3.2

And now, the warm and smiling brother of her memories would only leave her a cold and distant back. Ji Yunhe hung her head low. She knew better than anyone else that their relationship turning sour was not at all to be blamed on him. The blame was all on her...

When Ji Yunhe returned to her courtyard, it was already dark. She sat down, lit the lamp, and watched the bean-sized candle flame flicker and jump. Once, twice, and when she counted to five, the air suddenly flashed a demonic aura. A black-haired woman dressed in white and red appeared in the room. Ji Yunhe shifted the lamp a bit and did not bother to look at the woman.

"Tell me. Lin Canglan gave the order to make us compete directly with each other this time. How far should I go?"　　

The woman's voice was thin and unemotional, "He wants you to give it your all." Ji Yunhe smiled. "Give it my all? If I tame the demon, will Lin Canglan really dare to make me the next Valley Master?"　　

"The master has his own arrangements, you don't have to ask so much," the woman answered. Then she raised her hand and tossed Ji Yunhe a pill. "You only need to know that if he finds out you didn't do your best, you can forget about getting the antidote next month."<

Ji Yunhe caught the pill as the woman in red and white disappeared like a ghost. She rolled the pill between her fingertips, and the corners of her lips pursed tight. The old master of the valley had made her Master Warden, treated her no differently from his own son, Lin Haoqing, and even vaguely seemed to want her replacing Lin Haoqing.　

However, only Ji Yunhe knew that the scheming old man could not possibly give the position of the Valley Master to an "outsider", even if she was his adopted daughter. Not to mention Lin Canglan had never really seen her as an adopted daughter. She was just a pawn under the old man, helping him do all the dark, unsightly deeds…　　

Ji Yunhe took the monthly antidote and felt the bitter taste spread across her mouth. The bitterness kept her awake and allowed her to think clearly about the dilemma she was facing.　

She knew the old man had no intention of giving her control of the valley, and now he was staging such an open and fair contest and wanted her to give it her all. If she were to lose, it would become Lin Haoqing's reign and she would be abandoned by the valley. Even Qu Xiaoxing and other long time supporters of hers would suffer. And if she were to win, it would be even worse.　　

The old man behind the scenes would surely have his tricks to deal with her. And even if there were no tricks, all he had to do was withhold the antidote she must take every month. That would be enough to make her suffer. Both outcomes were a dead end...　　

Ji Yunhe tugged on her shirt. She was already feeling a bit warm after taking the pill, now she was even more restless after stressing over her current situation. The room became stuffy and unbearable and she decided to go for a walk in the crisp night air. She kept thinking as she wandered, and soon found herself standing before the dungeon holding the jiaoren. In fact, it was not by chance.　　

The dungeon where the jiaoren was being kept was the most secure one in the entire valley. Very few demons qualified to be locked in here, so it was almost always free and empty. Ji Yunhe enjoyed walking around this area when she was upset or stressed. Sometimes she would even go inside the cell and hang out for a while.　　With no one inside, it was a rare place where she could feel a bit of security.　　

Now the jiaoren was here. Many guards stood outside the dungeon, giving Ji Yunhe a simple salute as she approached, "Master Warden."

Ji Yunhe nodded and casually asked, "Has that demon been docile?"　　

The guard replied, "The young valley master cleaned him up during the day so he wouldn't have the strength to toss around at night."　　

Ji Yunhe nodded again, "I'll go take a look." She slowly stepped down onto the dungeon floor. She did not try to conceal the sound of her footsteps, because he would be able to detect her no matter how quiet she tried to be.　　

Down in the dungeon, the prison cell was dead silent. Huge iron bars were plastered with talismans and washed clean of the blood splattered during the day. The moonlight casting down from the top of the dungeon made it look extra cold.

The jiaoren was hanging alone inside. His long tail draped down, dragging over the ground while the scales shimmered under the light of the moon. One could vaguely see how gloriously stunning it used to be.

Ji Yunhe slowly stepped in. His head was hanging down and his waist length silver hair shielded half of his face. But even so, Ji Yunhe could not help but find this demon too beautiful.　　

Excessively beautiful.