As if a pair of hands gently undid her hair, her thick locks passed through the comb’s teeth. All the tangled parts were carefully cleared, and strands of hair were either braided or curled, slowly and meticulously tied into a bun.
These hands were clumsy in their movements. Even with utmost care, they would occasionally pull out a hair or two, causing her pain. Li Fei opened her eyes hazily, awakened by the slight pain of her hair being pulled.
The dim light of the Dragon Imprisoning Lock flickered in the darkness. Through the ornately carved window, the pale blue dawn filtered through the reddish gauze, its hue becoming ambiguous and warm, making one drowsy. Her body was devoid of strength, with her spiritual energy sealed within. Her throat burned as if on fire, her mind was in a daze, and she couldn’t recall what had happened before.
There was someone behind her, the scent of expensive perfume emanating from their sleeves. Their fingers ran through her hair, occasionally pulling at her scalp, which hurt a bit.
Finally, he seemed to have finished styling her hair. He stood up, placed a bronze mirror on the table, and with a flicker of flame, all the candles in the room were lit at once. Li Fei found herself face to face with her adorned reflection in the mirror.
White dress, red flowers, black hair – her usual appearance. The illusion had long been dispelled, and layers of chains bound her tightly. Even her neck was fitted with a chain from the Dragon Imprisoning Lock. With the slightest movement of the blade, these chains would writhe and tighten like living things, rendering her immobile.
A cup of warm, fragrant tea was pressed to her lips. Li Fei silently watched the man crouching before her. Ji Tongzhou elegantly held the teacup, the candlelight casting shadows on his face, his thick eyelashes hiding the depths of his eyes as if the man-eating beast within him was concealed in the deepest recesses.
“Drink,” he said.
Li Fei didn’t offer any meaningless resistance. She opened her mouth and drank most of the tea, her parched throat finding relief, and her mind slowly settling.
“You turned me in to ensure Yue Kingdom’s safety?” she asked in a low voice.
Xuanshan Zi had been secretly killed by the people of Long Ming Zuo, aiming to let Wu Gou annex the Yue Kingdom. Now Yue Kingdom was fine, but she had been exiled, even implicating Master Chongyi and Su Wan. She now understood the various connections.
The Ji Tongzhou before her was still the same Ji Tongzhou, utterly self-centered, without reason or rationality. He always moved forward based on his mood and instincts, doing whatever he pleased.
Ji Tongzhou wiped the water from her lips with a soft handkerchief, his voice flat: “Indeed. What, are you going to put on that righteous face again, understanding my evil deeds, hoping I’ll turn over a new leaf?”
Li Fei let out a cold laugh, “You’ve never been bad, nor have you ever been good. You’ve always been like this, and I’ve never understood you.”
“So you’ve always treated me with those cruel methods?” His gaze burned into her.
Li Fei’s expression remained calm: “I’m cruel to you? I’ve never given you anything. Deep down you know this behavior is disgusting, so you’ve always deliberately found fault with me – I don’t like you, I’m aloof, I’m hypocritical. You betray me, wanting my life is reasonable and gratifying, does that make you feel better?”
Ji Tongzhou suddenly gripped her collar tightly. Seeing her wary expression, he instead let out a cold laugh, leaning in close to her ear and asking hoarsely, “What do you think I’m going to do? You’re already tainted, I have no interest in sharing a woman with Lei Xiuyuan.”
These crude and extremely insulting words made Li Fei’s face turn pale. She pressed her lips tightly together, staring fixedly at the reddish window gauze, saying nothing.
Ji Tongzhou adjusted the red hibiscus in her hair, slowly taking out an old wooden comb with several broken teeth from his sleeve, and using it to smooth the stray hairs by her ears. Upon seeing this wooden comb, Li Fei couldn’t help but stare at it for a long while. She then heard him say, “Perhaps you’re right.”
His life was a patchwork of desires of varying sizes, like raging flames. Every step he took was in pursuit of his wishes. Friends, loved ones, power… he constantly craved and constantly lost.
“This matter is disgusting, so I’ve always been finding fault with you.”
Ji Tongzhou’s expression was surprisingly calm, even gentle. He played with the wooden comb in his palm, each stroke gentle and practiced, having been caressed countless times before.
