Chapter 75.1 Shattered Into Pieces

The bracelet was put on the young girl’s wrist. Tantai Jin lowered his eyes and realized that she’d lost too much weight.

She used to be lively ¹ 活蹦乱跳 (huóbèng-luàntiào) – to leap and frisk about (idiom); skip and jump about; gambol; frolic and vigorous ² 生气勃勃 (shēngqì-bóbó) – full of vitality , but now, her cheeks were thinner, and even her wrists were smaller by one round. Su Su was very fair, and if Tantai Jin exerted a little force, he could easily leave bruises on her body. Now her fairness had turned into a sickly pallor.

He suddenly felt like he wasn’t happy at all.

There was no light in her eyes, like a broad-leaved epiphyllum ³ There’s an idiom: 昙花一现 (tánhuā-yīxiàn) – lit. the night-blooming cactus shows once; short-lived

How it looks like: that had died out in the night.

While having the Fuci bracelet that was said to “torture” her forcibly put on, she didn’t struggle and there wasn’t much resistance on her face.

Tantai Jin suddenly remembered Fifth Miss Shen. Fifth Shen also had such a period of good-behaviour.

He’d obviously caught her, but there seemed to be something heavy weighing on his heart. Logically, this should be considered unhappiness. However, the heart beating inside his chest cavity was ever calm, his heart was cold, and he even felt like she looked pretty good right now.

At least she couldn’t run away anymore. He didn’t have to ask the secret guards if she was still here today as soon as he woke up.

Jing Lan An had said that he was a little monster in human skin with no emotions.

He hadn’t thought so before, but now, he understood that she was right. All imitated emotions were just illusions in the end, and his heart was an icy ripple-free lake.

What did it matter if she hated him? She wouldn’t give him her love anyway, so keeping her hatred was fine too.

The second person in the room never left. Su Su noticed, so she opened her eyes and coldly urged, “Get out.”

Tantai Jin vaguely saw the glazed Goddess statue from his childhood again, who had stared at him in cold disdain.

She was already reduced to this state, but still had that high and aloof manner.

Su Su had thought that Tantai Jin would leave once he heard those two words, but in the next moment, a hand caressed her face.

She heard him hesitantly ask, “Do you want to get out of the cold palace?”

This was the first time since the six Soul Extinguishing Nails were nailed into his heart that he’d touched her without the violence of wanting to strangle her.

Su Su took his hand away and suddenly laughed, “Can you let me leave the Zhou Kingdom?”

Tantai Jin’s face shifted slightly and he furiously said, “You can’t go anywhere now. As long as I’m still alive, you can never leave.”

Su Su said, “You can’t give me what I want, and I don’t want what you can give. So what’s the difference between getting out and not getting out?”

Tantai Jin’s fingers tightened. So, is she saying that staying by my side is more tormenting than being in the cold palace?

He shouldn’t have asked this question to a woman who wanted his life. Her being cold and hungry, emaciated beyond recognition, were what he wanted to see.

Su Su thought she’d made things very clear, so with Tantai Jin’s disgusting vanity, he’d soon impatiently leave this small broken room. But suddenly, her wrist was grasped, and he leaned over and pressed her down.

Tantai Jin pursed his lips and looked at her. The young girl’s ink-black hair was spread out beneath him, and as always, she was unaware of how mesmerizing her aura was. Like a piece of ice that wouldn’t melt. He hated her sharpness, yet was unable to help but covet her clarity.

“In the cold palace you are nothing but a slave girl!”

From his indifferent and humiliating words, Su Su heard a hint of helplessness ⁴ 束手无策 (shùshǒu-wúcè) – lit. to have one’s hands bound and be unable to do anything about it (idiom); and struggling malice.

Su Su suddenly spoke, “Today is not the fifteenth.”

Tantai Jin paused for a moment, then coldly asked, “So? Do you think you have a choice?”

Su Su continued, “I just want to say, I don’t have any feelings for you. Even if you have the mood for such a situation……”

Su Su didn’t go on.

The body of the person above her stiffened. Perhaps for a man, her words made him very embarrassed.

He gripped her shoulders out of ashamed anger and looked at her coldly, “Don’t have any feelings for me? Who do you have feelings for? Hah, Xiao Lin? It’s a pity that you killed him yourself, and he never loved you.”

Su Su pursed her lips.

Tantai Jin finally saw another emotion on her face, but this just made him even angrier.

