Though it was only an illusion, it wouldn’t matter to confess honestly. However, if I didn’t suppress these feelings further, I would have no face to see him next time we met.
“No.” I watched tears blur my vision again and again, then drop to the ground one by one. “Divine Lord Yinze, he is my master. A teacher for one day is a father for life. I respect him, worship him, but would never want to marry him.”
At this moment, my pack moved, and Xuanyue poked out her little head, looking at me in confusion, then turning to look at the Azure Dragon. The Azure Dragon stood before me for a long time, remaining silent throughout. Finally, he touched Xuanyue’s head, turned to transform into a dragon, and flew swiftly into the sky.
He vanished instantly, but my tears still wouldn’t stop. It was just a meaningless test—Master himself didn’t know about it, so why was I so upset? Thinking of my earlier complete loss of composure and soul-scattering reaction, I felt even more desperate and cried aloud.
Xuanyue also became anxious, biting my sleeve and pointing with her claws to the aerial kingdom not far away. I looked in that direction and suddenly my tears stopped—that was Suozhao! My homeland, Suozhao! So Lord Azure Dragon had already brought me back, and his earlier transformation into Master was just to amuse me.
Wait, what was going on? My whole body stiffened. Just now, I was kissed by Lord Azure Dragon… that perverted dragon!!!
Meeting Hanmo outside Suozhao’s city gates, we decided to split up. He would go gather reinforcements while I would use magic to secretly infiltrate Zichao Palace and track down Lord Kaixuan. However, on this journey flying from the city gates to Zichao Palace, my mood fluctuated countless times.
Suozhao, the water kingdom blessed by gods, should have been full of vitality with beautiful flowers and full moons. But here, I could only see desolation everywhere, half the city in ruins.
On the Luoshui River, though the water still glimmered, what reflected was no longer beautiful women playing the harp, but flying sand and rolling stones of the desert. In the yellowed sky, there were no longer so many Suozhao people with swords and instruments dancing on water to ascend to heaven—only sparse spirit cranes flying aimlessly. Occasionally, a Xuanniao would hurry away from Zichao Palace, unwilling to linger anywhere. The Chu halls and Qin towers of the aerial towns were already nothing but broken walls and ruins. Looking around, on an entire street, there was only one singing woman, singing a mournful tune. A ragged old man passed by, dropped an amber bead in her bronze vessel, then leaned against the wall to listen, never leaving…
Though Hanmo had already described Suozhao’s current state to me, every scene before my eyes still left me stunned. Looking back, ten years ago, Suozhao was experiencing a golden age with a prosperous national fortune and great peace under heaven. Grand Priest Sibo went overseas to seek knowledge, Father King implemented the “amber-silk concurrent system,” and to encourage more people to come here, greatly reduced taxes for foreign residents. Historians recorded this as the “Zhaohua Governance.”
Now, ten years—just ten years had passed, and Suozhao had become like this. How could such desolation be described with mere heartache…
Thinking that all this was Lord Kaixuan’s doing, new hatred added to old grudges, that fire from my heart kept surging, making me wish I could kill him right now.
To avoid being disturbed by these scenes, I quickened my pace and reached Zichao Palace. Unexpectedly, my luck was excellent—just as I climbed above Lord Kaixuan’s palace, I saw him sneaking out and running to a dry well, casting magic to insert a brocade banner in the ground.
Then an ice-blue magic array appeared below the banner. He looked around, stepped into the array, and disappeared completely. After staying inside for less than a tea’s time, he quietly emerged again. Just as he reached out to cast magic once more, Second Sister’s voice came from within the palace: “Where is he? How did he disappear in the blink of an eye?”
“Your Majesty, I’m here!” Lord Kaixuan said hurriedly, glanced back at the banner with no time to spare, and returned to the palace.
I quickly jumped down and approached the magic array to get a closer look, but was accidentally sucked into it.
The surrounding scenery rapidly distorted like entering a dream. I arrived in a deep black void world. Behind me was an oval exit, and ahead was a long path of flowing light. After walking forward for a while, the surrounding environment flashed, and I entered a deep purple world with another door behind me.
