Demoness's Art of Vengeance

However, Jun Xiaomo was unable to ascertain that this person was Jiang Yutong’s son based solely on that totem on his neck.

She furrowed her brows and deliberated for a moment, before she decided that it was worth clarifying matters with the commander.

“Excuse me, I’m sorry to interrupt, but I have a question for the commander.” Jun Xiaomo looked directly at the commander as she interjected.

“Please ask.”

“Is this first prince’s mother… imperial concubine Jiang Yutong who had vanished from the Inferno Kingdom several years ago?” Jun Xiaomo carefully sized up the commander’s expression as she queried. She did not want to let slip any potential clue about the whereabouts of Jiang Yutong’s son.

“You know about imperial concubine Jiang?!” The commander widened his eyes as he looked at Jun Xiaomo with astonishment in his eyes.

Jun Xiaomo waved her hands casually as she responded, “It’s not that I know her personally. I’ve only ever heard of her. Back then, the tales of imperial concubine Jiang were so controversial that my father would speak about it from time to time.”

The commander knitted his brows together. After muttering under his breath for a brief moment, he heaved a long sigh, nodded his head and explained, “The first prince is indeed imperial concubine Jiang’s son. Perhaps the real reason for his actions today might have been the fact that his father, the king, had annihilated his mother’s clansmen and driven his mother away. He couldn’t come to terms with it even after all these years, and therefore he resorted to committing the most heinous of crimes – making an attempt at his own father’s life.”

Hearing this, a bright gleam flashed across Jun Xiaomo’s eyes as she took another look at the portrait laid out on the table in front of her –

The man on the portrait possessed sharp and chiseled features and deep, profound eyes. He curled his lips ever so slightly into a wry smile that seemed to gaze, through the portrait, at the present surroundings. He gave off such an aloof and dignified air that the world seemed to be nothing more than a playground to him, as though nothing in this world mattered to him.

It was hard to imagine how this man could have gone through all that effort to poison his father, the king, just for the sake of vengeance over matters from ages past. From the way the man in the portrait looked and presented himself, it seemed that going through all that effort to poison someone might even be too troublesome for him.

Jun Xiaomo silently mulled over this matter, and she concluded that things might not be as simple as they looked on the surface.

The other disciples from Dawn Sect continued to listen attentively at the commander’s report. However, compared with Jun Xiaomo, they hardly concerned themselves with the first prince’s character. They only cared about one thing – whether they could use any of the clues to capture this target and secure the promised reward.

“Ah, that’s right. There’s one other thing. Please be mindful not to mention “imperial concubine Jiang” or “Jiang Yutong” once you enter the Inferno Kingdom’s capital. This would only invite trouble upon yourselves.” The commander sincerely cautioned.

“Oh? Why is that?” Jun Xiaomo queried curiously.

The commander sighed again before he explained, “Five years after the disappearance of imperial concubine Jiang, her name was declared by the king to be a taboo within the Inferno Kingdom. If one was caught discussing matters about imperial concubine Jiang in public, that person would be considered lucky if he were simply banishment from the Inferno Kingdom and forbidden from entering the capital ever again. If one were less fortunate, the person might even find their digits chopped off or his bones broken as a result of his offence. Everyone was immediately stricken with fear about these matters at that time, and everyone consciously avoided any mention of imperial concubine Jiang. Over time, people ceased to talk about matters pertaining to imperial concubine Jiang anymore.”

In fact, back when the present king ascended his throne, the first thing he turned his attention to was imperial concubine Jiang’s clan. He murdered their livestock, seized their possessions, and he got rid of every single person in the clan because they ceased to be useful to him. Everyone in the Inferno Kingdom was well aware about this matter. Perhaps it was for this reason that the king issued a decree preventing anyone from talking about matters pertaining to Jiang Yutong behind his back. It was all for the sake of hiding the guilty conscience in his heart.

