novelraw Chapter 36 : Forms
Chapter 36 : Forms
Forms
Holy Era 5000, February 21st, Yuexing Kingdom, Yuexing Beichen's Bedchamber.
"Beichen, what happened to you?!"
The visitor was the King of Yuexing, Yuexing Baiyao. Looking at his son lying battered and bruised on the bed, he felt an unspeakable rage surge within him.
"Father, I'm sorry. Your child proved incompetent—on the way back, I not only lost the National Preceptor, but I also had the soul prepared for my younger sister stolen from me."
Yuexing Beichen tried to sit up, but was pressed down by Mo Fengren.
"Save your strength. You're covered in injuries now. Though not fatal, they'll be very hard to recover from."
Mo Fengren sat on the table by the bed, crossing his legs, not caring the slightest about his manners.
"How dare you! This is before His Majesty! What are you doing?" said the guard beside the King.
"Silence."
The King spoke loudly.
"But..."
"You leave first."
Baiyao waved his hand, impatient.
"Yes."
The guard turned and exited, shutting the door behind him.
"Father, this is Fengren—my Spirit Companion,"
Beichen introduced Mo Fengren to Baiyao.
"Hey!"
Mo Fengren reached out and greeted.
"Mm."
Baiyao replied simply, but shook Mo Fengren's hand.
Of course he knew Mo Fengren—a supreme demon lord of the Demon Realm. And then there was a girl named Shen Baixue, the Supreme Lord of the Divine Realm.
Since the Spirit Selection began, these had been top-tier Spirit Companions.
When he heard his son had gained a Spirit Companion of a Sage's strength, baiyao was overjoyed at the time.
Thinking thus, his anger became harder to contain. Turning to Beichen, he asked:
"What on earth happened? Can you explain it to me in detail?"
Unlike Wanhua Zhankong, although Yuexing Baiyao was not as skilled politically, he was a competent father.
"It's like this..."
After Beichen explained all that had happened, baiyao slammed the table in fury.
"That old fox! Such bullying—he dared to send someone to ambush my son!"
"It may not have been someone sent by the Wanhua Kingdom,"
Mo Fengren said as he played with the berries in his hand.
"Fengren, why do you say so?"
Beichen, who was half sitting up, said.
"This time, the attacker was a woman—also a terrifying assassin. Her strength matched mine, which means she too is a Sage."
"A female Sage? Are you saying, Wanhua Kingdom's Guardian Sage, Shui Cangxuan?"
Baiyao was shocked, not expecting Shui Cangxuan to be involved in this matter.
"No. Like I said, it may not have been someone from the Wanhua Kingdom, and it wasn't Shui Cangxuan's way of fighting."
"Why are you so sure it wasn't someone from Wanhua?"
Beichen asked in puzzlement.
"It's simple. If this had truly been a killer from Wanhua, they wouldn't need to give us the spirit only to scheme to snatch it back again. They could have made a counterfeit. During the fight, I noticed—the true target was that spirit, not our lives. Also, it was nearly 200 li after we left Wanhua territory that we were ambushed. Her intention was clear: to prevent Wanhua from coming to our rescue."
Mo Fengren calmly analyzed the situation.
Yuexing Baiyao fell into thought—he could not help but admire Mo Fengren's intelligence. In decades as king he had rarely seen someone as shrewd as Mo Fengren.
"There are only a handful of Sages on the continent. We can compare one by one: our Demon Clan has two—myself and the Demon King's personal bodyguard. She wouldn't be idle enough to come here and ambush us. The Angel Clan has two: Shen Baixue was very weak at the time—couldn't have been her. The other is the commander of the 'Shenwu' army, a man, so ruled out. The Dragons dwell west of us and are on good terms—also unlikely. The Elven High Priestess never leaves the Queen's side, also ruled out. All this means that woman did not belong to the seven Sages known to us."
"Why are you so sure it's not Shui Cangxuan?"
