Chapter 50#

Farewell Note#

Yin Yuheng was still unconscious. Because information was blocked, outsiders did not know his specific condition, only that he was injured and in seclusion. Hearing the Crown Prince had been assassinated, those among the common people of Chaoge who had received Yin Yuheng’s favors spontaneously prayed for His Highness. The entire city was under martial law, and for a time, the atmosphere in Chaoge was somewhat cold and solemn.

A day later, someone got up early and went out, but was stunned by the strange celestial phenomenon when they looked up.

They saw the morning glow rising, with golden light filling the sky and not dissipating, as if a heavenly fire had been lit. It was clearly morning, but the sun was as bright as noon.

Yin Xuanji had a premonition, straightened her hair, ordered the palace gates to be opened, and walked out with a solemn expression.

In the center of the main road, under the scorching sun, stood a black figure. His black clothes were much damaged, with bloodstains on his wrists and cheeks, and his tied-up long hair was very messy. He seemed to have just rushed out of a battlefield of slaughter, travel-worn, having returned from thousands of miles away.

Yin Xuanji looked from a distance and actually felt a sense of being scorched by the other’s aura.

The man’s gaze swept over, landing on Yin Xuanji’s face, and he said hoarsely: “I want to see him.”

Yin Xuanji looked very much like Yin Yuheng, but she wasn’t as fond of smiling as Yin Yuheng, and her features appeared much more sharp, making her a cold and beautiful woman. This princess was generally acknowledged as difficult to deal with, but facing the aggressive man in black, she had no ill feelings.

“He’s asleep.” Yin Xuanji said, “But this is the palace of the Li Dynasty after all, and I’m afraid it might not be convenient for His Majesty the Demon Emperor to enter…”

Yin Xuanji’s words did not continue, because she saw the other’s painful and suppressed eyes. The man lowered his head, and with his movement, the sun in the sky dimmed by a few points.

“The ceremony hasn’t been held yet, I am not yet the Demon Emperor,” the other said in a low voice, “I am just Yuheng’s… friend. Please let me see him.”

Yin Xuanji was silent for a while, then stepped aside.

The other bowed his head to thank Yin Xuanji and walked into the palace gate. As they brushed past each other, Yin Xuanji noticed his back was soaked with blood. This person didn’t know how many injuries he had suffered, and didn’t even have time to rest and reorganize.

Yin Xuanji sighed and said: “My little brother is not dead, only… Lost Soul Syndrome, he’s unconscious.”

Lu Yan’s shoulder trembled, and he nodded slightly.

*

Lu Yan stood in a daze before Yin Yuheng’s bed.

The familiar East Palace, the familiar bricks and tiles. The teapot on the small table was the same one used before; Lu Yan often used it to brew spiritual tea for Yin Yuheng. Everything in sight was just as it was.

Clearly, he had only left for a short time.

But the person lying on the bed was silent and wouldn’t open his eyes and smile at him again.

Lu Yan didn’t even dare to step forward, didn’t dare to check the youth’s breath. Lu Yan was stiff all over, and the feeling of suffocation filling his chest made it almost impossible for him to stand steady. Lifting a finger required immense courage.

The doors and windows were tightly closed, and the room was very dark. Lu Yan stood in the faint light and after a long while said softly: “Why hasn’t anyone lit a lamp… they don’t even know you’re afraid of the dark.”

As Lu Yan’s voice fell, the candles in the room were lit.

Lu Yan moved forward a bit, then stopped. He frantically took off his dust-covered outer clothes and wiped the blood off his hands before walking to the bedside.

“Injured again,” Lu Yan murmured, “knowing that I would be angry.”

The person on the bed still had no sound, with his eyes tightly closed and his face pale, appearing more fragile and exquisite than ever.

“Wake up quickly, and I won’t scold you.”

Lu Yan carefully held Yin Yuheng’s hand, pressed it to his face, and rubbed it.

“If you opened your eyes now to look at me, you would definitely be surprised.” Lu Yan said in a small voice, “I’ve accepted the Golden Crow inheritance, I’m very powerful now.”

I can protect you now, and I won’t let you get hurt again… but why didn’t you wait until I came back?

