“Your Majesty, please prepare for tomorrow’s Dawn-Sky Grand Rite,”
As they left the temple, a woman suddenly appeared, clad in a black robe and wearing a mask. She knelt halfway before Shu Ying, clasping her hands respectfully.
“Xiaozhuang, do you think what the Grand Preceptor said is true?”
“Seventy to eighty percent true,” the masked woman named Xiaozhuang answered calmly, analyzing the situation. “Since the preparations for the Rite began, I’ve sensed an indescribably sacred and powerful aura surrounding Your Majesty. Even at my level, this aura fills me with a deep, instinctual fear.”
“In my judgment, this aura comes from the heavens. It’s a divine blessing upon Your Majesty.”
Shu Ying listened but showed no trace of joy. She only responded with some boredom, “I’m not asking about the Dawn-Sky Grand Rite. I’m asking if you also think she is a Monster?”
Xiaozhuang froze for a moment. Instinctively, she glanced toward the temple hidden under black veils, where faint chanting echoed. She knew how close Your Majesty was to the sealed girl inside the temple.
But Your Majesty was still Your Majesty. That girl, in the end… was a Monster.
A bitter expression crossed her face as she spoke with difficulty, “I can’t see through it.”
“Hmph…”
Shu Ying shot Xiaozhuang a glance, then gathered her robes and walked forward alone.
In the human world, there was a certain ranking list that caught all cultivators in one net. Xiaozhuang had long dominated the top spot for years. If she said she couldn’t see through it, it meant she actually could.
But so what?
Shu Ying sneered coldly inside. She knew that her sudden rise and accession to the throne had shaken the interests of the Old Clans. They would have to spill blood in some way to maintain the balance between the Emperor and the clans.
She understood all these truths and was willing to compromise to a degree, but they absolutely must not use Lin Nan as a bargaining chip.
“As long as you can prove that the Demon Lineage responsible for killing my family truly has nothing to do with you,” Shu Ying gritted her teeth, a flash of crimson gleaming in her eyes, “even if you are a Monster, I will be the unprecedented, unparalleled, infamous Tyrant Monster Emperor.”
It was nothing but a game of fire and warlords.
She dared!
Because Lin Nan was one of a kind.
“What is your name?”
A voice whispered in little Shu Ying’s ear. It was overwhelmingly gentle—so gentle it clashed with the screams and roars around her.
Little Shu Ying almost instinctively answered timidly, “My name is… Shu Ying…”
The voice said, “Good, Shu Ying. Now close your eyes and be obedient.”
Little Shu Ying gave a faint “Oh,” but her tears had long since dried up, so dry she didn’t even know how to close her eyes.
Then, a gentle hand covered her small face, and she was lifted by the waist from behind.
Together with that gentle hand, she was carried backward. The little girl’s gaze was numb, bewildered, and laced with grief as she watched everything through the fingers of that hand.
Under the crimson moonlight, a Bankhouse was engulfed in raging flames.
A huge Tiger Demon plunged a blood-stained greatsword deep into the ground. Its massive tiger paw gripped a critically injured woman. The woman fought with all her strength to turn around and locked eyes with the departing two with a look that little Shu Ying would never forget.
The woman opened her mouth, tears streaming into the corners of her lips. She tried to speak, but the Tiger Demon opened its bloody maw wide and bit down.
“Rong’er!”
“You wretched beast, I’ll fight you!”
In the next instant, a man roared tremblingly, clutching an unsharpened ornamental sword with both hands, raising it high as he charged toward the Tiger Demon.
The Tiger Demon’s monstrous eyes glanced at him before kicking him away. It drew its greatsword from the ground and stood before the man. Despite his terror and despair, he summoned courage to swing his sword. With a casual stroke, the Tiger Demon shattered his heart.
In his final moments, he couldn’t help but glance toward the small figure being carried away.
“At least… Shu Ying survived…”
That was their hope.
There was more than one Tiger Demon. They soon discovered the two escapees and immediately split up to intercept.
The scenes in Shu Ying’s eyes began to blur. From time to time, she saw the greatsword slice through a putrid scent in front of her. Just as it was about to strike, the person behind her would suddenly accelerate and drag her several dozen feet away.
She witnessed the entire Bankhouse fall. One familiar person after another was torn apart and devoured by the Tiger Demons. The little girl’s numb heart, dulled by grief, sharpened again amidst the countless life-and-death moments.
All because of the silhouette behind her—not tall or imposing, but one that gave her endless security.
From some strike onward, she began to feel fear again. She didn’t want to die.
“No need to worry, we will survive.”
Feeling the trembling of the little one in her arms, the figure spoke at just the right moment. Little Shu Ying instinctively lifted her head, blinking in surprise.
After so long on the run, this was the first time she saw the face of the girl who had saved her life.
What a face it was.
Silky white hair tied back in a neat high ponytail, fair skin, a drop of blood on the tip of her nose, soft lips gently pressed together. What captivated little Shu Ying most was the pair of emerald green eyes.
Gentle as newly sprouted willow branches, deep as a calm, still pool.
She was so beautiful…
“Sister, you’re really beautiful,”
A child doesn’t understand priorities. Even in such danger, she couldn’t help but speak the truth.
“Beautiful, huh,” the white-haired, green-eyed girl smiled again, a drop of blood tracing down her cheek. She answered seriously, “If you think so, then you must look carefully from now on.”
“Mm-hmm!”
Little Shu Ying nodded firmly, her chin nestling into the warm embrace.
It was as if by doing this, everything that had happened under the blood moon would vanish into thin air.
“…”
“Hm? Shu Ying, you’re awake. I’ve got some steamed buns here, just eat something for now. I’ll find you some proper food later.”
Little Shu Ying didn’t even realize when she had fallen asleep. She only remembered the unprecedented safety she felt in the girl’s arms. After the pressure broke, her body relaxed suddenly, and the tight string inside her snapped.
The little girl looked at that beautiful face, timidly reaching out a small hand. She pressed her lips and swallowed nervously, softly asking, “Sister, what is your name?”
“As for me,” the girl suddenly smiled, her eyes curved into crescents, bright and radiant. “My name is Lin Nan.”
“Lin Nan… Sister…”
“Mm-hmm,” Lin Nan nodded, pressing a steamed bun into the little girl’s palm. She gently instructed, “Call me Teacher. From now on, I will protect you, Shu Ying.”
Her voice was gentle yet resolute, giving an undeniable sense of security.
In the little girl’s mind, several images flickered uncontrollably—fire, the blood moon, tigers… At the very moment those images were torn apart by screams and howls, one last image appeared in Shu Ying’s mind: a pair of gentle green eyes.
“Tea…cher…”
Shu Ying’s voice trembled as she cautiously and reverently uttered the two heavy yet relieving words.
Lin Nan ruffled her hair and let the little girl nestle into her arms, softly singing a lullaby from another world.
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