Chapter 8

The Wrath of Xuan Yue

Seeing the figure of the man in a green robe inside the palace, I was suddenly struck by a chill, like encountering a wolf in the dead of winter. The so-called immortal Father had mentioned was none other than Kai Xuan Jun, who had helped me subdue Xuan Yue. He was as polite as ever, poised and calm. Upon seeing anyone, he would first offer a formal bow, no matter who it was.

Though I found this manner a bit troublesome, it was a sign of respect. Moreover, it indicated that our Suozhao still held some prestige, with even immortals willing to show deference to us. After the elders exchanged pleasantries, Father called me and my second sister to the front, saying, “Kai Xuan Jun, let me introduce you. This is my second daughter, Liu Ying.”

Second sister clasped her hands before her chest, bowed, and performed a graceful curtsy. Now that she was grown, second sister was truly stunning. She didn’t even look at Kai Xuan Jun, merely lowering her eyes slightly, her lips curving up. Kai Xuan Jun, like an infatuated scholar, stared at her foolishly, his previous graceful demeanor forgotten.

Until Father urged him, he awkwardly returned the greeting, “Second Princess, a pleasure, truly a pleasure.”

I looked at my second sister again. Her eyelashes fluttered like butterfly wings, and she didn’t even dare to look at him directly, meekly saying, “Greetings, Kai Xuan Jun.”

Had there been fewer people, she might have run off in embarrassment, turning back to pick a plum blossom and sniff it.

I couldn’t help but steal a glance at Father. Sure enough, there was a smile on his face that I couldn’t quite interpret... It was so embarrassing! I felt like I had been struck by lightning from the way those three exchanged glances. Then Father continued, “This is my youngest daughter, Luo Wei.”

“Kai Xuan Jun, a pleasure,” I said.

When speaking with me, Kai Xuan Jun had regained his composure. He even cleared his throat lightly when no one was paying attention. He hadn’t forgotten what happened the previous night, but he was a man of honor and kept it to himself. This was the kind of sisterhood I could rely on.

After that, the rest of the evening was for the elders. Kai Xuan Jun, Father, and the High Priest drank and chatted, with second sister sitting quietly by their side as the heir to the throne. However, she and Kai Xuan Jun exchanged glances countless times during the conversation. Each time they gazed at each other, I could feel the tender emotions passing between them. Han Mo and I trembled beneath the table with each look they shared.

“This is like pepper boiled with a pig’s head—so numb and tender,” I said, my face pale, stretching out my hands and legs like a zombie, my lips and limbs shaking. “If I ever fall for someone like they did, I’ll commit suicide with a knife. Han Mo, you must not stop me.”

“Good brothers for life. I’ll definitely sharpen the knife for you so you can end it quickly.”

“I told you we’re sisters, good young ladies. Why do you have to act like a man?”

Ignoring Han Mo’s protests, I looked again at my second sister. Ah, she had even started playing with the corner of her clothes. Second sister was really ill this time.

It wasn’t entirely her fault, though. Historically, our Suozhao people had an inexplicable admiration for immortals. In our hearts, immortals were supposed to be like the High Priest—slender, wearing wide robes, with long fingers stroking their long beards. But Kai Xuan Jun, though several centuries old, looked about the same age as second sister and was unexpectedly handsome. No wonder second sister was smitten.

Gradually, the elders’ conversation shifted from magic to politics. Both I and Hanmo quickly became restless, prompting us to have the maidservants bring over Xuan Yue for us to play with.

Upon seeing a small tiger with wings, Hanmo was naturally excited, his actions matching his tiger-like energy. He crouched on the floor, staring into Xuan Yue’s eyes and growling back. Hearing me call its name, he looked puzzled and asked, “Xuan Yue? But this is a male tiger. Why would you give it such a feminine name? Hey, Luo Wei, aren’t you a man...?” His sentence was abruptly cut off by an ice shard I threw at him.

Unintentionally, Father also noticed Xuan Yue and chuckled, “Wei’er, where did you find such a tiger, and it has wings too? Interesting. Bring it here and let me take a look.”

