Chapter 81

Parsed with an automated reader. The content accuracy is not guranteed.

Chapter 81: Alone

Half a month later.

The plum blossoms in the courtyard had mostly fallen and been replaced by new sprouts. Aji finally stopped eating and growing like crazy, and could now properly control the art of transformation.

Unexpectedly, when she stood before Lin Haoqing with the proper body of a man, he told her, "Good, it's time for you to leave."

Siyu quickly turned around and packed some things without saying a word, then handed Aji a bag. "Aji, it's time for you to head south."

Aji looked at the bag, then looked up at them, then changed back to her original form. Lin Haoqing frowned and she immediately transformed into her male body again. "Master, aren't you guys coming with me?"

"I still have unfinished business. From now on, you are on your own." Lin Haoqing looked at Aji's dumbfounded face and continued, "Remember what I told you. No Northlands, no capital, no true face, and no spiritual power."

Aji nodded. "I remember everything. But master... why can't I go with you?"

"Aji, be good." Siyu gently touched her on the head. "We're not trying to leave you behind, but we're going somewhere that you can't go."

Aji did not understand. "I can't go? Then are you going to the Northlands? Or the capital?"

Lin Haoqing responded before Siyu, "You don't need to know, take your things and go south."

"I..." Aji clutched her bag and became even more at a loss. "But where should I go... What should I do..."

Lin Haoqing stared at her for a while then walked up to her. He grabbed her shoulders and started pushing her toward the exit. Once there, he exerted a bit more force and she was shoved out the door. Only then did Aji hear Lin Haoqing whisper in her ear.

"You'll always find somewhere to go and something to do."

The voice was flat like always, but Aji felt a hint of tenderness.

When she turned her head anxiously to take a second look at Lin Haoqing, the door had already slammed shut behind her.

She bumped her nose on it and rubbed a face full of dirt.

Aji stood at the door for a long time with her bag in her arms. She nervously thought back over the past few days. Had she made a mistake and upsetted him?

She squatted at the door for half a day, then knocked on it. No response. She boldly pushed it open and barged in...

The courtyard was quiet and cool. Wilted plum blossoms covered the ground, adding a bit of sorrow to the atmosphere.

But in half a day's time, the entire place had been emptied out.

She stood there for a while then turned and left. The moment she stepped out of the plum grove, the trees behind her turned into a mass of flowers, rustling and blowing into the sky until they vanished from sight. There had never been a plum grove here, just a most ordinary field of grass.

She felt empty, as if she had suddenly turned into a rootless weed coming from nowhere. No parents and no past, just a body full of mystery that no one could answer. She mysteriously came, mysteriously grew, and was mysteriously left alone...

With no one to rely on, she embarked on the journey south.

Hopefully she would get to see some nice scenery.

...

The south had warmed up, but the north was still bitterly cold.

And inside the Demon Terrace, the room of the lord was even colder than the snowstorm outside.

Ice condensed on his body, spreading to the bed below, and frost covered the walls and floor.

A knock was heard outside his door.

The silver-haired man lying on the bed snapped open his eyes. His blue pupils spaced out and stared at the ceiling until the knock came again. He sat up and rested his head inside his palms. "Come in."

Cold air washed out as soon as the servant opened the door, making him shiver. He walked inside and immediately slipped on the icy floor. With arms flapping and feet struggling desperately to find footing, he flopped around like an acrobat before finally stabilizing himself and kneeling down, not daring to move again.

Having made a fool of himself, the servant quietly glimpsed at Changyi.

Ever since this venerable Lord of the North had moved out of the island in the center of the lake, his body grew colder, and his temper grew more inscrutable. When Kongming and Luo Jinsang were still around, they would at least laugh at the servant for a bit under these circumstances, lightening up the mood. But now…

Changyi only threw him a glance and asked, "What is it?"

"Your Highness, Master Kongming has sent word from the south. There are many people affected by the frost poison, and he may have to delay his return to the north."

"Ok," Changyi answered.

The servant then retreated from the room on his knees in order to keep himself from falling again.

"You don't have to come again tomorrow."

The servant froze, then answered "yes" and quickly ran off.

He walked a long way and went out several doors before exchanging words with a fellow servant. "And they say it's better in the north, I think we've come to the wrong place. This lord is moody and unpredictable, he isn't any easier to serve than Princess Shunde."

"Shouldn't be... I heard this lord was not like this before..."

"He changed after coming out of that island courtyard. Don't know what kind of a demonic curse fell on him. Look at how his room freezes over every morning, it's even worse than standing outside in the snow. Thank god I don't have to go serve him tomorrow."

"Sigh..."

They thought they were complaining in private, little did they know that everything reached Changyi's ears word by word.

Changyi listened, and felt they were right.

His temper had grown increasingly uncontrollable. To him, the world now looked like a barren field, lifeless and dull. And looking at people's faces was like looking at objects, without the slightest feel.

He knew he was becoming less and less interested in this human existence. All of his passion and desire had been used on one person, and she took them all away...

