Chapter 344: Finally Back Home
Chapter 344: Finally Back Home
Xiang Ling stepped into the secluded side garden of the Eastern Palace. She should have gone to her lovers after the meeting, especially to thank Zhang Xuan for treating everything fairly. And yet, here she was, once again stepping into the private garden of the Heavenly Empress.
"I see you are here to meet me. Let’s take a seat." Heavenly Empress’ familiar voice pulled Xiang Ling’s attention toward the woman. She greeted the Empress before following her to take a seat at the jade table sitting next to the flower bed in the central of the garden.
She waited patiently as two fairies made their way toward them with trays of freshly brewed tea and snacks. They placed the trays on the table and left immediately.
Just like the previous time, Heavenly Empress took over the job of pouring the tea into the cups before handing one to Xiang Ling who accepted the cup, but then put it aside without taking even a single sip. This didn’t go unnoticed by the Heavenly Empress but she said nothing.
"Is there something you want to talk about?" Heavenly Empress took the initiative to start the conversation.
Xiang Ling took a deep breath before replying, "I just wanted to return this to you." As she spoke, the Celestial Stone Dagger appeared on the table, surrounded by the beautiful golden aura of divinity. "It’s job is done. So it’s time I give it back to you. Thank you for all the help, Your Majesty."
"I should be the one showing my gratitude foe how well you handled everything. Thank you, High Immortal Xing." Heavenly Empress said with a soft and warm smile as she took the Celestial Stone Dagger back, letting it disappear inside her space bracelet. "How about staying for a meal?" She offered.
Xiang Ling smiled softly, politely declining. "Thank you, but I need to return to my men. They must be waiting for me." Saying that, she stood up, ready to leave.
She didn’t hold back when she spoke about the men on her life, since there was no point in doing so. While a relationship situation like hers wasn’t a common occurrence, it wasn’t something that could be considered a taboo. Everyone was just surprised by this big reveal, but no one was against it.
She was about to leave the garden but stopped in her tracks as she couldn’t leave without saying what she did next. "I just want to ask..." she began, turning to look at the Heavenly Empress. "... since when did you begin planning all this?"
She finally succeeded in cracking the calm look on the woman’s face who frowned in confusion. "What planning?" Heavenly Empress asked, failing to catch up with the change of topic.
Xiang Ling decided to make the matter simple, helping the woman to recall what she might have never wanted anyone to find out. "I’m sure you might already know that I went to look for ’Collection of Forbidden Spells’. I did find it, but I also found another secret book there - one that held information of the last battle between the Gods and the Shadow Lord."
The moment she made the revelation, Heavenly Empress’ expression shifted from confusion to that of recognization, and it didn’t go unnoticed by Xiang Ling.
"I was unable to help myself but to read that history book, hoping to find some ways to stop the Shadow Lord and his army. That’s when I found the secret - no weapon could kill the Shadow Lord, not even the divine dagger you gave me. He could only be killed when he wants to die." Xiang Ling repeated what she found through the book.
For a few moments, the Heavenly Empress remained silent. But then he finally asked, "Since you already knew the truth, why did you accept the dagger?"
A smile curved the corners of Xiang Ling’s lips, but it was an empty smile that didn’t reach her eyes. She looked straight into the Empress’ eyes as she answered, "For the same reason you gave it to me."
Once again, there was silence as the two of them just studied each other. It was Xiang Ling who spoke first, putting forward that one question she had been wanting to ask all this time. "Did you plan all this? From the very beginning? And if yes, then why did you choose me?"
It took her way too much effort to keep a calm expression and not let the woman see just how badly she wanted to know the answer to that last question.
Heavenly Empress let out a small sigh as if she was silently accepting her defeat. Her voice was low and soft as she replied, "I did all I did just to keep the realms safe. When I was looking through some of the secret records of the previous battle, I came across a prophecy about the one who could end the Shadow Lord. It took me centuries to make that prophecy show me that person... and it showed me you, High Immortal Xing."
There was nothing Xiang Ling could say. She just stood there in silence, shocked by what she heard.
"I don’t know why the fate chose you, but there’s no denying that it made the right choice. Only someone as kind, loyal, and understanding like you could have showed any love toward that one person whom all the realms deemed as their enemy. Only you succeeded in making him stop on his own." There was pure respect in Heavenly Empress’ eyes as she spoke.
"I might have planned everything - from the fake punishment to leading you to find him in the Mortal Realm, but I didn’t have any hands in the pure and beautiful connections you formed. If you want, I can apologize for using you, but I will not lie to you either - If given the chance, I will do it again if it means saving all the realms."
Xiang Ling smiled softly, and this was a genuine smile unlike the previous one. "You don’t have to apologize. You did what any Heavenly Empress should have done, what you needed to do. There’s no bad blood between us. Now if you may excuse, I want to head to the Celestial Realm."
She bowed and was ready to leave, but was stopped by Heavenly Empress who said - "High Immortal Xing, please take care of my Ah Xian."
Xiang Ling smiled and gave a slight nod of her head in response before finally stepping out of the garden.
Minutes later, she was stepping inside her palace and was immediately greeted by the group of men who had been impatiently waiting for her.
She was... finally back home!