Book 1 Chapter 7: The First Meeting of Jinghua and The Demon King


    The next morning, Jinghua woke up way earlier than usual. She''s the kind that would wakes up at the softest noise, which made her wakes up far too early for her liking a lot of times, especially now.


    In another word, Junghua isn''t in a very good mood because she didn''t get enough sleep.


    Which explains why the mood and aura surrounding Jinghua''s room make both Qingshan and Mi Ling shivering in coldness, not even knowing why.


    Jinghua didn''t participate in this world''s spiritual martial arts that let out spirit Qi but her internal martial arts is more than enough to cause the instinct of man to shivers in fear.


    Jinghua, in terms of strength and stamina, isn''t that strong compared to Mi Ling and Qingshan. However, comparing their control over their ''muscles'' to Jinghua''s control over her strengths , you can see that her control is far more proficiency and easier. In fact, her control of her internal arts allows her to control her muscle to a degree that will make the modern 25th century Chinese Martial Arts and gymnast professional jaw drops in admiration. Not to mention the people in this world. Their jaws would drop if they know.


    In her time, the so-called Olympic record was so far behind on her targets that she didn''t bother paying attention to it. This, we are talking about the World Olympic, was far too farsighted of Jinghua. Her sights are set up very high.


    However, here, she is so weak that she didn''t even know how to cultivate in Spiritual Martia Arts. Well, dude, since she doesn''t even know what Spiritual Qi is formed from! She tried it by copying Mi Ling''s training method that he taught their siblings but it wasn''t working. She knew it instinctually the first time that she tried. So she didn''t do it again in fear of contraindicating her body and self.


    What Jinghua didn''t know is that it wasn''t that she can''t participate in Spiritual Martial Arts. It was that something else is preventing her body from gaining the spirits in the air from entering her body. Right, it was the Pearl inside her that is preventing her from gaining Spirits Qi!


    However, Jinghua doesn''t care even if she knew.


    Why? Jinghua doesn''t plan on involving with this world''s politic community. By that, she means that she doesn''t care about political powers. Jinghua doesn''t plan on involving people who are involved with politic powerful people. It is a pain in the ass trying to hide your identity afterward so Jinghua just decided to not involved in them. She''s fine not being rich in this world.


    She had enough experiences of what being riches did to her in her old life to last her another thousand years... if she lived that long in the first place.


    Well, whatever. For now, Jinghua doesn''t care much about anything else asides from the fact that her mood is getting very cloudy from the noises outside her room. Her oversensitive ears don''t help her much right now either.


    Jinghua doesn''t know what is going on in this Inn but the noise is going to make her flips the table out of her room.


    Her mood darkens as the noise got even louder. She really doesn''t want to flip but if this continue, Jinghua doesn''t know how long she can hold out for.


    Good thing that someone distracted her from destroying her room. A knock sounded through her room.


    Knock Knock Knock


    "Hua''er?" Qingshan''s voice called, a little nervous.


    "Yes, Big brother?" Jinghua answered, curious as to why her brother is calling her and what is with his nervousness?.


    "Can I come in?" He asked, with a somewhat weary voice.


    Jinghua blinks in confusion as she opened the door. In front of the door is Mi Ling and Qingshan, looking exhausted but with a somewhat wane look. Did something happen?


    "Hua''er, how''s your sleep?" Mi Ling, who noticed the somewhat dark mood around Jinghua asked, with a somewhat worried tone on his cold face.


    "... Not very good." She answered honestly. Her mood isn''t getting any better as her sensitive ears were meet with a countless amount of noises from the dining room, which is a floor directly below theirs. Why didn''t they get the room on the Third Floor?!


    The looks in the two brothers'' eyes were of curiosity. They wonder what caused their younger sister''s mood to be that bad. After all, they didn''t know that Jinghua''s ears are far more sensitive since she trained them over the last couple of months that she been in this world.


    "Ah, right. Please, come in, big brothers," Jinghua opened the door for the two brothers and invited them in.


    Both brothers sit in the guest chairs in the room that was all the way to the wall.


    They both signs out loud with a somewhat tired face.


    It seems like they didn''t get much sleep last night either.


    "Big brothers?" Jinghua asked, somewhat curious to their visit.


