Chapter 180: Chapter 171: The Last Princess; Throat Slit Before Palace Gates
"I've never had the fortune to meet the Rain Master, so I didn't know the Rain Master is a princess..." Xie Lian said.
On the other side, Xuan Ji gritted her teeth, "What... did you do... why... can't... I move?!"
The Rain Master pulled her eyes away from Pei Ming and said gently, "I've brought the YuLong* Sword."
"The YuLong Sword?" Xie Lian wondered.
"It's the sacred guardian sword of the Kingdom of YuShi, wielded by all of its rulers in history. After the Rain Master ascended, she forged it as a spiritual device, and, naturally, possessed the power to stupefy the people of YuShi. Xuan Ji was a traitor, fear and guilt still consumed her heart, so of course she could do naught but obey.
The Rain Master told her not to move, and so she couldn't move. Rong Guang exclaimed, "If you can't move, I'll do it myself!" Then, just as he was about to stab Pei Ming again, before his blade even pierced half an inch there was an explosion of red smoke, and CLUNK! The sword that pierced Pei Ming's chest disappeared. A tiny blade no longer than a finger fell to the ground, and Rong Guang yelled furiously, "WHAT'S GOING ON? WHY CAN'T I MOVE EITHER??"
Xie Lian and the others finally stopped watching from afar, and walked out. Hua Cheng glanced at that tiny toy-like MingGuang sword on the ground and smirked, "Much better."
"Let him go, Xuan Ji." The Rain Master said.
Xuan Ji's hands started to drop uncontrollably from Pei Ming's neck, but she refused to yield, her hands quivering, "I WON'T! I ALREADY CAUGHT HIM, I WON'T LET HIM GO!"
"If you must grab hold of something to feel better, why not pick up what you've tossed away, and hold it in your hands anew?" The Rain Master said.
The powers of that sacred guardian sword was too strong after all, and Xuan Ji was forcibly yanked off, falling back to the ground, unkempt and miserable, "What right do you have to discipline me? Do you really take yourself for the ruler of the kingdom? I think you've forgotten how your queenship came to be! I WON'T ACKNOWLEDGE YOU! I WON'T!"
The Rain Master was silent. On the side, Ban Yue snatched the opportunity and hurled out a pot, sucking Xuan Ji in instantly, and swiftly sealed it!
And so, the source of all the mess was finally subdued. Xie Lian approached Pei Ming's side and helped him up, "General Pei's alright?"
"This won't kill me." Pei Ming said. "I say, Your Highness, did you all perhaps arrive for a while already?"
Xie Lian, "...Haha, what do you mean."
Pei Ming picked up the tiny little sealed Ming Guang sword now in his hand, "Crimson Rain Sought Flower, how tough is your seal? It won't just break with some pressure, would it?"
"Of course not." Hua Cheng replied, "Unless you hold the hilt and apply spiritual powers, and mentally give it permission for it to be released, otherwise the seal won't break by accident or by deception no matter what."
Only then did Pei Ming heave a long sigh. As for the farmers who escaped Qi Rong's capture, they all rushed forward, "LORD RAIN MASTER!"
The ones on this side turned around. Xie Lian inclined his head in a bow, "Queen YuShi."
The Rain Master had dismounted the black ox, rope in hand, and she also bowed her head to return the courtesy, "Your Royal Highness."
During this greeting, Xie Lian inadvertently saw her neck and was slightly taken aback, but then soon said, "Back then during XianLe's draught, that my lord would lend me your Rain Master Hat and aid me in my time of need, I was never able to thank you in person, and now my wish has come true today." Then, he bent forward and bowed deeply. The Rain Master stood there, still, and waited until his bow was over before she said, "I had thought, if I didn't let Your Royal Highness bow this once, my lord might never relax. Now that it's over, let us forget this affair."
The tone of her voice was clear and serene, slow and calm with a bit of a smile, looking particularly tranquil. Suddenly, a voice called out, "Hey Pei Ming, isn't this embarrassing? Needing a woman to save you, and it's that Yu Shi Huang no less! Hehehahahaha..."
