"I'll give it back!" Ying Hua shouted. "If I could. But the White Qin Stone had already fused in my body when I swallowed it."
"That means we have to kill you!" The general of the empyrean immediately issued a fire shooting stance many times. He attacked Ying Hua from multiple directions. His soldiers also did the same. They formed a fire resembling sharp objects.
For a moment Ying Hua was able to suppress it. She handed out a move, "Thousand Water Curtain! Stone Cocoons! Unite!"
A rock appeared from the ground which soon protected Ying Hua's body. Then sprayed water under her feet to extinguish the fire that burned her.
It helped for a moment. But after the empyrean general added another fire move, all of Ying Hua's defenses crumbled and even disappeared.
Her skin came into contact with the fire followed by another scratch. The White Qin Stone on her body spontaneously released energy to help her think. But every time that energy flew in her body, she would feel excruciating pain.
It made her body limp on the ground, instantly bursting with flames that surrounded her. Not long after, sharp flames appeared, which tore her body into the shape of almost minced meat.
The soldiers also burned all the innocent residents as well as their settlements. After that, they waited until Ying Hua's body was destroyed.
"We must bring the White Qin Stone, otherwise the Emperor will be angry," said the general.
But before that happened suddenly a big wind blew from all directions. The enormous trees swayed and creaked as if they were about to fall. The dry leaves flew up to make a clean area. A cloudy sky appeared in the blink of an eye.
The celestial soldiers covered their faces with their hands, suddenly feeling stiffness in their bones.
"General, we have to go now! This is no ordinary wind!" said one of them.
The core of their bodies was fire, which would still lose if exposed to too much wind. In addition, this wind was not a wind that came from the earth.
"Surely one of the celestial emperors is interfering in our affairs again," the celestial general cursed. His fiery fist suddenly extinguished, and even he felt the frost begin to approach his spiritual core. "We're leaving now!" he ordered, after confirming that there was no White Qin Stone they could find from Ying Hua's body.
They all disappeared, leaving only smoke so thick it hurt one's eyes.
When the wind stopped blowing, Ying Hua moved her lips. Her body was torn apart with many cuts. Blood was everywhere, and the core of her body was barely visible and extinguished. If that happened then she would die.
But because of the wind, her spirit core slowly sank beneath her flesh again, hiding in search of shelter.
"Help!" she tried to scream. But her throat was broken so she couldn't make a loud sound. "Help!" she continued. "Emperor Liang!" But nothing happened.
She was suffering from dying, thirsty, and feeling burnt. Although her body's core was fire, just like her father's, there were parts of her body that were ice crystals, which were passed down from her mother. This energy battle caused her to have a disability when she was a baby.
"Emperor Liang, are you going to let me die?" she said hoarsely, blood flowing from the corner of her lips. Her eyes were watering, crying bitterly. "If you wanted that, then why did you save me in the first place? Why didn't you let me die with my five other siblings?"
A majestic voice appeared, which came from far away but could be heard by Ying Hua very clearly. She knew who it was.
"Pray sincerely! Ask for help properly! You are a creature that died but I saved you. So I want to see your sincerity so I can be sure if my decision is right," said the voice.
Ying Hua stared blankly at the twilight sky, at the charred tree trunks, at the scattered corpses.
Her lips moved again, "Help! Anyone help me! I still want to live! I still want to learn the meaning of life! And I still want to save my fourth soul which is currently being held captive by my father. Please! Anyone help me! I will grant anything to you. whatever you wish!"
Soon there was the sound of approaching footsteps, as well as the sound of branches snapping. Approached a boy, who gasped at the great fire that had broken out, which now left a large number of bodies and charred wood.
"What has happened?" He was dressed in shabby clothes, with a red headband. When he heard the horses approaching, he immediately hid behind a huge tree, where Ying Hua's body was.
"Damn it! What's this? I don't remember any settlement burning this badly!" said a man, who was currently riding a horse. Behind him were a few more people, all of them wearing black clothes.
The boy peered carefully, clutching the charred tree trunk.
"Is it because of him?" asked one of them. "Do you remember what happened to Luong Forest?"
"You're right. Then let's speed up the search! We can't lose the boy. We split up! He can't have run too far. Come on!"
