Originally, Mo Fan had thought that with Black Clothes about to leave Black Wind Mountain, the relationship between the siblings would improve somewhat. Yet the reality was not quite so.
From the moment they left Black Wind Mountain, the brother and sister had not exchanged a single word.
It seemed Black Clothes was still resentful about the matter at Phoenix Cry Mountain, while White Clothes feared that initiating conversation would annoy her. In short, both chose silence, each treading so very carefully.
Mo Fan had initially wanted to intervene and break the barrier between them, but on second thought, the one who ties the bell must untie it. Though he was their Great King and master, it was not fitting for him to meddle in such a tangled sibling bond.
“Master, where are you headed this time?”
Perhaps feeling the boredom too, White Clothes spoke first to break the impasse.
“I plan to visit a market to handle some business, and along the way, pay a call on the market’s lord.”
Mo Fan replied with a smile, then added after a moment’s reflection, “You may have heard of this market lord.”
“Oh?”
White Clothes immediately perked up and asked at once, “What sort of demon is she?”
Black Clothes also turned her gaze towards Mo Fan.
“Her name is Yun Rou.” Mo Fan answered.
“Yun Rou… such a familiar name. It feels like I have heard it somewhere, yet for the moment, I cannot recall.”
White Clothes gave a wry smile, pondered for a bit but to no avail. Beside him, Black Clothes shook her head and said, “I have never heard the name.”
“Very well, perhaps her name is not widely known. Let me put it another way: the adopted daughter of the White Tiger Holy King!” Mo Fan said with a laugh.
“What?!”
Both demons were startled at his words. White Clothes in particular came to a sudden realisation. “So it is her! No wonder the name rings such a bell. I never imagined she was the Azure Lotus Princess of White Tiger Mountain!”
“Azure Lotus Princess?”
This was the first time Mo Fan had heard that Yun Rou had another title, and one so distinctive at that.
“It seems you are unaware, Master. That Yun Rou is said to be a half-demon, and her father was once the White Tiger Holy King’s closest friend, the Azure Lotus Holy King!” White Clothes explained.
“Azure Lotus Holy King?!”
Mo Fan was taken aback once more and asked forthwith, “You mean Yun Rou’s father was a Holy King?!”
What was a Holy King?
It was the exclusive title for the most powerful figures among the demon race!
He truly had not expected Yun Rou’s background to be so immense, the daughter of a Holy King. Did that not make her a Holy Maiden?
“Indeed, this is something I heard from Little Ox Saint, so I cannot vouch for its truth.
But that Azure Lotus Holy King was no ordinary great demon either. He originated from a single azure lotus and rose to prominence in the Bitter Sea over a thousand years ago.
It is said that at that time, the demon race was even weaker than now, for the human race had produced a particularly formidable supreme being who nearly crushed all the strongest of that era under his heel.
Yet that Azure Lotus Holy King led the great demons of the Ten Thousand Great Mountains on three incursions into the human race’s divine domain. Though they ultimately fell short against that human supreme being, it still sent shivers through many a human powerhouse.” White Clothes recounted.
“And then?” Mo Fan pressed on, unwittingly drawn in by the Azure Lotus Holy King of White Clothes’ tale.
“Then it seems a great war erupted in the Nine Provinces, with rumours of numerous celestials descending to the mortal realm. The Azure Lotus Holy King led the demon race in alliance with that human supreme being to strike down the celestials.
His fame-making battle was one where, with the power of a single demon, he faced nine celestials alone, and in the end, all nine fell!
Little Ox Saint knew not the precise details of that battle.
In any case, from then on, the demon race and human race entered a period of harmony.
It is said that in those days, humans could venture into the Ten Thousand Great Mountains for adventures, and we demons could freely enter and exit the divine domain, a scene of utter peace, as if a grand era had dawned.
But that grand era did not last long before it was shattered.
Decades later, that human supreme being ascended, and the human race unilaterally tore up the accord he had once decreed. Conflict between the demon race and human race erupted anew.
