Ji Wushang glanced at the sky, stopped thinking about it, stepped forward, took the palace dress, and said, "You can go down, I can do it myself."
...
Yiyun Shangcheng was filled with anticipation. He had never been so happy as he was today, a joy comparable to the excitement of returning in triumph!
How could she be like this? Yiyun quickened her pace as she entered the palace. Her heart was still beating so fast! Only she possessed such magic!
This time, I won't let her leave! I have enough leverage, enough capital!
Ji Wushang sat at the table, looking at her attire and feeling a sense of unease. It was so heavy, even heavier and more elaborate than her palace robes when she entered the palace! And that hairstyle… it was even more elaborate than the phoenix coronet and embroidered robe she wore back then! It felt like it was about to break her neck! Was this clothing from the Western Regions? Why was it so different from what she had seen when she entered the palace?
Ji Wushang closed his eyes, determined to endure it. He would just have to bear it! Once he got the antidote, he could go back!
Just then, they heard footsteps. Ji Wushang tensed up. It was him!
She straightened her clothes. It had taken her quite a while to put them on! But they still felt loose and baggy. If she pulled on them… Ji Wushang didn’t dare to imagine what would happen. She tied the second belt properly.
This doesn't mean she's overly sensitive; taking precautions is definitely the best course of action, and it's purposeful! She must handle this fierce battle well!
Yiyun Shangcheng lifted the beaded curtain. This Nixia Palace was designed by him according to the style of the Great Xia Zhou Dynasty, and he tried his best to cater to her wishes. Yiyun Shangcheng had put a lot of effort into it.
He walked in, having imagined many scenarios of her facing him. He was looking forward to seeing her for the first time, but he never expected it to be like this.
Ji Wushang stood there, his gaze cold and aloof, looking directly at Yiyun Shangcheng.
Yiyun Shangcheng smiled. Actually, this is quite good.
At this moment, seeing Ji Wushang dressed in that palace attire, her skin as smooth as ice and jade, the light red pleated floral skirt with its shimmering, misty hem a pale blue, and the colorful sash at her waist, she looked stunning. Her hair was styled in numerous braids, cascading naturally over her shoulders, blending beautifully with her long, dark hair, creating a unique and graceful effect. Adorned with red hairpins, the phoenix jade hairpin still nestled in her hair, further enhanced her breathtaking beauty.
Those bright eyes were like a clear spring, their every glance carrying a subtle, alluring quality.
He knew she was beautiful, but seeing her now dressed in this Western Region palace attire, he realized that she was truly a fairy descended to earth.
Ji Wushang watched as he approached. Yi Yun Shangcheng was dressed in a long black velvet robe embroidered with gold thread, her long black hair tied low behind her head with a purple-black ribbon. She was tall and slender, wearing black dragon-patterned boots, and her ears were adorned with silver earrings the size of bracelets, exuding an aura of power and authority. She possessed an innate, regal air, radiating an aura that suggested she was no ordinary person.
He was smiling faintly at that moment, so serenely!
He stepped forward and said, "I knew you would come."
"Hand over the antidote." Ji Wushang cut to the chase. "You actually resorted to such despicable and vile methods; you are unworthy of being the King of the Western Regions!"
Seeing him continue to approach, Ji Wushang couldn't help but step back. However, remembering that he had come to collect the antidote, he immediately stepped forward as well. "If you want to duel, you can set a time instead of coming up with this kind of scheme to trick him!"
“I just like to let him suffer to death. Don’t you think that’s a very satisfying thing?” Yi Yun Shangcheng looked at Ji Wushang. “Wushang, since you’re here, stay. I will treat you well.”
"You're delusional!" Ji Wushang was furious when he saw that he couldn't discuss the matter. "You know why I'm here. If you don't hand over the antidote, I'll fight you to the death!" As he spoke, he immediately pulled a gold hairpin from his hair and stepped forward to press it against the man's throat.
But he didn't care at all! He smiled faintly, "Make your move."
Ji Wushang was taken aback. "Yiyun Shangcheng!" She gritted her teeth. This man, she understood him less and less, and she felt increasingly powerless against him! But was she just going to let him do as he pleased? Was there really no other way?
