Chapter 757: The Demon Child's Fury

"Tell Madam I understand."

"Yes, Marquis."

The maid withdrew.

Marquis Zheng rose. It was not time yet, so he did not hurry to the rear residence. Instead, he headed toward the Sword Saint's home.

Other people paid respects to the local Earth God before going out.

Great Yan's Marquis Pingxi paid respects to the neighbor.

Before he even reached the door, voices came through the wooden panels.

"I know you want to become a soldier-brute, but what I want is the jianghu," Sword Maid said.

"What's so special about the jianghu?" Liu Dahu asked.

"You don't understand. The jianghu has its own charm."

"Then what exactly is the jianghu? And what kind of people are the people of the jianghu?"

"The jianghu is..."

Sword Maid suddenly found herself at a loss.

Men and women of the jianghu spoke of the jianghu with every other breath, but ask them to explain what it actually was and she truly could not answer.

She did not possess the sort of romantic mind that could say:

The jianghu is a dream.

What kind of dream?

A dream where everything exists.

The door had not been barred. Marquis Zheng pushed it open and said:

"The jianghu is when you open a restaurant and a bunch of people come in to eat but never pay."

"Greetings, Marquis!"

The moment Liu Dahu saw Zheng Fan, he hurriedly saluted.

Sword Maid stared at Zheng Fan with puffed cheeks.

Zheng Fan reached out and pinched her cheek.

"Why aren't you arguing with me anymore?" Zheng Fan asked.

"I can't win against you."

Sword Maid admitted defeat immediately.

"Heh."

Any argument became pale and feeble before reality.

Sword Maid knew perfectly well that no sect anywhere in the Yan or Jin lands would dare defy the will of the man standing before her. One military order from him could send iron cavalry trampling a mountain sect with a century of inheritance into the ground.

More importantly... her first master had died beneath the volley of arrows Zheng Fan ordered loosed.

Zheng Fan did not make things difficult for the girl. He turned toward Liu Dahu instead.

"Where's your father?"

"Here."

The Sword Saint emerged wearing an apron. He held a bowl in one hand and was beating eggs inside it.

Not far away, two chickens in the coop sounded particularly mournful.

One duck sounded positively delighted at their misfortune.

"Which is harder, making egg custard or wielding a sword?" Zheng Fan asked.

"This is harder. You have to skim off the foam."

Zheng Fan laughed and rubbed his hands together.

The Sword Saint frowned faintly.

"So soon?"

His wife had not even finished her postpartum confinement.

"It's important," Zheng Fan said. "We found the thing from Shangchuan County."

The Sword Saint nodded.

"All right."

As straightforward as ever.

"Bring Dahu too. He can serve as one of my personal guards," Zheng Fan said.

"Thank you, Marquis!"

Liu Dahu immediately dropped to his knees.

"Isn't it a little early?" The Sword Saint had no intention of objecting anymore, but he still had to ask.

"You stand in front of me. He stands behind me."

The Sword Saint had nothing to say to that.

"I'm bringing my son too," Zheng Fan added.

"How old is he?"

"I can't bear to leave him behind."

"You aren't afraid Tian Wujing will come back from the west and settle accounts with you?"

"I'll have more than just you beside me. There'll be twenty thousand cavalry guarding us too."

Bringing Tian Tian along had been a spur-of-the-moment decision.

Tian Tian had barely left Marquis Pingxi Residence since birth. Most of his life had been spent inside his own little courtyard.

Taking him out to see the world would be good.

The snowfields were cold.

The far north was colder still.

But Tian Tian had basically never been sick since birth. His little body was remarkably sturdy.

On top of that, he had spent his entire life around the Demon Child and Sha Tuo Queshi. He was not actually very afraid of cold.

The only reason he got bundled up like a dumpling every winter was that his godmothers thought he must be cold.

If the boy had truly been frail and sickly, Zheng Fan would never have dared take him out.

And there was another consideration.

Sometimes, after you had achieved success and built an enormous foundation, an awkward problem appeared.

If everyone could clearly see that you had no successor... the roots of that foundation could become unstable very easily.

The Crown Prince was the foundation of the state.

The late Emperor had dared depose the Crown Prince at the final moment and enthrone Little Sixth instead, playing such an outrageous game only because he had plenty of sons.

