Chapter 8 The Banyan Tree and Sunset

“Three years ago, that was the great sacrifice rite of the state of Zhao held every ten years...”

Within the South Continent, there were dozens of states of different sizes. Clashes broke out once in a while. However, not any state was strong enough to monopolize the South Continent.

The state of Zhao was much weaker than the state of Rong and the state of Jin but it was not weak anyway.

According to the legend, a century ago, gods cultivated the virgin land and helped the state of Zhao establish the capital in the wild mountainous areas. Afterward, the mountains became the natural barrier. Later, the legends of immortals building the cottages and cultivating were created and spread, which kind of supported the development of the state of Zhao.

Three years ago, envoys of all the other states came to attend the great sacrifice rite. At that time, it was not peaceful in the South Continent. The state of Rong and the state of Jin were diametrically opposed to each other. It happened that the state of Zhao bordered on them, thus placing the state of Zhao in an extremely awkward situation.

At that time, the diplomatic corps of the state of Rong also included the second prince of the state of Rong.

Among the young generation of the male imperial descendants of various states, the state of Rong’s second prince was the most talented one. At the age of seven, he succeeded in treading on the journey of cultivation. Legend had it that an immortal master in the mountain designated him as his own disciple. The diplomatic visit was his last experience of traveling around the mortal world before he went up the mountain for cultivation.

“Why did he choose the state of Zhao?” Ning Changjiu listened to her carefully and then asked.

The woman smiled. “Because a girl in the state of Zhao was said to be younger and more talented than him as well as the daughter of a god’s descendent.”

Ning Changjiu asked, “Zhao Xiang’er?”

“Yes,” the woman said. “He came to the state of Zhao simply to meet Zhao Xiang’er.”

Ning Changjiu asked, “Is she really so awesome?”

The woman said, “In fact, before that, no one had seen Her Ladyship fight. At that time, Her Ladyship was still a... wild girl. Mostly, we saw her in the wild forest or on the roof. Her clothes were always dirty. Now I’ve realized that it was probably the state of Jin that specially spread the rumor to stimulate the aggression of the second prince of the state of Rong and get them to fight. After all, Her Ladyship was nominally the daughter of a god’s descendent. If she was defeated by a prince of the state of Rong, she would be disgraced.”

Ning Changjiu asked, “Did they meet each other?”

The woman nodded, “At that time, Her Ladyship was sitting on the big banyan tree, watching the sunset. The second prince saw her by accident and didn’t know that she was the girl whom he was looking for.”

Ning Changjiu said with a smile, “It does sound like a story. What happened next?”

With slightly tilted corners of the woman’s lips and an unfocused look, the woman reminisced, “Then, the second prince just couldn’t forget her and became so obsessed that he wanted to marry this girl he met unexpectedly after fighting with the girl called Zhao Xiang’er.”

Ning Changjiu grinned.

The woman couldn’t help laughing. “Her Ladyship always pays no attention to affairs of the world so she surely didn’t know that. The next day, the second prince came to challenge her and hurt a lot of guards outside the palace. Then Her Ladyship ran from inside with arms akimbo and pointed at him, shouting, ‘You are the one messing around here?’”

“The second prince was also stunned. He never expected the girl he encountered before to be the legendary girl living in Qianyu Palace. He immediately stopped fighting and wanted to confess to her but Her Ladyship didn’t give him the chance. She directly launched an attack at him furiously.”

Having said this, the woman seemed to be lost in her memories. Regardless of the hairpin before her nose, she just cracked up.

Ning Changjiu also found it interesting and asked, “What happened then?”

“What happened later was very simple. It was originally a fight between the second prince and Her Ladyship, but after only ten moves, all the second prince’s escorts were forced to join the fight... I have never seen her act like that before. She was like the lightning running through the clouds, so stunningly bright. Back then, no one could imagine that it was a 13-year-old girl.”

“In the end, the second prince and his seven escorts were all injured and defeated. Even his hidden guard had to expose himself to stop Her Ladyship’s attack. And that hidden guard was the direct disciple of the Sword Saint in the state of Rong. In that battle, the hidden guard’s sheath was shattered into pieces by Her Ladyship.”

“That day, the stone steps before the Qianyu Palace were all wrecked. Half of Her Ladyship’s body was stained with blood. She was standing there alone, with no victorious delight but confusion on her face. Then she said something indifferently before turning around and going back to the palace. From then on, we’ve never met the crazy and silly wild girl. When we occasionally met her, she was decently dressed, quiet and elegant, just like a real lady.”

Ning Changjiu heard her out quietly and asked, “What did she say?”

...

...

In the imperial preceptor’s mansion, only a few candles were lit cheerlessly. The wooden door, desks and chairs were all dark-colored, square and heavy. The whole room was like a lamp to be extinguished. Even the pines, cypresses and cranes on the screen didn’t contain any ethereality either. Instead, the screen contained the suppression of being imprisoned.

A girl in a white dress sat in front of a square and heavy wooden table, looking at the plainly-dressed old man with grey hair at his temples.

“Master, it is time to take the medicine.”

The corners of the girl’s mouth curled up, and the small yellow flower on her sleeve was quiet and yet bright.

She handed over a bowl of thick decoction.

The old man looked at the decoction with a startled look.

“Xiang’er... Why do you have to do this?”

Zhao Xiang’er still looked composed. “I’m afraid you will cause trouble, so I must watch you.”

The old man smiled bitterly. “You are my only student in my lifetime. How can I hurt you?”

Zhao Xiang’er asked, “Then why did you stand by and watch twenty days ago?”

The old man said resignedly, “That was what the general trend was. What could I do?”

“General trend again!” Zhao Xiang’er sneered. “Without my mother, you could never become an imperial preceptor in your life. You’ve betrayed her and even refused to repent by now?”

