Chapter 289: The Mystery of That Year
After leaving Immortal Spirit Valley, Ji Lingxiu returned to the City Lord's Mansion in Immortal Spirit City.
Pushing the door open and entering, she saw that Li'er was already awake, sitting by the bed and staring blankly at the scenery outside the window.
It was not until she heard the movement that Li'er turned her head. Their eyes met, and Ji Lingxiu had expected Li'er's gaze to be evasive, but to her surprise, it was surprisingly frank.
Could there really be some inside story?
She couldn't help but recall Eldest Senior Brother's words.
"Speak." Ji Lingxiu said, getting straight to the point.
Li'er tilted her head: "What does Her Highness the Princess want to hear?"
"I saved you. At a time like this, are you still going to play dumb with me?" Ji Lingxiu's voice turned cold: "Who exactly are you? Why did you betray me?"
Li'er suddenly laughed: "Clearly, back then, Her Highness the Princess left without a word, abandoning Li'er and departing alone. When did Li'er ever betray Her Highness the Princess?"
Ji Lingxiu was stunned.
That's right. In this life, she had run off alone right after being reborn. Li'er hadn't even had the chance to betray her.
However, she had not come to argue about this with the woman before her. Instead, she felt a bit disappointed in her heart.
"Hmph!" Ji Lingxiu turned to leave.
Just as she reached the door, Li'er's faint sigh suddenly came from behind her: "So, Her Highness the Princess has truly been reborn."
...
In the backyard of the City Lord's Mansion, the air suddenly froze.
Ji Lingxiu's pupils contracted violently, and her fingers unconsciously tightened their grip on her sleeve.
This secret of rebirth, something she had not even revealed to her most revered master, had been seen through in a single sentence by the former personal handmaiden before her.
"You were reborn too?" Ji Lingxiu's voice was tense.
Li'er gently shook her head, a faint smile hanging on the corner of her lips: "If I were to say that I have never betrayed Her Highness the Princess, in this life or the last, would you believe me, Your Highness?"
The room was terrifyingly quiet, with only the sound of their two breaths remaining.
Ji Lingxiu was silent for a long time, her gaze scanning Li'er's face back and forth, trying to find a flaw.
Just as Li'er lowered her head to hide the disappointment that flashed in her eyes, Ji Lingxiu suddenly spoke:
"I believe you."
These two words made Li'er jerk her head up, her eyes full of disbelief.
Ji Lingxiu took a step forward, her voice unusually calm: "Since you were also reborn, then back then you had ten thousand ways to betray me again. But you chose... to watch me leave."
Li'er stared blankly at Ji Lingxiu, the shock in her eyes gradually turning into a smile.
The curve of her lips grew larger and larger, and she finally laughed out loud: "As expected of Her Highness the Princess."
The atmosphere between them suddenly relaxed.
It seemed as if both of them had almost forgotten that, in those years, although they were nominally master and servant, their relationship was like that of sisters.
...
Then, Ji Lingxiu stared at Li'er: "So, you came this time specifically to find me."
"Yes." Li'er admitted frankly.
"Why did you only come now?" Ji Lingxiu's voice was calm, yet it carried a barely perceptible fluctuation.
Li'er smiled bitterly: "Her Highness the Princess left too quickly back then; I still had words I hadn't had time to say." She raised her head, "I originally thought that after the princess fell on hard times, I would naturally have a chance. But I never expected..."
"You never expected that I would do quite well for myself?" Ji Lingxiu's mouth curved slightly.
Li'er nodded, a trace of complexity in her eyes: "Even after losing the protection of the Great Zhou, Your Highness still stands at the pinnacle of the Cultivation World. But it is precisely because of this that there are too many eyes watching Immortal Spirit City, and I instead had no opportunity to get close."
"Then why have you come now?"
"Because if I don't come now, it will be too late." Li'er's voice suddenly turned low.
Ji Lingxiu stared at her for a moment: "Go on."
Li'er took a deep breath: "In Your Highness's heart, is the Great Zhou still there?"
Silence.
After a long while, Ji Lingxiu shook her head: "It is no longer there." Her gaze was clear and firm. "The me of today will only fight for the Immortal Spirit Holy Land."
Li'er stared blankly at her, trying to find the shadow of the former Jinxiu Princess on that familiar face.
But the Ji Lingxiu before her had long since shed her innate arrogance, replaced by a more restrained, more real sharp edge.
It wasn't to say she had lost her pride.
Rather, it was because she had cast off the burden that others had imposed upon her since birth and found her own path.
"As expected of Her Highness the Princess," Li'er sighed softly, then her expression suddenly turned serious. "Since Your Highness no longer has the Great Zhou in her heart, then be careful."
"What do you mean?" Ji Lingxiu frowned.
Li'er looked directly into her eyes: "Has Your Highness ever considered that the Grand Emperor suppressed the Xuanying Continent for ten thousand years, pressing down on the great clans and sects until they could not breathe. Although the combined strength of the Six Saints is great, would the Founding Ancestor... truly have fallen so easily?"
Ji Lingxiu's heart trembled.
Even though she no longer identified herself as a princess of the Great Zhou, her reverence for that Founding Ancestor who had established a ten-thousand-year dynasty had never diminished.
She had thought about this question more than once. Since the Founding Ancestor could suppress the land for ten thousand years, how could he have fallen so easily.
Then, Li'er's voice was like a clap of thunder:
"What if I said that the Great Zhou's Founding Ancestor, that Ji Wuque who was first on the Heavenly Ranking and suppressed the ages, is not dead?"
...
"Impossible!" Ji Lingxiu subconsciously denied it, then stared intently at Li'er, "Even if the Founding Ancestor is not dead, this kind of secret is not something a handmaiden like you could have access to."
But Li'er shook her head: "Has the princess forgotten? It was in my last life that I stabbed you with a blade, which allowed you to be reborn."
Ji Lingxiu froze. That's right, if not for Li'er's blade, she indeed would not have been reborn. But if she truly possessed the great power to manipulate time and space, how could she have fallen to such a state, being chased so miserably when coming to see her?
She took a deep breath and looked directly into Li'er's eyes: "Can I trust you one more time?"
Li'er's gaze was frank: "In this life or the last, I have never betrayed the princess."
"Then what is your true identity?"
"My identity?" Li'er smiled bitterly. "I am, indeed, the princess's handmaiden." She paused, "At the same time, I am an orphan secretly cultivated by the clans and sects. They spent countless resources to send me to the princess's side."
"But they didn't know that this 'orphan' was actually of Ji clan bloodline—that the Founding Ancestor, having concealed the secrets of heaven, personally delivered me to them."
Ji Lingxiu was shocked. She never would have dreamed that this 'sister' by her side had such a rich and complex past. Then, she suddenly looked up: "You are also of Ji clan bloodline?!"
Li'er nodded lightly, a trace of complexity in her eyes: "If we are truly to speak of seniority... I should be the one to call you 'Elder Cousin'."
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