Er kämpft in allen Himmeln und unzähligen Welten

Kapitel 69

What surprised me even more was the request that Ji Feng made to me in his heart.

He could have brazenly demanded anything of me, even though his father, when he surrendered, was still blindly loyal and, knowing misfortune was imminent, merely dismissed all his servants, preferring to let his family die with him. But at least he could have made demands of me.

But he didn't. In the end, he only made a request, and it wasn't even for his own sake.

He said his father had said that even in death, he would never betray the reigning emperor. With my arrangement, even if we could break through all the barriers and sneak into the imperial prison, his father would definitely not escape alive. The result might even be the opposite. If I really want to rescue the entire Ji family, I need to make his father understand that the emperor is truly insane. He doesn't even want his empire to have a brief period of peace and respite. It is meaningless to be loyal to such a person. Maintaining such an emperor would only make the common people of the world suffer more.

He also said that he hoped I could find someone who could cure the rare cold disease, because all the imperial physicians had determined that Princess Ping'an was terminally ill and wouldn't even live past sixteen. He hoped that there might be someone in the martial arts world who could cure Princess Ping'an, and he begged me to take her out of the palace to prolong her life, and then, if possible, let her live a healthy life, with only the choice of what she wanted.

Of course I won't break my promise if this is truly his wish. But I'd like to know where that little princess named Ping An got such great magic from, that in such a short time, Ji Feng was so concerned about her and went to great lengths to arrange everything for her.

Even though her father was the man who had imprisoned his entire family, and his presence in her life was a great disgrace.

Taking a princess out of the palace was not an easy task, but it was not impossible. Chengping showed great disgust and incomprehension towards the whole plan, but he still did it.

I know he did it all out of trust in me, but even deep down, I couldn't feel a shred of sympathy for the princess I had never met.

Her biggest mistake was being born into such an imperial family, and anyone or anything connected to that royal family was despicable.

Just as his son had predicted, even in that dark and hellish place, where he faced daily torment of his loved ones, General Ji refused to become a loyal minister who had escaped from the prison.

Moreover, the Heavenly Prison is extremely heavily guarded. Although it is not impossible to sneak in, taking away more than two hundred people silently and without casualties is indeed a headache.

I don't want this family to suffer any more harm.

Then there's the even more troublesome Princess Ping'an, who's kept hidden away in the deep palace.

As Ji Feng had said, her body was indeed on the verge of a premature death, and it seemed as if she had a premonition and was determined to oppose us. Every time we decided to take action, she would completely collapse, making it seem as if her life was hanging by a thread, let alone taking her out of the palace. Just seeing her lying in bed made one feel that her life was hanging by a thread.

I later learned that if she died, the heads of the more than two hundred people in the prison would fall to the ground along with her, unless Ji Feng died for her and died before her.

So that's what "attendant" means!

This is the imperial family! If this were the martial arts world, according to its rules, they should have eradicated it completely, leaving not a single drop of blood. Even perversions can be hereditary, so it's best to be thorough to prevent it from recurring.

Because of these unexpected complications, the originally simple and detailed plan was delayed again and again, and conflicts broke out in the martial arts world. There were many things that I had to deal with personally. No matter how unwilling I was, I had to leave the capital.

I never expected that the situation would change so drastically in just a few days of my absence.

With the help of an inside agent in the palace and a master of disguise from the Yi family, Chengping easily entered the palace during the royal banquet and then successfully brought the princess out.

Cheng Ping had naturally communicated with me beforehand. At that time, I had just arrived in Shanxi and was dealing with a thorny issue where two major factions in the martial arts world were almost at the point of a bloody battle due to personal grudges. When I received Cheng Ping's message by carrier pigeon, my first reaction was to ask where the inside man came from.

However, Cheng Ping described the man in detail in his letter, saying that he was introduced by an elder of the Zhenshan Sect. Although he was an official in the court, he had a close relationship with his elders and the martial arts world of the Central Plains. He had also been tested by the previous dynasty. Everything he did for our alliance was appropriate and reliable.

Although the Zhenshan Sect has declined in recent years, it is still a major sect with a history of over a hundred years and has always maintained a prudent style. It is no wonder that this person was able to gain Cheng Ping's trust by being introduced by its elders.

But I always felt something was off.

How could such a high-ranking official in the court have connections with people from the martial arts world? Although the emperor is old, he is not someone to be trifled with. Does he not care about his official hat, or even his own head?

I had a bad feeling about this and decided to send a message to Cheng Ping and others to make a decision after I arrived in the capital. I didn't expect that although the message was sent, by the time I rushed to the capital day and night, chaos had already broken out like a torrential rain. Overnight, even the country had changed hands.

It wasn't until I met Chengping's messenger halfway through the journey that I learned my carrier pigeon message had reached Chengping's hands and had become another letter.

