Ying Yue and the crown prince of Xinjing continues to stare at each other; waiting for one of them to back down. Ying Yue had a new resolve and was not going to back down. She needed Bai Chun out of the way to create a safe future for her child.
"Will you take my offer or not? I may be soft hearted but I will watch Xinjing fall to the ground if needed."
The crown prince fans himself as he walks over to his father. Whispering among themselves, Ying Yue could see the king nod his head in regards to what the crown prince was telling him. After five minutes the crown prince walks back towards Ying Yue. However, this time, Jianyu was standing in front of Ying Yue.
"Dragon emperor, can you not? I would like to speak to Ying Yue."
"Don't call her with such a familiar tone. Don't forget I can blow your head off and wipe your kingdom off the map if I wanted to."
"Ah...yes, pardon me for my rudeness. I discussed with my father and we will agree to your terms. My contract with Bai Chun is long over so I don't owe him anything. If you want to know where he is, I don't mind telling you."
Ying Yue cuts in front of Jianyu and locks eyes with the crown prince of Xinjing again.
"Spill it out then. I don't like wasting my time."
"Now...now Ying...Ahem I mean, dragon empress. Don't look at me like that. It makes my heart race."
"Sigh....can I poke out his eyes at least?"
"No, you can't Jianyu. Just let me handle it."
"How rude. Patience is a virtue you know. My deal with Bai Chun was to bring me the owner of the divine sword and the sword itself. In exchange I would give him the abandoned kingdom of Shanliang."
"Shanliang? Why would he want that?"
"He told me he's tired of roaming for a place to call home. The kingdom of Xinjing conquered Shanliang in the last war thirty years ago, so it has under our jurisdiction this whole time."
"Why didn't he just steal it or something?"
"You didn't seriously think he was a match for me, did you? He's grown old and will die any day now."
"What....what do you mean?"
"Looks like the dragon emperor knows what I'm talking about."
Ying Yue turns to face Jianyu and tugs on his sleeve. Jianyu nods his head at Ying Yue before whispering into her ears.
"Thanks for the information. As part of our deal I will lift the curse. But if you try anything funny again in the future, I will not hesitate to kill you."
"Yes…yes... I will keep that in mind, dragon empress. It's a pity I can't make you my queen."
"The kingdom of Xinjing will thrive on its own. You don't need the sword for it anymore."
"Somehow I became more interested in you than the sword itself overtime. Funny how the world works sometimes."
"It does not matter who approaches me. I only want Jianyu, so I would have never been able to reciprocate your feelings. I pray you make smarter choices next time and chose someone kind and wise as your next crown princess."
Ying Yue grabs hold of Jianyu's right hand and walks them both out of the throne room. Once they were outside, Ying Yue asked Jianyu about what to do about lifting the curse.
"Jianyu, how do I lift the curse?"
"What? We're really going to do it? It might hurt a bit."
"I keep my promises, Jianyu."
"Fine...close your eyes."
Ying Yue wasn't sure what Jianyu was going to do. As she closed her eyes, she could feel Jianyu placing his hand above her heart. As he chanted an ancient spell; Ying Yue could feel her chest burning up.
"Do you feel it, Ying Yue?"
"Yes....it feels hot and really heavy."
"That is the weight of their sins. Take a deep breath and repeat after me."
Ying Yue followed Jianyu's orders and did as she was told. After chanting verses after Jianyu for ten minutes, Ying Yue could feel the burning sensation and the heavy feeling in her chest slowly disappear.
"You can open your eyes now."
"That's it?"
"That's it. I had to call up the heaven's and the curse is now lifted since you wished for it to from the bottom of your heart. Of course, Xinjing will have to plant and recover on their own, so from here on out, it's up to them."
"I see..."
Not even ten minutes later, Ying Yue could feel a drop of water hit her head.
"It's raining!"
"Let's head home Ying Yue. We need to talk to the old priest."
Jianyu grabs Ying Yue by the waist and chants a spell. In a few seconds a portal opened up and without a moment to lose, Jianyu walked right in; with Ying Yue still held against him.
When Ying Yue opened her eyes, they were now standing in front of the white temple in the dragon kingdom. Jianyu finally let's go of Ying Yue's waist and grabs her by the hand. Dragging her along, Jianyu enters the main gate and heads where the old woman was praying.
"Old priest."
"Hm? Why if it isn't his majesty and her highness. What brings you here?"
"The crown prince of Xinjing mentioned something about Bai Chun reaching his end."
"His end?"
"Is it the work of toying with the dark arts?"
"Most likely. I see….so the time has come has it."
"What did he mean by that? I know I read something in regards to the side effects of the curse a while back, but I thought the dark art he learned made him immortal?"
"Your majesty, no one can live forever. Unless you're a god or goddess of course. No matter how royal and noble the blood of the dragon clan is, we cannot live forever. Our ancestor had long abandoned their statuses since before our time. Bai Chun was meddling with the dark arts for the past five hundred years; it was only a matter of time before he reached his end."
"So, you knew about it?"
"I always wondered about it. Hearing you mention it, just confirmed it for me. Bai Chun will die in a few years if left alone. Looks like he's no longer able to extend his life anymore by changing bodies. Even worse, he's dying faster because of the dark arts. This is why it's banned. Even if he dies his soul cannot reincarnate for all the sins he's committed. That is unless."
"Unless what?"
"Unless the empress slays him with the divine sword. That sword can kill gods and release their souls back to the heavens, I don't see why it wouldn't be able to slay a dying dragon."
Ying Yue pulls out her sword after hearing the old priest speak about it. Quickly pulling it out of its scabbard, Ying Yue glances at the beautiful engravings.
"So, you're saying I can save Bai Chun and release his soul? Why would I do that? He's killed so many and put me through so much."
"I can see why you're angry your highness, but if a spirit can not reincarnate it is left to roam the world for all of time. I believe that is far too cruel. As much as we hate Bai Chun, let's not forget the fact that he never attacked the dragon kingdom directly."
"Just what is it that he wants?!"
"I believe that is something you two must ask him. I'm sure he knows himself that he is slowly dying. Time is limited and since you two know where he is, I'll let you handle it from here."
The old priest turns around and goes back to praying. Ying Yue glances at her sword one last time and shoves it back into its scabbard. She turns to face Jianyu and grabs his hand.
"Let's go home. I think Junjei is waiting for us."