I picked up Xuan Yue and walked over to Father. Just as I was about to hand it over, Xuan Yue suddenly growled, baring its sharp tiger teeth and wildly swiping its claws, trying to project a fierce aura that it thought would intimidate. I patted its head, feeling a bit sorry for it, as I hesitated whether to release its wings or not.

It struggled, trying to rush forward, its large black eyes locked onto the tiger-skin shoulder guard worn by the Grand Priest. The tiger skin was crimson with black stripes, its colors vivid and shiny, looking very much like Xuan Yue’s own fur. Could it be...

The Grand Priest also noticed Xuan Yue’s anger. He pointed at his own shoulder and said, “You’re staring at this, right? Don’t worry, it has nothing to do with you.”

But Xuan Yue was completely enraged. It shrieked in its high-pitched voice, broke free from my arms, flew up into the air, and dove straight at the Grand Priest’s face, clawing at him desperately, leaving more than ten deep cuts.

When Xuan Yue was finally caught and thrown to the ground by the Grand Priest, his face was dripping with black blood, looking like a ghost just emerging from the eighteen levels of hell. The Grand Priest wiped his face and trembled as he pointed at the tiger, “This is rebellion! Your Majesty, this demon tiger wants to take my life!”

But everyone was focused on the Grand Priest’s face. Father asked, “Si Bo, why is your blood... black?”

The Grand Priest explained, “Your Majesty may not know, but I was bitten by a venomous spider on my way back home, and the wound still hasn’t healed...”

However, the more he explained, the angrier Xuan Yue became. It flapped its wings like a little bee, attempting to attack the Grand Priest again. But its wings were too weak; after a few flaps, it fell to the ground with a loud “thud.”

Nevertheless, it was undeterred, quickly flipping itself over, arching its back, and growling in a way that still hadn’t ceased. Everyone was busy tending to the Grand Priest, and Father, with a sweep of his sleeve, told me to take the cub and leave.

With an apologetic expression, I carried Xuan Yue out.

The struggle to control it on the way back to my quarters exhausted all my energy. Oh, how could this little tiger, still barely an infant, grow so strong? If it’s this ferocious now, what will it be like when it grows up? But, thinking about how it was left all alone at such a young age, I couldn’t help but feel pity.

Once back, I really struggled with whether or not to keep Xuan Yue. But the little tiger seemed quite proud, almost as if it knew my dilemma. While I wasn’t paying attention, it managed to slip away. I ran around frantically for nearly two hours trying to find it.

Finally, by dusk, with the sky dyed in blood-red clouds and flying fluff illuminated by the setting sun, I discovered a trail of tiny tiger paw prints beside a secluded, empty hall. Following the prints, I quickly found the messy, dirty tiger cub hiding in the grass.

“You really are a troublemaker!” I slapped its behind twice, “You caused all this trouble and now you won’t let anyone reprimand you? Do you even know what you’ve done?”

To my surprise, instead of showing any remorse, it wagged its tail and began to playfully fight back, even attempting to bite me. I was so angry, I almost turned it over to punish it, but then I heard a distant voice, “This demon tiger... it cannot be kept.”

“Who’s there?” I turned around and asked.

The voice echoed, as if coming from within the empty hall. I cautiously scanned the area but saw no one. Just as I was about to look again, the curtain of the hall was lifted, and a pale face, resembling that of a corpse, peeked out. I nearly collapsed in fear, but soon realized it was the Grand Priest. I patted my chest in relief, “Ah, it’s you, Si Bo... Why do you say it cannot stay?”

The Grand Priest replied, “This demon tiger carries a murderous aura. It will start with eating people from the head. When it grows, it will likely devour its master.”

It eats from the head? I shuddered, “How do you know this, Si Bo?”

“Because I have seen its parents eating people,” the Grand Priest pointed to the tiger skin on his shoulder, “These two demon tigers are fierce. They devoured many of my friends and family. Come, give it to me.”

Family and friends? The Grand Priest’s family was in Su Zhao; he only brought attendants with him. I took a step back, holding Xuan Yue protectively and asked, “So, you really killed Xuan Yue’s parents?”

The Grand Priest stepped out of the empty hall, advancing toward me, “Little princess, please hand over the demon tiger.”

“No, I won’t! You’ll kill it!”