"Call me, call me. Only you can call me by my name. Tell me, okay?" Yi Yun Shangcheng looked at her, his eyes cold, but there was a hint of warmth beneath them!
Ji Wushang, however, did not see it.
She pushed the gold hairpin a fraction deeper, "Are you really not afraid I'll kill you?"
“Killing me will only mean you die with me, so why wouldn’t I do it?” Yi Yun Shangcheng smiled wickedly. “As for Nan Xu Cong, he will continue to suffer. He will endure endless torment until he finally dies!”
Ji Wushang was so angry at him that his teeth itched, but he was completely helpless!
Yi Yun Shangcheng looked at her, reached out to remove her gold hairpin, but Ji Wushang immediately took the hairpin and pressed it against her throat. "Since that's the case, I'll die! Anyway, he can't live, and I don't want to live either!" After saying that, Ji Wushang was about to stab the hairpin in!
Yi Yun Shangcheng was surprised, and with lightning speed, he immediately grabbed her hand! The golden hairpin pierced into Yi Yun Shangcheng's hand. Ji Wushang's eyes were cold as he looked at her, thinking of pulling out the hairpin, but she just held on tightly!
"Let go!" Ji Wushang said coldly.
"Let go!" he sneered, his aura no less imposing than hers.
The blood gradually dripped to the ground. Ji Wushang looked at him, and couldn't help but release the gold hairpin. She stepped back, her eyes filled with disbelief, but she also understood that he was still worried about her...
I still have a chance to fight!
Ji Wushang took a deep breath.
He glared at the gold hairpin, then yanked it out and placed it in his left hand. "You always like these things so much, always like to use them to threaten me!"
“I wouldn’t have done this if you hadn’t forced me. You don’t understand me, Yiyun Shangcheng, why did you have to do this?” Ji Wushang looked at him. “You used me to kill the old man Panyao, and then you killed my master, Doctor Cui, and the Ghost Doctor. What exactly are you planning to do?” As Ji Wushang spoke, tears streamed down his face. “You’ve made me live in that endless abyss for the rest of my life!”
Yi Yun Shangcheng's eyes darkened. He stepped forward and said, "Those people hurt you, and I was merely eliminating them for you! I once said that everything before was deliberately arranged by them! Since I didn't finish speaking before, I will now finish telling you everything!"
“I won’t listen to you.” Ji Wushang shook his head. “I’ve always remembered all the hurt you caused me. Yes, even if they schemed against me, I still love him. You can’t understand this feeling!”
Yi Yun Shangcheng listened with dark eyes. He looked at Ji Wushang and stepped forward. "I once thought you were so clever, but now it seems you are willing to be deceived by them!"
"So what if I'm willing?" Ji Wushang sneered. "Is all of this really that important? I think he's doing what's best for me, it's that simple. I can feel his love and affection. We made a promise to live and die together, to spend this life together, and to be together in the next! Do you expect me to believe that it was all just my own fantasy?"
"That's just his tactic!" Yi Yun Shangcheng was so angry upon hearing Ji Wushang's words that his hair almost stood on end. "What 'this life' and 'next life'? It's all bullshit!" He glared angrily at Ji Wushang. "I'm telling you, your relationship with him ends here! They want your life, so I'll take theirs! Ji Wushang, I'll make you personally kill Nan Xu Cong!"
"What, what did you say?" Ji Wushang was extremely surprised, but the next second, fear filled him!
He stepped forward, his eyes now bloodshot! Ji Wushang looked at him, "Don't come any closer!"
"I have been enduring all this time, don't you understand? What do you want me to do to make you believe me? Don't you know that all of this is the truth? Why won't you believe me even once?" His tone was so cold, but in the end, it softened so much!
Ji Wushang looked at him, "What I know is what I feel... King of the Western Regions, I, Ji Wushang, have never begged you before. This time, I beg you, I beg you to let him go..." As Ji Wushang spoke, he stepped forward and knelt down in front of him.
Yi Yun looked down at Ji Wushang from her high vantage point, her head bowed low, yet she remained utterly cold. "Impossible. I, the King, will wait for you to consider all of this." He turned to Ji Wushang, "You will ultimately stand shoulder to shoulder with me, and together we will confront Nan Xuzong. This is ordained by Heaven. No one can change it, my Demon Lord."
