THE BLUE WHISPER 驭鲛记

Chapter 96: No

       Luo Jinsang and Qu Xiaoxing did not know what to do about Ji Yunhe losing her memories.

        But as Luo Jinsang thought things over, she nodded her head. When she and Kongming captured Ji Yunhe in the south, they did not recognize her because she had transformed into a man. But she should have recognized them, yet she only treated them as strangers.

        "No... it's okay." Luo Jinsang regained her spirit, grabbed Aji's hand and comforted her. "It's okay if you forget. I remember everything. And Qu Xiaoxing, he stayed by your side for a long time as well. And the fish, the fish also remembers stuff. We can tell you all about your past."

        Qu Xiaoxing nodded too and said, "Yes, yes, we'll tell you everything."

        Aji pondered a bit then said, "You guys are my friends." Not a question, but an observation which Luo Jinsang and Qu Xiaoxing immediately confirmed with an outburst of eager past recounts. They even started counting on their fingers the years they had known each other. Aji listened for a while, but the two of them were really vague in their narrative, leaving Aji with nothing to make sense of. She looked at the jiaoren behind the two.

        He stood in silence with his gaze slightly downcast. It was unclear what he was thinking. Aji asked him, "So... are we friends?"

        Luo Jinsang and Qu Xiaoxing shut their mouths and looked at Changyi.

        Changyi raised his eyes.

        "No."

        He said.

        Luo Jinsang and Qu Xiaoxing did not dare to speak. Aji thought about it and then smiled. "I thought so," she said. "Earlier, right before I got burned and fell unconscious, I vaguely recalled some things about you. But what I remembered most clearly was that I stabbed you..."

        Listening to her casually mention this, his wound that had healed long ago suddenly started to hurt again.

        Yes, on the cliff, under the moonlight, she stabbed him with her sword.

        Aji sighed and thought to herself, so this was the reason why Lin Haoqing did not want her to come to the north or show her true face...

        "Do you hate me for it?" she asked.

        He answered after a short silence.

        "No."

        Not only Aji, even Luo Jinsang and Qu Xiaoxing looked at Changyi in surprise. Three heads, three pairs of eyes, and the same face, but all for different reasons.

        Luo Jinsang was excited. This fish was finally opening up!

        Qu Xiaoxing was shocked. He imprisoned the Master Warden to death, now he's saying no?

        And Aji...

        She did not understand at all.

        She recalled the look of shock and despair on his face that night...

        Now he was saying...

        He did not hate her?

        Why?

        She did not get a chance to ask.

        Changyi turned away and walked out the wooden hut. "To completely remove the poisonous fire from your body, you will need to take another sea lingzhi in five days. Do not use any power during this time. If the fire attacks again, there will be no cure."

        He went to the cliffside and leaped down into the frozen sea where he could get some peace and quiet. He let his body sink into the water, his mind echoing with Ji Yunhe's question and his answer...

        "Do you hate me for it?"

        "No."

        Changyi closed his eyes. He also did not expect it.

        Facing Ji Yunhe who had been reborn and knew nothing of the past, she asked if he hated her for trying to kill him.

        His answer turned out to be "no."

        ...

        A warm, sunny day in the capital. Princess Shunde walked out of the hall with her face covered by a red veil. Zhu Ling followed closely behind her. She sighed. "These newly captured demon masters have much weaker spiritual power compared to the ones before." Red lips behind the veil pursed. There were still scars from the fire across her cheeks.

        "It's a pity that I can't touch the people of the Grand Master's house..."

        Suddenly, a green flash of light above the sky flew over the capital and crashed into the protection shield that surrounded the city.

        The shield was set in place by the Grand Master in preparation for moments like this.

        The sound of the attack was so loud that it alarmed everyone in the capital.

        Princess Shunde lifted her head and narrowed her eyes. "Jade phoenix?"

        Zhu Ling's face grew fierce. "The north is attacking?"

        Princess Shunde waved her hand. "The jade phoenix settled in the southern Demon Valley a while ago. Her attack right now may not have anything to do with the people of the north."

        "She came alone?"

        The shield across the sky ruptured under the green light and people's exclamations echoed throughout the city. The call of a phoenix sounded and the bird changed into human form, flying directly for the Grand Master's house. 

        Princess Shunde whispered, "Master..."

        She took a step forward, but then stopped. "Zhu Ling." As she spoke, a loud boom came from the direction of the Grand Master's house. The clash of power generated a huge storm that swept across the entire capital, shaving away all the leaves on the trees in the princess's courtyard. The servants wailed, but Princess Shunde stood calmly in the chaotic wind. She did not care when the red veil was blown off her face, and just slowly turned around and walked back into the palace. "Close the door for me."

        Zhu Ling followed her in. The wind raged on outside, shaking up the entire palace from time to time. People screamed all around.

        Princess Shunde walked step by step to the high seat of her main hall and sat down.

        She looked at the door rattling under the turbulence, but her expression was extremely cold. "We will reap the benefits after they wound each other."

        Zhu Ling bent down and saluted, "Yes."

        Princess Shunde raised a palm glowing red. This was the forbidden art she had learned from the Grand Master's secret book -- taking other people's spiritual power for herself.

        "If I can get the master's power..." She looked at her hand and smiled. "When that time comes, he will have to listen to me."

        She clenched her hand into a fist, and her sharp nails pierced her skin. Her smile grew more and more demented.

        ...

        Lin Haoqing's hand holding the pen froze. 

        "The jade phoenix broke into the Grand Master's house alone?"

        "Yes," Siyu replied. "... The capital was in turmoil and the Grand Master's house was destroyed. But she was defeated and is now being held captive inside the imperial palace."

        Lin Haoqing dropped his pen and said, "Siyu, get ready. It's time for us to return to the capital."