Chapter 292: Borrowing Life
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The Emperor hurriedly went over to check on An Le’s situation and personally tested his daughter’s forehead temperature with his palm. He felt that it was warm to the touch, and indeed, the heat had decreased a lot.
The palace maid in charge took a handkerchief dipped in clear water and wiped
An Le’s face, neck, and hands.
An Le was only 10 years old and was just a child. Her wrists were thin and fragile.
She closed her eyes from beginning to end, her pale little mouth pursed and motionless, but her breathing had clearly stabilized and she had stopped murmuring.
Great! The Emperor heaved a sigh of relief, and his frown finally relaxed. He told himself that his daughter would definitely be able to survive this calamity, just like so many times in the past.
The Emperor turned to look at Shangqing Spiritual Master and asked anxiously, “Shangqing, when will the Eldest Princess wake up?”
Shangqing Spiritual Master had already moved to the window on the east side when the palace maid was giving An Le the medicine.
The weather was a little gloomy today. The dense shadows of the trees outside the window cast on the skeletal side of Shangqing Spiritual Master made his sunken eye sockets look deeper.
When he was motionless, his temperament was a little gloomy.
“Your Majesty.” Shangqing Spiritual Master bowed to the Emperor again, still with the air of a carefree crane, as if the person he was facing wasn’t the son of heaven but an ordinary person. ‘This pill will cure the symptoms but not the root cause.”
The Emperor’s expression changed again, and his heart tightened slightly.
He took a deep breath and looked at her sleeping face. “Then how can we cure her?”
Shangqing Spiritual Master gently flicked his horsetail whisk. There was no joy or sorrow in his voice, as if he stood above the seven emotions and six desires of the mortal world. He said calmly,
“I’ve read the Eldest Princess’s fortune just now. Her Highness is fated with the tomb fiend. Her fate is to die prematurely, and she has a short lifespan. If you encounter the help of a n.o.ble benefactor, you can turn misfortune into good luck. ”
“If you want to extend her life, the only way is to change her fate.”
As he spoke, Shangqing Spiritual Master’s gaze swept past the girl in the green gauze tent. There was a faint sense of danger that flashed past his eyes.
The atmosphere around them gradually became solemn.
Even those who didn’t know Dao techniques could guess that any technique that involved changing one’s fate was definitely not something that could be done with just a few words. Otherwise, wouldn ‘t everyone be able to live a long life?!
Eunuch Zhao Rang nimbly sent the few imperial physicians and palace maids present to the outer room.
In the blink of an eye, only four people were left in the sleeping chamber that smelled of medicine, incense, and blood.
Shangqing Spiritual Master turned back to the Emperor. His skinny neck was lined, and his veins were bulging, as if there was a hideous foreign object hidden under his skin.
“If you want to save the Eldest Princess’s life, you have to find 200 boys and girls of the same age as the Eldest Princess and take their heart blood to refine a Heart Pill. Then, you have to feed it to the Eldest Princess...”
His dark gaze was fixed on the Emperor. His voice was low and slow, with an inexplicable chill.
The surrounding windows were clearly tightly closed, but there was an inexplicable cold wind blowing in the bedroom.
“How dare you! ” The Emperor’s pupils constricted, and his expression changed. He interrupted Shangqing Spiritual Master sternly, “Do you know what you’re saying?!”
Wouldn’t that mean exchanging 200 lives for one?!
Monks were benevolent. For Daoist Shangqing Spiritual Master to suggest such a sinister method, it was obvious that he had no mercy. He was simply a demon!
The Emperor revealed a rare anger and released the might of an Emperor. Zhao Rang, who was at the side, gasped softly. This method was simply unheard of.
Facing the furious Emperor, Shangqing Spiritual Master was fearless. He stood like a hundred-year-old pine tree, his expression still calm with a hint of indifference.
“Your Majesty, I only dared to say this to save the Eldest Princess’s life.” Shangqing Spiritual Master shook his head and sighed. He said slowly with pity, ‘This method of defying the heavens and changing fate violates Heaven’s Will. It will also consume many years of my cultivation for this.”
He gently flicked his horsetail whisk. The silver whisk was like the strands of silver mixed into his temples.
Shangqing Spiritual Master turned around slightly and took two steps closer to the couch. “1 think the Emperor already knows that the Eldest Princess doesn’t have much time left, and the Nine Mystic Pill I just gave her can only extend her life for three more days.’
As he turned his back on the Emperor, extreme greed flashed in his eyes. His grip on the handle of the horsetail whisk tightened.
‘What did you say?!” The Emperor felt as if he had been struck by lightning. Anger froze on his face, and his anxiety plummeted, sending him instantly falling into a bottomless abyss.
An Le could only live for another three days?!
The Emperor’s legs gave way, and he almost fell onto the edge of the couch. His breathing was heavy, and he looked as if he had collapsed.
Shangqing Spiritual Master sighed and said, “All these years, the Eldest Princess’s phoenix body has been severely deficient, like a tree trunk that has gradually been hollowed out by termites. This time, her illness has come like a landslide, and her body has already collapsed. Even if she takes a second Nine Mystic Pill, it will be useless for her condition.”
“Only the Heart Pill can save the Eldest Princess.”
“There’s not much time left. Your Majesty, please make plans early!’
Shangqing Spiritual Master bowed to the Emperor again.
Almost as soon as he finished speaking, they heard a soft and weak voice from the direction of the bed. “Father..
The girl’s words ended lightly, so weak and ethereal, as if they would dissipate if the wind blew.
An Le, who was on the couch, had opened her eyes at some point. Her long eyelashes fluttered, and her eyes were still a little dazed and unfocused.
The Emperor grabbed his daughter’s hand and said anxiously, “An Le, Father is here.’
He had completely forgotten about Shangqing Spiritual Master. Only his daughter was left in his red and dry eyes.
” . No.” The little girl shook her head slowly. Cold sweat broke out on her forehead, making her face even paler and her chin sharper.
The weak little girl was like a bud on a branch. She was so delicate and fragile that she was already on the verge of collapse before she bloomed, as if the bud would fall from the branch as soon as a gust of wind blew.
She was still very weak and found it quite difficult to even speak. She said with difficulty, “Father is a wise ruler. You can’t. ‘
“I’ll be good... don’t feel uncomfortable...”
The little girl’s eyes lit up. Her soft voice and every word were imprinted in the Emperor’s heart.
The Emperor choked on his words.
An Le stared into his loving, sad eyes and smiled weakly. Her eyebrows curved slightly.
Her gaze strayed to a small rabbit light on the headboard of the bed.
The rabbit lamp was no bigger than a sleeve stove and was made of white paper. Its two ruby eyes were facing her.
Her brother had accompanied her to make this. Her brother had said that when they left the palace to look at the lights on the Lantern Festival, they would secretly ditch her father and go play with Sister Yanfei. She wanted to give the rabbit lamp to Sister Yanfei.
But she might not be able to do it anymore.
“An I.e.” The Emperor gripped his daughter’s hand harder, holding back a sob, his expression sad.
A line of clear tears fell from the corners of his wrinkled eyes..