HEART PROTECTION: CHAPTER 111 EPILOGUE - LASTING AFFECTION 1/2

Yan Hui's last memory was the moment the abyss closed around her and Huan Xiao Yan.

 She used the last of the spirit pearl's power to protect the illusion demon. Then, she sank into darkness.

Yan Hui didn't know how long she floated in the blackness. She didn't have the consciousness to be aware. It wasn't until she opened her eyes that the world existed again. That was when she realized she had come back to life.

Right when Yan Hui was going to utter her first sound, she saw her tiny hand waving in the air. It was a baby's hand. She also saw the midwife holding her and heard how chaotic the room was. The midwife was yelling: "She's bleeding! She's bleeding! The mother is bleeding!"

People rushed into the room. Most of them were female, but there was also a man yelling in alarm: "Darling! Darling!"

Yan Hui felt like the whole situation was like a hallucination.

She suddenly felt her chest grow hot, and an image appeared in her mind. The Qing Qiu King was standing, and a breeze plucked at his clothes. He was standing on the cliff that was behind the imperial palace. The king's eyes were like they were piercing through the many, many miles and looking right into her eyes: "Did you succeed......."

It was like his voice was right by Yan Hui's ear: "Consider this the demon clans' gift to you and Tian Yao."

The king's body slightly glowed, and Yan Hui's chest got even hotter at the same time. The Qing Qiu King turned into a golden light that dissipated into the wind. Yan Hui suddenly realized what just happened.

The king used his last bit of power to preserved the memories of her past life.

The midwife holding Yan Hui looked down at her and called out in amazement: "There's a gold light coming from the baby's chest! She's a prodigy!"

Immediately the people near her looked over and also saw. They echoed the same thoughts: "She's a prodigy! A prodigy!"

And that was how Yan Hui returned to the world in a chaotic moment. She had another identity and body.

No long after she was born, news spread in the jianghu that the nine-tailed fox demon king had passed away. However, the village Yan Hui was born in was too remote. None of the villagers paid much attention to the news.

In this life, Yan Hui's biological mother passed away shortly after child birth, and her father became a widower. From then on, Yan Hui's birthday became her mother's death anniversary. Yan Hui would pat her father's shoulder every year on that day to console him. After all, the husband and wife couple were her benefactors who brought her into this world.

A few years had passed. When Yan Hui was still patting her dad's shoulder and sighing on that day every year, her dad would scold her: "Why are you sighing like an old person? Go and feed the chickens."

Yan Hui pursed her lips. If her past life self was still alive, she would've been a few years older than her current dad.

Actually from the very beginning, Yan Hui wanted to run away to find Tian Yao. However, a baby's limbs were too floppy, so she couldn't escape. When she got older and was able to walk, her dad kept a strict eye on her.

Later on, Yan Hui realized this body could cultivate, and she started to learn the dao pathway. She didn't really remember "Demon Bestowal". Therefore, she cultivated Chen Xing Mountain's xian cultivation. Her progress was faster than an ordinary person, but it was nothing compared to when she had Tian Yao's neidan in her body.

When Yan Hui was about 7 or 8, she could run and jump around. She started to prepare to run away.

One day, Yan Hui got very far. However, her father chased after her and was able to catch her. He raised his hand and smacked her so hard that Yan Hui was a little stunned. But she wasn't mad. She watched the farmer yell at her with red eyes: "Where are you going! You are the only thing left by your mother to remember her by! You ran away all by yourself! What if something happens to you! What am I going to do!"

Yan Hui was a little moved by that. She had her past life's memories, so she had set her heart and mind to go find Tian Yao. However, her "father" didn't know that. He treated her as his real child.

Thus Yan Hui remained. She planned to wait until she was 15 and marry someone outside the village. On the road to get married, she would run away then. However before she could get married, her "father" passed away.

Yan Hui didn't have to worry about family members anymore. She grabbed a bundle and left the village, heading for the demon clans.

She had questioned any jianhu people who passed by the village for the past few years.

50 years ago, there was a battle in front of Chen Xing Mountain that resulted in huge turmoil. Zhenren Qing Guang was killed by Tian Yao. Not long afterwards, the Qing Qiu King also passed away, causing more uncertainty. Soon after, the heir to Qing Qiu ascended to the throne. The xian cultivators picked a few elders with good moral reputation and standing as representatives to talk to the new Qing Qiu King. They agreed to 100 years of peace and to San Chong Mountain no longer being a boundary. From then on, xian cultivators and demon cultivators could each cultivate their own methods with no interference. 

As for Tian Yao, the demon sects near worshiped him as a god dragon. He didn't take the title of king of the demon clans, yet he was paid more respect than the actual king. Tian Yao roamed around the world and was hard to track down. He was seeking for the one person he was bound to in his heart.

