Marry First, Love Later With The White Cat Princess - Chapter 44 — Back Then

Because the incident at the hunting grounds had delayed her cultivation, Liu Fenyun shook off her distractions and began breathing and drawing in spiritual energy.

Last night, while they were making a ruckus, Catcat had transferred quite a lot of demon-qi into her. At the time her mind had been wandering and she didn’t pay attention, but now that she had calmed down to cultivate, she finally remembered it.

Catcat had given her nearly all of her demon-qi no wonder she had fallen asleep without a word last night and still hadn’t woken.

Liu Fenyun could only consult the system first.
“You mentioned before that there was a method for forming a core. I hadn’t decided whether I wanted to at the time, but now I have. Please tell me.”

But the system replied, “Host, you have already completed the prerequisite task for core formation last night. Now you only need to wait for the inner core to take shape.”

Liu Fenyun was completely baffled.

Last night? Last night had been nothing but a night of pleasure.

So that was the method the system meant??

“What are you exactly?” Liu Fenyun asked, exasperated. “If everyone could form a core as easily as I did, the whole world would be chaos.”

“No, this is something only you can accomplish,” the system answered seriously. “Your original cultivation level your internal realm is far above the Core Formation stage. That’s why the process is effortless for you. Once you complete the system task, the automatic core-formation assist function is triggered.”

Liu Fenyun had never studied cultivation seriously, and after hearing the system’s earnest explanation and especially when it addressed her respectfully as you her doubts only deepened.

Still, she didn’t press further, deciding the system was simply too overpowered.

This system was far too strange. It was probably better she didn’t know the truth too early.

Lianyi woke once in the latter half of the night to find her injuries mysteriously healed. The next time she opened her eyes, she felt a great demon stroking her fur.

She was so startled that she puffed up instantly, arching her back and lifting her head to hiss but the moment she saw Liu Fenyun, her raised fur and tail flattened, and the low growl stuck in her throat turned into a soft, “Meow-woo…”

Liu Fenyun was sitting at the table, brushing her fur. The pile of shed fur on the table had already formed a little mountain; it was so thick that even she was shocked.

“Am I going to go bald?” Lianyi burrowed into Liu Fenyun’s arms, her voice on the verge of tears. “How did I shed so much?”

“It won’t fall off anymore.” Liu Fenyun laughed as she soothed her. “I’ve successfully formed my core.”

In truth, she didn’t need to say it. Lianyi could already feel the change in her demon-qi. Because of their blood pact, after Liu Fenyun formed her core, a good amount of demon-qi had flowed back to Lianyi.

After Liu Fenyun brushed the final stroke, Lianyi suddenly transformed into her human form, sitting on Liu Fenyun’s lap with a serious expression.
“Your demon-qi is far too dense. I’ll teach you how to control it. Otherwise, if you attract demon-hunters, it’ll be bad!”

The kingdom of Zhuohuang now had two great demons already. If word spread that yet another great demon had appeared, it would truly shake the people’s hearts.

Liu Fenyun let her arms wrap around her neck. As Lianyi touched the blood-pact mark behind her ear, she whispered the incantation for suppressing demon-qi.

“Try it?” After teaching it, Lianyi released her, eyes full of expectation.

Liu Fenyun recited the incantation and circulated her demon-qi accordingly. The overwhelming great-demon pressure that had filled the entire palace hall dissipated almost instantly.

Just as Lianyi sighed in relief, her cat ears were gathered gently into warm palms.

“How about we visit Guizhi Hall later?” Liu Fenyun asked as she kneaded the furry ears. “I’m not too sure about Qiran. She seems to be hiding something from us. It’s better to discuss it with Master and the High Priest.”

Lianyi didn’t fully trust the demon who had long worked for the Fourth Princess either. She fussed a little, but ultimately agreed.

Before heading to Guizhi Hall, Liu Fenyun skimmed through the newly unlocked demon-realm records.

There wasn’t much new information, but it was exactly what she cared about most. The records first described the origins of the division between humans and demons, then introduced the greatest royal city of the demon realm Kongmeng.

“Kongmeng City was founded 182 years ago, ruled by the Feather Tribe and ranked last among the sixteen small demon nations. Sixty-nine years ago, an outsider feather demon named Fuyao beheaded the incompetent old ruler, ascended the throne, and waged war, annexing three surrounding nations. Sixty-four years ago, the Lord of Kongmeng married a human physician a Heaven rank poison doctor…”

At that, Liu Fenyun immediately understood why her own master was a Heaven rank physician. Poison doctors were far more adept with medicine than ordinary healers. Since her master’s master had been a Heaven-rank poison doctor, it was no surprise that her master achieved the Heaven rank at such a young age.

Suddenly, Sha Rulang’s startled voice came from outside. Liu Fenyun closed the archive and went out.

Thanks to Yu Qingyue suppressing the vicious formation, all the men trapped in the hunting grounds were soon brought down the mountain. Naturally, the Tenth Prince Sha Rulang’s guardian returned immediately and came straight to Morning Star Hall to fetch his sister.

Sha Yunhuan had no idea she was raising a demon. Hearing that an ancient killing formation had been set by a savage demon, he nearly sprouted wings in his panic to get down the mountain. Seeing her safe, he finally relaxed, holding her hand and fussing over her. Before leaving, he added,
“Your brother hunted a rabbit. Tonight I’ll have Baishan Hall make soup for you, to calm your nerves!”

And just like that, Sha Rulang was led away. Before she went, she stared at Liu Fenyun and silently mouthed: Qiran.

