Witch God Abyss (Lily) - Chapter 6

In Princess Zhao Beijin’s bedchamber.

The personal maid, Feishuang, brought in tea.

“Princess Jin, His Majesty sent a palace servant with an oral edict. You don’t need to go to the Imperial Academy this afternoon. Master Lin is coming to check on your condition.”

Zhao Beijin put down the book in her hand and asked, “Didn’t they say a few days ago that the State Preceptor would come to see me?”

Maid Feishuang: “The palace servant said the State Preceptor is a man, so it’s not convenient for him to treat the princess.”

“Who is this Master Lin?”

“The State Preceptor’s disciple, Lin Shenyuan.”

“Has she already taken a post in the Imperial Observatory?”

“Yes.”

“No disciples from the Wind Sect or the Wood Clan were admitted to the Imperial Observatory?”

“No.”

Zhao Beijin knew it was Lin Shenyuan who injured Bai Feng.

Hearing that only she was admitted to the Imperial Observatory, Zhao Beijin felt the matter was handled too unfairly.

Since Lin Shenyuan joined the Imperial Observatory, each sect should have also sent one person to join.

Her anger grew.

Feishuang lowered her voice: “Princess Jin, these past few days, everyone’s been talking about this Master Lin.”

“What are they saying?”

Feishuang said: “Her beauty goes without saying—those blue eyes, no one in the capital has ever seen anything like them. As for her skills, everyone saw the duel outside the main hall that day. These past few days, rumors have made her sound almost mythical, saying she fought two opponents at once and didn’t lose ground. Moreover, this wasn’t a time for the Imperial Observatory to recruit or fill vacancies, yet His Majesty specially allowed Lin Shenyuan to join, while no one from the Wind Sect or Wood Clan got such a privilege. They say His Majesty has already tacitly approved her as the next State Preceptor.”

In the entire capital, it was always the women of Prince Duan’s mansion who were praised and envied.

When did it become the turn of a wild girl from Wubei like Lin Shenyuan to steal the spotlight?

Zhao Beijin only said: “She’s just a mere eighth-rank scholar. No need to take her seriously.”

Lin Shenyuan went to see Duan Yule, whose symptoms and affected area were the same as Zhou Yizhi’s.

Finally, she came to Zhao Beijin’s bedchamber.

Lin Shenyuan bowed.

Zhao Beijin didn’t let her rise.

“A few days ago, His Majesty sent a palace servant with an oral edict saying the State Preceptor would come. Why is it you?”

Lin Shenyuan: “My master is a man, so it’s not convenient for him to treat the princesses.”

Zhao Beijin said: “What man? A demonic cultivator, and now he’s suddenly full of propriety. I don’t mind having the State Preceptor treat me.”

Lin Shenyuan came to Zhao Beijin last, knowing it would definitely be troublesome.

She didn’t care whether Zhao Beijin was willing or not.

Standing up, she asked: “Princess Jin, will you undress yourself, or shall I help you?”

Zhao Beijin looked at her, as if Lin Shenyuan was about to come over and tear her clothes off.

If they really fought, Zhao Beijin might not lose, but it wouldn’t sound good if word got out.

Zhao Beijin said to the palace maids on both sides: “Close the doors and windows, then leave.”

The maids left, and Zhao Beijin went behind the screen to start untying her top.

Lin Shenyuan deliberately followed and mocked: “So shy just to undress. Where’s the bold spirit of Princess Jin drawing a bow and shooting arrows in the prince’s mansion?”

Zhao Beijin’s hands paused as she untied her waistband, puzzled: “When did you see me shoot arrows?”

“What? Your Prince Duan’s mansion isn’t some forbidden ground. Even if it were the imperial palace, I’d come and go as I please.”

“You! That’s blatant disrespect! Truly a demonic girl raised by a demonic cultivator, improper in speech and conduct, deserving a slap. If I report this to His Majesty…”

Lin Shenyuan interrupted her: “Oh, spare me, aren’t you tired?” As she spoke, she reached to untie the ribbon of Zhao Beijin’s skirt.

“Why tie it so tight? Doesn’t it hurt?”

Zhao Beijin grabbed her skirt and raised a hand to block her. “I’ll do it myself.”

Lin Shenyuan grabbed her wrist with a twist.

Zhao Beijin refused to be held, blocking with her other hand, and the two began fighting right there.

Zhao Beijin had trained diligently in horseback riding, archery, swordsmanship, and martial arts since childhood.

An ordinary woman would surely not defeat her.

But Lin Shenyuan formed her core at six years old, taught inner and outer martial arts by demons and spirits who lived for centuries.

If she fought seriously, she could take Zhao Beijin’s life in an instant.

Lin Shenyuan couldn’t really injure her, so she only tugged at her skirt.

It was midsummer, and Zhao Beijin’s four layers of clothing were thin.

