Rescue Mission: Field Trip gone South
By two weeks after Beiyue recovered, they got urgent news from Elder Nangong who was supervising the annual autumn field trip.
They ran afoul of the Four Seas Army who deliberately attacked them in an attempt to capture the wealthy young AND inexperienced masters as slaves for sale that it became an all-out fight. A lot of people got hurt in turn, some critical.
Need hospital aid as soon as possible as Feng Lianyi can't take care of everyone by himself!
So the King sent the aid they needed, frantically worrying for Yingye who was on that trip. She was among the injured as she fought for her life, than become a slave. They barely survived and sent the Four Seas goons packing, but who knows when they'll be back?!
So the King sent an army and a large team of doctors led by his royal children to rescue the students.
'Beiyue, are your eyes alright now?' Zhanye asked Beiyue worriedly. She recently recovered and her bandages were just taken off, after healing from her duel with Spirit Deity in exchange for his life.
What she has done, was madness.
Her way of fighting, is suicidal! Her sword techniques are also different. Nothing learned from Lingyang Academy at all. She has been self-taught. Self-designed to suit her small body, prioritizing speed, accuracy and decisive strikes over power to compensate for the shortcomings of being twelve years old, and taught Dongling her style.
They rode on an enlarged Kirin and she sat in front of him with Dongling behind him, clinging to his shoulders. She was a 3-star intermediate at her current progress, but her ability is still deadly with her Lizard summon that she more than made up for her rank.
'Yes, my eyes are back to their normal function.' Beiyue chimed. 'As long as I didn't turn it on too long my eyes are safe.'
'J-just don't use that again...'
'Aiya, some things just can't be helped~'
And upon getting to the site in question, they reinforced yet another battle for freedom. But with a Wuling Present in the Royal Army and Beiyue and Dongling's shocking talent for hi-speed massacre, as well as using up the enemies as extra herb sources, the Four Seas Army backed off for real.
'Hummm...they're mostly poisonous! Useless!' Beiyue complained unhappily as they looked at the herbs from Dongling's kills via being drained to death. 'This means their personalities are really horrid to produce poisonous plants instead of extra healing herbs!'
'Lets burn them to be on the safe side. I'd rather none of these reach the market.' said Zhanye blandly as he immolated the flowering corpses with his flames. 'At least the students are OK but Prince Yi isn't...if only there's a way to help him or we get in trouble with Beiyao if anything happens to him...' he fretted anxiously.
Feng Lianyi had overworked himself, and he has a frail body...Beiyue helped when she was close enough friends with him and guided him to a workout even.
'Oh dear...well, maybe what I did to myself will work on him...'
Zhanye squawked warily with good reason.
'O-oi?!'
She experimented on herself to gain cultivation despite her defective dantian somehow that left her bedridden for days. Is she gonna experiment on him, too?!
xxx
In a tent, Feng Lianyi was pale-faced and teachers were doing all they can to stabilize him.
What she did was cut the tent roofing open first.
'Princess, what're you doing?!'
'What I did to myself~ in reverse though.' Beiyue chimed cheerfully as next was completely disrobing Lianyi that he's topless, revealing quite the impressive svelte but muscular body and hi-speed ink drawing on his body somehow.
It was for a diagnostic spell in his meridians leading to his dantian...to see quite the sight.
'...why does he have seals in his Meridian Points that clogs his qi flow that in turn made his body weak?'
'His highness is sealed?!'
'No wonder his condition is always bad! Why wasn't this treated in Beiyao?!' the teachers were horrified.
'He was like this since he was six years old, but I didn't know he was sealed by his majesty before I was summoned to be his bodyguard!' Hu Wendi exclaimed, horrified for his charge.
'...it was necessary.' said Lianyi with a pained smile. 'Given how my bloodline works, my power is dangerous to me back then, a six years old boy so I was sealed before I became a political hostage...'
'Then by now it should be safe to unseal you?' Beiyue pointed out. 'But we'll do this two points at a time, two per month as flooding you with your real level at your condition will kill you for real.' she told him. 'And during that month, take at least Earth-Class organ strengthening pills or tonics every day as the more opened, the more power flooding back in giving quite the shock. Earth-Class is as far as I can prescribe since Heaven-Class goods are super-rare even from Xiaoyao-wangye even if Heaven-Class goods are much more ideal.' she said. 'I'll begin with the unlocking which is why I wrecked the roof...I need qi to be absorbed in so you need to cultivate and balance the power in your meridians to your organs, taking careful time to supply them with your healing Wind qi until they gain sufficient vitality.' she instructed.
'And why not your qi?' Elder Nangong deadpanned.
'I use the qi in my surroundings as my real level isn't enough for this delicate high-level treatment...good thing Floating Light Forest is rich in qi to make up for this...'
