"Exchange? With what?"
Su Su heard the man's cold voice. Unable to see his expression, she could only say: "The Light Swan Immortal Art, will that do? I truly... need the Flower of Eternal Life desperately. My eyes hurt terribly."
The Light Swan Immortal Art was the finest sword technique in the world - a single stroke could cleave mountains and part waters. Once its sword domain manifested, it could slay immortals and vanquish demons.
The Light Swan Art was also the greatest opportunity Su Su had encountered in her century of cultivation. Now, she only wished to exchange it for another chance to see this world.
"Hurt? The Light Swan Immortal Art?"
He seemed to let out a cold laugh, half-mocking, as he withdrew his sleeve.
Tantai Jin didn't say whether he would make the exchange, disappearing into the night.
How amusing. This was the first time he'd seen Su Su beg him, though unfortunately, her offered terms weren't satisfactory.
In Su Su's eyes, he only cared about power - and indeed, that had been true of his former self. Yet when she proposed trading the Light Swan Immortal Art, he felt only irritation.
Returning to his palace, Tantai Jin found the chamber filled with subtle fragrance from the Flower of Eternal Life.
The old Taoist within the Soul Devouring Banner gazed covetously at the flower. To Tantai Jin, this thing couldn't salvage his failing body and was essentially useless. But to the old Taoist, it could boost sixty years of cultivation.
The Flower of Eternal Life remained in bud, perhaps to bloom by dawn.
The old Taoist watched the dark-robed youth eagerly, hoping the generous emperor would bestow this treasure upon him as before.
Yet Tantai Jin snapped the lid shut with a sharp sound and tossed the flower by his bedside. Resting his head on his arm, he seemed lost in thought.
Knowing his hopes were dashed, the old Taoist sheepishly retreated into the Soul Devouring Banner.
Having failed to obtain the Flower of Eternal Life, Su Su wrapped herself tightly in her quilt. Worried she might be afraid, the curved jade began telling her stories from since the primordial chaos.
Tales of the Gods it had witnessed, to legends of various great demons.
As the stories continued, the curved jade noticed Su Su's eyes remained wide open. She blinked, and a trail of blood trickled from her left eye where the World-Toppling Flower resided.
The curved jade's voice suddenly faltered.
Instead of asking if she was afraid, it asked: "Do you hate them?"
Them - Tantai Jin, Ye Bingshang, even Xiao Lin.
Xiao Lin's death had prevented her from actively confronting Ye Bingshang, leaving her passive. By now, both the curved jade and Su Su knew it was Ye Bingshang's scheme.
The entire world believed the Hidden Dragon Guards were in Su Su's hands, leaving her with nowhere to turn.
Su Su remained silent for so long that the curved jade thought she wouldn't answer. Unexpectedly, her lips moved.
"I do," the curved jade heard her say.
"When I was locked alone in the chaotic chamber, I even thought about how to make them suffer most," she whispered. "Ye Bingshang wants to be empress, wants a man's loyal love - I want her to fail. Tantai Jin seeks power, and after how he's treated me, I hope to see him fall into the dust. Xiao Lin... I shouldn't hate him, but truly, my heart aches."
"Only by constantly imagining their downfalls could I feel less afraid. I set my own broken fingers, forced myself to eat more, all because I want to see that day come."
Rain began falling on this July night.
The cold palace was dark and deathly silent, with no one but Su Su present.
After laboriously washing her exhausted body with the cold well water - the only water available in the cold palace - Su Su returned but couldn't sleep.
The bleeding from her eye had stopped, the World-Toppling Flower resting quietly within.
Following her unfocused gaze, the curved jade looked out.
A young bamboo stalk, blown over by the wind in the night.
The next morning, the Flower of Eternal Life bloomed.Tantai Jin gazed at it for a long while before picking up the box and stepping out. As soon as he crossed the threshold of the hall, he saw Ye Bingshang dressed in festive attire.
Wei Xi whispered, "Today is the madam's birthday. She has been waiting here for Your Majesty since before dawn."
Indeed, Ye Bingshang's eyes sparkled with faint glimmers of light and anticipation.
Tantai Jin suddenly remembered his promise to share a meal with her and her mother.
He paused mid-step, tucked the Flower of Eternal Life into his sleeve, and said, "Let's go."
A trace of quiet delight bloomed on Ye Bingshang's face, as if Tantai Jin remembering their agreement brought her immense joy.
Aunt Yun did not reside within the palace, so the two departed by carriage.
After a moment's hesitation, Ye Bingshang spoke softly, "Your Majesty, I have long wished to ask... how is Grandmother?"
