75 Behind the Scenes
The true white moonlight is the one that has died.
"Amo!"
Du Zhijin rushed to Ying Jianhua's side and frowned with heartache when he saw his pale face.
She glanced at the human and demon locked in combat not far away, and a murderous intent gradually rose in her eyes.
"It's nothing... cough, cough, how are you? I heard the emperor sent his men to hunt you down, were you injured?" He leaned weakly on her shoulder, smelling the familiar scent on his nose, and instantly relaxed.
He was a little tired.
Du Zhijin shook his head, hesitated for a moment, and, not wanting him to see what was about to happen, decided to send him out first. Ying Jianhua did not object and let her help him leave the battlefield, reminding him, "The Lady of the Marquis is possessed, and the Emperor is not completely a demon now, so be careful."
He remembered that Du Zhijin had said she couldn't kill people easily. Although he wasn't sure where the line for "easily" was, being cautious was never a mistake.
Ideally, both sides would be severely injured, eliminating the need for Du Zhijin to intervene. Even if they survived, it doesn't matter; after such a harrowing experience, will the emperor die from shock...? Who knows?
In the blink of an eye, he had arranged his escape route, and his face was no longer pale with fear. Du Zhijin, however, did not notice. She only thought that Amo must be terrified, which was why he had become much quieter.
"I understand. Take care of yourself." After giving her these words, she turned to leave, her face filled with a chilling aura, her brows furrowed with frost.
Whether it's a monster or an emperor, after playing her for so long, shouldn't she pay some price?
She silently asked herself, and Xingyue and Zuilan were also filled with fighting spirit, echoing her with Jinming.
The stone gate slowly closed behind the man with two swords, the long blades unsheathed, their light no less than that of the night.
The wind rises, the clouds surge.
————
Once the taut string was released, he should have closed his eyes to rest, but his heart involuntarily drifted towards the stone gate.
If the emperor were a pure demon, he might not be so preoccupied with these thoughts.
The human heart is unpredictable. Perhaps the orchid fairy never understood until her death how a simple act of kindness in saving someone could bring such a terrible disaster upon her.
Little did people know that throughout history, there have been countless wolves in sheep's clothing, and many of them have repaid kindness with enmity and forgotten their benefactors.
He suddenly thought of himself and Du Zhijin. Was he, in her eyes, a potential wolf in sheep's clothing?
A vicious wolf who could drag her down with him at any moment. Ying Jianhua always felt that he must have had such dreams, such as deliberately making her lose her memory when they were still in Wuling Village, so that she would stay by his side forever... But fortunately, those were just dreams. He realized it not too late, and everything was still in time.
His thoughts drifted, inexplicably lingering on his deceased parents. According to the emperor, his father, Ying Zimu, vehemently abhorred the practice of obtaining elixirs, believing that humans and demons were not inherently superior or inferior. Perhaps this was why his father and mother were able to marry. Once, a human fell in love with a demon; now, a demon has fallen in love with a cultivator. Their family is truly... unconventional.
Thinking of this, Ying Jianhua couldn't help but chuckle softly.
So what if he's unconventional? He's just following his heart and going against the grain.
With a loud "boom", the stone door opened.
He turned around, stunned.
No, the stone gate wasn't opened, it was overturned. The four walls painted with mythical beasts collapsed with a crash, and eighty-one luminous pearls from the East Sea fell to the ground, becoming dull and lifeless from the dust.
Du Zhijin stood tall and elegant, completely unaffected. In contrast, the "Lady Hou" and the Emperor were in stark contrast: one had disheveled black hair and a face covered in blood, while the other was unrecognizable, slumped on the ground like a rag doll.
She did not swing her sword again, but instead watched the scene unfold quietly as an observer.
The emperor was the first to exhaust himself. His body was covered in bite marks, his magnificent clothes reduced to tattered strips, soaked with blood and covering the deep, bone-revealing wounds. At that moment, he resembled not the emperor, but a wild dog.
But he still struggled to climb the wall where the Azure Dragon was, completely ignoring the person clinging to him. Finally, he prostrated himself before the Azure Dragon, murmuring prayers with his last glimmer of hope.
He is the Son of Heaven! The master of the dragon vein, the ruler of the world, born extraordinary, how can he be burdened by the four sufferings? Once he regains his strength, he will surely kill this demon and exterminate his entire clan! Let him know what the methods of an emperor are!
Through the dragon's intact eye, the emperor vaguely saw a golden light slowly flowing. He was overjoyed, thinking that the dragon vein had responded to him and that he could still make a comeback! But the next moment, the light began to disappear, like dried-up lake water evaporating without a trace.
Dragon veins never exist to protect any particular family or surname. A ruler without virtue is unworthy to be its master.
"No, this is impossible! This is impossible!!" the emperor screamed, belatedly trying to escape, but how could "Lady Hou" give him the chance? She pulled out the last hairpin from her head and stabbed it hard into his neck.
One stroke, two strokes... the blood flowed until it turned dark brown, revealing that the emperor was no longer human. Du Zhijin carefully dragged the three corpses, avoiding the black blood. As for the ten unconscious Imperial Guards, they had consumed demon cores and were no ordinary people, so they wouldn't be harmed by even a little blood.
