Xiu Xiang nearly choked on her dinner as she side glanced at Bai Qing. She was given a glance just as nervous. Just what the heck was she supposed to say?
"Uh... Xi..." Her eyes darted left and right until it landed on the deep fried fish in front of her. "Xi Xiao Yu."
"Xi... Xiao Yu?" Wei Xing repeated back as if he was unsure if that was what she had really said.
"Right. My name is Xi Xiao Yu," she said more confidently.
"Where are you headed after this?" he asked.
Why does he want to know so much? When she had suggested dinner, it was because she hated eating alone. If she had known that he was going to interrogate her like this, she would've parted ways with them when she had the chance.
"Um..." She tried to remember where the Demoness had gone after she came out of the abyss and then blurted, "Cai Yi Town. I was going to start a business down there as a... herbalist."
"That is a shame. You have a rare talent for fighting. Wouldn't it be better if you studied under a master at sect instead? If you did, you would have more opportunities and options in the future," Wei Xing suggested.
Yea... been there. Done that. Look where that got her.
"Well..."
"How about coming back with me to Tian Ling Sect?" he added.
Aiya! Wei Xing, I've spent so many days running away from that place and you want me to go back? Are you crazy? I'd rather die before I get dragged back there.
She laughed nervously and replied, "Let me think about."
"I'll give you until morning to decide," he said and then finally went back to eating.
Yea, right. I'll be long gone before then.
Dinner ended at last and Xiu Xiang couldn't wait to escape back to her room. Once she was alone, she lifted up her hands and with a simple chant, the golden shackles around her wrists appeared. It hasn't lost its powers even after all this time. She sighed heavily as she dropped her wrists. Her mind started to wander and then she remembered what Hua Jian said before he disappeared.
The child of the Demon King will one day lead the demons to paradise...
She did say that she would become a proud Demoness. Did she really have no choice but to journey around and scout out strong demons to start her own clan? She shook her head at the thought.
"No. I'm not going to lead the same life as the Demoness," she assured herself. Just as she made up her mind, her magic pouch started to shine. Frowning, she walked over to the table and opened up her magic pouch. She reached inside and pulled out a small brocade box. The moment her hand touched it, the glowing disappeared and the latch on it snapped open.
"Huh?" This was one of the treasures she had stolen from Feng Mian. She hadn't been able to open it before and didn't want to pawn it off so she left it in her magic pouch until now. How strange for it to suddenly unlock by itself.
She lifted back the lid of the box and only to gasp in shock.
"It's the jade pendant that sent me into the novel!" she gasped. The jade pendant was exactly the same, the carving of the phoenix, even the tassel on it. She picked it up and flipped it back and forth to examine it. There was no doubt that this beautiful white piece of jade was the same one. She quickly tossed the box aside and held it tightly in her hand.
"Please, send me back to my world. I don't want to stay here anymore!" she pleaded desperately. She never realized how hard life was in a pugilistic world as this but no matter how much she begged it to, it stayed the same. She was just about to toss it aside when it started glowing. Her eyes widen in surprised and she prayed even harder. She waited for a voice to speak but nothing came. The jade stayed glowing and then the door to her room slammed open with Wei Xing standing behind it.
"Wei Xing...?" she asked startled. His eyes homed in on the piece of jade that she was holding.
"You...! You're the thief...?" he asked feeling a bit dazed.
Thief? He knows that she stole this? AH!
She noticed a similar jade in his hand and it too was glowing. Don't tell her that the reason why it was glowing because Wei Xing's duplicate made it glow? Was he tracking it?
"I wasn't sure before but now I am. You're the one who broke into North Peak and took one of the five keys," he said slowly.
One of the five keys? Where have she heard this? Ah! One of the five keys as in the keys that unlocks the cave of inheritance? It couldn't be that this piece of jade was one of the five keys, was it?
Before she could say anything, Wei Xing thrust his palm out and a sizzling golden thread jumped out. It coiled around her wrists like a snake and attempted to bind her wrists together but her golden shackles acted out of its own accord and slapped the sizzling snake like thread away.
"What?" Wei Xing looked confused as his golden thread couldn't bind her only to see the golden shackles that were already on her wrists. His eyes widen in shock. Her wrists were already bound and not only that, its stronger than the golden thread he just released. Those shackles on her wrists weren't ordinary shackles. They were soul bound shackles. Only god realm cultivators were able to produce such shackles and even then, those people bound by it shouldn't be able to move at all, but she moves around so easily in it much less use spiritual energy.
