Chapter 60: Discovered! |
[September 10, 2023]...
From then onwards, before Xíng Zhǐ went out, he would always wake Shěn Lí to confirm how she perceived the outside world. Shěn Lí was cooperative the first two days, but she quickly became impatient; so today, as soon as Xíng Zhǐ called out to check on her, she yelled out, “I can see and hear, but touch is gone. It’s not a problem. You can go!”
Xíng Zhǐ’s outstretched hand paused midair. He listened to her even breathing and didn’t know if he should laugh or cry. Seeing her today, who would have believed that just days ago she had been so frightened her whole body trembled. Her face had been pale, and her hands and feet were chilled to the touch. Perhaps she only revealed that part of herself unconsciously. He was sure that if she was in her right mind, she would never have shown such a vulnerable appearance.
“There aren’t any ingredients at home, so I didn’t make breakfast. I’m going to market to buy some things now. I’ll be back soon, so if you’re hungry, just fill your stomach with some water.”
Two muffled replies came from under the quilt.
Xíng Zhǐ shook his head and left out the door.
Not long after that, Shěn Lí woke up fully and threw off her quilt. She lay in bed thinking how the current her was developing far too much affection for Xíng Zhǐ. It was almost out of control. What she wanted was to take all her emotions and stuff them away once this moment in their lives was finished. But. . . could she really do it successfully?
It was the first time she relied so much on anyone. It felt like she was playing with fire. A sense of impending danger came over her. . .
She sighed, and unable to get back to sleep, simply got out of bed intending to wash up. She was walking to the yard to fetch water when she heard slight movements. Her eyes hardened. She knew this latest batch of intruders weren’t like the useless riffraff from a few days ago. She furrowed her brows. “Who’s there?”
The person who spoke received a death stare from Shěn Lí. He shivered before winking at the man beside him. The rest of the group gulped when they saw the signal.
Shěn Lí had burned Fú Shēng severely and killed dozens of demons sent after her. They had all heard about it and had seen the extent of her injuries in the dungeon afterwards, yet here she was standing fit and hale in front of them. It was inevitable they’d be frightened. None of them dared step forward and make a move.
The man in the lead gritted his teeth. “What are you lot afraid of? Lord Fú Shēng said she shouldn’t have recovered her magic yet; she’s just a waste right now. How can we not capture her after finding her? Do you all want to go back and be tortured?!”
The last sentence seemed to strike enough fear in their hearts to motivate them. The men glanced at each other and were on the verge of making a move when Shěn Lí sneered. “Didn’t your master teach you not to rush off and act rashly when the situation is unclear?”
The men were already feeling uncertain, so Shěn Lí’s words only made them more hesitant. The leader shouted, “She’s bluffing! Just move!”
Whatever! The men steeled their determination and raised their hands to chant. A stream of white air flowed from their fingertips and slowly condensed in front of them. They stopped, and the condensed air suddenly formed into arrows, stacked in a dense array pointed at Shěn Lí, ready to pierce her through.
Shěn Lí knew she couldn’t dodge, so she stood still and waited. But between the flickering light, a barrier suddenly spread open in front of her, and a white robe blew on Shěn Lí ‘s face by the wind generated from the impact.
After the dust settled, Xíng Zhǐ stood in front of Shěn Lí with a cold expression on his face.
The intruders were stunned.
“Impossible. . . He blocked the Water-Stop technique with just a flick of his hand. . . ”
“Water-Stop technique?” Xíng Zhǐ smiled. “Is this the technique you’re talking about?” Xíng Zhǐ flicked his sleeve, and an invisible, extremely cold wave of air came out.
The leader didn’t even get a chance to make a sound before he froze into a block of ice.
“Villains are trying to practice techniques of the gods; how unexpected.” There was a chill to Xíng Zhǐ’s usually indifferent voice. “Go back and tell Fú Shēng that High God Xíng Zhǐ will pay him a visit someday.”
“High God. . . Xíng Zhǐ. . . ” One person was so frightened that his legs gave out under him, and he fell straight to the ground. The other three were so frightened that they ran away in a hurry. The fallen one was about to get up and run away as well when Xíng Zhǐ stopped him in his tracks.
“Stop.”
“Ah. . . ah. . . ” The man’s legs were shaking uncontrollably, and his pants were wet from urine.