Changyi looked at his hands and pale fingertips. Every breath he took formed a mouthful of white air.

His body changed after sealing Ji Yunhe in ice. Changyi knew it was the mark he had left on Ji Yunhe's ear that caused him to suffer this freezing pain. The bite on Ji Yunhe's ear was a promise from the jiaoren to his mate, and it established an invisible link. While she was alive, the mark allowed him to sense her whereabouts and wellbeing.

And after she died...

Jiaoren lived in the depths of the ocean their whole lives. Their power came from the sea, so when they died, the power naturally would return to the sea. Their body would turn to foam and dissipate into the waves.

Although Ji Yunhe was not a jiaoren, she was marked by one. If Changyi had buried her at sea, the water would take away the mark and maybe turn her body into foam as well. And once the mark faded, Changyi would no longer have to suffer.

But he did not want to do that.

He sealed Ji Yunhe's body in layers of ice and sank her to the bottom of the lake because he did not want to break the last link between them.

Ji Yunhe was able to let go and be free.

He was not.

He stubbornly held on to this meaningless bond, illogical, unwise, and could even be called reckless. Just because...

It allowed him to feel her presence in his dreams, as if he were sleeping in the same icy lake as her. He could still hear her whispering inside his ears, "Changyi… Changyi…"

It helped him sleep through the cold of the night.

Changyi left the bed and stepped onto the frosty floor. He walked out under the sun, but felt none of its warmth.

Nothing was of interest to him anymore. He remembered hearing that the Grand Master wanted to mourn for the world...

Mourn for the world...

It was probably the same way he was feeling right now...

Because he no longer felt anything. The sky could fall and the earth could tumble, it did not matter to him.

"Your Highness." Another servant came, and Changyi looked at him. In his eyes, this servant's face looked no different from the previous one.

The servant continued, "A demon master who has joined us recently, Lu Jinyan, clashed with a snake demon. Their fight aggravated the disputes between the demon masters and demons here. Things have subsided for now, but they still hold a grudge. Your Highness, we've always sheltered both demon masters and demons, but since the population was low, they got along fine. Now with the huge influx of new residents..."

"Just kill."

Changyi softly voiced out two words.

The servant was stunned, "Your… Highness...?"

"Peace disruptors, kill," Changyi ordered blankly then turned and left, leaving the servant staring at his back with a face full of dismay.

...

Aji grabbed her bag, turned into a man using the art of transformation and made her way south. At first she thought she would be bewildered, but to her surprise, she was surprisingly adaptable.

Walking through the mountains along the river, she found that she unexpectedly liked this way of life. No stress over gains and no worries over losses, she was happy-go-lucky and carefree.

After leaving the plum grove, Aji discovered her true self. She loved the blue sky, the bright sun, and the warm breeze. She also loved catching fish in the stream, lying in the grass after eating, and sleeping all day.

The frustration and misery of being left alone disappeared. She now believed Lin Haoqing's last words to her were true, she would indeed find where she wanted to go and what she should do...

It was a sunny day, and Aji was walking along the creek wondering what fish to catch, when she suddenly heard a woman crying up ahead.

Aji rushed over.

A mother holding a child was crying her heart out by the water.

"What's wrong?" Aji asked. The child's mother did not answer her. Aji looked down and saw the child was cold all over and his skin was an unnatural blue. She pressed her fingers on the child's wrist and discovered that he had a double pulse.

A child with spiritual power...

"He's poisoned... he's poisoned…" cried the mother. "This water is all poison!"

Aji looked at the stream that she had also been drinking from day after day, but yet she was fine. She could feel the child's pulse growing weaker by the minute, and she frowned. She could not use her demon power to help him because of his double pulse, and Lin Haoqing had told her to never reveal her spiritual power. She was the only one in the world who had both, so she must keep it a secret...

But...

Could she just watch the child die?

The child twitched a couple of times, his tiny body looking even more helpless in the arms of his mother. Aji did not hesitate again and poured spiritual power into him.

In a short while, the child's convulsions stopped, and his breathing gradually stabilized. Although the black and blue cast did not fade completely, he slowly opened his eyes.

"The eyes are open!" The mother broke into tears and looked at the child, stroking his face again and again. "It's okay, you are okay, mama is here, mama is here."

Aji took two steps back and smiled, feeling the mother's joy.

After nightfall, Aji followed the mother and her son to a small temple where they were temporarily sheltered.

The mother called herself Liang Li, and the child was called Liang Xiaoan. They had escaped from their hometown. "Xiaoan's father is gone..." Liang Li looked at the sleeping child and spoke while wiping away tears. "When Xiaoan was born, the doctor said he had a double pulse. His father and I took him and fled overnight to keep him from being forced into the four quarters…"

The campfire illuminated her, showing a face full of fatigue. Aji looked at her and spaced out. Her mind flashed a series of images -- a couple fleeing in haste with their child...