He gritted his teeth and said, “Just slowly wait to die here!”

Su Su was glad that she couldn’t see, so she didn’t have to look at his annoying face right now. She felt uncomfortable from his confinement, so she pushed him, and inadvertently touched the Fuci bracelet on Tantai Jin’s wrist.

The matching golden bracelet on her wrist glowed lightly under the candlelight, and Tantai Jin suddenly pulled back his wrist and finally left after putting his clothes on.

The room became quiet. Su Su turned her back. She knew what day it was tonight. Her fingers covered her lower abdomen and she was silent for a long time.

She wouldn’t conceive an heir for the Devil God. His child would only be of a sinful bloodline. Su Su was extremely glad that she was able to leave without any worries.

*****

Ye Bing Shang’s face was icy cold and her mood was very bad.

Xiao Hui stood behind her and sighed inwardly. As a personal maid, she couldn’t be any clearer on if His Majesty had spent the night here. Xiao Hui was very depressed. Madame is so good-looking, but His Majesty didn’t touch her. Does he really have a problem in that area?

The veins hidden in Ye Bing Shang’s arms were faintly bulging, and she clenched her fists.

“Xiao Hui, you can leave, I want to rest.”

“Yes.”

Ye Bing Shang looked at the seal belonging to the Hidden Dragon Guards, and an icy cold look appeared in her eyes. She was unwilling to be reconciled. Why couldn’t she compete with Ye Xi Wu, even when she had betrayed Tantai Jin like this?

Was it really impossible to resist fate?

When she got the heart protecting scale, she had seen a prophecy of the future inside it—— Someone would eventually take everything away from her.

Now Xiao Lin was gone, the heart protecting scale was broken, Pang Yi Zhi was sacrificed, and she had even lost more than half of the Hidden Dragon Guards.

Could it be that only when Ye Xi Wu dies, I can hold onto what I already have?

Ye Bing Shang looked at the flickering candle flame with a faint glint in her eyes.

It had never snowed during winter in the Zhou Kingdom, but strangely enough, this year was different. In the second month of winter, the Zhou Kingdom had the first snow in a hundred years.

After just one night had passed, the world was covered in white. The cold palace was chilly. Su Su thought that such a cold could only be endured, but in the early morning, she received a “reward”.

The little eunuch who brought the things over didn’t speak and just left after putting them down.

Just like that person’s cold style.

Su Su’s fingers brushed over a thick winter coat, a soft quilt, and finally touched a heater. Curved Jade reminded her, “There’s also winter-burning charcoal on the ground in the distance. The eunuch placed it behind the door, if Little Master is careful, you won’t run into it.”

If she was really left to fend for herself, these things shouldn’t have appeared in the cold palace.

Whether it was to keep her alive to slowly torture, or for some other purpose, Tantai Jin didn’t want her to die.

The room gradually warmed up.

Su Su had collected yin Qi for a long time. Her pupils were as dark as night, but they were unfocused.

A bird gently landed in front of the window. It shook its wings, shaking off a few snowflakes.

Su Su touched its head, the bird’s body turned invisible and it flew away silently.

Curved Jade knew what she wanted to do and said, “Little Master, don’t be afraid, Curved Jade is with you.”

Su Su shook her head, “I’ve been waiting for this day…… for too long.”

The yin day yin hour would be in three days. She knew she could never return to Changze Mountain, and couldn’t be a goddess in this life.

How she wished to go home, but she knew it would never be possible. Her fear increased day by day, and by now, all that remained in her heart was the anticipation of imminent liberation.

She had been too tired these past two years.

But she didn’t want to die in the cold palace. Even if she was about to leave, she wanted to go even further. Like the year she’d stumbled to learn flying on a sword, close to the sky, closest to freedom.

In the evening, the invisible little bird flew back and chirped twice.

Curved Jade said, “The yin vein is in Linwei City, where the rebels and Eighth Prince are. Curved Jade doesn’t need to save up spiritual power now. Little Master, I’ll send you away.”

“There are dragon veins and yin veins in the mortal realm. The dragon veins protect the dynasties and the common people from weakening, and the yin veins can draw the heavenly thunder. In two days, we will go to Linwei City,” Su Su said.

The Eighth Prince had killed her grandmother, she wouldn’t let him live.

Linwei City was thousands of miles away, and by the time Tantai Jin knew of it, she will have already left this world.

Not having to see him again, it really…… couldn’t be any better.

Edited by: Gaze