Chapter 158 - Is It Funny That the Reincarnated Senior Sister Is Also Being Pursued?
Xiao Wei Yang's eyes lowered as she spoke softly, "The only ones with the authority to mobilize the Xiao family’s secret guards within the imperial palace are the emperor and my brother." "Bai Jie, do you think there is really familial love within the royal family?" Bai Lian fell into a slight silence, uncertain of how to answer her question. In her previous life, she was a modern person and her understanding of the power struggles within the ancient royal court was limited to what she could glean from books. However, even those scanty texts were enough to reveal the cruelty of the battles for power within the royal court. It was said that the most difficult role for a child to play was within the royal family. While children from other families might compete and lose face, children from the royal family could lose their lives in the struggle for power. Xiao Wei Yang seemed unprepared for Bai Lian's response. Instead, she began to answer her own question, "Kin becomes foe, and love leads to murder. The players at the center of the stage clearly see it as a drama, yet cannot step down. The spectators silently jest, yet hope for their own appearance – that is what the royal family is like.” "I thought being the youngest princess would allow me to live independently, yet I did not expect that I too would be unable to escape such a fate," she murmured, tugging at the fabric of her sleeve. “Bai Jie, I sometimes really dislike my identity. I always can’t help but wonder,” she said. “Why wasn't I born into an ordinary family, with loving older brothers and sisters, so I wouldn't have to fight for my life for that so-called throne?” “Bai Jie, I'm really scared. I'm scared… that I will have to kill them again.” She hung her head, looking down at the palms of her hands. In her previous life, these hands were stained with the blood of her siblings; their bodies formed the stepping stones for her ascension to the throne. She never wanted to harm her own family, but in the end, she was unable to control her actions. Although she was the most powerful person in the world, she could not hold onto anything, whether it was family, friends, or even… her teacher. "Wei Yang…" Bai Lian watched Xiao Wei Yang, her heart aching for the despondent girl, and couldn't help but walk up to embrace her. Wei Yang must be very afraid now, she thought. She was just a naive and willful princess, and had there been no accident, she would have been able to lead a happy and fulfilling life. But now, she had almost lost her life at the hands of her beloved family. Anyone in such a situation would surely be unable to help but feel afraid and on the verge of breaking down. Bai Lian comforted her softly, saying, "Don't worry, Wei Yang. Perhaps the situation isn't beyond repair." "From the way the demon escaped, it's likely related to the secret sect. And since the person was so eager to kill and even went as far as to mobilize the Xiao family's guards, it's apparent they dare not show themselves and are unlikely to come after you openly." "Perhaps they were seduced by the secret sect into taking such actions.” "Mm…" Wei Yang responded with a subdued voice from within Bai Lian's embrace. “Bai Jie, thank you. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't know what to do,” she said, her voice tender. “Bai Jie~” she lifted her face from Bai Lian's embrace, her tone flirtatious, “You have to protect me, okay~” Bai Lian ruffled her head and said, "Don't worry, I will protect you during this time." "But the most urgent matter… is to capture the demon. It's possible that we may be able to extract some useful information from her," she added before abruptly feeling a tingling sensation in her chest. She couldn't help but let out a light moan, then lowered her head in confusion, only to find Xiao Wei Yang, who was supposed to be in a despondent state, now nuzzling against her like a puppy searching for food. For a moment, her mind went blank. Just now, Xiao Wei Yang had been so serious. Why did she suddenly turn into this playful puppy-like figure? "Wei, Wei Yang? What… what are you doing?!" she exclaimed, pulling Xiao Wei Yang away from her embrace in astonishment. “Strange…” Xiao Wei Yang raised her face, lightly twitching her nose and with a hint of confusion in her eyes. “I noticed it just now, Bai Jie, you have a very pleasant smell.” "A pleasant smell?" Bai Lian was puzzled. She was a cultivator, with no impurities in her body, always eschewing cosmetics. So where could this smell possibly come from? She couldn't help but raise her sleeve and lightly sniff it. There was no scent at all. "Strange... not a whiff of scent,” she muttered. But she noticed that Xiao Wei Yang’s actions were becoming even more excessive, even indicating signs of continuing to sniff. She quickly halted Xiao Wei Yang's actions, as the girl seemed to be behaving oddly. If she were to continue sniffing her, who knew what strange things she might do. “Wei Yang, what's gotten into you?” she asked. "I don't know," Xiao Wei Yang seemed to realize that her behavior was unusual. She spoke awkwardly, "I just felt that you have a very pleasant smell, Bai Jie, and I couldn't help but want to get closer to you..." "You couldn’t help it?" Bai Lian paused for a while and felt a bit flustered. Then she thought of her aphrodisiac spirit power. Her spirit power had been merged with the seductive venom given to her by the Celestial Bliss Goddess in the previous incident, rendering it into an aphrodisiac spirit power. She had been avoiding using her spirit power as much as possible during this time, fearing that her spirit power might cause trouble. When she had used her spirit power to purify the fire poison in