The Rain Master's demeanor remain unchanged, still very at ease, but Pei Ming didn't look that comfortable anymore. Xie Lian noticed this and quickly slapped a talisman on that little sword to seal its mouth. The ox held by the Rain Master also suddenly started blowing harsh breaths in Pei Ming's direction, shaking its head and swinging its tail. Although it wasn't aiming at Hua Cheng, but Xie Lian knew that when bulls saw red they'd get angry, and recalled the many painful experiences of having been chased and struck, so he quickly blocked in front of Hua Cheng, afraid that ox would be further provoked by the red colour of Hua Cheng's robes. Pei Ming had to say something at this point, thus, he scratched his nose, and said politely, "My thanks to Queen YuShi for rescuing Little Pei."
The Rain Master was also courteous, "It's nothing."
Ban Yue came over and tugged on the Rain Master's sleeve, "Lord Rain Master, Pei Su gege passed out from hunger..."
Hua Cheng looked up and swept a look, "Let's go back up first."
Ban Yue's problem was most effectively solved by people of YuShi Country. Since the Rain Master ruled agriculture, food often never left their persons. Once they were back above ground, night had passed and the sun had come out. The Rain Master instantly retrieved seeds from the satchel on the ox, found a field, and planted them on the spot. It didn't take long before a small field of crops were grown. Those who had been starving all cheered.
Xie Lian remembered that Gu Zi probably hadn't eaten well in the past few days either, and woke him up. However, the first thing Gu Zi asked for when he woke up was where his dad was, and had thought his dad deserted him again. He cried and sobbed for a good while, and Xie Lian had no choice but to give him that extremely ugly daruma doll to hold. When Gu Zi heard this was his dad, it was like he was given treasure and stopped crying, hugging it tightly as he ate.
Meanwhile, Xie Lian, Hua Cheng, the Rain Master, and Pei Ming stood on the side to discuss serious business.
They could already see that 'Kiln' up ahead. Upon closer look, the lower half of the mountain was large patches of crimson red like that of blood, and the upper half was covered with harsh layers of snow. Xie Lian spoke up, "Not just General Pei Junior, but Ban Yue, Gu Zi, and the others must all stay here. They can't go onwards anymore. If the need arises, we might have to climb the snowy mountain."
Pei Ming was dabbing medicinal smoke from a small bottle over his wounds, shaking his head as he sighed, "I've been unlucky this entire way, hurdles after hurdles."
Those words really did describe his journey thus far, incredibly unfortunate, and he was feeling quite miserable. The Rain Master was sitting poised next to Xie Lian, and after some contemplation, she said, "Your Highness, your mission this time is to subdue all monsters and ghosts who possess the potential to become a Supreme. Then, there is one that you may need to watch out for."
Xie Lian became excited, "Did Lord Rain Master run into something on the road?"
The Rain Master nodded slightly, "Yes. On the way here, I've met a young man dressed in white."
Xie Lian let out a soft "ah" and said, "The one my lord speak of, we've also caught wind of him on the road. Many of the monsters and ghosts were afraid of him, and we almost ran into him too. Have my lord seen him in person? How did you get away?"
"Much ashamed." The Rain Master said, "If it wasn't for this Protection Steed's astounding leg power and that young man's lack of interest in disputes, it would've been difficult to say how the meeting would've ended."
"How did he look like?" Xie Lian pressed.
"It wasn't clear," The Rain Master said, "Because his head was wrapped in bandages."
Head wrapped in bandages?!
Xie Lian was dumbfounded, "Was it Lang Ying?!"
Pei Ming frowned, "Your Highness knows him?"
"I'm not too sure." Xie Lian replied, then instantly turned to Hua Cheng, "San Lang, Lang Ying is in the Ghost City for sure, right?"
Hua Cheng also looked serious, and only answered after a pause, "He was, but whether if he is still is hard to say. Gege, why don't you verify further?"
Xie Lian thus continued his questions, "Lord Rain Master, you said this white clad young man had his head wrapped in bandages, was he about ten years of age, or maybe a bit older? Either way, a scrawny boy."
Yet unexpected, the Rain Master replied, "No. That young man was about sixteen or seventeen, and his body type was close to that of Your Highness."
"Huh?" Now this was completely out of Xie Lian's expectations. "Sixteen, seventeen? Lang Ying isn't that old."
So was it him? Based on the current information, nothing could be concluded. Pei Ming tossed that little medicinal bottle aside after he was done and said, "Either way, we'll all end up in the Kiln in the end, so let's just wait and see."