But Zheng Fan... had to prepare for one possibility.

An awkward one, perhaps.

Old Tian's kindness toward him had been enormous.

So if the day ever came... passing this entire foundation directly to Tian Tian would not be a bad choice at all.

An heir had to be trained from childhood, didn't he?

"When do we leave?" the Sword Saint asked.

"Three days from now."

They needed to wait for the Blind Man and Siniang to return.

"Understood."

"I'm going too," Sword Maid said.

"Heh."

Zheng Fan did not answer.

He turned and left the Sword Saint's house.

No reason to keep the man from finishing his egg custard.

After returning to the Residence, Zheng Fan went straight into the rear quarters.

Tian Tian's painting was nearly complete.

Zheng Fan glanced at it.

Not bad.

It already looked quite proper.

"Father."

Tian Tian had been so focused on painting that he had not noticed Zheng Fan arrive at first.

"Keep going. You're almost at the final strokes."

"Yes, Father."

Once he finished, Tian Tian stood neatly to one side with his hands together, waiting for Zheng Fan's evaluation.

"Very good."

"It can't compare with Father's painting."

"Keep practicing slowly. Painting is only a minor path. It's enough that it cultivates your temperament. Learn a little. Know a little."

"How can that be?"

The Princess emerged from the inner room and gave Zheng Fan a faintly reproachful look.

She pulled Tian Tian into her arms.

"Our Tian Tian should become a master someday."

There was truly no hidden thought behind the Princess's words.

She was not trying to train Tian Tian into some painter so he would lose interest in competing for the household's inheritance one day.

It came purely from her obsession with the education expected of a noble child.

Marquis Zheng's reply, however, was somewhat lacking in romance.

"If my son is only famous for painting well, people will still say he's neglecting proper business."

"How old is he? What, are you already planning to take him out to war with you?"

"Mm. We leave in three days."

Tian Tian's eyes immediately lit up.

The Princess, on the other hand, was startled.

"You're really going to war?"

"We're making a trip onto the snowfields to deal with something. We have to go."

As he spoke...

Zheng Fan bent down and smiled at Tian Tian.

"Come campaign with Dad."

Two adorable dimples appeared on Tian Tian's face.

"Husband, how can you..."

The Princess genuinely thought Tian Tian was still too young.

"It's decided."

Marquis Zheng made it an absolute decree of the household.

"Is the food ready? I'm a little hungry."

"All right. Husband, wait a moment."

The Princess went to order the servants to bring in the meal.

The three of them ate together as a family.

Tian Tian was truly beside himself with happiness at the news that he could accompany his godfather on campaign.

Usually such a restrained and well-behaved child, he actually broke into foolish little grins several times while eating.

The sight amused Zheng Fan enormously.

After the meal, Tian Tian took his spirit-creature attendants and left the courtyard, heading back to his own.

"Would Husband like to bathe?" the Princess asked.

"I'll soak for a while."

"I'll have them fill the bath. In a little while, I'll come over and scrub Husband's back."

"Good."

The bathing pool was inside Zheng Fan's own quarters, continuing a tradition that had begun back in Tiger Head City.

Marquis Zheng liked soaking in baths.

So wherever he lived, a bathing pool would be built directly into his room.

Siniang had not returned yet.

That made tonight the perfect opportunity for the Princess to visit the main quarters.

Marquis Zheng left first.

The Princess still needed time to choose what she would wear.

Watching her man leave... the Princess made up her mind.

She entered the inner room and took out the box.

Tonight... she would use it.

She would try to conceive a child.

But when she looked at the box... she discovered a charred mark along one side.

Her heart jumped.

The pill inside was unimaginably precious.

Even as a Princess, she would never be able to obtain a second one.

She immediately opened the box.

The bright golden pill was still there.

Only then did she release a long breath.

She closed the box again and carefully examined it.

Her expression darkened at once.

Powerful restrictions had been laid over the box.

They had been personally placed by the Chu Shaman Rector.

Other than the Princess herself, almost no one should have been able to open it.

Clearly... something had once tried to force the box open.

The restriction had activated.

And the attempt had failed.

If this had happened somewhere else, perhaps on the road home, she could have accepted it.

But this was Marquis Pingxi Residence!

