Chapter 5: Snow March
It was a beautiful day. Gentle winds and bright sun, a perfect day in spring. Sunlight pierced through the window and stopped shortly by the desk, but the warm breeze bypassed the screen and blew into the bed curtain.
It ruffled the hair around the ear of a woman inside. Along with the breeze came the sound of knocking on the door and Qu Xiaoxing's call. "Warden! Yunhe! Auntie! Do you know what time it is? You're still sleeping!"
The knocking on the door kept going on and on. It was so annoying that finally...
Creak...
Ji Yunhe opened the door with a frown. Messy hair, messy clothes and a tone that was absolutely unfriendly.
"What's the fuss?!" Qu Xiaoxing was so frightened by this aggressive yell that he took a step back.
"I... I didn't want to bother you either, who doesn't know that your wake-up call scares people to death..." The fact that Ji Yunhe slept late and woke up late and had a big wake-up temper was basic knowledge here in the valley.
Qu Xiaoxing muttered, "I am just concerned for you! Everyone knows how important this competition is. The young valley master already went to the dungeon with his people earlier this morning, but you... Here you are sleeping until noon… No one else dares to come call you, so of course I have to come..."
Ji Yunhe really had forgotten about the competition during her slumber. She smacked her lips, forced off any signs of embarrassment, and cleared her throat.
"Taming is all in the technique. It's not like getting up earlier would be more convincing to the demon." She rubbed her eyes and waved her hand to drive off Qu Xiaoxing.
"Okay okay, you can go. I'll fix it up and head over."
"I'm afraid there's no time for you to clean up." Another female voice appeared behind Qu Xiaoxing. Ji Yunhe cocked her head, peeked back, and saw the woman approaching. She had long legs, a slender waist and hair down to the bend of the knees. Her facial features were sharp and chiseled, and the outer corners of her eyes slanted up a bit, giving her an aura of ferocity and prowess.
"Huh..." Ji Yunhe blinked away some sleepiness and said, "March?" Ji Yunhe muttered in confusion, "Don't tell me I accidentally sent a message to you last night... How come you're back? Didn't you go to the western Demon Mountain to help them with some stuff? So fast?"
"Ha!" Snow March let out a sneer. "The people in the west are growing more useless every year. What giant snake demon that they couldn't handle… That snake hasn't even achieved human form yet. Bunch of garbage demon masters. Their report made it sound scary, but in reality, I didn't need much work at all."
Snow March's demon taming skills might not be very impressive, but when it came to demon slaying, not many people could compare with her.
"Your matter here is more concerning." Snow March scoffed at Ji Yunhe, "A competition for the throne of the valley, and you still have time to be lazy?" Snow March grabbed Ji Yunhe by the hand and dragged her away, messy hair and all.
"Lin Haoqing is already in the cell using his methods." Ji Yunhe understood what Snow March was saying. Lin Haoqing was torturing the jiaoren. If the demon spoke now she would lose the first round of the competition. But for some reason, when Ji Yunhe heard March's words, what flashed through her mind was the jiaoren's dried and cracked scale armor, his blood-covered skin, and his stubborn and indifferent blue eyes.
"Can't beat the words out of him."
Snow March turned to look at her. "How do you know?" Ji Yunhe smiled confidently and said, "If we could beat them out of him, Princess Shunde wouldn't have sent him to us. The court's methods of punishment are not any less than those of the Demon Valley."
Snow March slowed down her pace. "Do you have a plan?" In fact, Snow March had a bit of admiration for Ji Yunhe. She could tame more demons in a year than half the masters here in a lifetime. It was like she could see straight through and grasp onto the demons' deepest fears, then use them to gain control. Her understanding of those demons was frighteningly amazing.
"Yes," Ji Yunhe said while glancing at Snow March. "But what are you so worried about this competition for? It's not like you don't know my situation." The two of them had been friends for many years and knew the most hidden secrets inside each other.
"No matter what, this is an opportunity." Snow March continued dragging her toward the dungeon. Ji Yunhe looked at Snow March's hand holding her own and slightly warmed her face. She liked this. She liked the feeling of being held by someone. It told her that she had a fellow traveler walking down her path. That she was not always alone.
And a large crowd had already gathered outside the dungeon, observing. When Ji Yunhe and Snow March arrived, a series of lightning sounded from inside. One of the demon masters cautiously stammered, "Young valley master seems a bit hasty. With this kind of torture, might it kill that jiaoren?"
"The young valley master has his measures. There is no place for your concern," another one answered. Ji Yunhe frowned slightly. At the same time someone noticed her presence and greeted her, "Master Warden."
The people in the front immediately turned, bent their heads and gave way, allowing Ji Yunhe to walk in smoothly through the crowd.
The usually empty cell was now full of people. Lin Haoqing stood in front of the cage, his face under flashes of lightning looked a bit cold, even gloomy. He stared at the jiaoren intensively, studying every bit of disturbance on his face.
The jiaoren did not make a single expression no matter what was inflicted. However, as soon as Ji Yunhe entered, his lashes trembled and he slowly raised his eyes. Ice blue pupils softly shifted onto her. Lin Haoqing followed his gaze...
And he saw the jiaoren staring at Ji Yunhe while she looked back at him with her brows slightly furrowed. It actually seemed as if she had some inexplicable concern for this demon.
Lin Haoqing clenched his hand into a fist and his eyes grew darker. He now looked a bit like Lin Canglan.