Chapter 43 (1/2)

Three volu the end of the road ahead, with less than ten chapters left of a novel that has really taken an unforgettable bite out of y to power translate the entire thing like I did with Da Mo Yao, but alas the few hiatus that I took with LYF likely seeped so experience for those following along with my translationsThankfully these last few chapters should offer a nice resurgence for the avid readers, with Tong Hua pulling out all the stops by the end

With Jing seely dead to the world, it would appear that Xiao Yao either chooses to be a spinster, or end up in the arms of the other two s aren’t that easy to redirect, the obstacles between Xiao Yao and Xiang Liu are only growing stronger with Zhuan Xu’s tightening of his rule over the entire vast wilderness, not toto be easy to siolve Will Xiao Yao get her happy ending, or it is merely worth a life lived as colorfully as hers that she was so loved by three of thefictionalof My Dearest Daily to No Avail:

Xiao Yao bowed three ti up when a little white bird landed on thesill It didn’t have a little bird’s noisy affects and was instead silent and staring at Xiao Yao

Xiao Yao put out her hand and the bird landed on her palm and spit out a small crystal ball Xiao Yao picked up the ball and saasn’t a real crystal but the fish egg of an echo fish dee ability to regs to forgevoice mail

Xiao Yao placed the fish egg to her ear and used her fingers to burst it Her body shook as the voice said “Xiao Yao, come to the East Sea i’s voice

Xiao Yao instinctively asked “Jing, say that again” But a e jewel could only be used once and could not repeat

The white bird fleay and Xiao snapped alert and grabbed Miao Pu “I have to go to the East Sea immediately! Don’t tell anyone!”

Miao Pu’s freaked out “No! No!”

“Miao Pu, are you going to help me or not?”

Miao Pu stuttered “But…but……His Majesty ordered Xiao Xiao to guard outside I can’t beat her in a fight…” Miao Pu suddenly shut up and looked at the door

Xiao Xiao appeared and was holding the white bird from earlier and it was already dead She bowed to Xiao Yao “Miss, what did this white bird give you just now?”

Xiao Yao replied “Why do I need to tell you?”

Xiao Xiao stared at Miao Pu who said in a low voice “A e jewel”

Xiao Xiao asked “What did it say?”

Miao Pu said “I didn’t hear”

Xiao Xiao bowed again to Xiao Yao “Will Miss please tell e jewel said”

Xiao Yao cocked her head and thought “If you don’t ask clearly then you can’t report back to Zhuan Xu Fine, I won’t make it difficult for you!” Xiao Yao walked up to Xiao Xiao and put her hand on her shoulder and leaned in to whisper “Xiao Xiao, you’re a good girl but too inflexible at ti you because you clearly won’t let o”

Xiao Xiao saw black and her body went slack, tu backwards as Miao Pu rushed over to catch her while staring in shock at Xiao Yao

“Help me!” Xiao Yao had Miao Pu put Xiao Xiao on the bed and covered her with a blanket before putting down the bed veil At a glance it appeared Xiao Yao was sleeping inside

Xiao Yao quickly changed and said to the stunned Miao Pu “What are you standing there for? Let’s go!”

Zhuan Xu didn’t just assign Xiao Xiao to protect Xiao Yao, but only Xiao Xiao and Miao Pu protect her at close range, the other four guards were ainst outside intruders and never thought that Xiao Yao would take out Xiao Xiao so they didn’t even realize Xiao Yao had knocked Xiao Xiao out

Xiao Yao pressed the opening and a door to a secret passage opened She went inside with Miao Pu and started walking Back when Zhuan Xu was renovating the Sheng Nong Palaces, Xiao Yao also studied all the design maps and saw that all the palace residences had secret passageways, some just had more than others

Miao Pu’s expression was desolate and glu to kill me!”

Xiao Yao said “Then he’ll have to kill me first!”

Xiao Yao’s words didn’t reassure her as Miao Pu continued to look like she was going to cry

The end of the secret passageway led to the stables and Xiao Yao said “Not sure which former owner of the residence liked to sneak out and play but this is totally helping us tonight”

Miao Pu picked two of the strongest winged horses and readied the cloud carriage Xiao Yao huddled in the cloud carriage and handed a jade badge to Miao Pu “This is Grandfather’s badge, allowing unfettered travel in and out of Sheng Nong Mountain”

Miao Pu took a deep breath and said to herself “If I’o for it!” Miao Pu drove the cloud carriage into the air and handed the badge to the guards at the East Sky Gate and was i Mountain, Xiao Yao stuck her head out the cloud carriage “Thank you!”

