Feng Tianlan and Chuling walked in the middle of the Misty Forest. Some of its vicious creatures had been killed by Si Mobai during the Demonic Beast Riot, while others had been injured. All of them were now recuperating, so the forest was not so dangerous.
“Miss, what do you think will happen to Tu Xiupei?” Chuling asked out of irresistible curiosity.
“Nothing will happen to her except that she’ll hate me even more,” Feng Tianlan replied with a cold laugh. “She’s hated me to the bones since long ago. It doesn’t matter if she hates me even more because the person who is going to suffer is her.”
Chuling didn’t say anything. She just looked admiringly at Feng Tianlan, who was currently mounted on a huge horse. Golden light filtered through the gaps between the leaves, falling on her body and making her look even more like a demonic creature that lived in the forest.
It’s just that she…
Feng Tianlan glanced at Chuling, who was lost in thought, and asked her suddenly, “Chuling, do you think I’ve changed?”
Chuling nodded, then shook her head and said, “No matter what Miss may become, Miss will always be Miss.”
Feng Tianlan raised her hand to break a branch that was obstructing her path. “Actually, human relationships are a lot like this branch. If one is blocking my way, I can just take a detour. However, it just keeps obstructing me and even potentially wants to kill me.
“I avoid it once, but it keeps pushing its luck. If I don’t break it, then I will be obstructed by it, beaten with it, and finally killed.”
“Actually, Miss doesn’t have to explain anything to me. I understand. It’s just that I am afraid that Miss might forget her original self and…” Here, Chuling paused. She lifted her head and gazed at Feng Tianlan, then continued, “If Miss wants to commit murder or arson, just leave it to me. Miss can take over only if I really can’t bring myself to do it for her.”
Murder made one lose one’s virtue. A killer’s lifespan was shortened, and retribution always followed.
Chuling was willing to kill more so that Miss could kill less. She was ready to reduce her lifespan in exchange for her Miss’. Miss was a good person. She shouldn’t suffer retribution and shorten her days just because some bad guys deserved to die. That was unfair to Miss.
Feng Tianlan chuckled. Although Chuling was timid and soft-hearted, she was extremely loyal.
*
After walking for two weeks, they finally arrived.
Feng Tianlan looked at the magnificent peaks shrouded in fog. These were the Misty Mountains. Compared to the mountain where the Demonic Beasts Riot had taken place, these peaks were not quite so high.
“Miss, what are we doing here?”
Feng Tianlan curled her lips slightly then replied, “To find the Spiritual Crystal Mine.”
“What?” Chuling exclaimed. She must have misheard. Looking for the Spiritual Crystal Mine! There was a Spiritual Crystal Mine?
In a soft voice, Feng Tianlan answered, “yes.” Then, she raised her voice and shouted at the wilderness, “Come out!”
Silence filled the air for a moment, but in a short while, swishing sounds could be heard. Ten or so men dressed in black came down.
“Miss.” Chuling quickly stepped in front of Feng Tianlan and spread her arms wide to protect her. The assassins were here again.
The ten men dressed in black all kneeled down at once and shouted back respectfully, “Greetings, Your Highness.”
Chuling was shocked. They were not assassins?
“Get up. I have a task for all of you,” Feng Tianlan said softly and signaled to the men to come closer.
The men in black looked at each other, then kneeled down together again and begged, “Spare our lives, Your Highness.”
Feng Tianlan clutched a map in her hand as she looked at them, speechless. Finally, she said, “I am not planning to kill any of you.”
She knew that Si Mobai had sent some secret guards to follow her. Did they really have to beg her for mercy?
“Unless some life-threatening danger is present, we are not allowed to come closer to Your Highness by even one inch. Or else, we will all be dead!” answered one of the men in black in a deep voice.
Feng Tianlan’s mouth twitched. This had to be Si Mobai’s order, right?
It was too domineering to have come from anyone else!