The letter instructed him to kidnap the princess and leave the palace, and to have a member of the Yi family impersonate the princess and enter the imperial city with the army. It also instructed the experts in the alliance to pretend to help, so that Ji Feng could fake his death before the army, thereby allowing the more than two hundred members of the Ji family to leave the prison smoothly.

I looked at the letter that Tie Heng had brought and was furious.

This whole page of absurd nonsense actually mimics my beautiful handwriting; even Chengping was fooled!

Although what the letter said wasn't without reason, as long as they could leave the prison, rescuing them on the way, no matter where they were exiled, would be a piece of cake. Perhaps Chengping had thought so too, which is why he didn't even confirm it with me before immediately putting it into practice.

But I never intended to put Jifeng in danger in front of the entire army.

Even if everything is planned, I'm unwilling to take that kind of risk.

He was my only friend when I was young; he was my brother!

Anyone capable of doing something like this must be a spy, perhaps someone close to me.

I have truly failed as the leader of this alliance!

I urgently asked Tie Heng, "What is the current situation in the capital?"

Tie Heng is a master of the Hai Sha Sect of our alliance. He is famous for his Iron Sand Palm, which can split huge rocks with his hands. He also has good internal strength. Although he is not as agile as Qingcheng Zongyun, he has the advantage of endurance. Long journeys make his long internal strength even more apparent. Therefore, Chengping asked him to deliver the message, which is the best choice.

But even such a master appeared before me in a disheveled state, his body covered in scorch marks, as if he had just run out of a fire.

I knew something was wrong, and sure enough, I heard him answer me in a hoarse voice.

"Leader, we've been tricked. Our brothers who stayed in the capital suffered heavy casualties. They were all used by that Crown Prince who forced the emperor to abdicate."

I finally figured out the whole story. It turns out that the high and mighty Crown Prince had never taken the martial arts world lightly, and that so-called palace agent, Lord Li, was just a pawn he had planted long ago.

The Crown Prince learned from his spies that our alliance intended to save the entire Ji family and take Princess Ping'an away. He urgently asked Lord Li to feign an inside job. Princess Ping'an was kidnapped, which enraged the Emperor. He was convicted of treason and issued a military order for the troops stationed outside the capital to thoroughly search the city and its surroundings. The capital region was thrown into chaos. The Crown Prince's forces took advantage of this opportunity to secretly mobilize troops into the city and change the course of events in one fell swoop.

This crown prince is truly baffling. The emperor is already old, yet he is willing to sacrifice his own sister and collude with foreign powers. He is so unscrupulous and depraved, he is worse than a beast and has no humanity whatsoever.

Fortunately, Chengping was quick-witted and managed to rescue the Ji family members from the prison amidst the chaos.

However, Ji Feng still refused to leave the princess, and Princess Ping An was actually married off to the Kingdom of Mo by her newly enthroned brother.

So what if she's a princess? So what if she's married to a foreigner? Since she's the one Ji Feng wants, I'll naturally lend him a hand.

I led my men to follow the wedding procession, planning to cooperate with the monsoon at the border to take the princess away. From then on, the world would be wide open, and he could take her wherever he wanted, as long as he was happy.

I hope my brother is happy.

What I never expected was that my final fate would be his death.

The surprise attack by the Mexican rebels was unexpected, the appearance of the alien snake formation was unexpected, and what I least expected was that earth-shattering explosion.

As the rocks burst and collapsed, the natural secret passage, at the last moment, burst forth not from the monsoon, but from Princess Ping'an.

She was disheveled and her face was streaked with tears. As the secret passage collapsed, she screamed Ji Feng's name with heart-wrenching pain. I had never seen such an expression of agony on the face of someone who had endured the most terrible tortures.

From the moment I realized that Jifeng was still at the other end of the secret passage, all that was left to keep me calm was the inertia of being the leader of an alliance for many years. But even in this state, I could still feel that the little princess's heart was broken.

Princess Ping'an remained unconscious for half a month before waking up in a room on Qingcheng Mountain.

When I received the news, I had just rushed back from Yunshan. The immense grief made it difficult for me to maintain even a semblance of calm. Even though I didn't want to confide in anyone or say a word, many people around me instinctively avoided the shadow beneath my silence.

The moment I saw Ji Feng's body, my only feeling was that my heart had been pierced, and the cold wind passed right through his flesh and blood, only to exit through some empty space.

He lay quietly in the ravine, his body covered in wounds, but miraculously, his face remained lifelike, only his heart was gone.

A disciple came up to speak to me, and I suddenly turned around, startling him so much that he took several steps back.