Lu Yan closed his eyes, buried his face in Yin Yuheng’s hand, and finally wept silently. When he was injured, no matter how much it pained him, he wouldn’t cry. But at this moment, the degree of pain in his heart exceeded a thousand arrow wounds and a thousand poisonings. Along the way, he didn’t care about his own injuries and forcibly mobilized the spiritual power he had just obtained from the inheritance to rush back at the fastest speed, but in the end, he still didn’t see a miracle.

“If I hadn’t returned to the Demon Clan, would things be different now? Would nothing have happened to you?”

Lu Yan thought of that day when Yin Yuheng transmitted to him, saying “I miss you.”

He heard the call in the “Listening to Speech,” but the rebellious demons who refused to admit defeat were attacking, and he didn’t have time to answer. In the blink of an eye, there was no longer a chance to answer.

“When you sent that message to me, were you facing danger?” Lu Yan’s voice trembled, “But I didn’t answer you.”

“I’m sorry…”

Lu Yan grasped Yin Yuheng’s hand tightly, not daring to open his eyes.

“Will you blame me in your heart?”

Will you be disappointed in me, just as you were disappointed in Li Guanghan and Zhu Anning?

After a long while, Lu Yan raised his head and gazed at Yin Yuheng.

Lost Soul Syndrome was a very rare condition; the person in a coma is missing three souls and six spirits, with only a trace of spirituality left in the sea of consciousness, appearing to be on the verge of death. If the lost soul and spirit cannot be retrieved for a long time, the sick person might never wake up.

Lu Yan’s hand grasping Yin Yuheng’s slowly tightened.

No matter what, he had to save him.

*

Outside the Li Dynasty, the Demon Realm.

“One Spirit Transformation Jade for three hundred demon crystals? Too expensive, why not just rob me?” In the market, a demon was full of resentment, “I secretly went to the Human Clan to look half a year ago, and it could be bought for two hundred coins. Calculating it out, it’s only fifty demon crystals.”

The stall owner glanced up upon hearing this: “Then go to the Human Clan to buy it!”

The buyer became even angrier: “If I could stay in the Human Clan for a long time, who would stay in this godforsaken place!”

“Heh,” the stall owner curled his lip, “What price to buy it for is not decided by me. The Spirit Transformation Jade mines are controlled by the big families, and they jointly raise the price. It costs me more than two hundred demon crystals to get it; if it’s any cheaper, I’ll be losing money.”

The buyer also knew this, muttered a few curses, and got up to leave.

Looking at his back, a demon selling pills nearby couldn’t help but shake his head: “True, who wouldn’t be envious of Spirit Transformation Jade that can be bought for two hundred coins in the Human Clan.”

“That would have to wait until the Demon Realm also has a figure like Crown Prince Heng.” The stall owner said helplessly, “I heard that before the ‘Immortal Order’ was implemented, Spirit Transformation Jade was even more expensive for humans than for us, and ordinary people couldn’t even touch it. Crown Prince Heng insisted on getting three mines and brought the price down to its current level. I heard that those few great families who originally controlled the Spirit Transformation Jade hate him to their bones.”

“How many figures like that can there be?”

Several demons spoke of the Crown Prince of the Li Dynasty, Yin Yuheng, their voices full of admiration. In these years, the cultivation world of the Li Dynasty had developed prosperously, and the level of cultivators had improved rapidly. Who wouldn’t be envious upon seeing it? Everyone knew that the great families and sects monopolized cultivation resources, but unfortunately, those with the courage to change this situation were far too few.

The demon selling pills made a silencing gesture to the stall owner: “It’s not good if we’re overheard; we’re just talking in private.”

“I heard you.”

A leisurely voice suddenly came from not far away. The demons all raised their heads, and their faces changed drastically: “City Lord…”

The City Lord shook his fan and smiled slightly: “What are you afraid of? Continue doing your own things.”

He turned and left with his subordinates. The demons looked at each other and didn’t dare to say anything more, quietly carrying out their buying and selling.

The Demon Realm was not as centralized as the Li Dynasty; each city was relatively independent and controlled by the City Lord. And the City Lord of Luxia City, Xue Ciling, appeared to have a good temper. But for someone who could sit firmly in this position, no one would think he was truly harmless.

There was a faint rumor in Luxia City that Xue Ciling’s methods were extremely vicious, and that even the old City Lord was secretly murdered by his own son, with even his cultivation absorbed, which was why Xue Ciling’s cultivation could grow so fast.

