Phoenix's Requiem

The person leading the way for Yun Ruoyan, Li Mo, and Yun Moxiao was a short menial laborer working in the castle. The castle gates weren’t yet open, and they had to enter through a side door located some distance away from the main gates. After an hour’s walking, they finally arrived before the prison.

“Head there.” The three cultivators expected that they would be able to enter the prison immediately, but the short laborer pointed to a side room instead.

“Aren’t we entering the prison now?” Yun Ruoyan asked.

“You have to deal with the pig slop you’re serving first, don’t you?” The short laborer eyed Yun Ruoyan critically. “These are prisoners, but they’re still entitled to warm food.”

“Of course, of course.” Yun Moxiao brought the wagon forward following the short laborer’s directions and entered what seemed like a kitchen. There, the short laborer instructed the three of them to pour the three buckets of cold slop in the wagon into a large pot to be heated before it was served.

“In the future, make sure you’re heating up the food here first before delivering it to the prison. Do you understand?” the laborer asked.

“Yes, of course.” Yun Moxiao smiled at the man.

Then, the three of them brought the warm food back to the prison. The cold slop had been moderately unappetizing but luckily devoid of any odor. Now that it had been warmed up, a... sour stench seemed to be spreading. The prison guards covered their noses as they waved the cultivators inward, and they finally made it inside the silver dragon’s prison.

By then, it was already starting to get bright. Following the short laborer’s directions, the three of them portioned the food in the wooden buckets to small serving bowls, which they began distributing within the cells.

Yun Ruoyan estimated that there were about a hundred prisoners in the entire prison. They didn’t know where Zhuo Yifeng was—or whether he was imprisoned at all!—so they could only search for him slowly as they delivered the food.

After delivering one round of food but still seeing no trace of Zhuo Yifeng, Yun Ruoyan returned to the wagon to see that the short laborer who had been directing them had vanished. “Li Mo, Brother, have you seen that short laborer?”

“I saw him walking toward that direction. Why?” Yun Moxiao replied.

Yun Ruoyan dropped the bucket she was holding and lowered her voice. “Don’t you think that laborer was very strange?”

Yun Moxiao and Li Mo both put down their buckets. “Yan’er, did you discover something?” Li Mo asked.

“Not yet.” Yun Ruoyan frowned. “It’s just that that short laborer doesn’t talk or act like a menial laborer, but more like a leader of some sort.”

“Now that you mention it, it does seem that way,” Yun Moxiao murmured. “Could there be something fishy about him?”

“I’m starving, I’m starving! Are you still feeding us?!” a prisoner interjected.

“This is our only meal for the day! Aren’t you giving us anything?”

“You might as well kill us now rather than leave us hungry!”

The prisoners who had yet to be fed all began to holler when they saw the three cultivators chatting together rather than distributing food. Almost all of them had had their cultivation stripped, so although they could have survived on spiritual energy alone, they now required nourishment. The hunger that had stopped being an issue so long ago now came back with a vengeance, making the criminals feel as though they were being cut by blunt knives, making them almost wish for death. 𝐟𝓇ℯ𝐞𝚠𝚎𝒃𝑛𝒐ѵe𝚕.co𝚖

“Alright, alright, it’s coming!” Yun Moxiao motioned for them to calm down. If they were to startle the prison guards, it would be far harder for Yun Ruoyan and the others to act.

“Brother, I’ll leave the prisoners around here to you. Li Mo and I will check out the far corner of the prison,” Yun Ruoyan said.

“Alright,” Yun Moxiao replied, then began delivering food to the prisoners with a bucket in each hand. “Don’t worry, if you don’t have enough to eat today, I’ll make sure you’re all filled up tomorrow.”

Meanwhile, Yun Ruoyan and Li Mo headed in the direction in which the short laborer had left.

“Over there,” Li Mo murmured, then rushed forward, dragging Yun Ruoyan along. The two of them hid by a corner as they saw the short laborer standing in front of a prison cell.

The walls in this part of the prison were black all over, and there was only one cell situated right by where the short laborer was standing. The door to the cell was exceptionally tall, and the short laborer didn’t even seem to reach half the height of the door.

“Head!” the short laborer called out. “I’m here to visit you, and I’ve also brought you a few medicinal pills.”

“Throw them inside,” a malicious voice called back.

Yun Ruoyan and Li Mo both glanced at each other in surprise: this voice was familiar to them, and was exactly what Zhuo Yifeng had sounded like when he was possessed. Allegedly, the owner of the voice called himself a demonic spirit.

