V2C110

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Zhu Yan slumped on the back of the mythical beast and wailed her way back from Meng Hua Peak.

Without the Jade Bone, her long hair flowed freely, fluttering in the wind like a silky veil. The journey took her through the entire Yunhuang, with white clouds gathering around and a magnificent view beneath her feet, but she had no desire to admire it, she merely stared at it with an empty heart, wanting to cry but unable to do so – this farewell, she wondered when she would be able to ever meet him again.

The Master has taken off his divine robes and was no longer bound by the monastic code. He said that he wanted to go on a journey to the four corners of the world in order to live out the rest of his days, so where would that take him? The Seven Seas? The Mountain of Emptiness? The Sunset Hills? Or the more distant Middle Kingdom and Western Celestial Empire?

She had no idea… she only realized that she was scared she would never see him again.

After crossing the Mirror Lake, a place difficult to pass through for flying birds, a bustling city appeared beneath her feet. After flying for several consecutive days, the mythical beast finally landed in the old city of Yecheng and brought her soul and body back home safely.

Zhu Yan jumped down impatiently, calling out for her mother, and threw herself into her arms whilst she was still combing her hair by the window. At the sound of his wife’s loud cries of surprise, the Red King rushed out from the inner room, but at the sight of his daughter, he froze in his tracks.

After the long separation, Zhu Yan’s eyes reddened and she could no longer resist hugging her parents and bursting into bitter tears.

When she ran away in the middle of the night to seek help for Sumo’s illness, she didn’t expect the world to turn upside down as she travelled alone across half of Yunhuang. Now, in just a few months, so many shocking changes have already taken place, and seeing her parents’ faces again almost felt like a lifetime ago.

In the meantime, she experienced a lot of grievances and hardships, and was barely able to hold herself together, but when she returned to her parents’ embrace, she immediately burst into tears and cried like a child who has returned home after being lost.

The Red King was about to scold his daughter for running away from home, however he was instead shocked by the way she cried in pain. The Consort Mother was even more distressed and couldn’t help but cry as she hugged her daughter.

At one point, the Red King’s family clung to each other and cried together, causing the attendants to retreat quietly in fear.

After crying for some time, Zhu Yan finally calmed down, wiped her tears, looked at the Red King’s Consort who was present in the Palace a little surprised, choked up a sob and asked, “Mother, how did you… you also arrived in Yecheng? Aren’t you, aren’t you supposed to be at the Royal Residence in the Celestial Wind City in the Western Wilderness?”

“Isn’t it because of you, young lady?” Hearing these words, the Red King finally found an opportunity to vent his anger, “After running away for over a month, who in the entire family can sit still? Your mother has brought all the best men from the royal family over from thousands of miles and turned the entire Yecheng upside down! You ungrateful…”

“Alright, alright,” Mother Consort hurriedly wiped her tears and restrained the Red King, whispering, “Stop scolding, as long as Ah-Yan is back in the house, everything will be fine… If you keep scolding her, I’m afraid she might run away again.”

The Red King stopped talking for a moment and poked his daughter’s forehead heavily with his finger.

“Aiya!” Zhu Yan couldn’t help but cry out in pain and hurriedly said, “Don’t worry, Father, Mother Consort, I’ll never wander off again! I’ll be good and obedient, and I’ll never let you worry about me again.”

“Is that true?” The Mother Consort, however, was somewhat not convinced, “You’ve said such words a hundred times before.”

“Really and truly!” She said in a rush, “I’ve been suffering a lot this time, and will definitely learn from it from now on!”

When she said these words, she was sincere: yes, she had been putting her family on pins and needles for a month, and as she saw her mother slim and swollen from crying, her heart was filled with guilt, so she was indeed determined to be a dignified and exemplary County Princess from now on, giving her parents peace of mind.

“Good. That’s a promise you made.” The Red King gave her a stern look, still full of suspicion, “Don’t you dare to back out later and say you’re quitting and running away or anything of that sort in the future.”

“Huh?” Zhu Yan was startled, “Could it be that… you are trying to make me do something again?”

“Aye.” The Red King was just about to say something, when the Mother Consort pulled his lapel, giving him a glance over and shook her head, “Don’t mention that yet. Ah-Yan has just returned… We’ll talk about that later.”

