Chapter 40 Pleading "It hurts so much... Xiao Hai... it hurts so much... for..."

Qingdai closed her eyes completely, her usually flamboyant face now utterly calm. Her hair was disheveled, and blood had stained her white shrine maiden robes red. She was someone who always paid such attention to her appearance, always striving to be neat, clean, and meticulous, but now she lay disheveled on the muddy ground.

She had finally gained their trust and care, and they almost became friends.

But they were all dead.

She really is a monster who only brings misfortune.

Xiao Jiang lay on Qingdai's body, unable to hold back her tears any longer, and burst into loud sobs.

But the next moment, Jia Qianyang ruthlessly lifted her off Qingdai's corpse and pointed to the people of Liyue Village not far away, showing them to her.

"It must be very painful for you to see your people die one by one. You need to take a good look and see how they died. The angrier you are, the stronger the resentment in your soul will become..."

As Xiao Jiang's spiritual power dissipated, the flames that had originally isolated the people of Liyue Village also diminished. The Xuanjia Knights crossed the circle of fire and wantonly slaughtered the people who had completely lost their ability to resist.

In the arena shrouded in blood and fire, the glint of blades and the shadows of swords clashed, roars and wails mingled...

Xiao Jiang was bound by that seal, unable to move, and all he could see were the fallen people of Liyue Village.

Her spiritual power was drained, and her anger could no longer be transformed into strength; only sorrow remained in her eyes.

Where Jia Qianyang couldn't see, her little finger trembled incessantly as she pleaded, tears streaming down her face like a burst dam.

"Xiao Hai, please! I have no other choice..."

"Please! I'll do anything... I'll be your slave, please... please save everyone!"

"Please come out! I beg you! It's too late! No..."

"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry! I'll never make you angry again, I'll never hold you captive again... Please! Please come here!"

...

Jia Qianyang felt that Jiang Yuhuo had seen enough; her soul was angry enough to become the most powerful vengeful spirit in his staff.

So he lifted her up and put her on the stone altar at the sacrificial site, where the Li-Yue people originally placed their offerings.

He drew the knife she had once used to slay a divine beast.

As the cleaver fell, Jia Qianyang brutally severed the pair of still-tender wings from her back.

From her spine to her entire body, excruciating pain drained Xiao Jiang of her last ounce of strength. The cold knife had ripped open her back; she felt something being forcibly pulled from her bones, something uncontrollably flowing out of her body. Not just her body, she felt her very soul trembling with pain.

"It hurts so much... Xiaohai... it hurts so much... why..."

"Why didn't you come...why..."

Her right little finger twitched for a long time, but there was no response, as if the merman had never cast a spell on it, let alone formed a contract.

"From this day forward, nothing can separate us."

"I will protect you. As long as you move a finger, think of me, or call my name, I will hear you. No matter where you are, I will come to protect you."

...

The mermaid's promise still echoed in her ears, but he never came. She had never asked him for anything before, and the first time she did, he broke his promise.

She didn't hate him; she just couldn't understand why he would make a promise to her if he couldn't keep it, giving her hope.

The girl, covered in blood, curled up on the stone slab. Her once bright eyes were now numb with pain, and her pale, dry lips trembled slightly as she murmured, unable to utter a complete sentence, "I'm sorry, Wu Hu... I'm sorry, Qing Dai..."

"Father... I'm a useless person... I'm sorry... I'm sorry... I'm a useless person..."

"I didn't use it..."

"This is what the Mountain God asked me to bring you. It means that if you encounter a very dangerous situation, eat it." The words of the gray magpie before it left echoed in my ears again.

That night, she truly understood that the danger the mountain god foresaw was actually Jia Qianyang. That's why he gave her the green jade stone through the birds, protecting her physical body and allowing her to fully control the power within her bloodline without harming herself.

If her physical body could withstand it, the power within her bloodline should have been able to deal with all the dangers brought by Jia Qianyang.

But she was so naive, so carefree.

Half of the jade was used to trick her into killing the mountain god who protected Liyue Village, while the other half was fed to a merman who promised to protect her but suddenly disappeared.

Blood and tears streamed down her face, and her wailing was drowned out by her screams. Xiao Jiang watched as her father, Granny Fang, the arrogant Fatty Tiger, the clever and proud Qingdai Witch, the timid and cowardly Liuchong'er… everyone she had known in her short life died one by one, and her only home was reduced to a sea of ​​fire…

In her last moments before she fainted from the pain, she saw her wings fall to the ground. The wings she had once hated so much, the wings she had never wanted to remove, she had never properly cared for, and in the end, she couldn't save them. They lay there in the dust, stained with blood and mud, their original colors almost unrecognizable.

"stop!"

As her consciousness faded, she heard a clear and loud command coming from afar, but she no longer had the strength to recognize who it was, and darkness quickly engulfed her...

The flames, devoid of warmth, burned to ashes in the destruction of the old homeland.

*

"The autumn wind rises, the white clouds fly, the grass and trees turn yellow and fall, and the wild geese fly south."

"The orchids are beautiful, the chrysanthemums are fragrant, I cherish the memory of my beloved, and cannot forget her..."①

In the palace courtyard covered with fallen yellow leaves, the palace maids responsible for cleaning slowly swept the leaves while singing melodious songs. The girls' voices were as clear and melodious as orioles'.

