Chapter 83

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Chapter 83: Prison Break

Two guards with large swords patrolled the dungeon. They turned a corner and were heading for the death row section when some prisoners shouted from inside.

"Hey! Hey! The snake demon has run away! The snake demon has run away!"

The two guards looked at each other in shock. The snake demon was sentenced to death by the lord himself, if they were to lose him, the punishment would be severe.

They immediately ran in. The death row section consisted of two cells facing each other with one of them holding three people. The disciple of the Grand Master was still sleeping in the corner while the other two had faces full of anxiety. Lu Jinyan cursed, "These damned demons are so cunning!"

And the fox demon pointed to the opposite cell and shouted, "Quick! Go after him! That snake demon dug a hole in the ground and ran away!"

The guards rushed to the other cell -- indeed, no snake demon! They panicked. "Dug a hole in the ground?"

"Yes! That corner! There! Some light can still be seen!" Aji pointed to the corner and shouted anxiously. "We can't let that snake demon get away! Get him back! We are supposed to die together!"

One of the guards took out a key and opened the cell door to investigate.

The moment he opened the door, a snake tail rolled onto his neck from the ceiling and threw him into the wall, knocking him out cold. The snake demon's body then flashed over to the other guard like lightning and wrapped around his mouth and face. Snake jaws opened to a frightening size and hovered over the guard's head, as if to swallow him whole.

Pop! An ice cube struck the snake demon on his head followed by Aji's reproach, "You still want to eat people? Just disable him and come open our door."

Aji could not use magic power inside the black iron cell, so the ice cube did not cause any real damage. The snake demon turned around and looked at the three of them still locked behind bars. He gave Lu Jinyan a wicked smile, released the unconscious guard, and picked up the key.

They watched as the snake demon hung the key onto the cell door opposite of them.

Lu Jinyan's face turned green. "What the fuck are you doing?"

The snake demon raised his chin in gratification, twisted his tail and slithered out.

Lu Jinyan was furious. "You come back! Motherfucker! You son of a bitch! Come back!"

Compared to Lu Jinyan, Aji seemed very calm. "Go wake that disciple of the Grand Master's house. If he won't wake up, carry him."

"Carry my ass! That snake demon left by himself! Hanging the key over there! Can you get it? Can you get it? Motherfucker! I told you these demons can't be trusted! They're all fucking liars!"

His attitude did not upset Aji at all. She gently rubbed the ear distressed by his booming voice and said, "He will come back." She looked at him calmly. "Get Ji Ning up."

Lu Jinyan suddenly felt like his rage was childish and useless in front of Aji's composure.

He scratched his head, walked to the back as he was told, and patted Ji Ning on the face. "Kid? Kid! Running for our lives, get up!"

Ji Ning's tightly shut eyelids quivered, then a rustling came from outside the cell. It was the snake demon returning. By the sound of it, he was now in a much more agitated state than when he left.

Lu Jinyan pulled the limp Ji Ning to his feet and was impressed by Aji.

"Hey, you were right!" Lu Jinyan then laughed at the snake demon. "Run? Why aren't you running?"

Aji also crossed her arms and watched as the snake demon obediently grabbed the key and opened their door. "Quick! Hurry, so many people!"

The sound of rapid footsteps came from the corner of the dungeon as Lu Jinyan half carried Ji Ning out of the cell. The snake demon had attracted quite a crowd.

Lu Jinyan gritted his teeth in anger and glared at the snake demon. "You son of a bitch had to go first!"

"It would've been the same if you guys had gone first." The snake demon was stressed too. "This dungeon is full of jailers and guards. Just getting out of the cell is no use. We were too naive! Now that they know of our escape, we are probably not going to make it."

Lu Jinyan looked at Aji behind him. "What do we do? You have a lot of ideas, think of something!"

Aji then stepped out of the cell and eyed the snake demon. "I told you to cooperate with us. We help you open your door and you open ours. I never said you'd be able to get out on your own."

The snake demon snickered, "What? Do you think the three of you can fight your way out?"

Aji laughed. "Not the three of us. I alone can do it."

She summoned her demonic power and black gas filled the air. Lu Jinyan and the snake demon both looked at her in shock.

At this time, a guard charged forth and slashed against the black cloud with his large sword. But it was like slashing against solid steel. With a loud clang, the blade curled and broke.

The black cloud then waved and threw the guard backward, landing on others approaching from behind. They all fell down into a pile.

The black gaseous cloud around Aji then fluttered and gradually coalesced into three tails behind her.

The male disguise was her third face which gave her the power of three tails, but Aji knew it was enough to deal with these prison guards.

Lin Haoqing had told her before that she was very powerful, but Aji did not really know exactly how powerful. After she fought the burly man with an axe by the mountain stream, she knew she could take on ten such demons with her current body.

