The Ninth Lady is a rebellious person.

Chapter 524 I Return to Collect Debts

Inside the private room, only a wisp of smoke rose.

Lang Jiuchuan ordered a cup of tea and pushed it in front of the stunningly beautiful woman kneeling opposite him, his expression complex.

The two grew up together, practiced Taoist arts together, and fought with talismans and magic. In Lang Jiuchuan's short life in her previous life, besides Tantai Qing, it was her. Princess Tantai, who was named a saintess, accompanied her for the longest time.

The princess was two years older than her and had always been called her elder sister. However, this elder sister was too cold and rigid, and seemed to always be hostile and wary of her, even jealous.

Lang Jiuchuan didn't care, because she knew that they were equally lonely and isolated. They were each other's playmates and sources of comfort. However, after Pancheng, she was no longer the Xiao Qingyi she used to be.

The aroma of tea wafted through the air, bringing Princess Tantai back to her senses. She looked at Lang Jiuchuan, who sat calmly on the futon, gazing at her with an expressionless face, and her breath caught in her throat slightly: "You..."

She opened her mouth, but found her throat was dry. She had come here on a whim, driven by a strange impulse and deep-seated doubts, but now that she was facing it, she didn't know how to speak, or rather, there was no need to speak.

With just one word, "elder sister," Lang Jiuchuan revealed her identity to her.

There's no need to probe or ask any further questions, but why does my heart ache so much?
Those scenes in her memory that she had deliberately buried and dared not show to others—walking the steps together under the moon with copper coin swords, secretly reading forbidden books together, being scolded by her master together, drawing talismans and setting up formations together… all those brief, pure childhood days had vanished like bubbles, shattered completely.

Princess Tantai's eyes gradually reddened. The person in front of her had a deep and cold aura, completely different from the fiery and bright person in her memory. This person was not the person in her memory, nor the person she had seen before, but the soul aura was hers. In other words, all the doubts that she dared not think about and never dared to ask had become true.

The old Aqing is gone!

She should have realized it long ago. From the moment the Imperial Advisor called her A Qing, she should have understood that the real A Qing was probably gone forever. But she dared not ask, or even think about it. She was afraid of the truth.

Now, the anxiety that had been hanging over me has finally died!

"Your Highness, what brings you here in secret?" Lang Jiuchuan's cold voice broke the silence.

No longer addressed as "elder sister," the distant form of address sent a pang of bitterness through Princess Tantai's heart, but she quickly regained her composure. Raising her head again, she once more adopted that haughty, celestial-like demeanor. Her crystal-clear eyes fixed on Lang Jiuchuan, she said, "I came only to confirm one thing: are you...?"

Lang Jiuchuan remained silent for a moment before slowly speaking, his voice devoid of emotion: "So what if it is? So what if it isn't? The past is long gone like smoke. Now that you've confirmed it, what can you do? Your Highness and I are nothing but strangers, and from now on, we'll even be enemies!"

Princess Tantai was startled. She was not stupid and understood the meaning behind Lang Jiuchuan's words. Her surname was Tantai, and she was from the same lineage as the Imperial Preceptor. If the Imperial Preceptor had done something unforgivable to her, then the Tantai lineage would be her, Lang Jiuchuan's, enemy!
"You and Master..."

Lang Jiuchuan's eyes were icy cold, and his voice was low and icy: "I have no master anymore. From the moment he attacked me, my master-disciple relationship with him ended."

She looked at Princess Tantai and suddenly smiled: "Since you've come all this way, elder sister, you can't go back empty-handed. Shall I tell you a story?"

Princess Tantai saw the malicious smile on her face and instinctively wanted to resist. Her heart pounded wildly as she tried to escape, but her body seemed to be nailed to the spot, unable to move.

Then she heard a horrifying story about a real and a fake heiress being switched. The most horrifying part of the story wasn't the switch itself, but the fact that someone was so inhuman that they would even sacrifice their own carefully raised disciple, all to achieve their own path to enlightenment.

Princess Tantai was struck dumb, her body trembling violently. Her mind was buzzing, echoing her master's words. Thinking of his various actions, her face turned deathly pale. Was what he did truly for the Tantai family's sake?
He even went so far as to use his most beloved, proudest, and most outstanding disciple to suppress the imperial tomb, nurture the dragon vein, and improve the nation's fortune.

Is this how the Tantai family's continuous national fortune came about?

Princess Tantai felt a churning in her stomach and abruptly turned her head to gag a few times.

The truth was too cruel and overturned her understanding, shocking and disgusting her. Tears fell, whether out of bodily instinct or anger, she didn't know.

She considered many possibilities regarding Lang Jiuchuan's disappearance. She wondered if she had angered her master and been driven away. As for the matter in Pancheng, she thought that she had perished while saving the people. Otherwise, why would there be a shrine dedicated to her?

She dared not engage in conspiracy theories; she feared that her thoughts and ideas were not so simple, and she was also afraid of seeing the disappointment in her master's eyes.

Yes, disappointment.

After Lang Jiuchuan suddenly disappeared, she often saw the disappointment in her master's eyes. She knew that her talent was not as good as Lang Jiuchuan's, but seeing this disappointment still made her feel terrified. She could only keep numbing herself, thinking that Lang Jiuchuan had died saving the people.

But the truth is that her revered master was actually a demon who could cruelly exploit even his own disciples.

A tremendous fear and chilling despair instantly gripped Princess Tantai.

"Is this what you call the Great Way? Just for your own selfish desires?" Princess Tantai murmured.

Lang Jiuchuan's eyes flashed, and he asked, "What is his Dao?"

"To act for the eternal foundation of the Tantai dynasty, to perfect the Great Way..." she replied subconsciously, then her eyes sharpened, becoming piercing as lightning: "Are you trying to trick me into saying this?"

Seeing the wariness in her eyes, Lang Jiuchuan laughed and said, "Your Highness, you see, we are destined to be enemies!"

Even after she recounted her experiences and described Tantai Qing's wickedness, when she tried to probe and extract information, Princess Tantai's first reaction was still vigilance and wariness. Isn't this the most direct instinct?
Princess Tantai froze, opened her mouth as if to explain, but ultimately said nothing.

She suddenly felt ashamed to face Lang Jiuchuan, stood up, clenched her fists, and looked down at her: "You'd be better off not showing up at all, otherwise... Master will not allow the fate of the Great Dan Kingdom to collapse, no matter who it is, he will not allow it, you know him."

She turned around, slightly tilting her head to look at her, her voice as soft as a feather: "You've escaped control and been given a second chance at life, why come back again? Why put yourself in danger again? Isn't it better to be alive?"

Seeing her face was cold as ever, but with tears of struggle glistening in her eyes, Lang Jiuchuan sighed and said, "Sister, some debts cannot be forgotten just because I want to. I returned to collect debts and was born to settle karmic debts. This is my way."

Princess Tantai stared at her silently for a long while before turning and leaving.

Behind him, Lang Jiuchuan's words reached his ears: "If you don't believe me, why don't you go into the imperial tomb and take a look?"

(End of this chapter)