The battle was easier than Du Zhijin had anticipated, but her heart was heavy.
In the world's perception, demons are always vicious and wicked, as if all misfortunes are caused by them, leading to broken families, death, sickness, and old age. She prided herself on being well-versed in the sect's rules and not being the kind of person who generalizes and stubbornly believes that all demons are wicked. But subconsciously, she was still more wary of demons than of people, and this incident forced her to re-examine herself.
Master, is this what you want to teach me?
No one answered, but she felt she had found the answer.
The hairpin was deeply embedded in the flesh and could not be pulled out. She walked to the "Lady Hou's" side and reached out to pull it out for her.
It stared at her blankly, its eyes full of confusion: "You're not going to kill me?"
As it uttered those words, it remained seated, motionless and offering no resistance. Du Zhijin thought for a moment and offered a reason: "You are currently inside a human body; I cannot kill you."
"I will come back to take your life once you have regained your true form."
So it looked at her even more strangely.
Are the cultivators of Dengxian Mountain really that stupid? Aren't they afraid that it will break free of the possession and run away?
As if seeing through its thoughts, Du Zhijin's sword trembled slightly, as if mocking its overestimation of its abilities.
It suddenly realized that no matter where it fled, she would find it.
It said, "I will not run away. I have only one wish: if you grant it, I will part my demon core."
"What is your wish?" she asked.
The demon paused, its gaze falling on the Azure Dragon's dimmed single eye, and said, "My elder sister is different from me. She is a very good demon who never harms people. Before I took human form, she taught me to be kind to others."
“I don’t think it should have ended up like that. Doesn’t everyone say that the dragon vein protects all people? The dragon vein is right here, can you please save my sister?”
After speaking, it carefully presented a withered flower. The flower was well-preserved, its shape intact and undamaged. But even the best preservation could not conceal the fact that the flower was dead.
Seeing her silence, what else could it not understand?
Ironically, it plotted for three years, only to end up with nothing. So what if the emperor died? He deserved to die! But its elder sister would never return.
Elder sister... Elder sister...
Lady Hou's body went limp, and she collapsed as if she had lost consciousness. Du Zhijin caught her in time, realizing that it was gone.
Looking at the mess on the ground, she sighed.
————
The following day, Lady Hou awoke in her room.
It was nearly dusk, the sky was ablaze with the glow of sunset, it didn't seem like she had just woken up. She stared blankly out the window, lost in thought, and the slightest movement sent a throbbing headache through her.
Hiss... What happened yesterday?
It felt like I had a very long dream. In the dream, there was a graceful orchid that, in the blink of an eye, transformed into the appearance of a young girl. I bowed to her in apology.
"Mother! You're finally awake!" Zhao Zhonggan exclaimed in surprise, bringing Lady Hou back to her senses.
She looked at him, as if remembering something, and asked, "Shouldn't I be in the palace? Why are you back?"
Upon hearing this, Zhao Zhonggan's heart skipped a beat, but he remained calm and feigned confusion: "Mother, what are you talking about? You didn't go to the palace last night at all. Thank goodness you didn't go, the palace was in chaos!"
Then, as Ying Jianhua had instructed, he disguised the incident as an assassination. Although it was difficult to explain what kind of person could kill the emperor, empress, grand tutor, and chief eunuch without anyone noticing, with Empress Zhao—no, Empress Dowager Zhao—in charge, their family would not be implicated for the time being.
But... he remembered the three people in his backyard and suddenly felt a cold sweat.
After all, this was the first time he had ever harbored a suspect!
In the secluded bamboo courtyard, Ban Zhu repeatedly carried hot water, inwardly complaining.
This young master Mo is really troublesome; in the middle of summer, he insists on taking a hot bath.
Even so, he still put on a warm demeanor and knocked on the door: "Young master, I've brought you hot water!"
The bathroom door opened, but instead of Ying Jianhua, Du Zhijin came out.
Ban Zhu was so startled that he almost dropped the bucket, but luckily Du Zhijin caught it in time. She didn't scold him, but closed the door and hurried away, seemingly busy with something.
What are you busy with?
Ban Zhu felt his life was in danger. What had he seen? Young Master Mo and Miss Mu frolicking in the water like mandarin ducks? What about the young marquis?
Despite it being the sweltering heat of summer, he felt a chill run down his spine.
The people inside had no idea that Ban Zhu had imagined so much from just a brief glance. In fact, they were not a pair of mandarin ducks, nor were they playing in the water.
After all, who would want three people swimming together like lovers?
Du Zhijin brought in hot water, placed it beside the bucket, and said to Jian Hua through the screen, "The water is ready."
No one answered; only the faint sound of silver needles piercing the skin could be heard.
She exclaimed with admiration, "As expected of A-Mo! He's even willing to save Twelve, whom he's only met a few times!"
She has such good taste, hehe!
Behind the screen, ensuring that the twelve figures are completely hidden and not a single detail is exposed, one should then see the painting being pierced with the final needle.
He will definitely save Twelve.
It had nothing to do with a doctor's benevolence, because he knew all too well that the one who had died was the true one.
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