### Chapter 6: The Change at Flowerless Palace (8)
After learning that Luo Ying and Lin Nan had rushed overnight to the Flowerless Palace, Fatty woke up with a heart full of joy and a good night’s sleep.
By the time he woke up the next day, the sun was high in the sky, and he sprang out of bed like a jack-in-the-box.
He had planned to take this opportunity to explore the entire Flowerless Palace because, up until now, the palace map wasn’t fully illuminated.
Just in case the whole plan went belly-up, he needed to know where to run without getting lost in a dead end.
This time, wandering through the Flowerless Palace, there was no one around to stop him.
His harvest was quite impressive; aside from the underground palace guarded by someone, he had checked out all the above-ground buildings within the map range.
He had even mapped out his escape routes in case things went south, planning which paths would get him back to the courtyard wall the quickest.
A few hundred meters from the wall was the coast.
He couldn’t fly, but he could swim, so maybe he could dodge any pursuers.
As for White Peach, she could take off by herself.
Bringing him along would only slow her down.
After all, he was just a player; dying once or twice wasn’t a big deal.
But as the sun dipped below the horizon, he hadn’t seen hide nor hair of White Peach, and he started to doubt whether their agreement from the night before still held any weight.
When night fell, Fatty, convinced that all his plans were foolproof, sat at the table, terrified that if he even touched the bed, he’d fall asleep for the night.
Finally, just past midnight, the drowsy Fatty was finally greeted by White Peach.
She wore short, convenient pants and had a prized dagger at her waist; in the dim light, her face flickered like a light bulb while her breezy hair gave her an unusual charm.
Suddenly, Fatty found he couldn’t take his eyes off her face.
“What’s the matter? Is there something on my face?”
Fatty awkwardly chuckled, “No, no! I just thought you used a sword, but I didn’t expect…”
White Peach replied, “In ancient times, killers typically used knives; they’re convenient and swift, and it’s easier to practice with them. Only two types of people use swords. Do you know what they are?”
“Uh… Could it be men and women?”
Fatty scratched his head, thinking White Peach was just trying to joke around.
White Peach said seriously, “No, one type is idiots, and the other is immortals. I’m neither an immortal nor an idiot, so I use a kn*fe.”
Fatty, “…”
She seemed to have lumped most sword-wielding sect members into the idiot category. Was that really okay?
He felt like White Peach was acting a bit off tonight, but he couldn’t quite pinpoint what the issue was.
Clearing his throat, Fatty asked, “Are you joking, Second Palace Master? So, are we still going to proceed with tonight’s plan?”
White Peach nodded, “Let’s go.”
She led the way, and Fatty followed behind,
Under the night sky, the two of them cast long, diagonal shadows lit by the bright moon.
The Flowerless Palace was eerily quiet at night.
They walked the entire way and didn’t bump into a single patrol team, perhaps because White Peach had cleared them out beforehand.
Being the sect leader, she surely had that much pull.
Fatty didn’t think much of it and followed White Peach to the entrance of the underground palace.
The underground palace was located at one corner of the Flowerless Palace, used for storing supplies. The temperature was always lower than on the surface, so to prevent the Great Palace Master’s body from decaying too quickly, the coffin was placed there.
“Where are the guards?” Fatty whispered.
“I sent them away,” replied White Peach simply.
Without hesitation, she stepped into the underground palace.
Perhaps to keep the departed Great Palace Master from feeling lonely and cold, each corner of the underground palace had a large fire pit burning fiercely, illuminating the entire space.
Fatty glanced around the pitch-black corners,
and hurriedly followed White Peach into the well-lit underground palace.
As soon as he stepped through the door, a chilling gust of cold air hit him; even the flames from the fire pits couldn’t wave away the deep chill.
In the center of the underground palace, lay a large, thick coffin adorned with golden stripes, surrounded by a circle of burning incense sticks emitting a sandalwood aroma.
White Peach murmured, “Before being buried, we can’t let the incense go cold.”
Fatty quickly stood before the coffin and gave a heavy bow on the mat, “Your Excellency, Great Palace Master, I’m sorry!”
White Peach didn’t move; she looked at the coffin with a strange glint in her eyes, a mix of relief laced with a hint of anger.
Fatty couldn’t help but peek.
The more he looked, the more he felt White Peach’s mental state seemed a bit off.
She hadn’t been like this last night.
How could just one day change her so dramatically?
No, maybe she was just revealing her true feelings about the Great Palace Master, feelings she had buried deep inside, fully exposing them in front of him.
In other words, she had dropped her guard in front of him, expressing her true thoughts without any reservations, like a newborn baby.
But were he and White Peach that close?
The answer was obviously no.
Even though he had briefly comforted White Peach by holding her close yesterday.
But in their most vulnerable moments, even a stranger’s shoulder can become a place for emotional release.
White Peach wasn’t just anybody; after all, she was a woman.
Even the strongest women have their fragile moments.
And just when Fatty appeared as she let down her defenses, being embraced and crying by another woman wasn’t exactly something to be embarrassed about.
So, Fatty sometimes thought,
if White Peach found out the truth of his identity, would she jump up and stab him right then and there?
The underground palace was quiet,
with only the crackling sounds of the burning pine oil in the fire pit.
Fatty took a deep breath,
no matter what problem White Peach had, since they were already by the coffin, their goal was to open it and check on the Great Palace Master’s remains.
“Second Palace Master, then I shall offend the Great Palace Master?” Fatty glanced at White Peach.
She seemed still trapped in her swirling emotions, and when Fatty asked, she just hummed softly; it was unclear whether it was an agreement or disagreement.
Whatever, he thought.
Fatty approached the coffin and gave the lid a good shove. It was heavy, but with his brute strength, he managed to push it open just enough.
“One, two, three!”
Fatty yelled to himself.
“Zizizi…”
The lid moved in time with his count, and finally, a gap big enough to see half of the Great Palace Master’s body was revealed.
Fatty estimated that if he pushed the lid all the way down, it would be hard to put back later, so it was better to keep it like this for now.
While fervently chanting “Namo Amitabha,” Fatty leaned in, head trembling, wanting to see if there was anything wrong with the Great Palace Master’s remains.
But just as he did, a force suddenly slammed into his back.
Before he even realized it, he lost his balance and toppled headfirst into the coffin.
Fatty let out a loud scream, wildly flailing his arms like a drowning person trying to grab onto anything.
But it was all in vain.
That force was almost impossible to resist, sending him straight into the coffin.
“Boom…”
The coffin lid swiftly closed, leaving no gap whatsoever.
…
PS: This morning, I ask for nothing, just hope everyone is happy.
