Late at night, the palace was silent. Baixi lay in bed, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep. Her mind was consumed by thoughts of the resurrection of the dead in the southern frontier. Her heart pounded incessantly, as if a struggling, jumping heart were inside her chest.
"My mother said there is no resurrection magic, but the letter from the Skeleton Soldiers mentioned the ability to resurrect the dead in the southern frontier. What is going on?" Baixi's mind was plagued by this question.
Although the words of the Skeleton Soldiers seemed absurd, they would never deceive. Could it be that my mother is lying to me? Perhaps there really is resurrection magic, but the price is too high.
When Grandmother passed away, did my mother use resurrection magic to bring her body into the ancestral shrine?
But the price is too high...
Baixi gripped the blanket tightly, her fingers exerting force.
Suddenly, she sprang up from the bed. She remembered a saying: "Seeing is believing, hearing is not."
She decided to go to the southern frontier first. If it turned out to be false, she would immediately return. If it was true, she would investigate further.
With this thought in mind, Baixi quickly changed into a suit of night attire. She tied her long hair into a simple ponytail on top of her head and donned a black mask, covering half of her face. She lowered the hat brim, then quietly left the sleeping quarters.
Taking advantage of her mother not having assigned anyone to look after her, Baixi decided to leave the palace tonight and go to the southern frontier.
She opened the door to the sleeping quarters quietly and took a glance outside. It was silent, with only moonlight pouring onto the corridor.
Baixi carefully closed the door behind her and walked forward along the corridor. The palace was so quiet that the only sound was her own racing heartbeat.
Baixi adjusted her black cloak, meticulously smoothing away every crease, wrapping herself tightly as if enveloped in the darkness of the night. She took small steps and reached the dense gardens surrounding the palace, finding a hidden corner among the layers of branches and leaves. Through the layers of tree shadows, she could faintly see the guards at the gate already nodding off.
Baixi held her breath and swiftly crossed the scattered bushes in the garden, proceeding cautiously, afraid of disturbing the guards who were lost in their dreams.
At that moment, a flickering flame outside the wall illuminated half of Baixi's figure as she climbed over the wall.
"Princess, surely you don't think I was sleeping on duty?" The guard at the entrance appeared behind Baixi, his voice cold and questioning.
"Just exercising my body, what else can I do at night?" Baixi slowly climbed down from the wall and walked up to the guard, appearing nonchalant.
The guard was momentarily stunned by her response. He hadn't expected the princess to be so brazen. He stared at Baixi for a while, then awkwardly laughed, "So the princess was just exercising her body. We were indeed overly concerned."
"Enough, you can go back. Once I'm done exercising, I'll return to the palace. If my mother finds out that you've left your post, she'll punish you severely!" Baixi said.
The two guards were rendered speechless by Baixi's words, unsure of what to say.
"Why are you still standing here? Do you really want to be punished?" Baixi grew impatient seeing that the two guards had not left.
The two guards exchanged glances and reluctantly returned to their posts.
Baixi followed behind the guards, her fist involuntarily clenched, focusing then delivering a punch with force to the back of the guard's head.
With a dull thud, the guard staggered and fell to the ground.
The other guard immediately reacted and was about to question the princess, but he saw her fist coming at him like lightning.
The guard was taken by surprise by the sudden attack and, although he managed to block a few punches, most of them landed on vital spots. The guard groaned, staggering, and finally lost consciousness under Baixi's relentless blows, collapsing to the ground.
Baixi looked at the fallen demon guard, feeling somewhat surprised. This guard truly lived up to its name, with reflexes and stamina far surpassing that of an average person. It was no easy feat to subdue him.
If not for Baixi relying on her own identity and the element of surprise, she would have surely been surrounded by countless demon soldiers.
Having done her mischief, Baixi didn't linger, quickly flipping over the wall and disappearing into the pitch-black night.
When Baixi was a kilometer away from the imperial city gate, she took a deep breath, tidied her clothes and appearance, and walked towards the gate.
Upon arriving at the imperial city gate, two guards immediately saluted. "Princess, it is curfew hour now. Please return to the palace and rest."
The corners of Baixi's mouth twitched, revealing an expression of impatience, clearly playing the role of a spoiled princess.
"This princess is going outside the city to carry out a mission assigned by the Empress. Are you going to stop me?!" Baixi said, her voice clear, with a tone of arrogance and dominance that brooked no opposition.
The two guards immediately exchanged a look, their faces filled with indecision.
If they were to truly stop the princess, delaying her mission progress, once the Empress found out, they would definitely be punished. But at the same time, they understood that if the princess deliberately lied and used the mission as an excuse to leave the city, they would also be punished. The two guards were caught in a dilemma, unsure how to respond to Baixi.
Seeing the guards struggling, Baixi knew her plan had indeed worked. She cleared her throat and her tone became even more impatient: "This princess asked you a question!"
The guards quickly lowered their heads, and one of them spoke: "Your Highness, it is indeed difficult for us to disobey the curfew order. But since Your Highness has an important matter at hand, we dare not hinder you."
A flicker of victory crossed Baixi's eyes, but she maintained an expression of impatience. She snorted coldly and casually threw out an exit permit, not even bothering to look back as she strode toward the city gate. "This is the exit permit, take it."
The guards received the permit, saluting quickly, and watched as Baixi's figure disappeared into the night. As Baixi stepped out of the imperial city, she couldn't help but feel a sense of relief.
Finally, she could start her journey to the Southern Frontier, to verify the truth that had been weighing on her heart.
Who would have thought that these guards didn't even bother to check the exit permit, saving me a lot of trouble.
Baixi glanced back, then firmly wrapped herself in a cloak, covering her face with a large hat, and cautiously avoided the main road, traversing through dark alleys and narrow passages. She hardly encountered anyone along the way, only the wind brushing past her in the darkness of the night.
Baixi found a secluded cave to take shelter from the wind. She sat with her knees hugged, gazing at the dark sky outside and imagining the mysterious appearance of the Southern Frontier. The wind whistled in the mountains, giving an eerie feeling, but Baixi's eyes sparkled with excitement, as if she could see all the family members gathered around a big table, drinking rich wine and discussing various topics...
Baixi only slept for two hours at night before hastily leaving the cave. The mountain forest at dawn was still quiet, occasionally punctuated by the sound of a bird, giving a sense of solitude.
Baixi stood outside the cave, looking at the slightly brightening sky. The sky in the mountain forest seemed even more vast and lofty than that of the imperial city. The crisp mountain wind blew, lifting Baixi's long hair and dispelling the weariness in her heart.
"We will reunite," Baixi said and transformed into a giant dragon that flew into the sky.