Miao Pu gruo to the East Sea in the ht? Can’t Xiao Xiao have informed His Majesty, he dotes on you and lets you do whatever If you wanted to go he would have allowed it Why sneak around?”

“I heard Jing tell o to the East Sea and tell no one”

Miao Pu gasped “What? The voice inside the e jeas the Tu Shan Clan Leader? What did he say?”

“To go to the East Sea, and to tell no one”

Miao Pu thought about it “If he can say those words why can’t he explain more? It’s easy to find someone to ih it if a lot is said The less is said the more the ruse ork I think this sounds fishy, ht but it could have been an urgent situation and he could only say such curt phrases Miao Pu, do you know, even if there is a o”

Miao Pu sighed and urged the horses faster Even if this was a trap, the person setting it was ruthless and found the one way to get Xiao Yao to follow instructions Miao Pu silently prayed for the ed horses flew nonstop and Xiao Yao fed theth They landed on an island in the East Sea around noon the next day The tinged horses were spitting foam from exhaustion and could not be used to search over the sea lest they fall into the water fro out

Xiao Yao pointed to the East where a shi+p was sailing towards them, and on the mast cover was a beautiful nine-tailed fox

Xiao Yao said “I’ll go see over there, you hide here waiting forwith you!”

“Then atch the winged horses? If they run away and we need to escape, are we going to run on our two feet?”

Miao Pu had no answer until she said “Xiao Xiao will definitely find us, their powers are strong and at most will be here in two or three hours Wait until then”

“We can wait but Jing ht not be able to wait” Xiao Yao picked up her amethyst fish ruby on the necklace and said “I’ll swier I’ll hide deep underwater They won’t be able to do anything to me there If you come with me then you’ll be a liability Plus if you wait here, you can behappens, you can also tell Xiao Xiao and find the Xuan Yuan forces stationed nearby to come rescue us”

Miao Pu had to admit Xiao Yao made sense but she was still upset “Then you quickly coo take a look and noany action”

“Okay!” Xiao Yao hid behind a rock and slowly disappeared into the water

Xiao Yao didn’t need the fish ruby to breath underwater but she didn’t want others to know of her body’s new ability and she kept the fish ruby on her because it was a gift froht now Xiao Yao felt this ache in her heart as she sank into the water and prayed: heavens, you can do anything cruel to ravely injured or crippled

Xiao Yao is in when a woe lifted her head “If you want to see Tu Shan Jing then get on the shi+p”

Xiao Yao eed and asked “Why should I believe you?”

The woman tossed a scrap of cloth at Xiao Yao and it on it riting in Jing’s hand It was the lyrics of the song she sang for him in his residence

If beloved is wind above the water

To see and to miss

If beloved is the cloud in the sky

To love and to cherish

If beloved were the tree in the forest

Together and connected

Why does the world have sadness

Only ith beloved

Together forever, never apart

Xiao Yao finished reading and restrained her tears before ju on the shi+p

The woh “I’ve heard you are well versed in medicines so I don’t dare to use poison in front of you This is just a bowl of wine made from the red jade plant Humans who drink it will sleep for three hundred years, at ood sleep will shake it off It’s not a poison or will render you unconscious, therefore it doesn’t have an antidote either After you drink it I will take you to see Tu Shan Jing”

Xiao Yao picked up the bowl and sniffed, it really was red jade plant wine Drinking too much would make it addictive, but one drink wouldn’t harm the body

The purple robed woman said “I never force anyone, if you don’t want to drink then go back!”

Xiao Yao raised her head and gulped it down “Where is Jing?”

“I always fulfillthe shi+p into the deeper reaches of the ocean

The shi+p moved swiftly over the water and Xiao Yao could hear the histling around her as her limbs weakened so she laid down on the deck and stared up at the sky

The shi+p stopped in the ht in any direction The woman walked over and picked up Xiao Yao to place her inside a crystal coffin

Xiao Yao weakly asked “What are you doing?”

