Marry First, Love Later With The White Cat Princess - Chapter 45

Because they still needed to root out the spies from the Gehua Kingdom, that year’s spring hunt was forced to end early. On the night everyone was escorted down the mountain, His Majesty immediately ordered everyone to pack up. They would return to the capital at the hour of Chen the next day.

“Judging from the situation with Gehua Kingdom, this won’t end peacefully.” Lianyi drank her floral tea, listening to the noises outside. “Treason is a grave crime. His Majesty won’t let the Fourth Princess go and he’ll certainly not let Gehua off either.”

“Are you saying there’ll be a war?” Liu Fenyun froze, holding her teacup.

“Of course. Otherwise His Majesty wouldn’t have agreed to let your master and Qi Ran stay behind.” Lianyi chuckled. “You came late, so you never saw how Zhuohuang used to treat the demon race back then.”

A flash of hatred crossed her eyes. She finished her sentence lightly, lowering her gaze to sip tea.

Seeing the subtle shift in her expression, Liu Fenyun fell silent.

Before coming to Zhuohuang, she already knew this country had suffered many attacks from demons and had extremely low tolerance for them. When their souls were linked, she also roughly learned what Lianyi had gone through in the past.

Lianyi drank another sip of tea and said lazily, “But His Majesty won’t execute the Fourth Princess so quickly. Qi Ran was offered as tribute seven years ago who knows if her family had other dealings with Gehua before that? Those old accounts have to be dug up one by one, and the crimes must be assigned slowly.”

Liu Fenyun thought for a moment. “Your Highness thinks Qi Ran will just let everything go?”

A few days ago, when they spoke openly at Guizhi Palace, Qi Ran had promised she would let go of the past and dutifully serve as the city’s guardian beast. But Liu Fenyun’s instincts told her Qi Ran would not forgive Luo Binglun so easily.

“Who knows.” Lianyi looked unconcerned. “She’s so formidable if she really wanted to do something, I couldn’t stop her anyway.”

At present, the only one who could restrain Qi Ran was likely Yu Qingyue.

On the day they returned to Zhuohuang, Liu Fenyun immediately began preparing the medicinal guide for dissolving Qi Ran’s blood contract gu.

The city now had two guardian beasts one placed in the Priest Hall, the other in the Saintess Hall. Liu Fenyun and Lianyi had no objections.

After returning, Qi Ran became noticeably quieter.

Lianyi guessed she hadn’t forgiven Luo Binglun and, seeing her so downcast, couldn’t bear it. She summoned Xian Lihua and the most outgoing fat orange cat, letting Qi Ran live with the two subordinates. On one hand, she hoped Qi Ran could gradually forget the past; on the other, she wanted to keep an eye on her.

At first Xian Lihua and the others were scared of the great demon. But after discovering Qi Ran liked to transform into a black panther and let them lie on her back spoiling them like cubs their fear gradually melted away, and soon they warmed up to her completely.

Before long, the news of the Fourth Princess Sha Xiaoman’s treason spread through the entire capital.

Her case had blown up once years ago, but with Luo Tingxian taking the blame back then and no solid evidence, many people believed her and even gathered outside the Fifteenth Princess’ manor to hurl the nastiest insults at Luo Tingxian.

This time His Majesty himself declared her guilty. Instantly, public opinion turned against her. Those who sympathized with her before now saw her true face and wished they could stomp her into the ground.

“I said long ago she was no good! She did something wicked, yet strutted around so arrogantly! Shameless!”

“What happened back then?”

“Buddy, you really don’t know. After the Qin Consort confessed her crime, that princess even spread words saying… ‘Some people who want to step on others to rise should know heaven is watching.’ Her face ugh, unbearably smug!”

“Well heaven sure is watching! Isn’t heaven coming to collect her now!”

“A princess committing treason may she be thrown into the deepest hell by the Fire God after she dies!”

“……”

Before returning to the capital, officials and royal family members already knew about her case. Many cut ties with the Fourth Princess’ manor. This time there was no scapegoat left for her. She had dug her own grave.

Sha Xiaoman and her mother’s clan didn’t escape either. All were thrown into prison. Those who should be executed were executed. Those who should be exiled were exiled. Those awaiting punishment squatted in lightless death cells with the word “criminal” branded on their faces crying to heaven and earth in vain.

