When Earth Awakened, I Became a Sword Saintess

Chapter 186 : To the Realm Gate

186: To the Realm Gate

The Ghost Princess’s small hand gently brushed the soft, medium-short hair on the side of her neck, letting it fall like countless silken threads.

"Hmph, very well. Regardless, you saved our people. That is a fact. Xia woman, what is your name?"

"Your Highness the Ghost Princess, we cannot presume to speak the name of the descended Fairy Maiden. It would be a great disrespect…" the Elder pleaded.

"You be quiet. How you see her is your business, but don’t you interfere with mine," the Ghost Princess glared at the Elder, looking thoroughly impatient.

"Xia Yuyin," Yuyin said directly. A descended Fairy Maiden? She thought these old ghosts were addled, randomly sticking a label on her. She was a girl from Earth, not some descended Fairy Maiden. She was lost and trapped in the Prison Abyss, not here to save it. She didn’t have that kind of power.

"Xia Yuyin? The name is pleasant enough," the Ghost Princess said, gazing out the window.

"Your Highness the Ghost Princess, I’ve heard there is a Realm Gate about five hundred li to the north," Yuyin asked.

"Hmm… I think… there is one," the Ghost Princess said, looking up at the ceiling.

"Your Highness the Ghost Princess, the Fairy Maiden spoke of going to the Realm Gate last night. This old one will do everything in his power to assist. Da Tuo was to lead the fortress’s bravest warriors as her escort. They were meant to depart this very morning…" the Elder said with some guilt, glancing at the light outside. It was already late morning.

"What? Are you saying I delayed your journey?" the Ghost Princess glared at the Elder, Lu Yu, and the others.

"Not at all, no, how could we dare, that is not what this old one meant," the Elder said, prostrating himself in a panic.

"The situation is not what it was a few years ago," the Ghost Princess said, dissatisfied. "Do you really think that with just you fortress Ghosts, you could safely reach the northern Realm Gate? Do you have any idea how many Li Su are lurking in the forests and mountains between here and there?"

"This… this old one has not ventured out in a long time. The situation hundreds of li away…" the Elder’s forehead beaded with sweat.

"Our hunters who last traveled to that area… the last to return alive was years ago. It grew too dangerous, so we haven’t dared to go since," Da Tuo said truthfully. But the Fairy Maiden had saved their entire clan; how could they have voiced such an excuse to refuse her?

The Ghost Princess looked at these useless tribesmen and shook her head. She folded her arms, her arrogance plain. "Very well. I came here with a detachment of Green Ghost elites to carry out an important mission to the north. It’s on my way. Since she wants to go to the Realm Gate, I will take her there myself."

Hearing this, Yuyin felt a mix of relief and apprehension. It was good to have a powerful escort, but would this willful Ghost Princess really be so kind? Could it be that the Ghost Clan’s ancestral teachings were about honor and justice?

"Th-thank you, Your Highness the Ghost Princess!" the Elder, Da Tuo, and the others kowtowed in gratitude. Da Tuo, in particular, had thought he was on a suicide mission.

"However, I have a condition," the Ghost Princess said, her eyes slightly closed.

Hearing this, Yuyin felt reassured. A condition was good. The harsher, the more demanding, even the stranger the condition, the less likely it was a trap.

"Your Highness the Ghost Princess, what is your condition?" Yuyin asked, narrowing her eyes with a smile.

"Xia Yuyin, correct?"

"Mm-hmm."

"I want you to help me fight the Li Su. Do you dare?" the Ghost Princess’s eyes flashed as she spoke with solemnity.

To fight the Li Su, the alien tribesmen, was already the duty of any human.

It seemed now they were also the greatest enemy of these Prison Abyss Ghosts.

"I can," Yuyin said, looking at the Ghost Princess and nodding gravely. "But, can Your Highness trust me?"

"Hmph, you Xia people are hypocritical and full of tricks. I won’t trust you easily. I want you to make an oath. Will you do it?" the Ghost Princess looked at Yuyin. To the Ghost Clan, oaths had been held in the highest regard since ancient times.

Yuyin thought for a moment, then made her decision. If she wanted to leave this Prison Abyss, the help of a Ghost Princess would be invaluable. Besides, the Li Su were the most dangerous enemies. If she were to encounter an even more powerful being, how could she face it alone? An alliance against the Li Su was the right choice for both of them.

Yuyin flicked her long hair back. "I, Xia Yuyin…"

"Wait…" the Ghost Princess suddenly raised a hand, placing a finger against Yuyin’s moist lips.

"You can’t just make an oath like that. You Xia people are too casual! We must go outside, kneel, and make the oath together!" the Ghost Princess said. Yet, with her finger pressed against Yuyin’s lips, the sensation sent a wave of dizziness through her.

The two went out into the courtyard, facing the blue sky. The Ghost Princess made sure the other Ghosts did not follow.

"So… what do we do?" Yuyin asked, standing face-to-face with the Ghost Princess.

"According to our Ghost Clan custom, we must join hands and become one, a mingling of milk and water, to truly seal an oath," the Ghost Princess said with a perfectly straight face.

"Huh?" Yuyin could understand joining hands, "But, what does ‘a mingling of milk and water’ mean?"

Yuyin’s face flushed as she said it.

"?"

The Ghost Princess froze for a second, then a blush spread across her own face. She looked at Yuyin angrily. "You! Is it because your body is too womanly that your thoughts always go in that direction? How indecent!"

