“As Nai Shu drew closer and closer, Yin Ji truly found herself with nowhere to turn. She could neither call upon heaven nor earth for help.
For a long time, the education she had received from the Divine Dragon Temple had been indoctrination, not elite education.
The Divine Dragon Temple’s elite education consisted of martial arts, mysticism, energy studies, and one other subject, how to rule the world.
It taught only the darkest aspects of human nature and self interest. As for a woman’s chastity, the Temple’s teaching was this, use it to gain the greatest possible benefit whenever necessary. By itself, it was considered worthless.
Indoctrination, however, taught purity, nobility, spiritual harmony, and similar ideals.
As a result, Yin Ji had long since accepted one belief, once her purity was violated, it was almost the same as dying.
Pride above all.
Purity above all.
As Nai Shu approached, despair completely filled her heart.
At first, Nai Shu had been patient, trying every possible method to conquer Yin Ji’s heart before taking her body.
However, Yin Ji remained utterly unmoved.
Eventually, Nai Shu’s patience ran out. He decided to force himself upon her.
“Any woman who shares my bed is blessed, because it will be pleasure beyond imagination,” Nai Shu said with an evil grin as he violently tore off his silk robe.
Yin Ji suddenly drew a dagger.
“What are you doing with a dagger? Surely you don’t think you can stab me?” Nai Shu burst into laughter. “Even if I stood perfectly still, you probably couldn’t pierce me. Soon enough, though, my dagger will be entering your body, a full eight inches, hahaha!”
Yin Ji stared directly into Nai Shu’s eyes and took a deep breath.
Then…
She slowly drew the dagger across her own beautiful face.
Bright red blood immediately flowed out.
Nai Shu’s expression stiffened as he stopped.
Keeping her eyes fixed on him, Yin Ji repeatedly slashed her own beautiful face with the dagger.
Moments later, blood covered her entire beautiful face.
Nai Shu’s face twitched violently as fury filled his heart.
He still wanted to force himself on her, but faced with a face covered in blood, all desire vanished.
“Bitch. Ungrateful bitch!”
He strode forward and slapped her hard across the face, sending her flying.
His palm became covered in blood. He stepped forward and wiped it clean on Yin Ji’s clothes.
“You fool who can’t recognise good fortune!”
After putting his robe back on, Nai Shu strode out of the room.
Outside, he encountered Alfonso, who greeted him with a submissive smile.
“Slap!”
Nai Shu struck Alfonso across the face, sending him flying.
“Lock that woman up. When we march against the Flame Demon Tribe, execute her as a sacrificial offering before the army,” Nai Shu said coldly.
Alfonso froze for a moment.
“Yes!”
He led several men into the room and immediately saw Yin Ji lying on the floor, her face covered in blood.
His heart tightened instantly.
Such a beautiful face.
Was it really ruined just like that?
While feeling pity, Alfonso also felt a trace of satisfaction.
Since he could never have such a beautiful woman himself, perhaps it was better for her to be destroyed.
“Take her to the dungeon. When we march against the Flame Demon Tribe, execute her as the sacrificial offering before the army,” Alfonso ordered.
Thus, Yin Ji was imprisoned in the dungeon.
…
As the princess of the Duchy of Yelan and a disciple of the Divine Dragon Temple, Yin Ji was both incredibly strong and incredibly fragile.
She was strong because she never compromised her principles or the bottom line she had set for herself.
Originally, the struggle between Lan Tu and Lan Ye for the throne had nothing to do with her. Whoever won, she would still be the king’s younger sister.
However, she believed that her brother Lan Tu was the rightful heir, while Lan Ye’s actions amounted to rebellion.
Not only that, the Divine Dragon Temple had declared that Duke Lan Shi’s death was divine punishment and a warning from the Divine Dragon, claiming that Lan Tu’s campaign against Rouran City had brought misfortune.
Unable to tolerate such injustice, Yin Ji immediately began searching for the truth.
She eventually uncovered it.
It turned out that Consort Ji Hui had conspired with the High Priest of the Landu Divine Dragon Temple, falsely accusing Crown Prince Lan Tu and Duke Lan Shi of offending the Divine Dragon. They used this despicable scheme to justify Lan Ye’s succession to the throne.
At the time, Yin Ji still believed this was merely the personal wrongdoing of Ji Hui and the Landu Temple, while the Divine Dragon Temple itself remained righteous and sacred.