He was a martial god after all, and his recovery speed was curiously fast. With just a bottle of medicine, that severe wound was already pretty much healed. The Rain Master inclined her head, "Why doesn't General Pei have a sword?"
Pei Ming hadn't expected that she would actively ask himself that question, and hadn't figured out how to best respond, and on the side, Pei Su who was finally conscious, answered while eating a roasted sweet potato, "General, Pei's, sword was, snapped."
When the Rain Master heard this, she contemplated for a moment before removing her own sword, and handed it to Pei Ming in both hands.
There wasn't anything off about her expression, and both her words and actions were very well-mannered. However, Pei Ming's face changed slightly, looking as if she was giving him a poisonous snake. After some hesitation, he said, "Thanks, but this is the Rain Master's sacred guardian sword. It's probably inappropriate wielded in my hands."
"General Pei is a martial god, a skilled swordsman." The Rain Master said, "Since we are here to prevent the birth of a new ghost king, then this sword would be more effective if wielded by you rather than me."
Pei Ming hesitated for another good while but in the end still very politely declined, "Pei thanks Queen YuShi for her kindness. But there's no need."
Seeing this, the Rain Master no longer pushed. The few of them then chatted for a bit, and the Rain Master also inquired whether if they had any news of the Wind Master. Only then did Xie Lian learn that the Rain Master had also sent for a search, but it was fruitless, and he couldn't help but sigh.
The group of them decided that they shall rest for another two hours before continuing on their way. Xie Lian walked off for a bit and had wanted to just find a tree to lean against and lie down for a bit, but Hua Cheng dug out a bunch of ropes and cloth from who knows where, and set up two swinging hammock beds between two trees. The two of them climbed in, and there was ample space, very comfortable to lie in. After lying for a bit, Xie Lian had his arms pillowing the back of his head, and wondered in confusion, "San Lang, why won't General Pei take Lord Rain Master's sword?"
A martial god lost his weapon but he's not anxious to find another one? Was he waiting to be beat?
Hua Cheng also pillowed his arms behind his head and replied leisurely, "Someone like Pei Ming, while he loves women, he might not think highly of women. Since he had to be saved, and by a woman, and one he knew in the past no less, he must be quite frustrated, thinking it's embarrassing. Besides, the Rain Master had disciplined his descendant before, so perhaps he felt the Rain Master was trying to make fun of him. How could he possibly take the sword?"
"Sigh, what nonsensical pride." Xie Lian commented. "By the way, San Lang, did you see? There's an old scar on Lord Rain Master's neck."
"I don't need to see to know." Hua Cheng said, "She's the 'Princess Who Slit Her Throat' after all."
Xie Lian pulled himself up slightly, "I knew it."
Hua Cheng rose too, "Did gege notice that the Rain Master speaks slowly? That's also caused by the old scar on her neck."
"Ah! And here I thought it was because of her personality." Xie Lian said, "As a princess, why did she have to slit her own throat? Xuan Ji's "Have you forgotten how your queenship came to be" also makes one curious. How did her queenship come to be?"
"It's a long story, but I'll make it short." Hua Cheng replied.
Turns out, while Yu Shi Huang certainly was of royal descent from the Kingdom of YuShi, but, first, she was daughter; second, she was born from a concubine of the lowest rank, so her status wasn't high. With her introverted personality and awkwardness, the fifteen older brothers and sisters above and the younger brothers and sisters below, each and every one of them was more in favour than she was.
The Royal Cultivation Hall of the Kingdom of YuShi was the Temple of YuLong, and throughout history, every ruler would select a royal descendant to go and cultivate, to pray for prosperity and peace to express sincerity to the heavens. It sounded grand, but in truth it was hard labour. The method of cultivation the Temple of YuLong practiced was hard labour; no servants or any item of comfort was permitted, and once they're there they had to do manual labour too. In the past, this position was pushed around, and some would even spend an impressive fortune to find a replacement. However, when this generation came around, there was no selection process. Yu Shi Huang was decided on from the get go.
"No wonder Xuan Ji sounded like she didn't think highly of the Rain Master." Xie Lian remarked.