'...does royal aunt really teach you obscure knowledge?' Zhanye and Jing was utterly baffled with what their cousin can do.
'She does, but won't say where she knows it, so don't ask me~' Beiyue replied playfully as she harnessed a lot of ki to overpower two sealed meridians from his dantian leading to a stronger flow of qi from there to his body. 'Two down, ten more to go. Now balance things out for the pain of imbalanced qi flow to go away, but your organs are weakened by the clogging. You need the go sign from a physician before you see me again to unclog the next two points.'
'My thanks, princess.' said Lianyi appreciatively, beginning to feel his wind qi being stronger in effects in making him better. 'You didn't start with the heart though?'
She gave him a flat look.
'And what, cause Heartbeat Irregularity, making you prone to cardiac shock for the rest of your life per qi usage due to sudden shock of qi flooding in your heart?' the people in the tent paled in horror at the consequence. 'Nope! Slow and steady is best. Those who rush pay costly a fee they can never pay off!' she chided.
Awkward silence...
'...we'll take your word for it...' Hu Wendi whimpered, green at the idea and that's a big nope, given his young liege's situation...
'But Beiyue, does this mean your meridians...' Zhanye sputtered in horror, thinking her nasty family and the Mu Clan has a part in her situation.
'No. My dantian was defective from the start, like a waterskin with a leak, so I plugged it to keep my cultivation from draining away.' said Beiyue. 'I simply reversed the process on Prince Yi.'
xxx
'I feel a lot better in this forest, princess...its like I can barely breathe back home, due to how rich this forest is in qi compared to Misty Forest.' Dongling mused as Beiyue was back from treating Prince Lianyi.
'That's true...no wonder after a field trip here, students get stronger.' Beiyue agreed. 'Let your lizard out for now for benefits so you'll be a full 3-star in our short stay here instead of having to wait till end of autumn for that. I'll walk around a bit.'
'Alright.' and Dongling let out her lizard in pet-size mode and went cultivating unseen in camp with her summon while Beiyue went off somewhere.
'Dongling, are you really letting Beiyue off alone?' Yingye, now bandaged up asked her. She approached the maid while limping from...surgery. She experienced being 'cut open, insides being fixed and sewed back up' by her cousin after having to swallow a pain-numbing pill. Then to close her wound, it's through needle and spirit thread from Beiyue herself, and for security, Muscle-Growing Pill melted and smeared on her sealed cuts to heal faster. Until then, she'll be a bit sore...
While she was treated well, her cousin went 'cackling mad scientist' on the other injured, terrifying them to bits, causing quite the trauma in camp.
'...missy is stronger than me even if I have advantages.' Dongling smiled ruefully. 'Even then, I who is the closest to her still barely understands her way of thinking. All I can do is trust missy.'
'...' indeed, out of everyone in this camp, Beiyue was the strongest Warrior. She was too fast and savage in her butchery of the Four Seas Army members.
xxx
Roaming in the forest, Beiyue absorbed qi en masse with her technique to go into Silver Levels. She's currently a peak Bronze Level.
That, and cheerfully mowing down the Floating Lights. Low-Level on their own even a child can kill it, but if they swarm at you en masse, threat level goes to A.
Well, she's still training and this method isn't so bad.
But still, she had an encounter with a dead Divine Golden-Winged Tiger mother and a crying baby, trying to nudge her awake. She felt sorry for the poor fella.
'Hello...would you like to come with me?' Beiyue asked the baby kindly. 'You'll be safe and alright.' the crying tiger cub looked at her before looking at his mother. '...wanna bury her in a grave?' the cub nodded.
So Beiyue did the cub a favor and buried the deceased mother. She gave the cub more time, before taking it with her. She told it that she'll adopt him, and formed a contract with the baby tiger who's...very powerful and to think he's just a newborn! She could feel his sublime aura...
"This child is no Wuling...he's far stronger!" she thought as she took in the new powers she was gaining that she compared the cub to Kirin, and this baby is many levels higher! She needs to conceal his powerful aura, so looking around, she made sure nobody was around.
She refined a pill to mask the aura of a Divine Beast which was in the scroll they got from Pharmacist Sage. The ingredients are nearby which helps. Upon masking his aura, he was 'no more than a typical spirit beast' now and she can cheerfully take him home, and hid him in her newly-gained Pet Space. But back home, they need to build a bond, not to mention training him young to earn his loyalty to her.
Its personality being a newborn, reminds her of Nezuko. Childish innocence, but tainted by loss of the cub's mother. She was clearly injured, forcing her to birth her son prematurely, and relying on earth-based herbs it was lying on to help things along. Who attacked his mother was unknown, but clearly stronger than her.
But if the newborn is already insanely strong...one thing is possible. Mother gave her Beast Core to her son to gain power to survive. Otherwise no newborn spirit beast can be so strong as he. So she happily took her luck and took him home to camp with her. All the while cultivating.
