By the time Li Ling returned, it was already the hour before dawn. He had no time to deal with the things he had obtained from Granny Wu, so he first found somewhere to hide them in the wild mountains, then returned to his body and entered meditation, clearing away stray thoughts and recovering from his injuries.
After daybreak, Li Ling woke from a brief nap and suddenly felt that something was wrong.
"Why is it so fragrant?"
The air was filled with an indescribably fresh, unusual fragrance, a new variety he had never smelled before.
Holding the Ninth Princess in his arms, Li Ling took a deep breath, only to discover that the scent did not come from her.
He looked around and found that the maids on duty were Chao Shu and Luo Zhen. The fragrance did not come from them either, so he asked, "Do you smell anything fragrant?"
The two women exchanged a glance, both finding the Prince Consort's question rather baffling, and shook their heads. "We don't smell anything."
"Prince Consort, what's wrong?"
"Nothing..."
Li Ling calmed himself and sniffed carefully, only to discover that the fragrance was actually emanating from within his own body.
He distinctly remembered that he had possessed no unusual fragrance. Ordinary scents would not have this intangible, traceless quality, imperceptible to ordinary people.
But today was markedly different. Wisps resembling mist, unlike anything he had seen before, drifted out from his soul.
Amid his surprise, Li Ling discovered something else.
The faint stench of decay that had once filled heaven and earth, seemingly surrounding him everywhere, had finally dispersed!
Heaven have mercy, he had endured its torment every moment of every day lately. It had been like falling into hell.
Neither ordinary aromatics nor deliberately shutting off his senses could