“You don’t owe me anything. You’ve always been living your life well,” he smiled at her, warm yet profound. “I will also live my life well. Let’s say goodbye here, Jiang Li Fei.”
The wooden comb in his palm was consumed by black fire, turning to ashes bit by bit as it fell to the ground. Ji Tongzhou swept open the doors and windows with his long sleeve. The morning sunlight illuminated this luxurious bedchamber. He turned and picked up Li Fei, walking out of the room step by step.
The spiritual energy net above the prince’s mansion had been repaired. In the empty courtyard, ten elderly immortals from Wuyue Court hovered in mid-air, their robes fluttering. Upon seeing Li Fei, they immediately descended to the ground, ten pairs of eyes gleaming with spiritual light fixed upon her.
“Is it this little girl?” Someone, seeing her ordinary aptitude, couldn’t help but doubt.
Immortal Cuixuan chuckled: “She has a deep connection with Qingcheng. That thing we could never find is with her.”
He took out that black booklet from his sleeve and flipped through it, but it was completely blank. No matter what method was used, not a trace of ink could be seen. He flipped through it for a moment, then closed the booklet. His originally drowsy eyes now shone with divine light, looking straight at Li Fei, he said: “Qingcheng was unrestrained and unruly, completely different from our Central Plains immortals’ modest and courteous style.
The fact that he privately called the Nine-Tailed Fox a friend was not unknown. Who would have thought that even a beast with muddled intelligence would have such loyalty? After Qingcheng’s death, it has been protecting you all this time. Zhenyun Zi has been searching for you for years, precisely for that Nine-Tailed Fox, right? Haha, for so many years, right under our noses, and we knew nothing! Qingcheng’s move was truly both risky and poisonous!”
He lightly patted the black booklet, suddenly asking: “Where’s that Hu Jiaping? Where is he?”
Li Fei was greatly shocked internally. Do they even know about Hu Jiaping’s identity? She coldly averted her gaze, clenching her teeth and refusing to say a word.
Immortal Cuixuan said calmly: “The senior disciple you mentioned is him, right? After leaving Wuyue Court, you specifically went to the academy to find him. I issued a disciple summons, but he didn’t return. Is he hiding in the shadows, waiting for an opportunity to act? Wanting to give our Central Plains immortal clan another blow like five hundred years ago?”
Li Fei remained silent. Another old immortal beside them asked curiously: “Hu Jiaping? Isn’t he Guangwei’s disciple? Wasn’t there a rumor years ago about him being a heaven-sent talent? Does he also have a connection with Qingcheng? Oh right, wasn’t Guangwei supposed to be sent here? How come we don’t see him?”
Immortal Cuixuan smiled: “Sect Leader Guiyuan sent me a message this morning, saying he had severely injured a Yaksha. Coincidentally, Lei Xiuyuan turned out to be a Yaksha. With both of Guangwei’s most beloved disciples having unclear identities, I’m afraid he’s in no mood to manage this side.”
Seeing that Li Fei remained cold-faced and silent, he didn’t mind, only saying: “Lei Xiuyuan, and Hu Jiaping, these two must have been affected by Qingcheng’s Senluo Great Technique and become Yakshas back then. Qingcheng, coveting the unknown power from overseas, actually colluded with Yakshas and brought this girl back from overseas. All his arrangements were for his selfish desires. Fortunately, we discovered it early and cut off his wild ambitions.”
His words insulted Immortal Qingcheng and Li Fei finally reacted, turning her head and saying fiercely: “Narrow-minded individuals can never understand what it means to be broad-minded. In your eyes, everything is either black or white. You only remember hatred, and know how to be on guard and alert. How pathetic!”
Immortal Cuixuan merely smiled, and several old immortals beside him also laughed, instead praising: “Oh? Even an overseas异类 understands these principles, not simple. That bamboo scroll mentioned a beautiful woman absorbing the spiritual energy of mountains and rivers. This child has a lovely appearance and carries a strange fragrance. She even absorbed Zhenyun Zi’s spiritual energy and killed him. Should be the same kind, right? Cuixuan, if we bring her back to the sect, I’m afraid it will bring disaster like last time. Why not take her to the White Edge Cliff?”
