Out on the terrace outside.
Ming Rihao was still sitting there. The Solar King’s mortal-strike had wrecked his body — if his strength and life force had not been as savagely resilient as a cockroach’s, he would already be face-down and dead.
The Jester and Lady Zhiguang suddenly appeared.
At the sight of Ming Rihao like that, the Jester’s eyes flickered.
Lady Zhiguang’s expression, though, did not change — she even wore a small smile, as though enjoying the situation a little.
“Look at you. My — after all these years, you’re still like this. Would you die if you stopped grandstanding once in your life?” Lady Zhiguang was clicking her tongue as she stepped through the golden protective shield and walked over to Ming Rihao. She circled him twice, then broke into a bright peal of laughter: “My esteemed Marshal — the man called the strongest man of the Ming clan, the man who hated evil with an unblinking intolerance for betrayal — you did come to Greenvalley City to catch me, didn’t you? Why haven’t you moved? Oh, the chance is gone. But no matter — there’s still a chance now. Come on. Take me back and hang me from Moonlight Plaza for judgment. A traitor like me — the sentence has to be hanging at the very least.”
“…” Ming Rihao was silent as the grave.
“I am right here in front of you. Why don’t you move? Let me look — ah, I see, someone has already beaten you into serious injuries. Who? Who beat the strongest man of the Ming clan into a shrinking-necked turtle? Who beat the man who called himself the most valorous in the world into a coward?” Lady Zhiguang mocked him coldly.
“…” Ming Rihao still would not speak.
“You hate me, don’t you? That’s right. I betrayed you. No — I betrayed the entire Ming clan. I even betrayed the Ming clan’s holy virgin herself, Ming Yueguang. Aren’t you the good brother who protects his little sister above all? Then why, seeing a traitor like me, do you stay silent? Ha, ha, ha — I waited thousands of years thinking I’d meet a maddened avenger. I’ve only met a coward. What is it that turned you into this? Let me guess. It’s the Prison Emperor. The Prison Emperor scared the guts right out of you, and turned you into a spineless little thing!” Lady Zhiguang poured out the mockery in a torrent — it was as though she were picking a fight for no reason, just to insult him.
“Zhiguang!” The Jester seemed not to like Lady Zhiguang standing this close to Ming Rihao. He barked her name low.
“Go take your Divine Codex. Leave me alone.” Lady Zhiguang turned on him for no apparent reason, and glared at him: “Don’t bother me. You’d best make yourself vanish — go worry about your dreamed-of divine blood, divine body, and Divine Codex — those things.”
“I like those things, yes. But you know for whom I’ve been carrying out this plan.” The Jester’s eyes flared with anger too. His calm broke.
“What a righteous excuse. You think I believe that?” Lady Zhiguang’s cold sneer continued.
“You —”
The Jester was burning with rage. He rushed her, raised his right hand, and prepared to slap her across the face.
Lady Zhiguang was not afraid of the Jester in the slightest. Instead of dodging, she pressed that world-enchanting face of hers closer, indicating that he should hit her: “Do it. Hit me. I know you’ve wanted to hit me for a long time. I’m not your equal in strength anyway — why put on this pretentious little show? Slap me, right now.”
The Jester raised his hand and shook it — several times he almost hit her.
In the end, he lowered his hand.
He spoke in a gentle voice no one had ever heard from him: “Zhiguang. You know me. I can be enemy of the whole world, but I would not touch a single hair on you. Windstill, Ming Rihao — those fools are only tools to be used. You and I are both intelligent people; we should know what is best. You say I do it for divine blood and Divine Codex? Let me tell you the truth: those things are not, in the end, right for us either… Zhiguang, if you will come with me, I can give up the Divine Codex, give up everything in the world.”
Lady Zhiguang burst out laughing: “Wonderful. So you’re that unattached to it? Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go. You go wait outside; I’ll grab the Divine Codex and come find you. How’s that?”
The Jester’s body twitched. His eyes cycled through several expressions and settled somewhere painful: “Zhiguang, at the end of the day — you still don’t believe me!”
Lady Zhiguang shook her head, expression openly contemptuous: “Believe you? You do not believe yourself. Your own left hand does not believe your right. And you want me to believe you?”
