Chapter 70

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Chapter 70: Jiaozhu

For the next few days, Luo Jinsang often sneaked over to visit Ji Yunhe at early dawn.

At first, Luo Jinsang thought it was because she was good at it. Then she realized Changyi was always gone every time she came, as if he deliberately avoided them. Only then did Luo Jinsang admit he had tacitly approved of her behavior.

Luo Jinsang was a bit confused. She asked Ji Yunhe, "Yunhe, what exactly do you think the fish means by this? Does he wish you well or does he not?"

Ji Yunhe leaned on the bed and smiled. "What do you think?"

"Before you were rescued, every time I mentioned you, the fish would get all mean and scary and talk like there was blood to be repaid. So I thought he wanted to rescue you just to kill you with his own hands. But now it seems that's not the case at all!" Luo Jinsang stroked her chin and said, "I think, his punishments on you used to be pretty standard, but ever since you tried to kill yourself, things became more complicated."

Ji Yunhe kept smiling. "How is it complicated?"

"It doesn't look like he's holding a prisoner here, more like hiding a mistress in a golden palace! Especially since you are ill, this is clearly to protect you. I'd be overjoyed if that baldy treated me like this."

Ji Yunhe shook her head.

And to think this was when Changyi still held a grudge against her. If she told him the truth, treated him with sincerity, and then died, people would have to forget about the war out there.

The desperate, homeless people, the renegade demon masters and demons, who would be responsible for them then?

He had already become the venerable Lord of the North, as a dying woman, she could not selfishly take him for herself.

A couple of days later, Luo Jinsang took advantage of Changyi's clemency and pulled Qing Ji over as well.

Watching them chitchat made Ji Yunhe feel like the most ordinary type of woman in the world -- a married housewife gossiping with friends all day long.

When their topic touched on the chaos out there, it would then remind Ji Yunhe of her identity.

But Ji Yunhe really liked Qing Ji. She was spontaneous, easy going, and very independent. Only those who possessed the power to control their own lives could be this confident.

She was sealed for a hundred years by her loved one inside the Ten Square Formation, and learned of his death after she got out. She did not have hatred or resentment, only acceptance. She accepted that she had loved, and that it was not meant to be.

Whenever Luo Jinsang mentioned Ning Ruochu and held a grievance for Qing Ji, she would just wave her hand and say she had made a mistake, gotten hurt, and moved on.

Ji Yunhe admired Qing Ji.

With Luo Jinsang and Qing Ji's companionship, Ji Yunhe's life became much more enjoyable. But as the days passed, she grew lazier and lazier, and now did not even want to get out of bed anymore.

Sometimes while listening to them chat, her consciousness would begin to cloud up. She felt like even if Changyi were to let her go now, she probably would not make it far.

The feeling of the end being near grew more apparent, and she slept more.

Changyi would be by her bedside everytime she woke up, not busy and not reading, just watching her.

He only looked away after she opened her eyes.

Today, Ji Yunhe teased him, "Are you afraid that one day, I won't open my eyes?"

His mouth quivered a bit and did not answer her, then he picked up a bowl and handed it to Ji Yunhe. "Drink the medicine."

Ji Yunhe smelled the medicine that was growing more bitter everyday and frowned. "Been drinking this day and night, but I haven't gotten any better. Changyi, if you still have any goodwill toward me, you should help me prepare a coffin."

Changyi held out the bowl of medicine and stared at Ji Yunhe until she could not stand it anymore.

She sighed. "Big-tailed fish, you're really stubborn." She grabbed the bowl and drank it. But instead of handing it back to him, she turned it around in her hand and looked at the residue at the bottom. "Say, if these drugs kill me one day, won't that be like you granting me my wish?"

Ji Yunhe was joking, but then she saw the look on his face -- confounded and lost in thought. As if she just gave him a good beating.

She never expected to see that on the current Changyi.

"I… am just joking. Making me stay alive is the most suffering, you would never let me die so easily."

Changyi took the bowl from Ji Yunhe's hands.

He stood up quietly and turned his back on her, his long silver hair brushing against her fingers. Ji Yunhe lowered her head and changed the subject. "Jinsang said the court has summoned Lin Haoqing into the capital. The war's been going on for so many years, and although the court's been working with the other three demon master quarters, this is the first time they've summoned Lin Haoqing. Are they planning something?"

Usually Changyi would just answer her with a "none of your business."

But today, he seemed to want to change the subject as well. He said while walking toward the screen, "It does not matter what they are planning. The court and the Grand Master's house have lost the hearts of their people. Lin Haoqing can't help them."

When Changyi reached the screen, he turned around and looked at her.

Ji Yunhe smiled. "You go ahead and work, I'll get some more sleep." Then she crawled under her blanket and blocked his gaze.

She closed her eyes and felt fortunate that she and Changyi had not yet confessed their feelings for each other.

God knows how much she wanted to grow old with him, but she simply did not have the time to be his companion.

Ji Yunhe fell asleep in no time, and started to dream.

The window was slightly open, allowing some wind to blow in. The bed curtains swayed to the airflow and the chill was felt even inside her dream, but it did not wake her. The woman dressed in white floated to her side with the wind.

The woman reached out her hand. Ji Yunhe was not sure what it meant, but she also reached out her hand the same way.

She watched as the woman held on to her palm.

