Chapter 118: A Change of Plans
The Second Princess now resided in a separate residence. Bai Jingxue and Lü Qingyan, having escaped the chaos at the market, were heading towards her residence when they saw a group of soldiers posting notices.
Bai Jingxue, using her small size to her advantage, squeezed through the crowd, her gaze fixed on the notice board. It was a wanted poster, with portraits of her and Lü Qingyan.
News traveled fast. But it seemed the evil god hadn’t considered the possibility of them transforming back into their animal forms. This was convenient.
Bai Jingxue slipped away from the crowd, her worry about Luo Nianshang intensifying. She quickened her pace, Lü Qingyan trotting beside her. They soon arrived at the Second Princess’s residence.
The high walls were no obstacle for Bai Jingxue. She was about to grab Lü Qingyan by the scruff of her neck and jump over the wall when she realized the dog wasn’t behind her.
She panicked, then she spotted Lü Qingyan a short distance away, her gaze fixed on something near the base of the wall, her tail wagging excitedly. “Jingxue,” she said, “there’s a hole we can use!”
It was clearly a dog door, dug specifically for such purposes.
Lü Qingyan, seeing Bai Jingxue’s hesitation, quickly ducked through the hole, then poked her head back out, grinning. “Come on, Jingxue,” she said. “I checked. It’s big enough.”
Bai Jingxue, closing her eyes briefly, as if summoning patience, then ignoring Lü Qingyan’s suggestion, simply leaped onto the wall, then jumped down, landing gracefully inside the residence.
Lü Qingyan, the moment Bai Jingxue landed, rushed over, her usual cheerfulness returning, showering Bai Jingxue with praise. “You’re so amazing, Jingxue!” she exclaimed. “I’m struggling without my teleportation.”
Bai Jingxue sighed, then held up a paw, placing a finger against her lips. “Shh,” she said. “Don’t speak.”
“Who’s there?”
A woman’s voice, sharp and startled, made them quickly hide behind a small building.
A servant girl approached, her gaze scanning the area, then, seeing nothing, she muttered, “I must be tired. I stayed up too late last night.”
She yawned, stretching languidly. “I should ask Cui Er to switch shifts with me,” she said.
Then, her voice taking on a complaining tone, she continued, “I don’t understand what’s happening lately. The Second Princess dismissed all her personal maids, sending us to work elsewhere. I used to have such an easy life.”
“It’s all because of that vixen,” she muttered. “The Second Princess is obsessed with her. She’s even defying the divine decrees now.”
Bai Jingxue, who had been planning to sneak away, paused, her ears perking up.
The servant girl’s words were vague, but they provided some valuable information.
It seemed the Second Princess was infatuated with a woman and was even defying the divine decrees for her.
The recent divine decrees had been targeting them, ordering their capture. Perhaps this “vixen” was Luo Nianshang.
Bai Jingxue’s expression turned thoughtful. The words “vixen” and “Luo Nianshang” didn’t seem to fit together. She was skeptical.
And the Second Princess was likely the Demon Lord. Even if the Demon Lord and Luo Nianshang had reconciled, they weren’t that close, were they?
They were just ordinary mortals in Cang Xi, and the Demon Lord hadn’t trained her physical body. She was weaker than Luo Nianshang.
It seemed unlikely that the Demon Lord would defy an entire kingdom for someone from the opposing side.
Bai Jingxue shook her head, dismissing the thought, then she turned to Lü Qingyan, about to speak, but she stopped herself.
“Meow.”
She meowed, testing their mental connection.
Lü Qingyan blinked, then barked, a playful grin on her face.
Jingxue, let’s go.
Their connection was still intact. Bai Jingxue was relieved. She patted Lü Qingyan’s head with her paw. “Let’s go,” she said.
Lü Qingyan led the way, her nose twitching, her keen sense of smell guiding them.
They found Luo Nianshang’s room, but it was surrounded by guards, their weapons drawn. A group of archers stood at a distance, their arrows aimed at the room.
Bai Jingxue and Lü Qingyan exchanged a look, their confusion evident.
The arrow tips gleamed with a sinister green light. They were clearly poisoned.
Bai Jingxue frowned, her voice echoing in Lü Qingyan’s mind. Are you sure Luo Nianshang is in there?
Lü Qingyan sniffed the air, then nodded. Yes, she said. I can smell both Luo Nianshang and the Demon Lord. And there are two other unfamiliar scents.
So her previous theory had been correct. Bai Jingxue was stunned.
This world was full of surprises.
She took a deep breath, then focused on the task at hand. They had to get inside.
She tossed a small stone from her hiding spot. It landed with a soft thud, and several arrows instantly flew towards it.
A bird swooped down, about to land on the roof, but it was instantly shredded by the rain of arrows.
Bai Jingxue withdrew her paw. She wasn’t afraid of the arrows, but she had her own reasons for avoiding a confrontation.
These people had been manipulated. They were, in a way, innocent victims. And she didn’t want to kill anyone unnecessarily.
