Future Beast World: Becoming A Pampered Beauty-Chapter 443 - 382: Portraits

"I’m looking for the Lord of Qingqiu’s hand-signed letter," Li Zhi said resentfully. "When he scattered his soul last time, he clearly left a letter behind. Whoever finds it becomes the new Lord of Qingqiu. I defeated all the other competitors, but I still haven’t found it. I suspect it’s still hidden somewhere in this mansion!"

Sang Luo listened and nodded. "Mm. So, have you found any leads after searching for so long?"

"A few days ago, while I was burrowing around nearby, I discovered a forbidden area beneath this mansion. It’s protected by a Barrier. I couldn’t get in no matter how I tried to burrow through. I suspect that old fox hid something important in there!"

Sang Luo frowned. She’d been in the mansion for so long but had no idea there was a whole other world hidden below. She probed the area with her spiritual power and, sure enough, about three feet deep, she encountered an Energy barrier that repelled her spiritual power.

’Is something important to Yan hidden there?’

Curiosity stirred in Sang Luo’s heart.

"Take me there. I might be able to help you," she said.

Li Zhi stared at her, surprised and suspicious. "You? Are you sure you want to help me? Aren’t you one of that old fox’s people? Why would you help me?"

"Enough with the questions." Sang Luo dangled the key in her hand. "You have two choices right now. Either you take me there, I’ll release you from your restraints, and you can take the chance to escape, or I’ll hand you over to the Divine Venerable to be dealt with."

A fierce battle raged in Li Zhi’s mind. ’Things can’t get any worse than this.’ He gritted his teeth viciously. "Fine, I’ll take you! Now hurry up and get this damned thing off of me!"

Sang Luo unlocked the "Mouse Trap." Seeing the bloody wound on his leg, she healed it for him as well. Li Zhi froze, slightly stunned. He awkwardly climbed to his feet and patted down his clothes. The next second, a chain appeared in Sang Luo’s hand and fastened around his neck.

Li Zhi was furious. "What are you doing?!"

He tugged at the chain around his neck, but the more he struggled, the tighter it became, choking him until his face turned red and he could barely breathe.

"I was afraid you’d break your promise and run. Don’t worry, once you lead me to that place, I’ll naturally undo it for you."

Any little schemes Li Zhi had been plotting were completely extinguished. He obediently led Sang Luo to the entrance of the underground palace.

Li Zhi was practically salivating. "Can you really get in?"

"Mm-hmm."

She had Si Ye’s Breaking Realm talent. She could easily pass through barriers set by Beastmen whose Cultivation was far higher than her own.

The black chain slithered back into her sleeve like a snake. She looked at the young man. "I’m a woman of my word; I’ve let you go. Why haven’t you left yet?"

"I... I want to go in and take a look..."

’If the Lord of Qingqiu’s hand-signed letter is really hidden here, then this risky venture of walking into the lion’s den will have paid off handsomely!’

Sang Luo gave him a harmless smile. "I’m always a woman of my word, but I also enjoy changing my mind halfway through. If you don’t hurry up and run, you might not get another chance."

"I’ll count to three."

"Three... two..."

In an instant, the young man’s figure vanished without a trace.

He ran as far away as he possibly could.

Sang Luo retracted her gaze, the curve of her lips flattening. She looked at the ancient, heavy stone door before her, an inexplicable sense of foreboding rising in her heart.

Taking a deep breath, she pushed open the great door and walked into the underground palace.

When she saw the scene before her, her pupils suddenly widened...

Portraits.

Rows and rows of portraits.

The stone walls were covered in them.

All depicting the same person.

With an indescribable feeling in her heart, Sang Luo slowly approached one of the portraits.

The portrait showed a stunning woman with red hair, dressed in red. She was riding a fine horse, a long whip in her hand, as dazzling as the midday sun—an object of indescribable beauty.

In another portrait beside it, she seemed to have encountered something upsetting. She was resting her chin in her hands, leaning on a windowsill and gazing at the pink peach blossoms fluttering down outside, lost in thought.

Another painting depicted the red-robed woman asleep, her long red hair fanned out on the bed. Her fox ears were showing, and her expression was bright and endearingly innocent. Just looking at it was enough to make one’s heart fill with affection.

One could only imagine the sweet, devoted affection the artist must have felt while painting this particular piece.

Every scene in the paintings was breathtakingly lifelike, recording the woman’s moments of happiness, laughter, and sorrow...

Only someone intimately familiar with the woman in the portraits would be willing to spend so much time and effort to paint over a thousand pictures of her.

Sang Luo walked to a stone platform in the very center. There, she saw that magnificent red robe again. ’So it really was an old garment...’ The true owner of these clothes was the woman in the portraits.

Three words were carved above the stone platform.

—My wife, Ji Wan.

...

"Old Village Chief, do you know who this person in the painting is?" Sang Luo had come to Jingshan and handed a portrait to Xu.

Xu took it and glanced at it. WHOOSH! He shot up from the table, his hands trembling. "This! Where did the noble female get this!"

"In an underground palace left behind by the Lord Divine Venerate."

"...Sigh!" Xu sat back down in his chair and sighed heavily. "To think that after all this time, the Lord Divine Venerate still hasn’t been able to let go."

"Who is the person in this painting? With such an outstanding appearance and extraordinary air, her status must not have been low."

Xu didn’t know the true nature of the relationship between Sang Luo and Yan, assuming they were simply master and disciple, so he didn’t hide anything. "This was the Princess of our Red Fox Clan from long ago. She was incomparably noble and was also the Lord Divine Venerate’s past love."

"..."

"One hundred thousand years ago, the Lord Divine Venerate fell in love with the Princess. After their feelings became mutual, they were engaged to be married. But tragically, the Princess was harmed by a villain. A beauty met with a cruel fate, dying on her wedding day." The old village chief’s eyes filled with sorrow, clearly lamenting the couple’s tragic fate.

Sang Luo was silent for a long time.

Xu looked from the portrait to her and smiled. "The Princess painted by the Lord Divine Venerate looks exactly as she did back then. Looking closely, your features do bear a slight resemblance to the Princess."

"Oh? Is that so?" Sang Luo glanced at the painting. She couldn’t really see it herself.

"Yes, your eyes and mouth are a bit similar. Back then, the Princess of our Red Fox Clan was a world-renowned beauty. You, miss, are certainly no less impressive—your beauty is unparalleled!"

Sang Luo paused, then suddenly smiled.

In that instant, she understood everything.

’No wonder Yan never blamed me for my intentional provocation that time.’

’Besides stimulating *that* kind of desire, that Seductive Medicine can also, under certain circumstances, confuse a person’s five senses, creating an aphrodisiac effect similar to an illusory passion.’

’That time, it wasn’t the aphrodisiac that created the desire. Yan had just awoken, and his senses were muddled. He mistook me for that Red Fox Clan Princess, which is why he indulged so recklessly with me that night.’

’It wasn’t that he couldn’t break free from the illusory passion; he just didn’t want to shatter that beautiful illusion and allowed himself to sink into it...’

’He kept me by his side merely as a somewhat similar substitute—a way to look at something and remember someone else.’

In that moment, all the doubts in Sang Luo’s heart were answered. No wonder Yan had always been so lukewarm toward her. He already had someone in his heart. The underground palace was filled with portraits mourning the Princess; they must have been so in love.

’After his lover was gone, he had no more attachments to this world. To him, death must have been a release.’

’I just wonder, when he was with me, did he feel guilty toward the Princess?’

Sang Luo returned to the underground palace, intending to put the portrait back.

A man in white was standing before the stone platform. It was impossible to know how long he had been waiting.