*

Xue Ciling returned to the City Lord’s Manor. Thinking of what happened just now, he sighed.

“Crown Prince Heng, indeed an extraordinary figure.”

Xue Ciling’s appearance was very vibrant. His high-tied hair swayed behind his head, and his set of black clothes made him look upright and handsome, with quite the temperament of someone wandering the mortal world.

Truly a very deceptive appearance.

His subordinate respectfully flattered: “Not as good as the City Lord.”

“How can he not be as good as me?” Xue Ciling laughed, closing the folding fan in his hand, “Speaking of which, I’ve seen him twice. Once was when he was an envoy to the Demon Realm, and once was by the Ghost River…”

Xue Ciling revealed a look of recollection. He lowered his head and smiled, showing a trace of longing: “He’s indeed very powerful, and… a beauty.”

He was the best-looking person he had ever seen.

Xue Ciling had always appreciated beauties.

After his subordinate withdrew, Xue Ciling walked into the backyard. This was the forbidden area of the City Lord’s Manor, which no one could enter except Xue Ciling.

Xue Ciling pushed open a door.

In the room were all “people.” They were born extremely beautiful, either standing or sitting, with different expressions, but none had any sound, and their eyes had no luster.

These “people” were just puppets.

Xue Ciling walked to the innermost part. Before a small table, a white-clothed puppet lowered its head, making a reading posture. Xue Ciling stopped before it and smiled: “What book are you reading today?”

He answered his own question: “It’s this one… almost finished? It’s okay, there are many more books.”

He pulled the book from the puppet’s hand, picked up another and put it in, then lifted the puppet’s chin, revealing an extremely good-looking face.

It bore an eighty percent resemblance to that Crown Prince of the Li Dynasty, Yin Yuheng.

Xue Ciling looked quietly for a while, then suddenly his face darkened, and he pushed the puppet over.

“No, it’s still not right…” Xue Ciling gritted his teeth, “It doesn’t have his charm.”

Yin Yuheng should be radiant, with every eyebrow movement and smile being breathtaking. A puppet was after all a dead object and didn’t have the bearing of a real person.

Xue Ciling closed his eyes and again recalled that startling glimpse of beauty by the bank of the Ghost River.

No… a cold puppet won’t do. It has to move and smile to be like that person.

Xue Ciling thought for a long time, and a flash of the Ghost River crossed his mind. Suddenly he opened his eyes, having an idea.

He wanted to summon a soul.

In the Ghost River, there were always scattered lonely souls whose past and future paths were unknown. He had learned a strange demonic technique that could collect souls and put them into a certain body.

In this way, a new “person” could be born.

Although because the soul was damaged, this person would have a weak constitution and be drowsy, losing most of their memory. But this was exactly what Xue Ciling wanted.

Using a completely blank soul and putting it into a meticulously carved puppet, he would surely be able to make the most perfect “Yin Yuheng.”

Xue Ciling laughed softly, feeling happy for having thought of a good way.

*

The youth on the bed opened his eyes, revealing a pair of clean eyes.

He looked around the environment strangely and suspiciously.

“Where is this?”

A soft voice came from nearby: “This is Luxia City, the City Lord’s Manor.”

Hearing the voice, the youth’s gaze landed on the black-clothed man in the room. The other person was looking at him with a joyful expression.

The youth looked at him and suddenly felt very familiar, especially those eyes. But when he thought carefully, he couldn’t remember.

“Who are you?”

“Xue Ciling,” the other smiled, “You can also call me City Lord.”

“…And me?”

Xue Ciling laughed, meaningfully: “Your name is Yin Yuheng.”

Yin Yuheng?

The youth pondered this name, and his drowsy consciousness finally gradually cleared up. Broken memory fragments flooded into his mind, making him frown with a headache.

Little White… transmigration…

Xue Ciling walked over with concern: “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” the youth said. He remembered the matters of his past life, and also remembered why he would appear here.

He had transmigrated into a book, into a sadomasochistic novel. His current name was the same as in his past life, still called Yin Yuheng… so he was now the protagonist of this novel?

Wait.

Just now when this person called Xue Ciling spoke the three words “Yin Yuheng,” his tone was not right.

The youth thought to himself that there was a big problem in this. But he remained calm and gave Xue Ciling a trusting smile.

Very skillfully, so skillfully that he himself felt surprised.