The commander knew this fact as well. But he was a commander in Inferno Kingdom after all, and his duty extended only to training his soldiers and leading them to defeat their enemies. Therefore, he did not have the heart nor the time to care about the dirty, politicking matters of the imperial family.

Having heard the commander’s full report, everyone looked at each other vacantly. Wasn’t the Inferno Kingdom’s king way too cruel? This was the first thought that ran through everybody’s minds at this moment.

As for Jun Xiaomo and Ye Xiuwen who possessed a deeper knowledge of these matters, their assessment of the king of Inferno Kingdom was even worse.

Why didn’t he die from the poison! Jun Xiaomo gritted her teeth as she exclaimed in her heart. She did not have a good impression of the present king of Inferno Kingdom at all. She even felt that it was a crime to let him continue living!

At the same time, she immediately begun to feel slightly sympathetic to the first prince’s plight. Even then, this person in the portrait looked like the type of person who didn’t need anyone’s sympathy because his heart and soul were strong enough to stand up to such adversity.

It must be said that it would have been extremely difficult for a young child like him to live through that period of internal strife and dissension when his mother’s entire clan was being annihilated by the king. But not only did he manage to survive, he even managed to sharpen his skills and hone his abilities. Then, when the time was ripe, he stirred the entire kingdom into chaos singlehandedly. This thoroughly impressed Jun Xiaomo.

Now that she had ascertained the identity of the Blood Jade’s owner and senior Jiang Yutong’s son, how could she let him be captured and thrown behind bars in front of her own eyes? At the very least, she had to find an opportunity to hand the Blood Jade over to him first. Furthermore, she was determined to even help him escape from his present predicament if his character and personality was decent enough. After all, this was what she owed to her senior Jiang Yutong for all the treasures and resources she had been blessed with.

“Alright, that’s all the information I can provide you with. I wonder if these experts are keen to accept this task?” The commander made a polite gesture at the disciples as he finished speaking.

A bright gleam flashed across Qin Lingyu’s eyes as he inquired, “I wonder if the commander could give us an indication of what the reward might be for the successful completion of this task?”

“The exact details are still up to the king to decide. But at the very least, it would include precious medicinal pills such as the Snow Lotus Invigoration Pill, Spirit Harmonization Pill, and the Heart Purging Pill. Furthermore, the Inferno Kingdom maintains a stash of some national treasures in its treasuries. The second prince and the queen have both decreed that whoever manages to capture the first prince, then they would be entitled to take their pick of any two national treasures from the Inferno Kingdom’s treasuries as part of their reward.”

A national treasure! Qin Lingyu’s eyes were immediately filled with greed. If the earlier mention of the medicinal pills had piqued his interest, then the mention of the national treasures completely sealed the deal for Qin Lingyu.

“What do you think?” Qin Lingyu looked around at his fellow martial brothers and sisters as he asked.

Qin Lingyu still had to maintain his appearances even though he had already decided in his heart. At the very least, he had to appear to be fair to everyone.

“I’ve got no particular preference in this regard, so I’ll let martial brother Qin decide.” The disciple standing closest to Qin Lingyu immediately expressed his loyalty to Qin Lingyu as he responded.

Then, the other disciples followed suit and gave Qin Lingyu a flattering smile as they added, “That’s right, we’ll all let martial brother Qin decide.”

In the end, only Di Yue and Yi Hong did not follow suit among all the other disciples. After all, they were now a part of Ye Xiuwen’s party, and they would only take the lead from Ye Xiuwen.

Qin Lingyu noticed that Ye Xiuwen was standing silently at the corner and he had not made his views known yet. Therefore, he continued with his pretense and asked, “Martial brother Ye, what do you think?”

Hearing this, Ye Xiuwen immediately looked at Jun Xiaomo. He had heard that the first prince was Jiang Yutong’s son, which meant that he was the owner of the Blood Jade. Therefore, he knew that Yao Mo would likely to want to stay in this place for a while until he could locate the owner of the Blood Jade.

