Chapter 74

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Chapter 74: Captured

Luo Jinsang pestered Qing Ji the next morning until she agreed to fly south with her for some wine. Everything went according to plan.

Changyi came to retrieve his jiaozhu before heading out.

The sun was rising and Ji Yunhe was still awake, sitting at the small tea table.

She looked at him standing in front of her in his usual black robe.

The air was still, their eyes interlocked, and they felt each other's breaths.

She instinctively backed away a bit when he leaned down.

Although her movement was slight, it was very apparent to him. Changyi paused for a moment. Then, as if he had made up his mind, he lifted a hand. His fingers brushed against Ji Yunhe's cheek, ran through her hair and stopped at the back of her head.

His palm restrained her just enough to keep her from retreating.

Changyi closed his eyes and the ice blue pupils disappeared under his long lashes. He leaned over and pressed his lips onto hers.

Ji Yunhe did not close her eyes. She was stiff but clearly felt the kiss. It was not a sudden and playful flirtation like the first one, nor was it as intense and confrontational as the second. This kiss was gentle and delicate.

At this moment, Ji Yunhe felt as if they were a real couple, doing the most intimate things in the most private moments.

His breath tickled the jiaozhu inside her, and she felt a slight coolness rise from her chest. It moved up into her tongue and lips, and intoxicated her like a mouthful of fine wine.

The jiaozhu left her body and disappeared between his lips.

But he did not release her.

The sunrise outside climbed higher along the window pane, and Ji Yunhe finally closed her eyes.

The kiss that started with the purpose of returning his jiaozhu was now turning into a real kiss, but Ji Yunhe did not stop him. She allowed herself a moment of indulgence. She had given up too much already in this life, forced to be cautious and to calculate every step, afraid of making a single mistake.

Now, she caved in to her inner most desires and savored in the pleasure and gratification of his touch.

Her eyelashes trembled and her chest heaved, overwhelmed by the emotions she had suppressed for so long. Suddenly, she tensed up, as if a sword flashed inside her head and sliced through her dreams.

All of the aches and pains of a broken body surfaced now that she no longer had the jiaozhu, and they felt even worse than before.

It brutally pulled her back into reality.

She was dying.

Ji Yunhe raised her hand and pushed Changyi away.

That one bit of movement was enough to make her breathless. She immediately turned around and covered her mouth to hide the pain, pretending she was appalled by the kiss.

Changyi looked at her back and was silent for a moment. "I'll be back in one hour."

Ji Yunhe nodded her head, still covering her mouth.

The black robe swayed and Changyi disappeared from the room. The moment he left, Ji Yunhe's eyes went black and she fell to the ground with a thud.

She touched the mark on her ear. Changyi said it allowed him to see her whenever, wherever she was. If he took a peek while out fighting, and saw her on the ground spitting blood...

Ji Yunhe held on to her last breath and crawled into bed before passing out under her blanket.

...

Luo Jinsang soared through the sky sitting comfortably on the back of the jade phoenix. She saw the blue light following them abruptly stop in midair, instantly lagging far behind. Then it caught up again and took a turn to head for the ground.

"What's wrong with that fish?"

"I don't know," Qing Ji lazily replied, then asked her, "Little girl, aren't we heading south for some wine? Why is that fish tagging along?"

Luo Jinsang grinned. "You will find out soon."

A strange demonic cry came from the distance.

Qing Ji flipped in the air, collected her wings and returned to human form. Luo Jinsang let out a gasp as her body lost support and began to fall. Qing Ji grabbed her hand and stepped onto a piece of cloud. "Little girl, what is that weird sound, hmm?"

"I think it's probably a demon bird, maybe being manipulated by a demon master, maybe also blocking our way south." Luo Jinsang was held by Qing Ji and her body dangled in the air, but she was not afraid. "Why don't you go take a look? And if convenient, can also help me capture the demon master."

Qing Ji laughed. "I knew there was something fishy going on."

The cries in the distance grew louder and closer. Qing Ji smiled gently and her eyes flashed. She did not open her mouth, but a call of the phoenix resonated through the sky, drowning out the demonic cries and scattering clouds within a thousand miles.

In the distance, a black monster crow came into view with a man standing on its back.

Luo Jinsang pointed at him and said, "That's probably the one."

"Little girl, I only promised you one favor. I have no intention of getting involved in this mess of a war."

"Well, we're already here," Luo Jinsang urged on. "Even if you don't want to get involved, he's still not going to let us go."

Qing Ji glanced at Luo Jinsang. "If you want to use me, at least use me for something big. But that little crow over there?" Qing Ji said. "Have you not heard of my legends?"

Luo Jinsang struggled a bit to lift her head. "What do you want to do?"

Qing Ji let out an alluring smile. "Like you said, we're already here, so let's do something big."

"Huh?"

While Luo Jinsang was still confused, Qing Ji held on to her hand and took a dive for the demon masters' camp on the ground.

...

Ji Yunhe knew very clearly that she was dreaming again.

It was the same hazy void. This time, she heard the woman's voice with unparalleled clarity. "Am I one step closer to death?" Ji Yunhe asked her. "I want to confirm something with you..."