Continuing forward through several doors like this, the colors inside became increasingly lighter, but there was nothing there. Finding it boring and wanting to leave, I heard a woman crying mournfully: “Return him, return him, give him back to me…”
This voice was extremely shrill. I was startled and turned back to see a woman less than a meter away from me. She wore brocade deep garments but was hunched over with disheveled hair, holding a bundle of cotton blankets. Her eyes were blood red—exactly like a female beast: “Give my child back to me…”
Blood tears flowed from those eye sockets that contained only red, making her look as if her eyes had been gouged out. I was so frightened I retreated several steps, but she stretched out her hands and pressed forward step by step: “Give him back to me, you heartless demon! Give him back! Give my child back!”
Her claws swinging down, accompanied by that final shrieking scream, came too fast—I couldn’t dodge. Originally thinking my face would be scratched, I discovered her entire being was like a ball of light that had passed through my body and run to the other side: “Give me my child back, give me my child back! Don’t take my child away…”
I patted my chest, quite shaken by this terrifying apparition. Turning around, I found she seemed unable to see me at all, just dragging the blanket around like a madwoman. Her appearance reminded me of Fu Chenzhi when he was last possessed.
Suddenly feeling extremely unsafe here, I turned to retrace my steps and escaped from this eerie place.
However, when I emerged, I happened to encounter the returning Lord Kaixuan.
He quickly put away the banner and magic array, demanding: “What did you see?” Then he froze, his eyes showing extremely complex emotions: “…Luowei?”
“Yes, it’s me.” I gave him a slight smile. “Thanks to you, I didn’t die.”
“Very good. Then die once more.”
He reached out, preparing to cast magic, but glanced behind me and instead covered his chest with his hand: “Luowei, is it you? Didn’t you die?”
No need to think—Second Sister was behind me. Not having seen her for ten years, I still felt very uneasy. Taking a deep breath, I turned around to face the young Suozhao Emperor behind me.
Second Sister wore the emperor’s dark robes, her azure hair hanging over her shoulders. She was thin as a willow in the wind, her eyes full of shock: “…Weiwei? How is this possible… am I seeing things?”
I said, “Second Sister, you’re not seeing things. I didn’t die but went to take a master’s.”
Second Sister was having trouble processing this: “Take a master?”
“Yes. These ten years, not a day has passed without me thinking of home. Whenever I thought of someone causing our nation’s destruction and family ruin, I wanted to cut him into a thousand pieces.”
Second Sister said, “The person you speak of, could it be Fu Chenzhi?”
“No, it’s him.” I slowly turned my head, pointing at Lord Kaixuan with murderous intent.
Presumably, Master’s reputation was indeed somewhat frightening. Lord Kaixuan swallowed, but quickly masked his emotions, pointing at himself with his usual relaxed smile: “Me? Little Sister Weiwei, what kind of joke is this? For these ten years, your sister has been heartbroken. Seeing her like this, I wish you could all come back to life. How could I possibly want your nation destroyed and family ruined?”
“Still being stubborn! You originally schemed to kill my parents, sowed discord between us siblings, nearly killed me, turned Suozhao into its current ghostly state, and you still dare speak such arrogant words! You think worse than pigs and dogs, I’ll kill you right now!”
I waved my hand, and the pool water behind him rushed out, forming ice that struck directly at his head. But another magic technique skillfully melted the ice back to water and guided it back to the pool. I turned back angrily: “Second Sister, are you still stubbornly deluded, choosing to believe him rather than your sister?”
Second Sister said, “Weiwei, that you can return safely is already fortunate in misfortune. You are my own sister—naturally I believe you. But he is my husband. This matter is grave. Can you produce evidence? If what you say is true, you needn’t act—I will eliminate him myself. But if these matters are false and you want to kill your brother-in-law, I cannot sit idly by.”
“I have evidence.”
That night, Second Sister summoned all the ministers and nobles to gather in Zichao Palace.
I brought out Xuanyue, taking out documents I had prepared long ago: “This is a copied page from the Book of Life and Death that my master obtained from the King of Hell. It bears the seal of the underworld and annotations from the judges. Xuanyue, the little Qiongqi in my arms—its parents were lured to the northern border of the immortal realm by Ruyue Weng and killed personally. But they didn’t eliminate the tiger cub Xuanyue, instead throwing it into other tiger dens and deliberately selling it to tiger cub merchants. Later, I saw Xuanyue at a tiger cub shop and liked it very much, but I had no money to buy it. Lord Kaixuan paid to help me buy it.”
Seeing Lord Kaixuan remain silent, I said, “Lord Kaixuan, you must be struggling now, right? If you deny it, should I find residents who passed by on the night I bought the tiger to testify, you’d be unable to explain. But if you admit it, more flaws might be exposed.”