The Red King therefore wrapped up the conversation once again, giving his daughter a stern, angry glare.

“Ah-Yan, where have you been these past few weeks? On that day when the Restoration Army rebelled, what did you do outside in the middle of the night all by yourself?” Mother Consort pulled her into her arms, looking at her again and again, heartbroken, “Why are you so bruised and battered? Who bullied you?”

“There’s nothing, just forget it.” Zhu Yan was busy turning her head away, “It’s because I accidentally tripped and fell down by myself.”

She couldn’t tell her that she killed the first-born son of the Emperor, the Great Divine Priest, the other day, before being beaten up by the Ten Wizards on Meng Hua Peak in order to save him, could she? If Father and Mother found out, they would probably be terrified!

“You fell?” The Mother Consort was not convinced, “How could you possibly fall like that? Your arm…”

“Ah-Niang, I haven’t eaten well for days! I’m starving…” she hurriedly changed the subject and rubbed her stomach, putting on a pitiful look, “Is there anything good to eat in the kitchen?”

“Yes, yes, of course there is,” Mother Consort hastily exclaimed, “you’ve lost so much weight that your chin has become pointy, hurry up and have some food!”

She claimed to be hungry, but in fact, Zhu Yan had no appetite at all. When the parents were out of sight and she had been finally left to eat alone, she took only a few sips of soup before she was unable to consume any more, lowering her head and staring blankly at the soup spoon.

“So that’s how it is… you should have said it long ago.”

Her ears echoed with the words of her Master as she returned the Jade Bone to him, cold and resolute. At that moment, her heart twitched and she could no longer hold back a sob, large tears rolling down her cheeks and rustling into the bowl of soup. Grandma Sheng, who was carrying the dishes up, was startled: “Your Ladyship, what’s the matter with you?”

She shook her head, unwilling to explain, and only choked out, “It hurts… the wound.”

“Hey, my dear Princess, where in the world have you been all these days? We’ve been so anxious…” Grandma Sheng brought her another big bowl of soup and nagged, “The King’s Consort has brought people from all over the country to look for you, and I don’t know how many people in the Mansion have been beaten up because of this!”

“Uh,” she was taken aback, “they didn’t hit you, did they?”

“Not really.” Grandma Sheng placed the soup bowl in front of her and sighed, “I’m an old woman, the King’s father was still nurtured by me, and he couldn’t bring himself to beat me.”

“Thank heavens,” said Zhu Yan, with heartfelt concern, “or I would have made myself guilty of a great sin.”

“My precious little one, where the hell have you been all these days?” Grandma Sheng glanced at her, heartbroken and angry, “You came back with such a bruised face. There’s even a big bump on your head!”

“Ugh… I cannot tell,” she sighed, rubbing her forehead, swollen to the size of an egg, and said with a gloomy grimace, “Anyway, I’ve been suffering tremendously this time, and I’m even lucky to be back alive… I’ll be good and obedient from now on, and I’ll never try to run away again!”

“Really?” Grandma Sheng unexpectedly didn’t believe her either, “Will you be obedient?”

“I’ll become a puppy if I lie to you.” she hurriedly promised. Zhu Yan really did not have the appetite to eat, so she grabbed a handful of candies from the lacquered box next to her, and just after peeling one open, looking at the candy paper, she suddenly seemed to remember something and asked casually, “By the way, where is that little fellow? Why didn’t he come out to see me?”

“Who?” Grandma Sheng failed to recollect her mind for a moment.

“Sumo!” Zhu Yan clutched the candy and became a little concerned, “Where did that little guy go? I’ve been back for half a day, why haven’t I seen him come out yet? Is he throwing a tantrum again?”

“Sumo?” Grandma Sheng was also taken aback and asked rhetorically without thinking, “Wasn’t that little one taken away with the County Princess that night? Haven’t he returned with Her Ladyship today?”

“What?” Zhu Yan immediately turned pale when she realized that something was wrong, and exclaimed, “I clearly told Doctor Shen Tu to send him back to the Palace beforehand that night! Could it be that he didn’t send Sumo back?”

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