Hua Qiyue was gasping. She shook herself free of Yun Shimo’s hand and her eyes were full of mounting anger. “He’s already so poorly. So how can I not worry? Please get lost, Yun Shimo. It’s none of your business!”
Yun Shimo watched the exceptionally vexed Hua Qiyue and heaved a deep breath. “I will find him back.”
The moment Yun Shimo said this, Hua Zun also stepped out. “I will go too.”
He was afraid Yun Shimo would try some wicked scheme on Tianpi.
Tianci pulled Hua Qiyue’s hand. “Mom, I’d like to find Grandmaster too.”
“Be good, Tianci. We will stay here. In a moment, dad will bring your Grandmaster back.” Yun Shimo glanced at Hua Qiyue and then departed Ice Palace with Hua Zun.
Watching them disappear in an instant, Hua Qiyue’s heart was disconcerted. Tianpi had left because he did not wish to harm her.
But she was, after all, indebted to him for her reborn life. So how could she just let him go like that?
After a long time, Yun Shimo and Hua Zun were still not back. But Tianpi had returned, alone. He was already in a new set of clothes. Although his hair was disheveled, his facial color had improved somewhat.
“Where are Yun Shimo and Hua Zun?” Seeing Tianpi back alone, the Sun Moon Deity’s face turned grim.
Tianpi rolled his eyes coldly at it. “I saw no one.”
“Humph, you must have killed them. Being a devil will raise a man’s true powers manyfold!” The Sun Moon Deity said, displeased.
Hua Qiyue was quietly stunned. She watched Tianpi’s tired face. “Master, you won’t kill them. If you would, they’d be dead already!”
The Sun Moon Deity chuckled exaggeratedly. “Hahaha, what a joke. When you’re a devil, you won’t be sane. Only after killing them will your mind clear. Then, it’ll be too late.”
Tianpi pursed his lips coldly. He ignored Sun Moon Deity and went back into the Ice Palace.
The moment he entered, an aura like the spring breeze assaulted his face. Hua Qiyue followed closely behind, while the Sun Moon Deity gave him a wide berth.
Tianpi returned to the kitchen. He raised a bowl of soup to his lips and drank it in one gulp. Hua Qiyue watched him worriedly. The Sun Moon Deity was clearing its throat, much displeased. Its instinct told it that Tianpi must have lured Yun Shimo and Hua Zun away using some stratagem and killed them.
“Are you alright now?”
Hua Qiyue watched that diabolically handsome yet exhausted face. She asked in a quiet voice.
“I’ve recovered. Don’t worry.”
Tianpi answered softly. The Sun Moon Deity’s face was frosty. “Recovered? Are you still trying to trick me? Unless you have the Purple Primordial Chaos Bead, you can never clear yourself of the demonic energy!”
Hua Qiyue furrowed her brows. She looked at the savage Sun Moon Deity. “How about me passing some Qi from the Purple Primordial Chaos Bead in my body to him?”
“It won’t work. Unless you two merge into one body. Then, the Primordial Chaos Qi from your body can circulate around his body once and clear the demonic energy. But someone with the Purple Primordial Chaos Qi cannot forcefully expel all of it from his body. He will surely die if he does.”
The Sun Moon Deity seemed to be gloating over Tianpi’s misfortune. “Tianpi, you are indebted to Tao Xian’er in her former life. Would you kill Qiyue in this life?”
Tianpi’s eyes turned red. He shook his head coldly. “I won’t tread my former path!”
His tone was exceptionally resolute. Hua Qiyue slowly lowered her head, her heart in a complete tangle.
Although the Sun Moon Deity was formerly an ordinary crane, it was now already a spirit animal at the great completeness of Great Deity. Its true powers would not be lower than Tianpi’s. It gave a cold snort and said no more.
Would Tao Xian’er’s tragedy repeat itself? Would Tianpi keep his promise? The outcome of all these remained to be seen.
Shortly after, Yun Shimo and Hua Zun returned safely to Ice Palace. They had gone after Tianpi’s aura. They discovered Tianpi had walked a circle around Ice City before turning back. They were so frightened that they rushed back at once.
When they returned to the Ice Palace, they found Tianpi still his same self, not a devil. He had not turned insane and massacred in a killing spree. Their hearts were finally set at ease.
Although Tianpi said he was fine, Hua Qiyue was still quite uneasy. That night, Tianpi personally roasted frogs which Hua Qiyue and Tianci liked.
The atmosphere on that night was exceptionally harmonious. Tianpi was chatting and joking. He seemed to have put talk of his demonization behind him. Tianci gnawed the frogs roasted by Tianpi and drank the soup brewed by Yun Shimo. His small face beamed with a satisfied joy.
The little fellow stealthily inched to Hua Qiyue’s ear and said, “Mom, if only they were always so harmonious! Then they wouldn’t be fighting all the time. How good would that be! If mom forgives dad, that will be a double joy. It’ll be perfect!”
Hua Qiyue rolled her eyes at Tianci. This boy really knew how to talk.
Yun Shimo served Hua Qiyue a bowl of soup. Gnawing the frogs, she did not even deign it a glance. It was Tianci who received the bowl and handed it to Hua Qiyue.
“Mom, drink this. You may be mad but you must still treat yourself well. This soup can replenish your Qi and keep you looking good.”
Tianci said with a grin. Hua Qiyue helplessly took the bowl of soup. Her son was the mediator and she was unwilling to disappoint him.