“What if I truly can set the Divine Codex aside?” The Jester ground his teeth, forcing the words out.
“Then you’d no longer have any use to me — get out and get lost!” Lady Zhiguang answered coldly.
“You —” Even the Jester’s patience could not hold. His chest rose and fell with fury. His two hands clenched. He crushed a three-color orb between them. His eyes went bloodshot to the point of bleeding.
“Jester — please don’t treat me as an idiot? Stop lying to yourself. You know what you are? You are the worst scum in the world; you are the most crazed, mad-hearted dog-shit of a person. Compared to you, other men are saints. Have you forgotten how you rose? You rose by continuous betrayal. You betrayed your homeland. You betrayed the Sky Tower and its heroic Prison Emperor. Then you betrayed your master, Black Prison Emperor… If we start counting your history of betrayals, we’ll be here all night. Do you remember, back then, the great fire at Ginkgo Valley? Who gave them the road? Ha ha ha ha ha — I imagine Blue Wolf and the rest, to their dying day, will never know it was you behind the whole thing. And who actually killed the Ginkgo Queen? Was it Blue Wolf, or was it Luoluo or Wanjiao? How could they possibly have suspected — that you, using them as puppets, arranged for her to burn to death in that flame, and then in righteous grief ‘took vengeance’ upon them, the black hand behind it all? You were being hunted by warriors from the Sky Tower who had stayed on in the Heavenly Realm; you fled to Ginkgo Valley. The kind Ginkgo Queen sheltered you and healed the wounds that were killing you. And you thanked her by raping her.”
Lady Zhiguang pointed at the Jester and, without a trace of mercy, went on: “You — who disgust even me — put on the show of penitence, knelt before the Ginkgo Queen begging forgiveness. When the kind Ginkgo Queen forgave you, your bestial nature flared up again, and you raped her again — savoring her sorrow and her humiliation to the fullest. Countless staged repentances and countless ungrateful rapes. How many times did the Ginkgo Queen forgive you? And you — from the very bottom of your heart — you savored the intrigue and the pleasure. Jester — that’s exactly the kind of disgusting thing you are! Until the Ginkgo Queen became pregnant. And to erase your enemies at Ginkgo Valley who resented you, you deliberately drew Blue Wolf and the others there — and then dosed their food with an aphrodisiac-poison, so they would take the blame and cover up your crime!”
The Jester was shaking from head to foot. With trembling fingers, he pointed at Lady Zhiguang: “You — how do you know these things?”
Lady Zhiguang laughed. Her face went instantly cold. She stared him down: “I saw it with my own eyes. Back then, I saw you take that dagger and drive it into the Ginkgo Queen’s belly with my own eyes. I saw her reach out to you for rescue, and I saw you kill her and her child together. Jester — you want to say your feelings are true? Ask yourself if you believe it.”
The Jester slumped to the ground, both hands covering his face.
Silent.
For a long time.
Not until Lady Zhiguang turned to leave did he reach out one hand toward her: “What I feel for you is real. Believe me. I love you. If I did not love you, why would I share all this with you? I’ve done many things with women in my life, but Zhiguang, what I feel for you is real. I admit it’s mad. It’s unbelievable. But I love you more than the Windstill national ruler does!”
Lady Zhiguang smiled. Slowly she walked back to the Jester, extending her hand: “You love me that much — come, come and embrace me. I can’t wait for your kiss any longer.”
But the Jester leapt away as though bitten in the backside by a venomous snake.
The entire man recoiled.
At the sight of Lady Zhiguang’s outstretched hand, he stumbled back several steps in horror.
“Ha. So this is what your love looks like?” Lady Zhiguang laughed brightly.
“I do love you, but you’d steal my ability… If you would agree not to use that ability, I — I —” The Jester was defending himself furiously. Before he could finish — slap — Lady Zhiguang had smacked him across the face. He was still trying to react when — slap — a second ringing slap landed.
“Don’t say you love me again. Hearing it makes me want to vomit.” Lady Zhiguang spat mercilessly. Her eyes were pure contempt.
“I truly —” The Jester was shaking all over.
“Get out.” That was Lady Zhiguang’s answer.
“You are heartless. Do you know what I have done for you? And you treat me like this? Back then — who helped you? The entire Ming clan wanted you dead. Only I helped you. If not for me, would you even be alive today?” The Jester bellowed at her.