It was precisely then that the White Tiger Holy King, pursued by human powerhouses, fled back to the Ten Thousand Great Mountains.
Yet for reasons unknown, the great demons of the Ten Thousand Great Mountains took against the White Tiger Holy King as well, repeatedly attempting to slay him.
It was during that period that the White Tiger Holy King befriended the Azure Lotus Holy King, and with his aid, step by step became the Holy King of White Tiger Mountain.
But not long after, human cultivators invaded the Ten Thousand Great Mountains, dozens of powerhouses descending and intimidating the entire demon race.
The Azure Lotus Holy King struck once more, confronting all the powerhouses single-handedly, and in the end, perished in the sea domain.
From that battle onward, the human race seized vast swathes of land in the Ten Thousand Great Mountains, naming it ‘Southern Frontier’, and there erected two great mountains to suppress the demon race!
Later still, the great demons of White Tiger Mountain noticed a little girl by the White Tiger Holy King’s side, whom he named Yun Rou.
Subsequently, a great demon with the divine ability to discern true forms beheld an azure lotus apparition upon the girl and understood her origins: she was the daughter of the Azure Lotus Holy King!
From then on, Yun Rou faced all manner of assassination attempts, some from the demon race, others from the human race.
In the end, the White Tiger Holy King flew into a rage and struck, descending upon the Bitter Sea to slay the then-arrogant demon monk of the sea. Only after that did the attempts on Yun Rou’s life gradually cease.” White Clothes said with a sigh.
“To think our demon race once produced such a powerhouse?!”
Mo Fan too felt his blood stir at the story White Clothes told, but he soon widened his eyes and said, “Does that not mean Yun Rou is actually an old demon nearing a thousand years of age?!”
“One could say as much, but for some reason, after the White Tiger Holy King descended to the Bitter Sea and slew that demon monk, Yun Rou vanished from sight entirely. Indeed, for a long stretch, there were rumours she had already perished amid the assassinations.
It was not until a century ago that she reappeared, yet she remained in the form of a little girl.
It was on that occasion that the White Tiger Holy King held a grand banquet, inviting the eight Holy Kings of the age to assemble at White Tiger Holy Mountain, and publicly took Yun Rou as his adopted daughter, bestowing upon her the title of ‘Azure Lotus Princess’, granting her status equal to that of the Holy Son on White Tiger Holy Mountain.
And it was then that the assembled demons also discovered Yun Rou was a half-demon.”
After hearing White Clothes’ account, Black Clothes suddenly sighed. “This Azure Lotus Princess is a demon of bitter fate too, though fortunately, she has turned the corner at last. With the White Tiger Holy King’s protection, she should live without worry henceforth!”
“You are mistaken. When the White Tiger Holy King was still present, perhaps she truly could live without care, but now that he is gone, her situation is likely not so secure.”
White Clothes shook his head and said with a cold laugh, “Have you forgotten the incident last time with that Black Flame from White Tiger Mountain attacking us?”
“If that Azure Lotus Princess truly held any power now, such a thing would surely not have been permitted, for as the White Tiger Holy King’s adopted daughter, she ought to know that our master is the inheritor of the White Tiger Holy King. Yet it happened all the same, which is most intriguing.”
Listening to White Clothes’ analysis, Mo Fan nodded too and said after a moment’s thought, “Your reasoning has merit. Yun Rou is an outsider after all. While Senior White was around, none dared speak against her.
Now that Senior White is absent, there must be great demons making trouble for her!”
At this, Mo Fan could not help recalling his earlier request for Yun Rou’s aid. Perhaps she had not refused to help out of unwillingness, but because she was powerless, unable even to protect herself?
Yet Mo Fan was not overly concerned for her safety. From the way she had guided him, Yun Rou must know of the White Tiger Holy King’s situation, and as the adopted daughter of White Little Su, how could she lack even a single means of self-preservation?
