Chapter 23

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Chapter 23: Tail Splitting

As night fell, Ji Yunhe wanted to visit Changyi. But as soon as she exited her courtyard, two demon masters standing guard appeared.

They stopped her. "Master Warden, the Valley Master wishes for you to rest for a few days. We hope you do not let him down."

"I'm tired of laying around in the house, going out for a walk would be considered a rest." Ji Yunhe brushed aside one person's hand and took a step forward, but they blocked her again.

"Master Warden, the Valley Master wants you to rest inside the house."

Ji Yunhe eyed them and scoffed under her breath. Lin Canglan, that old fox, was small-minded and petty. He was probably holding a grudge against her for making a request at the hall today, so this was a random excuse to put her under house arrest.

"Then, according to the master, how long should I rest?"

"We do not dare to speculate the master's intentions."

Tight lips.

Ji Yunhe nodded, "Fine." She left the courtyard door wide open and went back inside the house. Then she walked to the inner room without closing the door again, and started rummaging through some boxes.

The two people at the door looked at each other with puzzled faces, but they did not say anything.

After a few moments, Ji Yunhe came out with a tea table and a bunch of tea utensils. She was not at all upset about being under house arrest. She placed the table inside the courtyard, positioned the pot and cups, and turned to the two guards, "It is too stuffy to sit inside the house, and you must be tired standing there. Come and have some tea with me."

She made a hand gesture and magically lit a stick of incense. The aroma swirled up, scattered in the wind and floated into their noses.

The two looked at each other again in confusion, then shook their heads. "We appreciate Master Warden's kindness, but we will just keep watch here so no one else can disturb your peace."

"That's fine." Ji Yunhe did not press on. She sat down and leisurely brewed some tea.

The moon was hazy and the night was quiet, even insects rarely made a chirp.

The whole courtyard had only sounds of tea cups clinking. After the incense burned out, Ji Yunhe stretched, stood up, and walked to the door again. No one reached out to stop her this time.

Ji Yunhe looked at the two people standing against the wall. Their eyes were closed and they were deep asleep. One even snored a little.

"I offered tea to help you stay awake, but you refused. See? Dozed off didn't you." Ji Yunhe stretched again. "Half an hour of sleep is still good, you are all tired. I'll be back later."

She waved her hand and swaggered away, leaving the doors wide open again.

She walked through the sea of flowers in the middle of the valley. The garden had suffered a lot of damage in the battle. Most of the flowers had been destroyed and the earth was cracked everywhere.

Ji Yunhe sighed. The fragrance from the flowers had a very tranquilizing effect, and with a little refining, they could be made into incense no different from sleeping pills.

A pity that she had only made a few. Now with the sea of flowers in ruins, it could take years for them to grow into a lush garden again. If not for her wanting to see Changyi, she would not have used such a precious possession.

Ji Yunhe did not dwell in this wasteland for long and headed straight for the new dungeon where he was being held.

There was no one around on the way. The more she walked, the more curious she felt. How important was the jiaoren to the Demon Valley? Having escaped once already, how could Lin Canglan not swarm this place with guards?

Once she arrived at the new dungeon, her curiosity turned into panic. With Lin Canglan's intentional house arrest on her, she already had a guess. But this guess was something she did not want to believe, so she tried her best to deny it.

Still no guards. Ji Yunhe's legs trembled as she ran toward the cell.

Torches sat on the stone walls, their flames jumped back and forth. Ji Yunhe's footsteps echoed in the empty dungeon as she approached the black iron bars full of yellow talismans. So many that they would suppress all demonic power.

She saw two people inside.

One was Lin Haoqing, standing there holding a knife. The other one was Changyi, nailed to the wall. Blood flowed all over the floor.

Lin Haoqing's knife was sharp and cold. Blood still dripped from the blade, drop by drop onto the ground below.

Changyi's hands and neck were fixed to the wall by steel. His skin was a horrible white, his silver hair draped down and covered his face, and the huge fish tail that belonged to him... was gone.