Immortal Cuixuan shook his head, saying coldly: “Since she’s a异类, she should be eliminated immediately. However, with two Yakshas escaping, they will eventually become a great threat. It’s better to imprison her first, spread the news, and wait for those two weakened Yakshas to fall into the net together before dealing with her.”
The other old immortals immediately objected: “How can we kill her? We finally have a chance to learn the secrets of the overseas, something we’ve been waiting for many years!”
Immortal Cuixuan became furious: “Have you forgotten the tragedy of White Edge Cliff being wiped out?! They had the same thoughts as you, which is why they were all slaughtered in one night! The Yimin Tomb is meaningless to begin with. If it weren’t for the four sect leaders’ compassion, it should have been burned to the ground long ago!”
Now in Wuyue Court, apart from the four sect leaders, Immortal Cuixuan had the oldest qualifications. Moreover, he could now use the Senluo Great Technique, so his status was naturally extraordinary. The other immortals had no choice but to stop arguing with him and fell into reluctant silence.
Li Fei sat on the ground. As if knowing her special identity, the Dragon Imprisoning Lock binding her was much more than usual. Her hands and feet had long since gone numb. She looked around, seeing the immortals looking at her with curious, investigative, regretful, or helpless gazes. Only one pair of eyes was filled with hatred and vigilance – Immortal Cuixuan’s.
He walked in front of her, looked down at her, and said in a low voice: “I ask you, what’s written in this booklet? If you’re willing to answer, I promise you a quick death. Otherwise, don’t blame me for being ruthless.”
She coldly smiled and turned her gaze towards Immortal Cuixuan, speaking slowly, word by word: “This booklet records all my secrets. Do you want to know? It’s too boring to just tell you. Why not let you see for yourself!”
Suddenly, a soft white light burst from her body. At first, it was faint, but gradually it grew brighter and brighter. A powerful spiritual energy fluctuation, unprecedented and even terrifying, echoed within the prince’s mansion. But soon, that spiritual energy fluctuation turned into a massive vortex, slowly yet decisively absorbing the surrounding spiritual energy, including that within their bodies.
The immortals’ faces changed drastically. They couldn’t stop the spiritual energy from leaving their bodies! In an instant, countless beams of immortal techniques flashed. However, what was even more terrifying was that those immortal techniques turned into vast spiritual energy three feet in front of her, all absorbed by her.
Black fire engulfed the entire courtyard. The immortals felt an irresistible scorching wave burning their bodies. Even they couldn’t withstand it and immediately flew up into the air.
Li Fei’s spiritual absorption couldn’t turn those black flames into spiritual energy. The suffocating black fire covered her, and the intense pain made her scream. Her panicked and frenzied gaze swept around, suddenly catching sight of Ji Tongzhou not far away. Black fire surrounded his body, his face hidden behind the flames, but she could see so clearly – his deep eyes, so calm, calm and cruel, chilling to the heart.
Thinking about childhood friends now seemed ridiculous. The Xuanhua Fire was burning her body. In extreme pain, she felt as if another body inside her was struggling to come out. This time, she no longer suppressed it. Her chest felt like it was splitting open, and in an instant, all her consciousness focused on that brand-new body.
She was constrained by something clumsy. Let her out!
Everyone only saw the white light on her body suddenly brighten to the extreme. A human figure slowly stood up from the body consumed by black fire. The white light was blinding at first but quickly dimmed. Jiang Li Fei, bound by the Dragon Imprisoning Lock, somehow stood naked in the black fire, the Dragon Imprisoning Lock scattered at her feet, along with something that looked like a layer of snow-white skin.
Those snow-white petal-like pieces of skin suddenly flew up and attached to her body, instantly transforming into a white dress. A small, translucent horn floated in front of her, spinning continuously, gradually spinning faster and faster, absorbing spiritual energy at an increasing rate.
The black Xuanhua Fire quickly dimmed, and the flying immortals fell to the ground one after another, struggling in terror. So this is what it feels like to lose spiritual energy! They instantly experienced the despair and helplessness that Zhenyun Zi felt before his death. Unable to do anything, they could only stare blankly at the young woman in the center of the courtyard.
She suddenly reached out and grasped the continuously spinning Si Horn in her hand.