Chapter 117: A Reason to Stay
A flicker of pain crossed the evil god’s face, then she smiled, her voice cold. “You ask why I’m so fixated on destruction?” she said. “One doesn’t need a reason to crush an ant.”
The sunlight filtering through the leaves, dappling the ground around them, gradually faded, until they were enveloped in shadow. But it wasn’t the sun’s fault.
Bai Jingxue felt a sudden chill, the trees around them growing taller, their branches thicker, their leaves larger, until they formed a dense, impenetrable wall.
“Just like now,” the evil god’s voice, soft and menacing, echoed through the forest, “I don’t need a reason to harm you.”
She smiled, her form dissolving into mist, then vanishing.
A golden light emanated from the statue within the Flower Goddess temple, and the flowers surrounding it surged upwards, their vines spreading rapidly.
The pilgrims, witnessing this miracle, dropped to their knees, their hands clasped together, their heads bowed in reverence.
“The Flower Goddess has answered our prayers!”
“May the Flower Goddess protect my family.”
“Flower Goddess, please save my mother!”
The once peaceful temple was now filled with a cacophony of voices, their desires and their pleas rising with the incense smoke, merging with the statue’s golden aura. The statue’s eyes, as if awakened by their prayers, began to move.
She looked down at the kneeling figures, her voice soft. “Three wicked demons have arrived,” she said. “Cang Xi’s fate is uncertain. Find them, and destroy them.”
The golden light faded, and the statue’s expression returned to its usual serene composure, as if it had all been a dream. But three portraits had appeared beside the prayer mats.
A pilgrim, picking one up, saw the image of a beautiful woman, then more pilgrims gathered, their curiosity piqued.
“Isn’t that the woman the Second Princess took away?” someone exclaimed.
“It is! She was so beautiful. She didn’t seem like an ordinary person.”
“The other two portraits are of her companions. They’re staying at the inn next to my shop.”
“They’re demons? What are they doing here?”
“There they are!”
Bai Jingxue had expected the evil god to unleash a sea of flowers, but the earth hadn’t trembled, and no vines had appeared.
Instead, the trees, which had grown so tall, now shrunk, returning to their normal size, the only evidence of their transformation the distorted ground beneath them.
But this wasn’t a good thing. They were now exposed.
They were surrounded by hostile gazes, their eyes filled with fear and suspicion. Bai Jingxue grabbed Lü Qingyan’s hand, pulling her down the mountain.
The whoosh of an arrow, followed by several more, their targets the trees around them, made Bai Jingxue quickly pull Lü Qingyan behind a large tree trunk.
An arrow, narrowly missing them, embedded itself in the tree beside them.
Their escape had become dangerous. Bai Jingxue drew her sword, her face, reflected in its gleaming surface, unusually calm. She smiled, a rare sight.
Lü Qingyan, staring at the rain of arrows, couldn’t help but curse. “And she calls herself a god,” she muttered. “How cowardly!”
Then, she turned, her gaze falling upon Bai Jingxue’s smiling face.
She couldn’t understand how Bai Jingxue could smile at a time like this, but she trusted Bai Jingxue implicitly. “Do you have a plan, Jingxue?” she asked, her voice filled with hope.
Bai Jingxue shook her head, then sheathed her sword, a decisive nod replacing her smile.
She took a deep breath, closing her eyes, and a white light enveloped her. Her ears lengthened, becoming pointed, her body shrinking, her fur returning. She was a cat again.
She opened her eyes, examining her paws, her voice filled with satisfaction. “I can still transform,” she said. “Try it.”
Lü Qingyan, also sheathing her sword, transformed into her dog form.
Bai Jingxue grabbed Lü Qingyan by the scruff of her neck, then, with a powerful leap, she reached the top of a tree, then another, her movements swift and agile.
They leaped from tree to tree, quickly escaping the barrage of arrows.
Once they were safe, Bai Jingxue jumped down, Lü Qingyan landing gracefully beside her.
Lü Qingyan, turning to check on Bai Jingxue, saw her licking her paw, her demeanor calm and collected, and she couldn’t help but want to laugh.
Bai Jingxue, glancing up at her, her green eyes narrowed, not understanding the amusement in Lü Qingyan’s gaze, flicked her tail, then turned, her gaze fixed on the mountaintop.
The events of a thousand years ago had severely weakened the evil god. Even in this kingdom, where she was worshipped, she had to rely on mortals to eliminate them.
And Er Ya, a thousand years ago, even in her nascent stage, had been able to destroy a city with a sea of flowers.
Those trees, their growth so rapid and precise, had formed a cage, an attempt to trap them, a slow and insidious method of execution.