My Demon Lord...
Ji Wushang shivered. She looked up at Yiyun Shangcheng, then stood up from the ground. "What, what did you just say?"
"I say, you will eventually stand shoulder to shoulder with me, you will become my queen." Yiyun Shangcheng's lips curled up. "I have plenty of time for you to consider this carefully!"
"Not that sentence!" Ji Wushang shouted.
"My Demon Lord." Only then did he notice this sentence, and he looked at Ji Wushang with excited eyes, "Aren't you surprised?"
"You're lying!" Ji Wushang almost screamed. "No, no!" How could there be any Demon Lord or any such nonsense!
"You will accept this fact." Yiyun Shangcheng sneered. "I should also tell you that Nan Xuzong is the God of War. You will eventually face each other! Only one of you will survive, and I will definitely help you! Nan Xuzong is doomed!"
"He wants to kill you, so I'll take his life first!" Yi Yun Shangcheng looked at Ji Wushang. "Don't worry, I won't let them harm you!"
Looking outside, Yiyun Shangcheng said, "It is said that the Demon Lord drinks people's blood every full moon night to relieve his torment and pain. I can satisfy all your needs."
"No!" Ji Wushang shouted at Yiyun Shangcheng, "You lied to me! What proof do you have? You are a complete liar!"
"There is a blood lotus on the back of your neck, which has now bloomed. This is the best proof. Wu Shang, you need not be afraid. I have always stood by your side! I have given you the world to fulfill all your wishes! Anyone who dares to disrespect you will be condemned to eternal damnation! Whatever you wish to do, I will accompany you!"
Ji Wushang didn't want to listen to him. Covering her head, she almost rushed to the dressing mirror and loosened her clothes a little. She turned her head and saw a blooming blood lotus on the back of her neck, blooming so beautifully!
Ji Wushang felt her head was incredibly heavy, so heavy it felt like something was pressing down on it, making it hard to breathe! Her eyes were unfocused. She remembered hearing stories of the God of War and the Demon Lord with him. What were they? In which lifetime was this? Would they eventually draw their swords against each other?
Ji Wushang dared not think any further. All she wanted now was for Nan Xuzong to come back to life, not for him to tell her all this nonsense! She had absolutely no interest in any of that rubbish!
"Get out." Ji Wushang tucked his clothes in, then slumped against the table, looking utterly dejected as he slumped onto a stool. "I won't believe you! Nothing you've ever said is true! Get out, get out of here!" Ji Wushang was on the verge of collapse. All his previous plans had been swept away by his sudden words, leaving him with nothing but chaotic thoughts!
Looking at her, Yi Yun Shang Cheng stepped forward. "He has been hiding all of this, first using your feelings for him, and then slowly luring you into his circle. Isn't now the perfect time? In this world, the only one who can stand against us is Nan Xu Cong. As long as we join forces, we will definitely be able to kill him and Huangfu Xuan! At that time, I will unify everything on this continent, and you will be my one and only queen!" Yi Yun Shang Cheng placed his hand on her shoulder.
Ji Wushang immediately shook off his hand. "Don't touch me!" She looked at him and suddenly laughed. "The story you made up is quite good, but I won't believe it! Get out, get out now!" Ji Wushang immediately pointed to the door with her jade-like hand!
Yiyun Shangcheng looked at her and smiled. "Then think it over carefully. Tomorrow is the investiture ceremony. You should get some rest!"
"Establishment? Wait!" Ji Wushang immediately stood up. "Yiyun Upper City, what are you talking about establishing?"
"I hereby appoint you, Ji Wushang, as my queen! I have bestowed upon you a new name, your name is Ling." He said, and immediately laughed!
Spirit. Neither alive nor dead, that is spirit…
Ji Wushang's eyes blazed with fury. "What spirit are you talking about? I've said it before, I belong to Nan Xuzong. Even if I die, I'll be his ghost! I will not participate in your coronation ceremony! Your queen will not be me!"
"Then what is this? Could it be that I have misunderstood? No, it's not a misunderstanding!" Yi Yun Shangcheng said, taking off the powerful earrings from both ears. "I once gave you one of them, and now you've brought it back. This means that this marriage is predestined! I am determined to marry you as my queen! So prepare yourself well!" Yi Yun Shangcheng said, immediately placing one of the earrings in front of Ji Wushang's dressing mirror, and then walked out.