"I know what you want to confirm." Ji Yunhe raised an eyebrow as the woman continued, "Your life, his life, the lives of all the people in the world, I know them all."

"You know them all?"

"After I died, my spirit became one with the wind. Wherever there is wind, there's my perception." She looked at Ji Yunhe and held her hand. "Come, I'll lend you my eyes."

Just like last time, a vision appeared in front of Ji Yunhe. Except this time it was not the memories of the woman…

It was Qing Ji and Luo Jinsang, and...

Lin Haoqing...

Qing Ji dashed into the camp of the demon masters in her natural form. Luo Jinsang disappeared, likely went invisible to hide... Qing Ji's monstrous claws tore open Lin Haoqing's tent with the surrounding people scattering in chaos -- demon masters, demons, and the courier, Siyu, were all present.

With a sharp call, giant claws grabbed onto Lin Haoqing's arm.

"I told them to get the demon master, what are they doing with Lin Haoqing?" Ji Yunhe scolded. "Ridiculous!"

The woman in white took Ji Yunhe's hand and waved it in the air. The vision disappeared on one side then reappeared on the other. She saw Changyi had already captured a demon master, knocked him out and was on his way back.

Changyi looked anxious, his speed was as fast as it could be.

The woman in white waved her hand again and another room appeared in front of Ji Yunhe. She had never seen this room before, but the look and feel reminded her of the prison that held her for six years...

The picture turned and she saw a person standing in front of a bookshelf. As expected, it was the Grand Master.

His white attire looked quite similar to this woman in white…

"He really is your disciple?"

"My name is Ning Xiyu, he was my first disciple. I picked him up from the streets and gave him the name Ning Qing. I taught him everything he knew, but didn't think..." she paused. "He was my disciple, but also my mistake. I died under unusual circumstances, and Ning Qing was never able to let it go..."

Her voice trembled a little but she continued, "He hated everything and everyone because of my death. He framed Qing Ji so people mistakenly thought she was causing havoc, then offered the Ten Square Formation to Ning Ruochu, thus successfully eliminating the world's most powerful demon masters. Then he took over and established himself as the supreme leader, divided demon masters into four quarters, and single handedly pushed the world down a path of chaos and destruction…"

And he was now standing next to his bookshelf, calmly reading a book in his hand.

Ning Xiyu waved her hand and the vision faded away.

"You want to make up for your mistake? So you want me to tell Qing Ji the truth and have her kill him?"

"She is the only one who can. You are also the only one I can talk to, because of how little time you have left on earth."

"Why me? I am not the only one who's life is hanging in the balance."

"Yes, there are many dying people in this world. But someone who's neither human nor demon, and also hanging by a thread, you are the only one. I am also neither human nor a demon. You and I both exist outside of the five elements..."

The woman in white was still moving her lips, but her voice began to fade.

Ji Yunhe said, "I'm waking up. About Qing Ji, I..."

Ji Yunhe's eyes snapped open, but instead of the ceiling, it was Changyi's face that flooded her vision.

His scent still lingered on her lips.

And the blue glow had just faded inside her chest.

He gave her the jiaozhu again.

Ji Yunhe sat up and he took a step back. She smiled and asked, "Got him as planned?"

Changyi settled down after hearing her speak. "Yes."

Before they had time to exchange more words, Kongming barged through the front door and stormed in, shouting at Changyi in anger, "How could you tell that fool to go after Lin Haoqing?! If something were to go wrong..."

Changyi furrowed his brows and replied, "I didn't tell her to."

Seeing Changyi had been yelled at, Ji Yunhe interjected, "Qing Ji is there, she should be fine."

"Should!?" Kongming was furious. He glared at Ji Yunhe viciously. "As long as nothing happens to this fish, you have no concerns!"

Ji Yunhe threw the monk a look, and he immediately closed his mouth. Realizing he had misspoken, he turned around and left.

Soon came the sound of him arguing with Luo Jinsang in the hallway...

Luo Jinsang's voice was louder than his. "Get out of my way, I want to tell Yunhe the great news! Don't block me! Hey, what are you doing? I'm fine! I'm telling you, Qing Ji and I got Lin Haoqing! He's in the dungeon right now!"

"Luo Jinsang, can you grow a brain? Who told you to go after Lin Haoqing?"

"What's wrong with you? I got their commander from the frontlines! How glorious! What are you so angry for? Are you jealous of me and Qing Ji?"

"Luo Jinsang!"

"What?!"

The two of them grew louder and louder, offsetting the silence in the room.

Changyi turned his head and asked Ji Yunhe curiously, "You knew they went after Lin Haoqing?"

Ji Yunhe froze a bit then said, "Just a guess, Qing Ji likes the spotlight..." Then she immediately changed the topic. "Since they have captured Lin Haoqing... I want to see him."

Changyi stared at her for a while then finally agreed this time.

"We will go together."

Ji Yunhe smiled.

Together. She liked hearing that word from Changyi. Ji Yunhe instantly felt like telling him everything -- how she never betrayed him.

But...

The pain she felt after the jiaozhu left her body was still lingering on her mind.

Once again, Ji Yunhe swallowed all the things she wanted to say.

With a dying body, let's not play with those twists and turns. The situation was already so complicated, why add to the stress and confusion.

Proofreader: Gem