Chapter Ninety: The Sovereign

The royal city.

In Lingwu Garden, Xian Buyue, roused by a sudden whim, took up a vermilion brush, dipped it lavishly in ink, rolled back his sleeves, and began to write at a leisurely pace.

Ever since Xian Geyue had returned safe and sound, the heaviness that had lodged in his heart for days had vanished without a trace.

The Bai Li family’s arrogance had not come overnight; yet because of Si You, even as a king he sometimes had to bow and breathe under another’s shadow.

He had not, however, expected Bai Li Liu Nian to show such utter disdain, to disregard all bonds of sovereign and subject, and to strike his youngest son so cruelly—indeed, to seek to eliminate him altogether.

But inside the royal city, the great majority of the people were ordinary immortals. Once the Bai Li family was angered, he feared the Bai Li clan behind them would retaliate.

Thus, though he knew his son had been injured, as a father he could not afford to flare up. Instead, when Bai Li Liu Nian stormed into the Hall of Treasure and Virtue to demand an accounting, he had to force a smile, apologize again and again, and soothe them with every possible word.

Only then did he send the menacing Bai Li family away. Yet though the people had gone, the anger remained.

As long as his son did not return, he would remain in torment.

Only yesterday, upon seeing that his son was unharmed, did the heart that had hung in suspense day and night finally settle at last.

At the very least, from Bai Li Liu Nian’s words he could tell that the injury had been severe. Now that the boy was all right, it could only mean someone had intervened to save him.

And since the wound had been suffered in Willow Leaf Valley, there was no need to think further about who had acted.

If he could seize the chance of this dangerous test and forge a connection with Windless Clearing, then however grave the injury this time, it had been worth it.

If he could draw that person into the game, then there would be no need to fear the Bai Li family...

He was still writing when a guard hurried in from outside and bowed. “My king, the headmaster of Autumn Water has sent a letter.”

“What letter? Read it to me.” His mood was excellent, and the characters under his brush seemed to leap with brilliance.

He dipped the brush again, lightly scraped the edge of the inkstone, and was about to continue writing.

Seeing that he did not lift his head, the guard had no choice but to obey and opened the letter, reading it aloud line by line.

Suddenly, the vermilion brush in Xian Buyue’s hand snapped with a sharp crack into two pieces, the brush tip spilling a great blot of ink across the white paper.

What he had written was this:

A single stroke through spring and autumn, how many rises and falls it tells.
Ten thoughts through winter and summer, yet it cannot sketch ten thousand li of mountains and rivers.

“My king?” The guard looked on in terror, deeply afraid he might lose his life over this.

Xian Buyue came back to himself, glanced at the broken brush, and said, “Go at once and summon the Minister of Literature.”

“Yes.”

The guard had barely answered when Mo Zhen Wuyi’s voice sounded at the doorway. “There is no need. Your servant has come uninvited. I beg Your Majesty’s pardon for this intrusion.”

“My trusted minister?” Xian Buyue’s face brightened. To the guard he said, “You may go.”

“As commanded.” The guard bowed to Mo Zhen Wuyi and withdrew as the two passed one another.

Mo Zhen Wuyi stepped over the threshold and said, “Your servant has received word that Du Qian Shou of the Poison Sect has died. The Nine-Refinement Flying Locust in his possession ran wild out of control, killing several hundred fellow immortals who were traveling with him.

“And now the fellow disciples of the victims have gone to the Poison Sect to demand an explanation. For some reason, Hu Xihe of the Poison Sect has actually persuaded many immortals to journey with them to the Hundred Wonders Peak of the Demon Realm.

“They are likely already in the Demon Realm by now.

“If so, the long-maintained peace between the two realms may well be broken.”

“What did you say?”

“My lord?”

Seeing Xian Buyue sway, Mo Zhen Wuyi ignored all notions of overstepping and hurried forward to support him.

Lowering his eyes, he saw the letter placed on the desk by the guard, and his heart lurched like mountains collapsing and seas surging. He had never imagined that these two matters would erupt together at such a moment.

The seal...

The Demon Realm...

“I am fine. The letter’s contents—you have seen them as well. Better tell me: do you have a course of action?” Xian Buyue said softly, waving his hand to show Mo Zhen Wuyi not to worry.

Then he braced himself on the desk and slowly sat down. His eyes fell on the words he had written on the paper, and it felt as though his heart had taken a hard blow.

“Cough... cough, cough...”

“I will go and summon the imperial physician.”

“No need.” Xian Buyue caught Mo Zhen Wuyi’s arm and said, “A little blood. It won’t kill me.

“Let us speak of serious matters instead...”

