The mad princess forces love upon him, and the aloof imperial advisor trembles every night.

Her swordsmanship was so bizarre that it seemed unlike any martial art in the human world—her left hand moved with wide, sweeping strokes, its momentum like a rainbow; while her right hand was the Flowing Cloud Sword Technique, a secret technique passed down by the Great Chu royal family, light, ethereal, and unpredictable.

She was able to use two completely different sword techniques at the same time.

The dull thud of the sword slicing through flesh was incessant.

Blood droplets splattered, tracing eerie arcs in the air. She lightly licked the blood droplets from the corner of her lips with the tip of her tongue, her smile maniacal as a red spider lily blooming in hell.

"That was satisfying!" With a single stroke of her sword, she severed half of the attacker's head. "Seven years of wind and snow on the border, and all I've ever missed is this kind of 'warm hospitality' in the capital!"

A man in black had his head roll to his feet, his eyes wide open.

Chu Qingyue chuckled softly, her gold-embroidered red boots stepping over the head, pressing down with her foot—

"Click."

The sound of the skull cracking was exceptionally clear in the quiet night. She even leisurely ground it, as if crushing a ripe fruit.

"That's it?" She shook her bloodstained finger, her smile unrestrained. "It doesn't even deserve to make me sweat."

She tilted her head, her tone as innocent as a child's: "How about we practice some more in the underworld?"

Before the words were even finished, the sword flashed.

"Your Highness, two were spared alive. Should we subject them to severe torture?"

The guard Chi Xiao knelt on one knee, a few drops of blood splattered on his face, but his eyes were full of fervent loyalty as he looked at Chu Qingyue—a kind of almost fanatical worship.

Chu Qingyue raised an eyebrow, her smile alluring and captivating: "Chi Xiao, after following me for so long, don't you understand me yet?"

"I have always been kind-hearted and soft-hearted, and I can't stand such crude things as torture."

She walked up to a trembling man in black, bent down, and gently lifted his chin.

The fingertips were icy cold, and the touch felt like a venomous snake gliding across the skin.

"Sweetie, tell me," she said gently, as if coaxing a child, "Are you hungry?"

The man in black trembled violently.

How could he not know the formidable reputation of the Ninth Princess and General Chihuang? Seven years ago, when she left the capital, she was still a frail young girl. Seven years later, she returned as the "Blood-Clad Asura" who struck fear into the hearts of the Northern Underworld.

Legend has it that on the day she massacred the city, her red robes were soaked in blood three times over. Standing amidst the mountains of corpses and seas of blood, she smiled and asked the surrendered soldiers, "Those who surrender, may I borrow your heads?"

Rumor has it that after she slaughtered more than 300 members of the Beiming royal family, she left only the old king alive, and every day she would cut off a piece of his flesh, roast it until it was seven-tenths cooked, and force him to eat it himself.

The old king cried and begged, but she rested her chin on her hand and smiled gently:

"Your Majesty, you praised it yesterday for being perfectly seasoned, why aren't you eating it today? Do you think my cooking has declined?"

It took the old king thirty-seven days to breathe his last.

At that moment, the legendary Asura squatted in front of him and asked him in the gentlest tone if he was hungry.

"Not going to say anything?" Chu Qingyue's smile widened, but her eyes remained devoid of warmth. "Then I'll take that as an admission that you're hungry."

She then turned to another man in black, her tone light and cheerful:

Confucius said—no, I say: One should be selfless and willing to go to great lengths for one's brothers.

"Since your companion is hungry, and we didn't bring any dry rations," she smiled sweetly, "we'll just have to borrow a few ounces of your flesh. Don't worry, it won't hurt."

A cold glint flashed.

"ah--!!!"

A heart-wrenching scream pierced the night sky. An eyeball rolled to the ground, covered in dust.

Chu Qingyue bent down to pick it up, placed it in her palm, and examined it carefully, as if she were appreciating a precious treasure.

