Chapter 232 - Rebirth As A Human (1)
Chapter 232 - Rebirth As A Human (1)
Chapter 232 – Rebirth As A Human (1)
Jiang Mo and Li Yun were both startled upon hearing what the white fox just said. As they looked at the man dressed in black, they couldn't sense danger coming from it… but a forbearance for something neither of them couldn't explain.
The white fox regarded this man as a grim reaper. Was this to mean that he came here to take Su Daji's soul?
"No, no, no! Daji won't die!" Jiang Mo almost lost his cool right then and there. It was only now that he realized that he was truly losing the only woman that mattered in his life.
How foolish of him. If he knew that Su Daji would lose her life this early, he shouldn't have wasted months away from her. He should have accepted what he'd been trying to deny all this time. Now that he was losing her, Jiang Mo was willing to give up everything—even his feelings for her—so long as she would continue to live.
Li Yun could only look at his friend with pity. After all, he couldn't do anything to save Su Daji now. No matter how many times he attempted to purify the black magic spell and forced it out of her body, it would always come back with a vengeance. Stronger than it previously was.
The grim reaper looked at the three and shook his head, half of his face still hidden in the darkness.
"Su Daji only has a sichen to live. Demon, you better not try to keep her soul in her body by forcibly binding the two together. You'll know what will happen to you if you defy the laws of nature," The grim reaper told Mu Yue before he vanished into thin air.
"Only a sichen?!" Li Yun and Jiang Mo exclaimed at the same time. They immediately rushed and returned to Su Daji's side at once.
The two men sat next to her bed, watching Su Daji slowly wither. Both of them had bloodshot eyes, hands trembling on top of their legs as they tried to digest what was happening… and why Su Daji needed to lose her life tonight.
Meanwhile, the white fox accepted that this must be truly the end of the young lady's life. Although her body was tainted with the black magic, her soul remained clear from any taint on her person; which left Mu Yue baffled. The white fox couldn't understand the reason for it to happen.
Half a sichen later, Li Yun sensed that the miasma coming from Su Daji's body was fading. It seemed that the curse had been lifted by the caster.
"The ninth prince finally released her from the curse…"
"What's the use of it? The curse has left Daji in her weakest state. She would die at this rate," Jiang Mo spat out venomously. His hatred toward the ninth price rose to another level. He swore in his heart that he would be the one to kill Xuan Yanrui if Daji had really died tonight.
Su Daji cracked her eyes open and found her brother and Li Yun next to her bed. She forced a smile for them, knowing that she had made them worry too much. Perhaps, the young woman knew that she had reached her limit and didn't dare to make a fuss out of it.
She then raised her hand and touched that of Jiang Mo.
"Brother Mo…" She called out.
Jiang Mo took her hand into his tightly once he realized that she had gained consciousness.
"Daji." His tone was filled with despair at the moment. He wasn't ready to accept that this might have been the last time he would be able to talk to her… to hold her.
"It's not your fault." She told her brother, "It's my choice to accept the ninth prince's proposition, but I'm afraid that after I die tonight, they will kill Father and invade our lands."
"Shh… don't worry about this," Jiang Mo assured her. "This brother of yours will do his best to protect everyone. If I fail, at least. I have no regrets. I will not fall without doing everything that I can."
Tears were already rolling down Su Daji's cheeks, causing her sight to grow blurry. There were so many things that she still wanted to do, but she couldn't anymore. As much as she wanted to see her father for the last time, it seemed impossible at the moment.
"No, it would be hard for you to protect everyone. That is why I decided to give my body to the Great Fox for her to use."
"Daji!" Li Yun was the one who exclaimed this time. "Do you even know what you are saying? If the Great Fox possesses your body… if this body cannot contain the fox spirit, your body will instantly turn into ashes!"
How could he not know what might happen if a high-ranking demon decided to possess a human body? The great fox had a highly concentrated demonic power that could easily ruin a human body. This was why not many high-ranking demons like her could own a human vessel. It's very rare to find one that was strong enough.
"I know, but I'm willing to take the risk," Su Daji retorted. "The Great Fox and I had already made an agreement. She would be able to have my body so long as she would protect the citizens of this province from the emperor. I don't believe Xuan Yanrui would ignore this place now that he has secured his place at the throne."
Li Yun glanced at the white fox, who didn't say a word throughout their conversation. Actually, Su Daji had regained her consciousness after the grim reaper vanished. The young lady had communicated with her through telepathy and begged her to save the young lady's old man from the ninth prince.
Xuan Yanrui might have lifted the curse from Su Daji, but he miscalculated that the young lady would die tonight. However, the young lady had already predicted the events if Xuan Yanrui found out that she had died, even before he could make her his concubine. It would surely not end well for her father and everyone whom she would leave tonight.
This was why Su Daji begged the white fox to accept her body as the next host. After all, she had nothing to lose now that she was dying. It took a lot of convincing for the young lady to make Mu Yue agree to her request until the fox accepted it.
Jiang Mo hardened his jaws. Even at the end of her life, Su Daji was willing to do everything to protect everyone from the ninth prince. This only made him feel ashamed of himself. There was nothing else he could do to share Su Daji's burden.
"If my body turned into ashes, then that only meant that I had already exhausted all efforts to help everyone." Su Daji shut her eyes as if speaking hurt her. She couldn't even lift a single finger now and felt extremely exhausted.
"I'll give you some time, Daji." Mu Yue's words resounded in both Jiang Mo's and Li Yun's minds. "If I were to possess her body, I would need to enter as soon as her soul departed from it."
The fox went outside and remained on the porch. Mu Yue looked heavenward and noticed that it was the new moon. Was this a coincidence? The fox spirit wondered.
For some, the new moon symbolized new beginnings. While Su Daji's life was about to end, Mu Yue's life as a demon living within a human host would start. Mu Yue briefly regretted not asking her older brother how the possession went for his case, but she supposed she could only wait and see if Su Daji's body was a fit to become her host.
Li Yun had also stepped out of Su Daji's quarters, giving Jiang Mo a chance to say his parting words with Su Daji. The young man knew that after tonight, Jiang Mo would never be the same again. No—in fact, even he wouldn't be the same, too.
Mu Yue could hear the words spoken between the two star-crossed lovers and how they prayed that in their next lives, they would be able to meet and be together. The fox wasn't sure what to think of it. Love and adoration seemed to be a foreign concept for her.
When the second half of the sichen approached, the same grim reaper appeared at Su Daji's courtyard.
"It is time," he told the white fox and Li Yun. As he said this, Su Daji's spirit slowly materialized next to the grim reaper. This time, the young lady had a bitter smile on her face.
Li Yun clenched his fists on his sides, but he didn't say anything. Seeing Daji in spirit form only meant that her time finally ran out.
'I will leave everything to you, Mu Yue.. Forgive this one for giving you such a big problem.'