The mess wasn't her idle chatter; it was what she saw.
The person sitting on a chair not far away, their physical body frail and decayed, felt as if a gentle push would shatter it. Their soul too, was a hodgepodge of dark energy and fragmented soul pieces.
No wonder his fate was so tragic. A person without a soul, it was a miracle he could even be born and live to this day.
"Little Sister, that's the mission target!"
The system became excited. "Let me scan his information panel, Little Sister, take a look."
"Name: Bai Li Zhong Yan"
"Gender: Male"
"Race: Demon"
"Merit Points: -3688600000"
"Faith Points: 26930"
"Blackening Value: 65%"
The rest seemed normal. When they saw the Merit Points, the system was dumbfounded again. What had the mission target done? Slaughtered a city or destroyed a nation? Having negative merit points was one thing, but so many!
"Who are you?"
The person had already reached their master's side. The secret guard couldn't pretend to be dead any longer and revealed himself.
"I am a Demon... Song Yu. Bai Li Zhong Yan is my fiancé. I've come to find him."
She pointed her fair, tender finger at the person sitting not far away. "That must be him, right?"
The secret guard: "...Miss Song, my Prince is not feeling well. Please come another day."
Zhu Yu was puzzled. "Will he be better if I come another day?"
No matter when she came, he would look like this sickly invalid. What difference would it make when she visited?
The secret guard: "...Miss Song." Didn't she say she was unwilling to marry their Prince and would rather die? Why was she visiting now?
Because she had changed.
Zhu Yu wouldn't explain this to him. She walked directly towards Bai Li Zhong Yan, very interested in this decaying body and the incomplete soul dwelling within.
It was as if something deeply attracted her, drawing her forward. She stood before him, looking at the gilded mask on his face, and instinctively wanted to remove it.
Bai Li Zhong Yan had remained still for a long time. Only now did he raise his hand to stop her. Zhu Yu looked at his hand blocking her.
That hand too, only by looking at the bones could one discern the once distinct knuckles, and fingers like jade bamboo shoots. Now, it was covered in scars.
The flesh and skin were twisted together, as if having undergone some brutal torture, tearing off the flesh on his fingers and forcing new skin to grow.
Zhu Yu gently touched it. A tragic scene, too terrible to look at, flashed through her mind. Having long been accustomed to the cycles of life and death, and the torments of souls in the eighteen levels of hell, she still felt a pang of sympathy.
For someone who had long since severed all emotional ties to feel sympathy, perhaps only Rong Jin, if present, could understand what this meant.
Everything she had painstakingly achieved would, from this moment on, turn to dust and cease to exist.
"Does it hurt?"
Bai Li Zhong Yan raised his head. On the face covered by the mask, only his eyes were intact. He looked at the woman before him, not understanding what she was doing.
He couldn't provide an answer either.
Zhu Yu picked up his hand and examined it carefully, an inexplicable tenderness welling up in her heart. She asked softly, "Who exactly are you?"
Bai Li Zhong Yan didn't understand why she was saying this, and couldn't respond.
"Miss Song," the secret guard beside them interjected. He hadn't heard her question, but knowing his master couldn't speak, he reminded her, "My Prince is unable to speak."
Zhu Yu then understood. She looked at him with even more pity, a pity she herself hadn't noticed.
Bai Li Zhong Yan was long accustomed to people's gazes and didn't react emotionally. He simply gestured with his hand, signaling the secret guard to see her out. Su Dan Novel Network
"Miss Song, the master is unwell and cannot entertain guests. Please leave."
"It's alright." She sat down beside him. "I am a healer. I can take a look."
As she spoke, she reached for his hand.
Bai Li Zhong Yan instinctively withdrew his hand. Simultaneously, a sharp pain struck him, his eyes filled with anguish.
Zhu Yu noticed, stopped touching him, and asked softly, "What's wrong? Does it hurt?"
He couldn't speak.
Zhu Yu's eyes lowered slightly. "I'm sorry, I forgot."
"Don't be afraid, I just want to help you take a look."
With that, she reached for Bai Li Zhong Yan's hand again. This time, he didn't refuse, allowing Zhu Yu to hold his hand and "take his pulse."
In truth, this body seemed pieced together from broken limbs. She could see at a glance that to heal it, it would require a complete transformation.
And a complete transformation...
She looked up at Bai Li Zhong Yan. "Are you afraid of pain?"
Bai Li Zhong Yan looked at her blankly. Suddenly, an intense pain shot from his wrist, worse than the previous pain, forcing an involuntary groan from him.
"Master!"
"Don't come any closer!" Zhu Yu raised her hand slightly. An invisible barrier appeared between them. The secret guard instantly felt something blocking him, unable to pass.
"Master!" He looked at Zhu Yu again. "Witch! What do you want to do!"
The secret guards' expressions changed. They leaped out and surrounded her.
The second daughter of the Ministry of Rites' official, who had clearly died yesterday, had inexplicably come back to life.
