Chapter 73: The Plea from the Cage (4)

The shift in her attitude, the lowering of her stance, instantly made Yan Chuan feel much more at ease.

“Mm!” Yan Chuan smiled with satisfaction.

“Since we’re speaking openly now, I won’t hide it from you. Sealed within this feng shui formation lies the Myriad-Wondrous Demon Lotus! That flower is the very reason for our journey,” Mo Yuxi explained.

“The Myriad-Wondrous Demon Lotus?” Yan Chuan’s eyelids twitched.

“What? You’ve heard of it?” Mo Yuxi asked in surprise.

“I’ve heard of the Thousand-Wondrous Demon Lotus—an object of utmost filth, obscurity, and evil, capable of corrupting even immortals. If this formation seals the Myriad-Wondrous Demon Lotus, no wonder it requires so many earth dragon veins for the seal,” Yan Chuan mused.

“The Thousand-Wondrous Demon Lotus? I’ve never heard of it. As for the Myriad-Wondrous Demon Lotus, I only learned of it recently!” Mo Yuxi gave Yan Chuan a peculiar look.

One must know, Mo Yuxi came from a noble background; within her own sect she could peruse tomes detailing wondrous treasures across the world, yet she’d never encountered mention of the Myriad-Wondrous or Thousand-Wondrous Demon Lotus. It was only lately, through someone of exceedingly high status, that she’d learned the barest hint. Yet Yan Chuan, who could be no more than seventeen or eighteen, knew of the Thousand-Wondrous Demon Lotus?

“I came by the knowledge by chance as well,” Yan Chuan replied with a slight smile, offering no further explanation.

Mo Yuxi wisely refrained from pressing the matter.

“I don’t know what use the Myriad-Wondrous Demon Lotus has, nor do I wish to know. I simply want to obtain it; it is of great importance to me. Please, Yan Childe, help me!” Mo Yuxi’s eyes brimmed with earnest entreaty.

Yan Chuan frowned slightly.

“Yan Childe, you are learned and perceptive. I imagine you might have guessed my identity from the way Mister Wenruo and the others addressed me?” Mo Yuxi said with a wry smile.

“They called you the Saintess,” Yan Chuan nodded.

“I am the Saintess of the Grand Zhao Holy Land. The title of Saintess was won for me by my father while he was alive. He once held the rank of Dao Lord within the Grand Zhao Holy Land, but alas, fell victim to treachery,” Mo Yuxi recalled, biting her lip, her eyes turning misty with tears. Clearly, her father’s death had left a profound mark on her.

“I was sixteen when I suddenly learned of my father’s fall. I thought the sky itself had collapsed. I used to be the most mischievous Saintess in all of Grand Zhao Holy Land. When my father was alive, I could laugh loudly, cry without restraint, be willful, and play tricks on everyone!

“But after my father’s death, I could only hide in my room and weep quietly in the corner. I didn’t dare cry before others, didn’t dare laugh out loud, because I knew many were waiting to see me stumble. In the past, my father held them back; after his fall, vengeance would surely come for me. I could only be ever cautious, using the title of Saintess as a shield to protect myself, to avoid injury, to preserve my father’s honor!”

Listening to her account, Yan Chuan was moved. A holy land—a grand sect, surely rife with tangled intrigues. One could well imagine how a sixteen-year-old girl, after losing her father, had to find the strength to uphold herself.

Wiping her tears with a silk kerchief, Mo Yuxi forced a smile. “Whenever I mention my father, it feels as though he’s still alive. I promised myself not to bring him up, I apologize—I lost my composure!”

“It’s nothing, Miss Mo. In the end, you are simply a person of feeling,” Yan Chuan consoled her.

Mo Yuxi shook her head with a bitter smile. “A person of feeling? How I wish I could be. I’d rather not have the title of Saintess, so I could laugh and cry as I please. But I can’t; I can no longer cast off this title.”

“The title of Saintess is your greatest protection. Without it, your father’s old enemies would certainly fall upon you,” Yan Chuan nodded.

“When I turned twenty, Dao Lord Mao Ri—Yang Zhijiu’s father—slew the traitors who murdered my father. He upheld the dignity of our holy land, and avenged my father. That favor is one I owe him!” Mo Yuxi said, frowning.

“You seek the Myriad-Wondrous Demon Lotus only to repay that favor?” Yan Chuan asked, puzzled.

“Yes. The Grand Zhao Holy Land is fraught with inner complexities. Dao Lord Mao Ri, he…” A trace of fear flickered in Mo Yuxi’s eyes.

“Dao Lord Mao Ri cannot come here himself, but he greatly desires the Myriad-Wondrous Demon Lotus. I must use this chance to repay my debt. If I delay, the price will only grow a hundredfold, a thousandfold. It might even destroy me—destroy my entire future. I can’t drag this out any longer. Yan Childe, I beg you to help me!” Mo Yuxi gazed at Yan Chuan with intense sincerity, appearing pitiful and vulnerable.

Looking at her forlorn expression, Yan Chuan’s gaze gradually softened.

“My lord!”

Liu Jin’s voice called from outside the tent, abruptly interrupting their conversation.

“Come in!” Yan Chuan said in a deep voice.

Liu Jin quickly entered, casting a curious glance at Mo Yuxi.

“What is it?” Yan Chuan asked, puzzled.

“My lord, the Azure Dragon and the White Tiger have started fighting!” Liu Jin reported, his face full of confusion.

“What? Impossible!” Mo Yuxi instantly stood up.