212: Chapter 210 Crimson Clouds and Flowing Mist

The Second Prince saw that speck of light.

His gaze grew even colder.

He punched Xue Ji in the abdomen; her body arched, and a mist of blood sprayed from her mouth.

Then he grabbed her hair and flung her away.

Xue Ji's body slammed against the wall with a dull thud before slowly sliding down, leaving behind a dark red streak of blood.

She curled up in the corner, covered in blood with her hair disheveled, looking like a crumpled piece of rag.

The Second Prince walked over, raised his foot, and stepped on her face.

The sole of his boot ground into her cheek, pinning half of her head to the ground.

Xue Ji's face was pressed against the cold floor, her mouth and nose filled with blood, making it difficult to breathe.

"Stop using your disgusting charms."

The Second Prince's voice was as cold as ice. "I'll tell you this: I have never been charmed by you. I only value the power of your Fox Clan. Your clansmen, your Bloodline, your talent—these are the only things about you that are worth anything. As for you as a person, what do you think you are?"

He kicked Xue Ji in the waist, sending her flying.

Xue Ji's body rolled several times across the floor until she hit the threshold and stopped.

She lay there, covered in blood and unable to move.

The Second Prince stood where he was, looking down at her from above.

"Go," he said. "Find your clansmen. Have them bring that man named Yun Ming back to me. Alive or dead, it doesn't matter. If you can't bring him back, don't bother coming back yourself."

He paused, his voice turning even colder. "If you fail, I will exterminate every last member of the Fox Clan in the entire Zifu Immortal Dynasty. I mean what I say."

He turned, walked to the door, and shouted outside, "Someone! Drag her out of here!"

Several guards rushed in. They glanced at Xue Ji on the floor and then at the Second Prince's expression. Not daring to ask questions, they bent down, hoisted Xue Ji up, and dragged her out.

Xue Ji's legs dragged along the floor. One of her shoes had fallen off, but she didn't even notice.

She was dragged out of the Prince's Mansion, through long corridors, past the main gates, down the steps, and finally thrown onto the open ground outside.

The guards turned and went back inside. The doors closed behind them with a heavy thud.

Xue Ji lay prone on the cold ground, motionless.

Her clothes were soaked through; it was impossible to tell if it was blood, sweat, or something else.

Her hair was spread messily across the ground, covered in dust and withered leaves.

Her face was buried in her arms, hiding her expression.

The moon rose.

Moonlight shone upon her, upon the green robes soaked in blood, and upon the crooked wooden hairpin.

Finally, she moved.

She pushed herself off the ground and slowly sat up, leaning against a large tree behind her.

The bark was rough, digging painfully into her back, but she didn't care.

She closed her eyes, gasping for breath.

With every breath, her chest felt like it was being sliced by a knife.

She didn't know how many ribs she had broken, how badly her internal organs were damaged, or if she could even survive.

Her cultivation had been sealed, and her body's ability to recover was greatly diminished.

In the past, such injuries would have healed in just a few breaths.

Now, she could only endure it.

Leaning against the tree, she gazed at the moon in the sky.

The moon was round and bright, bathing the earth in a silvery white light.

She suddenly remembered the stories Yun Ming had told; they also featured the moon. Bai Suzhen and Xu Xian met under the moon, Nie Xiaoqian and Ning Caichen met under the moon, and Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai turned into butterflies under the moon. The moon in the stories was always beautiful, and the people in the stories were always happy. But she only had the moon; she had no story.

A figure appeared before her.

It was an old woman with a withered face and white hair, wearing a dark robe and leaning on a staff.

Her back was somewhat hunched, yet standing there, she felt like a mountain.

Her Aura was as deep as the sea, causing the surrounding air to stagnate.

Nascent Soul Perfection.

The Clan Chief of the Fox Clan in the Zifu Immortal Dynasty.

She stood there, looking down at Xue Ji leaning against the tree. In her cloudy old eyes, there was no pity, no heartache—only indifference.

Xue Ji looked up, and upon seeing that aged face, her body instinctively recoiled.

The old woman didn't speak.

She took a Medicinal Pill from her sleeve, bent down, forced Xue Ji's mouth open, and tucked it inside.

