jdhmnovel Chapter 170 The past
Chapter 170 The past
He responded to the imperial edict, but then suddenly remembered that he had also made promises to others that he hadn't kept.
He said to Li Shao, "After we figure out about the Nine-Headed Serpent, go and ask if there's any way to get a Transformation Grass that can make demonic beasts take human form."
Xue Lian, who had been sitting listlessly, suddenly brightened up upon hearing this and stood up with renewed vigor: "Your Excellency, what do you wish to do? I will obey your orders."
The emperor issued a decree: "I have summoned you here to ask you a few questions."
"I heard that the current city lord of Jiuqi City, Li Ji, took office two hundred years ago. Two hundred years ago, the city lord of Jiuqi City was said to be a member of the Jiuying clan."
He said unhurriedly, "This teleportation array appeared two hundred years ago."
Upon hearing this, Ling Wan was startled and asked, "Your Excellency, do you mean that the former Demon King used this teleportation array to go to the human realm?"
Yun Yici and the others were also startled. If the imperial edict was followed, there was still a Nine-Headed Serpent in the human realm!
Two hundred years ago, the Lord of Jiuying City, along with Xue Lian's mother, used the talent of the Devouring Heaven Marmoset to open a teleportation array to reach Kunlun, and then went to the human world alone, never to return.
The Emperor decreed, "This is just speculation at the moment. Let's talk about your brief affair with Shi Tian."
Looking back now, what Ling Wan said back then was nonsensical, so they didn't believe that Ling Wan and Shi Tian had a romantic relationship.
After all, even if Ling Nu wanted to curry favor with Jiu Ying, she still needed to meet him.
Now we know that the Nine-Headed Serpent Clan was the previous city lord, and that Ling Wan's brief affair happened exactly two hundred years ago.
Who knows, the Nine-Headed City Lord who went to the human realm might actually be Shi Tian, whom Ling Wan has been searching for everywhere.
Ling Wan didn't feel embarrassed at all. She smiled and said without any hesitation, "That was when I had just come of age."
“Shi Tian is not the former city lord of Jiuqi City, but the son of the former city lord.”
"The previous city lord was very kind and generous, protecting us in this sea area but never disciplining us."
"Shi Tian somehow learned that this sea area was actually unclaimed land, and he became interested in playing around."
"He happened to see me transforming into human form, and out of fear of his power, I hastily reverted to my original form and tried to escape back into the sea..."
"I failed to transform into human form. I realized I had done something stupid and cried in distress. It was Shi Tiandu who gave me demonic power to help me transform into human form."
"That's how we met, and from then on he came to the beach to talk to me every day."
“When I was young, I became acquainted with the Nine-Headed Serpent Clan and developed an ambition to marry him and become his concubine.”
Ling Wan had already said that in the demon realm, it was perfectly normal for powerful demons to have three wives and four concubines or three husbands and four servants.
She was not greedy at all, knowing that Shi Tian would marry Jiu Ying, a woman of the same clan, so she only wanted the position of a concubine.
The position of a concubine was already a great honor for her race.
Shi Tian is very likely to become the next ruler of Jiuqi, at which time she will be able to benefit her people.
The crowd, who had expected to hear a tragic or poignant love story, were thinking: That's it?
It's all about schemes and self-interest; not a single bit of genuine emotion can be squeezed out.
Ling Wan looked embarrassed: "Ahem, actually, the token that Shi Tian gave me was something I had to coax him into giving me. We were very affectionate, but I think I accidentally revealed it later. He felt like he had been played, and in a fit of anger, he broke off all ties with me."
So she risked her life to go ashore alone to find Jiuying, hoping to see if Shitian could save her child out of consideration for their past relationship.
"My mother is the Great Elder of the Ling Clan. Before I transformed into human form, I was already an outstanding member of the clan. After I successfully transformed, I will at least be an elder-level demon cultivator."
So Ling Wan isn't really love-obsessed; she's power-obsessed.
After hearing the imperial edict, the emperor said speechlessly, "Don't even think about it. Shi Tian doesn't have much sincerity towards you either."
"If he truly loves you, how could he easily become angry and even leave without returning when he is being played by the woman he loves?"
"If you crave power, he should seize it for you; if you are of lowly status, he should elevate you to a high position."
The Emperor's nature made him naturally admire monogamy, so he was utterly speechless at this decadent relationship among the demon race.
Ling Wan forced a smile and said, "Your Excellency does not know... what you are talking about is a superior's charity to an inferior, not a man's feelings for a woman."
"He never came back, which made me feel guilty for many years."
"Later, I met my demon lover and realized that all my past was just a passing cloud. It's a pity that he died long ago."
Ling Wan, who hadn't shed a tear when she saw the skeletons Xiang Zhan had rescued, suddenly burst into tears. However, the water droplets merely flashed across her eyes before dissolving into the seawater.
She disappeared so quickly that almost no one noticed her emotional fluctuations.
When the emperor was rebuked by Ling Wan, he originally wanted to question her about her basis for saying that she did not understand men's feelings for women.
But seeing Ling Wan's tears, he seemed to sense something and subconsciously glanced at Yun Yici.
Yun Yici's attention was entirely focused on Ling Wan, completely ignoring Di Zhao's gaze. However, the system spoke up again: "Di Zhao's favorability +2, currently 67. Keep it up, host!!"
Yun Yici: No, she didn't do anything.
She turned to look at the Emperor's decree, but the Emperor, noticing her movement, quickly looked away.
The emperor was very eager to find out what Lingwan really meant.
However, seeing that there were many people present, he did not want to expose his emotional weakness, so he said, "Alright, I understand, Xue Lian, it's your turn."
Xue Lian looked completely bewildered and asked, "Change what?"
The Emperor decreed, "Your mother went to Kunlun with the demon cultivator master. Did she tell you anything about the demon cultivator's message or characteristics?"
Xue Lian shook her head and said, "My mother didn't say anything, she just told me to grow the Transformation Grass and eat it."
“Her master, she only mentioned her once, saying that I knew once I saw her.”
Therefore, the clues for Xue Lian have been lost.
The Emperor's edict finally turned to Mu Yunjian: "Then what's the deal with the Nine Infants bloodline in your body? Could it be that you are the Nine Infants' illegitimate child in the human realm?"
"Human...beast...Nine-Headed Serpent...in short, a human-demon hybrid?"
Even Ning Tinglan, who was sitting upright with a righteous expression, almost couldn't hold back.
As dusk settled, recalling the message Jiuying had asked Yun Yici to convey to him at the Lingwei Sect, Mu Yunjian, unusually rational, said, "No."
“I am not his child, I am his successor.”
"I know Jiuying, but I don't know his name. However, I am certain that he was not the previous city lord of Jiuqi City."
The Emperor exclaimed in surprise, "From what you're saying, there are two Nine-Headed Serpents. The one you know is one, and the other is very likely the former Demon King of Nine Qi City."
"I guess that the demon king Jiuying who went to Kunlun from the demon realm later might be looking for the Jiuying you know."
The imperial edict's speculation was quite reasonable, and Yun Yici and the other two, who had visited the Lingwei Sect ruins, looked astonished.
If that's the case, how could it possibly be found?