54.2

Princess Shunde had nothing more to say. She glanced at Ji Yunhe one last time then turned and left. Ji Yunhe was released from the wall and sat down at the edge of the cell. She asked the Grand Master, "Is the jade phoenix so powerful that she warrants such caution from you?"

"Yes, she is." Ji Yunhe grew curious.

"A demon master and demon who came from a hundred years ago, is there a story between you two?"

"Not a good story." The Grand Master turned his head to look at her.

"Daring to make a move on Ruling even as a prisoner. Do you really think you have a free pass from the death penalty?" Ji Yunhe smiled.

"At least for now, yes." She studied him a bit.

"If I kill the princess, will my free pass be useless?"

"I won't let anyone kill her."

"Grand Master, have you lived too long that you've grown confused? You are powerful and cannot age or die, but Princess Shunde is obviously not that powerful. Even if I don't kill her, time will kill her. Do you think you can fight God?"

"I said, no one can kill her. Not you, not time, and not God."<

Ji Yunhe smiled and silently surveyed the Grand Master for a long time. "Why are you so obsessed with her? Do you love her?"

The Grand Master paused for a moment. "I love her face."

"..."

She never thought he would be such a superficial person... Please excuse her...

"Her face is exactly the same as someone I have lost."

"Oh..." Ji Yunhe digested the information then grew curious again.

"Lost love?"

"I have lost her, so any trace of her in this world, I will not lose again. No one can take Shunde away from me."

"Even if it's just a similar face?"

"Mhm."

Ji Yunhe sat cross-legged and clasped her hands together. "Now what? Princess Shunde, I still have to kill. She has done too many bad things."

"Then you will be buried with her."

"Doesn't matter." Ji Yunhe smiled.

"My cheap life for hers, fair trade."

The Grand Master also seemed to grow curious. "And why are you obsessed with her?"

"I have someone to protect too," Ji Yunhe said.

"No one can touch him."The "heart-to-heart" between Ji Yunhe and the Grand Master ended after a moment of silence.

Due to the rising power of the rebels in the north, Princess Shunde became more and more involved with official affairs and rarely came to the Grand Master's house. Except for the occasional war strain, or when the court suffered major losses. Princess Shunde would then bring dozens of demon masters to the prison so they could carry out her orders and vent her fury on Ji Yunhe. Ji Yunhe was back to waiting for an opportunity to strike back.

The time interval between Princess Shunde's torment on Ji Yunhe, however, was growing longer and longer. At first, she came once every ten days or so. Then once every couple of months. Then three or five months would go by without seeing Princess Shunde.

The battles were growing more intense. The jade phoenix still did not reappear, so the Grand Master kept waiting and did not intervene. But he was not stingy over lending out disciples of the Grand Master's house.

He was very generous with the needs of the court. No matter how many disciples they asked for, or how many talismans they requested. But he himself sat home firmly like a mountain. Regardless of how much the court and Princess Shunde begged him, he did not care to move an inch. Two years passed, then another two years. Four years went by, and no one came to the Grand Master again.

But during the four years, all of the disciples in the house had been lent out. There was no one left to even guard Ji Yunhe. The large Grand Master's house only had a prisoner and the boss himself. And when the boss grew bored, he would come to the cell and sit next to his prisoner to read a book, sharing ideas from time to time. Ji Yunhe felt as if she had gone from being a prisoner to being a companion to the lonely elderly.

He even occasionally chatted with Ji Yunhe about the situation in the world. Although he did not leave home, he knew everything.

He told Ji Yunhe about the rebels occupying the northern Demon Terrace. Their numbers started in the dozens, then grew into hundreds, then thousands, tens of thousands… And now they had formed an army pressing against the northern borders of the kingdom.

Most of them were desperate demons forced into a corner, and renegade demon masters. And because of their ongoing battles with the court, their reputation grew and attracted more and more people to join.

These rebels even formed a northern "kingdom" centered around the Demon Terrace, calling it the "Bitter Cold State", saying they were the "Bitter Cold Ones", and establishing a leader --

The jiaoren, Changyi. Ji Yunhe was surprised upon hearing the news. Partly surprised by how much Changyi had grown, and partly surprised by the sheer number of rebellious people that existed in this world.

Ji Yunhe could deduct from just these bits and pieces of information that the world was in absolute chaos. And yet the Grand Master, the supreme leader of the country, was still sitting peacefully in the prison, leisurely reading his books. As if the world had nothing to do with him.

Ji Yunhe even thought maybe the chaos was what he had wanted. He wanted the rebellion, the bloodshed, and the disorder. He wanted war. He wanted...

… to mourn for the world. Or perhaps, he wanted to use the blood of the world to pay tribute to the love he had lost.