Intermission – It's Pointless To Wait Till the Wedding Day
The day before the wedding, Lin Xiao Kui arrives at the front of Bujian Yue's residence.
Despite the other person being blind, and won't be able to see her appearance, Lin Xiao Kui had still put on a thin layer of makeup, while being dressed in a pale green set of robes.
"I'll head in myself. The rest of you stand outside."
"Understood."
Giving this order to the guards, who had accompanied her, Lin Xiao Kui steps into the courtyard.
Following Lin Xiao Kui's departure, the guards exchanged a look with one another, and one of them remarks—
"I've heard that there were attempts to get the 46th prince to recover his vision, but none of them worked."
"Heh. I've heard that despite him having access to some decent resources, he's still unable to make a breakthrough into the Foundation Establishment realm."
"Ai, a garbage-like talent of this degree, it's enough to inspire pity from just about anyone."
"All that pity is gone when he's married to the princess though…"
"Indeed. I honestly can't understand why his majesty offered this marriage."
...…
"…"
Having never seen Bujian Yue in person before, Lin Xiao Kui has developed an interest in the former's appearance over the last 11 years.
As for her informing Bujian Yue of seeing him from afar—in her first voice recording, that was just a minor detail that she had made up, to have the former feel a sense of familiarity towards her. Considering how the former is blind, there's no way for them to have known whether her words were true or false.
"…"
Rather quickly, Lin Xiao Kui arrives at the courtyard's main building, where Bujian Yue's room is situated.
"Excuse me."
Saying this, Lin Xiao Kui opens the doors of the room, and immediately, her eyes are focused onto the young man, who is seated at the table.
Black hair with a white eye band wrapped around the head, and a set of white robes.
Parting his lips, Bujian Yue asks—
"This voice…? Is it Princess Xiao Kui?"
"Indeed."
Raising a smile, Lin Xiao Kui walks over to the table, while thinking—
(His face—at least the bits that I can see, it's quite good. It's a shame that he's blind.)
As Lin Xiao Kui seats herself on the opposite side of him, Bujian Yue raises a subtle smile, while thinking—
(A clone? Well, I guess that's that. She's here with ulterior motives.)
Originally, Bujian Yue figured that he would need to probe her with a few subtle questions, but the fact that she had come here with such a well-made clone—that was all the answer the former needed, to know whether she's being sincere or not.
That being the case—
"Princess Xiao Kui, what exactly was it that you actually liked about me?"
Bujian Yue decides to have a bit of fun, and continues to remark—
"A blind man like myself, I can't see myself possessing any redeeming qualities that would draw your attention."
Raising a light chuckle, while smiling, Lin Xiao Kui replies—
"This might sound rude, but I like a person who is able to still maintain a decent outlook on life—despite their living difficulties."
"…"
Through his divine senses, Bujian Yue sees a trace of mockery in Lin Xiao Kui's smile, as she gave out a rather vague answer.
(Hmm. My cultivation base right now—it's enough to suppress the Hong Xiao Emperor at this point. All things considered, it's pointless to wait till the wedding day. Why don't I just… End it all right now?)
Thinking of this, Bujian Yue taps the table once, and rises off his seat.
Without putting on the act of a blind man, Bujian Yue moves to position himself directly in front of Lin Xiao Kui.
"…?"
As Lin Xiao Kui tilts her head, and is about to ask something—
"…"
"…!"
Faster than Lin Xiao Kui is able to react, Bujian Yue grabs the former's neck, and lifts her off her feet.
"You…- Ugh…?!"
Tightening his grip on Lin Xiao Kui's neck, Bujian Yue remarks—
"I've heard that the Lingchen Star Realm is currently divided into two factions. One side wishes to wage a war, while another wishes to maintain peace. The fact that you send a clone over for this wedding, you're a member of the war-waging faction, are you not? In that case, right now, I'm actually doing you a favor."
"…?!"
Widening her eyes, Lin Xiao Kui looks to Bujian Yue with astonishment, and despite wishing to ask how he had figured her current self to be but a clone, the latter continues to tighten his grip over her neck.
"I'll be going over to the Lingchen Star Realm soon. Let's meet again then."
Saying this, Bujian Yue rotates the Sacrificial Blood Refines Myriad Souls technique.
"Uh…?!"
As pain courses through the entirety of her body, Lin Xiao Kui wishes to scream, but with her throat sealed tightly, she's unable to do so, and in the next instance—
*Boom!!!* the entirety of Lin Xiao Kui's body explodes into a haze of blood—staining Bujian Yue's white robes crimson.
"Y-You…-!"
In the form of a soul fragment, Lin Xiao Kui looks to Bujian Yue with absolute dread, to which, the latter lowers his right hand, and asks—
"What's wrong? Do you need me to give you a lift back? The fact that you're willing to use a portion of your soul to create this clone—means you've a method to retrieve this soul fragment, do you not?"
Folding the fingers of his right hand, the blood in his clothes is peeled away, and as they gather within Bujian Yue's grip, they form a blood sword.
"…"
As Bujian Yue turns away from her, the soul fragment of Lin Xiao Kui immediately activates a secret art, causing her to vanish.
"Hmm, let's see. The fifth prince will be first, then I need to pay that money-grubbing woman a visit—since I've promised her that I would take her to the Lingchen Star Realm. After that… Hmm, I guess I'll take out all the other princes who visited me?"
Stepping out of his courtyard, Bujian Yue swings the blood sword, causing blood and heads to fly into the air.