Ji Wushang sat there blankly for a long time, not knowing what to do. Was all of this real? Was this how he and Nan Xuzong were going to spend their lives together? How many things did he not know? How many things was he hiding from him? He said he loved him, loved him very, very much.
But now? Is this the truth? No, I must find him, I must ask him myself, what exactly happened?!
But now… Ji Wushang looked up at the dressing mirror. No, even if what Yi Yunshangcheng said was true, he still had to follow his original plan! Yi Yunshangcheng wanted the world, that was just his own ambition, and it had nothing to do with him!
He burdened his heart with the guilt of killing his master and the Ghost Doctor! He felt he had to seek justice for all those who had died at his hands!
"Cong, wait for me. I told you, I believe in you, I've always believed in you!" Ji Wushang stood up. "When I get back, we must have a good talk."
At this moment, Hongfei and Cuiwu were secretly slipping past all the guards and maids of the Western Regions Royal Palace, sneaking into any palace they saw. They were surrounded by many strange things, which made them afraid to approach!
Not knowing what to do, Hong Fei and Cui Wu decided to go to Ji Wushang's Nixia Palace.
Ji Wushang came out and let them into the hall.
"How are you?" Ji Wushang looked at them, his emotions having calmed down considerably.
“There are many places in the palace that I dare not wander around at will…” Hongfei looked at Ji Wushang with a slight apology. Cuiwu also nodded, “We saw many strange things, which surprised and terrified us. So, we couldn’t decide what to do and could only come to report to you.”
"Hmm, what's strange about it?" Ji Wushang narrowed his eyes. The stranger the place, the more he wanted to explore! Didn't Yiyun Shangcheng refine a lot of Gu poisons? He was going to destroy them one by one! To prevent him from using these Gu poisons to harm people in the future! Also, he wanted to find those Gu poisons and see if there were any antidotes! If he wouldn't give them, he would find them himself!
Ji Wushang remembered that Nan Xuzong was afflicted with something called the Heart-Eating Gu, and he was determined to find the antidote! He would return immediately once he found it!
"Be careful, all of you! I'll make the King of the Western Regions hand over the antidote. After that, I'll leave everything to you." Kaji Wushang said, looking at them. He had to take advantage of the night to venture out!
Hongfei and Cuiwu both nodded, "Yes."
Ji Wushang waved his hand, "You may all leave! I don't need your service here."
Just then, a maid entered from outside, announcing, "Consort Aquinas has arrived!"
Ji Wushang was taken aback. He had only been there a short time, and already all the women around Yiyun Shangcheng were trying to intimidate him? He hadn't been competing with them for any men! Had they found out that he was to be made queen tomorrow?
Ji Wushang quickly gestured for Hongfei and Cuiwu to leave.
They had just left from another place when the beaded curtain was lifted, and Ji Wushang saw a woman dressed in a seductive manner walk in. After she entered haughtily, she looked Ji Wushang up and down.
Ji Wushang was also looking at her. She had long, narrow eyes, phoenix eyes, red lips, a fair face, bright eyes, and a beautiful figure. She was a stunning beauty.
Aquinas looked at Ji Wushang, a hint of amazement flashing in her eyes. She thought to herself, "No wonder the king ordered Murs to escort her into the palace. She is so beautiful! Not to mention men who would be attracted to her, even I, as a woman, feel ashamed of myself. If I looked at her a few more times and felt guilty, I might just commit suicide!"
Ji Wushang stepped forward and said, "This commoner greets Your Highness, the Concubine."
Now that we're here, we should see if they're friend or foe. If so, they might be able to help us in some ways! People are just people who each get what they need!
Aquinas looked at Ji Wushang and said, "Please rise." His words were soft and gentle, quite different from the bold and unrestrained style of the Western Regions.
Ji Wushang stood up. "Thank you, Your Majesty."
“You are the queen that the king will appoint tomorrow. I came to see you just to ask if there is anything I can help you with,” Aquinas said.
Ji Wushang was somewhat surprised, but the next second he understood that these women were just as cunning as the women of the Great Xia Zhou Dynasty! Or perhaps their methods were even more astonishing!