As the pill entered her stomach, a warmth rose from her Dantian and quickly flowed through her limbs and bones.

The Seal within Xue Ji's body seemed to be unlocked by a key. Spiritual energy surged out from her Golden Core, rushing through her Meridians and repairing her damaged body.

Broken ribs reconnected, torn organs healed, and stagnant blood seeped out from her pores, turning into a thin layer of black scabs.

Her cultivation was restored.

Early Nascent Soul Stage, it had all returned.

Xue Ji stood up from the ground, keeping her head lowered, not daring to look at the old woman.

The old woman said nothing.

She was waiting.

There was a long silence.

Long enough for the moon to move from the east to directly overhead, long enough for the tree shadows to shorten and then lengthen again.

"I want to go home," Xue Ji said.

Her voice was very soft, like smoke scattered by the wind.

The old woman raised her hand and slapped Xue Ji across the face.

The slap was so heavy that Xue Ji's head snapped to the side, and blood seeped from the corner of her mouth.

Her body swayed, but she didn't fall.

The Aura of Nascent Soul Perfection erupted from the old woman, pressing down on Xue Ji's shoulders like a massive mountain.

Xue Ji's legs buckled, and she fell to her knees.

It wasn't that she wanted to kneel, but that the Aura made it impossible for her to remain standing.

Her knees struck the stone slabs with a dull thud.

"Useless," the old woman's voice was raspy, like sandpaper grinding against stone. "You are the most talented member of our Fox Clan in a thousand years. It's one thing that you couldn't handle the Second Prince, but you can't even take down a minor Golden Core cultivator? Are you trying to infuriate me to death?"

Xue Ji knelt on the ground, her head bowed. Her lips moved as if she wanted to explain.

"That Yun Ming," she began, "he's different, he—"

The old woman gave her no chance to explain.

She raised her staff and struck it against the ground with a "thump."

"Go," she said. "Kill him or cripple him, it doesn't matter. Either bring that Yun Ming back or kill him. Then come back and appease the Second Prince. Our Fox Clan finally managed to leave that desolate land; we cannot go back. Do you understand?"

Xue Ji kept her head down and said nothing.

Her fingers dug into the cracks between the stone slabs. Her nails broke and bled, but she felt nothing.

The old woman slapped her across the face again.

This slap was even heavier than the last. Xue Ji was knocked to the ground, but she struggled to crawl back up and return to her kneeling position.

Her cheek was swollen, and the blood from the corner of her mouth flowed even more heavily.

"I asked you, did you hear me?" the old woman's voice rose with anger.

Xue Ji nodded. "I heard you." Her voice was raspy, as if forced from the depths of her throat.

The old woman looked at her and remained silent for a long time.

Then she sighed—a long, heavy sigh that seemed to come from the depths of her heart.

She bent down, helped Xue Ji up from the ground, brushed the dust off her, and tidied her disheveled hair.

"What exactly happened?" The old woman's voice softened, no longer cold and harsh but tinged with a hint of fatigue. "How did you end up like this after just one trip? What are you wearing? How can you charm men looking like this?"

She took a garment from her sleeve and handed it to Xue Ji.

It was a dance dress, deep red, as thin as a cicada's wing and light as nothing.

The moment it was unfurled, it was as if a pool of crimson light flowed from the old woman's hands, dazzlingly and intoxicatingly red.

Fine golden patterns were embroidered onto the garment, shimmering in the moonlight like a galaxy in the night sky.

The name of the dance dress was crimson cloud flowing smoke.

Red as crimson clouds and light as wisps of smoke, it was a supreme treasure of the Fox Clan. It could amplify the effects of Charm Technique, making the dancer's form appear indistinct and causing the hearts of observers to waver; those with weak willpower were most likely to lose their focus.

"Put it on," the old woman said. "Go and kill that Yun Ming. Regardless of the means, kill him or bring him back. Our Fox Clan will assist you from the shadows. This time, you cannot fail again."

Xue Ji took the dance dress and held it in her hands.

crimson cloud flowing smoke was very light, as if weightless.

She looked down at the pool of crimson light for a long time.

There was no expression on her face, making it impossible to tell what she was thinking.

She nodded.