When she was trapped by the oryoki, it was because it had taken her by surprise. And afterwards, it was the sudden headache she felt when facing that monk that got the better of her. Else they would not have been able to capture her so easily...

"Let's go," Aji said.

But both the snake demon and Lu Jinyan just stood there and looked at her.

"Kid, you're this powerful?" Lu Jinyan said with a bit of shock.

The snake demon also blinked for a moment and said, "If you have this kind of power, why not fight your way to the main hall, kill the jiaoren and become the Lord of the North yourself?"

"Have you guys fought with him before?" They shook their heads, and Aji laughed. "Then how do you know I can beat him? I don't want to die. I'm not staying in the north, let's go our separate ways after we get out. I still have to go back to the south."

...

With Aji in front, they gloriously left the dungeon before backup could arrive.

All the way into the forest of the Northlands. Aji collected her tails and grabbed Ji Ning who still had a face full of confusion from waking up in the middle of their run. "We will part ways here, it'll be too eye catching if we remain together. You guys probably can't stay in the north anymore. If you have nowhere else to go, you can head south and wait for me at the little village by the Demon Valley. We can make plans there."

Lu Jinyan clasped his hands and bowed to her, "I will never forget your help today. You are different from other demons. I, Lu Jinyan, will remember you."

The snake demon flashed Lu Jinyan a dirty look and said to Aji, "Escaping from the dungeon only saves us from the execution in two days. There is not much to look forward to out there in the human world either. We can only hope to live day by day. Little brother fox demon, remember what you said in the dungeon, do not use your great power without due consideration. Take care, and farewell."

Aji nodded. "We have been named by the Lord of the North to be executed, so be careful. The roads south will be heavily patrolled in the coming days, maybe hide out for a while then leave."

The two of them thanked her once more then left. Aji turned to Ji Ning and said, "Come with me. You can find your own way after we get out of the north."

Ji Ning nodded stiffly, as if he still did not come around to what had happened.

They walked further north into the forest. She believed going up into the snowy mountains would be easier than trying to head south at the moment.

They slowly hiked through the trees and chit chatted along the way. Aji thought they would exit the forest soon, but a few hours later, there were still no signs of an end. The deeper they went, the colder it became.

The surrounding trees began to freeze, even the trunks.

Ji Ning started to have trouble handling the extreme temperature.

Aji gave him her outer robe and cast a small fox fire in her palm. But as the air grew colder and colder, the fire was no longer sufficient in keeping them warm. The temperature had dropped so low that even Ji Ning's eyelashes froze.

This part of the forest was oddly much colder than everywhere else, and it made Aji ponder. Maybe it was the doing of a powerful demon, or some kind of a magic formation… Either way it was probably not a good thing for them.

Aji was about to tell Ji Ning to turn around and go back when a clearing suddenly opened up in front of them. It was not an exit, but an icy flat surrounded by a circle of white trees that had been completely frozen solid

The flat was covered by ice spikes of different heights protruding from the ground, rough and uneven. No one in their right mind would dare to step onto them.

Ji Ning hid behind Aji and asked her nervously, "Let's go back? This place looks so bizarre..."

Aji nodded and was about to turn around, but for some reason, she stood on her toes and looked inside. "Wait," she said. "Wait here for a moment."

She drew a circle of fox fire around Ji Ning, enclosing him in it and warming him. Then she stepped into the ice spikes.

"Aji..." Ji Ning called out in a whisper, not daring to raise his voice.

She tiptoed one step at a time and carefully approached the center of the flat.

She soon noticed some black fabric embroidered with dark patterns vaguely visible underneath the thick icy formations. A step later, she saw some silver hair. As she moved forward some more…

Aji finally realized it was a person lying under the ice.

Who was this? Why was he lying here? Was he sealed? But she did not sense any magic aura...

It almost looked like this person had just fallen asleep here... and was then covered by ice and snow.

Was he still alive?

Aji bent down and used the fox fire to melt away some spikes. They turned into water then soon froze back into ice again. She did not intend on melting them completely, she just needed a foothold.

She sat on her knees and leaned over to examine the person. The ice between them fragmented his face and made it difficult to see him clearly, but just from the outlines, she could tell he was extremely beautiful...

And such long silver hair... was it a man or a woman...

"Aji..." Ji Ning watched her slump down and called with some concern. "Aji... what are you looking at, let's go... Aji?"

Aji sat up and said to Ji Ning, "Wait a minute..." As she spoke, the ice underneath her suddenly trembled. The vibration was not strong, but it was very apparent. She looked down and saw a pair of ice blue eyes open.

Aji froze.

When their eyes met, her world abruptly grew silent and still, and every beat of her heart whispered into her ear, "Changyi… Changyi... "

Those were the first words she thought of.

Like a sigh breathing out from the depth of her soul...

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