Faithful Heart (Flesh of my Flesh...Blood of my Blood 2)

Chapter 38

Cloaked in a black coat, Ji Heng hurried with Min Su along an uneven path in the dark wasteland that surrounded her half brother's fortress. In her hands was an enchanted diamond with a wealth of information on Xu Yang's secret dealings with Nye Chuyin and their criminal involvement in breaking the ceasefire between the Demon Realm and the Nine Heavens. She was a taking a risk in sending out this message but last night Nye Chuyin had chocked her until she had passed out and she knew he meant to killed her sooner rather than later. Min Su helped her when she stumbled on her path, catching her by the hand and hauling her up to hide behind a escarpment of rocks.

"The change in patrol will come soon." Min Su told Ji Heng who was struggling to breathe.

"Tell me when so that I may send the message." Ji Heng whisper and found Min Su hugged her to her chest.

"I will get you out." Min Su promised.

"We shall get out." Ji Heng insisted, she was quite determined to come out alive of this ordeal and take Min Su. "We can settle in a nice farm with my father. I want to grow flowers." She said wistfully and felt Min Su hold her tighter.

Min Su looked right and then left before carefully scanning around the surrounding area with her magical senses. Once she was satisfied, they were alone she turned to Ji Heng and said. "You have five minutes. I will walk back to the fortress first, send the message and then walk back. Quickly now."

"Yes." Ji Heng answered before kissing Min Su and watching her leave.

Her hands shook as she summoned the eagle spirit that had agreed to live in her magically enchanted ring. "Take this diamond to His Lordship as quickly as you can. Hurry now." Ji Heng begged as she urged the eagle to fly by stretching out her arm in front of her.

The eagle spread its wings as flew high, quickly blending in with the dark clouds to fly above the ash storm. Satisfied that she had been successful, she turned on her feet and carefully made her way out of her hiding spot.

"You whore!" Ji Heng heard her brother shout and she was startled as she laid eyes on Xu Yang accompanied by Nye Chuyin and a squat of guards who were carrying Min Su's limp body. "Off to the cold dungeons with you." He ordered as ten guards encroached around her.

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Qing Qiu and the Demon Realm had tensions for millennia before the decisive war that had ended with Miao Lou been sealed away had broken out. The Northern Lands of Qing Qiu, cold and unforgiving in the winter, had been the stage for the war that had forced Donghua Dijun into battle for the first time in nearly five hundred thousand years in the absence of High God Mo Yuan. The battles had been fierce and had even required for the Fox King, Bai Zhi Dijun, to participate before Donghua had used nearly all of his cultivation to subdue the Demon Queen. Donghua had secluded to Bihai Cangling after that battle and had fallen into a deep slumber, waking only after twenty five thousand years.

The war had been a resounding victory and had left the Demon Realm in ruins, its lands barren, and its skies dark as Miao Lou had consumed the energy in hopes of vanquishing Donghua. The Fox King had declared the border between Qing Qiu and the Demon Realm to the north a demilitarized zone and his armies had set up traps in the treacherous mountains cutting off communication and diplomacy between the two realms. This had made spying extremely difficult as the point of entry were heavily guarded on both sides, this left only passage through the Ghost Realm as Qing Cang had continued to trade with the Demon Realm until he was sealed away by Mo Yuan.

Feng Jiu sat in her kitchen with Donghua on one side, her Aunt on the other and Bai Zhen in front. "He knew too much." Bai Zhen said and found his throat closing. "We have had trouble with intelligence operations in the Demon Realm, our spies are always captured. Bai Lei accepted the mission cross the border three hundred years ago and go into deep cover. Second Brother was hesitant, we knew the chances of not coming back were high, lassie. Extraction is difficult to the extreme, your Third Uncle is most likely dead."