His tail had been split into two, each half slowly transforming into the shape of a human leg.

Ji Yunhe stood outside the cell, all of the warm blood inside her body disappeared in an instant. A chill washed over her front and back, up her spine, into her head, then froze her entire brain.

Her face grew pale.

"Changyi..." with trembling lips, she stuttered his name.

But she did not get a response.

His head drooped down as if he were dead. The jiaoren had always maintained his clarity no matter how great the torture. Now… he was completely unconscious.

Although her voice did not wake Changyi, it made Lin Haoqing turn around.

He did not seem surprised that Ji Yunhe would come.

Lin Haoqing flung the knife in his hand, sending drops of blood into the air. Some landed on Ji Yunhe's feet, others landed on the hem of her dress.

"It's too late," Lin Haoqing said as he put the knife back into its sheath. "The jiaoren's tail was split by me, everyone knows."

Lin Haoqing spoke indifferently.

He did not care how Ji Yunhe came, nor did he care what was done to the jiaoren. He only cared that Princess Shunde's second wish was granted by him.

"You won the first round." These words, which Lin Haoqing had said not long ago in front of Li Feng Hall, suddenly echoed inside Ji Yunhe's ears.

It turned out this was what he had meant.

He deliberately said this phrase because he was determined to win the second round.

Lin Canglan's house arrest on her, Lin Haoqing splitting the tail... Father and son partnered up and gave her a good performance.

These thoughts flooded into Ji Yunhe's mind, and all the hot blood poured back into her brain.

He looked at Ji Yunhe with amusement. "To successfully split open a jiaoren's tail, he needs to be willing. You can use his affection to make him talk, I can also use his affection for you to make him grow legs."

Lin Haoqing's words exploded in Ji Yunhe's head. She looked at Changyi on the wall and watched his split tail gradually become more leg-like. His beautiful fish scales withered and fell all over the ground like a field of dead crumbs. The lotus fin had disappeared, now slowly forming into five segments on the end of each half.

Ji Yunhe clenched her fingers into a fist.

Lin Haoqing stared at her, then called her name like the gentle big brother from the old days, "Yunhe." He smiled, and the shady look in his eyes was exactly the same as the old fox on top of that great hall...

"You gave me the idea."

Ji Yunhe bit down her teeth and the vein on her forehead popped. Then she kicked down the cell door with bloodshot eyes and charged in.

Lin Haoqing stared at her, and saw a rage in her that he had never seen in the past.

Before he could react, Ji Yunhe punched him in the face.

With the sound of flesh meeting flesh, Lin Haoqing was defenselessly knocked to the ground. He opened his mouth and spat out a couple of teeth mixed with saliva and blood.

Ji Yunhe then rushed forward and grabbed Lin Haoqing's collar like a fierce beast. Two punches, three punches, countless punches rained down onto his face.

The pain and dizziness made Lin Haoqing lose focus for a moment, but Ji Yunhe did not care. As if she wanted to beat him to death, her fists fell on his face like mad.

Finally, Lin Haoqing raised his hand with all his might and blocked her punch.

Blood was dripping, but it was no longer clear whether it was his blood or the blood from her own fist.

"Ji Yunhe, you've gone insane." Lin Haoqing's one eye was blood-filled from the beating and it made him look like a devil.

Looking out from his eyes, the whole cell was a color of blood. And Ji Yunhe, who was sitting on him and grabbing at his collar, was the only thing he could see clearly.

She displayed so many emotions at once. Pain, hatred, anger and sadness.

"How did you become like this?" Ji Yunhe's voice was so hoarse that it would have been impossible for Lin Haoqing to hear if not for the extreme silence in the dungeon.

Lin Haoqing laid on the ground. His bloody eyes looked directly at her, seemingly devoid of light and soul. Then he smiled like a wooden man who did not know the pain of the flesh. Lin Haoqing asked Ji Yunhe with a voice that was also raspy and hoarse:

"Isn't this the young valley master that you all want?"

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