Chapter 90: The Last Princess, Throat Slit Before the Palace Gates

"I've never had the honor to meet the Rain Master in person, so I didn't know she was once a princess…" Xie Lian said.

On the other side, Xuan Ji gritted her teeth. "What…did you do…?

Why…can't…I move?!"

The Rain Master moved her gaze away from Pei Ming and explained, "I have brought the Yulong sword."

"The Yulong sword?" Xie Lian wondered.

"The sacred guardian sword of the Kingdom of Yushi, wielded by all of its rulers throughout history," Hua Cheng replied. "The Rain Master forged it into a spiritual device. It possesses a natural power of deterrence against the people of Yushi, and Xuan Ji was a traitor to her people. The fear and guilt still consume her heart—of course she can do naught but kneel and obey."

The Rain Master told her not to move, therefore she couldn't move.

"If you can't move, I'll do it myself!" Rong Guang exclaimed.

He prepared to stab Pei Ming again, but before his blade could sink even a centimeter deeper, there was an explosion of red smoke. Clunk! The sword piercing Pei Ming's chest disappeared, and a tiny blade no longer than a finger fell to the ground.

"What's going on? Why can't I move either?!" Rong Guang yelled furiously.

Xie Lian and the others finally stopped spectating from afar and walked over. Hua Cheng glanced at the tiny, toy-like Mingguang sword on the ground and smirked.

"Much better."

"Let go, Xuan Ji," the Rain Master bid her temperately.

Xuan Ji's hands began to drop from Pei Ming's neck, but she refused to yield so easily. "I won't! I finally caught him; I won't let him go!"

"If you must cling to something in order to yield, why not pick up that which you have tossed away and hold it in your hands anew?" the Rain Master said.

Alas, the power of the sacred guardian sword was too strong, and Xuan Ji was forcibly torn away. She fell backward to the ground, looking unkempt and miserable, her hair disheveled.

"What right do you have to lecture me?! Do you really take yourself for the ruler of the kingdom?! Or have you forgotten how you became queen?! I won't acknowledge you! I won't!"

The Rain Master closed her eyes and softly shook her head. Banyue seized the opportunity to hurl a pot at Xuan Ji, which sucked her in, and then she swiftly sealed the ghost bride inside!

And so, the source of all this mess was finally subdued. Xie Lian went to Pei Ming's side and helped him up.

"General Pei's all right?"

"This won't kill me," Pei Ming said. Then he asked doubtfully, "I say, Your Highness, have you been here for a while already?"

"Ha ha… What do you mean?" Xie Lian replied.

Pei Ming picked up the tiny, shrunken Mingguang sword in his hand.

"Crimson Rain Sought Flower, how tough is this seal? It won't break under pressure, will it?"

"Of course not," Hua Cheng replied. "To release it, you must hold the hilt, apply spiritual power, and mentally give permission. This seal can't be broken by accident or deception."

Only then did Pei Ming heave a long sigh. As for the farmers who had escaped Qi Rong's clutches, they all rushed forward like their parents had appeared before them.

"Lord Rain Master!"

The rest of the group turned around, and Xie Lian inclined his head in respect.

"Queen Yushi."

The Rain Master had dismounted the black ox, rope in hand, and she also bowed her head to return the courtesy. "Your Royal Highness."

As they greeted each other, Xie Lian inadvertently glimpsed her neck and was slightly taken aback, but he quickly replied, "During Xianle's drought, My Lord loaned me the Rain Master Hat and aided me in my time of need. I was never able to thank you in person, but my wish has come true today."

Then he bent forward and bowed deeply. The Rain Master stood still and waited until he had completed his respect before she replied, speaking very slowly.

"I imagine that Your Royal Highness might never have relaxed had I refused your one bow. Now that it is done, let us forget the whole affair."

The tone of her voice was clear and serene, slow and mild. She wore a soft smile, looking particularly tranquil.

Suddenly, a voice called out, "Hey, Pei Ming, isn't this embarrassing?

Needing a woman to save you—and it's Yushi Huang, no less! Hee hee, ha ha ha ha…" The Rain Master's demeanor remained unchanged, still very calm, but Pei Ming didn't look so comfortable anymore.

The black ox began snorting harsh breaths in Pei Ming's direction, shaking his head and swinging his tail. Although the aggression wasn't aimed at Hua Cheng, Xie Lian knew that bulls got angry when they saw red, and he recalled many painful experiences of being chased and struck.

He quickly shifted in front of Hua Cheng, afraid the ox would be further provoked by the red of Hua Cheng's robes. At the same time, he slapped a talisman on the little sword to seal its mouth.