    "Hua''er, there''s a big shot that wanted to buy all the snow ferret that we gathered from the kills two nights ago," Mi Ling said as his usually cold face turned solemn with a somewhat tired look in his eyes. After that night, Qingshan and Mi Ling had given the corpses of the ferrets to Jinghua since she did killed the most of them. Besides, the coats of the ferrets wasn''t even damage due to her so they didn''t hesitate to gave it to her.


    "..." She looks at her brother. What?


    "Sorry, Hua''er... I know that you wanted to save the furs of the snow ferret to make a set of clothing for yourself... but... this big shot is too powerful for normal people like us to rejects." Mi Ling looks very guilty as he closed his eyes.


    "... huh..." Jinghua didn''t care that someone wanted to buy the furs from her but what she doesn''t understand is how did that big shot knew that she have the furs in the first place? True, she had skinned all the snow ferret off their fur, separating the meats and everything else from the furs the very next day from that night. However, how did that big shot knew that she have it?


    "Big brother, how did that person knew that I have the furs?" Jinghua asked with a tilt of her head, in a somewhat cute way that makes both Mi Ling and Qingshan''s brotherly protective instinct shouted out "Very adorable, Hua''er~!". For some reason, both Mi Ling and Qingshan found that ever since a couple of months ago, they been finding Jinghua to be very adorable.


    Both brothers don''t know what to make of this. They didn''t interact with this sister of theirs before so was Jinghua always been like this? Both brothers can''t comprehend why Jinghua is so... cute as of late. Is this why Tang Beifeng was so crazy about their sister ever since she was little? Because Tang Beifeng knew that Jinghua was always very cute and adorable?


    Both brothers started to feel hatred toward Tang Beifeng. To think that in a couple of years, when she reaches 15-16 years old, she would be married to the Tang family. Both brothers don''t know why but they don''t like that.


    Mi Ling snaps out of his thinking at Jinghua''s question.


    "Ah, the snow ferret Xue Qi told him," Mi Ling answered with a sweat drop on his cold face.


    "What happen to Xue Qi?" She noticed that the snow ferret''s presence isn''t with her brother.


    "The government is looking after him now since he is a living witness to the... Abyss beast. They need him to guides the immortal that will be coming today toward the location where those Abyss Beasts are. After that, I think that Xue Qi will have to go with the immortal to their sect." Mi Ling answered, not caring at all whatsoever about the snow ferret.


    "... so the big shot wanted to buy the furs..." Jinghua concluded after a couple seconds of silence in the room.


    "Yes. They will come to this Inn today. In fact, in a couple of hours. Which is why all the workers in the Inn are running all over the place trying to clean everything as clean as possible." Mi Ling answer anxiously.


    "Hmm. Then, big brother Mi Ling, you can trade it with them. I don''t want to be anywhere near those big shot." Jinghua said as her voice turned timid... of course, this is an act.


    Both Qingshan and Mi Ling knew that Jinghua is very introverted so they didn''t want to make her show herself but this time, they don''t have a choice.


    "Sorry, Hua''er... Xue Qi told them that the one that killed all the ferret wasn''t me nor Qingshan but it was you so... he is very interesting in meeting you." Mi Ling closed his eyes as he internally signs out loud. When he got back from the governments officials, he talks to Qingshan about it already. So, Qingshan knew of his dilemma too.


    "Huh?" Jinghua stupidly gawked at her brother, before assuming her so called timid personality of what is to expect from an introvert.


    She hyperventilation from the nervous breakdown. Her acting was so real that it sends her brothers into panics.


    "Hua''er?!" Both Mi Ling and Qingshan''s expression turn pale as they heard the hyperventilating from their younger sister.


    Qingshan, the ever doting brother, was more than afraid that his sister might faints. He didn''t know why Jinghua had always hidden her faces away from them but he did know that aside from Tang Beifeng, no one else has ever seen their sister full expression. They didn''t even know how their sister''s personality got to be like this in the first place.


    Back when she was still only four years old, Qingshan swear that Jinghua wasn''t this timid. Truth, Jinghua had always been shy of strangers but she wasn''t this timid. Qingshan wondered what caused her personality to turned this way. Was it because of Tang Beifeng? If so, Qingshan was so going to kill that man, regardless of his status as her fiancé.


    Truth, Jinghua and Qingshan''s personality are pretty alike but unlike Jinghua who don''t even like to meet her own family, Qingshan is quiet but he''s a doting brother. He spoils on all his younger sisters so much that he got the nickname "Dotest Brother" in their hometown.