Another palace maid sat listlessly by the stone table under the tree, resting her chin on her hand and fiddling with the Liubo chessboard on the table, her eyes occasionally glancing at the tightly closed door.

"Hey, can you please stop singing? If you disturb the people inside, His Highness the Crown Prince will punish you again." The palace maid under the tree glared at the maid sweeping and then gestured towards the door, signaling her to be quiet.

The palace maid cleaning was indignant, one hand on the broom and the other on her hip, "If I could really wake the person inside, His Highness the Crown Prince would probably reward me. So many famous doctors have tried but to no avail, yet I, Yu Ling'er, can wake her up. Sister, tell me, why would His Highness the Crown Prince punish me?"

"Alright, alright, you're the most capable one, aren't you? Singing these lyrics about beauties and lovers all day long, you're really too young and shameless." The palace maid under the tree poked Yu Ling'er's forehead and glared at her.

Speaking of beauties and lovers, what could be better than the rumors circulating in this room? Yu Ling'er immediately squatted down beside the older palace maid and whispered, "Sister, do you think that person inside is really His Highness the Crown Prince's sweetheart? She's so beautiful, but she has too many wounds and they're too deep. I'm afraid they'll leave scars in the future."

Yu Ling'er recalled the first day she met that person. The Crown Prince personally carried her down from the carriage. A large cloak covered her entire body, revealing only a strand of white hair. She was held tightly in the Crown Prince's arms the whole way. Everyone in the palace was speculating about who the Crown Prince had brought back.

Yu Ling'er was a servant in the Crown Prince's palace, so it was only natural that she was transferred to serve in this palace.

That day, when the imperial physician changed the woman's dressing, Yu Ling'er was holding a bowl of water. But when the physician removed the gauze, revealing two large, bloody holes in her back, Yu Ling'er immediately gasped, and a drop of water spilled from the basin. This drop of water should have been insignificant, but the fierce look in the Crown Prince's eyes made Yu Ling'er tremble with fear. She gritted her teeth and barely managed to keep her hands from shaking.

The next day, she was sent to sweep the outer courtyard, a task that lasted from late summer to late autumn.

Flowers bloom and wither, leaves turn green and then yellow, but the person inside remains asleep.

"Why should we palace servants worry about these things? These are matters for nobles. Besides, since His Highness the Crown Prince has gone to great lengths to bring back a dying person, would he care about a few scars? Only those in the palace who want to climb the social ladder would spend their days thinking about how to cultivate a beautiful face to please men."

Yu Ling'er thought what he said made a lot of sense, but then she thought of something and couldn't help but worry about the person in the room. "But His Highness will soon be of age to choose a Crown Princess. According to custom, a daughter from a noble family should be chosen as the Crown Princess. I wonder what will happen to this person then?"

The older palace maid tapped Yu Ling'er on the head. "What are you thinking about? The Crown Princess is the future Empress, so of course she should be chosen from among the nobles. Someone of unknown origin like her will be lucky to even get a rank in the future."

Yu Ling'er rubbed her forehead and said indignantly, "But I heard that His Highness the Crown Prince killed the Imperial Preceptor in court for her sake! I think it's hard to guarantee that His Highness the Crown Prince won't defy His Majesty for her, just like in the plays, where he'd risk everything for a beautiful woman, loving her more than his country."

The older palace maid scolded her in a low voice, "Nonsense! How dare you spout such nonsense? Watch your tongue." The maid glanced around to make sure no one was watching, then lowered her voice again, "What I heard is true: that Imperial Preceptor is a monster. He slipped up in front of His Highness this time and ran away. I told you to stop listening to those operas; what kind of nonsense is going on in your head?"

Yu Ling'er pursed her lips, thinking that this palace maid sister must not have heard the prince crying in the inner room while on night duty. The soft sobbing, the indistinct apology, the humble pleading... But she couldn't spread such private matters of the prince.

"Bang—" Suddenly, there was a sound of something falling to the ground.

The two palace maids looked at each other, their eyes wide with disbelief.

Yu Ling'er pointed at the door, her voice trembling as she asked, "Just now... was it..."

The older palace maid was better at handling emergencies than she was, and immediately pressed her hand down, saying, "You stay here and don't move. I'll go and report to His Highness the Crown Prince right away."

After saying that, the older palace maid disappeared, leaving Yu Ling'er alone in the courtyard. She paced back and forth, scratching her head and cheeks, as restless as an ant on a hot pan.

His Highness forbade her from serving in the inner room since that incident, but what is the situation in the inner room now? Is she awake? What if she is awake and uncomfortable and needs someone to serve her? It's not impossible. She was so badly injured that it's normal for her to be unable to speak or call for help, isn't it?

Should she go in and take a look? His Highness kicked her out last time because she was clumsy, but ultimately it was because he was afraid she wouldn't be able to serve the people well. But the situation is different now than that day. If she doesn't go in, there will be no one to serve the people inside!

Yu Ling'er struggled for a while, and finally chose to serve the people in the inner room rather than violate His Highness the Crown Prince's order.

She took a deep breath and gently pushed open the door.

In the dimly lit room, even the sound of breathing was exceptionally clear.

Yu Ling'er tiptoed in and met a pair of cold, golden eyes.

-----------------------

Author's Note: ① Quoted from Liu Che's "Ode to the Autumn Wind" from the Han Dynasty.

I managed to make it onto the rankings this week, so I'll post another chapter tomorrow, and then it'll be back to every other day. [doge]