In just a few moves, Lin Shenyuan tore or ripped them apart.

The screen fell, and the bronze mirror toppled.

In the end, Zhao Beijin was left with only a chest band and a single undergarment. One wrist was still tightly held by Lin Shenyuan.

Zhao Beijin tossed aside the torn short shirt, no longer shy, and said: “Let go!”

Lin Shenyuan looked at the red mark on Zhao Beijin’s chest, identical to Zhou Yizhi’s.

“Princess Jin, if you had just let me take your pulse and check the mark on your chest earlier…”

Then, Lin Shenyuan’s mind wandered.

This body was completely different from Zhou Yizhi’s.

Zhou Yizhi still had that smooth, flat, boyish look.

Zhao Beijin’s curves were already very pronounced.

With the doors and windows closed, the room was dimly lit.

Her full chest, slender waist, and rounded curves in the half-light added three parts shyness and five parts softness.

Lin Shenyuan’s gaze unconsciously swept from her shoulders to her waist… feeling her mouth dry and a stir in her heart…

“Princess Jin, put your clothes back on. I… I’ll leave now… Later, a female official from the Imperial Observatory will bring medicine.”

Lin Shenyuan left Zhao Beijin’s bedchamber, feeling her face flush and short of breath. “What’s wrong with me? Am I afflicted by gu too…?”

Lin Shenyuan returned to the Imperial Observatory, but her master, Wen Li, was nowhere to be found.

Lin Shenyuan thought: “All three girls have the exact same symptoms and affected areas, with slight feverish signs. But Princess Jin’s inner breath was disordered, perhaps from the fight or maybe the gu insect’s influence. However, her pulse suggests she’s in her monthly cycle.”

Lin Shenyuan looked at the pile of scrolls on the desk, with a note beside them: “If you don’t understand, consult the scrolls.”

Lin Shenyuan muttered: “Gone just like that? What an irresponsible State Preceptor!”
Grumbling, Lin Shenyuan unrolled a scroll. “He told me before that Master Jingtan’s gu insects were dealt with. Dealt with where? These three princesses clearly have those insects!”

Lin Shenyuan went through the scrolls one by one, all records about gu insects from the southwest—breeding methods, effects of affliction, taboos of use, and illustrations of the insects at various stages.

There were at least three or four hundred types recorded.

Lin Shenyuan couldn’t stop reading until the lamps were lit.

A female official from the Imperial Observatory brought dinner and tea.

Only then did Lin Shenyuan feel hungry and thirsty.

Lin Shenyuan stretched, lay down, and muttered: “Finding the right one could take forever… Master, couldn’t you just tell me which one it is?”

Then, a palace servant arrived with several lacquered trays, delivering an oral edict: “His Majesty says Master Lin can live in the Imperial Observatory from now on. These are your official robes and waist tablet. His Majesty also says if Master Lin isn’t used to the official robes, you may wear regular clothes as an exception.”

Lin Shenyuan bowed.

“Thank His Majesty for his kindness and mercy.”

The next morning, Lin Shenyuan was awakened by a female official. She had fallen asleep in the open hall without doors or windows, exhausted from reading scrolls.

Lin Shenyuan got up, washed her face, rinsed her mouth, and continued reading scrolls.

But her mind kept wandering—either to Zhao Beijin’s full chest and slender waist or to the burning heat of Zhao Beijin’s palm.

“Is her body always warmer than others’? Or is it the gu insect’s influence…?”

In the evening, a female official from the Imperial Observatory came in and said: “Master Lin, Princess Zhou…”

Before she finished, Zhou Yizhi had already come around the screen. “I came to see you.”

Lin Shenyuan said to the female official: “Thank you. Go attend to your duties.”

The female official left.

Zhou Yizhi smirked: “I heard you fought with Princess Jin yesterday?”

“Gossip spreads too fast in this palace, doesn’t it?”

Zhou Yizhi, with a gleeful expression, said: “Don’t be mad. Today, Princess Jin got scolded by the Grand Tutor.”

“Oh? She got into trouble?”

“She doesn’t get into trouble. The Grand Tutor assigned a passage to memorize yesterday, and she didn’t recite it today. Plus, she was distracted all day…”

“She couldn’t memorize it?”

“She never failed before. The Grand Tutor always praised her. No idea what happened today…”

Lin Shenyuan thought: “Was she mad because of me? No way…”

Zhou Yizhi said: “I was worried you were upset after dealing with Princess Jin yesterday, so I came to share this good news. I’ve got to go memorize my texts, or I’ll be the one scolded tomorrow. I’m off.”

“You came all this way just to tell me this?”

Lin Shenyuan was about to call the female official to escort the princess, but Zhou Yizhi skipped away happily.

Watching young Princess Zhou’s cheerful back, Lin Shenyuan said: “Is it something in Wubei’s water and soil? Why are all the girls so unruly…?”