"You don't have much time left, I'll lend you my eyes."

Her voice was clear this time, unlike before.

The woman turned her hand and her fingers intertwined with Ji Yunhe's.

Boom! Ji Yunhe felt a tremor and her eyes opened abruptly. The woman in front of her disappeared and was replaced by a ball of light as bright as the sun. It blinded her for a while.

When the light faded a bit and was about to recede, Ji Yunhe saw a young couple from afar. The young man was only a silhouette and she could not recognize him, but the girl was the woman in her dreams.

They were standing face to face.

This scene was very brief. It flashed by then quickly disappeared.

"What is this?"

"It's the past that I remember." The woman's voice appeared inside Ji Yunhe's ears. "What you see now is what I once saw, after this, my eyes will be your eyes."

"You gave me your eyes? Why? Who are you..."

"Tell Qing Ji," the woman ignored her questions, "it was the Grand Master who killed Ning Ruochu."

Another image appeared before Ji Yunhe's eyes.

It was the... Grand Master...

But it was the young Grand Master.

He was standing in front of another man, talking while gesturing on a piece of paper. It seemed to contain a layout of the Ten Square Formation.

No need to guess, Ji Yunhe knew this was the Grand Master giving advice to Ning Ruochu.

So he had taught the Ten Square Formation to Ning Ruochu.

Ning Ruochu questioned something, and the Grand Master put the paper away and turned to leave. Ning Ruochu then immediately chased after him and took the paper back.

Ji Yunhe was a little confused. "Didn't they study under the same master? And didn't Ning Ruochu die because of the Ten Square Formation..."

"He lied to him," the woman said. "He told Ning Ruochu the Ten Square Formation only needed the power of ten great demon masters. He also told Ning Ruochu it wouldn't kill anyone, and he would be able to enter the formation afterwards and accompany the jade phoenix."

Ji Yunhe looked at the two men in her vision and thought of the small paradise Qing Ji had created inside the Ten Square Formation.

She and Changyi were able to get out of the formation because she had disguised herself as Ning Ruochu and dissolved Qing Ji's demonic attachment.

So Ning Ruochu never lied to Qing Ji?

He really did think he could enter the formation to be with her.

The one who lied was the Grand Master?

"Tell Qing Ji the Grand Master killed Ning Ruochu, tell her to take revenge."

Ji Yunhe searched around with her eyes, but she could not find the woman in white anymore.

"And who are you? How did you know? And why are you telling me this stuff?"

"I want him to die."

"Who? The Grand Master? You want Qing Ji to kill him?"

"This is my atonement..."

Ji Yunhe wanted to keep asking, but the wind in her ears stopped and she felt a sharp pain in her forehead. The ball of light disappeared and the woman's voice faded. She slowly opened her eyes after a moment of darkness.

What she then saw was the frowning face of Kongming, and he was pulling a silver needle out of her forehead. "She's awake." He got up and stepped back, revealing Changyi who was standing behind him.

Changyi's face looked stiff and pale,

He looked at her as if he did not have time to react.

Only once Ji Yunhe sat up did his eyes finally show some movement, like a stagnant pool disturbed by a drop of water, rippling endlessly.

Ji Yunhe was a bit perplexed. "I just napped a bit, what's wrong with you guys?"

Kongming sneered as he put the silver needles into a bag. "A bit? You've been out cold for two days." He glimpsed at Changyi. "If people didn't know better, they would think my medicine killed you."

Ji Yunhe was shocked after hearing the first part. The dream felt so short, but two days had passed...

After hearing the second part, she wanted to laugh.

Looking at Changyi's expression, did he think the joke she made earlier had become a prophecy...

She smiled at Changyi. Suddenly he marched over to her bedside, held her chin up and lifted her head.

While Ji Yunhe and Kongming were both confused as to what he was going to do, Changyi pressed his lips against hers again.

Again!

Ji Yunhe's jaw dropped and her eyes bulged out in shock.

And the bag of needles Kongming was holding fell to the ground.

When Ji Yunhe came back to her senses, she raised her hands to push Changyi away. But she was so weak, he easily restrained her arms with just one hand.

At that moment, a blue light flashed inside his chest.

Realizing what he was going to do, the monk came out of his shock and yelled, "You're crazy!" He stepped forward to pull Changyi off of Ji Yunhe, but was bounced away by a powerful force before he could even get close. The force was so great it threw him into the wall.

And Changyi's lips were still so soft. The blue light floated from his chest to his throat, then crossed their lips and into Ji Yunhe's mouth. It disappeared into her body before she could react.

His lips lingered for a while before finally releasing her.

Kongming got up from the ground burning with anger. "You bastard fish! Are you out of your mind?! Our men are out there fighting with everything they've got, and you gave her your jiaozhu to renew her life?!"

Jiaozhu?

The spiritual power of a demon master came from their hidden pulse, while the demonic power of a demon came from an inner pearl. The inner pearl of a jiaoren was called jiaozhu. Changyi giving his jiaozhu to Ji Yunhe was basically using all of his own demonic power to renew her life, and he himself… would become powerless...

He...

"You really are crazy." Ji Yunhe wiped her mouth. "I do not want it, take it back!"

Changyi held on to her chin, his blue eyes were like a whirlpool in the sea, pulling her in.

"If I want to give it, then you have to take it."

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