71.3

"Princess..."

"There is no rush, it's just a thought. I actually called you here to commend you," Princess Shunde said.

"You have done a good job over the years and gained the trust and respect of the three demon master quarters, so I want you to take them all to the Northlands and launch a full on assault. I can promise that if you return victorious, the court will no longer restrain your freedoms. Well, of course, if you do not want this prize, then I will have to punish you all accordingly." Princess Shunde smiled.

"Valley Master Lin, I can see that you and I are the same. We are both ambitious and hungry for power." After a long pause, Lin Haoqing asked, "Why now?"

"Previously, I only wanted to destroy the rebels in the north. But now, I want to capture one person before destroying them, and you are the most familiar with her."

"The princess wants to capture Ji Yunhe?"

"Correct." Princess Shunde touched her cheek behind the veil.

"I want to do something to her. I want to gouge out her eyes and play with them like these berries." Lin Haoqing fell silent.

"How about it, Master Lin?"

Lin Haoqing looked at the ground full of berries crushed into a dark red paste. It looked like a mass of rotten meat, hideously disgusting.

.....

"Lin Haoqing is going to lead the three divisions of demon masters to attack the northern border?" Ji Yunhe heard the news from Luo Jinsang and was first shocked then confused.

Six years ago, when Changyi and his men first invaded the north, the court failed to destroy them in one fell swoop mainly because demon masters across the land never truly aligned their hearts with the imperial army.

It gave Changyi the opportunity to build and grow his force. Lin Haoqing had also used this time to solidify his position. He became somewhat of a leader among all the demon masters under imperial rule.

Ji Yunhe did not know how she felt about Lin Haoqing right now, but she knew he was a good "helmsman". After the Demon Terrace was taken over by Changyi, part of the demon masters here defected and joined the rebels, and the rest went south to the Demon Valley.

Lin Haoqing accepted the people of the Demon Terrace, and built up his own strength together with the demon masters of the east and west.

Ji Yunhe had thought there would eventually be three major powers in balance, the imperial court, the Northlands, and the Demon Valley. But unexpectedly, Lin Haoqing agreed to help the court...

Ji Yunhe pondered, "Something is fishy..." Luo Jinsang looked at Ji Yunhe.

"What's fishy? I think your fish is fishy," she said.

"He really gave you his jiaozhu? Are you cured?"

Ji Yunhe was now under tremendous stress. Changyi did not have his jiaozhu, how was he supposed to fight all those demon masters? Qing Ji commented while drinking tea and eating dried fruit on the table.

"If a demon's inner pearl could give people longevity, then all the demons in the world would've been captured and used as health supplements by now." Luo Jinsang asked Qing Ji,

"What does that mean? The jiaozhu can't cure her?" Qing Ji pushed her teacup to the center of the table, half full of tea.

"Yunhe's body is just like this cup, no matter how you look at it, there is only this much tea left. This dried fruit in my hand is like a jiaozhu." Qing Ji threw the fruit into the cup and filled it up.