Pei Ming had to say something at this point. He scratched his nose and said politely, "My thanks to Queen Yushi for rescuing and helping Little Pei."

The Rain Master was also courteous, and she cupped her hands. "It was nothing."

Banyue came over and tugged on the Rain Master's sleeve. "Lord Rain Master, Pei Xiu-gege passed out from hunger…" Hua Cheng glanced over. "Let's get to the surface first."

The question of provisions was solved very efficiently by the residents of Yushi Country. Since the Rain Master controlled agriculture, her people always carried food with them. By the time they got back above ground, night had passed and the sun had come out. The Rain Master retrieved seeds from a satchel on the ox, found a field, and planted them then and there. Before long, a small field of crops had sprouted and were ready for harvest.

Those who had been starving all cheered. Xie Lian realized that Guzi probably hadn't eaten well in the past few days either and woke him up.

The moment he was awake, Guzi asked where his dad was, then concluded that he'd deserted him again. He cried up a storm, so Yin Yu had no choice but to give him that extremely ugly green budaoweng to hold. When Guzi heard this was his dad, it was like he had been given a treasure; he stopped crying and hugged it tightly as he ate a yam.

Meanwhile, Xie Lian, Hua Cheng, the Rain Master, and Pei Ming sat to one side to discuss serious business.

They could already see Mount Tonglu up ahead. Now that they were closer, they could tell that the lower half of the mountain was covered with large patches of crimson red, like splattered blood. The upper half was covered with harsh layers of snow.

"Not just General Pei Junior, but Banyue, Guzi, and the rest must all stay here," Xie Lian said. "They can't continue onward."

Pei Ming was pouring medicinal smoke from a small bottle over his wounds and shook his head as he sighed. "I've been unlucky this entire way. Hurdle after hurdle."

He'd had hellish bad luck—that really did describe his journey thus far, and he was feeling quite miserable.

The Rain Master sat with poise next to Xie Lian, and after some contemplation, she said, "Your Highness, your mission is to subdue all evil creatures who possess the potential to become a supreme. There is one that you may need to watch out for."

Xie Lian perked up. "Did Lord Rain Master run into something on the road?"

The Rain Master nodded lightly. "Yes. On the way here, I met a young man dressed in white."

Xie Lian let out a soft noise of acknowledgment. "We also heard rumors about the one My Lord speaks of while on the road. Many nefarious creatures were afraid of him; we almost ran into him as well. Has My Lord seen him in person? How did you manage to get away?"

"Much ashamed," the Rain Master said, "but if it wasn't for the Guardian Steed's astoundingly powerful legs and that young man's lack of interest, it is difficult to say how the meeting would have ended."

"What did he look like?" Xie Lian pressed.

"His appearance was not clear," the Rain Master said. "His head was wrapped in bandages."

Head wrapped in bandages?! Xie Lian was dumbfounded. "Was it Lang Ying?!"

Pei Ming frowned. "Your Highness knows him?"

"I'm not sure," Xie Lian replied, then immediately turned to Hua Cheng. "San Lang, Lang Ying is definitely in Ghost City, right?"

Hua Cheng also looked serious and only answered after a pause. "He was, but it's hard to say whether he still is. Gege, why don't you verify further?"

Xie Lian continued his questions. "Lord Rain Master, you said the white-clad young man's head was wrapped in bandages. Was he just over ten years of age, or maybe a bit older? Either way, a scrawny boy."

Yet unexpectedly, the Rain Master replied, "No. The young man was about sixteen or seventeen, and his body type was similar to that of Your Highness."

"Huh?" Now this was not what Xie Lian had expected to hear.

"Sixteen or seventeen? Lang Ying isn't that old."

Was it really him? Based on the current information, he couldn't be certain.

Pei Ming tossed the little medicine bottle aside after he was done.

"Either way, we'll all end up in the Kiln in the end. Let's just wait and see."

As a martial god, his recovery speed was exceptionally fast. With just one bottle of spiritual medicine, his severe chest wound was already mostly healed. The Rain Master inclined her head.

"Why doesn't General Pei have a sword?"

Pei Ming hadn't expected her to actively ask him anything and didn't know how to best respond. Pei Xiu, who was finally conscious, answered on his behalf while eating a roasted yam.

"General, Pei's, sword was, snapped."

"Eat your yam," Pei Ming said.

Pei Xiu shut his mouth. When the Rain Master heard this, she thought for a moment before removing her own sword and handing it to Pei Ming with both hands.

