Chapter 354: Sealing the Gate and Protecting the Heart to Safeguard Maidong

The group finally returned to Shiyang Hall, and Lingxiang ordered Maidong to be taken to the bath hall, then dismissed the others.

She wanted to wash Maidong's body herself.

For one, Maidong was a woman after all, and there is a distinction between men and women; it truly was not appropriate for those three to be there. For another, Maidong had injuries on her body that required careful cleaning, and furthermore, Lingxiang needed to thoroughly examine Maidong's other wounds.

Zhanli was worried that if Maidong woke up again, Lingxiang would not be able to handle it alone, but Lingxiang just told him to set his mind at ease.

The Demon Race was not like the human race, which regarded strict social etiquette as the golden rule, so Lingxiang did not blame Zhanli.

The Sleep Saint Powder Lingxiang had given Maidong would keep her from waking up for a while, and even if she did wake up, Lingxiang had already prepared Silver Needles by her side to deal with any unforeseen needs.

Guihua had not expected that the medicinal bath Lingxiang claimed to have developed for the Demon Lord would actually be used on Maidong just like that.

Wasn't it said that the effectiveness was still unknown? Could it be that that dead girl had lied to her again?

Thinking of this, Guihua was instantly furious, but since Zhanli and the others were blocking the door and there were guards all around, it was hard to lash out for the moment, so she could only press against the door crack and curse Lingxiang.

"You plague-ridden little bitch, are your eyes growing on your backside? How dare you toy with this lady time and time again!"

Although Guihua kept her voice low, Lingxiang inside the bath hall heard it clearly, yet she had no time to pay attention to Guihua; after all, she had to give her full attention to taking care of Maidong.

But Adao outside the door was not having it; he hated seeing others bully Lingxiang most of all.

"Hey! You old shrew! What are you howling about? If you want to go brood, go somewhere else; don't make a spectacle of yourself here." As he said this, he kicked Guihua's leg, then quickly scurried behind Zhanli, revealing only his head as he glared fiercely at Guihua.

Guihua was stunned; she had never liked Adao or Zhanli, but because Adao was short, she had not taken him too seriously.

But she never expected that such a tiny little monster could actually spout such words.

"You... you little bastard! What did you just say? This lady is just in need of a fur hat; if you have the guts, say it again, and see if I don't peel your skin off!" Guihua was both shocked and enraged, her willow-leaf eyebrows standing on end, and in a fit of pique, she prepared to step forward to grab Adao.

"Ouch, ouch!" Adao shrieked at the top of his lungs toward the courtyard.

"Someone is getting angry out of shame! It's no wonder; you're old and ugly, fierce and mean all day long, yet you still insist on flaunting your charms—who would want you? With that ugly face and those hairy, horned features of yours, maybe in the next life!"

This sentence used several idioms in a row, making Lingxiang in the bath hall laugh out loud. Since when had her little Adao become so sharp-tongued?

But Guihua was so angry her face twisted, and just as she intended to teach Adao a lesson, a squad of guards filed in from outside the courtyard.

It was the Imperial Court Guard, and leading them was none other than Wumin Jun.

"What is going on here?"

Seeing that the visitor was Wumin Jun, Guihua showed no respect; she merely swayed her waist as she stepped forward, putting on an act and saying with a sarcastic, shrill tone: "Yo! Who did I think it was? So it's the descendant of a sinner. What business brings Wumin Jun to my Shiyang Hall?"

Wumin Jun was clearly unfazed and had no intention of responding to Guihua, but Adao muttered as he spoke up.

"Tch! What 'your' Shiyang Hall? It is now Feng Yuan Princess's Shiyang Hall. To be so presumptuous when you are merely a servant of the Princess—you really don't know your place."

It seemed unintentional, yet it was loud enough for everyone present to hear clearly.

Now Guihua could not keep her composure, and just as she was about to explode, she was interrupted by Wumin Jun.

"The Sovereign heard that the Princess went to the dark prison today and specifically ordered me to come and inquire; I hope the Princess can provide clarity so that this subordinate may return to report."

Hearing this, Guihua suddenly became nervous; if Lingxiang spoke of the dark prison, the Demon Lord would likely not let her off easily.