Xiao Wei Yang's body just now, although she had succeeded in purifying the poison, Xiao Wei Yang had nearly fallen into a state of infatuation. Fortunately, her emotional strength had overridden her desires, preventing any more awkward situations from occurring. In theory, her spirit power ought to be purified by the Phoenix True Intent. But under the torment of the heartfire poison, Xiao Wei Yang’s spirit had become especially fragile and was easily affected by the aphrodisiac venom. Bai Lian twitched the corner of her mouth. She was from the Taihua Sword Sect, a genuine cultivator, and certainly did not want to become a seductive demon! "Based on your expression just now, Wei Yang, you know something?" she asked in response to Xiao Wei Yang's ambiguous gaze. Bai Lian's breathing faltered, and she awkwardly averted her gaze. "It's nothing, perhaps it's just remnants from the influence of the demon that affected you. It could be just a form of reliance on me," she explained. "Is that so?" Xiao Wei Yang wanted to say more, but suddenly a streak of light flew into the hall. The streak of light transformed into a person, the palace guard who had gone out to capture the demon earlier. She was visibly worn out and had obviously engaged in battle. She bowed respectfully and said, "Your Highness, Princess Wei Yang, while we were capturing the demon, another force suddenly appeared and intercepted us." "They colluded with the demon to attack us, and despite our outnumbered state, we managed to hold them off." "Another force?" Xiao Wei Yang was momentarily surprised, diverting her thoughts from questioning Bai Lian, and asked in a serious tone, "Do you know who they are?" The guard shook her head, saying, "The methods and skills used by the opposing force were inconspicuous, and they did not have any records with the Demon Subjugation Bureau. It's as if they were random wandering cultivators." "Wandering cultivators?" Xiao Wei Yang's eyebrows furrowed. She subconsciously glanced at Bai Lian. Bai Lian also furrowed her brow in contemplation. Ordinary cultivators who wished to enter the capital city needed to register with the Demon Subjugation Bureau. How could a group of unregistered wandering cultivators suddenly appear? "Does the Demon Subjugation Bureau know about this demon?" she inquired. "They are currently deploying additional personnel; at this moment, they are close to forming an encirclement." Too fast. Bai Lian's expression grew somber. Although this world was a cultivation world, it was ultimately established on an ancient template, and the communication methods of ordinary people were not necessarily faster than modern technological development approaches. Furthermore, the Demon Subjugation Bureau was not a minor power, but rather a complex department with intricate power balances. Otherwise, they would not have lingered for so long without uncovering the truth behind the demonic incident in the city. This matter was crucial to the reputation of the current princess. Moreover, only an hour had passed since the demon fled, and the Demon Subjugation Bureau had quickly set up an encirclement. Such efficiency clearly did not align with the style of the Demon Subjugation Bureau. Someone was clearly directing this from behind the scenes, and that person was highly likely to be aware of the existence of the demon. If the demon fell into the hands of the Demon Subjugation Bureau, they would likely be unable to glean any information from them. "No time to lose; I'm going to help. I said firmly. "I want to go too!" Xiao Wei Yang said immediately. "No," Bai Lian firmly held her shoulder, emphatically stating, "You just awakened the Phoenix True Intent and have just recovered from your injuries; you should stay here and rest.” “But...” “You don't need to worry so much, Wei Yang. Let Bai Jie handle some matters for you.” Bai Lian patted Xiao Wei Yang's head gently and spoke softly. The stance of the Demon Subjugation Bureau was not yet clear, but it was evident that the mastermind behind the scenes was targeting Wei Yang, and she could not risk putting Wei Yang in a dangerous situation. Xiao Wei Yang looked at her with a tender but resolute gaze and pouted, "You promised to protect this princess...well hurry back, okay?" She didn't feel any sense of burden, after all, she wasn't an empress anymore and didn't have to consider governing the nation. She just wanted to be by Bai Lian's side for now... "Alright," Bai Lian smiled at Xiao Wei Yang like comforting a child, pinched her cheeks, then turned into a streak of light and left the Wei Yang Palace. Watching Bai Lian's disappearing figure, Xiao Wei Yang sat on the bed, absentmindedly swinging her legs. The scent on Bai Lian's body just now had haunted her so much that after Bai Lian left, she immediately felt a sense of loss and longing. She couldn't help but want to seek out the lingering scent of Bai Lian, but unfortunately, the air was too faint, and it dissipated completely in a short time. She sniffed around, searching the air, and eventually set her eyes on the stockings folded neatly by the pillow. That was the pair of stockings worn by Bai Jie... She gazed at the neatly folded stockings by the pillow, a faint pink light shimmering in her eyes. Amidst the pink light, the flames formed by the Phoenix True Intent swirled and circled. Instead of extinguishing the pink light, they seemed to be cheering and dancing. As if they had sensed a familiar and welcoming presence. Ya Ren Niang I was planning to start the explosive updates this month, but I encountered an unexpected situation just a day after I updated. My mom got sick and had to be hospitalized, delaying the explosive updates by two days. I'm really sorry. I’ll start the explosive updates tomorrow! [View 6 comments]