Chapter 69

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Chapter 69: Many Secrets

"And the monk treats you no differently from before?" Ji Yunhe examined Luo Jinsang's expression.

Luo Jinsang thought for a long time. "Can't say no because it seems a little different, but if I say yes, it doesn't really feel solid... Anyway, he is a weirdo, I can't tell. Why don't you keep an eye on it for me?"

"Ok," Ji Yunhe promised her. "Just... I won't be able to help you for much longer. You will eventually have to deal with these things yourself."

Luo Jinsang wanted to say something to comfort her, but Ji Yunhe smiled and changed the topic. "And afterwards? After you guys left the snowy plains, did you find Snow March and Qing Ji?"

"Yep. But when we found Qing Ji, March was no longer with her. She said March left soon after leaving the Demon Valley."

Ji Yunhe was surprised. "Where did she go?"

"Well, with what happened to Li Shu..."

Ji Yunhe remembered that Li Shu had sacrificed himself to free the jade phoenix, and it was only then did Snow March realize that she had been just a substitute for the real one in his thoughts.

"Qing Ji said after they left the Demon Valley, March was depressed for a while. They even got into a fight. After the fight, March said she wanted to put the past behind her and leave the country, so Qing Ji advised her to go overseas..."

Ji Yunhe frowned, "Qing Ji shoved Snow March over to the islands overseas?"

"How could this be considered shove? Qing Ji said in the old days, many renowned demon masters and powerful demons gained knowledge and acquired great advancements from traveling overseas."

Ji Yunhe nodded. "Books in the Demon Valley documented some of those islands and how their rare and exotic herbs could be very beneficial for spiritual cultivation. But they were all classified as legends and myths. Now we have an actual life person there to confirm..."

"Yes, I really wanted to go too. March wasn't aware that you were in trouble, so she could leave at ease. But I couldn't, I had to stay and save you."

"You care about me the most." Ji Yunhe tapped Luo Jinsang in the forehead. "But useless concern. The one who saved me ended up being the fish."

Luo Jinsang pouted, "I am the reason that fish could save you!"

"Oh?"

"Qing Ji agreed to help him because of me!" Luo Jinsang eagerly fought for her credit. "Remember the monk saved me in the snowfields? I later learned that he did not go there to look for me, he was looking for Qing Ji. While I was lost in the north north, the fish and the monk took down Demon Terrace together."

Ji Yunhe remembered hearing about the news in the Grand Master's prison.

She nodded. "I've also heard about it."

"The fish drove out all the demon masters from the terrace and turned it into a stronghold in the Northlands. Then he and the monk made plans to recruit as many people as they could who wanted to rebel and offset the supreme power held by the Grand Master's house. That baldy had always wanted to do so, but he was never able to find a demon master or a demon powerful enough, and with the same goals in mind until he met the fish. So they partnered up… The fish stayed in the Northlands to oversee things while the baldy went further north to recruit Qing Ji."

"Mhm," Ji Yunhe nodded, "that was a good idea."

At that time, Changyi and Kongming just started and had not yet solidified their power and status, but if a world famous demon from a century ago came to their aid, their strength and fame would soar. All the people who sat on the fence would join them without further hesitation.

"Yep! That's what they were hoping for. But..." Luo Jinsang smiled, "Qing Ji did not agree."

"Why not?"

Ji Yunhe thought about the Ten Square Formation. The demonic attachment born from the feelings of the jade phoenix was so emotional, she should have some extreme hatred for demon masters.

Qing Ji should have wanted to take down all the demon masters in the world to pay for her century-long entrapment. But when the chance came, she refused?

Luo Jinsang said, "Qing Ji seemed to have liked someone before, but after she came out of the Ten Square Formation, she learned that the person had died."

"So..."

"Qing Ji then lost interest in this world and its affairs, so she didn't want to get involved. She wanted to just stay in the depth of the snowfields and avoid all conflicts and strife."

Ji Yunhe raised her brows and thought: that bird had a fancy face full of charm, but turned out she was actually quite zen.

The demonic attachment in the formation was obsessively passionate, but Qing Ji herself was not stubborn in the least.

"Perhaps that was a wise decision..."