However, after waiting for a long time, there was no response from Lingxiang, only the sound of water splashing loudly from inside the bath hall.

Hearing this sound, Boluohui's face could not help but turn red; standing here was truly inappropriate, and he hadn't thought much of it earlier, but he didn't know if it was too late to leave now.

Wumin Jun did not seem to be in a hurry, letting the splashing continue in the bath hall while he waited outside without a word.

But Guihua was in agony, as if her heart were being clawed by a hundred claws, terrified that Lingxiang would come out and make wild accusations.

Lingxiang naturally knew what was happening outside, but she had no time to attend to it now.

There was a Seal Mark between Maidong's collarbones; Lingxiang found it familiar, but for a moment she could not think of what it was, only feeling that this Seal Mark must be related to Maidong's dementia.

Hiss~

What kind of Witchcraft was it...

Lingxiang carefully treated the wounds on Maidong's feet while racking her brains to recall where she had seen this mark.

The wounds on Maidong's feet were truly quite severe; having been worn down by chains for a long time, they had reached the tendons and bones, but fortunately, other than the foot injuries, the rest were only superficial wounds. However, even if Lingxiang wanted to heal them, it would likely take some effort.

It would be fine if she had a Bone-Mending Pill, but to regenerate tendons and mend bones—Lingxiang had never successfully refined such a pill.

Do not think that the Bone-Mending Pill is like the Life-Prolonging Pill, which has the power to turn the dying back to life; in reality, the refining of a Bone-Mending Pill is far more complex than a Life-Prolonging Pill, and the success rate is negligible.

Tumi Xianzi had written in her notes: "Life in this world is no different from a mayfly between heaven and earth; in a human catastrophe, merely staying alive is the hardest thing of all."

Therefore, saving a person's life is simple, but healing a person is harder than ascending to heaven.

The same principle applies to Spirit-Refining.

Lingxiang had tried many times to refine the Bone-Mending Pill but had never succeeded; she remembered that back then, Zhaoming Zhenren would often tease her about this, saying things like how her pill arts were unrivaled, yet she couldn't even refine a Bone-Mending Pill, and so on.

That's it, that's it! It's the Fifth Senior Brother!

Lingxiang rubbed the Seal Mark between Maidong's collarbones; she finally remembered—this was exactly Zhaoming Zhenren's Seal Gate Heart-Protecting Mark!

Zhaoming Zhenren was skilled in arrays and proficient in Strange Gate Hidden Armor. Lingxiang often heard Zhaoming Zhenren say when she was young that the Three Talents of man are no different from Strange Gate.

The so-called Strange Gate corresponds to the Flying Palace Nine Gates, each gate corresponding to the Nine Gods of a person, while "Hidden" means to conceal, and "Armor" means to remain hidden and not appear, sitting in command of the Middle Gate.

If the Middle Gate is in chaos, the human spirit scatters; if the Middle Gate remains, the Eight Gates flourish.

Even when Zhaoming Zhenren was hanging by a thread, he was still thinking of how to protect Maidong!

Now that Maidong's heart and spirit were in disarray, the Eight Gates were not aligned with their palaces; if the Eight Gates returned to their palaces, she would naturally recover, but to return the Eight Gates to their positions, one must find the Hidden Armor Middle Gate.

This was no easy task!

Outside the door, Wumin Jun stood with his hands behind his back, his dignity fully displayed; Zhanli and Adao did not dare to make a sound, yet they still guarded the door without moving an inch, fearing that Wumin Jun might do something to Lingxiang.

Just then, the door to the bath hall opened, and Lingxiang walked out lazily, rubbing her wet hair with sleepy eyes.

"This bath was so comfortable, I actually fell asleep inside," she said, then acted surprised as if she had just noticed Wumin Jun. "Yo! Why has Wumin Jun come? Could it be that the one in the hall has some instructions?"

Her pretentious manner made Guihua, who was standing to the side, roll her eyes.

There had been clattering inside for so long—did she think everyone else was deaf?

Yet Wumin Jun took it at face value, and with a single apology for the disturbance, the matter was dismissed, which infuriated Guihua.