Murim's Weakest Princess

Chapter 313: Crystal Lake Pavilion

"I have to go somewhere alone."

That was the first thing Anji said as soon as she exited her trance.

Without further explanation, she simply stared at her godmother.

Torn between letting the prophet fulfil her duty and watching over her goddaughter, Hong Nian Niang sighed. It had been hours since Anji fell into a trance. The worst of the fire in the city had been put out, but the crisis was far from over. With so much damage, even the Empress would have to step up personally to oversee construction while the Emperor strengthened military defences.

"When do you have to leave?" she asked eventually, not even knowing the destination.

Smiling, Anji told her she did not need to leave immediately. There were still matters to settle, and they involved the Imperial Palace.

Still feeling uneasy, Hong Nian Niang asked if Anji could push it further back.

"At least until we recover your second brother," she explained.

Hearing how quickly Hong Nian Niang admitted the latest news that Anji had received word from the spirit world and mythical guardians, she froze and averted her gaze subconsciously. The small action rang alarm bells, but Hong Nian Niang could not stop Anji. If the child already knew about her brother’s fate, did she already know the outcome of the war?

"Pu Jianming will not harm my brother, especially as a hostage," Anji explained calmly. "It’s me he wants to see, the ninth successor of the Mystical Qilin Sect and not the fourth daughter of the Celestial Dragon Sect."

It was not a lie. However, it was far from the truth as well. The real master mind was a ghost general feeding on Pu Jianming. However, it was too convincing an excuse not use.

Not suspecting other factors, Hong Niang Niang sighed and took Anji’s word for it. However, she insisted on preparing security and escort measures to accompany Anji. Surprisingly, Anji agreed. The Vermillion Sect Leader did not push the matter further. Instead, she escorted Anji from the roof and avoided the fallen parts of the building.

"I sent a pigeon to the palace. They seem to have also suffered a massive assassination attempt. The Emperor and Empress are safe, but your Noble Consort Liu had to seal Yihao’s meridians because he was hit by something. It’s not life-threatening, but it’s best you investigate personally."

Worried, but not overly so, Anji noted the changes as they walked in the underground secret tunnel leading to Noble Consort Liu’s palace. As expected of the top intelligence guild, even with the founder kidnapped and the headquarters attacked, they quickly recovered their footing.

The palace smelled of blood and miasma more than fire and ash. It was a completely different type of attack, and many guards were delirious.

"You’re here!" Liu Guiya almost sighed in relief.

Anji noticed how the femme fatale of the imperial palace looked as if she had been thrown into the cold palace. Her fine silk robes were dirty and torn, her hair was unkempt, and her makeup was smeared with dried blood on her cheek. She looked nothing like a Noble Consort, but nobody else questioned her authority with the bloodiest sword in one hand.

Getting to work immediately, Anji bowed briefly to bid her Godmother goodbye before running to assist the medical team on site.

Behind her, Hong Nian Niang nodded to Liu Guiya. Now that the children were in safe hands, it was her turn to rescue another child of the Celestial Dragon Sect.

The imperial physicians were excellent in their trade. They were almost as good as Doctor He and Anji noticed how they already treated the most severe cases physically. Judging from the type of wounds they suffered and their symptoms, the assassins must have used a poison that was inhaled and slow-acting.

"How are their Majesties?" Anji asked after analysing the casualties. Everyone injured on site had been attended to, but the infirmary was running out of space.

Leading the child away from the main site, Liu Guiya used internal energy to transmit her voice so that nobody else could hear.

"They’re shaken but safe. Your brother is in a more serious condition because he used his body as a shield when one slipped past me. You should treat him first. The imperial physicians can handle the rest for now, using the concoctions and artefacts you gave me previously."

Yihao was strong. His Extreme Yang body was what saved him multiple times. Bai Dajin’s teachings made him a human tank, but even so, he was still vulnerable. The Enlightened Core stage has not been stabilised, and Anji concluded even before seeing the condition that her third brother might be fighting internal energy conflicts. Unfortunately, there was nothing much she could do without the assistance of an even more powerful cultivator.

According to Liu Guiya, Yihao had to meditate and keep is mind sane. No weapons hit him, and all poison had been dispelled successfully. However, there was an insect that Yihao did not pay attention to, and it burrowed itself inside the cultivator’s body after entering from his ear.

"I sealed his meridians to protect his dantian and heart. However, I cannot say the same about his mind. The unknown parasite cannot be traced, even when I sent energy threads into his body. I don’t know where it is hiding."

Hearing the situation, Anji’s mind ran through the thousands of texts that she read back in the Mystical Qilin Sect and narrowed down the potential parasite that could cause such symptoms. From Biyao’s knowledge, there was one that matched the symptoms. However, that parasite should have been extinct.

"I really hope it is not a rainbow coloured qi leech," Anji thought to herself.

While qi leeches were dangerous, they could easily be fed until full and then eject themselves to lay eggs, making them easy to kill. However, rainbow coloured qi leeches were different. They would feed until full and lay eggs in the host’s body until the host is a seedbed full of leeches, becoming a husk.

Shuddering at the thought of Yihao becoming a husk, Anji picked up her pace. They were racing against time if it truly was what she feared.

"Please let it not be a rainbow coloured qi leech..." Anji prayed.