I held Xuan Yue tightly, trying to protect it, but unexpectedly, it flew up suddenly, diving at the Grand Priest’s face, and with one claw, shredded his pale face. The Grand Priest let out a monstrous scream as black blood poured out, his body swaying as though about to collapse.

Then, his eyeballs fell to the ground, and a furry insect leg crawled out from his empty eye socket.

I was so scared by this scene, I almost peed myself. My voice shaking, I screamed, “Si Bo, you, you...”

“Give... it... to... me...”

The Grand Priest hobbled toward me, his voice completely distorted. He raised his arm stiffly, like a wooden stick. Then, the spider legs withdrew from his eye socket, and two eerie green insect eyes began to twitch in his empty eye holes. Another spider leg emerged from his nostrils, and as it crawled, it even lifted his upper lip.

The insect began to slowly gnaw at the Grand Priest’s head, revealing a flood of black blood and spider webs. I was so frightened I nearly wet myself, screaming in terror, my eardrums almost shattered. The spider, seemingly unable to withstand the sensation, hissed twice before jumping out from the Grand Priest’s head and rapidly expanding into a giant spider.

Disaster struck. It turned out that the Grand Priest had already been consumed by the spider demon, and now only a skin suit remained. The spider demon was using this skin as a disguise, roaming around creating havoc.

No, I couldn’t afford to faint now. How could I forget the spells I learned in class? After all, I had gone hunting with Father before. I rolled over and reached the low threshold, summoning water from the pond and turning it into several ice projectiles, directing them into the air. They emitted blue light as I pointed toward the spider demon. Then, the ice projectiles flew toward it in an instant!

There was the sound of several crisp collisions as they shattered into ice shards upon hitting the spider demon’s head.

The spider demon was unharmed, but its eyes were bloodshot. It hissed and let out a sharp scream, its eight furry legs, as thick as tree trunks, stomped on the stone steps, crackling as it moved toward me.

I withdrew my arms and stood still for a moment, then suddenly screamed and leapt over the low threshold to flee.

Damn it, if only I had more time to practice the Skyward Ascension technique, I would have been thousands of miles away by now, instead of running around being chased by this disgusting creature!

“Father, Brother Wang, it’s all your fault! It’s my fault for secretly practicing the Ascension technique, it’s my fault! When I’m eaten, remember to kneel at my grave and apologize!”

I was running so fast that I tripped on the stone slab and fell to the ground. Under the setting sun, the enormous shadow of the spider demon soon loomed over me.

I hugged my head, thinking that my life was about to end here, but then I noticed the shadow had stopped. I turned around and was surprised to see that Xuan Yue had once again clawed a wound on the spider demon’s head, showing off its sharp little teeth, continuing to taunt in its soft voice: “Aow, aow, aow!”

“Xuan Yue! You’re amazing! So great…”

Before I could finish praising it, the spider demon spit out long strands of silk like willow fluff, knocking Xuan Yue from the air and dragging it toward its jagged teeth.

“Let go of Xuan Yue!!” I shouted, rushing forward and summoning ice projectiles again, charging toward it!

An astonishing thing happened. A celestial net fell from the sky, bathed in the light of the sun and moon, enveloping the spider demon. It seemed as if its legs were broken, and it staggered a few steps before collapsing on the ground. At that moment, my ice projectiles landed on its head, shattering harmlessly. Then, I heard a man’s voice from behind: “Break!”

In an instant, black blood splattered everywhere, and the spider demon was torn apart, blown to pieces. Its thick spider legs flew through the air, and the hideous head landed right in front of me. However, its green eyes remained open, and the head seemed to rise on its own, snapping its jagged teeth toward me!

“Watch out!”

A single arm blocked in front of me, the jagged teeth piercing through the arm, and thick blood splattered all over my face. The man behind me groaned in pain. Finally, the spider demon exhausted its last bit of strength, its eyes dimmed. I turned around and saw that it was Kai Xuanjun. He was panting lightly. “That was close.”

“What should we do?” I looked at his arm helplessly. “Should we carry this hairy head back?”