"Sorry but I don't plan on going back to Tian Ling Sect with you," Xiu Xiang said. She grabbed her magic pouch and jumped out the window.
"Wait!" she heard him call out.
As if she was going to wait for him!
She jumped down into the dark empty streets but didn't make it far. Wei Xing's spiritual sword came zooming past her and then circled back around to attack her. She thought she had been fast, but his sword was just as fast. She nearly got cut as she jumped back to avoid the sharp blade.
Was he going to kill her?!
She spun in place, avoiding the incoming blade again but with each dodge, Wei Xing's sword became faster and faster as if it was getting a better sense of her movements. By the fifth attempt, Xiu Xiang nearly got cut by the shoulder. The sword swung back around but this time, Xiu Xiang couldn't dodge it in time. Her arms shot up to protect herself and the sword came flying straight at her.
Clang!
The golden shackles on her wrists had taken the full brunt of the force of the sword and it crackled. A sudden explosion came from her shackles as if a bomb had detonated in front of her. Xiu Xiang went flying back from the impact of the sword and blood gushed from her mouth.
"Xiu Xiang!" someone cried out. His voice was filled with fear and concern.
Who had screamed out her name so endearingly?
Xiu Xiang couldn't see. Her eyelids felt heavy and her entire body hurt. She only knew her body was flying back in midair. Suddenly, a pair of strong arms wrapped around her and a light and almost feminine like chuckle erupted beside her.
"So you really are the child of the Demon King. I've found you at last, my lord.."
Hua Jian?
Xiu Xiang wanted to tell him that she wasn't going to be any demon's lord but found that she had no voice. Her conscience was slowly fading away. This action was sure to lead her straight for her death. Wei Xing was going to misunderstand this. She didn't know why but she didn't want him to misunderstand this. Was it because she didn't want to die early? She couldn't understand herself either.
I'm so tired...
The last thing she remembered was someone screaming her name and she completely gave in to the darkness.
When Xiu Xiang awoken, she was in a large room adorned with priceless treasures and soft dark blue silk.
"Am I in a palace...?"
"Correct. This is the late Demon King's Night Palace, my lord," came a voice.
Xiu Xiang turned her head and found Hua Jian by the doorway of the room. In his hands was a tray of food and medicine.
"Why did you bring me here?" Xiu Xiang asked. She tried to sit up only for her entire body to writhe in pain. Even the golden shackles on her was putting a strain on her body. Hua Jian seemed to have noticed her discomfort and shook his head as he walked over to her bedside. He set the tray down and with a tap of his finger, the weight of the shackles disappeared.
"How'd...?" Xiu Xiang looked down at her wrist but the shackles were still there.
"I'd once served directly under the Demon King. Casting the weight on the golden restraints is a cinch," Hua Jian explained. As he spoke, he grabbed paste like medicine and started to smear it on her arms.
"This stuff stinks. You don't have pills?" Xiu Xiang asked.
"Demons cannot create pills. It is unfortunate but it's not like demons need pills to recuperate. Our bodies are different from humans after all. I had assumed that you would heal by now but I've only realized that you're merely half. If it wasn't for the restraint on your ankles and wrists, I would've thought you were completely human," Hua Jian said.
Xiu Xiang groaned as she let the cold, stinky paste get rubbed on her skin. Just then Hua Jian started to peel back her robes.
"What are you doing?!" Xiu Xiang exclaimed as she swung her arm. Hua Jian pursed his lips as he replied, "I need to put the medicine on the rest of your body in order for you to heal quickly."
"But you're a man! How dare you try to take off my clothes?!" she snapped.
"A man?!" Hua Jian cried. He looked offended by her words. He placed his hand daintily over his chest and exclaimed, "I may be a man on the outside but inside I'm completely a woman!"
Now that Xiu Xiang thought about it, he was rather very feminine like but then what about that other Hua Jian? She didn't remember there being two Hua Jians in the novel. What was this all about?
"Now that you've mentioned it... who was that other Hua Jian?" Xiu Xiang asked.
Hua Jian's face turned red at the mention of the other Hua Jian. He huffed as if it was an extremely tedious topic to explain.
"You could say he was me," Hua Jian started to explain.
"Huh?"
