After the ruckus that happened last night, MoXiao and LanRong was taken to the secret hall by the Empress Dowager's orders for further questioning while Wei Yue managed to capture the culprit, Cao XiuCai. The questioning of her majesty lasted for only an hour so BeiYin had then proceeded into the interrogation.
Cao XiuCai was bounded by chains of yúyuang whose metal suppresses any ability that he possesses which he had borrowed from the immortals. BeiYin stepped up on the throne and after she seated, BeiYin gave an eye to one of the guards holding XiuCai. The guard nodded and hit XiuCai on his left leg causing him to fall on his knees.
"XiuCai. I should've known that you're up to no good. I shall see to it that I will inform your father of your treachery and have him reprimand you."
"Ooh so righteous! I have never seen her majesty so angry before… But now…"
"Silence! Your foul mouth have no place in my kingdom! Because of you my husband… KuangHui… He…"
"I regret saying this but isn't her highness involving too much of her emotions and not her initiative?"
"You dare question my initiative? How about… I will impose a decree to break your ties with my daughter?!"
"That's preposterous! There is no law in your kingdom that allows lovers to cut ties after marriage."
"But you haven't been a lover to my daughter! You tricked her… You married her for your own personal gains. While you show her courtesy and sleep with her every night, you also hid her the corpse of your aunt that you molest every single day!"
"Yes I only married her for my personal gains and that is because I wanted to appease my father but even so, I love my aunt so much that I almost vomit sleeping with your own daughter every night. Her smell is different from what I love, her touch is different from the skin that I wanted to touch, her looks are different from that of my aunt's and I despise her that much!"
"Y—You!"
"Mother?" Cao Cao stepped up from behind the door and with teary eyes walked in front of the throne and turned a blind eye on XiuCai. She bowed and paid respects to her highness and sat beside her on the throne.
XiuCai, with hopeful eyes, pretended to be good and innocent for Cao Cao to have mercy on him. He thought that BeiYin was an immovable wall but Cao Cao bear his surname after all…
'Cao Cao is my wife up till now… She will have mercy at me and spare me and then her highness' accusations placed on me will melt away like nothing.'
Smirking like a lion that had caught it's prey, XiuCai afterwards put on his show shaking the chains and crying hysterically proving to Cao Cao that he's innocent.
"Cao Cao… You are my wife. Please spare me… I love you Cao Cao. I always do."
"Cao XiuCai, enough of your sugar-coated words. I heard everything as I came here."
"Then… You must know that I didn't mean to tell those words. My tongue is glib my dear... Please forgive me. Her highness is accusing me of such thing that I did not know of."
"You cannot fool me again XiuCai. I'm breaking off our marriage ties. Luckily, I did not get pregnant with your child or else I'll be raising another wild animal in your likeness."
"My dear… Please forgive me… Please…!"
"Guards! Take the Emperor away to the dungeon and have his imprudence be reported to the White Snake Country."
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Cool breeze blew over Old Jianghu over the summer season. In the orchard of a simple townsfolk household, peaceful yet bountiful harvest carried on. The He household is the most low ranked household surrounding Old Jianghu yet after the unprecedented event where Jin Ren, the Xuan Lang arrived on their lives, the seemingly dead apple orchard that only blooms and gives fruits a year, always have bountiful harvest every single day.
Qinghai helped her grandfather collect the apples and have them sell it at their house where a small stall was put up. Jin Ren was also given a fair share of food and a place to stay by He HuangJun and her grand daughter. They were the only ones that lived in the household after all since Qinghai's parents already died during the plague that had happened at Suzhou months ago.
"Jin Ren! Jin Ren! Can I climb on your back?"
"Err… No. You're heavy."
"But you carried me back then… Away from those bad guys!"
"You were in danger then!"
"Say, Jin Ren… You're a wolf but you can talk… Do other wolves talk like you?"
"No. I'm the only one that can talk."