Yan Hui looked up at the sky. For a moment, her thoughts were turbulent. Tian Yao regained his former powers, but in the end, he couldn't go against the natural order of reincarnation, which wiped away all traces of a person. He looked far and wide but still couldn't find her. The former Qing Qiu King vanished in a blink of an eye. He probably didn't have any time to tell Tian Yao about her rebirth. Therefore, it was up to her to find Tian Yao.

Tian Yao was so dazzling; he stood at the top of the world. It was easier for Yan Hui to look for him than for him to look for her in the flood of people

Those were Yan Hui's thoughts, but she was shocked to find there was no opportunity to get close to Tian Yao..........

Yan Hui wanted to enter Qing Qiu to find Zhu Li, but she had cultivated the xian pathway. Although San Chong Mountain was no longer the boundary between xian and demon cultivators, Qing Qiu was still very limited in spiritual aura. It was very rare for xian cultivators to go to Qing Qiu of their own accord. Her journey was filled with difficulty; all the demon clansmen she met wanted to kill her. Her current xian magic wasn't that strong. She had to return to Central Plains to protect her own life.

She went to find Qi Jue Group again because she knew Feng Qian Shuo was still in power. Yan Hui originally wanted to use his influence to spread the news to Tian Yao that she had returned. However when she told Qi Jue Group's shopkeeper that her name was Yan Hui and she wanted to meet Feng Qian Shuo, the shopkeeper frowned and waved his hand in exasperation. "This is the upteempth one this one! So annoying!"

Yan Hui was stunned: "What?"

"Everyone in the jianghu knows about the matter of Miss Yan Hui and Sir Tian Yao. Every year, every month, every day, countless demon and xian Yan Hui will appear. It's been 50 years. Can you guys just try a different trick?"

These past 50 years, Yan Hui hadn't been born in the village. She didn't know the girls in this current day did scams like this now!

She immediately choked up and forced a sound out: "I......"

Yan Hui didn't finish before the shopkeeper chased her out. "You females these days. You should just live a steady life. Climbing up in society to the high statuses isn't something you ordinary people can do."

Yan Hui didn't know whether or not to smile or cry as she stood in the doorway.

It was true. Tian Yao had become someone so high up that she was incapable of reaching him.

Yan Hui and Tian Yao in the past met in the most run-down place in that remote Tong Luo Mountain. They walked and grew together in their journey. They were so close that Yan Hui never sensed a wide gulf between her and Tian Yao until now........

They clearly were in the same world, but an even more terrible estrangement that was stronger than the strongest barrier separated them. It separated them.

It was very difficult for the lowly to touch the high-up. Yan Hui finally understood it deep down inside.  

"If you don't believe me, I know everything Tian Yao liked before. You just have to let me meet Feng Qian Shuo. He........"

The shopkeeper waved his hand again: "That's enough. You can read 'Tian Yao's Narrative' and  'Book of Yan Hui' a million times, but you still have no chance."

Yan Hu immediately looked liked she had been robbed. What "Tian Yao's Narrative" and "Book of Yan Hui"? What nonsense was this....... As Yan Hui was still stunned, she heard a peddler yell out: "New book! New release!"

Yan Hui turned to look. The peddler was standing in the most prominent place, waving two books, "Tian Yao's Narrative" and "Book of Yan Hui". The author - Huan Xiao Yan.

Yan Hui: "........"

She had a split second thought that if she didn't save Huan Xiao Yan in her last moment back then, she would have a much simpler time right now......

Yan Hui sighed. She was frustrated, but there was nothing she could do. Suddenly, she saw a red-rimmed eyed lady follow an attendant out of Qi Jue Group's store. People go in and out of Qi Jue's doors because there were so many people who wanted to buy information. Yan Hui didn't take note of them when they first arrived. However something the young lady said caught Yan Hui's ear: "The news is only a dragon demon's fire can break the formation. There's no other way!"

The words "dragon demon" make Yan Hui perk up, and she immediately started to follow them. 

The young lady's attendant didn't say a word. The lady gritted her teeth: "Dad already went to plead with the Qing Qiu King many times. But even if the king knows where the dragon demon is, the dragon demon doesn't even care about the world's matters. He won't help us! And Qi Jue Group also said as long as we have the dragon demon, we can break the formation. There really is no other way. Shang Lu.......can't be saved anymore."

The attendant just said: "I hope Young Mistress........won't be too sorrowful."

 Qing Qiu's heir back then is the current Qing Qiu King. The young lady, also called Young Mistress, had a high enough status where her father could talk to the king.

"Shang Lu was able to save Young Mistress. Even if he dies in the spell formation, I am sure he goes without any resentment......."

The attendant was still talking when Yan Hui forced herself into the conversation: "You two are looking for Tian Yao for his help?"

The attendant's eyes immediately became alert. He placed his hand on his jian's scabbard. There was a light ringing sound. The jian was already slightly out of the scabbard when the young lady reached out out her hand to stop her attendant. She looked Yan Hui up and down and assessed her: "What about it?"