I know I've lost control; my murderous intent is uncontrollable. I want to see blood, I want to kill everyone who made this happen—even though I don't yet know who committed such a heinous and cruel act. What I can't forgive myself for is that I couldn't save him in time; in the end, even his body wasn't whole.

The persistent emptiness in my chest, a feeling even more unbearable than the pain, kept me from breathing normally for three whole days.

I began to hate Princess Ping An. I know it was a case of displaced anger, but without her, my brother would not have died.

He died, but she did not; she survived and may live for many more years.

I returned to Qingcheng to see her, who had just woken up from the brink of death. Although she was young, she was indeed beautiful. Despite her poor health and the fact that she had been lying in bed for so many days on the verge of death, she was still quite attractive.

She was so thin, with delicate bones clearly visible beneath her thin skin, as if she could be blown away with a single breath, that one couldn't help but feel a sense of utmost care when facing her.

And then there was the oppressive, deathly aura that enveloped her.

She refused to speak, lost all will to live; the departure of the monsoon had taken away all her vitality.

I can tell that she loves him very much.

Suddenly I didn't hate her as much anymore. But I couldn't help it. I had promised Ji Feng that I would take good care of her so that she could be healthy and free to choose the life she wanted.

What I don't understand is that beneath her heavy death aura, a subtle force from who knows where supported her, allowing her to endure Cheng Wei's not-so-confident surgery, endure the long recovery period after the operation, and ultimately survive.

My feelings about her recovery are complex and subtle, a mixture of relief and a deep, vague sense of disappointment.

I even secretly thought that she should have gone to stay with Ji Feng.

Later I realized that she was struggling to survive so that she could find him.

The moment I realized what had happened, I was deeply shaken.

I don't know where she got the conviction from, but she was so convinced that Ji Feng wasn't dead, but was just somewhere waiting for her to find him.

This desperate persistence made it impossible for me to tell her the truth.

This desperate persistence may be the only motivation for her to live.

I didn't let her go down the mountain. Both countries were frantically searching for the missing princess. Moreover, I still haven't found out who found Ji Feng's body after the mountain path collapsed and took his heart...

Perhaps those people were originally looking for her.

Given Ping An's fragile and vulnerable state, if she were to step out of Qingcheng, she might truly melt away silently into the air like a snowflake.

I took her as my disciple and brought her to the top of Qingcheng Mountain to cultivate in seclusion. Every day I made her practice internal energy cultivation techniques, telling her to be quiet to nourish her life and calm to nourish her spirit. She was very frightened, but still refused to speak. The look in her eyes was as if she wanted to cut me into pieces.

I stared at her coldly, thinking to myself that if souls truly existed, seeing her like this, Ji Feng would certainly not be able to leave in peace.

But then I thought, if he were still alive, seeing her persistence, he might feel a little comforted.

He loved her so much that she even gave up her life for him. If he knew she wasn't doing well, he would be heartbroken.

I decided to teach her martial arts properly, so that Ji Feng could rest assured.

However, my closed-door disciple's martial arts talent is truly speechless. After three years, she has only mastered about 70-80% of the most diligently studied Zongyun, not to mention other internal energy cultivation methods, as well as fist, foot, sword and saber techniques.

She didn't want to stay on the mountain for even a second longer. If it weren't for her lack of lightness skills, she wouldn't have been able to come down the mountain at all. I don't think she could even learn the basics of the Cloud-Soaring Technique.

But she really did come down.

That day, I stood at the foot of the mountain and watched her tumble and tumble down the mountain. The sunlight was so dazzling, like a thousand golden rays, that it concealed her disheveled state and made me feel as if she had flown down.

I know where she's flying to, and I know she's destined to be disappointed.

I just hope that this disappointment won't turn into her ultimate despair. I hope time can dilute her obsession, but I don't know if three years will be enough.

Thinking about this, I felt a slight chill.

When did I begin to think that time would diminish her obsession with the monsoon?

I finally made it down Qingcheng Mountain safely.

With Jin Chaotang in trouble, I had no choice but to go down the mountain myself. I was worried about leaving her, who was already able to use the Cloud-Soaring Technique to come down the mountain, on Qingcheng Mountain.

Princess Ping An was truly a walking embodiment of trouble; she got lost as soon as she arrived in Dinghai.

The tragic death of Chief Jin on the Grand Canal has led to all the blame being placed on the Holy Flame Sect. Over a hundred years ago, this sect had massacred the martial arts world in the Central Plains, almost turning the entire martial arts world upside down. Later, it was finally driven back to the border, but the major sects also suffered heavy casualties and it took more than ten years to recover.

If the Holy Fire Cult has made a comeback, then this matter is truly of great importance. Ping An's disappearance at this crucial moment is bound to distract me.

Fortunately, I quickly received news of her, and found her in a branch of the Holy Fire Sect hidden in the Central Plains.