The wo lyric and burned it, then took Xiao Yao’s a it into purple light

Tears fell fro?”

The purple robed wo is dead! I’in water now and soon will completely sink into the ocean I’ ave specific instructions – no hint of blood and you have to disappear coht all night about it and remembered this area in the ocean and how scary it is and come up with this plan” The woine how much the person who hired me hates you, to not even let a hair of you remain on this earth? But, only this way can there be no trace left of you, otherwise the Yellow Emperor and the Black Emperor will be hard to deal with”

Xiao Yao stared at the sky and didn’t feel any rage at being lied to, or fear at i her hopes dashed Since childhood she had lived a hard life, her heart always drifting, feeling like she would be abandoned at any ti did her heart settle down, thinking that things would finally change Who knew Jing left her, even if it was just like her parents when a reason that couldn’t be helped But she was still abandoned again, and she didn’t want to keep being strong any slept in this ocean then she would rather be here with him

The purple robed woman noticed that Xiao Yao was oddly at peace, not like people she killed in the past, and felt some pity for her She fixed Xiao Yao’s hair and cloth and sincerely co dress is very beautiful, your hairstyle is lovely as well You are an exquisite bride, the Tu Shan Clan Leader will be very pleased when he sees you”

Xiao Yao broke into a bea smile “Thank you!”

The woman startled “Don’t you want to knoants to kill you?”

Xiao Yao didn’t even care to anshat difference if she knows or not

The woman in purple said “I don’t even knoho it is, the person paid an astronomical sum so my partner and I decided to take this job and afterwards we can retire”

The water lapped at her feet so the wo skyward “So annoying, I have to show ull and flew into the sky, her clothes burning on the deck and disappearing

The crystal coffin slowly sank into the water

Xiao Yao felt suffocated and couldn’t breathe, until the water seeped into the coffin and she could breathe like a fish returning to the water Xiao Yao laughed wryly as she thought about this plan and how perfect it was, to kill her with no bloodshed and hidden in the depths of the ocean Except the plan wasn’t perfect because no one knew that Xiao Yao couldn’t drown

Because she drank the red jade plant wine, Xiao Yao oozy and found it hard to think As the coffin sank she thought she was going to die as well and was cal to die and felt like a free falling entity that couldn’t find an end to the fall

Xiao Yao laid in the crystal coffin and looked at the fishes swi around her She tapped on the coffin and asked “Have you guys seen Jing?”

The fishes were startled and swam off Xiao Yao could only lay in the crystal coffin zoned out

The sun set outside and gradually the water turned dark, as dark as ink Many fishes glowed in the dark so the water was like a night sky filled with shooting stars She wondered if Xiao Xiao arrived, whether Zhuan Xu was looking for her, if Miao Pu was crying Xiao Yao suddenly rery Zhuan Xu would be and what if he killed Miao Pu Xiao Yao stopped laying there to enjoy the view and started to try and get out But no matter how hard she pushed she couldn’t open the coffin

Xiao Yao tried so hard to open the coffin but it wouldn’t budge, until she was all tired out and hungry She suddenly realized that she er Xiao Yao rested for a bit before continuing to try and open the coffin

Suddenly her instinct sensed danger She looked around and there wasn’t a fish in sight, the colorful underwater was now pitch black Xiao Yao felt the entire ocean shaking and she re how scary the ocean was under here She suddenly re Liu said before, that after he escaped fro, he al Liuthat almost killed him must really be super scary

Xiao Yao had never seen a whirlpool before but if it was like a tornado on land then anything it passed would be obliterated This really was the perfect way to ensure not a hair of Xiao Yao was left behind

Xiao Yao tried to bust out of the coffin but it still didn’t ull de her inside the coffin

The water churned around her and the coffin ept up in the waves of the whirlpool, with Xiao Yao getting spun around so hard she was seeing stars

She could hear the coffin getting crunched and now she prayed for the coffin to stay intact If the whirlpool was so powerful as to shatter the immovable crystal coffin, then the second the coffin broke Xiao Yao would be crushed to oblivion