There was nothing off about her expression, and she acted with the utmost grace. It was instead Pei Ming whose face changed slightly, with an expression like she was giving him a poisonous snake.

After some hesitation, he said, "Thanks, but this is Yushi's sacred guardian sword. It's probably inappropriate for me to wield it."

"It has been centuries since the Kingdom of Yushi was destroyed.

General Pei is a martial god, a skilled swordsman," the Rain Master said gently. "Since we are here to prevent the birth of a new ghost king, this sword will be more effective if you are the one to wield it, rather than I."

Pei Ming hesitated even longer, but in the end he still very politely declined. "Pei thanks Queen Yushi for her kindness. But there's no need."

The Rain Master didn't push further. They all chatted for a bit longer, and the Rain Master asked whether they had any news of the Wind Master.

Only then did Xie Lian learn that the Rain and Wind Masters were on good terms. Shi Qingxuan had often visited Yushi Country to eat, drink, and be merry, but he hadn't been there in a long time—due to the Black Water incident, of course. The Lord Rain Master had sent out her own search party, but they had come back empty-handed. She couldn't help but sigh.

The group decided that they would rest for another two hours before continuing on their way. Xie Lian walked off, looking for a random tree to lean against and doze for a bit. However, Hua Cheng managed to produce some rope and cloth out of nowhere, and he set up two swinging hammock beds between two trees. Both of them climbed in and had a good time swinging, and the beds themselves were quite comfortable to recline in.

After lying there for a bit, his arms pillowing the back of his head, Xie Lian wondered aloud in confusion.

"San Lang, why do you think General Pei won't take Lord Rain Master's sword?"

A martial god who lost his weapon should surely be anxious to find another one; was Pei Ming eager for a beating?

Hua Cheng also had his arms pillowing his head. "Someone like Pei Ming… While he loves women, he might not think highly of them," he replied leisurely. "Not only did he have to be rescued to begin with, it was by a woman—and one he knew in the past, no less. He must be quite frustrated and see the whole situation as embarrassing. Besides, the Rain Master once disciplined one of his descendants. He probably thinks she was trying to make fun of him. With all that rattling around in his head, how could he possibly take the sword?"

Their hammock beds squeaked as they swung. Xie Lian sighed.

"What nonsensical pride. By the way, San Lang, did you notice? There's an old scar on Lord Rain Master's neck."

"I don't need to see it to know," Hua Cheng said. "She's the Princess Who Slit Her Throat, after all."

Xie Lian pulled himself up a bit. "I knew it."

"Did gege notice that the Rain Master speaks a little slowly? That's also caused by the old scar on her neck."

"Oh! I thought that was just her personality," Xie Lian said. "As a princess, why did she have to slit her own throat? Xuan Ji's comment also made me curious: 'Or have you forgotten how you became queen?!' How did she become queen?"

"It's a long story, but I'll keep it short," Hua Cheng replied.

While Yushi Huang certainly was of royal descent in the Kingdom of Yushi, she lacked high status—she was a daughter born from a palace servant, so her rank was low. And her awkward, introverted personality did little to help. Each and every one of the fifteen older siblings above, as well as all the younger siblings below, were favored more highly than she.

The Temple of Yulong was the Kingdom of Yushi's royal cultivation hall. According to historical custom, in order to express their sincerity to the heavens, every ruler would select one descendant and send them there to cultivate and pray for prosperity and peace. It sounded like a grand assignment, but in truth, it was grueling work. The method of cultivation the Temple of Yulong practiced involved hard physical labor; no servants or any items of comfort were permitted, and those of royal descent were not exempt from harsh training. The position was traditionally pushed around;

if one was unlucky enough to land it, they would often spend an impressive fortune to find a substitute. But when this generation came around, there was no selection process needed—Yushi Huang was sent off from the get-go.

Xie Lian shook his head at this point in the story. Although they both came from royalty and both entered their royal cultivation halls, the Rain Master's experience greatly differed from his own.

"No wonder Xuan Ji didn't sound like she thought highly of the Rain Master," Xie Lian remarked.

"Of course," Hua Cheng said. "Xuan Ji might not be a princess, but she came from an impressive background nonetheless and had many suitors. She was valued far higher in the eyes of royalty and nobility."

Now that Xuan Ji had ruined herself, it was no wonder she couldn't stand the sight of the Rain Master, who still planted fields so tranquilly. The Rain Master had urged her to let go, but from Xuan Ji's perspective, her words were probably seen as condescending and sarcastic.