Naturally, the city’s scolding reached the Saintess Hall. Lianyi even summoned Qi Ran, asking if she wanted to visit her “former master” in prison.

Qi Ran expressionlessly shook her head, her gaze treating that person like a corpse.

Three days later, the Priest Hall held the funeral for Heavenly Rank Physician Yu Qingyue.

When Liu Fenyun heard the news, she nearly spat out her tea.

She thought Yu Qingyue was only joking but she actually held her own funeral? That was far too ominous!

Because Yu Qingyue “died inside a demon’s belly” and “left no body behind,” the Priest Hall burned one of her signature moon white robes as her “remains.” Luo Binglun personally carried it and dropped it into the fire, tear streaked and heartbroken.

Yu Qingyue, in her demon form, stood among the mourners, cold faced as she watched the High Priestess truly sobbing crying until she lost her voice and fainted. So unlike her usual composure.

Yu Qingyue recalled that night on the mountain when Luo Binglun found her den alone, and she teased her with the lie “I ate Yu Qingyue.” Luo Binglun’s shock and despair had been painfully real not a trace of it acted.

If she weren’t a demon… if she were truly human… if she had really been killed by a demon…
Would Luo Binglun have thrown away her life to follow her?

The thought surfaced inexplicably.

Meanwhile Luo Binglun’s attendants rushed up shouting, shaking her, trying to wake her.

Their loud panic made Yu Qingyue frown. She flashed over, picked Luo Binglun up, and said coldly, “The ritual is over. I will take her back.”

Ignoring the strange looks around them, she carried the unconscious priestess to Kuìtian Residence. After sealing the room with a barrier, her cold façade dissolved. She embraced Luo Binglun, checked her pulse, then pinched her cheeks to open her mouth.

How could this woman faint for real just from acting?

Yu Qingyue exhaled gently into her mouth and lungs. After a moment, Luo Binglun suddenly coughed awake.

“Cough cough… why are you alone? Where’s Luo San and the others?” Her voice was hoarse from crying; her eyes swollen.

“They’re still handling my ‘funeral.’” Yu Qingyue lifted her chin. “I’m not dead. Crying like that will make people think you intend to join me in death.”

The phrase “join me in death” pierced Luo Binglun like a blade. She instinctively tried to lower her head, but the hand under her chin pressed firmly to stop her.

She could only avert her eyes, avoiding Yu Qingyue’s intense gaze.

She wanted to tell this feathered demon:
If you really died, I would follow you.

But such words remained trapped in her heart. She wasn’t ready to say them not yet.

“One must act convincingly.” After adjusting her breath, Luo Binglun gave a soft laugh. “Good. Now everyone believes the High Priestess was carried home by the feather demon who devoured the Heavenly-Rank Physician.”

“Is that a problem?” Yu Qingyue asked.

“Some who want to impeach me may use this as ‘evidence’ that I consort with demons.”

“Is consorting with demons a grave crime?” Yu Qingyue asked. “More serious than loving someone of the same sex?”

Luo Binglun froze and laughed quietly. “Consorting with demons invites criticism. Loving the same sex is punishable by death.”

Yu Qingyue was “dead.” Only Qi Qing the feather demon remained by Luo Binglun’s side.

Ah Qing would never return to Liuzhi Kingdom. They could at least live together for three years.

To Luo Binglun, that was fortune.

Wings rustled beside her. Thinking Yu Qingyue was leaving, she opened her eyes only for an expressionless face to fill her vision, rapidly drawing closer.

Yu Qingyue wrapped her in her wings. Her lips touched the corner of her eyes, then her cheeks, sliding lower.

Luo Binglun stiffened. “Don’t…” She barely got the sound out before a soft warmth sealed her lips.

Now that she no longer hid her demon identity, Yu Qingyue was bolder than before. With the barrier and her wings around them, nobody could see what they were doing.

Yu Qingyue believed her judgment was right. Luo Binglun did not resist her affection at all. Her feelings had always been the same; they were only buried by the wound Yu Qingyue herself had inflicted years ago.

If so, Yu Qingyue would show everything she had breaking the ice between them.

After tasting her fill, she guided Luo Binglun to respond. But suddenly Luo Binglun grabbed her shoulders, biting down hard. Blood spread instantly.

