NOVEL NEXT Ch. 18
Chapter 18: Sacred Bodhisattva
Someone let out a miserable scream.
The midnight lantern flickered in and out, finally illuminating his eyes that had never closed.
Plop.
He sank to the bottom of the lake, a smear of bright red slowly surfaced, yet eerily enough, that trace of blood seemed to be devoured by the lake water.
Very soon, not even the shadow of his corpse or bones could be seen on the lake’s surface.
No.
Not just him.
Any cultivator who died on this lake, when their remains sank to the bottom, all seemed to have been devoured by some kind of ferocious beast.
This scene, of course, was unseen by those who were obsessed with seizing the Heaven-Mending Pill.
Su Luoqiu muttered: “Third Sister?!”
“Mm.”
The voice was ethereal, as if it did not belong to this world.
It was a young girl.
Her hair seemed as though dyed silver by the moonlight.
She wore no makeup, yet her beauty was unbelievably striking.
Clad in a blue dress, she appeared as though she was a celestial fruit birthed by heaven and earth, and at the same time bore a kind of Buddhist aura, like a sacred and compassionate Bodhisattva descending into the world.
But the Bodhisattva was blindfolded, unable to see the world’s suffering.
She held in her hands a black cloth-covered birdcage, locking away her own seven emotions and six desires.
Thus all living beings suffered, and the Bodhisattva never shed a sacred tear.
“Fourth Brother, you should go back. If you feel danger, then stay at the noodle shop. There, no one can take your life.”
Su Luoqiu’s smile froze on his face: “Why is Third Sister here?”
“The riot at the lake, I ought to come take a look. But... only to look.”
Though her eyes were covered, the young girl clearly knew where people stood: “This young master, it is late in the night, you should also return to rest.”
Lu Changyuan smiled: “Since Lady is the Third Princess, will you not stop this?”
Su Yuwan turned toward Lu Changyuan.
For some reason, her lips curved slightly.
Her lip color was extremely faint, as though she was ill.
This lessened her Buddhist aura and instead added a touch of endearing frailty.
She said: “Why?”
“If you don’t stop them, this crowd might just smash the Imperial City?”
The girl stood at the bow of the boat, slowly walked to Lu Changyuan’s side, bent down, and leaned close to look at him: “When several guests come to the house, and the guests start fighting, what should the host do?”
Her alluring, silver-white hair nearly brushed against Lu Changyuan’s nose.
Too close.
Lu Changyuan stared directly at her delicate face, paused, then said: “Watch the show?”
“Precisely. To help either side would be wrong. Besides, Yuwan is but a weak girl cultivating the Dao, without the ability to stop it. As for the Imperial City, if they wish to smash it, then let them smash it. After all, this Upper Jade Capital has been smashed more than once already.”
Lu Changyuan could not help but recall how he himself had smashed this White Jade Capital once before.
He too had been an unreasonable guest!
Blindfolded, Su Yuwan turned toward the chaotic battle at the horizon: “Furthermore, among cultivators, how many who die can truly be called innocent?”
Lu Changyuan could clearly sense Xia Lianxue’s body tightening.
So he smiled, and under her shocked gaze, gently touched her hair: “The lady’s spirit is clear, yet her heart is disturbed.”
At that moment, a violent blaze erupted skyward, like magnificent fireworks, yet the raging flames seemed intent on devouring the entire Upper Jade Capital.
Xia Lianxue clutched her clothes tighter, lowered her head, and stood beside Lu Changyuan.
The firelight illuminated only half of her tender cheek.
“Your Highness, it is time to set off.”
In the mansion, someone bowed their head and reminded the Second Prince.
“No rush, wait a little longer, just a little longer.”
He had been pacing inside the room for a long time.
Ever since returning from the pleasure barge, he had been circling endlessly in place.
This matter had been in his plans for many years.
Not until the Blood Demon Palace sought him out was it formally placed on the agenda.
Years of scheming, now on the verge of being realized—how could he possibly calm his heart?
“How much longer until Elder Brother returns to the capital?”