“Thank you. If not for you, I wouldn’t have watched the Central Divine Hall attack my homeland and butcher every one of my brothers and sisters. Not that I had any warm feelings for those people — but that hardly means I’m going to hand you a commendation for helping. You helped me — didn’t you also use me? Between us there was only mutual use. There is no other relationship between us. You say you love me? Then let me say it plainly: to the very bottom of my heart, I find it disgusting.” Lady Zhiguang’s voice was colder than ice.
Slap!
The Jester could not stop himself. His backhand blow sent Lady Zhiguang flying.
His strength far outstripped hers.
He put every drop of that hatred into the strike.
One backhand and her face went purple with swelling. Blood ran from her cut lip.
The Jester looked instantly as though he regretted it — but he did not dare go near her. From a distance, filled with guilt, he tried to apologize: “I’m sorry, Zhiguang. I didn’t mean it. I was too angry. I was wrong. Don’t be angry with me. Let’s leave. I don’t want the Divine Codex. As long as you’ll come with me, I don’t care about anything else.”
Lady Zhiguang dabbed at the blood on her mouth and laughed a small, breathless laugh: “If I were three years old, you’d have succeeded in convincing me. Unfortunately, I am the Zhiguang who does not even trust herself. I am not a three-year-old. Put your act away. Never — never — think you can deceive me. There is no one in this world who can deceive me. If you think a few tricks and honeyed words will fool me — I apologize, I am not the kind of person you imagine.”
The Jester shouted: “You will leave with me! Zhiguang, you have to leave with me!”
Lady Zhiguang smoothed the strands of hair on her forehead with a movement of perfect grace, and asked mildly in return: “And if I say no?”
Killing intent flashed through the Jester’s eyes. “Then I’ll kill you. And not only will I kill you — I’ll kill your sister, the Freedom Queen. And I’ll kill the man you love — Ming Rihao. Look at him. He’s like a dead dog. I could kill him any time I please. Come with me, and I might just spare his life!”
Lady Zhiguang laughed and laughed. She laughed until tears were flying from her eyes.
A long time later, she barely managed to stop, and pointed at her own chest: “Would you like me to make you a suggestion that is even more vicious than that? Why don’t you just rape me right here, in front of Ming Rihao — the way you raped the Ginkgo Queen back then? Come on. I promise I won’t resist. I promise I won’t use the sacred dissolution power the Ginkgo Queen left to me… Back then, she believed you would change; that’s why she never used the sacred dissolution power to kill you. Today, I’ll give you that same chance…”
The Jester swallowed. He seemed genuinely tempted.
In the end he still shook his head.
Lady Zhiguang’s smile turned strange: “Why has a beast of a scum-man turned into a chaste and courteous gentleman? Let me guess — when you murdered the Ginkgo Queen, did the sacred force punish you? Turn you into a eunuch? No — the Ginkgo Queen was too merciful; she would never do such a thing. Even after you killed her and her child, she prayed you might one day change… Ha ha ha ha. Jester — do you know why you are now a broken man incapable of the act? It’s because of me. I used the Ginkgo Queen’s sacred dissolution power to curse you. I’m so sorry — only today can I tell you this little secret. Now what, Jester? Aren’t you furious? Don’t you want to kill me on the spot? Very well then — you who love me so much — you can move now!”
The Jester heard it, and his silver mask fell from his face uncontrollably to the floor.
His face was worse than dead.
The whole face contorted out of shape — with rage, with venom, with terror, with disbelief, with madness, with a stifled scream all at once…
He raised his hand. One vicious slap sent Lady Zhiguang flying a hundred meters. Through gritted teeth, in his most terrifying voice, he spat with pure venom: “Whore. I will throw you into a pit of animals, and let every kind of rutting beast defile your worthless body. Then I will flay the skin off you, and cut your flesh into three thousand six hundred cuts of diced meat, and cook it as my dinner. If I cut even one stroke short — I am no longer the Jester!”
“Ha ha ha ha ha. So this is your love? Not bad. I’m starting to feel it now.” Lady Zhiguang mocked with vicious pleasure: “Look at yourself. The mask is off. Jester — this is you!”