    Jinghua takes a deep breath to calm herself. Since she''s already sitting down, she didn''t need to act like she''s going to faint to scared her brother.


    The room was so quiet that Jinghua can hear the heartbeats of her brothers. Jinghua didn''t say anything as she chews her lips in worries and clenches her fist in nervously. Both brothers look at each other in worried.


    "Ahh..." Jinghua sighs out loud, making both her brothers look at her with worries in their eyes.


    "Damn it," Jinghua cussed, surprising her brothers since she had never cussed before.


    Both Qingshan and Mi Ling exchanges look with sweats on their forehead.


    "Hua''er?" Qingshan is getting worries that his sister''s going to go crazy from fear of interacting with strangers.


    "Fine... I will... come with you both. But, I won''t talk to them so you both will have to talk with them instead," Jinghua said with a somewhat of a pout in her voice, making both brothers sign out loud in relief.


    They nodded. That''s fine. They could do the talking.


    A couple of hours later, right after Jinghua passed out the boys their breakfast since they refuses to eat the breakfast that the Inn prepared, Jinghua and Mi Ling was sitting on a table, waiting for the so called big shot to show up. Qingshan also wanted to wait with them but Mi Ling ordered him to take the kids to the outer city to trains. So, Qingshan left hesitatingly. Leaving Jinghua and Mi Ling to meet with the big shot.


    The workers had brought them their wines and a plate of snacks to go along with the wine but Jinghua didn''t even touch the wine since she didn''t like it. The taste wasn''t refined and it had a very roughed taste to it. She remembers clearly.


    Mi Ling, however, like it very much. The first jar was free so he didn''t let this chance go, after all, Mi Ling is one of the biggest drinkers in their family. However, since they''re just a commoner that are a bit better off than everyone else, Mi Ling was sensitive enough to know that he can''t waste their hard earned money just because he likes to drink.


    Which is why he''s pretty damn happy that he got a free wine. Mi Ling slowly savors the wine with a somewhat a happy face. Jinghua didn''t know whether she should sigh out loud or should she laugh at him. The wine doesn''t even taste that good. The refined taste like raw egg mixed with beer and sugar cane but with a bitter taste.


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    It tastes disguisting. Very Disgusting, indeed. Jinghua passed her jar to Mi Ling.


    Which is why Jinghua''s fermenting her own rice wine at home right now at home. Because she wants to drinks too.


    A commotion from the door draws both Jinghua and Mi Ling''s attention.


    The manager of the Inn was being very respectful toward someone that is coming inside.


    "Your Highness, this way please," An old man said with a small smile and slowly walked in a very respectfully way as he guides the guest toward the second floor''s dining table, where most of the rich people are. Jinghua didn''t even bother looking at them as she continues to slowly savor their snacks dish. The snack was a kind of nuts of some kind that tastes like walnut and peanut at the same time. A weird combination but a great one nevertheless.


    In another word, this snack, Jinghua had never seen it before. It looks like a premature strawberry but tastes like walnut and peanut. She''s very interesting in this world''s food.


    "Oh my, it was you," A somewhat familiar voices called from behind Jinghua since she was sitting facing away from the door.


    Jinghua turned to see an elderly man in a dark blue robe. Jinghua blinked.


    Why is this old man here? This old man was the one that gave Jinghua the three abnormal universe bags.


    Jinghua blinked with a tilted of her head. Totally staying silence.


    "Hua''er?" Mi Ling asked, somewhat surprise that Jinghua knew this Immortal, because, clearly, that robe is from the Largest Sect in Wuzhi, the Long Wu Sect. The only sect that has interaction with mortals daily since it belong to the loyal of this very nation.


    How did his little sister get to know someone from the Long Wu Sect?


    "Oh? So, your name is Hua," The old man grinned with a smile that is almost looked insane.


    "..." Jinghua looks at her brother with a look that said, why do you have to call my name?! Mi Ling''s cold face sweat drops as he blinked with a somewhat a guilty look in his eyes.


    "Hahahahaha!" The old man laughed out loud with a very happy face. Although, the happiness might be a bit screw and insane.


    "..." Jinghua ignored the old man. The last time she went against her instinct of living the old man alone, she had to cook for a total of 5 hours worth of food. Although, she totally use the Oldman as her first ''victim'' for her food recipes.


