Book 5 Chapter 9 (Part 1) I Shrunk

  Mars fell into the boiling oil pan, and the dog's tail words caused all the flower fairies in the entire Flower Palace to chatter and shout, accusing the dog's tail of speaking nonsense.

  The dog's tail was stern and severe: "What I said is absolutely true, the Night Flowing Ice King will welcome the little princess to his home!"

  The fairies suddenly fell silent, looking at each other in dismay. General Ouyang's expression changed slightly: "Dog Tail, what kind of joke are you playing?"

  "My dog's tail dares to make jokes, but the Night Flowing Ice King never makes jokes. For so many years in the Demon Realm, there hasn't been a single demon who dared not believe the words of the Night Flowing Ice King. This marriage proposal, General, you can't easily decline."

  General Otori was furious: "No, no way! The little princess is so young, how can she marry Ye Liu Bing? Hua Jing is a flower spirit and cannot intermarry with outsiders! Moreover, that Ye Liu Bing is notorious for tormenting women. No matter how great his reputation, I, Otori, am not afraid of him!"

  "So, what about the Demon Lord? Aren't you afraid? Night Flowing Ice King is a big shot in front of the Demon Lord, you shouldn't be unaware of that?" Dog Tail's face revealed a sly smile: "Except for Hana, all the demons in Mazoku have pledged allegiance to the Demon Lord. How can there be intact eggs under a destroyed nest? If Hana were to refuse this marriage proposal, both the Demon Lord and Night Flowing Ice King would be displeased."

  The surroundings were as silent as death, the flower spirits were mute and expressionless, their eyes revealing fear. It seemed that the Demon Lord's reputation had also intimidated these flower spirits into silence. I secretly thought it was not good, relying on the Demon Lord's power, sweeping through the flower fields would be easy. Now Ye Liu Bing is proposing to the little princess, openly using marriage as a means to annex the flower spirits' forces.

  "Want... want me not to agree?" General Otori said slowly.

  "The Dog Tail proudly said: 'Within a week, the Burial Flower Abyss will not see any flower sedan chairs, and the Flower Field will be erased from the Devil's Heaven! From now on, there will no longer be a tribe of flower spirits in the Northern Territory!'"

  The corner of General Otori's mouth twitched slightly, and the dog's tail said: "The marriage proposal has been conveyed, I bid farewell." He walked away with a swagger, arrived at the palace gate, turned around, and coldly said: "With the power of Huatian, it is impossible to contend against the millions of demons under the Demon Lord. General, do not become the eternal sinner of Huatian for personal reasons."

  Staring at the dog's tail disappearing into the distance, General Otori slammed his fist onto the flower bed with a loud "thud", causing the flowers to shatter and scatter everywhere.

  The fairies fell into a deep silence, and the dog's tail made a move before leaving, like a thunderbolt on a clear day, stunning everyone. The vibrant flower field was suddenly at a life-or-death moment.

  An idea suddenly flashed through my mind: Night Flowing Ice would forcibly take the little princess as his wife, and this was a great opportunity to sow discord between him and General Ouyang.

  Just about to fan the flames. I suddenly felt a dizziness and sat down with a "thud".

  "The young master was probably dazed by the pollen." The little princess, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke up and walked over to me, picking up a cup of milky white floral dew. She instructed me to drink it, explaining: "All of us flower spirits have pollen on our bodies that has anesthetic properties. You just fought a fierce battle with the dog's tail, so you were poisoned by his pollen. Drinking this wake-up dew and resting for a bit will make you fine."

  Wow, I didn't expect Huajing to have such a move, almost fell for the sneak attack. The little princess sat beside me, her face somewhat pale, Ye Liu Bing's proposal clearly stimulated her.

  The flower spirits remained silent for a long time, and finally one of them stood up, hesitated for a moment, and said: "Please, General. Please think thrice. Actually, if the flower field were to form an alliance with the Burial Flower Abyss, it wouldn't be a bad thing. I...I'll take my leave first." With her head lowered, she walked out of the palace on her own.

  I was stunned, and one after another, the flower spirits got up to bid farewell, not a single one saying they would refuse this marriage. The face of General Otori grew increasingly unsightly, an elderly-looking flower spirit who seemed to be the oldest, trembling and leaning on his cane, coughed several times and said: "General, our ancestors' efforts to open up this field of flowers were not in vain, you are the guardian of the field of flowers. You should consider everyone's interests. The young princess is also getting older, it's time for her to get married."

  General Otori's face changed greatly: "Chrysanthemum Elder, could it be that you too... agree to this marriage?"

  Chrysanthemum smiled wryly: "I disagree, everyone will die. With the great general's demonic power, even if we can withstand Night Flowing Ice, can we withstand the Demon Lord? I've heard that when the Demon Lord emerges, ten of the Great Demon Kings of Moshan Heaven are killed or surrender. Next, it'll be our turn in Huatian. Moreover, with Dog Tail being familiar with the terrain of Huatian, with him around, Night Flowing Ice can easily invade Huatian. General, we also like the little princess, but now..."

  Many flower spirits began to echo, the little princess lowered her head, dazedly rubbing the hem of her clothes. My heart felt a pang, unexpectedly the world was so cold and harsh, even in the world of flower spirits it was the same. Thinking of the collapse scene of the Golden Gate, the chaotic dispersal of the inverted three and four factions, I secretly shook my head. In the North Territory, everyone hoped to live longer, avoiding the heavenly calamity, this was the most important thing.