“Whore. I loved you this much and you destroyed me!” The Jester roared like a madman.
“The Windstill national ruler is willing to die for me. You, over one line I spoke, would slice me into three thousand six hundred pieces. Is that also love? At the end of the day — you only believe in yourself. You have never believed in anyone.” Lady Zhiguang was still able to smile. She wiped the blood from her face, tidied her appearance again, and — as though no one were watching — pulled out a small mirror to check her face. She dabbed powder over the swelling cheek, closed the compact, and crooked a finger at the Jester: “Come on, Jester. What are you waiting for? Come and kill me!”
“You think I don’t dare?” The Jester flashed forward in front of Lady Zhiguang at full speed. Killing intent radiated cold from his blood-red eyes. Lady Zhiguang met that gaze without a flinch. Then the Jester lowered his eyes; his voice softened again: “Zhiguang, I do love you. Let’s go. As long as you come with me, I don’t care about anything you’ve done to me. I love you more than the Windstill national ruler does! Truly. I swear — from now on I’ll be good only to you. You can test me. On the day you feel I’ve truly repented, help me undo the curse. I will not kill you. I love you more than anyone in the world does!”
“Right — and once I’m moved and undo the curse, you’ll show me exactly what deception really means!” Lady Zhiguang smiled ever so sweetly: “Jester — you are an intelligent man. But do not take me for a fool. That kind of lie, I could tell at four years old.”
“Stinking whore. You’re asking to die!” The Jester lifted his head. His blood-red eyes shot pure killing intent. He stepped back a few paces and drew a curving, long, silver-glinting oddly-shaped blade. He pointed the razor-sharp edge at Lady Zhiguang: “I will count to three. If you do not undo my curse by then, I will start peeling the skin off your slut-body. Do not imagine that with the sacred dissolution power you can resist me. Killing you will be easier than crushing an ant.”
“Then what are you waiting for? Counting to three? Fine, I’ll help.” Lady Zhiguang spat on the ground: “Let me count. One. Two —“
“Slut!” The Jester swung the blade down at her arm.
He could have killed her in one stroke.
But he did not want to kill her that quickly. Before killing her, he wanted to torture her to his heart’s content, to force her to suffer every humiliation and every pain. Most importantly of all — to make her undo the curse. Her strength was so far below his that resistance was impossible!
Now — first he would cut off one arm, then torment her while forcing her to undo the curse.
Cut off all four limbs, then peel off her skin.
After peeling, carve off her flesh. After the flesh, scrape at the bone… The methods of torture were endless. She wanted to die? Not that easily. If she would not undo his curse, she would live forever in agony!
Lady Zhiguang showed no fear. She watched the blade come down. At the corner of her lip, a strange little smile appeared.
She even extended her arm to meet it.
As though she would not be satisfied until she saw her own arm hacked off!
A giant hand reached over her shoulder from behind and, quite gently, caught the Jester’s descending blade. And at the same moment, a sigh rose: “Thousands of years have passed. Why are you still like this? Keeping up this stubbornness — what for?”
“I have not changed. I am exactly as I was. You only think I’ve changed! You can say I chased beauty. You can say I used any means. But you cannot deny my heart… I am a wicked woman. I was not born beautiful. I was not exceptional. To be more beautiful, I wore the near-divine Prayer Pearl every day — is that wrong? I am a woman. I sought beauty — is that wrong? Even if that was wrong, my heart has never changed… Even when I heard you had died in battle in the Sky Tower, I kept faith with you. I waited for your return every day! It was you who assumed I had betrayed you. Did I betray the clan? I, Zhiguang — however mad — could never kill my own brothers and sisters. Have you never heard of the enemy using a plant to divide us? You great fool. What have all these years of my waiting been for? I was waiting for a promise from you. You said — once I brought back reinforcements, you would marry me. I went back happily, cut through the enemy lines to call for help. I never forgot your promise. But did you keep it? You hid from me like a turtle. I kept my virginity for thousands of years, waiting and waiting for you to come marry me. And what have you become? A coward! Do you also think I am some woman who beds every man she meets? Do you actually think I ought to die?”
“Shut up!” Ming Rihao, who had appeared behind Lady Zhiguang from where nobody knew, roared. The sound shook heaven and earth. The shockwave sent the Jester flying like a leaf in a hurricane.