"Of course." Hua Cheng said, "Xuan Ji might not be a princess, but she also came from an impressive background with many suitors. She was much more valued in the eyes of royalty and nobility." However, now that Xuan Ji had ruined herself like this, no wonder she couldn't stand the Rain Master who still planted fields so tranquilly. The Rain Master urged her to let go, but in Xuan Ji's eyes, her words were probably seen as condescendingly sarcastic.
Xie Lian shook his head. While they were both from a royal background and both entered the royal cultivation halls, the Rain Master's experience was completely different than his.
In an case, after that, the Rain Master spent her days in peace and cultivation in the Temple of YuLong. Until one day, a few esteemed guests came to from the Kingdom of XuLi.
XuLi and YuShi didn't immediately fall out; there was some forced civility and false courtesy at first. In order to maintain the bogus peace, the Kingdom of XuLi sent a few royalties, generals, and civil officials to attend the national banquet of the Kingdom of YuShi, and pay a visit to YuShi's royal cultivation hall while they were at it.
That day, Yu Shi Huang was cleaning the shingles on the roof of the temple, and when she was about to come down, she found someone had taken the ladder away.
The people at the bottom saw someone stuck on top of the roof, unable to come down, and all thought it funny, and even the princesses and princes of YuShi were snickering with their mouths covered. Only a general of XuLi who, after chuckling, leapt up and brought her down.
This general was of course Pei Ming. Just then, a voice spoke up suddenly, "That guy Pei Ming, he's like that no matter where he goes, like a dog that needs to piss and mark his territory everywhere."
Xie Lian was instantly pulled back to the present by that malicious and vulgar comparison. When he looked back, he picked up the unbelievably shrunken little sword and said, "General Rong, when did you break free of the mouth sealing talisman? It seems you really want to talk."
"Let this ancestor speak!" Rong Guang said, "I know every sordid affair Pei Ming has had, three days and three nights won't be enough to tell it all! He knew XuLi was going to invade YuShi but still he went and seduced all the princesses in the most favour, and they were all crazy for him, fighting each other over jealousy. Don't you think that's a little immoral?"
It certainly wasn't nice. To smile and laugh with me yesterday, then invade and trample my home today. Xie Lian felt a little sorry. "Did Queen YuShi and General Pei share a good
relationship back then too?"
"There was no relationship." Rong Guang said, "That guy Pei Ming has only ever met Yu Shi Huang twice. There were too many beauties in YuShi; he'd forgotten her the next day."
In this world, it wasn't only women who fall out fast; men fall out even faster, the only difference being the end result. When women fell out, it might be over after some slaps or scratching, but when men fell out, the end could very well be your death. When XuLi no longer wished to maintain a false peace, they made up some excuse to invade, and Pei Ming lead the army and charged all the way to the Palace Gates, forcing the king of YuShi at the time to hide deep within the palace, holding on to the very last line of defense. However, Pei Ming only needed to apply a bit of pressure and he could crack that snail shell-like, delicate layer of protection that is the palace.
But, he didn't crush them so simply, and instead, did something else under Rong Guang's suggestion.
The XuLi troops brought over hundreds of felons on the death row from YuShi, dressed them up as normal civilians, and dragged them before the palace gates. Then, he told King YuShi if he should come out himself and kowtow three times to show penance for oppressing his people, kill himself in atonement, then he would let those civilians go and not lay a single finger on any of the remaining members of the royal house. If he should refuse, Pei Ming would chop off those civilians' heads. He gave the royalties three days time, and every day in the three days, a new group would be killed. After three days pass, they would invade the palace to kill the royals then kill the rest of the civilians.
"General Rong, what a shrewd but beautiful move." Xie Lian remarked.
Rong Guang wasn't mad and was even pleased, "I'll take that as a compliment."
The reason XuLi used to invade YuShi became thus: "The King of YuShi was negligent and oppressive in his rule, and out of justice, XuLi shall save and rescue the suffering YuShi people", a beautiful move.
If King YuShi refused to come out, then, he was selfish and didn't love his people. The awkward thing was, King YuShi had always publicized that he loved his people like his children, so if his words and actions didn't match, it would for sure produce resentment in the people, thinking they've been deceived, "Didn't you say you loved your people like your children? Why would you turn around and have the civilians be sacrificed for the sake of royalty?" This would then destroy their loyalty to the YuShi royalty.