“Get this thing out of here.” Xíng Zhǐ pointed to the ice sculpture, and the man in black nodded hurriedly, as he went and carried the leader and limped away awkwardly.
Shěn Lí stared, dumbfounded at Xíng Zhǐ. “I have fought in battles for so many years, but never knew a name could be so effective at scaring the enemy. Your title is truly something awesome.”
“What awesome? Before, when it should have done something, it didn’t. I didn’t have enough time and you ended up injured. . . ” Xíng Zhǐ said indifferently with a hint of self-loathing. He swallowed the second part of the sentence before it could come out of his mouth. Shěn Lí had spoken in jest, but her words incited something unexpected.
She was stunned and vaguely felt that since her injury, Xing Zhi’s behavior seemed to be different from usual. Before, in this kind of situation, Xíng Zhǐ would have just not said anything.
The yard was silent. Finally, Xíng Zhǐ asked, “You knew my identity. . . the whole time, didn’t you?”
Shěn Lí, taken aback, replied with a question of her own. “Didn’t you know that I knew?”
Xíng Zhǐ remained silent. It was one thing for them to know it, but it was another for them to openly acknowledge it.
Xíng Zhǐ couldn’t play the fisherman anymore, and Shěn Lí couldn’t be Shěn Lí living in a fisherman’s house anymore either. One was Xíng Zhǐ, High God of the outer heavens, burdened with keeping the three realms safe; while the other was Shěn Lí, Azure Sky king, of the Demon realm, responsible for protecting the people of the Demon realm. It was time to wake up from their idyllic dream and face reality. Now that Fú Shēng knew her whereabouts, more pursuers would come.
“My body is almost recovered, but my magic is nowhere near better. Staying in the Human realm isn’t an option. I will have to trouble High God to send me back to the Demon realm.”
Xíng Zhǐ refused without looking at Shěn Lí. “Not sending you off.”
Shěn Lí stared at him blankly. “Why?”
“I don’t want to see you off; if Your Highness is capable, then please go back yourself.” Xíng Zhǐ said as he walked back into the house like a rascal.
“How can you let me go back on my own power?” As she was, she couldn’t even detect the entrance to the Demon realm, let alone call forth a cloud to travel through the gap between the realms. “You’re putting my in a difficult position!”
Xíng Zhǐ smiled. “Your Highness understands.”
Shěn Lí silently took a deep breath before speaking. “I want to return to the Demon realm because things are so chaotic. Even discounting the internal and external concerns plaguing the Demon realm, I have to return just because of the tense atmosphere in the Immortal realm right now. It is the time to strengthen ties between our realms. My marriage edict to Lord Fú Róng is still in place, and although I can’t do anything useful with my body as is, I can still marry Lord Fú Róng. It’s a good thing. Having a wedding at this time will help ease tension and bridge the rift between the realms.
Second, there might be a way for me to regain my magic and restore my senses there. It’s better than wasting time here. . . ”
“The first point is moot.” Xíng Zhǐ said as he poured a cup of tea. “The engagement between the Azure Sky king and Lord Fú Róng was rescinded.”
Shěn Lí was stunned. “What. . . wait a minute. Why?!” When she tried to escape from the marriage, they were bound together by fate; but when she finally accepted it and tried to use it, Xíng Zhǐ actually revealed it was. . . rescinded?
“Everyone in the three realms knows the Azure Sky king died in battle.” Xíng Zhǐ said indifferently. “How can the grandson of the Immortal emperor marry a dead person? Naturally your marriage edict was rescinded. It was approved by both the Heavenly and Demon emperors.”
Shěn Lí froze for a moment. For some reason her first coherent thought was, “Lord Fú Róng must have laughed his head off.”
Xíng Zhǐ sipped his tea before shaking his head. “No, he was so heartbroken when he heard Mò Fāng died that he refused to eat for several days. Then, when he heard Mò Fāng was a traitor, he was even more hurt and almost cried.”
Shěn Lí’s brows sank at the mention of Mò Fāng’s name, but Xíng Zhǐ didn’t give her time to think about it too much before saying, “Your second point, I have a method to restore your magic and five senses. And it’s here in the Human realm. I had planned on telling you once your health was better, but since you’re so impatient, it doesn’t matter if I tell you now.”
