marry her.

“…Rather cliché.”

Yun Yao muttered, turning a page.
Though she said that, dusk was falling outside, the sky glowing with clouds, slowly fading behind the western mountains.
The shadow of a willow drifted through the window.

Only a few pages remained in the book.

She glanced down, as expected—

“

*Jia Chen Year, Jia Zi Month, Day 2*

The Dragon Lord decreed that the human clan send a princess to Dragon City to serve.

Rumor says the Dragon Lord, thousands of years old, can drink rivers dry and destroy humanity with a palm. He must be a fierce, white-bearded old man. The royal city panicked, my sisters cowering, refusing to leave.

For humanity, I volunteered to marry.
I bid farewell to the royal city.

”

Yun Yao’s head ached.
“Still clueless after a year? Must I meet the Dragon Lord and play out a ‘You lied to me, I’m heartbroken, I won’t marry’ drama?”

Muttering, she turned the page.
Then froze.

One sentence.

“I know the Dragon Lord is Yan Liang.”

“…”

Twilight filtered through the window. The bride in the mirror paused, as if dusk’s chill seeped into her gown. She straightened from her lazy slouch.
Only a few pages remained. She turned to the last.

Four lines of blood-red words.

“This is the plan I’ve woven for ten years.

Yan Liang, my pitiful Dragon Lord, doesn’t know.

I’m not here to marry him.
I’m here to kill him.”

“…!”

Yun Yao’s chest tightened.
The book slipped from her hands, falling face-down.

Its leather cover, blood-red, soaked in the dying sunlight.

As her shock lingered, a palace attendant’s voice rang outside, startling birds from the eaves.
Black wings eclipsed the sun—

“The Dragon Lord arrives!”