Yan Hui grinned, revealing a sharp tooth that made her look a bit rascally: "I'll help you."

The female was the Young Mistress of the Red Wolves Clan, Chi Zhao. She had recently passed by Guang Han Sect and accidentally ran into a spell formation on Guang Han Mountain. Her attendant, who had grown up along side her, was Shang Lu. He rushed in to save her and ended up trapped within the snow-ice spell formation. 

 Since then, Chi Zhao kept looking for spells to break the formation but only learned that dragon fire was needed to break it. There was only one dragon demon in the world, and finding the demon was easier said than done. Because the attendant save his daughter's life, the elder of the Red Wolves Clan himself went to plead with the Qing Qiu King for help. However, the king wouldn't force Tian Yao to help. Perhaps in their eyes, this perhaps was merely an insignificant matter. The king played it down a little when talking to Tian Yao, and Tian Yao also gave a light refusal. Thus, the Qing Qiu King could only refuse the Red Wolves Clan's plea for help. The elder didn't dare go back and disturb the king again. As for Chi Zhao, this became an issue that weighed so heavily on her mind that she couldn't sleep well at night.

After Yan Hui learned the event concerning the matter, thoughts spun around in her mind. In her calculations, even just meeting the king would be enough. She just need to let the king know that she had reincarnated back into the world. The king may not care about other matters, but he definitely would care about the "finding Yan Hui" matter.

Yan Hui knew how much Tian Yao wanted to find her.

He must be even more anxious than her because she could see him although it was from a distance. At least she knew he was still living somewhere in this world. However, Tian Yao couldn't see her. Even if he used all of his sight, he wouldn't know if she was alive. He wouldn't know if she was here with him, living in this world.......

Chi Zhao was still skeptical of Yan Hui even after hearing about her identity. It wasn't until after Yan Hui bought "Tian Yao's Narrative" and "Book of Yan Hui" and expanded upon some minor details that Chi Zhao started to believe a little bit. The young lady reported Yan Hui's words back to the clan elder.

The elder was also skeptical. After all, Yan Hui's life story had circulated and recirculated countless times around the jianghu for decades. But in the end, the elder reported Yan Hui's words to the Qing Qiu King.

The Red Wolves Clan didn't expect that within a mere few days, a dragon aura spiraled down into their territory. The scorching aura appeared in their clan's main area.

Yan Hui sensed the pressure that accompanied the dragon aura. A strong emotion, happiness or perhaps something else, welled in her heart and started to burst outwards. However, she never expected for Chi Zhao to suddenly appear behind her in that moment and land a blow on her neck.

Yan Hui started to feel faint, and her vision blurred. She sensed her inner breath start to reverse. When Yan Hui recollected her senses, her surrounding had become extraordinarily large. She looked to Chi Zhao in shock and realized she had to look upwards to do that.

"What did you do!" raged Yan Hui. However, what came out of her mouth was a howling "Oowwooo!"

Yan Hui: "........."

She looked down at her hands only to see they had become paws. Her entire body was covered with fur.......Yan Hui looked to the side at a fallen copper mirror, and she saw a wolf cub gazing back at her.

What the fuck.........

They actually bit the hand that fed them!

Yan Hui was still fuming with anger when a ruckus started outside. Chi Zhao opened the door and headed towards the noise. Yan Hui wanted to follow but was scooped up by Chi Zhao's retainer who had remained behind. He held her tightly in his arms.

The attendant didn't leave the room. He muzzled Yan Hui with his hand so that she couldn't made a single sound.

From outside the room came the clan elder's voice: "Great One, this.......this is my daughter. It was her who dreamed of those matters."

She dreamed of those matters?

That was the story the Red Wolves Clan was going to feed to Tian Yao? They wanted Tian Yao to believe that? All so that he would go save a person? Or were they going to use "Yan Hui's reincarnation" to get even more benefits.........

Yan Hui was filled with towering rage. She struggled with all her might in the attendant's arms, but it was no use. She hadn't cultivated long enough in this lifetime. She was too weak and couldn't escape from those arms at all.

"You dreamed about it?"

It was a simple sentence. That voice had appeared countless times in Yan Hui's dreams. If this was the past lifetime, Tian Yao would've never permitted someone to confine her with him so nearby because he knew her aura so well. He would've sensed her close by.

But now he didn't know about her besides his memories. She didn't even have a slightest bit of similarity with who she was in her past life.

She was so close yet could only miss him like this.......

"It's me," responded Chi Zhao.

Yan Hui struggled no longer. She hung her head, ears and tail also drooping down. She had planned it so well but had underestimated the greed in people's hearts.

"Liar."

Tian Yao's tone was icy. It was like a sharp blade slicing through the stillness outside.

The entire Red Wolves Clan sank into a deathly silence.