Chapter 17: Release |
The ice and cold made the doors stiff and hard to move. Once opened, a harsh blast of frigid air gushed out, revealing a cavernous room within. An ice stalagmite stood at each corner, reaching nearly ten feet high. Bound in the center was a spherical crystal ball of ice. It was completely clear, allowing for an unobstructed view of the woman who lay curled up inside. Her eyes were closed as though in deep slumber. She was clad in a dark robe while her hair lay unbound in loose waves around her.
The sound of footsteps in the room broke the frozen silence and the woman immediately opened her eyes. They were bright and clear with no hint of confusion.
The messenger knelt on one knee and kowtowed in salute. “Your Highness. Your confinement has been lifted.” He uncorked a small vial of blood and poured the liquid on the floor. This made the four ice stalagmites in the corner glow and the ice crystal in the center to gradually melt. After shrinking to half their original size, the crystal lost its suspension abilities and plunged down, disturbing the layers of ice and snow on the floor. Heavy gusts of white matter fluttered in the air.
Shěn Lí needed his help to get up because her limbs were stiff from being frozen for so long. After standing up she brushed off the large flakes of ice still clinging to her body. “They sealed me in the Cold Palace of Atonement and dare to only call it a confinement?”
Like the temporal rifts that created the Ruins, the Cold Palace was a forbidden place, however there were two major differences between the two. The strength of the seal over the Cold Palace was stronger than the one over the Ruins. But unlike the Ruins, which held countless entities sealed, the Cold Palace could only hold one entity at a time. This meant that demons too powerful for normal imprisonment were executed instead of imprisoned in the palace - the space was simply too precious. In fact, it had remained unoccupied until Shěn Lí’s confinement.
Shěn Lí never dreamed she would be confined to it. To think that an endowment of marriage would the cause. For the Demon emperor to seal her away in the highest confinement, he had to have been really worried about her running away again. It went to show just how important the marriage was.
“So, the emissaries from the Immortal realm are here? I have to leave now?”
He respectfully answered with, “Please be patient Your Highness. They will not arrive until next month.”
“How long was I confined?” She still remembered the day she was ordered into her confinement. Back then, she had not been told how long her punishment would last. While inside the Cold Palace, she had completely lost track of time, a day was the same as a year to her.
January. . . so thirty days.
The gates slammed closed behind them. Shěn Lí looked around and saw a figure in dark uniform not far away. He came forward and bowed to her.
Mò Fāng.
He spoke to the one behind Shěn Lí. “I will escort Her Highness back. You may return to your normal duties.”
Mò Fāng knelt down on one knee after the other man left. “This subordinate was unable to help Your Highness escape. Please punish accordingly!”
Shěn Lí looked down at him, sighing just a little. She patted him on the shoulders, signaling him to look up. “I know you must have tried until you were completely exhausted. You kept them at bay for nearly half a day. That was enough. It was my lack of abilities that prevented me from escaping. I was unable to properly meet your expectations.”
“Your Highness. . . ”
“Let us return home.” Shěn Lí stretched her hands up to the sky. “I haven’t been home in such a long time.”
“Your Highness. . . there is something else I must say.” Mò Fāng paused for a moment before finally saying, “The one in the Mortal realm. . . he passed away.”
“Yes. I figured as much.”
One day here was the equivalent to one year there, so thirty years had passed. It was expected Xíng Yún would pass on. Besides, how else could the Demon emperor feel free enough to release her? The emperor who raised her knew her personality too well.
“Let’s go back home.” Shěn Lí walked only a few steps forward before she turned around. “Were you there when he died?”
Mò Fāng nodded. “He was calm and peaceful.”
“Of course he would be. . . he’s like that.” No matter the situation, he never seemed affected. “He’s probably somewhere laughing right now.”
Mò Fāng paused for a moment remembering Xíng Yún. The last time he saw him, the man had been calmly lying in bed. He had looked at Mò Fāng for a several seconds before speaking.
