Author's Notes
Ning Quing reassures the King and Queen when...
Kings and eldest daughter meet...
Qi Master Monk Cang meets...
Chapter 19 – The Cang's search
"Yes. We have suffered a considerable loss, but, I have already scheduled the redeployment of demon masters to make up for this shortage. We still have enough for us to use. Don't worry, your highnesses. The loss of today's trash will not interfere with your plans, majesties." Ning Qing spoke respectfully as he bowed slightly.
"We are relieved to hear that."
"It's good that we weren't harmed by the loss of manpower that we had today."
"Yes."
"I'm just finishing up making minor adjustments to make sure everything is perfect on the day. Soon we'll have the plan executed."
After talking about some topics, everyone leaves the room, with the exception of the grand master who stays behind, gathering what he brought, to later store it while commenting when looking at any point on the horizon, "Soon, I will be able to fulfill my my true desire."
Then, he leaves the room and returns to his sect so he can change the bandages and properly treat his wounds.
The next day, A-ji is walking through the halls at the same time as he yearns to find some way to free his beloved and return him to the ocean when he hears the voice of his hated older sister, Ru Ling, who takes her away from the her thoughts, making her realize at that moment that her feet had taken her to one of the corridors that gave access to the royal hall, with her being stupefied for having walked inattentively to that place while she was immersed in thought.
"Father, mother, can I have that beautiful and powerful merman for myself? In fact, I was the one who asked my shifu to capture him."
"For sure."
"Certainly, honey."
"I want him to be my slave because I have a hidden pulse. Therefore, I can use the master-slave contract. Mermans are the condensed soul of the sea. They represent the ocean itself. Who doesn't want to tame the ocean?"
A-ji clenches his fists when he hears that the King and Queen will fulfill the wish of their beloved daughter, Ru Ling.
However, as she reflected on it it was an indisputable fact to all that kings loved power and having a subjugated merfolk was in some way a symbol of power along with the fact that this species of demon was extremely rare on land.
"As always you are right, daughter. We are thinking of sending him to Demonic Valley for taming. They are the best at taming these monsters."
"I have three claims, father and mother. First, I want this demon to speak words like we do Second, I want his tail cut in half. Third, I want him docile and completely subdued."
A-ji wanted to vomit after listening to her sister's pleas while she considered Ru Ling and their parents to be abominable monsters.
It was even hypocritical to call demons monsters if there were three monsters in the royal hall that could overcome any hideous heart while there were good hearted demons while there were others who did not do evil, just as they did not do good, preferring to live away from humans and others who did evil.
When imagining the beautiful, imposing and majestic tail of her beloved being cut in half while being subdued, she was overcome with immense fury.
It even took a huge effort not to enter the hall and kill all the bastards.
After all, in terms of power and skill, A-Ji was far superior to her older sister who, despite having mediocre skills, was protected by the powerful grand master of demons, causing her not to properly develop her powers to the point of not wanting to exert herself because he had the protection of someone powerful and famous for being invincible on a battlefield.
Therefore, the youngest princess knew that she would never be able to touch even a hair from the eldest because at the sign of any danger, Ning Qing would show up to save Ru Ling or use her powers to pull her out of the imminent danger.
With such a powerful bodyguard, she was invincible and equally untouchable.
The immortal seal was an immensely absurd and equally unfair advantage because it prevented him from suffering injuries and the fact that he was injured like that was because the ocean emperor had his power amplified immensely by the legendary scepter of the oceans that was born from the fusion of the scepter of the ocean western ocean and the scepter of the eastern ocean.
Then, she snaps out of her thoughts when she hears the king's voice, "Send these wishes along with the demon capture box developed by Demonic Valley. The merman will be your birthday present."
"It will make a wonderful gift for our beloved daughter!" The queen gurgles in jubilation.
Then, the trio starts talking at the same time that A-ji walked away from the place taken by an unprecedented fury and pain.
Including, she was so immersed in these feelings that she didn't notice the uproar that was taking place in the throne room, as well as she didn't register the running of soldiers towards the royal hall, in addition to some servants moving away terrified to flee the place.
After the young woman walked away from one of the double doors that gave access to the enclosure, strong gusts of wind violently entered the place throwing objects in the air and knocking down everyone who was standing, with the kings and the princess suffering injuries on the local while the commotion began to reign in the room at the same time that they were stunned by the fierce cutting winds that appeared abruptly and that caused cuts in their once.
When the grandmaster identified that Ru Ling was injured, he used his powers to go from his sect to the place where she was and when he arrived in the room, he created a shield to protect the kings and the young woman at the same time that he stayed terrified by the violence of the wind that abruptly ceases.