In any case, the Rain Master spent her days at the Temple of Yulong cultivating in ascetic peace. Until one day, a few distinguished guests came from the Kingdom of Xuli.

Xuli and Yushi didn't immediately fall out; there was some forced civility and false courtesy at first. In order to maintain the bogus peace, the Kingdom of Xuli sent a few royals, generals, and civil officials to attend the national banquet of the Kingdom of Yushi, and they paid a visit to Yushi's royal cultivation hall while they were at it.

That day, Yushi Huang was cleaning the tiles on the roof of the temple. When she was ready to come down, she found that someone had taken the ladder away.

The people on the ground all found it funny to see someone stuck on the roof, unable to get down. Even the princesses and princes of Yushi were snickering behind their hands. It was a general of Xuli who, after chuckling, leapt onto the roof and helped her down.

That general was, of course, Pei Ming. Xie Lian was just thinking that General Pei was quite the Casanova when a new voice suddenly spoke up.

"That guy Pei Ming—he's like that everywhere he goes. Like a dog that always needs to piss and mark its territory."

Xie Lian was instantly pulled back to the present by that malicious, vulgar comparison. He looked back and picked up the unbelievably shrunken sword.

"General Rong, when did you break free of the mouth-sealing talisman? Looks like you really want to talk, huh?"

"Don't seal me! Let me speak!" Rong Guang said. "I know every sordid affair Pei Ming has ever had like the back of my hand! Three days and three nights wouldn't be enough to list them all! He knew Xuli was going to invade Yushi soon, but he still went and seduced all the favored high-ranking princesses. They were all crazy for him and got in jealous fights. Don't you think that's a little immoral?"

It certainly wasn't nice—smile and laugh with me one day, then invade and trample my home the next. Xie Lian felt a little sorry.

"So did Queen Yushi and General Pei have a good relationship back then?"

"There was never any relationship," Rong Guang said. "That guy only met Yushi Huang twice. There were too many beauties in Yushi; he forgot her by the next day."

In this world, friendships between women fell out fast, but ones between men fell out even faster. The only difference was the end result.

When women had a falling-out, it might be over after some slaps or scratching, but when men fell out, the end might very well be death— without an intact corpse. When Xuli no longer wished to maintain a false peace, they simply made up some excuse to invade. Pei Ming led their army and charged all the way to the palace gates, forcing the King of Yushi to hide deep within the palace and cling to it as his very last line of defense.

However, Pei Ming only needed to apply a bit of pressure to crack the palace's delicate layer of protection like a snail's shell.

But he didn't crush them so simply; there were other considerations.

At Rong Guang's suggestion, he did something else.

The Xuli troops took hundreds of felons from Yushi's death row, dressed them up as normal civilians, and dragged them before the palace gates. Pei Ming charged King Yushi with the crime of oppressing his people and stated that he must come outside, kowtow three times, and kill himself in atonement. Only then would they free the civilians, and only then would they promise to not harm the remaining members of the royal household. If the king refused, Pei Ming would behead the hostages. He gave the royals three days—and with each day that passed, a third of the group would be killed. After three days came and went, they would invade the palace to kill all the royals, then kill the rest of the civilians.

"General Rong, what a shrewd but beautiful move," Xie Lian remarked.

Rong Guang wasn't mad; he even seemed pleased. "I'll take that as a compliment."

It was a splendid excuse for Xuli to invade Yushi. "The King of Yushi is negligent and oppressive in his rule, and for the sake of justice, Xuli shall rescue the suffering citizens of the kingdom." The sheer righteousness— truly, a beautiful move.

If King Yushi refused to come out, then he was selfish, muddleheaded, and didn't care for his people—and he had always declared that he loved his people like his children. It would provoke resentment from the citizenry if his words and actions didn't match, and they would assume that they had been deceived. "Didn't you say you loved your people like your children? Why would you turn around and let us be sacrificed for the sake of the royals?" This would then destroy their loyalty to the Yushi royals.

After killing the last of those "civilians," the people of Yushi would be terrified that Xuli's next move would be to slaughter the whole city. Xuli would then announce that those who had been executed were felons on death row anyway, doomed to die—they had only been used to reveal the selfish lies of the Yushi royals. Seeing such an immense contrast would immediately calm the growing fears in the hearts of the Yushi people and turn them meek and obedient. That would make Xuli's subsequent takeover much easier, as the people would be suitably disheartened.

However, if King Yushi really did come out and kill himself to atone… Whatever, it'd make no difference, it would just save them the hassle of killing him themselves. Besides, Pei Ming and Rong Guang believed that King Yushi would never go through with it—or rather, that no monarch would be willing to end their life in a state of such humiliation. To bow before civilians and enemy troops alike, admit one's mistakes, and then die? Dream on!