"Hey, lemme tell you, I also know a huge secret!" Luo Jinsang pretended to be mysterious.

"What secret?"

"Do you know who Qing Ji liked? I'll tell you, he's..."

"I know," Ji Yunhe interrupted her. "The Wuchang Saint, Ning Ruochu."

Luo Jinsang gasped, "Hey, how did you..." She pouted like a child. "Then do you know who among the demon masters right now is related to Ning Ruochu?"

Ji Yunhe smacked her lips and said, "The Grand Master?"

"Hey!" Luo Jinsang was puzzled. "How come you know everything?!"

Ji Yunhe smiled and pinched Luo Jinsang's cheek. "Silly, who else has been living that long?"

"Well, did you know that Ning Ruochu was the senior brother of the Grand Master?"

Ji Yunhe was a bit shocked, this... she really did not know.

"They trained under the same master?" Ji Yunhe asked in surprise. "Then who was their master? Someone who could train two such significant people in our history, how come none of the books documented this?"

"I don't know. This was something Kongming said in order to convince Qing Ji. But the monk did not expect that Qing Ji actually liked Ning Ruochu. He thought she hated him since he was the main guy behind the Ten Square Formation, and since he's dead, she would take her rage out on the only one that's related to him. But unexpectedly, Qing Ji didn't care. She said Ning Ruochu was her only connection to the world, and now that he's gone, she no longer has anything to do with anyone."

"Then how did you manage to drag her into these mundane affairs?"

"I can drink!" Luo Jinsang said proudly. "Qing Ji loves to drink! We drank all night long after we met and Qing Ji took me as her friend. Later, when I was leaving with Kongming, Qing Ji promised me a favor in return for her having such a good time with me."

"Then you and the monk left?"

"We left," Luo Jinsang nodded. "Went back and passed through the snowfields again, heh heh heh..."

"..." Ji Yunhe rubbed her temples. Looking at Luo Jinsang's face full of wicked intentions, she did not know if she should confront that monk anymore. "You guys did not bring Qing Ji back with you, then..."

Ji Yunhe recalled the first five years she was held captive, the court had no idea regarding the whereabouts of the jade phoenix, so it was apparent she had no contacts with Changyi during that time.

"Well there was nothing I could do. Snow March was gone, I couldn't kidnap Qing Ji and force her to go save you, and I alone wouldn't stand a chance, so I had no choice but to return to the Northlands with the baldy. I watched him and the fish establish their forces and take in rogue demon masters and homeless demons. After everything was ready, the fish took me with him to find Qing Ji. I used the favor she promised me and got her to help us... That's why she lured the Grand Master to the north."

Ji Yunhe asked, "But Qing Ji's so powerful, why didn't you guys just have her go to the capital with Changyi and make a mess of things there?"

"I said so too, the baldy also said so, but the fish refused."

Ji Yunhe felt puzzled.

"The fish said he wanted to go get you alone."

Ji Yunhe flashed back to that night of blood and flames. She was on the verge of death when Changyi appeared and carried her out of that hellish prison.

She lowered her eyes.

If her life was laid out like a piece of paper, and each emotional impact was a dot, then no one had splashed as much ink onto it as him.

Ji Yunhe smiled...

"What a despotic big-tailed fish."

"I know right!" Luo Jinsang complained. "Look at that fish! Now that he's lord, he has become so unreasonable! He locked you up for so long and wouldn't let me come see you! He doesn't even care that it was my favor that got Qing Ji to help, so ungrateful and rude!"

But Ji Yunhe no longer paid attention to Luo Jinsang's voice. She looked at the screen, then at the back of her thin, bony hands, and fell into silence.

...

The capital, inside the Grand Master's house.

The window pane, the curtains and the bed sheets were all white, as if holding a funeral.

Princess Shunde's red dress was particularly eye-catching in this setting, but her face was also wrapped in white. Only one eye and her mouth were visible outside the bandages.

She was leaning on the bed couch, half-drunk and half-awake. Her hand held on to a celadon wine bottle while smashed pieces of other wine bottles littered the floor.

"Someone!" Her voice was hoarse as if her throat had been shredded. "Bring more wine! I still want to drink!"