“You’re Shěn Lí’s subordinate.”
It was obvious he had very little energy, barely even able to speak. He took three more breaths before gasping out a question. “Shěn Lí, how is she?”
Mò Fāng didn’t answer him and Xíng Yún didn’t press further. Instead Xíng Yún looked at him with a smile before closing his eyes and resting. He was indeed the image of indifference. Still, he had kept Shěn Lí in his thoughts even after thirty years. Mò Fāng didn’t tell this to Shěn Lí though. He only asked, “Will you look for him?”
“No.” Without turning around Shěn Lí stepped onto a cloud. “I took a fancy to the Xíng Yún of 30 years ago. Any future reincarnations of him has nothing to do with me.”
Her residence was not far from the imperial city, so Shěn Lí would able to return home quickly. People on the ground looked up as she flew by. She was used to the onlookers watching, so paid them no mind. Once she reached home, she stepped off the cloud. Shěn Lí barely regained her footing on solid ground when a figure dashed so madly towards her that the sound of wind breaking could be heard. This person only paused momentarily to kneel in greeting before throwing herself onto the ground and grabbing onto Shěn Lí's legs and crying piteously.
“Your Highness! You’re finally back! Oh Your Highness!”
Seeing this sight made Shěn Lí rub her eyebrow. “Get up. Prepare water. I want to take a bath. Is Cook here? Have Cook prepare a meal too.”
The chubby, big-bottomed girl tearfully looked up at Shěn Lí, her eyes bright with hope.
“General Mò Fāng told us earlier that Your Highness would be returning home today. Water has already been drawn for a bath and Cook has some hot steamed rice ready as well.”
Shěn Lí was surprised Mò Fāng had the foresight to prepare for her arrival. She turned around and looked back at Mò Fāng.
“If there is nothing else Your Highness, this servant asks to be excused.”
“Yes. . . That’s fine.” Shěn Lí walked into the inner courtyard with the girl, intending to go and rest.
Shěn Lí didn’t like having too many people around, so the residence was mostly empty with just a skeletal staff on hand. This was how she liked it. Mrs. Zhang handled all the housekeeping. She was a married woman with a reticent manner about her, rarely speaking much and instead preferred to hide and avoid others.
Ròu Yā, the noisy girl from earlier, acted as a personal maidservant and server to Shěn Lí.
Aside from these two, there was one other staff member who was in charge of the kitchen. Cook was an easygoing person with a very simple and straightforward personality; however, it was rare to see Cook leave the kitchen.
As for the final member of the household. . .
“Squawk, Highness! Highness came back! Highness!” In the corner of the room was a large parrot perched inside a cage making a tremendous racket.
“Hey, shut it!” Shěn Lí looked at the bird with a fierce stare before walking behind a screen to take her clothes off. Then she got into the tub and made herself comfortable. She kept her head just above the water and was about to take a nap when from behind the screen Parrot started up again.
“Highness ran away! Highness got caught! Must marry! Squawk Highness! Sad! Sad! Highness? Highness?! HIGHNESS?!!”
Shěn Lí mouthed something while waving her hand. With a clang, the door of the bird cage opened. Then she formed her hand into a claw used some qi to pull the bird out. With this, Parrot was caught. She pinched its wing and lifted it to eye level.
“Say, I’ve never seen you without feathers before.”
This sounded like a threat. Parrot immediately became still before erupting again. “Eh?! What? No! Highness. . . ah! Ah! MERCY! Spare me HIGHNESS!”
Ròu Yā, who was keeping watch outside, heard the commotion and wondered what was happening. Her Highness seemed to be having a good time playing together with Parrot.
She barely cracked the door open when a bird was flung out through the gap, its bottom scraped smoothed. It looked like Parrot was trying to dig a hole to bury itself in . . It was a stupefying scene.
“Er? . . . Parrot?”