"I…" Yuyin felt wronged, a little ashamed, but she tried to regain her composure, her expression serious. "What direction are you talking about? How would I know your customs? Can’t you be clearer?"

"Joining hands means we clasp each other’s hands and feel the other’s heartbeat. Among our Ghost Clan, this is a very normal way to make an oath. Isn’t that right?"

"…" If it were between male Ghosts, a bond of brotherhood, it might be normal. But between two girls… Still, Yuyin didn’t want to argue. There were more important matters at hand. She closed her eyes, her brow furrowed slightly, and said resignedly, "Fine, I suppose that’s normal."

"Hmm. As for the mingling of milk and water, it is a special ritual between women of our Ghost Clan, based on that oath. Specifically… there are three ways, but I… I don’t really know the other two. Given our relationship, or lack thereof, it would be the first way," the Ghost Princess said, her expression a little shy, her words halting.

Yuyin saw this and smiled knowingly. She didn’t believe for a second that this girl didn’t know the other two methods.

"The first way is, is for one to kiss the other on the cheek, and the other, to kiss the first on the neck."

"…" Yuyin thought, I guess that’s half normal.

"According to custom, I will kiss your neck, and you, will kiss my cheek in return," the Ghost Princess decided.

"Why do I have to be kissed on the neck?" Kissing a cheek was normal enough, but a woman’s neck? How could she just let anyone kiss it? Of course, it was better than being kissed somewhere lower…

"Th-that’s because you’re tall, and I can’t reach your face, okay?" The Ghost Princess clearly knew this wasn’t a difficult problem. With such a height difference, they couldn’t kiss? And this was just a peck on the cheek. But why did her mind jump to kissing? For a moment, her own heart fluttered.

"Fine… If it’s your custom, I’ll follow it," Yuyin said, resigned. She swept her long hair behind her back. This wasn’t to prepare for the kiss, of course, but just to compose herself.

"Then, let us begin," the Ghost Princess said, gazing at Yuyin’s white neck.

"Mm," Yuyin replied softly, also resigned.

In the vast Prison Abyss, within the ancient fortress.

Two girls stood facing each other. Despite their great difference in height, their thoughts and the oath they were about to make were one and the same.

An alliance to fight the Li Su together.

The Ghost Princess reached out her small hand, pressing it against Yuyin’s left chest, over her maiden’s heart.

But her hand was too small. To feel the other’s heartbeat through that deep, supple softness, she had to grip as hard as she could… but for her small hand, it was too difficult, simply impossible to fully grasp.

"Mmm…" Yuyin let out a soft breath. Having someone’s hand on her heart… the feeling was truly unimaginable, surely something she would never forget.

"We haven’t even started the oath yet. Don’t make a sound," the Ghost Princess warned. "If you keep making noises like that, they’ll get added to the oath. Once the ritual begins, no sound is allowed except for the oath itself!"

"…" Making an oath was truly not easy, unforgettable, etched in bone and memory… Yuyin endured with great difficulty.

She also reached out. Yuyin’s fingers were long and slender; it wasn’t too difficult for her to clasp the Ghost Princess’s chest and listen to her heartbeat.

"Mmm…" the Ghost Princess also tried her best to press her lips together.

She’s telling me not to make a sound, but she’s doing it herself, Yuyin complained inwardly. But with the Ghost Princess, she was like the older sister. She didn’t point it out, instead offering a gentle, forgiving包容 presence.

They joined hands.

They made their oath.

After they spoke the oath together, came the final ritual.

The Ghost Princess stepped forward, rising onto her toes. Her petite body pressed against Yuyin’s chest, her hands resting on Yuyin’s warm arms. Yuyin tilted her head back, turning her face slightly to the side and sweeping her hair up to reveal her snow-white neck.

For a moment, the Ghost Princess’s eyes seemed to flutter. She closed them and kissed Yuyin’s neck, a soft, yet lingering kiss.

And at that very moment, the God-Devouring Chess in Yuyin’s consciousness advanced, reaching a critical step. A powerful wave surged through the depths of her body.

The double assault caught Yuyin completely off guard.

"Ahh!!" she cried out, her pink, sandalwood lips parting.

But in that moment, the Ghost Princess didn’t stop. She tightened her grip on Yuyin’s arms and kissed her neck even more deeply and softly.

Whether making such an extra sound would affect the oath was unknown. But for an oath, wasn’t it enough that the two making it trusted each other?

Afterward, the Ghost Princess gently pulled away from Yuyin. Yuyin, slowly regulating her breath, leaned in and kissed the Ghost Princess’s cheek. She could feel the unusual heat on the Ghost Princess’s small face.

"Is that sufficient?" Yuyin asked, her eyes narrowed like a night sea, her voice gentle as she stroked her hair, standing close to the Ghost Princess.

"You… what’s wrong with you? I told you not to make a sound, and you cried out anyway. Do you even want to make this oath or not?" the Ghost Princess said, only then lightly touching her own face as she complained.

"This…" This was something Yuyin truly couldn’t explain. She could only lower her head, her face slightly red, and remain silent.

"Hmph, forget it. The oath’s meaning hasn’t changed, even with your little cry. I will reluctantly, for now, accept your oath," the Ghost Princess said, pouting slightly in dissatisfaction and looking away, but her small hand still held Yuyin’s warm palm, refusing to let go.