A general dressed in black iron armor stepped in with iron boots. Broken pieces of celadon on the floor were crushed into even smaller bits under his feet. He walked to Princess Shunde and kneeled down on one leg.

His face was behind a black iron mask, but horrible burn marks could be seen between the gaps around his eyes. "Princess, you are still recuperating, you can't keep drinking like this."

"Can't? Why not?!"

"Princess..."

"I can do anything! I can do anything right now! I have a master! Master..." Princess Shunde looked around and did not see the Grand Master, and her one eye grew nervous. "Zhu Ling, where is the Grand Master? Where is my master?"

"The Grand Master went to develop a medicine for the princess, it should be ready by tomorrow."

"Medicine? Ha... ha ha..." Princess Shunde laughed maniacally. Then she grabbed Zhu Ling's hand and pulled it in for an embrace.

Zhu Ling was stunned but obediently allowed her to hold his hand.

"Zhu Ling, I'll tell you a secret." Princess Shunde came up to Zhu Ling's ear. "I am not the daughter of the late emperor."

The eyes behind the iron mask widened, and Zhu Ling froze in shock.

"I am the daughter of the empress and the prince regent."

Zhu Ling was speechless. "Prin... Princess..."

"I... I knew it ever since I was very young, so I grew up cautious. I was afraid of making a mistake… mistake... My mother thought I was a mistake! The prince regent tried to kill me several times, I... I was so scared..." she said in a dumb voice then cried into his ear. "I was afraid... to just die in the palace... When I was small, I suffered so much humiliation… Until master saw me."

She stood up and stepped barefoot on the floor. Zhu Ling immediately padded the bottom of her feet with his hands. She stepped onto his hand and did not notice at all when his palm was sliced by the broken shards below. She walked forward and Zhu Ling followed.

"Princess..."

"Yes... he saw me, and I became a real princess. He held me to the stars, and I became the moon, the proud daughter of heaven. Even my brother, that orthodox imperial son, must share his throne with me. But..."

She spun around, not feeling the slightest pain under the soles of her feet.

"But, it wasn't me that he cared about. Zhu Ling, did you know, it's this face." She grabbed the bandage on her face so hard it uncovered some festering wounds underneath.

"With this face, I seem to have gained everything, but the fact is I have gained nothing at all. And now... now this face that I relied on is ruined..."

She stood still for a while, then suddenly smashed the bottle in her hand on the ground. She picked up the largest piece of broken shard and slashed ruthlessly at the curtains in front of her.

"If the world wrongs me, I will wrong the world! If people hurt me, I will kill them all! That demon master, Ji Yunhe! She will be the first to suffer my wrath!"

As if she saw Ji Yunhe standing there, Princess Shunde slashed again and again, cutting the curtain in front of her into pieces. Then she slammed the shard onto a wooden pillar and the celadon pierced into her hand. Blood splattered everywhere.

Zhu Ling also clenched his fist. "Princess, I would like to do as you wish."

"No, I will kill her with my own hands." Princess Shunde turned her head, her one eye outside the bandage red with rage. "Ji Yunhe was refined into a demon, so she has the power of a demon that doesn't belong to her. Zhu Ling, I also want it. I want to have more than what she has." She paused then continued, "Zhu Ling, you shielded me in the fire, you were also burned. I only trust you. Help me."

Zhu Ling nodded his head. "Yes, princess."

The next morning, the Grand Master walked into Princess Shunde's room carrying a box of ointment. Princess Shunde looked at him from her bed, and his ageless face.

"Master."

"Hm?"

"The new ointment, is it ready?"

"Well, this ointment may be a little painful, but using it for a month should have a miraculous effect."

"Master," Princess Shunde said, "the ointment is too painful. It feels like it's gouging out my flesh then replacing it with new flesh."

The Grand Master's voice was distant and unemotional. "As long as it works."

Princess Shunde was silent for a moment. "Then master, I want a treat for enduring all that pain… just to fulfill your wish."

"What do you want?"

"The forbidden arts, the secret book that you never let anyone see."

"..."

"Master?"

"Ok, I'll give it to you."

Princess Shunde smiled. She watched as the Grand Master unwrapped the bandage from her face layer by layer. Then she lowered her eyes.

"Thank you, master."

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