But unexpectedly, the ruler of Yushi actually did emerge after only one day, just as Pei Ming was about to order the execution of the first group of "civilians."

The palace gates opened. With the sacred guardian sword Yulong hanging from the royal waist, the monarch walked out, kneeled before the people, and kowtowed three times. The sword was unsheathed, a throat was slashed, and the gates were splashed with blood.

Xie Lian could already guess what had happened. "Was it Lord Rain Master who came out?"

"Yes," Hua Cheng replied.

After the palace attendants and royal family had been thoroughly interrogated, the Xuli troops discovered what had happened.

The Xuli troops, which included Pei Ming and Rong Guang, had been loitering around outside the palace that day, laughing boisterously in an excessively arrogant display. On the other hand, the palace was utter chaos inside; crying and wailing filled the air. It was of course impossible that King Yushi would go out and kill himself. He sat upon his throne, his face grim and pale. Meanwhile, all the royal siblings, who usually fought each other bloody to curry favor with king, had been howling and weeping for ages—but the king still hadn't moved a muscle. So each of them began to cautiously attempt to persuade him.

There were a variety of reasons and many types of arguments, such as: "This is for the people!" "Even if you die, your name will go down in history!" "If you do nothing, your people are doomed!"

Every excuse was trotted out, but nothing swayed the king, and soon a day had almost passed. Some of the sons were growing anxious, and they yelled at their father in agitation.

The king hadn't even died yet; he was outraged at their behavior and swung his staff out to beat them with it. The sons and grandsons would have never retaliated in the past, but no one cared now that they were in such dire straits. And so, one of the princes could no longer tolerate it and hit back. His punch was unexpectedly too powerful, and it knocked the king, who was in his sixties, to the floor. His head was drenched in blood, and he couldn't get back up.

The princes and princesses were petrified at first, but they soon relaxed when they realized he was still breathing. They began to discuss how they could drag the immobile king out of the gate, and then how they could manipulate his limbs into performing the difficult movements of kowtowing and atonement. Even ridiculous ideas were part of the heated discussion—such as stringing him up like a puppet to control him. The king was so furious he almost had a stroke right then and there. Finally, they decided that they would find two people to carry the old king outside to complete the process of atonement. However, now there was a new problem —who should those two people be? It was a dangerous position to be in;

who knew whether General Pei Ming would simply shoot them dead with arrows if he wasn't pleased. Nobody was willing to do it.

The dispute and arguments went on and on and on. The whole time, the sixteenth princess stood there, silent and unnoticed, but she suddenly said something to the old king where he lay on the ground.

"Please allow me to succeed to the throne," Yushi Huang said.

King Yushi gazed at this daughter he had barely looked at over the course of her life, and a trifling tear finally rolled from the corner of his eye.

Only a single drop.

Normally, there would be endless fights over this position, but no one fought this time. Whoever gained the office was doomed to die. Thus, in less than an hour, after the crudest and most rushed succession ceremony in the history of the Kingdom of Yushi, the least likely monarch was born.

The new Queen of Yushi slit her own throat and blood poured forth like a fountain. She was no doubt beyond saving. Pei Ming had never thought things would go like this; when he glanced over between drinks and saw it play out, he was completely stunned. Rong Guang cursed loudly, upset that their luck had turned out this way. How could they do this?! The ruler had certainly atoned, but it wasn't the same ruler as the day before!

The death of someone so insignificant wouldn't destroy the people's loyalty, and now they couldn't kill the old crook king.

Even today, Rong Guang still found it unbelievable. "We never thought they'd pull a move like that, passing the throne off at the last moment and finding a scapegoat. Absolutely outrageous!"

The soldiers of Xuli couldn't bear to watch this absurd succession farce anymore, and they made considerable noise about whether to save this so-called "queen." However, her injury was too great; the medical officers confirmed that she couldn't be saved. In the end, Pei Ming had to keep his promise not to touch the civilians outside the palace, nor lay a finger on the royal family. They dressed the injury on the neck of this "ruler," then sent her properly to the Temple of Yulong to allow her to breathe her last. They would find her a better place in the royal mausoleum, where she would be buried.

When Yushi Huang took her last breath that night beneath the divine statue of the former Rain Master, the statue sighed.

Thunder roared and lightning crackled. The new Rain Master had ascended.

As the tale drew to a close, Xie Lian mused, "No wonder General Pei wore that expression when he saw the sword."