    What? Well... it was because Jinghua didn''t have anyone to test all the sauces that she made so the old man was her first victim. After all, she didn''t want to accidentally poison her own brothers.


    [A/N: ... Don''t blame me. This is her personality.]


    "Grandfather? What are you doing? Let''s go," A very low and deep voice asked. For some reason, this voice reminded Jinghua of that Korean singer from Immortal Song ... season 2? What was his name again? JK... JK... What was it again? JK Kim? That singer from the 21st century that has that deep voice of his.


    The one that sings that one song called Family Portrait, The one in that one group of a three singer that sings the song Sin and Punishment.... What was his name again? Jinghua tilted her head as her memories traveled backward toward all the songs that she had listened to.


    Ah, Kim Jo Ho. Right. His name was Kim Jo Ho. The only singers from the 21st century that Jinghua can remember that had this deep voice. At leadt, one that she remembers.


    The person''s voice reminds Jinghua of Kim Jo Ho... Only, Kim Jo Ho''s voice doesn''t have the menacing feeling in it. And besides, Kim Jo Ho was a singer while the voice behind Jinghua sounded like someone who is used to order people around.


    Speaking of Kim Jo Ho, Jinghua recalled that he was in a band called SG Wannabe, right? Their songs were so popular that it had been remastered and remade a lot of times. Even when the original was converted into a data desk and make a Music Discovery about it.


    Jinghua especially like Sin and Punishment, Lived, Timeless, and a lot other ones. What? Of course, Jinghua can speak Korean. She''s fluences in more than 10 languages so she has no trouble understanding Korean.


    This aura, Jinghua is very familiar with it since Shiny had used a lot. The voice of someone that have the power to command.


    Jinghua didn''t bother turning around but she can see the shock look in her brother''s eyes. What? Is the man that scary?


    Well, whatever. Jinghua isn''t interested in him so she didn''t bother turning to see who it was that is behind her.


    "Ah, Yang''er, This is the girl that I told you last week. Come here, she''s very interesting." The old man laughed as he grins in that near insane look of his. The interests in the old man''s eyes make Mi Ling frown as his eyes turned cold.


    "Grandpa, we don''t have time for that. We have an appointment already," The man called Yang''er sigh out loud. However, his eyes land on the sitting girl and raise his eyebrows. There was this distinct aura around the girl that perk his interest a bit.


    Maybe it was because of Jinghua indifference manner or maybe it was because of the aura that he feels from the girl. There was no spiritual qi from the girl at all but for some reason, there is a very sharp yet muted aura of coldness surrounding her that remind him of his teacher when he''s in a very bad mood.


    In a mood that will result in the other party''s dead by thousands of lives.


    This is the aura that Shangyang, as his outside name,had long ago learned to recognize.


    The aura of an ultimate killer. The aura of someone that had kills to the point where the rivers ran red and the mountains are made of bones. This is the aura of someone who had kills so much that their life is a part of it.


    Yet, there is no smell of blood on this girl at all. Huh?


    All people that had killed before will have a smell of human blood regardless of the time that had passed by. This girl''s aura was so distinct but there was no smell...


    Who is this girl?


    "Hey, Hua girl, this is my grandson. His very handsome right? Wanna be his wife?" The old man suddenly asked, causing both Mi Ling and Shangyang to nearly drop their mouth.


    "No," Jinghua answered clearly. Not too loud but not soft either.


    "Eh? You haven''t even take a look at him yet. Don''t be so fast to reject it," The old man looks like he was pouting. What the hell? How old are you old man?


    Shangyang narrowed his eyes at his grandfather. The chill of spirit qi that Changyang let out raise the goosebumps on Jinghua''s neck. She had a feeling that a gun was pointing at her back. However, Jinghua had lived for 20 years of her life living with death itself as an assassin. She long ago learns to accept the death that could come anytime for her so she isn''t afraid of dying.


    Jinghua froze for a split second as her body react to the chill but after that, she continues to play with the snack on her plate. However, she can''t say the same for Mi Ling.


    The fear and terror in Mi Ling''s eyes were as clear as day. Jinghua takes a look at him and nearly sigh out loud. Instead, Jinghua picks one nut of the snack and throw it to Mi Ling''s face, causing him to jerk back to awareness.


    Jinghua tilted her head to the side as she looks at her brother. Mi Ling was still very much shivering in fear but his awareness and the girl in front of him made him slowly come down.