"I... a long time ago, I fooled around with one of the Demon King's boy toy and..." His voice drowned out by the disgusted look on Xiu Xiang's face. He cleared his throat and quickly continued, "Let's just say things didn't end well. His highness split me in half. My lustful and eviler side was discarded, leaving me, the better half of myself, but as you can see, I got tricked by my other half and was sealed inside of him until you beat him. Honestly, I was almost burnt to char because of your fire!"
Having remembered how he almost became a specially charred cuisine, he glowered at her. Xiu Xiang wasn't too happy either as she eyed him up and down.
"You betrayed the Demon King. What makes you think I'll trust you?"
"Aiya! Did you not listen to me? I'm the better half! The better half! I was extremely loyal to his highness! If I wasn't do you honestly think I could remove the weight of those shackles?"
He pointed the golden shackles that were no longer heavy. Well... he made a point there. Even she couldn't remove the weight herself.
"Then remove them completely for me!" Xiu Xiang exclaimed.
"No can do. His highness left specific instructions. The one who appears with his specially made golden restraints must break them herself," Hua Jian said.
"You made that up!" She snapped. She tried to sit up only to gasp in pain.
"That's why I told you to let me put the medicine on you!" Hua Jian retorted. He helped her up into a sitting position and finally handed her a scroll.
"What is this?" she asked.
"Proof of my words. Like I said, His Highness left specific instructions," he said.
Xiu Xiang took one long look at the scroll in his hand and then grabbed it out of his hand. There was the Demon King's insignia on the scroll. The moment she went to unclasp it, her eyes widen in surprise. The handwriting really did belong to the Demon King. She would know since she spent ten years with him. Most of the content talked about the Demon King's life in bed with his concubines. Xiu Xiang's brows furrowed as she glanced back at Hua Jian.
"Is this the Demon King's diary?" she asked.
"Read further. You'll understand," Hua Jian replied.
She did as told. The wrinkles in between her brows softened up and her eyes grew as she read the content. The Demon King started to write about strange dreams he had.
The dreams were about the righteous cultivation sect capturing the Demon King and sealing his soul away. Half inside a cave guarded by the soul of the strongest master cultivator. The other half was sealed away deep within a cave under a cliffside. In that dream, half of the soul that had been sealed away under a cliffside met an injured young girl. In need of vessel to escape his prison in order to get back his other half of a soul, he trained the girl so she could get her revenge against those who had harmed her. In return, she would lend her body as his host. Unfortunately for the Demon King, the young girl was a little too ambitious for her own good. She ended up absorbing the Demon King's soul and went on a rampage. In the end, the girl was destroyed by a young and powerful cultivator, and the demon sect was completely obliterated.
Realizing that the dreams could be a kind of prophecy, the Demon King had left behind this scroll along with instructions. Should a girl appear with his golden restraints, Hua Jian will have the power to weaken it but not remove it. The only way to remove the restraints was to awaken the other half of the Demon King's soul.
"In summary, I could bring about the end of the Demon clan?" Xiu Xiang asked.
"Precisely. I should be wondering if I should trust you," Hua Jian retorted.
Xiu Xiang had gone quiet. What was described in the scroll was true. This was what really happened in the novel. The Demoness did absorb the Demon King's soul and went on a rampage, but Xiu Xiang kind of understood why she had done it.
The Demon King merely used her in order to get his two souls back. The Demoness was a poor, and pitiful person who had been abused all her life. She had been abandoned by her parents and later sold to a brothel. She barely escaped with her life and had met her first Master, but that Master ended up giving her away to Master Feng Mian who tortured her along with his disciples. Even after she had become the all-powerful Demoness, she really had no one who she could trust as everyone tried to get on her good side just so that they use her to get a little bit of power.
But Xiu Xiang wasn't the Demoness. She spent ten years with the Demon King and found out that she, herself, was a descendant of the Demon King, unlike the Demoness, who was a mortal that had lost to her inner demons.
"If we managed to free the other half of the Demon King's soul, would he be able to release me from these golden shackles?" Xiu Xiang asked.
"Aiya! Don't call them shackles! They're restraints. The word shackles just seem so crude," Hua Jian groaned as he slapped her on the shoulder.
Xiu Xiang cried out in pain and angrily hissed at him like a scorned kitty. She was going to heal without that pretty boy touching her. The moment she does, she was going to give him hell.