Amidst the clamor of the bustling streets, the young emperor closed his eyes and replied coldly, "Dead."
Ye Bingshang drew a sharp breath, lowered her gaze, and let a hint of sorrow wash over her.
Tantai Jin abruptly recalled that the girl in the cold palace had never asked him this question—perhaps afraid to hear the answer.
They soon arrived at a secluded residence.
Having heard of Tantai Jin's visit, Aunt Yun hurried to the gate with her young son in her arms, bowing respectfully.
Ye Bingshang helped her mother to her feet. When she glanced back, she noticed the emperor's gaze fixed upon her younger brother.
"What is your name?" Tantai Jin asked.
Ye Bingshang looked at her brother. Young Master Ye Si was eight years old now. Perhaps tempered by recent hardships, he had shed much of his childhood arrogance, and his features had grown more defined.
Her younger brother bore little resemblance to her; instead, he looked somewhat like... Third Sister.
The boy seemed intimidated by Tantai Jin, shrinking back slightly as he mumbled, "Yun Feichen."
Tantai Jin indifferently averted his gaze, as if the question had been merely casual.
A meal had been prepared in the courtyard. The accompanying eunuchs sampled each dish before everyone began to eat.
Throughout the meal, Aunt Yun remained on edge. Staring at the handsome young tyrant, she couldn't help but resent her daughter for bringing him here. Her feelings toward Tantai Jin were complicated: once a target of everyone's scorn, now his presence made her hold her breath in fear.
When the meal finally concluded, Aunt Yun found a moment alone with Ye Bingshang.
"Shang'er, you must strive harder. They say you're the only woman in His Majesty's harem. If you bear a son soon, your position will be secure."
Ye Bingshang's expression turned complex. With her own mother, she had no reason to conceal the truth. "His Majesty has yet to touch me."
Aunt Yun's eyes widened in disbelief.
"How can that be? Everyone outside says the emperor dotes on you immensely."
Ye Bingshang gave a cold, bitter laugh. Remembering where the emperor had gone the previous night, she closed her eyes and replied with restraint, "Mother, there will be time."
On their way back to the palace, a frost-blue arrow suddenly pierced through the air.
The Night Shadow Guard swiftly intercepted most of the arrows, but one shot straight into the carriage. Without a second thought, Ye Bingshang threw herself in front of Tantai Jin. "Your Majesty, be careful!"
The arrow sank deep into her shoulder.
Tantai Jin frowned and caught her. "Bingshang?"
Blood trickled from the corner of Ye Bingshang's lips as she convulsed in pain.
A large ambush force suddenly emerged. A cold smile curled on Tantai Jin's lips. "Seeking death."
A tiger demon hidden in the shadows leaped out, instantly enlarging as it charged toward the ambushers.
Before long, Nian Bai Yu came to report, "Your Majesty, there were eighty-three in total, all Hidden Dragon Guards. Every one of them took poison and died."Tantai Jin's eyes flickered with uncertainty. Glancing at the severely injured Ye Bingshang, a sense of foreboding crept into his heart.
"Return to the palace!"
Sure enough, as soon as they reached the palace gates, Nian Muning hurried forward and reported in a low voice, "Your Majesty, the Cold Palace was attacked. The Hidden Dragon Guards came to rescue someone."
"Where is she?!"
"Under the barrage of Ruoshui arrows, over three hundred Hidden Dragon Guards perished, with only a few managing to escape. The Third Miss Ye remains in the Cold Palace—the Hidden Dragon Guards failed to take her with them."
Tantai Jin's gaze turned icy. Holding the gravely injured Ye Bingshang, he ordered, "Summon the imperial physicians."
"Her injuries are severe, and she has lost too much blood. I'm afraid... only Spirit Medicine can prevent permanent damage to her health."
The dark-robed young man fell into a prolonged silence before suddenly letting out a mocking laugh.
"Would the Flower of Longevity suffice?"
Su Su was aware of what had transpired outside.
The moment the Ruoshui arrows were unleashed, she had already pieced everything together. Sitting on the doorstep, she listened as the curved jade grumbled in frustration, "Now we truly have no way to clear our name."
With so many Hidden Dragon Guards sacrificing their lives to rescue her, no one would believe that Su Su had no control over them.
The summer breeze brushed past, gently lifting the hem of the young girl's tea-colored robes.
Su Su felt deeply uneasy. Tantai Jin already despised her, and what he hated most was her betrayal and attempts to flee.
Now, in his eyes, she had tried to escape once again.