In an indifferent tone, Shěn Lí said, “Don’t bother with it. It can’t fly anyways.” That last part was spoken with a smirk undertone shining through.
Ròu Yā felt that perhaps Her Highness had a rough time in the Mortal realm and that maybe her experience had distorted her personality a little bit . . .
. . .After her bath Shěn Lí sat down to have a meal. While in the middle of it, a messenger from the imperial palace came to deliver a message. The Demon emperor wanted her to come to the palace in order to select the style of her wedding dress later in the afternoon.
After hearing the command, Shěn Lí continued to pick at the dishes in front of her in a leisurely fashion. Once the messenger left, Ròu Yā, who was fanning her at the side, expressed her grievances.
“Pick what dress? Lord Fú Róng, that playboy! It’s his good fortune that Your Highness is willing to come back and marry him. Would you believe he tried to engage the Immortal emperor in a battle of wits, as if he could really win. He kept running back to the Immortal emperor to make a fuss about how he was unwilling to pledge his love and didn’t want to take a wife. Acting as though Your Highness would demand his affections. Tch!”
Shěn Lí heard this and shot a glance at Ròu Yā. “How many times did Lord Fú Róng complain to the Immortal emperor?”
Ròu Yā seriously considered the question then scratched her head and began to count on her fingers. “Ah. . . a lot! While Highness was in the Mortal realm Lord Fú Róng visited the Immortal emperor so many times that this servant has lost count. This servant heard that the Immortal emperor wouldn’t allow him to go out and play.”
“Oh, seems I’m not the only one suffering. I feel better then.” Shěn Lí’s heart relaxed a bit knowing the other party was suffering too.
. . .“Completely shameful! Utterly disgraceful!” Fú Róng whipped his sleeves around angrily causing a square shaped mahogany plate to crash to the floor. The servants nearby immediately knelt on the ground in fear.
“Your Highness, please calm your anger.”
Fú Róng, resplendent in a white robe trimmed with gold, kicked the plate away. It didn’t ease his anger and he continued ranting. “Isn’t she supposed to be fleeing from the marriage? Why the hell is she here trying to pick out the sort of wedding gown she wants? I don’t want to see that kind of thing happening!”
The servant knelt down and whispered, “The Azure Sky king was brought back a month ago.”
“Isn’t she supposed to be really good at combat? Why is she so useless now?!” Fú Róng gritted his teeth. “No! I have to beg the emperor. I can’t marry that woman!” After saying so he rushed out intending to do just that.
“Ah! Your Highness you can’t go! You’ll anger the Immortal emperor again!”
Fú Róng refused to listen and instead hurried to the Heavenly Palace hall. Once there, he pushed past the attendant without allowing the man to properly announce his presence. He shoved the hall doors open with a "bang!" and stepped inside.
Once in, he threw himself on the ground and sobbed huge alligator tears, making quite a ruckus. “Grandfather, this grandson is very bitter!” Usually, he would be scolded immediately for making a scene. It felt odd that the emperor wasn’t saying anything. Not hearing a sound, he looked up in surprise to find a figure beside his grandfather. “Eh?!”
A man stood to left of the emperor. His hair was bound with a jade hairpin, but several strands escaped and fluttered lazily around his face. He stood as straight as a board and emanated a dense amount of qi. There wasn’t a speck of dust on his pure white robe.
Fú Róng felt impending danger. He stared blankly.
The Immortal emperor suppressed his anger and spoke from his seated position on the throne. “Are you just overly emotional because Lord Xíng Zhǐ is here?”
Fú Róng stared at a loss for words, although he was wanton and negligent of his duties, even he knew the name of the deity of the ancient past – the only deity still walking the realms, Lord Xíng Zhǐ.
. . . Author notes: The author has something to say: We’re finally going into the second part of the story! Let’s start talking about some theories! The male lead is indeed not Fú Róng. Hahahahah! Was that revealed too late?otwentyfirst: This seemed like a pivotal point in the story so I added the author’s notes in.
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