Chapter 197: Chapter 198: Soul-Burning Sacrifice

Translator: 549690339

Only a year had passed.

Yet it felt like a very long time.

As autumn arrived with its cold rain, Zhu Minglang glanced at the gloomy and unclear sky.

He had planned to go out for a walk when the weather cleared up, but the damp, cold rain was unrelenting.

Sitting in the lakeside pavilion, Zhu Minglang poured a cup of hot tea. Raindrops turned to threads, falling from the eaves of the pavilion, forming a misty water curtain that made the scenery of the entire inner court lake hazy.

“It was probably when we were three years old that we encountered some things, but I can’t clearly remember what exactly,” Li Yunzi said softly, holding the cup gently, her voice as soft as the sound of rain.

“Actually, you don’t need to tell me these things; I trust my intuition,” Zhu Minglang said with a smile.

“Nan Lingsha is also right, hiding things for too long is not good. Besides, I have something to ask of you,” Li Yunzi said.

“Ask of me?”

Li Yunzi nodded.

“Star Painting and Yu Suo showed no signs of life when they were young, and our mother sacrificed her own life so that their souls could reside in mine and Ling Sha’s bodies,” Li Yunzi said in a low voice.

This had always been a secret between the sisters, known to very few within the Li Family and the Nan Family.

Therefore, after the incident in the dungeon, Li Yunzi was almost certain that the person who had betrayed her was one of her own kin.

Very few people knew of Star Painting’s existence.

The dungeon was not an actual dungeon, but an underground chamber that Li Yunzi used to protect Li Xinghua.

In Wutu, there were not many people Li Yunzi could trust, but with twin souls in one, it was impossible for Li Yunzi to occupy the body all the time. With no self-protection, Star Painting was an opportunity for those with ulterior motives to step in, seize Li Yunzi’s power at that time, and imprison her in that chamber.

“So…” Zhu Minglang listened to Li Yunzi narrating these things and felt even more complex emotions.

The question he wanted to ask, Li Yunzi knew it as well.

Li Yunzi daring to share all this with him now showed that she cared about his perspective.

Seeing her hand always on the cup, Zhu Minglang instinctively reached out and held the back of Li Yunzi’s hand…

Even warmed by hot tea, it was still very cold, as cold as touching the rain outside the pavilion.

Zhu Minglang looked at her, and although he wanted to know the answer, in the end, he shook his head.

“Let’s not talk about these things. The past is the past. I only care about what you’re thinking now,” Zhu Minglang said.

Who was in the dungeon after all?

Was it Star Painting or Yunzhi?

Does it matter?

What could be done after knowing?

Although Nan Lingsha’s words had made Zhu Minglang uneasy and filled with doubts these days,

after seeing Li Yunzi, Zhu Minglang was even more certain in his heart that it had always been Li Yunzi he interacted with.

Whether it was in the small silkworm cottage or on the way escorting to Ancestral Dragon City, in Rong Valley City, in Li family’s other courtyard… it had always been Li Yunzi, no one else.

All he needed to know was that, for now and for the future, that was enough.

As for the flesh and blood kinship in the dungeon… it might as well have been a dream.

“My situation is slightly different from Nan Lingsha,” Li Yunzi said.

“No worries, I’ll be sure to tell them apart. If it is Miss Xinghua, I will treat her the same as Miss Lingsha and Miss Yu So,” Zhu Minglang said.

Nan Lingsha and Li Yunzi looked very similar. As long as he recognized one fact, this is not Li Yunzi, this is not Li Yunzi, so there wouldn’t be any awkward issues in the future.

Isn’t that just like having another little sister-in-law!

“`

“Do I bring upon myself too much?”

“A clear conscience fears no accusation. With time, I’ll naturally be able to distinguish the four sisters at a glance!”

“There are always subtle differences.”

“For example, Ling Sha and Yu Suo have obviously different personalities.”

“When I was at the Dragon Taming Academy, I had noticed it, and now I finally know the name of that reckless little aunt.”

“Are you hurt again?” Zhu Minglang, feeling the coldness of the hands, glanced again at Li Yunzi and saw that after being exposed to the cold, her lips had clearly turned pale.

“Mhm.” Li Yunzi nodded.

“Let’s not talk about that now. I’ll take you back to rest.” Zhu Minglang opened the oil-paper umbrella, sheltering Li Yunzi as he said, “Come.”

In the rain, Zhu Minglang still held Li Yunzi in his arms, watching the moisture on her cheeks slowly being stolen away by the cold autumn rain and wind, feeling an even greater sense of pity.

How many people in Ancestral Dragon City-State did Li Yunzi truly care about? They could be counted on one hand, but it was also because of them that she needed to protect that storm-tossed land.

Nearly every time Zhu Minglang saw Li Yunzi, she was in such a state of exhaustion and emaciation.

“Why is your aura so weak?” Zhu Minglang asked, looking at her in surprise.

To check Li Yunzi’s condition, Zhu Minglang utilized his Spiritual Sense and discovered that her aura was as weak as a little deer in the forest, seemingly without any self-defense or killing power.

How serious were her injuries?

About the last battle with Rui Country, Zhu Minglang had only heard the basics, but at the time, the Supreme Court Courtyard Continent had only given Rui Country one month’s notice. Li Yunzi found another entrance in places where the veins of the earth’s magma had not yet receded and personally led the Elite Royal Guards to penetrate into Rui Country.

Rui Nation’s large army was assembled in the Long Gorge of Li Chuan Continent. The domestic military strength was limited, but there were still some experts in residence. Li Yunzi probably sustained very serious injuries in that battle.

Is that why she stepped back to become a State Preceptor?

“Yunzi, your condition is not right. If it were some people with weaker constitutions, they probably wouldn’t live for many years,” Zhu Minglang said with a frown.

“I’ve considered what you said,” Li Yunzi replied with a faint smile.

“Why didn’t you tell me first that you were injured?”

“Minglang…”

Zhu Minglang heard Li Yunzi’s whisper almost in his ear.

But Li Yunzi was not speaking to him about something that couldn’t be heard by others. Instead, her whole body leaned weakly on him, and she gradually lost her strength, slowly sliding down.

Zhu Minglang’s complexion changed dramatically, and he quickly held her tight.

“Yunzi!”

It was then that Zhu Minglang realized something was seriously wrong. He hurriedly picked her up, creating a shield of feathers from the Storm Phantom Feather to block the drizzling autumn rain, and ran towards the courtyard.

“Soul injury.”

“Incurable.”

“Not long to live.”

The Immortal Rabbit Dragon stood beside the bed, shaking its head and sighing.

“What’s going on?” Zhu Minglang asked in surprise as he looked at Li Yunzi, who had completely fainted.

“She used a power that she shouldn’t have used,” said Mr. Jinli at this time.

“It’s the price of the Soul-Burning Sacrifice,” stated Nan Yuso, standing aside, after a long pause.

“Are you really descendants of the goddess?” Mr. Jinli turned his head to ask.

“Mhm, this power is inherited from our mother and is obtained through the Soul-Burning Sacrifice,” Nan Yuso said unwillingly.

After all, her own mother had passed away because of that Soul-Burning Sacrifice.