"Uh… Do other's eat or sleep like you? You eat like a human, you sleep with your head faced upwards…"
"Kid… Stop asking me those useless questions and just leave me be."
Jin Ren pounced and crouched on the stone walls surrounding the orchard and went deep in the forest from the back of the orchard. He wasn't annoyed by the little girl it's just that he was seen as a threat by the ninth heaven and many people are trying to eliminate him…
'Qinghai. You are too young to understand but if I get close, your life will be in danger.'
Being a child knowing nothing, Qinghai approached her grandfather and asked him about Jin Ren's behavior earlier.
"Grandfather, Jin Ren was behaving weird. Was he supposed to get angry after asking him some questions?"
"Child, Jin Ren did not get angry. He just wants to keep his distance."
"Why do he need to do that Grandfather?"
"When I first met him, way back when we were selling apples at the city, I saw sadness in his eyes..."
"How can you tell if a person is sad when you look at their eyes?"
"Child, you're too young to understand but let me tell you something... Eyes are windows to the soul. When you want to know the person, may it be an animal… You look at their eyes and you will see if they are good or bad."
"Wow Grandfather… Thank you…"
"You're welcome child… What's the rush? Where are you going?"
"To Jin Ren. I'll go look for him grandpa. I'll be back soon!"
"Alright. Be careful."
Qinghai saw Jin Ren jump on the stone walls at the back of the orchard and followed him. The trail showed his footprints heading to the forest and followed it there. Qinghai gulped a lump of saliva. Her heart wanted to jump out of her chest but when she was deep in the forest, she heard voices of a woman and another man and more importantly…
'JIN REN!'
"FeiXian, YingLuo… I beseech thee… I came here in peace. I was banished from the ninth heaven as a Xuan Lang…"
"Shut up you! How dare you say that? You are an accomplice to Zhuge Liang's devious plan and you dare talk to me about peace?"
"YingLuo please… I was wrong about the humans. I have been living with them for few days now. They were nowhere Guan Yu had described before."
"You're a wolf and yet lived with them? Aren't they afraid of you?"
"Well FeiXian… I saved them from the robbers that attacked them inside the city."
YingLuo gritted her teeth and pointed her fan at Jin Ren.
"It doesn't matter! You caused a great trouble for my family! How are you going to compensate for that?"
"I have been redeeming myself now as a Xuan Lang. I do not know how to compensate myself but if I'll be given the chance, I will compensate it with my life."
"Then you shall compensate it now!"
Out of anger and intense feeling of rage, YingLuo was about to smite him with an immense spell when suddenly, her eyes grew as a little girl showed up in front of her. The little girl held her arms wide open with a clear conviction on her face that she doesn't want Jin Ren to be hurt.
YingLuo could do nothing but cancel the spell. She withdraw her divine weapon and put it inside her sleeve.
"You are not allowed to hurt Jin Ren…"
"Little girl, this is not a trivial matter… This Jin Ren you know of, he had done things that aren't good."
"I do not care. His eyes tell me that he's changed."
"Little girl… This is a bit untimely for a discussion with you. Let me deal with the wolf and—"
"No! Jin Ren is now a good wolf. He protected me and my grandfather from danger… Besides, on the first day that he and my grandfather met, he would've hurt my grandpa if he was a bad wolf am I right?"
"Child… This is not a trivial matter. Please step aside."
"If you want him, you have to go through me."
"Ch—Child."
"I… He QingHai pledges myself to this Xuan Lang Jin Ren and I will protect him with my whole life!"
With these words, a strong zephyr blew over the trees shaking the forest and a mysterious light showed on Jin Ren's forehead.
"The crest… It's…"
"YingLuo… There's nothing more we can do. Let's go."
"Enn."
FeiXian and YingLuo then vanished and Jin Ren stood there with his jaw almost dropped on the ground. Qinghai shook her head and lifted his jaw up.
"You know… Let's just get out of this forest."
"Ah Qing…"
"Enn?"
"Do you want to ride on my back?"
"Sure…"