The negotiations lasted a full half month. Neither side was willing to compromise on the matter of He Shu.
He Cen found this extremely troublesome.
At the negotiation table, Hua Yanyun leaned lazily against the back of her chair.
He Cen and He Bai Su were privately communicating via voice transmission.
“It seems Hua Yanyun is determined not to release her. Elder Bai Su, do you have any ideas?”
“According to this old one, we should proceed with the original plan and secretly rescue He Shu.”
“Mm. It seems that is the only option left. I remember Shen Qingci submitted his resignation application not long ago. Since he was once He Shu’s direct subordinate, we might as well have him leave together with He Shu.”
“Mm. One more person means one more layer of security.”
After exchanging a few words, the two members of the He clan decided to stop wasting time with Hua Yanyun.
“Senior Hua, since we have been unable to reach a compromise, let us each take a step back.”
“Oh? How do you propose we each take a step back?”
He Cen then stated her proposal.
***
After the negotiations concluded, He Cen went to Wanyi Tower to see He Shu one last time.
He Shu had already been let down long ago, but the metal shackles that clung tightly to her wrists had not been removed.
He Shu was lying on her side on the cushion.
Her complexion was still pale, and she looked even more listless than before.
Although she had only been tormented by Hua Yanyun for three days over the past half month, every time Hua Yanyun came, she would drain a wave of blood from her.
Hua Yanyun had even declared without shame that she enjoyed seeing He Shu looking weak and limp.
“Sister… you came…”
He Shu’s voice was weak and listless.
She tried to sit up but felt a wave of darkness before her eyes.
She had just had two large bowls of blood drained from her yesterday and had been harshly bullied afterward.
If not for the fact that she had been eating better recently and replenished what she had lost, she might have died on the spot.
“Mm. It is me.”
“Cough cough. Hua Yanyun… what did she say?”
What He Shu asked about was naturally the negotiations between the two nations.
“She is unwilling to let you go. However, both sides have taken a step back.”
“We paid a ransom. In exchange, she has allowed you to move freely inside Wanyi Tower and has promised not to execute you.”
After briefly explaining the contents of the deal between both sides, He Cen glanced at the sky outside the window.
They chatted for a while longer.
Before leaving, He Cen threw a jade slip through the gap into the cage.
Feeling the warm, smooth texture of the jade slip, He Shu’s heart was filled with complicated emotions.
As expected… I still have to rely on myself.
Although she had already known that Hua Yanyun was unlikely to release her, hearing He Cen admit it personally still made her feel a trace of disappointment.
She probed the jade slip with her divine sense. Inside was a letter left behind by Shen Qingci.
Her long eyelashes fluttered slightly. A glimmer of light flashed through He Shu’s pair of emerald-green eyes.
In the letter, Shen Qingci explained his situation. Not only had he successfully obtained the Ten Thousand Worlds Flying Boat, but there was also another piece of good news.
I never expected that an avatar I left behind so long ago could still be of such great help.
Perhaps this is what they mean by planting a willow without intention, only for it to grow into shade.
Just as He Shu was sighing to herself, the door was pushed open. Mu Xinlian walked in carrying a food box.
She placed the food box on the ground. Her tone carried a note of pleasant surprise.
“Young Miss, you are finally awake!”
She reached through the cage, wanting to hold He Shu’s wrist. What met her hand, however, was the cold touch of metal.
Her expression froze.
She had forgotten that her young miss still wore the heavy shackles that clung tightly to her skin.
“Uh… why don’t we… eat first?”
The atmosphere turned awkward for a moment. The two of them stared at each other.
In her heart, Mu Xinlian gave herself a slap. She stiffly changed the subject.
He Shu did not mind this. Instead, she comforted her.
“It is fine. I am already used to wearing them. They do not hinder movement.”
The cage was still locked, so Mu Xinlian could only feed He Shu through the gaps in the bars.
Today’s meal was red date porridge and several golden thread meat floss cakes.
Both were spiritual foods specially prepared by chef cultivators and had excellent blood-nourishing effects.
After the two of them had eaten their fill, Mu Xinlian left the room under He Shu’s watchful gaze.
In her heart, she actually did not want to leave. However, under He Shu’s strong insistence, she still left.
Mu Xinlian turned back to glance at the door to He Shu’s room.
She muttered softly under her breath, a playful expression on her face.
“It was just that I could not help touching you a few more times… Why did you have to chase me away…”
Only after watching Mu Xinlian leave her room did He Shu let out a sigh of relief.
Over the past half month, she had discovered that her goddaughter’s hands were becoming more and more dishonest.
At first, she had only dared to touch her thighs while she was unconscious.
At worst, she would pinch her chest.
But just recently, Mu Xinlian had even laid out a bedding on the floor of her room. Her reason was so she could take better care of her.
At the beginning, He Shu had felt quite relieved. However, the night before last, she had suddenly been woken by pain.
In a daze, she had just opened her eyes when she discovered that one of her arms had somehow extended out of the cage at some point.
Her fingers were currently being held in Mu Xinlian’s mouth.
The scene at the time had given He Shu quite a fright. She had woken Mu Xinlian with a slap and scolded her out of the room.
She could not let Mu Xinlian sleep with her anymore. If this continued, something bad would happen sooner or later!
***
Following Hua Wei into the prison, He Cen saw An Min through the iron bars.
An Min had been tortured until she was barely alive.
Her entire body was covered in wounds that continuously seeped blood.
There were wounds on her shoulders and lower abdomen.
Her right leg was twisted at a strange angle.
White bone had pierced through the skin and was exposed.
“You may leave.”
Hua Wei opened the cell door and cast a healing spell on An Min.
In less than the time it took to drink half a cup of tea, An Min’s injuries had completely recovered.
An Min tried moving her body.
She felt no pain at all.
It was as if the torture she had endured over the past two months had never existed.
“Thank you… Thank you, Long Princess.”
With a thud, An Min dropped to her knees before He Cen and kowtowed three times in succession.
“Get up. It is time for us to leave.”
Her tone held no fluctuation. No emotion could be heard from it.
He Cen brought An Min out of Cloud Mist Immortal City and rendezvoused with the rest of the delegation.
The Void Refinement Cloud Whale let out a long cry. Its ethereal sound was extremely penetrating.
Even from within the imperial palace, Hua Yanyun heard it clearly.
She rose and instantly appeared in the sky above the immortal city.
Her voice, though not loud, also carried across a thousand li.
“Fellow Daoist He Bai Su, honored guests of Southwind Immortal Kingdom, have a safe journey.”
What responded to her was another ethereal long cry from the Cloud Whale.
She watched as the Cloud Whale gradually disappeared into the horizon.
A faint smile appeared on Hua Yanyun’s face.
Before leaving, He Cen had traded with her for more than thirty jars of He Shu-brand beauty cream.
Each jar was priced at a staggering eight hundred thousand high-grade spirit stones.
“Hehe. If He Cen knew that the main ingredient used to make the beauty cream is actually her younger sister’s blood, what kind of interesting expression would she make?”
She only thought this in her heart. Hua Yanyun would absolutely never tell He Cen this information.
Besides, even if she did, given He Cen’s personality, she would most likely remain expressionless anyway.
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