Author's Notes
Aranya discovers...
The Bi-Yi tribe succeeds...
In the Demon Valley...
A-ji feels...
Chapter 35 – Overwhelming Guilt
"I feared that you would use this technique considering the impetus of these bastards that was ignited by the capture of the king and his other sisters. I read that in the distant past this technique was performed. However, your ancestor used a relative to cast it in his place, thus managing to activate the formation."
"But..."
"It seems that after the formation is set, the summoner does not need to be sacrificed. A substitute can be used as long as he or she has some parental relationship. They do not necessarily need to be of royal blood. If your ancestor succeeded, you will too."
"So that was it... Why were you alarmed by my decision even though you knew this?"
"Because I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to catch the bastard in time, and the fact that the description of the events at that time might be wrong, making me never want to put it to the test. That's why I despaired when I saw her use the technique even though I had that information. When I captured him, I forced him to take a portion so that he would confess the truth because I was suspicious of him. In the end, what I suspected proved to be true."
"My uncle's bastard is somehow to blame for the demon masters finding us so quickly, right?" The crown princess asks in a tone of confirmation.
"That's right. He was the one responsible for making the bastards find us so quickly, regardless of the distance we were able to put between us and them by leaving clues without us knowing. That's why they tracked us easily."
"He wanted to be the king, right?"
"Yes. His plan was to eliminate the two of us and your brother so that he could ascend as king."
"He's a bastard!"
" What I wouldn't do to have suspected him sooner... " Her older brother speaks with clear anger in his voice, "If we had found out sooner, many lives would have been saved."
"He was so focused on wanting to be king that he ignored the immense danger that the demon masters posed. Even if he had succeeded in his plan, I doubt he would have reigned as king for long. The clan would certainly have been exterminated before he could enjoy his title."
"I don't doubt it. He was a wretch blinded by greed."
"What matters is that we have a better chance of living and we will certainly rarely be ambushed now that he has been completely eliminated."
The flaming phoenix disappears after one last song, and then everyone returns to organize themselves for the escape.
After all, even if they had successfully eliminated the pursuers, others could be sent and they did not want to take that risk.
Promptly, all the survivors flee again to distance themselves as much as possible in order to eliminate any chance of the group being tracked by new pursuers after plotting a route away from any visible human agglomeration.
Dozens of kilometers away, when night falls in the Demonic Valley, the friends of the second princess of Dacheng fell asleep with their heads resting on top of some scrolls after drawing up a plan to free the merman. They had planned the necessary means while correcting any flaws that arose as they developed the strategy to save him and return his freedom.
A-ji gave up trying to sleep and secretly got up from her chair, then left the place. The reason she couldn't sleep was the memories of what she saw in prison and the capture of the handsome jiaoren.
After grabbing the bag she had previously prepared with the medicines needed to treat him, she left the house, determined to take advantage of the fact that there were very few demon masters walking around at that time, while at the same time hiding the medicines by hiding them inside her clothes, more precisely inside the sleeves of her clothes.
As she walked away, the princess noticed that the two servants assigned to her had returned and were heading to a building attached to the house intended for the nobles because the small hut next to the huge house was intended for the servants.
When the prison guards saw her approaching, they came out of the light drowsiness they had been in moments before and promptly blocked her entrance, making her angry.
Then, the young woman remembered that the inhabitants of the Demon Valley, with the exception of their chief, were unaware of what was happening in the palace and that they probably didn't know that she didn't hold any real power or influence unlike her older sister, the first princess who was also the heir to the crown.
Therefore, in order to enter, she decided to use her title, something she rarely did because it was useless, but which could help in that place, "How dare you stop me? Do you know who I am?"
They stare at her in amazement, then pay attention to her clothes and shoes, identifying them as noble clothes. When they look up at A-ji's face, the young woman puffs out her chest and feigns imposingness while at the same time trying to display an arrogant face by replicating exactly how her older sister treated inferiors, "I am a princess of the capital and legitimate daughter of the king and queen of Dacheng. How dare scum like you block my path?"
Their eyes widen and they promptly fall to their knees, begging for mercy.
The young woman speaks in a commanding voice immersed in a mixture of impatience and arrogance, thus replicating exactly the reaction that Ru Ling would have in that same situation as she had witnessed several times in the past, "Open the door. I want to see my sister's prize."
"Your Highness, it could be dangerous. This monster managed to injure several Demon Masters even after an intense session."
"I have a hidden pulse too and I have learned to use my powers. Besides, isn't this a high-security prison? Or is it, by any chance, a pathetic prison?"
"No, your majesty. It is high-security."
"Of course you can come in, we apologize for our behavior." The youngest of the guards speaks submissively while at the same time fearing some punishment.
When she enters, she is horrified by what she sees and with great difficulty stops the bile from going to her mouth because the scene was grotesque and equally disturbing, bringing tears to her eyes.
After all, the entire floor and black walls were stained with blood, in addition to seeing very serious injuries on the jiaoren.
The princess put her hands to her mouth as she began to be overcome by an immense pain that pierced her relentlessly as well as a colossal guilt that brutally oppressed her, making her regret not having accepted her death in the ship's cabin because if she had accepted to die at that moment, the merman would never have found her and consequently, would never have come close to land and, therefore, would not have been captured.
In the young woman's view, it was her fault for the suffering, humiliation and pain that her savior was going through, with the youngest princess vowing to accept any punishment he wanted to give her. It was her selfishness in wanting to stay alive that caused all of this. Guilt was a cruel executioner and gave her no respite in her thoughts and heart.
As she recovered slightly, she began to prepare to treat him. Of course, when they separated the medicines earlier that day, they expected to be with her to treat the jiaoren using A-Ji's status as princess to enter the black stone cell filled with talismans and seals that aimed to seal the demonic power of the demon imprisoned there.
Her eyes filled with guilt and desolation observed the various injuries and the blood that flowed profusely from the various wounds on her body, and then observed the enormous and imposing tail that was once incredibly beautiful and that at that moment after the torture, completely lost its strength and beauty, causing it to hang by a golden arrow stuck in the wall from which sharp black chains came out that brutally wrapped around the tail while compressing it, causing more blood to flow. When looking up, she was overcome by more pain and guilt when she saw that her silver hair was stained with blood while her pale face was visible and her eyes half-open only by the immense willpower that burned inside her.
His eyes had been icy blue when he arrived and during part of the punishment he had witnessed before being dragged out by his friends.
However, at that moment, his eyes had turned dull gray and without focus or spirit, as if he were almost dead. It was evident that he must have used all his strength to resist and hurt his tormentor who was humiliating and hurting him, thus confirming what one of the guards had told her.
A-ji recovered and lowered her head, looking at the wound on his tail where the black iron chain sprouted and spread across its entire surface, piercing his flesh and causing a crimson liquid to ooze. Judging by the state of the cell, the jiaoren had lost a lot of blood and she feared that he would die if he did not receive any treatment.
At any time, it would be perversity to help him stay alive because he would suffer again. But, since she had hope in her plan to release him, it was necessary for him to survive.
Therefore, she was determined to treat him while at the same time hoping to be able, at some point, to make him gain some strength so he could escape when the time came to free him, with the young woman not caring about the price she would pay because, in her view, it was all her fault and therefore, she should face the consequences of her actions.