Lord Kaixuan smiled, “No, Little Princess, you misunderstand. I’m just trying hard to think about the connections here. Helping the Little Princess pay for a little tiger is to be interpreted as colluding with Ruyue Weng? Is this how you understand it? Truly treating good intentions like donkey liver and lungs.”
I said, “When you first came to Suozhao, what did you tell my father?”
Lord Kaixuan said, “That was so long ago, how could I possibly remember?”
I extended my hand to a clerk nearby. He walked over and respectfully placed a scroll in my hand.
I slowly opened the scroll, keeping my eyes on Lord Kaixuan. Seeing him grow increasingly uneasy, I finally said slowly: “This is a transcript recorded by the clerk that year. Father asked about your recent situation. You said: ‘These past three years, I have been traveling the four seas, composing poetry and tasting wine, never returning to the heavenly realm. The only immortal I’ve met was the Wenqu Star, who had also descended to the mortal realm. I am truly ashamed of my immortal name.’ Full of lies—you had already colluded with Ruyue Weng!”
Lord Kaixuan said, “What I said that year was indeed true. Since I had never returned to the immortal realm, how could I collude with Ruyue Weng from Xuanwu Heaven?”
“Ruyue Weng never said he was from Xuanwu Heaven.”
Ruyue Weng is quite famous. Any immortal knows he lives in Ziwei City. What’s strange about that?”
“If so, why did you lie about not entering the immortal realm for three years? You were in Ziwei City before that! You deceived my father from the start, saying you hadn’t returned to the immortal realm for three years and had only met Wenqu Star. Wasn’t that a guilty conscience?”
“I indeed hadn’t entered the immortal realm for three years. I don’t understand why you say I was in Ziwei City. Do you have evidence?”
“Because when you went to Ziwei City that year, you bought a pot of Divine Turtle Brew at Tianxian Liquor House. Divine Turtle Brew is expensive—any buyer must register in the ledger. Here, your name happens to be on it.” I pulled out another paper, placed it before him, and pointed to the line with his name. “How do you explain this?”
Lord Kaixuan paled: “I don’t remember such a thing. What is this? Without special orders, only the owner and immortal lords have the right to examine Tianxian Liquor House’s ledgers in Ziwei City. You’re not even an immortal—how could you get this? There must be something false here.” By the end, he had regained much confidence.
I said, “My master has an excellent relationship with the immortal lords. I only conveyed one message from my master, and the immortal lord gave me this ledger. Do you say it’s false?”
“Nonsense, no evidence at all. Do you think you can fool everyone by randomly writing a list with my name on it? I think even your document from the King of Hell is probably fake.”
“You hope so much that it’s fake? Then let me prove it to you.” I opened the document and said to someone beside me, “Bring fire.”
A guard brought out a fire basin. I threw the document in and saw the paper float in the raging flames completely undamaged. I said, “Judge’s specialty—Hell Paper. Even fire can’t burn these characters. You’re an immortal—you should understand better than anyone here that this isn’t a fake.”
“What about that Tianxian Liquor House paper? How do you prove it’s real?”
I smiled, “I don’t need to prove it’s real, because it’s fake.”
Lord Kaixuan exclaimed, “What…”
“With your low status as an immortal, not many people would remember you. After mixing in the immortal realm for ten whole years, I only found one person who told me your hobby was drinking. So I made up that story to trick you, and didn’t expect you’d believe it. I’ve never even been to Xuanwu Heaven—where would I get such a ledger? Look how scared you were—see how pale your face is? Compare it with this paper’s whiteness.” I held the paper next to his face.
He violently swatted my hand away: “Since it’s fake, it proves I never went to Ziwei City. Can this farce end now?”
“Not yet. Now I must tell you that not only is this Tianxian Liquor House ledger fake, but even this transcript is fake.” I took the scroll and turned it toward him while reciting fluently from memory: “That year, when Father asked about your recent situation, what you actually said was: ‘These past three years, I have been in Ziwei City of Xuanwu Heaven, composing poetry and tasting wine, rarely leaving Tianxian Liquor House. The only immortal I had the fortune to befriend was Wenqu Star. I am truly ashamed of my immortal name.”
“What…” Second Sister stood up from her throne, stumbled, and nearly fell on the steps.