'Missy, have you found anything of interest in your walks?' Dongling asked as there's a late dinner. She was the cook for the royals for their safety to avoid poisoning issues, and she cooked Vegetable Tofu Soup with rice noodles. Easy to eat and easy to digest for tired people, and savory enough to satisfy palates.
She later found out how bland the royals actually had it as her food was the first flavorful dish they had in their lives they can't help but want more!
'Yup. I'll be raising a child actually.' said Beiyue cheerfully with a smile, making her cousins, Lianyi and the attendants choke into their food. Taking sadistic pleasure in their shock, Beiyue waited a bit, before she took out the baby tiger she adopted. 'Isn't he a cutie? I can't leave him alone since his mother...well...dead for about many days now and he'll be easy prey if he's left alone for longer. And he's hungry too so just the broth for it and hardboiled eggs, Dongling.'
'OK.' Dongling laid out broth for the tiger cub before taking out Beiyue's share of soup before making hardboiled eggs.
Their night ended ordinarily...but Beiyue unwittingly left a big impression on Feng Lianyi as she looked like a mother when spoonfeeding the baby beast some broth. Indeed they were friends, but to think she's capable of skills that may very well save his life and improve his survival chances when his term ends by giving him more access to his powers.
Perhaps he can extend his stay till after New Year's Day.
He needs to be fully-free like his namesake. As he is now, he's caged even in his own body.
But loosening the seal one at a time...will prevent one thing he dreaded, and that made him happy.
xxx
The two princes subtly observed his cousin in their mind as she was sharp.
She was driven mad by her childhood and gained 'instincts' that made her sharp, as well as took upon herself cruelty and brutality to survive.
Father and grandmother are rehabilitating her while she's still young for her sake and her future.
They almost forgot she was a savage at killing, until tonight. She was a whirlwind of massacre that when she passes by, body parts are torn apart and scattered. And she was as blood-splattered as always, earning her the unflattering moniker of Fengkuang Gongzhu. Beautiful, but mad. Because she broke.
If only they investigated those claims...she could have been saved earlier. She could have been a normal, happier girl like Yingye was.
She was a living lesson Zhanye felt he would carry for the rest of his life, should he become a father to a married sister or daughter as Emperor, if they came to harm. He would never let them become another Mad Princess.
Not far from them, said bloody princess was cooing over her new baby summon with her maid, without changing her clothes while on the ride home on Dongling's summon. It was dirty before, until they cleaned it during camping. Its a winged golden tiger, but...its aura is suppressed? Anyone can tell! She must have suppressed its strength with a drug.
From afar, Lianyi looked at Beiyue who was in her rare moments of genuine girlishness...and found her at her most charming and cute.
For most of the time, she was too defensive, too guarded, and keeps her act up of madness to keep 'unwanted bugs off of her' so she could be with people who actually cares for her as a person, not for her status nor money nor how useful she is to them. And being a princess with no political value nor knowing royal secrets, she can get away with anything she wants and travel unimpeded as she was no security risk...as long as she fulfills her duty as Governors of Qinghe and Miyang to keep Tax Revenues coming which was the source of her wealth.
Ever since she took over, the two counties prospered so much in agriculture. Tripled harvest seasons resulting in surplus in Exported goods to the Royal Capital, enabling the Emperor to sustain his army as well as keeping her own counties well-fed with enough resources at the same time. She pays Land Taxes using her counties' harvests yet when sold, she earns in yuanbaos in turn, money raining on her, and she is an active governess with her own competent militaries. She does not discriminate in recruiting as long as you're a youth of age.
She also pushed for new developments that raised eyebrows when they talked. But as she was never involved in Royal Court, only the Emperor knows what's going on in those Counties, leaving everyone else oblivious, unless they sent spies.
Lianyi admits he sent out his own spies because he wanted to get ahead and some control over his future. As future king, marrying a foreign queen is inevitable...!
If she can cause two counties under her control to prosper that much, she was someone overly-qualified...to be his queen.
xxx
Back home...
It was a Field Trip they'd never forget.
They never dreamed that they'd get attacked by the Four Seas Army! So yes, the royal army killed them all off.
Well, that Field Trip was enough experience in their lifetime. And Yingye was upset that she got in trouble for nothing as she didn't even get the chance to make a new contract.
In the meantime...
'Phew, we're home again!' Dongling chimed as they got back home from the forest.
'Yeah, but sadly, normal routine for us still in school after an off-day tomorrow.' said Beiyue. 'We gained some gains by being in that forest at least.' she chuckled. Dongling is now a 3-star Summoner and she got one hell of a beast! 'And things will be interesting from now on, now that we have a child at home.'
Dongling sweatdropped.
"P-Princess, we're kids ourselves..."