After killing that group of 'civilians', they could then announce that they were felons already on the death row anyway, doomed to die, and they were only used to reveal the lies and selfishness of YuShi royalties. Such an immense contrast, it would surely calm the growing fears in the hearts of the YuShi people, which would make things so much easier for XuLi's subsequent takeover.
However, if King YuShi really did come out and killed himself, whatever, there'd be no difference, it'd save them the hassle. Besides, they firmly believed that King YuShi would never come out to kill himself in atonement. Or rather, no monarch would be willing to end their life in humiliation. To bow before civilians and enemy troops, admit one's own mistakes then go die? Dream on!
Yet unexpectedly, after only one day, just as Pei Ming was about to order for the execution of the first group of 'civilians', the ruler of YuShi actually did emerge.
The palace gates opened, the monarch with the sacred guardian sword 'YuLong' hung at the waist had walked out, kneeled before the people and kowtowed three times, then the sword was pulled, slashing the throat, splashing the gates with blood.
Xie Lian could already guess what had happened, "Was it Lord Rain Master who had come out?"
"It was." Hua Cheng replied.
Later, it was after thoroughly interrogating the palace attendants and others of royal descent that they found out what happened. Pei Ming and Rong Guang, and other soldiers were yelling outside the palace, pacing back and forth, laughing nonstop, exceedingly arrogant. Within the palace on the other hand, was utter chaos, crying and wailing filled the air. There was naturally no way King YuShi would go out to kill himself, and he sat upon his throne, his face grim and pale. Meanwhile, after all the brothers and sisters who usually fought each other so hard to gain favours howled and wailed for so long, when they still didn't see the king move a muscle, they each began to very carefully try to persuade him. There were all kinds of reasons; what 'this is for the people", "even if you die your name will go down in history", "if this keeps up, the people are doomed", everything came out. Yet, nothing worked, and soon, a day was going to pass. Some of the sons were growing anxious and they roared at their father in their agitated state.
The king hadn't even died yet, and he was instantly outraged, swinging his staff out to beat them. If this was before, then those sons and grandsons would surely never retaliate, but now that they were in a critical state, no one cared. Thus, one of the princes couldn't endure it and fought back. Yet the back punch was too powerful, knocking the sixty some years old king down, his head covered with blood, unable to get back up.
The group of princes and princesses were stupefied at first, but soon after, they realized they were still angry, and restarted discussing how to drag the unconscious king out, and how to complete the difficult request of kowtowing and atoning. Even ridiculous ideas like to hang him like stringed puppets to control him were part of the heated discussion, and the king's eyes reddened from rage as he listened. After, they then decided that they'll find two people to carry the old king out to complete the atonement. However, now there was a new problem. Who should those two people be? It was a dangerous position to be in; who knows if that Pei Ming would just shoot an arrow and kill them dead if he wasn't happy.
The dispute and arguments went on and on, on and on. Suddenly, the sixteenth princess who had always stood there silently and unnoticeably, said something to the old king who was lying on the ground.
Yu Shi Huang said, "Please pass the throne to me."
King YuShi watched this daughter he barely looked at in all his life, and in the corner of his eye, a crummy drop of tear finally rolled down.
However, it was only the one drop.
Thus, in less than an hour, in the crudest and most rushed succession ceremony in the history of the Kingdom of YuShi, the monarch who was the least likely to become queen was born.
The new Queen of YuShi slit her own throat, and blood poured like a fountain, no doubt beyond saving. Pei Ming had never thought things would progress like this, and he was completely stunned at the time. Rong Guang cursed loudly, yelling how did things turn out like this? How could they do this! To have someone insignificant die, not only could they not destroy the people's loyalty, they couldn't kill the old crook either.
Although even the soldiers of XuLi couldn't bear to watch anymore and rushed to save the queen, in the end her injury was too great, and the medical officers all said she couldn't be saved. Thus, in the end, they could only keep their promise, and not touch the civilians nor temporarily lay fingers on the royalty. They sent this 'monarch' to the Temple of YuLong, to have her breathe her last before burying her in the royal mausoleum at the Temple of YuLong.
Yet no one had imagined, that very night, in that moment when Yu Shi Huang took in her last breath, the divine statue of the Rain Master over her head sighed.
Thunder roared and lightning crackled; the new Rain Master had ascended.
Xie Lian mused, "No wonder General Pei looked like that when he saw that sword."
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●YuLong - means the Rain Dragon
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