“Yes, Head!” the short laborer replied respectfully. A black aura shone by his feet, raising his entire body and allowing him to toss a cloth satchel through the small opening at the top of the prison cell. “Head, I’ll be leaving now. Tomorrow, I’ll bring more pills at around this time.”

He bowed toward the door and turned to leave when the voice suddenly called out, “Who are you? What are you doing skulking over there?!”

The short laborer immediately turned around and scrutinized his surroundings carefully. “Who’s here? Show yourselves!”

Yun Ruoyan and Li Mo walked out from one corner of the prison.

“Long time no see, demonic spirit,” Li Mo began.

“Ah, it’s Li Mo,” the malicious voice murmured. “And the other one must be Yun Ruoyan.”

“Indeed,” Yun Ruoyan replied.

“Hahaha...” the demonic spirit began to laugh. “The two of you really are quite daring, to be willing to brave the Jiyuan continent. Where’s the demonic dragon? Tell him to come out.”

“He didn’t come with us,” Yun Ruoyan said.

“He didn’t? How could that be? He wouldn’t strand the two of you here without helping out himself!” The demonic spirit clearly didn’t believe Yun Ruoyan’s words. “Don’t mess around. Doesn’t he want to deal with the silver dragon? If he helps me escape, I’m willing to work together with him!”

“That’s impossible,” Yun Ruoyan said, shaking her head sadly. “The demonic dragon forefather has ascended after reaching the end of his lifespan.”

“He ascended?” The demonic spirit didn’t speak for quite some time, as though it were in great shock. “How could that be? That’s impossible—he’s the demonic dragon forefather, whose cultivation was closest to the apex! How could he have died just like that?”

“The demonic dragon forefather has indeed ascended,” Li Mo repeated. “But if you’re willing to work together with us, we’ll consider it.”

Li Mo and Yun Ruoyan walked up to the metal door. The short laborer stared at them even as he moved aside.

“Shorty, make sure our conversation isn’t disrupted,” the demonic spirit instructed.

“Yes, Head.” The short laborer eyed Yun Ruoyan and Li Mo, then kept guard outside the corridor.

The door to the cell was exceptionally tall, and Yun Ruoyan had to stand on tiptoes to see the interior of the cell through the little window above eye level. It was dim and dark within, and only when Yun Ruoyan infused her eyes with spiritual energy could she finally make out the familiar body of Zhuo Yifeng.

“Zhuo Yifeng,” she called out, and the shadow suddenly focused on her with a pair of bright, bright eyes. “We’re here to save you,” she continued.

Zhuo Yifeng stood up and took two hesitant steps forward. However, as though he were being bound by some unknown force, he seemed unable to move more than that. “Ruoyan, you shouldn’t have come here,” Zhuo Yifeng said hoarsely, even as his bright eyes were slowly replaced by a thick, viscous darkness.

“So you’re here to save Zhuo Yifeng,” the malicious voice spoke through Zhuo Yifeng’s mouth. “You’re a righteous young lady, aren’t you? At least he’s gotten something out of pining for you all this time. Even I’m touched. Are you touched too, Zhuo Yifeng?”

“Don’t speak nonsense, demonic spirit,” Yun Ruoyan called out angrily. “Zhuo Yifeng and I are just friends, and I’m saving him because of our friendship.”

“Oh, is that so?” The demonic spirit chuckled. “Zhuo Yifeng will be upset to hear that. After all, it’s because he was trying so desperately to help you that he slowly became nothing but my puppet, the foolish child.”

“You—what do you mean?! What do you mean he did all this to help me?”

“Young lady, don’t you remember when you were caught by the Pis on the Mingyuan continent? Pi Batian imprisoned you within the Pi manor, and Zhuo Yifeng was caught trying to save you. It was because he was in such a rush to save you that he agreed to have me share his body. As he used my strength, I was able to consolidate my control over his body. Wouldn’t you agree that Zhuo Yifeng’s in such a state now because of you?”

Yun Ruoyan’s fists clenched more and more tightly. No one had told her any of this! How much had Zhuo Yifeng given up for her?!

“Yan’er.” Li Mo placed his hands gently but firmly on Yun Ruoyan’s shoulders. “Zhuo Yifeng did what he did of his own volition, and it’s not your fault.”

“But he did it for me.” Yun Ruoyan turned back to Li Mo, her eyes filled with tears. Zhuo Yifeng was the first friend she had made after her rebirth, and he was still her most trusted friend. How could she have let him sacrifice so much for her without knowing anything?!

“That’s why we have to rescue him and do what we can to compensate him,” Li Mo said.

“Alright. We’ll definitely save him.” Yun Ruoyan nodded firmly, then turned to the demonic spirit. “What will it take for you to release Zhuo Yifeng from your grip?”