The old man shook his head. “After all, I am the imperial preceptor of the state of Zhao with the responsibility of guarding the state’s fortune. I certainly wanted to save the goddess but I couldn’t just watch the reign of Zhao destroyed!”

Zhao Xiang’er said, “It’s almost destroyed.”

The old man thudded the table abruptly and said angrily, “If it weren’t for what happened three years ago, how could the state of Zhao be reduced to the current situation?”

Three years ago, Zhao Xiang’er defeated eight people on her own, shattered the sheath of the swordsman of the state of Rong and even smashed the state of Rong’s second prince’s zest for Taoism.

Since then, the state of Rong broke with the state of Zhao, and the state of Jin took the opportunity to start a war against the state of Zhao.

“You ruin the state of Zhao!” The old man’s fists were shaking constantly.

Zhao Xiang’er gently shook her head. “You never understand this. Only the state of Zhao with my mother can be rendered as the real state of Zhao. Otherwise, the state of Zhao would have perished when the late emperor passed away ten years ago.”

She stood up, straight and pretty. Looking at the angry old man, she smiled faintly.

“I caused the incident and you had to undertake the consequence. I am sorry to you anyway, but if I could go back to three years ago, I would still act the same.”

When the old man became the imperial preceptor, he was literally responsible for the state of Zhao’s national fortune. Within three years, a vigorous middle-aged man turned into an old man with half-grey hair.

How could he not resent?

“Why?” He asked tremblingly. “Do you think you alone can kill all those who oppose you as well as the spies and assassins of the state of Jin? What’s more, as far as I know, you are seriously injured now!”

Zhao Xiang’er shook her head lightly with her eyes glittering even more.

“Three years ago, if I agreed on the marriage, maybe the state of Zhao could gain peace for decades, but it wouldn’t make any sense. Neither do I like it. Sir, since you’ve undertaken the responsibility of guarding the state of Zhao’s national fortune, you must know what burden the state of Zhao carries during its development. A hundred years ago, the state of Zhao was established with the blessing of the immortal, but it will be countercharged anyway...”

The old man looked at her in astonishment, listened to her slowly, and then figured out bit by bit, but the more he figured out, the more shocked he got.

“Xiang’er... What are you going to do?!”

Zhao Xiang’er suppressed the killing intent and smiled softly. “Sir, take the decoction. You are my teacher anyway. I won’t kill you...”

She paused, fell into a trance and said as if sighing, “I was watching the sunset before the palace. Why did you have to pester me?”

“I was watching the sunset before the palace. Why did you have to pester me?”

This was the question she asked in front of Qianyu Palace three years ago, which was not answered by anybody but the bloody sunset.

Since then, she had been revered as Her Highness.

Now the Qianyu Palace had been burned to ruins.

She paid no attention to worldly affairs but the latter just kept pestering her.

“Hopefully, you won’t become one of them.”

She made an inviting gesture to the old man.

In the shaking light, the old man picked up the decoction bowl tremblingly, stared at it for a moment, heaved a sigh and drank it up.

That was the medicine for sealing the sea of consciousness. After he took it, he wouldn’t be able to interfere with the following things.

...

...

“I was watching the sunset before the palace, huh... Your mistress is extraordinary indeed. What happened afterward?”

“Afterward, twenty days ago, everyone surrounded the Qianyu Palace in the name of killing the enchantress, and Her Ladyship was also assassinated on the way back to the imperial city. It is said that the assassins also included the third-ranked assassin in the state of Jin. However, Her Ladyship was finally back.”

“What is the task entrusted to you by your mistress?” Ning Changjiu continued asking.

“That’s all I can say.” The woman’s countenance turned fierce. “Her Ladyship and the goddess are the people I respect most in my life. Never will I betray Her Ladyship. Don’t even try to trick me into telling you more.”

Ning Changjiu said, “You must answer me.”

The woman smiled and said, “What an unreasonable Taoist priest! On what ground should I answer you?”

Ning Changjiu said, “Because your formation hasn’t been finished yet.”

The woman’s pupils suddenly shrank, and her hands that were secretly setting the formation under the brocade quilt couldn’t help stopping. She stared at Ning Changjiu coldly. “Who are you?”

Ning Changjiu continued asking rather than answer her, “Why do you want to kill me? Is it an instruction of your mistress?”

The woman sneered, “Even if my mistress doesn’t give the order, as her subordinate, I should deal with things neatly, shouldn’t I? Young Taoist priest?”

Ning Changjiu nodded. “Sounds reasonable.”

The woman curiously said, “You knew it. Why didn’t you stop me?”

Ning Changjiu said, “Show me your formation. I won’t disturb you.”

How could this person be so arrogant...

Shocked, the woman felt absurd and snorted but her hands still didn’t stop.

Since he gave her the chance, she couldn’t be blamed.

Spiritual power surged between her fingers, and the formation was only the last step away from completion. The woman focused her attention and made the last move amidst the injection of the spiritual power.

The woman’s back was in a sweat but her body was finally relaxed and cheerful.

The last move of the formation drawn in the heart-stirring moment with difficulty was so neatly done.

Under the floor in the room, there seemed to be bright light oozing out. The light, extremely thin and fast, flashing by like a knife, illuminated instantly with Ning Changjiu as the center. Instantly, a complex and beautiful formation emerged in the room.

She was confident that even the wizard patriarch could never escape from this extremely time-consuming and labor-intensive formation in a short time unless he located its eye. Now in terms of negotiation or killing, she was in an absolutely proactive position.

At the same time, a girl’s call for help faintly came from outside the window.

That was Ning Xiaoling’s voice.

Those people also made their move.

“Either show your sincerity or go to hell.”

She would never do things sloppily.