As the water churned faster and faster, the power of the whirlpool increased and in a resounding crack the coffin shattered Xiao Yao screamed and closed her eyes, but then didn’t experience the pain of being smashed to smithereens

Xiao Yao slowly opened her eyes and in the whirling inferno she saw Xiang Liu, white hair white robe, standing right in front of her His hair was fanned out like the wings of a bird and was protecting Xiao Yao by for a barrier between her and the whirlpool

Xiao Yao felt like this was a drea Liu He furrowed his brows, clearly he was being affected being in the whirlpool They were also being carried closer and closer to the center, and by then even Xiang Liu would be crushed

He moved his hands over Xiao Yao’s face and closed her eyes She heard his voice “I need to revert to my demon form so that we can escape from here Don’t look!”

Xiao Yao nodded and felt this hu ripped a hole in the whirlpool She felt they were far away and the danger was gone ThatLiu’s demon form She hesitated and told herself “just one peek” before opening her eyes

In the thundering around, she could see a pure white nine-headed sea de to destroy it but the sea de for more This was a battle as powerful as the earth and the sky fighting, without any flowery ainst brute force, shaking the world around it

In the heat of battle, Xiang Liu actually sensed Xiao Yao’s tiny move and one head turned to look at her Xiao Yao i uncontrollably, not because she was scared of him but because she was so awestruck It was like so it for the first ti it for the first ti in awe of such power

“I told you not to open your eyes” Xiang Liu’s icy cold voice rang out

Xiao Yao opened her eyes and saw that they were now on a deserted island Xiang Liu’s clothes were torn and messy, and his face and neck were covered in injuries

Xiao Yao forced a smile and tried to act nonchalant “I was just curious what your nine heads looked like”

“Now you know!” Xiang Liu turned to leave

“Xiang Liu……Xiang Liu…” Seeing him about to disappear, Xiao Yao was so anxious she threw herself at hie to avoid her and was instead hugged straight on by Xiao Yao Plus he couldn’t even stand up still and fell down on the sand taking Xiao Yao with him

Xiao Yao worriedly asked “The injuries are severe, for real?”

Xiang Liu tried hard to push Xiao Yao away to swirabbed hi all her strength so that he couldn’t leave “I rong! I promised to close my eyes and not look but I welshed on my promise and secretly opened my eyes! I just……just……I admit it was my pathetic curiosity! I wanted to knohat you really looked like I rong! I rong……”

The waves crashed on the beach with a roar and retreated with a howl, the two of theain so Xiao Yao’s voice was sometimes audible and other ti Liu heard but it was clear he wasn’t going to accept her apology as he continued over and over to push her off hiot so frantic she hooked her ar her body to tightly grab hith left to push Xiao Yao off but he was like a terribly stubborn child and continued to wriggle under her

The water around the Liu’s injuries were bleeding and Xiao Yao begged “I’! If you want to hit me or punisharound!”

Xiang Liu said “Let go!”

“No! Not until you first pro Liu was furious and his fangs bared “Don’t push me to eat you!”

“If you want to eatLiu jerked Xiao Yao into his arms and bit down on her neck in one move Xiao Yao’s body shi+vered and then she fell slack, docilely nestled into Xiang Liu to acco of thirst traveler in the desert encountering an oasis, drinking up her blood in big gulps Xiao Yao rested her head on his neck and closed her eyes, feeling only the rising and falling of the tides around her

It wasn’t clear howher blood Xiao Yao drowsily opened her eyes “You can drinkLiu raised his head to look up at the star-filled sky and the hazy ht “Aren’t you scared one whit? You should know a deravely injured will lose control and revert to basic instinct I could have sucked you dry!”

Xiao Yao softly touched the corner of his lips with a trace of blood on it and tenderly said “You’re the one who is scared!”

Xiang Liu scoffed “I’m scared?”