She had no idea what was happening inside.
Inside the room, the atmosphere was tense. The Demon Lord didn’t understand how Luo Nianshang had been exposed. She had simply taken a bath. Now, Bai Zhao and the First Princess had arrived, their guards surrounding the residence.
Bai Zhao still cared for her daughter. She had offered a simple solution: hand over Luo Nianshang.
Luo Nianshang was, officially, just a commoner the Second Princess had kidnapped from the street. And it had only been a few days. There couldn’t be any real attachment.
That was what Bai Zhao had thought. She had never believed in gods, but the recent events, the divine decrees, had changed her perspective.
She still cared for her daughter. That was why she had chosen to negotiate.
She stared at her daughter, who was calmly sipping her tea, her demeanor unfazed, as if she wasn’t surrounded by armed guards.
She couldn’t understand her daughter anymore.
She suppressed her usual disdain, her voice gentle. “Cheng’er,” she said, “this is the will of the gods. You cannot defy it. You barely know this woman. Hand her over, and you can continue living as the Second Princess.”
The Demon Lord set down her teacup, scoffing. “This tea is terrible,” she said.
Her words were ignored, and Bai Zhao, her patience exhausted, having spent so long trying to reason with her daughter, only to be met with deflection and sarcasm, slammed her hand against the table, making the teacups jump.
“How dare you!” she roared. “Are you even listening to me?!”
The First Princess, delighted by her mother’s outburst, her voice seemingly filled with concern, but her words fanning the flames of Bai Zhao’s anger, said, “Mother, please calm yourself. Little Sister is simply blinded by affection. She means no harm.”
The words “blinded by affection” struck a nerve. Bai Zhao had almost lost her throne because of those words.
Her breath hitched, and she stood up, her voice cold and hard. “I’ll give you one last chance,” she said. “Choose. This unknown demon, or your life as the Second Princess.”
The Demon Lord looked up at her, then, annoyed by being looked down upon, she stood up, her gaze meeting Bai Zhao’s without fear.
She no longer bothered to hide her disdain. “My life as the Second Princess?” she scoffed. “If I truly desired something, it would be your throne.”
She looked Bai Zhao up and down, then chuckled. “Perhaps you should let me sit on it for a while.”
Bai Zhao, enraged, flipped the table, her voice a low growl. “You’re courting death.”
The Demon Lord wanted to laugh. Watching this insignificant mortal threaten her was amusing.
Her cultivation might be suppressed, but she still had many methods at her disposal, her specialty the use of poisons.
Her mind raced, devising various ways to eliminate these two annoying women. A single gesture, and they would be writhing on the floor, their bodies consumed by toxins.
The First Princess, her initial shock fading, her own anxieties resurfacing, remembering her concerns about the succession, about her mother’s blatant favoritism towards her younger sister, realized that perhaps she didn’t have to worry anymore.
But she had to maintain her image as a kind and gentle soul. “Mother, please calm yourself,” she said, her voice soft. “Little Sister didn’t mean it. That demon must have bewitched her.”
The Demon Lord glared at her, her voice cold. “I make my own decisions,” she said. “And you have no proof that she’s a demon.”
Bai Zhao, seeing her usually obedient daughter’s defiance, her heart hardening, had made her decision. She no longer cared. She wouldn’t bother explaining herself.
She scoffed. “Then die with your demon,” she said.
The Demon Lord was about to unleash her poison when Luo Nianshang grabbed her hand, stopping her.
Bai Zhao, grabbing the Demon Lord’s arm, dragged her out of the room, then the guards quickly locked the door.
Bai Jingxue, watching from outside, saw the two women emerge.
Lü Qingyan’s voice, filled with anxiety, reached Bai Jingxue’s ears. Luo Nianshang and the Demon Lord are alone now.
Bai Zhao retreated, surrounded by her guards, her expression cold and ruthless. “Fire!”
Bai Jingxue’s eyes narrowed, her body tensing, and she kicked the nearest archer, sending him flying. His scream drew the other archers’ attention.
In that brief moment of distraction, she had taken down half of them.
“Protect the Emperor and the First Princess!” someone shouted.
Bai Jingxue’s eyes lit up, and she charged towards the two women, her movements swift and decisive.
Bai Zhao, staring at the black cat’s green eyes, her heart pounding, saw a human intelligence, a cunning she hadn’t expected.
Meanwhile, in the locked room, Luo Nianshang and the Demon Lord waited, but the expected attack didn’t come.
The Demon Lord, hearing the commotion outside, her brow furrowed with confusion, then she noticed that Luo Nianshang was still holding her hand, and she tried to pull it away.
But Luo Nianshang’s grip was firm. She turned to Luo Nianshang, about to unleash her anger, then she froze, her eyes widening.
Luo Nianshang, sensing her gaze, released her hand, her cheeks flushing slightly. “I’m not used to this form,” she said, her voice apologetic. “I’m still learning.”
The Demon Lord stared at Luo Nianshang’s extra pair of hands, speechless.
So she really was a demon.
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