  "The chrysanthemum elder is indeed a man of great virtue and prestige, what he says is correct, General, you can handle it." The flower spirits whispered among themselves and left one after another. Before long, all the flower spirits had gone, leaving the grand palace empty and quiet, with only the small warriors remaining, looking dull and surrounded by the messy cups and plates.

  A game

  The longevity feast, in the blink of an eye, became a scene of birds and beasts scattering. General Yanwei clenched his fists tightly, stunned, his gaze fell on the little princess, full of tender love, and suddenly shouted: "I, I am not going to marry you off to Ye Liu Bing!"

  "Father, I am willing to marry." The little princess raised her head and said softly, her face pale and frightening.

  "You!"

  "You are the guardian of Huatian, you should consider everyone. The words of Chrysanthemum Elder are correct." The little princess smiled sadly and walked out slowly: "Prepare my dowry, I'll leave tomorrow." Under the bright lights, her lonely figure looked so dim.

  I couldn't bear it any longer, I slammed my hand on the table and shouted: "Can't marry! Isn't this equivalent to forcibly taking a civilian woman?!"

  The little princess's back shook slightly, without turning around, and said in a low voice: "Let the guests see our mistakes, tonight we are not hospitable enough, I hope you can forgive us."

  I looked straight at General Yingyuan, my eyes burning with intensity: "General, can you please dismiss your attendants and have a frank conversation with this outsider?"

  The General of the Swallowtail looked somewhat perplexed, hesitated for a moment, and agreed to my request. The sea girls stared at me in surprise, I tilted my head and counted the lanterns hanging from the temple ceiling one by one as they went out, a plan quietly emerged in my mind.

  The palace gate closed, and the inside of the flower palace became pitch black, leaving only General Otori, the little princess, and us. I truthfully told General Otori about our identities and intentions, he was greatly shocked and couldn't speak for a long time.

  "At this moment, Ye Liu Bing is our common enemy." I said in a low voice: "With the real strength of me, Hai Ji and Gan Ning, if we join forces to attack Ye Liu Bing, I believe we have a 90% chance of winning. But what we lack is just an opportunity to get close to him."

  The little princess's body trembled: "What do you mean?"

  "Even the mighty and powerful demon king wouldn't be wary of a bride, let alone a delicate and beautiful flower spirit. We'll escort the little princess to her wedding, then wait for an opportunity," I said slowly: "On the night of the nuptials, we'll assassinate Ye Liu Xing!"

  "Mix into the wedding team to assassinate Ye Liu Bing? Young master, you really are bold and reckless!" Mouse Gong Gong was so scared that his whiskers were standing on end.

  The conversation took a turn and I frowned, saying: "There's just one problem with this plan - Huajing looks completely different from us, anyone can tell at a glance, it'll be hard to blend in with the wedding procession."

  The little princess's beautiful eyes gazed at me: "That doesn't matter, we have a secret technique that can temporarily make you like us. However, even if you can kill Ye Liu Bing, you will still provoke the Demon Lord and destroy Huatian."

  "I said with a smile: 'As long as we kill Ye Liu Bing without anyone seeing us, there won't be any trouble. After that, we'll rescue Ju Dan Mei and spread the word that it was I, Lin Fei, who killed Ye Liu Bing, so no one will suspect you guys. The only thing is that Princess Xiao will have to stay in Ai Hua Xuan for a while before returning home, or else people might get suspicious.'"

  Gan Ning smiled and said: "This plan is feasible and also the easiest way to get close to Ye Liu Bing."

  I turned my gaze to General Otori, now all I need is for him to nod. This plan benefits both of us, he shouldn't refuse.

  The General of the Swallowtail remained silent for a long time, then slowly shook his head: "I... I won't, can't take my daughter to go on an adventure. Besides, I don't trust you."

  "Even if I become a widow, it's better than being defiled by the night flowing ice." The little princess lightly bit her lip, her eyes flashing with an unyielding light: "Father, I'm willing. I also believe that Lin Fei is telling the truth." I couldn't help but look at her with newfound respect, for although she was a delicate and weak flower spirit, she had the boldness of a great man.

  The General's body shook, and he thought for a long time in a daze. The little princess said softly: "You can only promise me. Because the General is first the guardian of Huatian, and secondly, my father."

  The General's lips trembled as he reached out to touch the little princess's hair, adjusting her flower crown and smoothing out the wrinkles on her clothes. He looked at her many times without saying a word. Then he stood up and walked away step by step, carrying a deep fatigue.

  "Follow me. It will take a night's work for you to transform into the spirits of flowers." The little princess said slowly, walking towards the inner palace.

  Half an hour later, several butterfly maids brought in four large vats filled with colorful flower juice. The little princess ordered the maid to hang a curtain in the middle, separating two vats, and took Gan Ningzhen and Hai Ji to the other side of the curtain, whispering a few words, after which rustling sounds of undressing were heard.

  "Please, both of you, take a bath and change into clean clothes." A butterfly-like maid pointed to the large tub and said to me. I was not used to undressing in front of women, so I covered my lower body with my hands and awkwardly jumped into the large tub. The mouse official also followed suit with a bitter face. This guy's whole body was covered in black grey mouse hair, which made me laugh out loud.

  The flower juice was cool and emitted a strong fragrance. The maid brought over jars of colorful flower juice, constantly adding them to the vat, some of which were thick like paste, others smelled unbearable, and some were no different from clear water. Finally, the maid brought over the vat lid, sealing the opening, and everything turned pitch black.