Chapter 81: Alone

Half a month later.

The plum blossoms in the courtyard had mostly fallen and been replaced by new sprouts. Aji finally stopped eating and growing like crazy, and could now properly control the art of transformation.

Unexpectedly, when she stood before Lin Haoqing with the proper body of a man, he told her, "Good, it's time for you to leave."

Siyu quickly turned around and packed some things without saying a word, then handed Aji a bag.

"Aji, it's time for you to head south."

Aji looked at the bag, then looked up at them, then changed back to her original form. Lin Haoqing frowned and she immediately transformed into her male body again.

"Master, aren't you guys coming with me?"

"I still have unfinished business. From now on, you are on your own."

Lin Haoqing looked at Aji's dumbfounded face and continued, "Remember what I told you. No Northlands, no capital, no true face, and no spiritual power." Aji nodded.

"I remember everything. But master... why can't I go with you?"

"Aji, be good." Siyu gently touched her on the head.

"We're not trying to leave you behind, but we're going somewhere that you can't go." Aji did not understand.

"I can't go? Then are you going to the Northlands? Or the capital?"

Lin Haoqing responded before Siyu, "You don't need to know, take your things and go south."

"I..." Aji clutched her bag and became even more at a loss.

"But where should I go... What should I do..."

Lin Haoqing stared at her for a while then walked up to her. He grabbed her shoulders and started pushing her toward the exit. Once there, he exerted a bit more force and she was shoved out the door. Only then did Aji hear Lin Haoqing whisper in her ear.

"You'll always find somewhere to go and something to do." The voice was flat like always, but Aji felt a hint of tenderness.

When she turned her head anxiously to take a second look at Lin Haoqing, the door had already slammed shut behind her. She bumped her nose on it and rubbed a face full of dirt.

Aji stood at the door for a long time with her bag in her arms. She nervously thought back over the past few days. Had she made a mistake and upsetted him?

She squatted at the door for half a day, then knocked on it. No response. She boldly pushed it open and barged in...

The courtyard was quiet and cool. Wilted plum blossoms covered the ground, adding a bit of sorrow to the atmosphere. But in half a day's time, the entire place had been emptied out.

She stood there for a while then turned and left. The moment she stepped out of the plum grove, the trees behind her turned into a mass of flowers, rustling and blowing into the sky until they vanished from sight. There had never been a plum grove here, just a most ordinary field of grass.

She felt empty, as if she had suddenly turned into a rootless weed coming from nowhere. No parents and no past, just a body full of mystery that no one could answer. She mysteriously came, mysteriously grew, and was mysteriously left alone...

With no one to rely on, she embarked on the journey south. Hopefully she would get to see some nice scenery.

....

The south had warmed up, but the north was still bitterly cold.

And inside the Demon Terrace, the room of the lord was even colder than the snowstorm outside. Ice condensed on his body, spreading to the bed below, and frost covered the walls and floor. A knock was heard outside his door.

The silver-haired man lying on the bed snapped open his eyes. His blue pupils spaced out and stared at the ceiling until the knock came again. He sat up and rested his head inside his palms.

"Come in."

Cold air washed out as soon as the servant opened the door, making him shiver. He walked inside and immediately slipped on the icy floor. With arms flapping and feet struggling desperately to find footing, he flopped around like an acrobat before finally stabilizing himself and kneeling down, not daring to move again. Having made a fool of himself, the servant quietly glimpsed at Changyi.

Ever since this venerable Lord of the North had moved out of the island in the center of the lake, his body grew colder, and his temper grew more inscrutable. When Kongming and Luo Jinsang were still around, they would at least laugh at the servant for a bit under these circumstances, lightening up the mood. But now…

Changyi only threw him a glance and asked, "What is it?"

"Your Highness, Master Kongming has sent word from the south. There are many people affected by the frost poison, and he may have to delay his return to the north."

"Ok," Changyi answered. The servant then retreated from the room on his knees in order to keep himself from falling again.

"You don't have to come again tomorrow."

The servant froze, then answered "yes" and quickly ran off. He walked a long way and went out several doors before exchanging words with a fellow servant.