Liu Fenyun understood she was worried about Qiran’s safety. Liu Fenyun planned to see her master and the High Priest for Qiran’s sake as well.

The kingdom’s official story now was that the feather demon Qi Qing and the leopard demon Qi Ran had volunteered to serve as the nation’s guardian spirit beasts for three years. But Qiran’s name was well-known among the royal family and officials who were close to the Fourth Princess, and the news caused an uproar.

Meanwhile, the Fourth Princess’s crimes poisoning the High Priest and colluding with the enemy state Gehua soon reached the Emperor’s ears, each accusation supported by solid evidence.

As for the entire truth behind these events, Liu Fenyun and Lianyi only understood it clearly after reaching Guizhi Hall and hearing Qiran’s account.

The story went back to seven years ago.

Back then, Qiran had been deceived by Gehua’s beast tamers and forced to ingest a blood-pact parasite. She was then secretly offered to the Fourth Princess as a prized “exotic treasure.”

The Fourth Princess had a strong fascination with demons and gladly accepted the gift. Because Qiran was a black panther, the princess called her “Black Slave,” locked her in a lightless underground chamber, and played with her whenever she remembered.

The blood pact parasite’s effects were extremely strong. With no access to medicine, Qiran had no way to dispel it until one day a beast tamer forgot to properly lock the door, allowing her to slip out in search of antidotes.

Upon returning with the medicine, she became entranced by the sound of a zither coming from the Fifteenth Princess’s residence.

“The melody was beautiful. Second Senior Sister used to play it too,” Qiran explained, head bowed. “I missed home terribly back then. Hearing a song from my homeland, I wanted to get closer but I ended up falling off the wall into the courtyard…”

Luo Tingxian had been playing the zither to coax her daughter Rulang to sleep. Qiran’s fall had frightened the little princess badly. Just as she was about to cry, Qiran quickly covered her mouth and used a very gentle demon spell to lull her to sleep.

“I didn’t dare go back. Tingxian saw I was in tattered clothes and simply assumed I was a beggar who’d stolen some magic, so she let me stay.” Qiran continued, “I used that chance to obtain medicine and barely kept the parasite suppressed. According to the Luo family’s traditions, the Fifteenth Princess’s residence was in the outer city until age ten remote and hard to find. By the time the Fourth Princess’s people and the demon hunters located me, half a year had passed.”

The demon hunters’ purification formation activated the parasite, and Qiran lost control, going berserk. Even then she still tried to protect the Fifteenth Princess and her mother, attacking only the demon hunters. When Gehua’s beast tamer arrived with the antidote, all he found was blood everywhere no bodies.

Qiran had resolved to leave no witnesses. She had devoured the demon hunters who had come.

A demon slaughtering over a dozen demon hunters shocked the entire country. Three days later, rumors spread that the Fourth Princess had been raising a demon and colluding with foreign powers.

Terrified, the Fourth Princess tried to silence everyone but no sooner had one rumor been suppressed than another sprang up. With palace factions vying for power, she immediately suspected Luo Tingxian, who was in conflict with her and whose estate Qiran had stayed in.

Since Qiran had indeed been found in Luo Tingxian’s residence, the blame fell squarely on her.

The Fourth Princess’s mother, from a powerful military clan, devised a cruel plan. She had Luo Tingxian captured and taken to the Ministry of Justice, intending to torture her into confessing that she had raised a demon and colluded with foreign powers.

But Luo Tingxian refused to yield, even under brutal torture.

As the situation worsened, the mother-daughter pair enacted their vile scheme they had the beast tamer use the parasite to control Qiran and disguise her as the Fifteenth Princess, using her to blackmail Luo Tingxian.

Luo Tingxian had given Qiran a home and helped her find medicine she was half a savior to Qiran. Qiran refused even if it meant death. She was tortured to the brink of collapse, then force fed a mind numbing drug.

She remembered nothing from that period. When she finally regained her senses, she learned only that Luo Tingxian had confessed and died in prison.

“If it were only me who dragged Tingxian down, I would accept it.” Qiran looked toward Luo Binglun, crimson eyes flashing coldly. “But if the High Priest hadn’t refused to pursue the case and insisted on minimizing the matter to avoid implicating the Luo clan, Tingxian wouldn’t have died unjustly.”

Luo Binglun remained silent. The dead could not return, and the matter was six years past. She had nothing to say only deep regret.

Liu Fenyun felt a heaviness in her chest. She couldn’t help but ask Qiran,
“Then how did you gain the Fourth Princess’s trust and remain by her side as a shadow guard?”

“The blood pact parasite,” Qiran replied calmly. “When Tingxian’s case ended, they believed I had been completely controlled. Since I had ‘rendered great service,’ the Fourth Princess kept me as her shadow guard. She stopped calling me ‘Black Slave’ and began using my real name.”

Thus she became an undercover agent both the Fourth Princess’s blade and the Fifteenth Princess’s shield.

“This is the seventh year since I consumed the parasite. I can almost break free of its control.” Qiran glanced at Liu Fenyun. “I’ve already asked the shaman-doctor to prepare the antidote. Once I take it, I’ll serve as a guardian spirit beast alongside Senior Sister Qing.”

Yu Qingyue nodded slightly.
“For the next three years, I will accompany you to atone. After the term ends, we will return to the demon realm, and let this matter rest.”

“Yes, High Priest.” Qiran smiled faintly, her gaze drifting to Luo Binglun, voice cool. “As you said, everything is already in the past.”

She withdrew her gaze, though a flash of murderous intent glimmered in her eyes.