Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons

"Enemy attack! The princess was assassinated!" The boiling noise pierced the thick black curtain like a sharp pendant, and the footsteps and dog barking that followed almost blew off the roof.

King Jiadi, who was curled up on the icy jade bed, shuddered, slid out of the cold quilt, and shouted, "What's going on!"

A guard came in hurriedly, knelt on the ground, his face full of panic, his eyes downcast, not daring to glance at the bulging body behind him that was tightly covered by the gorgeous quilt. "Your Majesty, I don't know where the assassins came from, disguised as jugglers and performing outside the palace. The princess must have been young and curious, so she summoned them to the palace to perform. I didn't expect that they would hurt the princess."

King Jiadi took a deep breath and asked, "How is the princess's injury?"

The guard replied, "The palace physician has already examined it..." As he spoke, he lowered his head even more, hesitating and not daring to continue.

Seeing this, King Jiadi knew something was wrong and his face turned pale. “Speak!”

The guard answered stiffly, "The princess was stabbed in the chest by the assassin, and the knife almost hit her heart. Because the wound was in such a dangerous position, the palace doctor was afraid of heavy bleeding and did not dare to draw his knife. He found a piece of ginseng for the princess to hold in her mouth, hoping to keep her alive first and then come up with a safe treatment method."

"Nonsense! Can this injury be delayed? Do they want my Agoncuo to live with the knife on his head?" King Jiadi said angrily, and hurriedly put on his coat. "I'll go over now. The palace doctor doesn't dare to remove the wound, so I'll do it!"

The guard nodded his head and said, "Your Majesty has boundless magical powers. With Your Majesty helping the princess with her treatment, no one can do anything to her even if she breaks the plaque of Yama Palace."

His words were not entirely flattery. After all, the King of Jiadi, who was blessed by the gods, was different from ordinary people. When he ascended the throne, he was infused with the power of Brahma. For him, helping his daughter protect her heart meridian and avoid excessive bleeding when she drew her sword was as easy as raising his hand.

At least, it is much easier than using magic weapons to cover the sky and the sun for more than eight years.

King Jiadi had no time to listen to his flattery. He walked out of the palace like a gust of wind and came to the ivory bed of Princess Agoncuo. When he saw her, he saw that her face was as pale as gold paper, and she was weakly trapped in the mattress, with a short knife stuck in her chest. She was surrounded by seven female officials and several palace doctors. When they saw him coming, they knelt on the ground.

With his beloved daughter in critical condition, King Jiadi was in no mood to reprimand them. He waved his hand and said, "I will protect Agoncuo's heart now. Whoever has the steadiest technique, come and draw the sword. The rest of you, prepare the medicine to treat the princess. As long as my Agoncuo gets better, I will reward you handsomely!"

As he spoke, he carefully helped his daughter to sit up, placed one hand on her back, and with a slight force, his magical power continuously poured into the princess' body, gently wrapping around her heart meridians.

Several palace doctors looked at each other, and one of them, who was particularly old, took a deep breath, stood up and drew his knife. Blood spurted out instantly, and although the bleeding stopped quickly under the power of King Jiadi, the first splash still sprayed the old palace doctor's face with scarlet blood. The old palace doctor had no time to wipe it, and shouted, "Give me medicine!"

At the command, the other palace doctors quickly poured the prepared hemostatic, qi-boosting and heart-tonifying medicine into Agongcuo's chest. Perhaps because the medicine was made of precious herbs, it was very potent. Agongcuo's complexion improved visibly, and he was able to open his eyes after a while.

Seeing King Jiadi holding him, Agoncuo immediately started to cry and rubbed his face in his arms like a kitten: "Father, Agoncuo is in pain!"

King Jiadi was so distressed for his little princess: "Dear, it's okay. Father is here, even Indra can't hurt you."

Agoncuo nodded and lowered her voice obediently, but she still took a deep breath because of the severe pain: "I won't let you worry. With you by my side, I am not afraid of anything."

"You'd better scream out, it won't hurt so much if you scream out. Your father is with you and won't go anywhere." King Jiadi felt even more distressed. He patted his daughter's arm again and again, humming a lullaby like coaxing a baby to sleep. It was unknown how long he coaxed her before Agongcuo became sleepy. Her eyelids fought for a while, and she finally fell asleep.

King Jiadi then frowned and asked, "Has the assassin been caught?"

The seven female officials shuddered, "No, no." The murderous intent that King Jiadi instantly exuded made them tremble in fear. They knelt on the ground and dared not look up. "After they stabbed the princess, they immediately fled separately. We immediately asked the palace guards to close all the city gates and release mastiffs to track them, but the assassins were too cunning. Until now, we have not found any trace of them."

"Useless." King Jiadi said coldly, and it was unclear whether he was talking about the seven sisters who failed to protect their master, or the guards who were incompetent in hunting down the assassin. "Call the painter to draw the portrait, post it, and search the whole country for him. Once caught, burn him on the spot."

"Yes!" the seven female officials responded hurriedly. The youngest one among them couldn't help but steal a glance at Agoncuo, who was sleeping soundly with his head buried in King Jiadi's arms.

The young female official immediately withdrew her gaze and knelt down obediently.

King Jiadi looked at his daughter again. She looked four points like himself and six points like her mother. She looked so innocent and pure in her deep sleep, like a budding blue water lily. He carefully looked at this fusion product of his blood with the woman he loved, and was filled with fear.

One point, just one point. If the knife had really pierced her heart, Agoncuo would not have been able to wait for his rescue. He almost lost his daughter with the queen.

Even if those assassins were burned to ashes and scattered, it would not be enough to relieve the hatred in his heart!

In just one short night and one short day, first the celestial robe that covered the sky was broken and taken away by a powerful person from nowhere, making Chiji's resurrection, which was supposed to be a sure thing, become extremely dangerous. Now even Agoncuo was almost killed by an assassin, and the situation was in danger.

Was it because he was not devout enough in serving Lord Brahma that the almighty god punished him like this?

Thinking of his beloved wife Akahime, his heart trembled. For some reason, a dark sense of foreboding flashed across his mind, but he couldn't explain why.

When it comes to his beloved wife, King Jiadi never dares to be careless. Moreover, he has already survived eight years and eleven months in the past nine years, so he cannot afford to make any mistakes in the remaining month.

He then thought about that feeling carefully.

Chiji's body was placed in his bedroom, and she had always slept with him. The king's bedroom was the most heavily guarded place in Jiadi Country. Even if he was not by her side for the time being, with so many elite guards guarding it, it should be safe...

Wait, is it really foolproof?

King Jiadi suddenly broke out in a cold sweat.

Where are those missing assassins now?

"Akaji!" He put his daughter in his arms back on the pillow, and without bothering to tell the rest of the people to take good care of the princess, he rushed out.

He didn't see that "Agoncuo" behind him opened his eyes a little, and his clear pupils reflected his panicked back.

Such a clear and calm look could never belong to his daughter.