Chapter 1139: Chapter 1139: Grace and Enmity
Now that her mother was gone, she had to rely on her own strength to find her father.
Thus, young Li Li began desperately climbing the Soul-breaking Ladder. She clung tightly to her mother’s dying words, making not a single sound. With her petite figure hidden in the shadows of the mountain crevices, she miraculously climbed all the way near the top without being discovered by the Blood Eagles.
Excited, Li Li pulled herself up onto the cliff’s edge and reached the periter of the Chief Mansion. Staring at the vast estate, she felt a pang of bewildernt. In such a huge place, where could her father be?
Before she could think it through, she saw soone approaching. She quickly ducked behind a large rock.
It was a group of guards, dragging a man who had just been in i Ji’s bed to toss him off the Soul-breaking Cliff. As they drew closer, Li Li finally saw clearly that the man being dragged across the ground was none other than her father.
"Father!" Li Li could no longer keep her composure. With a mix of terror and excitent, she leapt out and ran to grab her father’s arm.
"An He? An He, run away!" Her father, naked and covered in wounds from being dragged, saw his daughter’s sudden appearance and instinctively shouted for her to flee, too shocked to question why she was there.
But Li Li, who had already lost her mother, refused to leave her father behind.
She rushed forward only to be seized by a tall guard. No matter how she struggled, her slight figure couldn’t break free. Instead, she could only watch as her father was thrown off the Soul-breaking Cliff, eting the sa fate as her mother.
Li Li wept until her heart broke, yet no sound escaped her throat. She wanted to save her father, to bring back both her parents and return together to their small ho as a family.
Her father and mother would teach her to read and write, practice magic with her. Her father would take her to catch small Demonic Beasts, and her mother would lull her to sleep with stories...
Those beautiful monts had been her reality just days ago. In the blink of an eye, she was now an orphan, left alone to face this brutal world where the weak were devoured by the strong.
And the guards had no intention of sparing this poor little girl. Though only ten years old, Li Li’s budding beauty and delicate features did not escape their degenerate gazes. However, she still seed a bit too young to serve as one of i Ji’s sacrificial offerings.
"Little girl, it’s scary in here, you know. There’s monsters that eat people."
"If you sleep with us, we’ll let you out. How about that?"
"..."
Li Li stared at the lecherous faces closing in on her. Suddenly, she rembered that before climbing the Soul-breaking Ladder, her mother had hidden a dagger on her and told her, if anyone tried to hurt her, she must use it to protect herself.
Without hesitation, Li Li swiftly drew the dagger and plunged it with all her strength into the nearest guard. Caught off guard, the man’s shoulder was pierced, and blood gushed out.
"Damn it, you little brat!" The guard, infuriated, slapped her hard across the face. The blow sent Li Li reeling and crashing to the ground, rolling nearly ten ters away.
Struggling to her feet, she quickly pressed her back against a wall, holding the dagger in front of her and wildly slashing it in defense.
The weak fear the strong, the strong fear the reckless, and the reckless fear the ones who don’t care about dying.
At that mont, Li Li was a fearless little fighter prepared to give up her life.
Seeing the blade in her hands gleaming coldly as it sliced through the air, the guards hesitated. None dared to approach her for the ti being.
However, they didn’t retreat either. They trapped Li Li in a tight circle. After all, she was just a ten-year-old girl. She wouldn’t last long, and once she succumbed to exhaustion, they would have their way with her.
Li Li was indeed exhausted. Ever since she began climbing the Soul-breaking Ladder—a journey of an entire day and night—she hadn’t eaten a grain of rice or drunk a drop of water. She’d been hanging on sheerly through her willpower.
But she could feel herself reaching her limit.
It was at this mont that Jiu Ge appeared.
Years later, every ti Li Li recalled this scene, it felt like a dream. Jiu Ge descended like a hero from the heavens, his very presence shining with divine radiance.
With just a few words, he scared away the guards, took her in as his servant, fed her, clothed her, protected her from harm, and even taught her magic skills.
Without Jiu Ge, there would be no Li Li as she was now.
But when she later learned that the beautiful woman who had captured her father and wounded her mother was Jiu Ge’s mother, she was heartbroken for a long, long ti.
In the end, she convinced herself: i Ji was i Ji, and Jiu Ge was Jiu Ge. i Ji’s blood feud was hers to avenge, but Jiu Ge’s kindness was hers to repay.
She was utterly loyal to Jiu Ge and followed his every order. She took care of countless troubleso matters for him and beca his trusted confidante and most capable ally. He even sent her to the Heavenly Magic God’s Castle to further her training.
For three years in the Heavenly Magic God’s Castle, she never stopped thinking about Jiu Ge.
When Jiu Ge tasked her with watching over Qin Sisi, she did so. When Jiu Ge demanded reports about Qin Sisi, she told him everything in painstaking detail.
When she discovered that the girl Elderly Fourth had brought back, trapped inside a black sack, wore a storage ring identical to Qin Sisi’s, she imdiately inford Jiu Ge.
She knew that if sothing happened to Qin Sisi, Jiu Ge would be devastated.
The blood debt of her parents was never forgotten. She had always been waiting for her chance. She wouldn’t attack recklessly, for she was no match for i Ji’s mana. One slip would ruin everything. She needed a surefire opportunity.
When Qin Sisi and Ye You arrived one after another, Li Li saw hope. She first brought Qin Sisi to witness i Ji’s depravity, making her see what a demon i Ji truly was.
Li Li knew that Qin Sisi was kind and would never tolerate i Ji’s wickedness.
When Ye You and his group were troubled over how to infiltrate the Chief Mansion, it was Li Li who inford them of the Soul-breaking Ladder’s existence.
Unfortunately, Ye You and his group were no match for i Ji and the Eagle Queen. They barely managed to escape with the Blood Eagle’s Egg Qin Sisi had obtained through sheer luck.
But Li Li wasn’t worried. i Ji’s plan to marry Tian Xiaozi was tantamount to rebellion. Since Ye You had co, he wouldn’t let the matter rest.
Sure enough, i Ji’s monstrous deeds were soon exposed to the world by Ye You and his companions. She beca a reviled outcast, hated by all. The Chief Mansion was breached, and the Changkong family suffered a crushing defeat.
Yet, Li Li once again underestimated i Ji’s cunning and shalessness. After her defeat, to preserve her life, i Ji feigned repentance and used familial ties to coerce Jiu Ge into protecting her.
The flicker of malice in i Ji’s eyes and the triumphant smirk that followed when Jiu Ge turned his back didn’t escape Li Li’s notice.
To her despair, in the end, for the sake of the greater good, both Ye You and Qin Sisi relented. As long as i Ji’s Magic Source was destroyed, they were willing to spare her life.
In that instant, Li Li’s heart turned to ashes, overco by utter hopelessness.
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