Tianpi’s diabolically handsome face had recovered its color. He seemed totally fine. Now and then, Hua Zun would throw him a glance, a tinge of worry clouding his brows.
After supper, Hua Qiyue went out for a stroll. Hua Zun also left and followed behind her silently.
“Hua Zun, you have something to say?” Hua Qiyue turned her head back and looked at the adorably boyish Hua Zun, asking in a whisper.
Hua Zun nodded, somewhat in a panic. He did not dare look into Hua Qiyue’s eyes. This man had never ceased to love Hua Qiyue, but now he was clearly much less fanatical than he was before.
“Although… we had caused Tianpi to become a devil, we regretted deeply after he killed Xian’er. If we hadn’t schemed to make Tianpi swallow the Hallucinatory Pearl, he wouldn’t have turned into a devil and caused Xian’er’s death. But you’re still here and Tianpi is becoming a devil again. In the end, I feel nothing but guilt. I don’t wish him any more harm.”
Hua Zun said, bowing his head. His long, curved eyelashes trembled. His boyish round face was tightly tensed, showing his regret. “Right now, there’s no way to clear the demonic energy in his body. Qiyue, I’m sorry. It’s all because of us…”
As Hua Zun went on, the rims of his eyes turned red. He helplessly wrung his hands, like a child who had done wrong.
Hua Qiyue was feeling totally dejected. Although she was not the real Tao Xian’er, Tao Xian’er must have felt utmost hopelessness at the point of her death. If it weren’t for Hua Zun and his friends, she and Tianpi would probably be happily married.
“Don’t mention the past. Try and find a way to clear the demonic energy in Tianpi’s body.” The moment she finished her words, she patted Hua Zun’s head. Hua Zun’s face immediately flushed with a crimson hue.
Hua Qiyue glanced at him and then departed noiselessly. She circled the Ice Palace once, unable to curb her rising emotions.
Sitting under the Bodhi Tree behind the palace, Hua Qiyue twirled the green jade gourd in her hand. Tianpi was trapped inside for more than 10,000 years and yet he could not remove all the demonic energy in his body. What other ways did they have for him to live a normal life?
“You’re worried about him?” A cold voice rang out from behind her. Hua Qiyue did not turn back her eyes. She merely continued twirling the green jade gourd, her expression solemn.
A black shadow streaked to her side. That person sat down, a pleasant herbal aroma wafting from his body. The north wind howled, cutting their faces like a knife.
Hua Qiyue did not feel the cold at all. Her heart was empty. In her mind, the words of Sun Moon Deity were reverberating.
Must they marry before Tianpi could clear the demonic energy inside his body?
“Hua Qiyue, I hope you won’t force yourself. There must be more than one solution,” Yun Shimo said in a low voice. “I’m now experimenting with a medicine pellet which can clear demonic energy inside a person’s body.”
Hua Qiyue did not deign to look at him. She stood up and headed back for the Ice Palace.
Yun Shimo also stood up, watching her back figure in a daze. His face was rather pale and the corners of his lips were pulled heavily downward. His figure was so lonely and yet so helpless.
It was nighttime.
Hua Qiyue tossed and turned on her bed. She felt no urge to sleep at all, so she got down the bed and went to Tianci’s room to pull up his blanket. Under the illumination of the luminous night gem, the young fellow’s face was so pretty— exactly like Rong Qiyue’s.
Hua Qiyue let off a soft sigh, caressing Tianci’s hair. The little fellow murmured a quiet “mom” before falling asleep again.
The rims of Hua Qiyue’s eyes turned slightly red. In her former life, Rong Qiyue had regarded Zhou Zhicheng as her everything, the most important man in her life. Only after Princess Huizhen ordered her slow torture to death did she realize that Tianci wasn’t Zhou Zhicheng’s real son.
But at that moment, she suddenly felt some relief. Just as well. So Tianci wasn’t that rascal’s son. In the future, Tianci would be a good lad, totally unlike Zhou Zhicheng who had mastered all kinds of depravity.
But when the truth was revealed, she felt so pained that she wanted to die. Yet speaking from her conscience, Yun Shimo was a million times better than Zhou Zhicheng.
After all, even if there was no Yun Shimo, Zhou Zhicheng would still marry other women and hooked himself up with Princess Huizhen.
And what Yun Shimo did was not out of his own conscious will. She could not blame him.
Hua Qiyue’s head began to throb from a piercing pain. She felt so troubled that she could not concentrate, nor could she sleep. When she thought suddenly of Tianpi who had acted normally in the day, she walked out of Tianci’s room and headed slowly for Tianpi’s.
Tianpi’s bedroom was near to her own. Hua Qiyue walked to outside his window. With the help of the dim luminous moonstone, she observed Tianpi on the bed. His eyes were shut and he was lying on the bed.
Because the light was dim, she could not see the color of his face. Hua Qiyue stopped and held her breath. She made it impossible for Tianpi to detect her aura.
Tianpi suddenly sat up, his eyes still closed, his lips tightly pursed, the green veins on his forehead protruding. He sat cross-legged on the bed and inhaled a deep breath. He seemed to be cultivating, or suppressing some Qi.
Hua Qiyue’s heart sank. She bit her lips, not permitting herself from making even the slightest sound.
Tianpi’s brows began to knit.
Something seemed to be trembling under the muscles of his diabolically handsome face. They shivered in waves, looking quite terrifying. Scars began to break out on his face as blood oozed out slowly!
His entire body emanated a thin, crimson, devilish light. Watching him, even Hua Qiyue felt her head dizzy and her chest suffocate.
