She Said That Kisses and Hugs Are Needed for Redemption [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 15

Xia Xin had a demon core within her, which meant she was undoubtedly being manipulated by a demonic entity. Even if they wanted to investigate any sinister schemes between her and the demon, it should have been done discreetly. But Zhiwu, that reckless troublemaker, had outright brought her over in broad daylight.

“Don’t worry,” Zhiwu said with a grin, stepping closer to Lu Xi despite her darkened expression. Lowering her voice, she added, “Once she’s in my hands, I’ll make sure she spills something useful.”

Lu Xi frowned, staring at her intently. After taking a deep breath, she briefly explained the situation with the demon core.

“You’re saying a demon core was planted inside her?!” Realizing she had unwittingly made things worse, Zhiwu rubbed her hands nervously, avoiding Lu Xi’s gaze. “Then, what do we do now?”

Fortunately, she only hesitated for a moment before quickly processing Lu Xi’s words. Soon, she came up with several ways to handle the situation after their premature exposure.

“Since we don’t know the identity of the demon behind Xia Xin, why not use her to lure it out?”

When she had captured Xia Xin, she had only accused her of hiding reports about demonic disturbances to claim credit. If the mastermind feared Xia Xin might reveal something and panicked, wouldn’t that be even better?

“Even if the one behind this has nerves of steel, if we spread word that Xia Xin couldn’t endure the torture and confessed to colluding with the demons once the news gets out, they’ll surely lose their composure.”

Lu Xi shot her a sidelong glance.

The plan sounded ideal, but reality was far harsher.

If only it were that simple. The demon core inside Xia Xin wasn’t an ordinary seed. If the mastermind sensed Xia Xin was about to reveal something, they could instantly kill her through the core. As long as the core remained undisturbed, they would know Xia Xin hadn’t betrayed them. So even if such rumors were spread, they wouldn’t believe it instead, they’d realize it was a trap to draw them out.

“Leave this matter to me. You don’t need to intervene anymore,” Lu Xi said, deciding not to rely on Zhiwu’s straightforward approach for such delicate work. She assigned her another task instead. “Go to the mortal realm and destroy the demonic arrays.”

The array she and Fu Lancen had destroyed earlier wasn’t the only one many more were scattered across the Northern Wastes. Those deranged demons were determined to break the Demon Lord’s seal, using the mortals of the Northern Wastes as sacrificial offerings.

Now that they knew the nature of the arrays and how to dismantle them, there was no need for Lu Xi to remain in the Northern Wastes. She only needed to pass the method to Zhiwu.

Raising a hand, she pressed a fingertip to Zhiwu’s forehead. A flash of silver light passed between them before Lu Xi withdrew. “This contains the method to dismantle the arrays and their locations. Make sure to destroy them all within six months.”

Patting Zhiwu’s shoulder, she forced a smile. “You’ll have to work hard from now on. Also, before you descend, come up with a legitimate reason for me and Lancen to stay in the Heavenly Realm.”

Zhiwu coughed lightly, signaling her understanding.

While the denizens of the Heavenly Realm were busy gossiping, Zhiwu, who was at the center of the scandal didn’t even announce how Xia Xin would be dealt with before plunging headfirst into the mortal realm.

All she left behind were a few guards from the Boyun Palace to clear the names of the two women who had been wrongly accused days earlier. To compensate for their unjust punishment, the palace took them in as maidservants.

Upon hearing this news, many couldn’t help but marvel at the good fortune of those two women. So, what if they had nearly been executed by the White Orchid Palace? Now they had managed to hitch a ride with the Cloud-Parting Palace! The guards and maids of the Cloud-Parting Palace were far more sought after than those of any other celestial palace in the Heavenly Realm.

The crowd buzzed with gossip, eagerly feasting on the drama. However, it seemed many had forgotten about Xia Xin, who was still imprisoned in the Cloud-Parting Palace. It wasn’t until the steward of the Cloud-Parting Palace delivered a handwritten letter from Lord Zhiwu to the Aowu Palace, addressed to Divine Lord Qiran, that news about Xia Xin gradually began to spread.

As it turned out, Xia Xin had schemed to secretly eliminate those two female cultivators in order to claim credit for reporting the demonic disturbances. Fortunately, Lord Zhiwu happened to pass by and rescued the two women.

For a time, the people of the Heavenly Realm were at a loss for words. They could only silently criticize Xia Xin in private for her foolishness resorting to such underhanded tactics for a mere scrap of merit was utterly disgraceful to their celestial realm.

Some even went so far as to drag Bai Youran into their complaints, blaming the Qingqiu clan for failing to discipline their own and bringing shame upon the entire Heavenly Realm with their disgraceful actions.

Yet, out of respect for Bai Youran’s status as the Divine Consort, none dared to voice their grievances openly. They merely cast sidelong glances when passing by the White Orchid Palace.

Thus, in recent days, the gates of the White Orchid Palace remained tightly shut, with no one daring to step outside and risk misfortune.

Mist swirled, and immortal energy lingered.

Beside the square immortal pool stood an exquisitely carved white jade table, its smooth surface adorned with plates of fresh celestial fruits. Several attendants some kneeling, some standing waited upon the radiant woman reclining in a rocking chair.

“The people from the Cloud-Parting Palace only said that since Lord Zhiwu has not given any orders, they cannot release Sister Xia Xin yet.” The round-faced maid, hunched over, hesitated for a long moment before softly relaying the news she had gathered that morning to the woman who was feigning sleep with half-lidded eyes.

“And those two women have also been kept by the Cloud-Parting Palace. They said that since they’ve ascended to the Ninth Heaven, it must be fate, so they’ve been taken in as cleaning maids.”

Silence followed her words.

Plop! The maid feeding the woman trembled, and a piece of cut celestial fruit fell to the ground.

Terrified, she immediately dropped to her knees on the cold stone floor, kowtowing desperately, her voice trembling and hoarse: “My Lady, this servant didn’t mean to! Please spare me this once! My Lady, have mercy on this servant!”

Bai Youran slowly opened her eyes, glancing down at the faint stain of fruit juice on her delicate collar before casting a sidelong look at the maid, whose forehead was now bleeding from her frantic kowtowing. With a wave of her hand, she uttered indifferently, “Drag her away.”

Hearing this, the maid froze, realizing she was about to face the fate of soul annihilation. Trembling, she continued to kowtow and beg for mercy: “My Lady, this servant knows her mistake! Please, in your magnanimity, spare me! Spare me.”

But her pleas were in vain. The guards beside her swiftly dragged her away, and the bloodstained floor was promptly cleaned.

As the hoarse cries faded, the remaining attendants exchanged furtive glances, suppressing their fear as they attended to the brooding Divine Consort with even greater care.

“Since Lord Zhiwu has not spoken, let Xiaxin stay at the Cloud-Parting Palace for now.” Bai Youran seemed to have never taken these matters to heart, merely giving a few simple admonitions to those around her before never inquiring about Xiaxin again.

The pond water rippled momentarily, sending layers of gentle waves through the thick white mist.

A plain-colored butterfly dipped into the water, lingered by the pond’s edge for a while, then fluttered its wings and leisurely drifted away from the White Orchid Hall, unnoticed by those nearby.

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