The Princess understood better than almost anyone just how formidable the Residence's security was.

So she could immediately eliminate the possibility of an outsider.

Which meant... someone inside the household had done it.

Ruqing?

The Princess thought of her first.

Ruqing belonged to the household.

But she did not even know this pill existed.

The Princess had never told her.

And besides... planting one of her own people here?

Every maidservant used in each courtyard had been personally trained by Siniang.

Many had followed them all the way from Tiger Head City.

They were genuinely their own people.

Of course, it was not impossible to buy loyalty through favors.

But this was the Princess's own courtyard.

Liu Ruqing's people could not simply walk in.

Inside Marquis Pingxi Residence, every possible factor that might threaten the Marquis's safety had already been eliminated.

Earlier, when the Chu imperial house sent eunuchs and palace maids to serve the Princess, all of them had been placed outside the Residence.

None were allowed inside.

Not every woman became some palace-intrigue grandmaster the moment she entered the rear residence.

In Xiong Liqing's opinion, Liu Ruqing might have a naturally seductive body that attracted their man a little more than usual.

In every other respect... well.

If it was not Liu Ruqing, who remained?

The Savage King?

Impossible.

He might have guessed certain things.

But his claws could never extend into this place unless he had grown tired of living.

It could not be her husband either.

If her husband wanted something, he could simply ask her for it openly.

And when she had offered to scrub his back earlier, he had clearly assumed tonight would be no different from before.

Xiong Liqing knew her husband was a man with deep calculations.

The Marquis Pingxi whose name shook the realm could hardly be some innocent fool.

But she also knew even more clearly that when her husband was at home... he despised pretending and concealing himself.

As he himself liked to say:

If you still have to keep up an act at home, how exhausting would life be?

In the end... there remained one possibility.

The possibility the Princess least wanted to face.

And also the most likely.

Every servant and matron inside Marquis Pingxi Residence had been trained by Siniang.

That included the maids currently serving the Princess.

Originally... they had all been Siniang's people.

Yes.

Siniang was not in the Residence right now.

But her eyes and ears were.

Her subordinates were.

They could easily act on their own to protect their mistress's interests.

If one of Siniang's people had done this... then even if Siniang did not know now, she would inevitably learn once she returned.

Which meant... tonight...

Xiong Liqing drew a deep breath and made up her mind.

It did not matter whether one of Siniang's people had secretly entered her room.

She would not give up this opportunity.

She wanted to become pregnant.

To bear her husband's child!

Every woman raised in the imperial palace understood one golden rule:

A mother rose in status through her son.

Once there was a child in her belly... she did not believe anyone would truly dare harm her.

The Princess opened the box.

She lifted the pill.

She was just about to swallow it and go attend her husband... when a sinister wind suddenly swept in from behind!

Buzz!

A phantom Fire Phoenix manifested behind the Princess.

It was the symbol of Great Chu's imperial bloodline.

It could ward off evil and repel baleful spirits.

But the Fire Phoenix phantom was far too thin.

It was torn apart almost instantly.

The Princess twisted sideways and raised a jade pendant before her.

Green light spread from the pendant and enveloped her.

Then... the Princess saw the face of an infant.

"You are..."

The face was not unfamiliar.

More precisely... the Demon Child was not unfamiliar to her.

They had never been close, but over these past two years she had seen him playing with Tian Tian many times.

She knew this was the spirit beside her husband.

Her own Imperial Brother had a spirit beside him too.

The Demon Child released a roar.

His figure slammed violently into the green barrier.

After what happened on the Wang River, the Demon Child had finally caught back up with everyone else.

In other words... he was powerful now.

If one considered only raw individual strength and ignored battlefield factors, then as the biological son... he was presently the strongest of the Seven Demon Kings.

Only... he was still injured.

Like his father, he had not fully recovered.

Even so... on his next charge, he directly shattered the Princess's jade barrier.

And before she could swallow the pill... he forcibly tore it from her hand and drew it into his own.

"Give it back! Give it back!"

The Princess screamed.

This was hope.

Her hope of becoming pregnant!

She rushed forward.

But the Demon Child's power seized her body and lifted her directly from the floor.

The ghost infant floated before her.

No emotion could be read from those hollow eye sockets.