They all stepped on the horse and then walked away together.
The Red Headband immediately came out of hiding, looked in all directions, and almost ran away to return to the other settlements.
But before that, he looked at Ying Hua's torn body, half-opened eyes, and wept.
The Red Headband was too bold. He pressed her broken cheek gently. "Are you still alive? Why is your hair like white fire?"
Ying Hua glanced with difficulty. "Help me!" she whispered.
"I can't help you because I'm being chased too." Red Headband observed her. "Are you a fire demon?"
Ying Hua did not answer. "I need water."
"Oh, are you a water demon?" He's too chatty. "Sorry, I can't help you. I'm only human."
"Water. I will grant your wish."
"Is that true?" The Red Headband sparkled. After thinking for a moment he took a bottle of drinking water that he brought, which was his supplies. Now he drank it on her. He crouched while waiting, then slowly saw a light shining from her body.
He fell over and covered his face with his tiny hands. "Ha? You're not getting better. You're just giving off light but your wound hasn't healed yet. But I've already given you help. I've given you all the water I have. Now help me! I'm being chased by unknown people. They want to kill me while I'm doing nothing."
But Ying Hua was too weak. After getting water her body began to gather strength and adjust. It made her freeze like wood.
"Hey! You're still alive! Come help me! Save me! You promised to grant my wish!"
Because the Red Headband was screaming too loudly, one of the men in black heard that. He immediately approached after calling his friends.
Now they all surrounded the Red Headband. Swords were drawn from their waists as their feet plunged into the ground.
Red Headband was crying. "Hey, White Flame Demon! Help me!" His cry was very heart-wrenching.
The men in black laughed. "Hahaha, do you think the dead people here can help you? You should trust yourself more than anyone else. We almost couldn't find you. But luckily there are bodies here that can fool you."
"What did I do wrong? Why do you want to kill me?"
"You should have asked your mother! Hyaaaaaa!"
STAB! CRASH! They all stabbed and slashed at the Red Headband's body. Their swords didn't stop even when he asked for mercy, even until he was completely dead.
Not much different from Ying Hua, the Red Headband's body was also terrifying and almost formless.
After that, the men dressed in black went on horseback.
Ying Hua cried seeing the fate of the Red Headband. He was one of the good people who had helped her but had to die horribly.
"Supreme Emperor Liang, give us justice! Are you going to stay on your throne doing nothing? Do we deserve it? We are two innocent little kids, who ended up dying at the hands of adults. Emperor Liang, save us! "
The wind blew from all directions, just like when the sky warriors attacked Ying Huang. It made many trees sway and even fall, some hitting the Red Headband killers.
The rest bounced very far, then died because they were stuck in a sharp wood. They all died horribly, in an instant!
"I came because the universe is listening to your voices," said a voice, which sounded far away but very close. "I must give you the wisest help ever."
Then the voice spoke to the Red Headband, who had died horribly. "You, Red Headband Lao-Tzu, the universe has given you good karma in your next life. You who should be killed for being the illegitimate child of Emperor San will find good fortune because you have helped the son of a sky emperor. Die in peace! Forget grudges to those who have hurt you!"
Now the voice spoke to Ying Huang. "And you White Flame Hair, the eighth seed of the thirteen siblings, I will give you relief from the trouble you are facing. Since you stole the White Qin Stone that belonged to your father, you will receive bad karma in your current life. You will still be in pain when your father injures your fourth soul in the seventh wing of the heavenly palace, in other words, I won't help you with that.
But I will give you a way out if you want to end all this.
Increase kindness until the Key of Control turns to gold, and keep all the promises you ever made. You may pursue all beings in their next life to fulfill that promise.
And for both of you, maybe the universe has matched you. But I don't know if it will have a good effect or not."
The sound disappeared, followed by the wind that stopped blowing.
Ying Hua's body slowly recovered, the incision disappeared, and the blood was absorbed in her pores again. And the Control Key hanging around her neck began to vibrate as if alive.
In the middle of it suddenly appeared the face of Emperor Heng, as well as herself who was imprisoned. He whipped her and burned her with eternal fire, surrounded by her siblings and her mother.
***