Yu Qingyue wasn’t angry she even smiled.

If this woman truly felt nothing, that would trouble her.

Blood dripped along her lips and down her neck.

Luo Binglun was truly ruthless, yet the more ruthless she was, the more satisfied Yu Qingyue felt. She even guided Luo Binglun’s hand along her body; soon her pale lilac robes were torn open, stained with red.

Not like a human like a demon starved for ten days.

They struggled from the desk to the bed. When everything finally quieted, Yu Qingyue whispered, “Since the High Priestess knows what a capital offense is next time you wish to do this, don’t let anyone find out.”

Luo Binglun touched her soft feathers with blood-tinged fingertips. The downy fluff soothed her emotions; after a while, the fierce glint in her eyes faded.

“I know my limits. You don’t need to worry.”

Time flew. By late spring, as Lianyi predicted, His Majesty truly declared war on Gehua. The kingdom’s mightiest generals led troops toward Gehua, and because the battlefield was near miasma ridden marshlands, many physicians were drafted into the army.

Liu Fenyun, having already become a Witch Doctor and required to treat citizens in the outer city, escaped being sent to war.

One morning she rose early to feed the cats. Near Qi Ran’s residence at Zuisheng Pavilion, she overheard the cats discussing the upcoming Summer Moon Festival.

Ruanju the fat orange cat asked, “Will there be a festival this year?”

“Of course!” Xian Lihua replied. “It’s Zhuohuang’s biggest celebration of the year like the New Year for the Hua people!”

Ruanju asked again, “Will the Witch Doctor dance the ritual dance too?”

“I’d gamble in the Fire God’s name absolutely.” Xian Lihua smiled. “A few days ago, Lady Lianyi was already preparing a private dance room. She’ll definitely teach Master Liu personally.”

“So does the Witch Doctor know how to dance?” Qi Ran asked curiously.

“Nope.” Ruanju sighed. “He knows martial arts but not dance. Hua men don’t learn dancing…”

Qi Ran laughed. “I knew it! In the Hua lands only women learn dance. Even though the Witch Doctor looks gentle and pretty, he wouldn’t dress as a woman to learn.”

Ruanju corrected firmly, “Master Liu is a man!”

Liu Fenyun: “??”

How did this suddenly become about her gender?

Then she remembered she had promised the cats earlier that she would learn the ritual dance with them before the Summer Moon Festival.

Though she knew it was part of the Witch Doctor’s advancement tests, she absolutely had not prepared herself for learning dance yet.

She hurried into Zuisheng Pavilion with the snack box. “Guess what treat I brought today?”

“Dried fish!” Ruanju shouted immediately, turning into a chubby orange cat and circling her legs.

But wary of Lianyi’s jealousy, Ruanju didn’t dare cling too much. She grabbed a piece and ran.

Xian Lihua went to brew tea, Qi Ran led Liu Fenyun to sit.

After asking about the dissolution progress of the blood contract gu, Liu Fenyun casually asked, “Are you settling in well?”

Qi Ran smiled. “Thanks to you and Lady Saintess, the humans here treat me very well.”

She glanced toward the tea room, then suddenly straightened, lowering her voice. “My lady, have you noticed something?”

“What is it?”

“The medicinal guide you made. I drank your blood in it. Your blood is strange.” Qi Ran stared at her. “I’m a demon; I’ve tasted plenty of human blood. Even when mixed with strong medicine, the spiritual energy in yours doesn’t fade at all.”

Liu Fenyun blinked. “I’m not knowledgeable about blood. What does that imply?”

Qi Ran thought. “It means you’re very likely not a normal human.”

Liu Fenyun: “…I know I’m not normal. I’m a half-demon with a formed core.”

That was obvious.

“No…. half-demons don’t have blood like that either.” Qi Ran peeked outside again, saw Xian Lihua coming with tea, and quickly whispered, “Only my master has that kind of blood and my master isn’t from the human world. She’s from up there.”

She pointed toward the sky.

Liu Fenyun froze. Before she could ask more, Xian Lihua entered with tea.

They changed the topic.

But Liu Fenyun couldn’t forget the conversation.

After feeding the cats, she returned to her bedchamber. Finding Lianyi not yet back, she locked the door and entered the medicine garden.