Would he still give her the Flower of Longevity? Tantai Jin probably wished for her to remain a blind prisoner for the rest of her life, gasping and weeping beneath him every fifteenth day.
Su Su wanted to wait for him. Even if only to avoid dying in darkness at the end of her life, she was willing to properly explain the matter of the Hidden Dragon Guards to Tantai Jin.
She had no idea how long she had been sitting there. In her world, day and night held no distinction.
She waited until the young maid delivering meals arrived, but Tantai Jin never came.
Seeing Su Su still gazing outward, the maid set down the bowl and chopsticks with displeasure. "What's there to look at when you can't even see? I don't know what misfortune brought me here to deliver food to you. Today is Lady Zhaohua's birthday, and His Majesty has granted amnesty to the entire realm—yet here I am, stuck in this wretched place. Hey, I'm talking to you! What kind of reaction is that?"
The palace was a place where people fawned over the powerful and trampled on the weak. No one knew of Tantai Jin's visit the previous night. Su Su, confined to the Cold Palace, was naturally looked down upon by the palace staff. The maid glared angrily at the unresponsive Su Su. The frail girl appeared pale and delicate, her gaze unfocused. Seeing someone once so noble reduced to such a state filled the maid with a twisted sense of satisfaction and malice. Noticing Su Su's fair and tender skin, the maid reached out to pinch her.
A small wooden sword pierced the maid's palm.
The maid shrieked and stumbled backward, falling to the ground.
"You... you!"
Su Su clutched the small wooden sword tightly. The maid glanced at her uneasily. She had assumed Su Su would be an easy target—a blind girl to bully—but she turned out to be anything but meek.
Scrambling to her feet, the maid glared furiously at Su Su. "Don't think for a moment you can still rise to glory! Let me tell you, everyone in the palace knows who holds His Majesty's heart. Even the Flower of Longevity, sent as a tribute from Shicha, was casually gifted to Lady Zhaohua for her birthday! What are you compared to her? Just wait to grow old and die here!"
With that, she scurried away.
"The Flower of Longevity is gone," Su Su murmured.
The curved jade thought of the excruciating backlash she endured day and night from the World-Toppling Flower, how her world was shrouded in perpetual darkness, and its heart felt as though pierced by a blade.
Su Su resembled a child who had lost everything, the hope on her face gradually fading into nothingness.The curved jade did not know how to comfort her, but then it saw Su Su stand up.
She faced the setting sun on the horizon.
The curved jade could not help but say, "The young Demon God's heart must love you! Su Su, we all know this is Ye Bingshang's scheme."
Su Su could not hear its words and whispered, "I was wrong. How foolish I was to beg him."
She covered her eyes, blood trickling down from her palms. The curved jade heard her say, "For a moment, I actually wavered in my heart."
Her voice was so faint that it scattered into the night with the summer breeze.
The curved jade knew it had not misheard.
Su Su had hesitated. When she received that red bridal veil, she had looked back, and in that moment, there was a struggle in the girl's eyes that even she herself had not been aware of.
Humans are not plants or trees—who can be without emotion?
Born as a Spiritual Embryo, she had never dared forget why she came. She had witnessed the beings of the Three Realms struggling under the claws of Demonic Beasts, the North Sea drying up, the Southern Mountains collapsing, and the mortal world filled with lamentations.
The curved jade had vaguely sensed this too, which was why it felt uneasy.
When the nine divine nails were formed, it feared Su Su might not be able to strike. But fortunately, she did not disregard all living beings. She drove the nine nails into the heart of the youth in black robes.
She dared not let herself fall in love.
The mission had failed, but there was one silver lining—Su Su thought of one last method.
A method that utilized the six divine nails already embedded.
Su Su would no longer have to kill Tantai Jin, but... he had forever cast Su Su into darkness, shattering her last hope with his own hands.
Su Su stood up, and the curved jade heard her say—
"I've heard that winter in Zhou Kingdom does not bring snow. When the yin day and yin hour arrive, let us leave. Curved Jade, are you afraid?"
The curved jade was momentarily stunned and said, "Curved Jade is not afraid."
It understood what Su Su intended to do.
She would leave him forever, this place that trapped her, and depart from the mortal world of five hundred years ago.
During the Prajna Floating Life, a Heavenly Thunder had struck as Ming Ye sought to exchange his Divine Marrow for Sang Jiu's. On the yin day and yin hour, such Heavenly Thunder could also be summoned.
She would use the World-Toppling Flower to simulate Divine Marrow, infuse it with her own Immortal Soul, and with the Nine Heavens Jade as a medium, transform it into true Divine Marrow.
To exchange Divine Marrow for the Evil Bone.
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