“Really?!” Shěn Lí was overjoyed. Although she hadn’t complained about losing her magic or her five senses, she did hope they would recover quickly. After all, the Azure Sky king’s identity and pride were bound to magic power and military strength. Shěn Lí wouldn’t be Shěn Lí without them.
“There is a snow-capped mountain surrounded by a tundra plain north of here beyond the North sea. A great demon lives there, and this demon buys and sells many rare things, maybe even more than what is found in the Immortal realm. There might be something there that can heal you.”
Shěn Lí’s eyes lit up at his words. “If that’s the case, then maybe I can find a good spear!”
Startled, Xíng Zhǐ coughed twice, as if he’d just thought of something. Somewhat awkwardly, he said, “You don’t need to buy a new one; I fixed your old one for you already and left it in the outer heavens. Once you’re better, I’ll bring you over to get it.”
Did Xíng Zhǐ pick up her broken spear?
It didn’t sound strange at first, but once she thought about it carefully, she realized how strange it actually was. She was the king of the Demon realm; logically speaking, shouldn’t her belongings have been handed to the Demon realm for safekeeping? Why did he keep her spear in the outer heavens after collecting the pieces and repairing it? She had used her spear to kill many people, so it was heavy and laden with demonic energy. The overwhelming evil spirit in it should have clashed with Xíng Zhǐ’s divine aura. Wouldn’t the spear greatly damage his body? Even if she ignored this last point, there was the Demon emperor to consider. Would the Demon emperor have allowed Xíng Zhǐ to keep her spear in the outer heavens?
Outsiders didn’t know this, but Shěn Lí was clear in her heart. Officially she was the Azure Sky king, but privately, she was the Demon emperor’s disciple and was like a daughter to him. How could the Demon emperor give away her child’s “legacy” so easily?
Shěn Lí frowned and looked suspiciously at Xíng Zhǐ. Xíng Zhǐ turned his head away and said, “I’ll take you north after two days rest.” After saying so, he got up and tried to leave.
“Wait a moment.” Shěn Lí called out. “Is there. . . are you injured anywhere?”
Xíng Zhǐ turned his head and smiled. “How could I be hurt?”
True, he was such a powerful god; how could he get hurt. . .
...The person standing quietly in the dark room had on an oversized robe that covered most of his face. “High God Xíng Zhǐ. . . ” He murmured softly, “He appeared too soon; the plan is not yet complete.” The man turned his head and looked coldly at the young man in black beside him. “Young Master, is this the result you wanted?”
Mò Fāng replied coldly, “Everything else is fine, but Shěn Lí is off the table.”
Fú Shēng laughed mockingly. “Young Master, where was this kindness when you were escaping from the capital? I clearly remember how you secretly killed the general who tried to “save” you from one of the demons. Why weren’t you so kind back then?!”
Mò Fāng closed his eyes as Fú Shēng continued. “We can’t move against Shěn Lí, but you know that the Phoenix Fire pearl is the most indispensable part of the plan; but you still let her go! Young Master, Young Master, this springtime love affair, has it really blinded you so?! The hard work we’ve put in for the past several hundred years, will it really be ruined by someone like Shěn Lí? If the master knew about this, he would be extremely pained.”
“I will find an alternative.” After a long pause, Mò Fāng said, “This time, I want you to go north to the Golden Snake demon’s territory. I heard it has many treasures. Look for it and see if you can find anything to replace the Phoenix Fire pearl. Do not move against Shěn Lí again.”
Fú Shēng sneered. “If I can find something, I won’t move on Shěn Lí again.”
Mò Fāng squared his jaw, turned and left.
Fú Shēng was sitting quietly when someone suddenly came in to report. “My Lord, among the one hundred captured humans, ninety-five died after taking the pill. Three transformed into complete demons. Two fell into a coma.”
Fú Shēng waved his hand and said, “Defective. Kill them.” He thought for a moment then added, “Feed the pills to those who escaped from Xíng Zhǐ. They know magic. If they successfully transform, they should be even more powerful.”
“Yes, My Lord. There is one more thing. The Third Prince of the North Sea has no more secrets to share.”
Fú Shēng nodded. “Is that so? In that case, take out his golden core and keep it with the other two things for safekeeping.”
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