So she bravely exposed the conspiracy and appealed to the Yanjing Temple.
But whose territory was the Yanjing Temple?
It belonged to the Yan Empire.
And Ji Hui was a princess of the Yan Empire.
After lodging her appeal, Yin Ji came within a hair’s breadth of being secretly executed without anyone ever knowing.
Fortunately, her mentor was an honourable man who warned her in advance and helped her escape.
She fled the Yan Empire, only to become hunted and wanted by the Divine Dragon Temple, leaving her with nowhere to hide throughout the Human Kingdoms.
After countless hardships, she eventually reached the Southern Wilderness.
Even after everything she had endured, she still refused to abandon her principles.
Her weakness, however, came from her family, her brother, her mother, and her father.
They had all loved her deeply.
Without them, she felt like nothing more than a lonely wandering spirit.
Even the nobility and purity she had clung to now seemed completely meaningless.
“Suo Lun, you destroyed everything I had!” Yin Ji gritted her teeth. “Even if I die, even if I become a vengeful ghost, I will never let you go.”
But now, she was truly on the verge of despair.
Before her lay only darkness.
There was no hope, let alone any chance of revenge.
“Should I kill myself?”
The thought appeared.
Then she immediately rejected it.
The Divine Dragon Temple had taught her that taking one’s own life for justice or to preserve one’s honour was noble and courageous.
But taking one’s own life out of despair or suffering was cowardly, weak, and shameful.
Although she had abandoned the Divine Dragon Temple, its teachings remained deeply engraved in her mind, impossible to erase.
She would never take her own life.
Even if she were beheaded as a sacrifice before the army, she would never choose suicide.
Inside the decaying dungeon, Yin Ji endured the pain in her face and gradually fell asleep.
Ever since her battle of spiritual power against Lingling, her mind had never fully recovered. She desperately needed rest.
In the middle of the night, the dungeon door suddenly opened.
Yin Ji immediately opened her eyes.
She saw someone she never expected.
It was Alfonso’s wife, the niece of the Black Demon Banner Lord.
The thin, sharp tongued woman who had once warned Yin Ji not to seduce her husband.
Yin Ji was puzzled.
Why had Alfonso’s wife come?
To torment her?
To mock her?
Alfonso’s wife looked at Yin Ji’s face with a complicated expression.
Such a perfect face.
She had cut it several times herself just to protect her purity.
“If I had been as brave as you back then, I wouldn’t have ended up like this. I could have married the man I truly wanted,” Alfonso’s wife said.
Yin Ji looked at her in confusion.
What did she mean?
Had Alfonso forced himself on her?
But from appearances, it seemed more likely that she was the one unworthy of Alfonso.
“I wasn’t as beautiful as you, but I was still considered quite attractive,” Alfonso’s wife said. “A woman who lives unhappily grows old quickly, and becomes ugly quickly.”
She took a deep breath.
“No matter what, you’ve called me your godmother for more than two years. Go. Go as far away as you can. There’s a horse waiting outside the north western section of the city wall.”
Then Alfonso’s wife removed her silk robe and handed it to Yin Ji.
Yin Ji was astonished.
The person who had saved her life was the very woman who had always disliked her the most.
She stood up and bowed deeply to Alfonso’s wife.
Then she put on Alfonso’s wife’s silk robe, covered her face, and walked out of the dungeon.
Along the way, the soldiers of the Silver Tribe and the Ankara Tribe saw the silk robe she wore and did not stop her.
Among them, only the chief’s wife or daughter could wear silk.
In this way, Yin Ji quietly made her way to the north western corner of the Silver Tribe’s walls.
Taking advantage of a shift change among the patrol guards, she climbed over the wall and walked several hundred metres farther.
Sure enough, she found a black horse waiting in the woods.
She mounted the horse and escaped the Silver Tribe, escaping the clutches of Nai Shu and Alfonso.
However…
The world was vast, yet she had nowhere to go.
…
Lingling used the Golden Griffon as a land mount and raced side by side with Khan Xieli towards the Demon Cave.
The speed of the centaurs was astonishing.
Especially Khan Xieli.
At full speed, he could run at well over seven to eight hundred li per hour.
The Golden Griffon galloped across the ground but could not keep up.
It spread its wings and took to the sky, yet still failed to match Khan Xieli’s speed.
The Griffon became thoroughly depressed.
Even while flying, it was slower than someone running on the ground.