Now, Lord Kaixuan’s face was truly whiter than paper. He pointed at me, trembling: “You… you played me…”
“Yes, I played you. It’s only been ten years, and you’ve forgotten such an important matter completely. Dull as an ox, stupid as a pig, yet you still dare occupy the Suozhao seal. Give back the seal.” I extended my hand toward him. “Then kneel before this Little Princess and accept death.”
Who knew Lord Kaixuan would burst into laughter: “Hahahaha, Luowei, so what if I did it? The imperial seal is now in my hands, meaning even your sister cannot touch a hair on my head. Winners are kings, losers are bandits. I’d like to see what you can do to me!”
“You, you—” Second Sister pointed at him, became ill from anger, and vomited blood.
I quickly went with others to care for Second Sister. After finally settling her, Lord Kaixuan’s maniacal laughter of triumph never stopped. Unable to bear it any longer, I clapped my hands and called the prime minister over: “In such a situation, what should this Little Princess do?”
The prime minister said, “If the Suozhao Emperor or seal holder commits heinous crimes of great rebellion, former royal succession candidates may challenge them by force and reclaim the throne and royal seal.”
“Do Lord Kaixuan’s current actions count as heinous crimes of great rebellion?”
“They can be called utterly vicious.”
I said, “Lord Kaixuan, did you hear that?”
Lord Kaixuan laughed savagely: “I couldn’t ask for more. Ten years ago, I didn’t personally kill you—that was my mistake, afraid of dirtying my hands. But killing you today isn’t too late either.”
Then, with everyone’s support, we walked outside Zichao Palace. I said loudly: “Lord Kaixuan has demonic objects in his hands that can access a terrifying otherworld. I suspect he’s already half-demon. When I force out his true form, he’ll no longer be the immortal we revere. Then you can personally tear him to pieces without fearing punishment from the Cangying God.”
Hearing enthusiastic applause, Lord Kaixuan flew into a rage. He crossed his hands at his chest, extended his index fingers, and a strong wind surged from the ground, lifting his hair. While his black hair still danced, this gale had already stirred up debris from the ground, forming a sandstorm demon hand with five spread fingers attacking me. I extended both arms with palms facing myself, creating a water curtain that easily neutralized his attack. Then I lightly pushed out water ripples to retreat while pointing at him with my other hand, summoning the Luoshui to form ice pillars falling from above his head. He immediately changed his magic to resist the attack, but reacted slightly too slowly and was still grazed by an ice pillar on his face.
He stumbled back somewhat disheveled, wiped the blood from his face, looked up at the mountains, swept up his sleeves, and flew up. Guessing he wanted to attack from high ground, I also flew up and stood on the peak opposite him.
He gave me a cold laugh, his robes still rippling like water in the wind: “I didn’t expect you to have some skill now, but you still can’t change your thoughtless habits. This place is a blind spot for the Suozhao people with no water source. Can you still manipulate water?”
After speaking, he spread his arms and summoned a hurricane, lifting all the stone blocks from the surrounding mountain peaks to strike directly at my face. I also spread my arms, drawing a semicircle in the air, using the defensive technique “Rivers and Marshes Accept Filth,” bringing forth numerous water bullets that absorbed the rain-like debris. Then I clenched both hands into fists, and all the flying stones were frozen in ice blocks. Finally, I waved my hands, and they flew back along their original path to strike Lord Kaixuan. Lord Kaixuan immediately pushed out more debris and assisted with immortal power. My magic and his clashed in the azure sea of clouds, forming two balls of light—one ochre stone, one ice blue—that collided with each other and caused a massive explosion.
At this moment, debris had piled into mountains at the foot of the mountain, and countless people scattered like birds and beasts. Lord Kaixuan said in amazement: “How is this possible? Aren’t you from Suozhao? Why do you know immortal arts…”
“Then you should ask who my master is.” I launched a second wave of attacks against him.
Going back and forth like this, we nearly shattered the mountain peak. Initially evenly matched, but Lord Kaixuan had spent years in tyrannical indulgence and pleasure-seeking. His stamina was far inferior to disciples who had undergone strict and bitter training under Cangying Gate. In less than a tea’s time, he fled in flight.
I pursued while winning, using magic to restrict his escape routes and striking him down to land outside Zichao Palace. I attacked frequently, but saw his eyes turn red and purple-black qi emerge from his palms, blocking my magic. Everyone was horrified.
“What was that just now… magic from the demon realm?”
“Indeed! Lord Kaixuan has colluded with the demon race!”
“This filthy thing—kill him! Kill him!!”