“The Crown Prince will need at least seven more days before he can return to Upper Jade Capital. No, Your Highness, the Crown Prince may not even be able to return at all. If the Blood Demon Palace keeps its word, then by now the Crown Prince is most likely as good as dead.”
The Second Prince was quite satisfied with his aide’s words: “And what of the imperial consecrators?”
“All three consecrators have already gone to the Lake of Lingering Affection. Now that there is trouble with the pill, they surely cannot spare attention elsewhere.” The aide smiled: “After all, those consecrators—whether they are truly guarding the safety of Upper Jade Capital’s people, or simply coveting the Heaven-Mending Pill, that is uncertain.”
The Second Prince sneered.
The pill that appeared tonight was fake.
It was a blood pill produced by Blood Yanluo, disguised with sorcery to appear as the true pill.
He very much wanted to see the ridiculous sight of the final victor discovering the deception after obtaining it.
The aide said: “Your Highness, this Blood Demon Palace may have other motives.”
“I have already promised them that once the matter is accomplished, the national treasury shall be theirs to take at will.”
The aide shook his head: “That may not be all. Why would the Blood Demon Palace covet only our treasury?”
With hands clasped behind his back, the Second Prince revealed a confident smile: “That is something you do not know. Our dynasty’s forefathers were also cultivators, and extremely powerful ones. What the Blood Demon Palace seeks must surely be related to our ancestors.”
“Could Your Highness explain in more detail?”
The Second Prince snorted: “That cannot be revealed.”
It appeared that the matter was extremely mysterious, unsuitable for disclosure.
In truth, the Second Prince himself did not know—because Blood Yanluo had never said a word.
“Besides, this is my only chance.
Elder Brother has feigned benevolence and magnanimity for ten years.
Court and people alike are satisfied with him, even the National Preceptor admires him greatly.” The Second Prince paused: “Right, where has the National Preceptor gone?”
The aide explained: “Still within the Imperial Palace, Your Highness. He holds the Primordial Mirror.”
Since the Emperor had fallen gravely ill, the National Preceptor had remained in the palace, refining medicine to prolong his life.
“No matter. With the aid of Blood Demon Palace’s immortal masters, even the position of National Preceptor should be replaced.”
“Your Highness, is it true... that His Majesty has passed away?”
“That is not important.”
Whether he had died or not, by the time the Second Prince broke into the palace, the Emperor would certainly be dead.
Oh no, the National Preceptor as well.
The National Preceptor, from exhaustion after refining pills day and night to preserve the Emperor’s health—such a wonderful reason for his death.
And he, the Second Prince, while the Crown Prince was absent and immortals wreaked havoc in Upper Jade Capital, was forced to shoulder the burden, seize the throne, and stabilize the dynasty—how righteous, how just!
“The only one I worry about is my lofty Third Sister.”
Someone hurried over, stood outside the door, and spoke in a deep voice: “Your Highness, everything is ready. Three thousand troops have assembled, and the three immortal masters of the Blood Demon Palace have also arrived.”
The aide said: “Your Highness, it seems the people of the Blood Demon Palace are here. If we delay further, it will be too late.”
“Tell General Long to open the gate.”
Horses were already prepared outside the door.
The Second Prince mounted in high spirits.
“Tonight, the grand situation will be decided.”
Thus, in this quiet night, firelight suddenly blazed.
Countless torches lit up the darkness.
This Second Prince, since childhood inferior to his elder brother and younger sister, yet filled with wolfish ambition, finally bared his fangs.
The northern palace gate of the Imperial Palace swung open, and the Second Prince’s soldiers poured inside.
Fire soon spread into the pavilions.
A continuous blood mist clung to the Second Prince’s soldiers, driving them into hysteria, making them no longer fear pain.
The moon above was shrouded by clouds.
The shouts of battle for the Heaven-Mending Pill intertwined with the shouts of battle from the Second Prince’s coup.
For a time, one could hardly tell if there remained any pure land at all within Upper Jade Capital.
Blood dyed the night red, yet never stained the ground.
The blood of fallen cultivators and that of dead soldiers ultimately merged into one, indistinguishable, absorbed into the earth, and finally converged at the bottom of the Lake of Lingering Affection.