Chapter 240 – Different Souls (1/2)
Chapter 240 - Different Souls
(TL: This refers to the Chinese conception of soul as being made up of two parts: Hun (魂), the spiritual soul which goes to heaven on death; and Po (魄), the animal soul which remains with the body.)
The cold winds suddenly calmed, the night pearls suddenly began to glow. The Divine Empress appeared before her. As she glanced at the two iron chains around the dragon’s feet, she said. “The tea is good, but the man?”
The girl stared warily at her and said nothing.
The Divine Empress looked at her and continued. “You gave up a drop of your true dragon blood to help Chen Changsheng. Just who did you think you could hide your plans from?”
The girl put down the tea and apathetically said, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
The Divine Empress calmly said. “Regardless of if you plan to have him help you get something, or send some message back to the dragon tribe, or concoct some method to break Wang Zhice’s imprisoning spell, none of it is possible. He is too young, and to have all the qualities you require would take him at least another two hundred years.”
The girl realized that all her plans had been grasped by this terrifying women, and her expression grew even colder. “So what?”
“Chen Changsheng has told you much. Since you’ve been listening, then you should know that it will be very difficult for him to live past the age of twenty. Because of this, the chances of you succeeding in carrying out your plans are basically zero.”
The Divine Empress continued, “If you help me with a certain task, after ten years I will release you.”
The girl’s slit-shaped eyes narrowed, becoming even more enchanting. “What task?”
The Divine Empress placed her hands behind her back and gazed at that gloomy and barely visible ray of light. After a moment of silence, she said, “Help me understand just who Chen Changsheng is.”
The girl stared blankly, not quite understanding the sentence.
Chen Changsheng was Chen Changsheng, how could he be anyone else?
“I want to know just how old he is and what is wrong with his body. I want to know why Daoist Ji would raise him, and I want to know how much the of the conversation between the Pope and him in the Li Palace was true and how much of it was false.”
The Divine Empress withdrew her gaze and calmly looked at the girl. An indescribably powerful pressure suddenly descended upon the vast underground space, grinding the ice on the floor into a fine dust.
The girl’s voice slightly trembled as she asked, “How would I know these things?”
“Because he trusts you. That is very important.” The Divine Empress replied.
As if attempting to explain something, she hurriedly said, “I don’t even know why he trusts me!”
The Divine Empress calmly replied, “Perhaps it is because of the first time he met you, he already said too much, so he no longer cares and now tells you everything.”
After a moment of thought, the girl replied, “This isn’t very logical.”
The Divine Empress calmly looked at her said, “There is still the most important reason.”
Confused, the girl asked, “What would that reason be?”
The Divine Empress indifferently replied, “You’re not a human.”
The girl’s brows tightly knit together in irritation.
“If…the Demon Lord and the Pope were in front of me, who do you think I would trust more?”
The Divine Empress looked at her and gave her a smile that was not a smile.
The girl was deeply confused.
Between the greatest enemy and the most reliable comrade, was there any need to think about it at all?
The Divine Empress gave her no time to think. “So?”
The girl looked at the oil paper-wrapped chicken bone and the remnants of the tea left in her cup, then blinked and said, “Fine, I agree. If you let me go, I will go with him and report back to you on all his whereabouts.”
She reached behind her back and pulled out the chains, then she looked at the Divine Empress and seriously said, “Madame must first help me break these chains. Thank you.”
The Divine Empress calmly looked at her and said, “To go so far is too troublesome.”
Saying these words, she walked in front of the girl and stretched out her right hand to space between the girl’s eyebrows, as if she wanted to caress that wound.
The girl’s vertical pupils suddenly contracted as she felt an incredible sense of danger.
The flash of cunning that had appeared in her eyes had long since disappeared, leaving only fear and unease.
Her black hair floated around her, as they rustled.
Her lips slightly opened as she prepared to furiously roar.
Yet she was powerless to do anything, even unable to avoid the Divine Empress’s palm.
Although the Divine Empress’s right hand seemed to fall very casually, in truth it was like heaven and earth were conforming to its will. There was no way to escape from it.
There was a light slap.
The Divine Empress’s right hand landed between her brows, covering that line of blood.
The girl’s body furiously trembled, her face turning deathly pale. Her pupils contracted until they gradually disappeared. It all seemed extremely painful.
After a while, the Divine Empress slowly withdrew her hand.
Along with her hand, the image of a black dragon slowly emerged from the wound.
That black dragon image was about half a foot long and as wide as a fingernail. Struggle as it might, it was incapable of escaping from the Divine Empress’s palm. Inch by inch, it was extracted from the girl’s brow.
This black dragon image seemed to be both real and illusionary. It seemed to live, and yet it was clearly not any sort of living being.