“I saw your demon form, and it wasn’t hideous at all! And you didn’t suck ot up her courage to continue “Your forer, it’s ht more only…but the laws of nature didn’t say that a one headed type like ht? It just happens that us one headed types are the majority, if nine headed types like you were the majority, I would feel self-conscious that I only have one head”

“You have so y, clearly I should suck so Liu still had a pissy face but when he leaned down to bit Xiao Yao’s neck and began sucking, Xiao Yao felt only a frisson of excite of pain

Xiao Yao said “Hey! Hey! I was just being polite just now And you’re really sucking again? A demon really is a demon…” And with that Xiao Yao fell asleep and finally stopped talking

Xiang Liu stopped drinking and lifted his head to stare quietly at the sleeping Xiao Yao in his arms

Xiao Yao woke up lured by the delicious s Liu by the fire roasting fish The fish was already golden and crispy, the fat dripping into the fire Xiao Yao crawled over on her ar “Can I eat it?”

Xiang Liu placed the fish on a large shell plate and handed it to her, on the white shell was a side of vegetables obbling down the food She didn’t even stop to talk until all the fish and seaas in her belly before sighing “So good! So so good!”

“You’re just hungry” Xiang Liu handed over a shell boith piping hot seafood soup and Xiao Yao took it with both hands and slowly sipped it

After finishi+ng the soup Xiao Yao said “Thank you!”

Xiang Liu coldly replied “No need! This is the payment for your blood”

Xiao Yao pouted “Am I worth so little?”

“What do you want then?”

Xiao Yao said “My thank you was for saving otten why you were injured in the first place, right?”

Xiang Liu furrowed his brows “It’s not that I wanted to save you, I simply have no interest to use ”

Oh! Right, the Lover’s Bug! The Lover’s Bug does not live alone, if she died then likely Xiang Liu would die Xiao Yao sLiu asked “Why were you imprisoned in the ocean?”

“Soust at Xiao Yao “Soet imprisoned?”

Xiao Yao stared at the fire and said nothing

Xiang Liu pressed on “Why didn’t you fight back?”

Xiao Yao said in a low voice “Jing……disappeared” She suddenly remembered and anxiously asked “The East Sea is like your holy said “Do you think I spendto rescue people?”

“No…I just thought…Qing Shui Town is also your territory of sorts, perhaps you noticed Tu Shan Hou’s activities The East SeaLiu coldly replied “There aren’t that many maybes!”

Xiao Yao lowered her head and her tears ca Liu turned around to stare at the ocean expanse, with his back to Xiao Yao, but even then he clearly heard her tears falling One drop after another, so soft and bunched together, the sound entered his ears like a sharp thorn prick, each drop a stab to his heart

Xiang Liu said “If you have time to cry, use it to think about who tried to kill you”

Xiao Yao suddenly remembered Miao Pu and used her sleeve to wipe away her tears “I have to go back, otherwise Zhuan Xu will kill Miao Pu for sure!”

“Even if the Black Emperor wanted to kill Miao Pu, he’d have to find her first”

Xiao Yao re a partner Miao Pu never came to rescue her which meant she likely encountered the other killer Xiao Yao’s face fell “Miao Pu…is Miao Pu dead?”

“I don’t know! When I rushed over all I saere tinged horse corpses in the water She likely was attacked but I didn’t see her body” Xiao Yao sighed in relief until Xiang Liu added “She could have sunk into the ocean”

Xiang Liu always had a way of rateful to him in one second, and the other want to choke him to death Xiao Yao was anxious and upset but there was nothing she could do to Xiang Liu for being mean “I need to find Miao Pu, you takeLiu said “I happen to have free tio look for Miao Pu”

“When did you become so nice?”

“Of course there is a price”

“I only have one head so can’t outthink your nine heads I don’t think this deal is going to be good”

Xiang Liu vaulted into the ocean without a care about Xiao Yao’s reverse psychology negotiating tactics Xiao Yao anxiously jurabbed a lock of his flohite hair

Xiang Liu turned around and glared at her so Xiao Yao let go with a sree to your price” The seagull demon chose to let the whirlpool s her up forever, clearly she knew this ocean expanse very well Only with Xiang Liu’s help could Xiao Yao hope to find her quickly

Xiang Liu rose up from the ocean to stand on the waves His white hair like the clouds, his white robe like the snow, the silver ht made him look evendown at Xiao Yao was filled with an evil smirk “Any price I want?”

Xiao Yao stood up on the waves and raised her chin to look at Xiang Liu “As long as it has nothing to do with Zhuan Xu, then any price is fine!” For Miao Pu, even if she had to make a real deal with the devil she would do it At this point what else did she have left to lose?