    "Hua''er already engaged." Mi Ling answered as he clenches his fist.


    "Eh? Then cancel it," The old man wave as if it was something like a play needed to be terminated. A vein pop up in Mi Ling''s forehead as his eyes turned cold. He glared at the old man but didn''t have the strength to do anything else.


    "Old man," Jinghua narrowed her eyes as her body postural turned lethal in a way that makes Mi Ling''s eyes widen in fear. And this time, it wasn''t because of cold spiritual qi. It was because of the dark distinctive tone from his sister.


    "Even if your grandson is the King of God or the Son of God, I couldn''t care less. Now, what exactly do you want?" The coldness from Jinghua caused the old man''s pupil to dilated in astonishment. When his eyes meet with the coldness and the promise of something far more sinister than anything that he had ever seen before was reflected from her shielded eyes, the old man didn''t know how to respond to that.


    Behind Jinghua, the subject of Jinghua''s rejection eyes was clearly looking at Jinghua now with even more interest than before. There were surprises in his eyes as he looks at the girl who faces he hasn''t even seen.


    Okay, Shangyang really shouldn''t be feeling like this. This feeling isn''t a feeling that Shangyang should feel just from this one small meeting. The feeling that a black hole is opening somewhere in his heart and soul, is making Shangyang don''t know how to act.


    "Well?" The girl asked again, this time with annoying lacing her voice.


    "..." The old man looks at Jinghua and blinks in awkwardness. He doesn''t know how to answer that question himself. If he changes the subjects then it would mean that he loses to the girl''s willpower. However, if he keeps going then he will make Yang''er madder asides from being embarrassed and rejected.


    The old man look at Shangyang, only to see a strange expression on his face that made alert sounded in his mind.


    "Don''t you have an appointment to meet? Why are you still here?" Annoyance was lace into her voice, carrying the weight that is more than enough to snaps both the old man and Shangyang out of their awkwardness. Shangyang blinks as he remembers why he was here in the first place.


    Shangyang is here to catch some Snow Ferret for his brother''s 3rd wife, who is now pregnant and will soon give birth. The snow ferret''s fur was supposed to make the newborn''s cloth this year but there aren''t any extra material left in the palace.


    When he got to Snow Mountain, there was no sight of any snow ferret to be found. For a whole 4 days, he and his men search the top of the mountain to the bottom of the mountain for any sight of a snow ferret.


    There was none that can be found.


    Having no choice, he called his grandfather and have the old man searches with himself, after all, it is for his great-grandson after all. No matter how lazy and insane he is, the old man was the previous Emperor of this nation. So, he helped him search.


    When his grandfather got there, they searched and found traces of fighting between dozens of snow ferrets and traces of Abyss beast. Once they found the trace of the Abyss beast, Shangyang totally forgets about why he was looking for the snow ferret and concentrate on finding it, to kill it once found. It is his responsibility as one of the Princes toward this nation.


    However, all they found were dozens of mutating corpses of other animals and smaller beasts that didn''t make it through the mind manipulation from the Abyss Beast. There was no corpse of any Abyss Beasts of any kind to indicate that the beast was dead. Which can only mean that the Abyss beast is getting stronger and stronger as days gone by!


    As each day goes by, the beast will only get stronger while the spiritual beast in this region will only get weaker. This has caused both Shangyang and the old man to concentrates more and more efforts on finding it.


    Yet, the traces of the Abyss vanished into thin air when a couple of hours passed by after the found those corpses.


    Seeing no other opinion left, Shangyang decides to ask the government in this small town for more information concerning disappearing cases in this region of the mountain.


    However, fate must have been on their sides as they met face-to-face with one of the Elders of the Snow Ferret that just happen to know human languages and is cultivating in Immortal way alongside with a human who survived the calamity of being chased by an Abyss Beast. Or being chased by a bunch of manipulated beasts.


    Imagine his surprise when he learned that there was a mere human who not only survived the chase of the beast but also happens to saved the last survival of the Snow Queen Ferret''s bloodline. A mere human who wasn''t even a phase two martial artist save a snow ferret that even immortal cultivators of phrase two or three can''t do much against.


    However, Shangyang is more impressed with the girl in front of him now than when he was when he first met Tao MiLing. This girl who was called "Hua''er" by Tao Mi Ling.


    Well damn, this is very interesting. In a way, that shouldn''t be.