As he spoke, he covered his mouth with a handkerchief and coughed a few more times, seeming to age by many years in that instant.

Mo Zhen Wuyi’s gaze darkened. “Both matters are urgent and lethal.

“Yet there is priority and sequence. As for the matter of Eight Winds Island, I believe it can be temporarily suppressed and delayed.”

“Why?”

“The Sevenfold Kalpa Seal on Eight Winds Island is damaged only at one corner of the Demon Realm; the other six layers remain intact.

“If the fiends wish to break out, they cannot do so in a short time.

“If I judge correctly, the Spring and Autumn, Ink-and-Brush, and the other sects should already be sending letters to the Demon Realm. Once the Demon Realm has properly reinforced the seal, we can free our hands to root out the fiends hiding in the Sea of Desire Heaven.

“Moreover, to unseal the Sevenfold Kalpa Seal, special methods are required.

“Only the heads of the various sects or the realm lords know such methods. To take one step back, even if the Demon Realm’s seal were breached, it would be only one layer. As for the remaining six, the most important Buddhist sect was annihilated in the war back then.

“Once the fiends emerge, they will certainly try to gather the people of every sect. But with the Buddhist sect gone, even if they truly reach the end of the road, they cannot completely break Eight Winds Island’s seal.

“What we must do is hold steady. We cannot lose our footing in confusion.”

After Mo Zhen Wuyi finished, the chaos in Xian Buyue’s heart finally recovered some of its former calm.

“Your words are reasonable. It was I who lost composure.”

“Your Majesty’s concern for the people is their blessing, and also the blessing of Sea of Desire Heaven.

“However, war with the Demon Realm may be unavoidable.”

Xian Buyue was silent for a long while, then said, “Tell me everything—how this matter began, and how it has come to this.”

War? Truly, before the outer enemy had even arrived, they were already in disorder within.

“Yes...”

At the same time, both the Bai Li family and the Gu family received the news at the earliest possible moment.

Bai Li Liu Nian gathered the Joyful Men, and father and son debated until nightfall in White-Apple Furious Waves.

Gu Wanfeng was also in the garden, teasing the sparrows for quite some time, until Ding Miao finished reporting and withdrew.

And elsewhere, in the Demon Realm—

After the realm lord received the joint letter from Bu Feng and Xing Yanzong, he read it and burned it at once.

Separated by a screen, no one could ever make out his true appearance.

The demon soldiers did not dare intrude into the Hall of Great Mercy. They could only wait respectfully at the door for a reply. Yet with no answer forthcoming, they began, from time to time, to steal glances inward.

Just then, Zhao Hongzhuang sent Qingfu to the Hall of Great Mercy to inquire after the realm lord.

“I am Qingfu, this humble servant,” she said, kneeling in reverence. Then she bowed according to ritual.

“What is it?”

“Hu Xihe of the Poison Sect has led a crowd to attack Hundred Wonders Peak. The demon prince has sent me to ask the realm lord: this time, shall we fight or not?”

“How many have come?”

“I do not know whether more people will follow later. At present, the number estimated is around five thousand.”

“A mere little poison spawn, and he can gather a thousand men. That counts as his skill. Tell your mistress this: whoever offends our Demon Realm shall be killed.”

“This servant obeys.”

After Qingfu left, the doors of the Hall of Great Mercy closed once more.

Within the vast and empty hall, six pillars were coiled with fierce demons, green-faced and fanged. On the throne, a terrifying demonic authority seeped forth.

And upon the floor lay scattered ashes...

Back at the waterside pavilion, Qingfu relayed the realm lord’s words one by one. A faint curve touched Zhao Hongzhuang’s lips. “Go to the Blossom Terrace and make the trip. Tell them the realm lord has spoken: the Demon Realm keeps no traitors.

“They will know what to do.”

Qingfu understood full well the stakes and implications, and could not help worrying over this decision. “But if we send the two of them, won’t that be the same as adding fuel to Hu Xihe and the others’ fury? It will do us no good.”

Zhao Hongzhuang stepped down from the couch, hooked a finger beneath Qingfu’s chin, and gently rubbed with her thumb, sending a fine, tantalizing itch through her. “Relax. I know better than you what the realm lord wants.

“Go boldly and do it. If anything comes up, this lord will bear it.”

“Yes.”

Seeing Zhao Hongzhuang say this, Qingfu said no more. Leaving the waterside pavilion, she went straight to the Blossom Terrace and stated her purpose.

Hua Zhongying merely nodded, but Yu Suer was delighted. She had long wanted to compare herself with the others, yet no one had ever truly held her in esteem.

