[TCFO] Arc 3 — Chapter 110

The Vicious Princess Wants to Reverse Fate (4)

The Blood Clam was an essential medicine for curing his stubborn illness, but it wasn't the only irreplaceable item. However, when Zhou Min pushed everything to the extreme and tortured Yin Mei to the point of near-death once again, Shangguan Qi started to calculate and scheme, gradually pushing the Zhou royal family into a desperate situation.

Finally, killing two birds with one stone, the Blood Clam was taken away by Shangguan Qi, and the Zhou Dynasty was gradually oppressed by the rebel army and neighbouring countries' pressures. The army was in dire straits, facing internal and external threats. However, from the moment the Blood Clam was taken to the swarming of the rebel army and the neighbouring country's troops, Zhou Min's parents and brothers never said a word against Zhou Min. They all donned their battle armour, ready to fight until death.

It wasn't until all her brothers had died that Zhou Min realised the significance of the Blood Clam to the Zhou Kingdom. It was like an heirloom jade seal, as noble as a dragon's vein. As long as the country remained intact, the Blood Clam could never be touched!

Because it represented the authority of the king, without the Blood Clam, it was equivalent to a general without the Tiger Seal, an emperor without the jade seal. In the end, Zhou Min looked at the chaotic army already at the city gate, watched her parents hanging lifelessly, and dressed in mourning clothes. She looked at the most outstanding figure among the crowd, clad in silver battle armour. Like their first encounter, he remained the same. Every smile never reached his eyes, as if he perpetually viewed all beings with a god's perspective—cold, distant, and rational.

He was still himself; although he wore battle armour, he remained refined and gentle yet kept his distance from others. He spoke and laughed but exuded indifference and aloofness. Even though he seemed far away, she seemed to catch a glimpse of the faint smile at the corner of his mouth, mocking yet gentle, just like the moment he appeared in the backlit bamboo pavilion when she was carried into the Valley of Divine Physicians.

He astonished the passing years and drove her mad for a lifetime. He didn't know that her right hand had been disabled while saving him from the wolves, and she could never become a mother again.

He didn't know that the rumours in the martial arts world were not instigated by her. Although her subordinates took it upon themselves to please her, she made great efforts to salvage the situation. To protect the people in the Valley of Divine Physicians and his master, she meticulously planned, sacrificing many subordinates. Eventually, she deceived everyone by first transferring the people of the Valley of Divine Physicians and then setting fire to the entire place. She spread the word that she had slaughtered everyone in the Valley of Divine Physicians.

And those so-called lovers she killed were mere disguises of evil forces pretending to ambush him. But at that time, they clashed over the matters of the Valley of Divine Physicians, and their relationship was like fire and water. So she had to make a move first, which solidified her reputation as the vicious princess!

The events that followed were perhaps fueled by unwillingness, especially after she learned that he was willing to die with Yin Mei to protect her. In the end, she changed, becoming more and more extreme, to the point where she even wanted to marry Shangguan Qi's memorial tablet.

To avenge Shangguan Qi, she started assassinating all those who had ambushed him on the cliff. In the end, she offended the entire cult. But when Shangguan Qi appeared in the martial world once again, they realised they had no way out. They could no longer have a proper conversation between them.

When she learned that he needed the Blood Clam, she thought she finally had a chance to talk to him. However, she discovered that what he was planning to steal was fake!

He didn't know that there were two Blood Clams, one real and one fake. The real Blood Clam had always been with her because she was a premature baby, and her body required the Blood Clam for conditioning. So her father had long ago replaced the real Blood Clam, hoping that she could grow up safely. The heavily guarded place was always equipped with the fake one. When she found out where he was going, she rushed there ahead of him. Originally, she wanted to present the real one to him face-to-face, but then she received the news of her brother's death in battle, killed by a general from a neighbouring country. In shock, she only had time to place the real one there and take the fake one away.

The Blood Clam was actually a jade essence inside a jade pendant, possessing profound spiritual energy. When the pendant was shattered, the flowing jade essence could become the most precious medicinal material in the world. However, when the Blood Clam was worn, it became the best spiritual object for conditioning the body.

When she hurried back that night, her father looked at her empty neck and learned that the Blood Clam had been stolen. He knew what his beloved daughter had done. So at that moment, her grieving father held her, exhausted, and said, "I hope he understands everything you've done! Cherish your efforts in the end!"

Standing on the city wall at this moment, looking at the army below, she felt nothing but sadness and a desire to laugh. When the Blood Clam was stolen, rumours spread among the people that the heavens had abandoned the Zhou Kingdom. Otherwise, how could the Blood Clam be lost? The malice of the princess and the incompetence of the Zhou Emperor—the Zhou Kingdom was no longer the Zhou Kingdom it once was. The monster had arisen, and the monster must be slain!

The monster they spoke of naturally referred to her, filled with wickedness! And she didn't say anything. With her loved ones gone, she went mad for a lifetime. She sacrificed everything, enduring blows and shedding blood, and what was there to say in the end?

Everything she did, she never sought his gratitude, but now she felt a sense of desolation. How could she unreservedly go to him and say she loved him on the road paved with the blood of her loved ones? After all, her love was intertwined with the blood of her family!

Moreover, she truly didn't know that the significance of the Blood Clam to the Zhou Kingdom meant its downfall. If she had known, would she have made the same choice? Between him and her family, she couldn't clearly see that person, but she knew. She could even sense the icy gaze of that person. Perhaps she was truly mistaken!

Zhou Min looked at the spring sun, much like the weather in the Valley of Divine Physicians that year, but none of it mattered anymore. In her white attire, resolute and determined, when Zhou Min jumped off the city wall, she seemed to catch a glimpse of the sudden figure flying towards her and the perplexing shout. It was the first time she heard him call her by name. Previously, he had always respectfully referred to her as "Princess".