Jun Xiaomo looked at Ye Xiuwen and blinked her eyes twice. Then, she smiled sweetly as she responded, “The rewards are truly attractive. It’s moving to even people like me who are generally apathetic and disinterested in rewards. Brother Ye, let’s stay and help out a little, alright?”

Everyone: ……What do you mean “generally apathetic and disinterested in rewards”? You’re clearly obsessing over it right now!

Ye Xiuwen noticed that Yao Mo was growing fonder of using his words and actions to provoke those around him. But this was not necessarily a bad thing either. At the very least, it could mask their true objectives for staying. After all, most people here thought that Jun Xiaomo had bitten the bait of the potential rewards. Who would have thought that their true motive was to help the owner of the Blood Jade escape this predicament?

Therefore, Ye Xiuwen patted Jun Xiaomo’s head as he responded, “Alright, then let’s stay behind and help out.”

Hearing this, Qin Lingyu silently snickered in his heart – Be careful. You might not only fail to obtain the rewards you desire – you might even inadvertently leave your lives behind. 

Jun Xiaomo noticed the scheming look in Qin Lingyu’s eyes, but she casually brushed it off with a chuckle. She found that this “fiancé” of hers truly seemed to enjoy looking for trouble – it was as though he couldn’t live a day without scheming or plotting against people.

Forget it. Why should I care about these kinds of people? It’s only a matter of time before I butt heads with that fella.

Qin Lingyu looked back at the commander and reported, “Since the others have no preferences on this matter, then we shall stay behind and try our luck.”

The commander laughed heartily in great pleasure. Then, he exclaimed, “That’s great, that’s great! If I come across any new leads in future, I will inform these experts as soon as I can. That’s right, I hear it’s your first time coming to Inferno Kingdom? Then let me be your host for now and treat you to some local delicacies. I only hope that these renown experts won’t despise the local cuisine of the mortal world.”

“Don’t worry about that. We’re all out on travel from our Sect, and we’re not particular about matters pertaining to food at all. Since the commander has cordially invited us with such enthusiasm, how could we refuse?” Qin Lingyu chuckled as he agreed politely.

--------------------------------------------------

The commander led everyone to one of the largest inns in Xingping County. There, he told the innkeeper that he wanted a private room for his guests.

“Ah, I’m sorry dear guests, but there’s an unusually large number of people in Xingping County these few days, and all the private rooms have been booked out. Would the great hall do?” The innkeeper knew from one look at the guests before him right now possessed a certain stature. Therefore, he could only attempt to placate them as he asked with a radiant smile on his face.

The commander furrowed his brows. According to their social norms, hosting his guests in the great hall wasn’t quite right.

“Commander, the great hall is fine. It’s only going to be a meal in any event. We’re not too fussed over these things. Besides, isn’t the quality of food more important?” It must be said that when Qin Lingyu wasn’t scheming and plotting against others, he was actually quite proficient in the matters of interpersonal relations. At the very least, he had just given the commander an out to his little predicament.

“Haha, brother Qin is right! I’d been obsessing over nothing.” As the commander spoke, he requested the innkeeper to prepare a large table for them so that they could all be seated at the same table.

Then, after everyone got seated, they knew that the food would take some time to be served. Therefore, they all started chatting cordially with each other.

“Sigh, coming back to the matter at hand, commander must already have been looking for the first prince for some time, right? Aren’t there any other clues or leads? It’s got to be difficult to locate him with just this portrait, isn’t it?”

“It’s truly hard to locate him. But, just a few days ago, one of our informants told us that they had seen the first prince appear within the vicinity of the Xingping County. That’s one of the main reasons why we’d rushed here in the first place. Truth be told, finding the first prince isn’t the hardest part. After all, there are only a few places where he’s likely to show up at, and Xingping County is one of these few places. However, the main difficulty is that none of us would be able to subdue and capture him even if we encounter him. It’s just like that informant of ours. The first prince immediately knocked out our informant once he discovered the informant’s presence.”