“Hahaha! You long haired beast, you want to compete with me in speed? Try again in your next life!” Khan Xieli said arrogantly before slowing down slightly to let the Griffon catch up.
From the Xieli Tribe to the Demon Cave was more than a thousand li.
Along the way they passed through the territories of many Rakshasa tribes.
Under normal circumstances, countless tribal cavalry would have rushed out to intercept and rob them.
After all, this was their land. Outsiders were forbidden to enter.
However, the moment they heard Khan Xieli’s voice from afar, every Rakshasa patrol fled without a trace.
It seemed the surrounding Rakshasa tribes had long suffered from Khan Xieli’s raids.
The Centaur Tribe had always been the most arrogant bandits.
Three hours later…
They entered a valley.
There were no birds, no insects, and no wild animals.
This place lay close to the Demon Cave, the territory of the Black Ghost Old Demon.
Any living creature that approached would surely die.
As a result, this entire region had become a forbidden land for all life.
Long ago, tribal chiefs had reported the matter to Rakshasa City, requesting that His Majesty the Rakshasa King send experts to eliminate the Black Ghost Old Demon.
Nothing ever came of it.
After entering the valley, Khan Xieli clearly became cautious and alert.
Although he possessed tremendous strength and unmatched courage, martial skill meant nothing against an invisible enemy.
Lingling jumped down from the Golden Griffon and gently patted it.
The Griffon immediately flapped its wings and flew away.
This place was simply too terrifying.
The farther away it got, the better.
After walking several hundred metres through the valley, a small cave appeared ahead.
“This cave is the entrance to the Demon Cave,” Lingling said. “Your son was lured inside by the beauty from the Witch Kingdom.”
For countless years, no one who entered this cave had ever returned alive, regardless of how skilled they were.
Taking a deep breath, Khan Xieli said, “Great Moon Demon God, grant me courage, grant me wisdom, grant me clear eyes that can see through every disguise and every trap. Help me rescue my son.”
The mighty Centaur Khan knelt devoutly upon the ground in prayer.
Then he stretched out both arms as though embracing the moon in the sky, believing this would allow him to receive the Moon Demon God’s power.
After finishing his prayer, Khan Xieli visibly became more confident and courageous.
“Come. We enter the Demon Cave. I now have the protection of the Moon Demon God.”
As for whether the lowly Near Human beside him had received the Moon Demon God’s protection, he did not care in the slightest.
Centaurs had always been selfish.
Taking another deep breath,
Lingling and Khan Xieli stepped into the cave.
It felt as though they were walking into the open mouth of a demon.
For countless years, not a single person who entered the Demon Cave had ever come back alive.
…
The moment Lingling entered the Demon Cave, he discovered that Khan Xieli had disappeared.
Naturally, it was an illusion.
A hallucination.
However, despite using every method available and unleashing his powerful spiritual energy to resist it, nothing worked.
He could not break free from the illusion.
This was the Black Ghost Old Demon’s domain.
Although Lingling possessed extraordinary spiritual talent, his actual spiritual cultivation was nowhere near that of the thousand year old monster.
Of course, Lingling still had a trump card.
But now was not the time to use it.
He continued walking deeper into the cave.
Soon, he reached a fork in the passage.
The tunnel on the left was completely empty.
In the tunnel on the right stood a woman with her back facing him.
She had long hair and wore a pure white dress.
She stood perfectly still.
Should he go left?
Or right?
The woman was obviously an illusion.
Choosing the left path would mean avoiding it.
Lingling took a deep breath and walked towards the right.
The passage was narrow.
The woman completely blocked the way.
“Excuse me, could you move aside…” Lingling said softly.
The woman slowly turned around.
Lingling’s body trembled.
His mind went completely blank.
The face before him was one he knew all too well.
Beautiful.
Delicate.
Princess Zhining?
The mother of little Zhiyu.
Why was it her?
Even if this was an illusion, why would it be Zhining?
It could have been Zhiyan.
It could have been Yan Nai’er.
Why Zhining?
Moreover, this Zhining looked much thinner.
Her eyes had no focus at all.
She seemed to be blind.
“Hello. I’ve come from the Witch Kingdom to search for my husband. To escape people with evil intentions who kept following me, I had no choice but to enter this cave. I can’t see, so I’ve become lost.” Zhining’s lifeless eyes faced Lingling as she spoke. “Could you take me out? Also, my husband’s name is Suo Lun. Have you ever heard of him?”