Her personality had drastically changed. A young lady from the inner chambers had suddenly gained great martial prowess. She had entered the Prince's manor without their detection, and now she was using such sorcery to harm the Prince. She must be a witch they had sought.
A group of them attacked the transparent barrier relentlessly, but no matter what they did, they couldn't break it.
"Witch! Let go of the Prince!"
"Bang!"
Their internal energy and weapons struck the barrier, but apart from the sound, there was no effect. This made them even more anxious, and they continued their assault.
Zhu Yu healed him while watching their futile efforts, a smile playing on her lips.
Witch?
She was a demon, not a witch.
"Mmm..."
Bai Li Zhong Yan could barely move his body. When he first felt that energy and intense pain, he too thought this person had come to kill him.
But gradually, the pain vanished, replaced by a cool, warm energy that slowly cleansed his damaged meridians and skin, allowing them to be reborn and grow.
It was as if he had taken a divine elixir, experiencing unprecedented comfort and warmth, a feeling he had never known before.
He lost his mother at the age of two and was adopted by the venomous Consort Shu. That woman, two-faced and sinister, had abused him, allowing maids and eunuchs to bully him, wishing him to be ground into dust.
He managed to survive until he was fourteen, then found an opportunity to escape that place. He joined the army and, within five years, fought on countless battlefields, braving death. His repeated risks earned him the Emperor's favor and prosperity.
He thought he could change everything. However, fate played another cruel trick. The Emperor's suspicion and wariness, the betrayal of his brothers, and the accusations from the people he had once protected, all plunged him back into the abyss.
Groundless charges, followed by half a month of brutal torture, had turned him into this half-human, half-ghost state. His meridians were severed, he couldn't speak, and he was like a pile of rotten flesh.
He had thought his life was over, destined to quietly decay in this manor, eventually turning into a handful of dust and vanishing without a trace.
And now, he felt life.
He looked at the person before him quietly, not knowing why she had come, or why she was saving him. At this moment, what he felt was gratitude and deep emotion.
Zhu Yu felt his gaze and slowly stopped channeling the energy. Her voice was gentle as she explained, "Your body is too weak. It cannot absorb nourishment. I'll come again later."
He looked at the person before him steadily and nodded slightly.
Zhu Yu suddenly laughed.
This person, though disfigured and with broken limbs, with only resentment and a fragmented soul within, was particularly to her liking.
This feeling was foreign to her, yet strangely familiar.
Throughout these ten thousand years, in her drunken stupor, she had occasionally felt it.
After the treatment was complete, Zhu Yu withdrew the barrier. Those still attacking were caught off guard and tumbled down like dogs eating dirt.
Zhu Yu couldn't help but chuckle, the mockery in her tone evident.
"Witch! You..."
"Master?"
Bai Li Zhong Yan raised his hand slightly, signaling that he was fine. He then gestured, telling the secret guard that Zhu Yu was not harming him but saving him.
The secret guards looked at Zhu Yu with disbelief, still surrounding her, but no longer attacking.
"Your Highness!"
Someone suddenly ran in from outside, knelt, and bowed. "A woman was lingering outside the manor. Your subordinate suspected malicious intent and has apprehended her. Your Highness, how should she be dealt with?"
Bai Li Zhong Yan made a "kill" gesture. Zhu Yu suddenly remembered the young maid she had brought with her. "No, that's someone I brought with me."
If it weren't for her bringing the maid, she would have thought she was a person with malicious intent and would have ordered her killed.
After all, she had abundant merit points. Killing one person wouldn't have a significant impact. As for Bai Li Zhong Yan, his karma was heavy, and he owed many debts, so killing another wouldn't make much difference.
The guard looked at Bai Li Zhong Yan, still not fully understanding who Zhu Yu was, and could only ask him.
Bai Li Zhong Yan gestured, indicating not to kill her.
The guard acknowledged and withdrew.
With the misunderstanding cleared, the secret guards, though still wary, were not overly aggressive. They simply kept their eyes on her.
Zhu Yu, remembering they were to be married next month, was not in a hurry. She turned to him and said gently, "I have to go back for now. I'll come see you tomorrow."
As she spoke, she took out a jade bottle from her spatial pouch, her tone filled with concern. "This is medicine. Take it later; it will be beneficial for your injuries."
Bai Li Zhong Yan accepted the jade bottle and nodded slightly.
"Then I'll be going." She was a little reluctant. She leaned down and kissed Bai Li Zhong Yan's masked forehead, smiling with unparalleled gentleness, like an immortal goddess from the highest heavens. "Take good care of yourself."
Everyone was stunned.
Bai Li Zhong Yan was also momentarily lost in thought. By the time he reacted, the person had already floated away like a celestial being, leaving only the jade bottle in his hand and a lingering exotic fragrance to prove she had been there.
The secret guard exclaimed, "Your Highness!"
Bai Li Zhong Yan raised his hand, stopping him from saying anything further.