“So that’s how it is.” The disciples all nodded their heads as they gained a better understanding of the situation.

While Jun Xiaomo continued to listen in on the conversations at the table, she discreetly released a thread of divine sense to probe at the condition of the Blood Jade within her Interspatial Ring.

Senior Jiang Yutong had mentioned before that as long as her son appeared near the Blood Jade, the Blood Jade would naturally glow with a red light. Therefore, once Jun Xiaomo learnt that the first prince could very likely be hiding within the Xingping County, she had from time to time checked on the Blood Jade’s condition.

Hang on a moment! It seemed to have glowed red earlier! Jun Xiaomo’s heart skipped a beat as she reflexively shot up to her feet.

Everyone was puzzled by Jun Xiaomo’s sudden and clumsy actions, and no one had a clue what Yao Mo was thinking right now.

However, Jun Xiaomo did not have the luxury of time to explain anything to them. The Blood Jade had only glowed for a moment before dimming down again. The only possibility was that the first prince had zipped past where they were with immense speed. There was a good chance that he had just passed by the inn they were at right now.

Without any warning, Jun Xiaomo immediately ran out of the inn without a word, leaving everyone at the table staring at each other in bewilderment.

Bang! A loud slam rang out, as though something had collided into another object with great speed.

“Little Mo!” Ye Xiuwen also stood up and ran out of the inn. Then, the first thing that he saw was how Yao Mo was now being held tightly in the bosom of another man donned in pale blue garments. There was even an entourage of people following behind that man.

Ye Xiuwen’s eyes flickered, and a deep sense of displeasure welled up within him. Just for a moment, it even crossed Ye Xiuwen’s mind to unsheathe his sword and slice off that man’s hand that was wrapped around Yao Mo’s waist right this instant.

“Little brother, you’ve got to watch where you’re going, eh?” The man chuckled coquettishly, and his sleazy eyes gazed at the man lying in his bosom.

Ye Xiuwen was just about to “rescue” Yao Mo from his clutches when he noticed that a vicious intent suddenly flashed across Yao Mo’s eyes. Then in the next instant, Yao Mo retrieved a sharp dagger from his Interspatial Ring and ferociously thrusted it at the man!

At this moment, Yao Mo seemed to give off the vibe that she would not rest until that man was dead.

Jun Xiaomo’s attacks were orderly and well regulated. And with her second level of Qi Mastery, her attacks would be more than enough to dispose of mere mortals. However, that man simply flicked open his folded fan and avoided her attacks with much ease. It was evident that this man could very possibly be a cultivator as well.

“Little Mo!”

“Second prince!”

Ye Xiuwen and the commander’s voices rang out at the same time. At the same time, Jun Xiaomo continued to launch attacks at that man, and that man continued to avoid her attacks.

“So, your name is ‘Little Mo’!”

“So, you’re the second prince of Inferno Kingdom!”

Jun Xiaomo and that man’s voice also resounded at the same time. After hearing Jun Xiaomo’s words, that man smiled as he responded, “That’s right. I wonder if Little Mo knows me too?”

That man spoke with an extremely coquettish tone, clearly intending to tease Jun Xiaomo. This was despite the fact that Jun Xiaomo’s present identity was that of a young man.

Jun Xiaomo’s gaze grew frigid as the corner of her mouth twitched slightly. However, she remained silent –

Of course she knew this man! However, she had never known that this man was in fact the second prince of the Inferno Kingdom.

No, she ought to have known that fact too. After this man became the Inferno Kingdom’s king in her previous life, he even ended up as one of Yu Wanrou’s lackeys.

Most importantly, he was the very same man who had killed her child in her previous life!

The stench of blood started to well up from within Jun Xiaomo’s chest. She could barely hold in her hatred for this man any longer!