The Jester’s strength was, next to Ming Rihao’s, not worth naming.
Even Ming Rihao wounded.
“I won’t!” Lady Zhiguang shouted, glaring right back at Ming Rihao without a trace of fear: “You are a coward. You are a man without spine. Holy Ancestor Grandmother has been dead all these years, and you still can’t let her go. There is a woman right in front of you who loves you, and you won’t even look at her. What kind of man is that? It is because there are people like you that the Tianhua Domain’s tragedies keep repeating in cycles! I am not as beautiful as Holy Ancestor Grandmother. I am not as gentle as her. I am naturally lively. I like my small schemes and little intrigues. I inherited the Second Holy Ancestor Grandmother’s temperament — is that a crime? Must every woman in the world be like the First Holy Ancestor Grandmother to count as a real woman? You fool. Look at Yue Titan’s women. Every one of them has a different personality. Why is he so happy? Why are you so miserable? Because you are blind. Because you are a cold-hearted, cowardly, shrinking-necked turtle. He gives his love wholeheartedly, and life rewards him with happiness. And you? You have been cold and heartless to everyone who has loved you — and life has rewarded you with pain and grief. This is entirely your own doing! One last thing: if you are willing to let go of your grief-stricken past, love me, accept me, and honor the promise you made all those years ago — you will be happy at once. If not — you will just repeat the same tragedy. Holy Ancestor Grandmother is dead. She cannot come back. Even if she could, she would not want to see you like this — worn out, giving up!”
“…” Ming Rihao did not know how to answer Lady Zhiguang’s onslaught.
“You said I was fake, didn’t you? Fine. I’ll show you the real me. I’ll stop chasing a beautiful face. I’ll stop wearing a mask in front of you. If that’s still not enough, I — I will kill myself in front of you!” Lady Zhiguang tore the near-divine Prayer Pearl off her forehead and, without a second’s hesitation, hurled it to the floor.
The moment the Prayer Pearl was off —
Gold light flashed. From the delicate, peerless beauty of a moment ago, Lady Zhiguang transformed suddenly into an eight-meter-tall female giant.
Muscle rippled across her body. Her features were sharply cut, as if carved from stone.
The nation-toppling beauty of a moment ago —
Was a completely different creature.
Tears welled up in the eyes of Zhiguang the giantess and fell like waterfalls: “This ugly me — if you don’t want me, I’ll kill myself right now. I, Zhiguang, do what I say. Try telling me you don’t want me. Try it.”
“…” Ming Rihao was somewhat stunned by the giantess Zhiguang’s resolve. The Prayer Pearl was her very life. She wouldn’t even let anyone touch it.
“I — I have gone this far. What — what more do you want from me?” The giantess Zhiguang put her face in her hands and burst into sobs.
Ming Rihao sighed, softly.
Without a word.
He took one small step forward, and opened his giant arms.
Slowly, he wrapped her in an embrace. Zhiguang’s giant body trembled violently — and the moment she felt Ming Rihao’s arms around her, she wailed and threw herself into his chest and cried at the top of her voice, as though she had been swallowing every grievance the world had to offer all these years.
Watching from the corridor entrance, Hong, A-Man, and Death Mantis-sister — all of them — had red rims around their eyes.
They were profoundly moved.
The Jester was carefully edging his way toward escape.
A-Man flashed over in a heartbeat and stamped him flat into the ground. Then she picked the Prayer Pearl up off the floor, thought a moment, and passed it to Hong.
“This treasure — its owner is probably not going to keep it.” Hong turned it over in her hand, murmuring.
“Why not?” Death Mantis-sister didn’t understand.
“Because when Xixi Mistress and Rain Mistress hear about all this, they’re absolutely going to give it back to Zhiguang as a wedding gift.” Hong explained. Death Mantis-sister realized what she meant, and — tilting her adorable little head — asked the follow-up: “Taking someone else’s thing and giving it as a wedding gift — is that all right?”
“Something already in the master’s hand — being willing to give it away — that alone, for the master, is already a rare thing.” Hong covered her small mouth, hiding a small laugh.
“Yes!” Even A-Man agreed with that.
(End of Chapter 994)