But the evil god hadn’t done that. She had manipulated the mortals, using them as her weapons. Perhaps her power was limited.
Manipulation, possession, consumption…
These were the evil god’s preferred methods. They were safe for now, since they weren’t in their human forms, but they had to warn Luo Nianshang.
The Sword Saint was currently in the princess’s residence, her situation precarious.
Bai Jingxue twitched her tail, then, her direction chosen, she turned to Lü Qingyan. “Let’s go to the Second Princess’s residence,” she said.
Meanwhile, at the Second Princess’s residence, the Demon Lord, watching Luo Nianshang sweeping the courtyard, her heart filled with a strange mix of emotions, her gaze lingering on Luo Nianshang’s every move, felt a surge of anxiety.
She had accidentally called Luo Nianshang by her real name. She had never asked for Luo Nianshang’s name, not as Bai Cheng. And Luo Nianshang wasn’t using her real name either.
She had expected Luo Nianshang to be suspicious, but Luo Nianshang hadn’t reacted, simply continuing her task, her movements precise and efficient.
Watching her sweep the fallen leaves into a neat pile, the Demon Lord wondered if she had been overthinking. If Luo Nianshang was that perceptive, she would have already seen through her disguises.
She relaxed slightly.
The leaves rustled in the wind, scattering the pile Luo Nianshang had just gathered. She quickly used her broom to gather them again.
A spider, its web destroyed by the wind, its tiny legs scrambling for purchase, clung to a leaf.
But its ordeal wasn’t over. The wind ripped the leaf from the branch, sending it spiraling downwards, but before it could reach the ground, Luo Nianshang caught it with her broom.
The spider, peeking from beneath the leaf, made Luo Nianshang smile. She gently lifted the broom, placing the leaf and its passenger on a higher branch, safe from the wind.
Her expression was so gentle that the Demon Lord felt a pang of jealousy towards the spider.
But the wind had scattered the leaves again. She would have to start over.
A servant girl arrived, and the Demon Lord instructed her to sweep the courtyard, freeing Luo Nianshang from her task.
Luo Nianshang, with nothing else to do, followed the Demon Lord inside.
They weren’t in the bedchamber. They were in the room with the large bath.
The screen had been replaced, but the marks on the wall remained.
The Demon Lord, staring at the hole where the dagger had pierced the wall, her anxiety growing, didn’t care about the evil god. She simply wanted Luo Nianshang to be safe.
But Luo Nianshang wouldn’t ignore this threat. She wouldn’t leave until the evil god was dealt with.
The Demon Lord found herself standing by the bath, her gaze drawn to her reflection in the water. It was an unfamiliar face: Bai Cheng, not the Demon Lord.
She had been exhausted from their journey, and the assassination attempt had left her feeling unsettled. She hadn’t had time to bathe. Staring at the steaming water, she suddenly felt incredibly dirty.
She was about to undress when she remembered that the door was open, that Luo Nianshang was still there.
She slowly unfastened the top button of her robe, then turned to Luo Nianshang, their eyes meeting.
She felt a strange surge of embarrassment, her voice sharp. “I’m going to bathe,” she said. “Leave.”
Luo Nianshang, as always, obeyed. She nodded, then left the room, carefully closing the door behind her.
The Demon Lord, relieved, stepped behind the screen, shedding her clothes, her movements graceful.
She tested the water, its temperature perfect, then stepped into the bath, her body sinking into its warmth.
She sighed contentedly, her head resting against the edge of the bath, her arms outstretched. The exhaustion of the past few days seemed to melt away.
She glanced towards the door, a small smile curving her lips. “Idiot,” she murmured.
Luo Nianshang hadn’t left. She stood outside the door, listening to the soft sounds of splashing water, her thoughts drifting.
She had been trying to figure something out since yesterday: was this truly the Second Princess?
She had heard her call her by her real name, then stop abruptly, her expression flickering with panic.
She hadn’t reacted, pretending not to have heard, though lying made her feel a twinge of guilt. But her lie hadn’t harmed anyone.
She had thought about it for a long time. She was a recluse, her social interactions minimal.
And with her power and status, no one dared to address her so casually.
Except for one person: the Demon Lord.
She suspected this Second Princess was actually the Demon Lord in disguise. But if that were true, then what was the Demon Lord doing here?
Cang Xi held no value for the cultivation world.
She closed her eyes, then, as if reaching a decision, she whispered, “Still.”
The splashing sounds instantly ceased.
She was surprised. Her spell had a limited range. This confirmed her suspicions.
She quickly dispelled the spell.
The splashing sounds returned, but her heart was pounding.
It was the Demon Lord. But why was she here?
She considered several possibilities, then a terrifying thought occurred to her. Could it be… for me?
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