He smiled slightly, pressed his fingers together, and lightly touched his shoulder. The bleeding stopped. Then, he closed his eyes, gritted his teeth, and pulled out the long jagged teeth, pushing the spider demon’s head aside. “It’s nothing. I am an immortal, and I’ll heal in three days.”

Hearing this, the image of Fu Chen Zhi flashed in my mind.

But I didn’t think deeply. I simply pulled Xuan Yue out of the spider silk and, together with it, supported Kai Xuanjun as we made our way back.

Half an hour later, the royal physician treated our injuries and carefully instructed us on how to care for them over the next few days. He also said, “I have never treated an immortal before. This injury will require observation for a day or so. I fear the spider demon’s venom may be poisonous. Fortunately, Kai Xuanjun has an extraordinary celestial body. If it were an ordinary person, I’m afraid the arm would be useless.”

Father’s face was full of worry. “Alas, how could this happen? Thinking of how Lord Si had already met his end, and now Kai Xuanjun is heavily injured…”

The Military Commandant said, “Actually, many citizens in the city have been reporting that poisonous spiders are rampant. Spiders prefer soil, but Su Zhao is a water-based kingdom. If the leader of these spiders didn’t approach, it would be difficult for them to survive here. I suspect this thousand-year-old spider demon is their leader or at least one of them. If not for Kai Xuanjun’s rescue, I fear that Princess Wang would have been in great danger. Your Majesty, opening the trade routes with the outside world would indeed help Su Zhao prosper. Might I suggest reconsidering the management policies?”

“These words are in line with my own thoughts. I will carefully consider them. Alas, Lord Si was a minister of three reigns, well-versed in affairs of the state, with a heart for the world. I never expected him to fall at the hands of such a vile demon,” Father waved his hand. “Order the funeral to be conducted with the honors of a prime minister.”

After dealing with the matter of Lord Si, Father turned to Kai Xuanjun and said, “Kai Xuanjun, you saved my daughter’s life. This debt of gratitude is as heavy as a mountain, and my heart is deeply moved. I, Fei Hua, am someone who repays favors. If you have any requests, do not hesitate to ask. I will do my utmost to fulfill them.”

“To speak truthfully,” Kai Xuanjun replied, “I have been an immortal for a century, roaming the four seas, and thought I had no further desires. However, upon coming to Su Zhao this time, there is one matter that has been troubling me…”

At this point, Kai Xuanjun looked even more melancholic, appearing as though he was wasting away for someone.

Father laughed heartily, “Hahaha, I already guessed it. You like Liu Ying. As long as she also has feelings for you, I will bless the two of you.”

Kai Xuanjun’s face lit up. “Is that true?”

Father nodded, “I do not speak in jest.”

Kai Xuanjun hesitated. “But, isn’t the Second Princess the heir to the throne? If she marries me…”

Father walked over and patted my head. “I’m not old yet. After all, I still have a younger daughter.”

“Ah? Me?” I pointed at my own nose, flustered. “No, I can’t… I just want to focus on assisting my second sister, I don’t want to be queen.”

Father ignored me completely and told a few palace attendants, “Go and summon the Second Princess.”

It was obvious that Kai Xuanjun really liked my second sister. Before she arrived, he had clearly been talking about other matters with Father, but he kept shifting restlessly, his mind distracted. My feelings were complex. How did I suddenly become the heir? If I ascend to the throne, I would be the first queen in Su Zhao’s history. Should I be happy, or should I be upset?

When my second sister arrived, Father didn’t immediately mention the engagement but instead summarized what had happened. At this point, aside from looking a bit pale, Kai Xuanjun seemed fine. My second sister sat beside him, already heartbroken, silently shedding tears as she gazed at his arm. Kai Xuanjun looked at her, and his eyes were so full of affection that I shuddered once more.

Sigh, they are so in love with each other. If we were to break them apart, wouldn’t we be asking for the wrath of Heaven? Besides, Lord Kaixuan saved my life. As the saying goes: “To not repay kindness is unbecoming of a lady!” A queen is a queen—quite majestic. I’ll become this queen!

However, to everyone’s surprise, when Father proposed to marry Second Sister to Lord Kaixuan, Second Sister stood there in a daze and resolutely said, “I won’t marry.”