Yet the faint curve of his mouth carried undisguised contempt.

"Woman... letting him play with you is one thing... but you actually dare think... of bearing his child...?"

"Aren't you afraid he'll find out?" the Princess asked.

She did not believe her husband had sent this spirit to steal the pill.

Her husband had absolutely no need to make such a roundabout move.

So... the spirit had acted on its own.

She remembered that years ago, her Imperial Brother had paid a tremendous price and spent a very long time suppressing the spirit inside himself.

It was entirely possible that her husband's spirit had likewise never been completely tamed.

Under those circumstances... a spirit acting according to its own likes and dislikes... was perfectly normal.

"Heh-heh-heh... heh-heh-heh..."

The Demon Child ignored the Princess's attempt to use Zheng Fan as a threat.

"He... is going too far... farther and farther... I just saved his life... just saved his life... and he dares... he actually dares..."

"He doesn't know about this. He doesn't know."

"Doesn't matter... doesn't matter anymore... You want to bear his child... give me a little brother... little sister... you... think you're worthy?"

Clearly... even though Xiong Liqing was a Princess of Great Chu... the Demon Child still believed she lacked the qualifications.

BANG!

At that moment... the green python smashed through the window and burst into the room.

Its mind was linked to the Princess's.

The instant danger befell her... it had sensed it.

A red stone smashed down from above.

The green python was knocked flat with a single blow.

Then... the Demon Child's gaze swept toward it.

He opened his mouth and released a soundless shriek.

The green python began convulsing violently on the floor.

Its enormous body thrashed around.

Demonic qi leaked uncontrollably from it.

The commotion spread at once.

The Sword Saint had only just settled his wife to sleep and was holding his child, coaxing the baby toward sleep as well.

Earlier, he had sensed the Demon Child's aura and thought nothing of it.

But once the demonic qi and noise followed... the Sword Saint realized something seemed wrong.

He put the child down immediately.

Took up his sword.

And in a flash... entered Marquis Pingxi Residence.

At the same time, guards inside and outside the Residence began rushing toward the source of the disturbance.

Among them were entire ranks of armored soldiers.

But naturally... they were nowhere near as fast as the Sword Saint.

His home truly was next door to Marquis Pingxi Residence.

And Marquis Pingxi Residence was enormous.

Which meant the side touching his house... was the Residence's rear quarters.

If the wall between them were torn down, the Sword Saint's house would essentially become another little courtyard inside the rear residence.

The Sword Saint arrived first.

The moment he saw the situation, he shouted toward the people outside:

"Stand down. Family matter."

The personal guards responsible for the Residence's security naturally knew the Sword Saint.

Without the slightest hesitation... they withdrew.

With the Sword Saint present... the Demon Child stopped tormenting the green python.

At the same time... he released Xiong Liqing from his restraint.

The Princess dropped to the floor.

But her eyes remained fixed on the pill in the Demon Child's hand.

The Sword Saint said nothing.

Nor did he draw his sword.

In truth... he already regretted coming.

There had been no reason for him to involve himself in Zheng Fan's household affairs.

But now that he was here... he could hardly pretend he had seen nothing.

Mediate?

Forget the fact that the Sword Saint had no idea how to mediate a quarrel.

Even the greatest peacemaker beneath Heaven would probably have no idea how to smooth over this scene.

Fortunately...

Marquis Zheng, who had already stripped and been soaking in his bath, came rushing over at that moment.

He was barefoot.

A robe had been thrown over his body.

Water still dripped from him.

The moment he saw the scene inside the room... he froze too.

What the hell was this?

Why wasn't the Demon Child with Tian Tian?

Why had he come here and attacked Xiong Liqing?

"Heh-heh... heh-heh..."

The Demon Child laughed.

His figure... shot directly in front of Zheng Fan.

Marquis Zheng did not move.

He was not going to be afraid of his own son.

Perhaps at the very beginning... he truly had felt the tiniest trace of fear.

But after all these years together... after all the times the Demon Child had saved his life...

Zheng Fan genuinely did not believe the boy would attack him.

Father and son stared at each other.

The Demon Child's face pressed almost against Zheng Fan's.

The pill was still clenched in his hand.

His expression twisted savagely.

"You actually... dare have... a second child?"

[End of Chapter 757]