A little demon of no consequence—how could she be fit to keep company with them, unless she had caught the demon prince’s eye?

Yu Suer knew this very well herself. Especially after the uproar over the hunting game for sinners, she had been recalled to the Demon Realm because her cultivation was insufficient, and she had taken more than her share of hostile looks.

Now that the demon prince had issued orders, and it was a matter of proving her resolve, how could she not want to show her ability?

Besides, lately she had been adding no small amount of medicinal enhancement to the demons within the Ten Thousand Beasts Fragrant Pendant. This was the perfect chance to test the effect on Hu Xihe and the rest.

After Qingfu gave a few more reminders, Hua Zhongying and Yu Suer instantly transformed into streaks of light and descended to the foot of the mountain.

Seeing Hu Xihe again, it was only natural that enemies would glare bloodily upon one another.

Hu Xihe’s powers of speech were not weak; in a few moves and turns he had become the pillar around which the others gathered. Now that he suddenly saw the two demons appear together, the restless heat in his heart grew even more fevered.

As though the two before him were already dead objects, waiting only for him to take them.

What sort of person was Yu Suer? To be greeted so rudely, how could she possibly endure it? She shook out her trailing silk and said, “Oh? Your eyes are bulging so wide—are you trying to wed into the Demon Realm?

“Why not, then? I can be a little wronged and take you in as a male attendant, if you like?”

Having said that, she did not forget to cast him a sidelong glance.

The look sent a shock of tingling heat through many of the people standing near Hu Xihe, leaving them dry-mouthed and weak-limbed.

All of them muttered, enchantress...

Hu Xihe laughed coldly. “That is easy to say. I only fear your body is too frail to bear it.”

His gaze raked shamelessly over Yu Suer from head to toe. Since the men present all knew what such a look implied, the moment of sensual tension vanished without a trace, leaving only thunderous laughter.

In matters like this, women are usually the ones to suffer. But when Yu Suer was involved, things became different. Not only did she show no sign of humiliation or grievance, she grew even more brazen.

Her eyes became all the more bewitching; with one hand twirling her trailing silk and half-hiding her face like a pipa behind a veil, she cooed in a coaxing, tangled voice, “How would you know without trying? I...”

She paused, then fixed him with a look and laughed softly, “I’m only afraid that part of you won’t measure up.”

Even Hu Xihe, thick-skinned as he was, was instantly stripped of all dignity when mocked by a female demon. In fury and embarrassment, he snapped, “Enough nonsense. Either come out and die, or hand the people over.”

Hua Zhongying’s expression turned cold. “You have been hunting us down in the past and let that pass; now you stir up war for no reason, yet still demand that we surrender people. What reason is this?

“Do you take the Demon Realm for empty of people?”

“Hmph, spare me your sophistry. Hand over the killer who murdered my senior brother and the others, or today I will ensure that none of you return alive.”

Yu Suer’s eyes widened, and she jabbed a finger at him angrily with both hands on her hips. “A joke. Never mind that we don’t have anyone in our hands—why should we hand them over if we did?

“Besides, don’t you know how your senior brother died?”

At this, everyone immediately turned to look at Hu Xihe and asked, “Hu Xihe, what is the meaning of this? Why is it different from what you said?”

Hu Xihe shot Yu Suer a venomous glance, then concealed the malice in his face and said, “Fellow friends, can you still not see?

“This is the demon woman sowing discord among us. We must not fall for it. Do not forget—the murderer who killed your sect members and brothers is hiding behind them.

“As long as we capture them, why should we fear that the Demon Realm will not hand over the person?”

At this point, even Hua Zhongying could not help applauding Hu Xihe. With a smile that was not quite a smile, she said, “What fine eloquence. One would think your poison-spreading skill was excellent, Hu Xihe, but who would have thought your silver tongue was even more remarkable.

“Had you been born a man in this life, it would have been a waste of your talent.”

Her gaze skimmed across the crowd, now tense and ready to strike. “Do you dare tell them the true face you have been chasing and killing all this time?”

Hu Xihe laughed loudly. “What is there to fear? You are nothing but two sinners from the demon realm. Under the warrant for your arrest and execution, why should I, Hu, not be able to kill you?”

The moment the word sinner was spoken, there was an immediate uproar.

Voices overlapped, noisy and chaotic.

Who would have thought Hua Zhongying would suddenly turn her eyes and, with a flash of brilliance in them, say, “Before, this palace repeatedly yielded because of the old bond formed in the sealing of Eight Winds Island back then, and did not wish to quarrel with you.

“But since you have come today to bully us at our mountain gate, then do not blame this palace for ignoring old ties.”

“Speak clearly.”