Then, he placed the still-warm eyeball to the lips of another man in black.

"You're hungry. Here, eat while it's hot."

The man in black kept his mouth tightly shut and shook his head frantically.

"You won't eat the left eye? Okay." Chu Qingyue seemed to understand something, then turned around and stuffed the eyeball back into her companion's bloody eye socket—but with a casual press, the eyeball drooped softly, making it even more terrifying.

A cold glint flashed again.

The second eyeball was gouged out and presented to the man in black.

"How about this one? Do you like it?" Her tone was as gentle as if she were asking about the flavor of a dessert. "Or... the heart, lungs, spleen, stomach, kidneys, large intestine, and small intestine?"

With each word she uttered, the tip of her sword would lightly tap the corresponding spot.

"Which one would you like to eat? I can get it fresh right away, guaranteeing the ingredients are fresh, and I can even grill it for you—how well-done would you like it?"

"My cooking skills are quite good. The old King of Beiming even praised my skills before he passed away."

"I'll talk! I'll talk!" the second man in black finally broke down, screaming and crying.

"Blood Blade Sect! The First Prince sent us! He said we absolutely cannot let you return to the capital alive!"

Chu Qingyue smiled.

That smile was as alluring as a poppy in bloom, breathtakingly beautiful, yet utterly poisonous.

"Good boy/girl, you should be rewarded for telling the truth."

She patted the man in black's face, took out a scarlet pill from her bosom, pried open his jaw, and threw it in.

"Here's a 'Wish Pill' as a reward."

She gracefully untied the rope. "As for why it's called that... you'll find out soon enough."

The maid, Liuyun, stepped forward, looking at the man in black with pity, and softly counted, "Three, two, one."

"Ugh—!!!"

A piercing scream, so loud it was inhuman, rose into the sky.

The man in black had bulging veins all over his body, which was twisted at an unbelievable angle, as if every bone in his body had been smashed to pieces and then roasted over a raging fire.

Blood was flowing from his seven orifices, and his eyeballs were almost bulging out of their sockets, yet he didn't even have the strength to end his own life—he could only consciously endure this hellish pain.

"The Desire Pill," Chu Qingyue explained softly.

"Once poisoned, even death becomes a luxury."

"It attacks every three days, at most three times, and then its whole body ulcerates and it dies, remaining conscious throughout the attack."

She leaned down and whispered in the man in black's ear:

"Do something for me in three days. If you do it well, I will give you the antidote; if you do it poorly..."

She chuckled softly, her breath icy:

"The most patient one I experimented with creating 'human pigs' in Beiming lived outside my bedchamber for one year and three months."

"Every morning, I feed him ginseng soup with a silver spoon and see how many times he can still blink."

A flash of sword light.

Blood bloomed from the throat of the already blind man in black, and he fell to the ground with an expression of relief.

Chu Qingyue sheathed her sword, her red robes fluttering like karmic flames under the blood-red moon.

"Chixiao, proceed according to plan." She mounted her horse, her silver armor reflecting an eerie, cold light.

"Three days from now, I want the entire capital—from the common people to the one in the imperial palace—to remember that Chu Qingyue has returned."

"Your subordinate obeys!" Chi Xiao knelt on one knee, his eyes burning with almost devout fanaticism.

Liu Yun asked softly, "Your Highness, these corpses..."

Chu Qingyue glanced at the corpses scattered on the ground, then suddenly broke into an extremely beautiful smile:

"The heads are cut off and kept chilled with ice. The bodies are burned on the spot. These heads... I want to send my departed friends a small gift as a token of my return."

—Three days later, in Kyoto—

The flagstone path from the city gate to the palace road was swept spotless, but the streets were crowded with eagerly waiting people.

The Ninth Princess, who was sent to Beiming for a political marriage seven years ago, actually pacified that barbarian kingdom with the soldiers accompanying her dowry. Who wouldn't want to witness such a legend firsthand?