Beichen asked again.
"Shui Cangxuan is a pinnacle water mage—she would never charge into a crowd killing people with a blade."
"So doesn't that mean we're at a loss for leads now? Beichen was hurt for nothing?"
Yuexing Baiyao asked.
"Certainly not. Not just anyone would struggle so desperately to snatch someone's spirit. The spirit in question belonged to Wanhua's princess, Yinhua. Spirits cannot remain outside the body for long. So, just investigate her recent whereabouts and ask her—though it's best not to do so in person. If someone of Sage power is truly beside her, confrontation is unwise. We can seek out friends she is close to. Someone will know the inside story."
Mo Fengren had pierced the heart of it—reality would prove his almost entirely correct.
However, he had one question for which he could not find an answer—why was Yinhua, protected by a Sage, not favored by Wanhua Kingdom?
..............................
Meanwhile, in Wanhua Kingdom's palace, Shui Cangxuan's bedchamber.
"Master, what happened last night, for someone to push you to such a state?"
Liqin carefully spoon-fed medicine to Shui Cangxuan.
"It was just an old enemy from Master's past come looking for trouble,"
Shui Cangxuan said dotingly, unwilling to tell Liqin the truth.
Suddenly, footsteps sounded from outside. Shui Cangxuan's chambers had no maids at all—peaceful and quiet—so these steps sounded especially loud here.
"Good day, sage."
The visitors were Lingxian and Shen Baixue.
"Good day, Princess."
Shui Cangxuan greeted them politely, well aware of their purpose.
"You step outside for now,"
Shui Cangxuan dismissed her disciple.
"Oh."
Liqin replied a little unhappily.
"I am here with three questions for you,"
Lingxian raised three fingers.
"Mm. Ask away."
"Who was it last night?"
Lingxian asked bluntly.
"An old enemy from my past, come after me,"
Shui Cangxuan answered.
She was lying—Shen Baixue frowned, but did not expose her.
"Is that so."
Lingxian nodded. If it was truly an old grudge, she couldn't interfere.
"Second question: News has come that the prince of Yuexing was ambushed on the road. Though Yuexing Beichen survived, his men were butchered most cruelly, some even torn limb from limb. His guards were all elite. To slaughter them effortlessly—one must be Sage-level. Which Sage do you think did this? Or, you didn't take part in this matter, did you?"
"I would never kill so cruelly. I only just learned of this. If it was anyone, it's most suspicious among the Demon Sages—they're all bloodthirsty."
Shui Cangxuan lied again.
"Impossible. Yuexing Beichen's Spirit Companion is Mo Fengren, one of the Demon Sages. The Demons would never ambush one of their own,"
Shen Baixue said with certainty.
"Other races are equally unlikely. That was a Sage not on the list. I thought this would be rare, but yesterday I saw three such people. Those three are most likely the ones who ambushed Yuexing Beichen,"
Shen Baixue said grimly.
"Third question: The target in the ambush of Beichen's party was my sister Yinhua's spirit. However, her body was burned. It's impossible for her to find a new vessel so soon. But the day before, I saw someone in the Yushi Market who greatly resembled my sister. Her name was Luna—one of the three from last night, strength at Sage level, perhaps higher. I want to ask—is it possible she's my sister?"
Lingxian asked coldly.
"... Impossible. For a spirit to find a compatible vessel is extremely rare unless someone orchestrated all of it,"
Shui Cangxuan still withheld the truth. She knew: if she said Luna was Yinhua, the royal family would spare no means to capture her—and she would lose the only hope of fulfilling her sorrowful wish.
"Is that so."
Lingxian sighed. Thinking about it, it did seem unlikely. Still, the existence of three new Sages in the capital was a headache—since when had Sages become so common?
"In that case, we bid you goodbye and wish you a speedy recovery."
With that, Lingxian and Shen Baixue turned to leave—without realizing that all those things they saw as impossible, would prove to be possible.
-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
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