Chapter 87

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Chapter 87: Test

The three of them escaped from the inn without daring to look back. Aji and Ji Ning ended up staying at an abandoned temple in the northern part of the city.

The Northlands was now very different from when the jiaoren first came. It had developed into a widespread area of civilization with the Demon Terrace sitting in the middle like a royal palace.

The snake demon had been here the longest, so he naturally had a home to return to. Lu Jinyan also had plenty of demon master pals that were happy to accommodate him. Out of the four, Aji and Ji Ning were the only ones completely on their own.

They were afraid of going with the snake demon since it would make them easier for the jiaoren to find. They also could not go back with Lu Jinyan, since those demon masters were still very prejudiced against demons and disciples of the Grand Master's house. Their only option was the rundown temple.

Lu Jinyan brought them breakfast the next morning. Aji said while she ate, "We still have to go south as soon as possible. I don't understand this jiaoren." She analyzed, "If we don't leave now, we may never be able to."

Aji did not know how the jiaoren felt about her past self, but he was obviously very dominating. If he were to see even the slightest connection between her and the one he used to know, he would definitely not let her go.

Maybe even imprison her for life...

She had not yet seen enough of this world and did not want to be imprisoned in this bitter cold land forever, doing nothing but stare at his face.

Although that face was also quite beautiful. Or rather, the most beautiful she had ever seen.

"You have to go," Lu Jinyan agreed. "But I have to stay in the north. Even though the jiaoren's not what I expected, my friends are all here, so I can't leave."

"Well, okay, then this is goodbye. Ji Ning and I will leave right away." Aji then asked Ji Ning, "What are your plans after leaving the north?"

"Me?" Ji Ning thought for a bit then lowered his head and whispered, "I have to go back to the Grand Master's house, my master is still there..." His voice grew softer and softer as he spoke. He was afraid Aji would look down on him for this decision...

But Aji only nodded and responded casually, "Okay. On the way south, I'll take you to the post closest to the capital."

They finished their food and said goodbye to Lu Jinyan, then headed for the city gate.

Aji soon noticed they were being followed by two people in black. She turned around, and there they were. She turned around again two steps later, and there they were, also having taken two steps. They were tailing her openly and did not attempt to hide it in any way.

It made sense. This was the jiaoren's territory after all, he could do whatever he wanted. If he wanted to send two people to follow them, who would object?

Aji felt stressed, but she still hoped for the best and headed for the gate. As expected, as soon as they reached the gate, the two people stepped forward and blocked their way.

"You are not allowed to exit the Northlands right now."

Ji Ning was a little flustered. "But... but the jiaoren... No, I mean... your venerable lord said we could leave."

Aji interrupted, "He spared our lives, he never said we could leave."

The two guards said in unison, "Exactly."

Aji patted Ji Ning on the shoulder to calm him down, then looked at the two guards. "Okay, we will stay here." She calmly turned around. A cart loaded with hay passed by at that moment, and Aji swiped at it with a swift hand. A mass of hay instantly flew up into the air, blocking everyone's vision. Aji and Ji Ning disappeared amidst the confusion.

The two guards patted their bodies clean, then split ways chasing after them. One ran toward the inside of the city, while the other one ran out.

Except Aji did not go very far. She and Ji Ning were now hiding behind a stable next to the city gate. Before Ji Ning had an opportunity to react, she grabbed some mud on the ground and wiped it across his face.

"This is... Hey... my clothes!"

"Quiet!" Aji ripped the outer robe off of him then wrapped him up with a rag she found on the ground. "You pretend to be a beggar and I will pretend to be your sister. We will muddle our way out of the city."

"My sister?" Ji Ning was more than confused. "How..." He took one look at Aji and almost jumped in shock. "You... you're Aji? You're a woman?!"

Aji was now using the face from her first tail, a skinny, malnourished woman. Even her body shape had completely changed.

"You you you..."

"I am a fox demon, we can change faces. Haven't you heard?"

Ji Ning relaxed a little. "Have heard of it... Never seen it... "

"You've seen it now. Come on, get up." Aji pulled him to his feet and pushed him forward. Ji Ning asked, "So are you originally a man or a woman...?"

"Does it matter?" Aji looked back at him then turned around just in time to ram head first into someone's chest.

The fresh fragrance flowing into her nose made Aji wince immediately. She looked up and saw his silver hair and blue eyes. Him again...

How was he everywhere... Was he a jiaoren or a ghost haunting her?

Aji clenched her teeth and lowered her head, trying to pretend she did not see him and just kept walking.

But of course it would not be that easy. An ice spear formed out of the muddy snow on the ground and pointed straight at her. Aji pinched a spell in her hand and turned back into her male body.

She took a deep breath and turned around to face him.

"Your Highness," she looked into his eyes and said, "we were forcefully brought here to the north. We haven't committed any crimes, don't you think it's too unreasonable to keep us from leaving?"

Changyi surveyed her for a while then responded with an unrelated question, "How many faces do you have?"

Aji was startled, but she did not let it show. "Four," she said. "Four tails and four faces."

"Four?" Changyi's eyes narrowed. A chilling draft rose up along his side, and the ice spear floated up into the air.

