Chapter 203. Château d'If (1)
Princess Longji had once been the most noble princess in Heaven.
Her father was the Jade Emperor.
Her mother was the Queen Mother of the West.
By birth alone, Princess Longji was a celestial maiden worthy of the respect of all beings.
But she refused to be satisfied with that.
She worked tirelessly every day, determined to become a truly admirable person whose ability and character matched her noble birth.
There was just one problem.
Princess Longji was too beautiful.
Her very existence could enchant others.
That was why her mother concealed her appearance.
She believed her daughter’s beauty might ruin the cultivation of the other immortals.
Then one day, a grand banquet was held.
Princess Longji desperately wanted to see it, so she begged her mother for permission.
In the end, her mother agreed on one condition.
Princess Longji would have to hide herself inside a formation made with flags while watching.
But because of a prank by one immortal, one of the flags was pulled out.
Princess Longji’s appearance was exposed against her will.
The moment her beauty was finally revealed to all of Heaven, chaos erupted.
Immortals who were supposed to cultivate with clear minds saw Princess Longji’s face and became tormented by worldly desires.
Princess Longji was banished from Heaven.
They could not allow such a lewd enchantress, a woman who bewitched men, to remain there.
Even though she had never once tried to seduce anyone.
After being cast down to the Material Realm, Princess Longji was confined in a place called Qingluan Douque.
There, she spent every day blaming herself.
She believed that her existence had caused countless people to suffer from distracting desires.
Then one day...
a man came to Qingluan Douque.
“I heard there was an incomparable beauty who had been banished from Heaven, so I came to see for myself...”
He had secretly slipped into her bedchamber.
When Princess Longji sat up on the bed, he let out a sigh.
“No... you really are beautiful.”
“So beautiful that I hardly know what to say.”
"..."
You’re the beautiful one.
That was what she wanted to say.
His bluish hair was beautiful.
His neat features were beautiful.
His confident voice and expression were beautiful.
She had never seen such a beautiful man even in Heaven.
“But... I apologize.”
“For what are you apologizing?”
“To be honest, I came here with impure intentions.”
The man smiled.
“I heard rumors that you were an unbelievably promiscuous woman.”
“So you heard those rumors.”
“Yes.”
“But it seems I was mistaken.”
“I suppose rumors really shouldn’t be trusted so easily.”
He lowered his head in apology.
“I knew the moment I saw you.”
“You are as pure and transparent as clear water.”
The instant she heard those words...
Princess Longji felt a single tear fall from the corner of her eye.
But she thought he would feel uncomfortable if he saw her crying.
So before the tear could be noticed, she dispersed it into the air.
“I’m sorry for disturbing you when you were about to sleep.”
“Please rest comfortably.”
He turned to leave.
Princess Longji reached out and grabbed the hem of his clothes.
“Please don’t go.”
“What?”
“I...”
How could she make him stay?
She didn’t even dare hope to win his heart.
She simply wanted the first man in her life who had ever affirmed her existence...
to remain beside her a little longer.
“I really am an unbelievably promiscuous woman.”
"..."
Princess Longji had been imprisoned for so long that she had almost no experience interacting with the opposite sex.
That awkward sentence was the best she could manage.
Still...
it succeeded in keeping him there.
So perhaps it could be called a success.
That night was her first night with the promising genius Taoist, Yang Jian.
And also their last.
Afterward...
Princess Longji began walking a new path of her own will.
She left Qingluan Douque and joined the battle among the immortals that unfolded during the war between Shang and Zhou.
She achieved countless accomplishments with the Mist-Dew Universe Net.
She even found the disciple of the immortal who had pulled out the flag during that heavenly banquet and took revenge.
Yang Jian became her comrade.
Nothing more.
Nothing less.
Neither of them ever mentioned what had happened that night.
They treated it as though it had never happened.
But even now...
thousands of years later, after becoming a Constellation...
that encounter had never faded from Princess Longji’s heart.
It had been the encounter that gave the lonely woman imprisoned in that palace the courage to step into a new world.
“Yang Jian! Yang Jian...!”
Princess Longji cried as she called his name.
Even with an enemy nearby, she simply sat there and shook Yang Jian’s body.
“Wake up! We have to get out of here!”
“If we don’t, you’ll...!”
His wounds were fatal.
As long as they were trapped inside this unknown space, his consciousness could not return to the Spirit Realm.
If his avatar died here...
the Constellation Yang Jian himself would perish.
“Why did you protect me?!”
“You’re a selfish man! An ambitious man! Why would someone like you do that for me?!”
Princess Longji couldn’t understand.
She simply couldn’t understand why a man like Yang Jian would sacrifice himself.
“You left the Mountain-Sea Alliance because you wanted to move the world however you pleased!”
“You still have ambition in your heart!”
“So why...?!”
Tears kept falling.
She didn’t even think to wipe them away as she continued shouting.
“You wanted to surpass Taigong Wang, Jiang Ziya!”
“You wanted to become the protagonist of the world this time!”
“It isn’t over yet!”
“You still have a chance!”
“So... so...!”
“You really are... noisy.”
A faint voice, thin enough to break at any moment, reached her.
“The most noble celestial maiden in Heaven...”
“How can you forget your dignity like this?”
“Yang Jian...!”
“Please... stop crying.”
Yang Jian murmured with a pale face.
“When I see you crying... for some reason, I panic.”
“I don’t know what I’m supposed to do.”
Yang Jian forced a weak smile.
“Yes.”
“You cried back then too... when we first met.”
“You noticed...?”
“Don’t underestimate my eyes.”
“I’m a genius...”