Ning Qing cancels his defensive barrier when he sees that everything quieted down as he tried to understand what had happened, with that being the same thought as the kings and princess.
Outside, behind the leafy canopy of one of the exuberant trees that bordered one of the sides of the royal hall, a golden bird made of qi looked intently at the room where the commotion had occurred, for some time, and then flew away towards to heaven.
As A-ji was deep in thought, she ended up not hearing the screams and commotion from the royal hall.
Tens of kilometers away, the qi master monk Cang was walking towards the capital when he momentarily stopped his steps while narrowing his brow while displaying a countenance of concentration.
It was his creation that mentally contacted him using her melodious, feminine voice:
"Master, I felt the use of qi in the direction of the royal palace and flew to the local. "
"He is sure? "
"Yes. It was momentary and it's over. "
"Were you able to detect the source? "
"No. Am sorry. It was too fast. When I felt the qi and went down to investigate, the power ceased. "
"What happened? "
"Someone summoned cutting and brutal winds that invaded the royal hall. The little I saw before it ceased indicated that the attack was focused on the royal family and that they had not taken any further damage because the Grand Demon Master, Ning Qing, had appeared and conjured a barrier. However, they took considerable damage before he arrived to protect them. "
"It's amazing that he was able to stand after all that damage. The only explanation I can find other than the immortal seal is that he has vast medical, herbal, and energy point knowledge. If you hit the meridians correctly, you can stop bleeding and sense pain, and you can treat various ailments. His knowledge must be very broad. Including, I believe he must have traveled a lot to accumulate so much knowledge. After all, reading only books would not provide so much knowledge and, above all, practice. "
"I understood. This explains why he appears to be physically fine despite the bandages and the faint smell of medicinal herbs. "
"From what you've told me, the focus was on the royal family. "
"Then we just look for anyone who harbors anger against them. " She speaks hopefully.
"It is complicated. " He mentally speaks while sighing.
"Why? " The bird asks innocently.
"I believe more than half of the people in the kingdom hate the royal family. Correction, the overwhelming majority of people hate them for everything I've heard from various villagers on my journey since coming to this realm. They are hated and equally despised. Believe me, the list is too gigantic. "
"I see… In fact, we can't just use that as a basis for a search. " The bird speaks in a dismayed sigh.
"But, was the source of the qi before it completely faded inside the castle or in the surroundings? Were you able to at least detect the origin? This will help to direct your efforts. We need to narrow down the search location as soon as possible. The more limited, the more chances we have to find it as soon as possible. "
"It came from inside the castle. I could feel it before it disappeared. "
"Well, that limits our search. It is someone who works or lives within the palace complex. "
"There are many people inside the palace complex. The complex is huge from what I saw from above, master. "
"In fact, they are very large places and many people live or work there. "
"I will fly over the entire length of the complex in search of some trace of the source of this qi as I focus my searches on that spot. What do you think of me doing this, master? "
"I agree. Please look for any traits and remember, it has to be a female. It certainly won't be a man and it's also someone young under twenty. "
"Well, it helps narrow down who I have to track. I will also focus on women who feel anger or hatred towards the royal family and will seek to eavesdrop on servants' conversations. Can you make me smaller so I can fly around undetected? If I get the size of a hummingbird, that's good. "
"Yes. I'm going to shrink you to size so you can fly around the compound. "
He concentrates while raising his right hand and placing the second and third fingers vertically in front of his face while keeping the other fingers flexed.
Then, a light layer of golden energy begins to surround his body with this energy coming from the tips of your outstretched fingers.
There are tens of kilometers from where he was, the bird begins to decrease in size until it is the size of a small hummingbird.
"Thank you, master. That size is great. "
"Please investigate. We need to find her as soon as possible. I'm feeling something very bad is about to happen. "
"How long have you been feeling this? " She asks with concern in her countenance and voice.
"Some time ago. It's an unsettling feeling. We learn to always pay attention to these sensations because it is a warning for something to come. "
"Then we must find her as soon as possible. "
"Yes. It's vital that we find her before it's too late. "
"Don't worry, master. I will not rest until I find her. "
"Remember that you must take care of yourself and rest. Even though you were created with my powers, you have some needs. Rest is always good. "
"Yes. You can, master. I will rest when necessary. I will investigate now. Take care."
"You too. "
After lowering its flight, the beautiful bird starts to fly over all areas using its small size to go unnoticed among humans while carefully investigating the place while sharpening its hearing to hear any conversations in search of some clue.