Aji's body tensed and both her demonic power and her spiritual power woke up instinctively in self protection.

Ji Ning was now so frightened he could hardly stand on his feet.

The ice spear hovered in the air briefly then flew at Aji with astounding speed.

With a loud clang, the spear pierced through layers of black gas and stopped an inch away from Aji's throat.

Changyi looked behind her and saw she still had only four tails.

That strike was with the intent to kill and had happened fast enough to not give her any time to think. Unless she wanted to die, she would have defended in full power.

But only four tails...

Changyi waved his hand and the spear turned back into snow, falling to the ground once again.

Aji looked at Changyi with a pale face and unsteady breathing, as if she was scared stiff.

Changyi glanced at her then turned to leave.

"Wait," Aji panted and called out. "Now can we leave?"

"No," he rejected her without hesitation. "You can move around freely inside the city."

"Why not?" Aji pressed on. "You have to have a reason for detaining us, right?"

Changyi turned back slightly and said, "He is a disciple of the Grand Master's house, do I need a reason to detain him?"

Aji defended, "He is a disciple of the Grand Master's house, not me. You need a reason to detain me!"

Ji Ning panicked some more, "Wait a minute..."

But no one paid him any attention. Changyi said, "You were seen collaborating with a disciple of the Grand Master's house. Detaining you is only natural." Then he walked away as if he did not care to keep arguing with her. As soon as he left, several more guards gathered around the stable. They did not arrest her or scold her, they just watched her.

Aji looked at Changyi's fading back, then looked at the guards in front of her. She cursed under her breath then headed back to the inn with Ji Ning, under their watchful eyes.

Back inside the inn, Ji Ning commented, "In order to force out how many tails you have, he almost killed you... This jiaoren is more vicious than the Grand Master."

Aji did not respond.

The jiaoren's attack had convinced everyone that he wanted to kill her, including herself. Logically speaking, if she was the person he was trying to find, then she would be able to block that blow. And if she was not the right person, then it would not matter if she died.

So life and death had really been just a fine line at the time. She took a gamble and won.

"Doesn't matter anymore," Aji said. "Let's think about how we can get out."

...

Above the frozen lake under the moon, a silver haired man stood in silence. A few moments later, he leaned down and placed his hand on the ice. A blue glow emitted from his palm and illuminated far beneath the surface.

He did not move, but his gaze pierced through the water and landed on a figure at the bottom of the lake.

A woman sealed in ice. Her brows and lashes perfectly preserved, as if she could wake any minute.

Like being stabbed in the heart, Changyi abruptly dispersed the magic from his hand.

This was the first time he came to see Ji Yunhe since sealing her in ice. He closed his eyes and remained on his knee, as quiet as the mountains that surrounded him.

After a layer of snow had gathered on his shoulders, he finally whispered, "Not you..."

It was unclear how much time had passed. Changyi stayed motionless like a stone statue, allowing the snow to slowly drift onto him and bury him. Then the sound of footsteps approached from a distance.

"Kongming."

"I went to the hall and didn't see you there, so I figured you would be here. And here you are."

Changyi finally stood up and the snow fell from his body. "I thought it's going to be some time before you return from the south."

"We've already treated the kids along the way affected by the frost poison, though none of them could completely recover." Kongming shook his head and sighed. "Shunde really stirred up some public rage this time. More and more people are defecting to the north. It's shaking up the foundation of the country, likely the kingdom of Dacheng will soon fall. I thought the north was probably getting busier, so I came back."

Changyi nodded and walked with him across the icy lake.

Kongming said, "On the way back, I heard some interesting news."

"What news?"

"Qing Ji, who left the north a while ago, actually went south to the Demon Valley."

"Demon Valley? Why?"

"Who knows," Kongming said. "Most of the demon masters have joined the north, the rest are just roaming around. The Grand Master's house is short on manpower and cannot keep the situation under control. The Demon Valley is now just an empty framework. Qing Ji, as a demon, moved in under the public eye and settled there, heh..." Kongming laughed. "Maybe she wants to study the formation that trapped her for so many years."

Changyi pondered for a moment. "What about the Grand Master? We lured him away from the capital with Qing Ji, so it's obvious he attaches great importance to her. Now with the news of Qing Ji residing inside the Demon Valley, why isn't he going after her?"

"Shunde's face isn't fully recovered yet, he's not going anywhere."

"His preferences are really odd."

"Who's isn't?" Kongming glanced at Changyi. "I heard that even with the shortage of manpower here, you still assigned some people to keep an eye on the fox demon I sent back?"

Changyi fell silent and did not say anything.

"Because he bears a slight resemblance to Ji Yunhe?"

Changyi looked at Kongming. "You also think so?"

"There aren't a lot of black fox demons around. Although I only saw him briefly, his gaze and demeanor really did remind me of her. Only that brainless Luo Jinsang wouldn't notice. But you do not need to think too much. I took his pulse, he only has demon power, no double pulse. Just an ordinary fox demon."

"He knows the art of transformation."

"The magic of changing one's appearance cannot disguise their internal flow of energy. Changyi, didn't you come here to confirm if she's still at the bottom of the lake?"

Changyi took a deep breath and gazed into the distant mountains.

"Yes, she is dead."

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