Chapter 403: Divine Bone
This novel is translated and hosted on Bcatranslation
“Sworn allegiance?!”
“To whom did you pledge your loyalty? How dare you swear allegiance to another!” Nan Feng Yu’s face twisted in fury, her eyes blazing with rage.
Before Nan Feng Yu could even react, the Black Dragon lashed out with its tail, sending her hurtling out of the Worship Hall.
Although Nan Feng Yu was a Divine Attendant, the Dragon Clan was of the true God Race.
How could she possibly resist?
“Insolence!” The entire hall bristled with tension. Even the Old Emperor had not anticipated that the Black Dragon had already acknowledged a master!
The Black Dragon raised its head high, its enormous eyes sweeping the room with imposing authority. Its presence was overwhelming, five claws slightly extended, hinting at a terrifying power lurking beneath.
“What this lord does—what concern is it of yours?!”
“Must I seek your approval?!”
Its voice was deep and resonant, carrying an inherent force that made it feel like an attack in itself.
Nan Zhi Yi furrowed her brows, stepping forward to support her mother. With a mere wave of her hand, she dispelled the Black Dragon’s aggression.
“My mother merely asked a question. Was it necessary to harm her?” Nan Zhi Yi’s expression remained composed, but there was a flicker of displeasure in her eyes.
The aura she exuded as she lifted her hand made the Black Dragon pause, a faint sense of familiarity washing over it.
“You swore fealty to another—does this not mean that the fate of our Southern Kingdom is now in someone else’s hands?!” Nan Feng Yu gritted her teeth, seething with frustration. She had schemed for so long, only for an outsider to reap the rewards!
The very thought made her chest ache with fury.
“Since you gifted this lord, what I do with it is none of your concern!”
“Do not covet what belongs to me!” The Black Dragon sneered, letting out a thunderous roar before vanishing into the clouds.
Once the Black Dragon departed, Nan Feng Yu’s face darkened completely.
“Father Emperor, our kingdom’s fortune now lies with another. What are we to do?!”
“Who dares snatch Yi’er’s destiny?!”
“Is the Black Dragon blind?! A reincarnated deity was right before it, yet it chose an outsider instead!” Nan Feng Yu could barely maintain her dignified image as the Eldest Princess. Everything she had worked tirelessly to orchestrate—the nation’s fortune, the Black Dragon’s support—had crumbled before her eyes!
The Old Emperor rubbed his temples, finding her noise unbearable.
“Enough. Resolving a thousand-year feud is already a stroke of fortune. We are in troubled times—do not stir further conflict.”
“Zhi Yi’s affairs take precedence.”
Nan Feng Yu took a deep breath and schooled her expression.
She personally assisted the Old Emperor back to the palace and served him his medicine. Only after he finished drinking it did he finally succumb to exhaustion and fall asleep.
Standing beside his dragon bed, her expression turned icy, devoid of the earlier warmth.
Her eyes held only calculation and cold resolve.
She turned and strode out of the hall.
Within the Infinite Palace.
A young woman dressed in white sat cross-legged upon a meditation mat. Her face was devoid of makeup, her garments plain. A string of Buddhist prayer beads rested around her neck, lending her an air of quiet asceticism.
The faint scent of sandalwood clung to her, calming the mind.
As Nan Feng Yu entered with a stormy expression, the girl slowly opened her eyes.
Nan Feng Yu softened instantly in the presence of her daughter. “Three years in the Forbidden Grounds—my child, you have suffered. Once you ascend, boundless opportunities shall await you…”
“Mother, Yi’er has not suffered.” Nan Zhi Yi’s voice was soft. “Has my elder brother returned?”
Nan Feng Yu gestured for Nan Mu Bai to enter the hall.
His eyes lit up with joy. Having not seen his sister for three years, his heart had longed for her dearly. He still remembered the tiny, delicate girl from years past, and his gaze turned gentle.
She sat serenely on her mat, smiling warmly at him.
Seeing her, Nan Mu Bai felt a pang of bitterness.
“Three years apart… Who knows how much hardship you’ve endured? Now, you even seem distant…” His voice was filled with melancholy. When she was born, he had only been a child himself.
He had been the first to hold her when the midwife presented her to the family.
A tiny, soft bundle—he had cradled her awkwardly, and the memory had never faded.
In time, she had indeed become closest to him.
Nan Feng Yu cast him a sharp glance. “Three years have passed. Zhi Yi is a grown woman now. She must no longer be reckless as before. She is the Goddess—she must carry herself accordingly to gain the people’s reverence.”
“I understand, Mother.” He understood, but he could not help feeling a little lost.
“Mother, do not be too harsh on Brother. Yi’er cannot bear to see him scolded.”
“Brother, during your journey to Northern Zhao, did you come across a girl named Lu Jing Yao?” Nan Zhi Yi asked, watching him closely.
Nan Mu Bai furrowed his brows in thought. “Lu Jing Yao?”
“I don’t recall…”
“Why do you ask?” He was curious. His sister had been in seclusion for three years—how did she know of matters in Northern Zhao?
Nan Feng Yu sighed. “Your sister is the reincarnation of the Goddess. What could possibly escape her knowledge?”
“Lu Jing Huai? Lu Yuan Ze? Do these names sound familiar?” Nan Zhi Yi pressed.
This time, Nan Mu Bai nodded vigorously.
“Yes, yes, I have heard of them. Lu Yuan Ze, the Marquis Zhongyong of Northern Zhao, has an illegitimate son named Lu Jing Huai.” He suddenly smacked his forehead.
“Ah, I nearly forgot!”
“I heard the gossip while in Northern Zhao. Sister, you wouldn’t believe it—Northern Zhao thrives on scandal. The entire country is obsessed with drama.”
“Lu Jing Yao? She was the illegitimate daughter of the Marquis Zhongyong. The day I arrived in Northern Zhao, I fed her to the Xiangliu!”
“Sister, you won’t believe it! Lu Jing Yao had been possessed by a foreign soul—a child’s body with an adult’s mind!!”
“When I first searched for her, she nearly fooled me into taking her back to the Southern Kingdom!”
Nan Zhi Yi’s gaze sharpened. “Lu Jing Yao is dead?”
“Impossible!!” Shock crossed her face.
How could that be?! In her past life, Lu Jing Yao had accompanied Lu Yuan Ze and Lu Jing Huai to the Southern Kingdom.
By some stroke of fate, she had obtained the Divine Bone from the Divine Mountain and had ascended in broad daylight!
At that time, she herself had borne the title of Goddess—only for Lu Jing Yao to expose her as a fraud. She had been sentenced to execution.
Something had changed.
Lu Jing Yao was gone, and in her place—Lu Chao Chao?
Lu Chao Chao—a name she had never heard in her past life.
Had her rebirth altered fate itself?
She bit her lip, unease flickering in her eyes.
“How could it be impossible? I personally fed her to the beast! Sister, what’s wrong?”
“Brother, tell me more about Sister Chao Chao.”
Nan Zhi Yi lowered her gaze. A person who had never existed in her past life—who was she?
“She is Lu Yuan Ze’s legitimate daughter. They say she was nearly drowned at birth…”
Nan Zhi Yi’s eyes glinted. Drowned?
Was that her past-life fate? Then why was she still alive in this one?
Was it truly because of her own rebirth that the world had shifted?
“What kind of sister is that?!” Nan Feng Yu sneered.
Nan Mu Bai, however, hesitated, his brows drawn in a tight knot.
How could he say it? That perhaps… Lu Chao Chao was the real Goddess?