"Xiaoan's father was caught by the imperial soldiers in the early years and killed. I took Xiaoan and hid in the mountains, hoping everyday that the Grand Master would die and the court would fall, so we could come out of our hiding. Finally the northern border rebelled, but unexpectedly, the princess in the capital poisoned the rivers. I told him not to drink the water in the stream. We collected dew every morning and saved water when it rained, but it wasn't enough. He was too thirsty and drank from the stream while I wasn't watching..."

Liang Li wiped away some more tears. "I would rather he drink my blood than this poison..."

Aji listened and felt truly disgusted by the princess. "How could that princess be this cruel and heartless?"

Liang Li shook her head. "Whatever the princess wants to do, we can only accept it as our own misfortune. I want to take the child to the north. It's full of snow and ice over there, at least he will get some clean water."

Aji nodded and said, "Sister Liang, don't be sad. Tomorrow morning I will help you collect the dew."

Liang Li looked at her and said with gratitude, "Thank you so much for today..."

"No, sister Liang, promise me that you will leave tomorrow and forget about me. Don't ever remember this."

Liang Li nodded. "I know, everyone has their own difficulties. You saved my child, I definitely do not want to cause you any trouble. But if you are also hiding from something, why don't you go north with us?"

Aji waved her hand, "No thanks, I have other things to do."

On the next day, Aji went up the stream after parting ways with the mother and son. She had promised Lin Haoqing she would not go to the north or the capital, plus the princess and the Lord of the North were probably too high and mighty for her to touch, so she might as well do something within her power.

For example, find the source of this stream and figure out a way to cleanse it of the poison.

...

Aji followed the stream for two days. It twisted and turned westward, taking her deep into the mountains. She settled down for the night, and planned to keep searching for the water source in the morning.

But shortly after she fell asleep on a tree, shouts came from behind the mountain. She sat up and saw many people holding torches in the distance, searching through the forest.

Aji rolled over and jumped down from the tree. As soon as she landed, a cry of alarm came from the ground next to her. It was a young man dressed in white who had fallen to the ground.

She blinked and looked at him. Before she could say anything, the man suddenly jumped up and covered her mouth. "Shhh!" he whispered in panic. "Don't talk!"

Aji was not frightened and kept looking at him. From the hand holding her mouth, she could detect that he had a double pulse. A demon master dressed in white… and the material of his white clothing was so high quality...

Aji thought back to the books she had read from Lin Haoqing.

The young man saw Aji had no intention of yelling, so he released his hand and said, "Do not be afraid, I will not hurt you."

"Are you a disciple of the Grand Master's house?" Aji asked and he immediately grew cautious. He backed into a tree and stared at her nervously.

"Who are you...? Are you here to get me?"

Aji did not answer him. She smelled a hint of blood and turned her gaze. The man's sleeve was torn and a long gash was bleeding on his arm.

"I'm not here to get you. But why do those men want you? Did you put the poison at the source of this stream?"

The young man shook his head repeatedly. "Not me! I... well... maybe kind of…" He sat down against the tree as if he could no longer support his weight. "Me and my brother, we were ordered to come. We were on our way here and I saw a child poisoned... He was covered in black and blue... I... I did not want to carry out the order, but my brother... my senior brother still put the frost into the stream. And then the people from the north came... Senior brother was killed by them and I escaped..."

He spoke somewhat incoherently, still frightened from his experience.

He scratched his head and continued, "I don't know what to do... Why did this have to happen..." He broke down emotionally. "I don't want to harm anyone, and I don't want to die either..."

This young man was only sixteen or seventeen years old. Aji looked at him, examined him, and then believed him. She made up her mind and said, "Go. I will help muddle those people from the north for you."

He looked up at her, his tired eyes full of disbelief. "I... I am a disciple of the Grand Master's house... everyone wants us dead... You, you want to help me?"

"Just stop talking and go. They're coming soon."

The young man struggled to his feet. "I... my name is Ji Ning, my master is Ji Chengyu of the Grand Master's house..."

Ji Chengyu...

That name felt inexplicably familiar.

The young man did not notice the change in her expression. "What is your name? Next time..."

"Still want to have a next time?"

A cold laugh came from behind her, and Ji Ning's face immediately grew pale.

Aji turned around and saw a strong, burly man with a giant axe. He stared at them and scoffed, "Dog of the Grand Master, don't even think about getting away!"

Ji Ning's feet went weak and he fell to the ground again. But Aji walked over and stood in front of him, shielding him from the big man.

"He was forced to do this, how can you kill him for it?"

"Humph, where did this brat come from? Do not interfere!" He stomped his feet and charged right at her with his giant axe. Every step he took trembled the earth beneath them, and his axe chopped down ruthlessly.

Aji raised a hand and her palm met with the man's wrist. A burst of energy radiated out from the contact and shook the trees nearby.

Aji grabbed his wrist and exerted some force, the man's expression went from surprise to pain.

She gave a gentle push and he backed up a few steps with his arm drooping down, his axe falling to the ground.

He looked at her in disbelief. Ji Ning was also shocked.

Aji was the only one who still had a calm face. "I told you he was forced. Before killing someone, can you be reasonable?"

Proofreader: Gem