Wearing her lab coat, she drew her own blood and put it into the analysis machine.

While waiting, she tended to the spirit fields. When she passed the pond of the Blue Ghost Lotus, she inhaled its fragrant scent with deliberate intention.

A vague image appeared in her mind.

A woman wearing dark green robes, face blurry, small porcelain bottles with lotus patterns hanging at her waist held out her hand to her.

Liu Fenyun didn’t move. The woman opened her arms gently and smiled, “Yiyi, come here.”

The voice made Liu Fenyun’s skin prickle not because it was seductive or unpleasant, but because…

It sounded exactly like her own voice.

Spoiling and tender like speaking to a child she had raised.

After thinking hard, Liu Fenyun gritted her teeth and leapt forward.

The woman’s face grew clear. It looked like her but also not.

And when Liu Fenyun fell into her arms, she stared in shock her limbs had turned into white cat paws, just like Lianyi’s.

“Who are you?!” she shouted but it came out as a soft “meow.”

She didn’t remember how she left the illusion only that she felt like she had dreamt of becoming Lianyi.

Lianyi’s earlier words were not nonsense she had seen “herself” in the illusion.

But why did that woman… why did Lianyi call her “Divine One”?

Confused, she returned to check her lab report.

Every single value read: ???

Liu Fenyun felt she had three question marks floating above her own head.

The system spoke: “Host, your examination results are temporarily inaccessible.”

“Reason?” she asked. “So if I get sick one day, I’m supposed to just accept my fate?”

“I cannot tell you.”

“…Fine. Then tell me what exactly am I? Am I even human?”

“You are a half-demon, Host,” the system answered seriously.

“So until I reach 100 affection points, I’m not allowed to know my own body’s condition?”

“You may think of it that way,” the system said calmly.

She thought deeply, then removed her coat and returned to the bedchamber.

She finally understood Qi Ran’s meaning.

She wasn’t a normal person. She was likely some being from a higher plane and extremely close to Lianyi. Before forming the bond, all her memories and abilities were sealed. Only by raising Lianyi’s affection could she unlock them.

No wonder she had been bound to this strange system.

Without Qi Ran, she wouldn’t have noticed anything amiss.

Ridiculous as the idea sounded she had already died and transmigrated. Nothing felt too absurd now.

If she wanted her memories back, she needed to raise Lianyi’s affection.

Just then, Lianyi walked in.

“Can’t you come home earlier today?” Lianyi hugged her immediately.

Thinking of what she overheard, Liu Fenyun smiled. “Does Your Highness want to do something with me?”

“Yes.” Lianyi’s eyes curved. “But I want to keep it a secret first. Will Ayun agree?”

Learning dance was inevitable anyway. Liu Fenyun agreed and even pulled Lianyi into the curtained space.

Lianyi didn’t know what she intended, watching curiously until Liu Fenyun held her close. Warmth touched her forehead, then her lips gently asking entry.

Clumsy yet delicate a kiss with a faint scent of tea.

Liu Fenyun was never the proactive type. Her initiative now made Lianyi exceptionally happy. After the kiss, she hugged Liu Fenyun’s arm. “Can we do this every morning?”

“Okay.” Liu Fenyun smiled warmly the same gentle smile she saw in the illusion. “Yiyi must also wait for me obediently.”

She wanted to test Lianyi’s reaction.

Lianyi froze briefly, a strange sense of familiarity rising but happiness quickly drowned it. She pounced into Liu Fenyun’s arms, rubbing against her.

“Yiyi sounds much nicer than ‘Your Highness’! Don’t call me that anymore. I don’t like it. We’re already like ‘spouses’ anyway you can call me anything.”

Liu Fenyun nodded, rubbing her cat ears. “Then I’m leaving now?”

Only then did Lianyi contentedly let her go.

After Liu Fenyun left, Lianyi sniffed her clothes. The scent of Blue Ghost Lotus lingered only on the spots where Liu Fenyun had touched.

But she knew Liu Fenyun often tended the medicine garden in the morning and added water to the lotus pond, so she didn’t think twice.

Lying back on the bed, rolling around with her pillow and not caring if she squashed her ears or tail, Lianyi was overflowing with joy.

A proactive Ayun was simply too irresistible!