When Yi Zhici woke up, she was no longer in the capital.
Around her was a pile of weeds, mingled with random tree trunks, creating a desolate scene of overgrown withered grass.
Yi Zhici struggled to get up, but she felt as if a thousand pounds were weighing on her body. She was tottering, and her head was groggy.
Oh, she remembered.
She had been thrown out of the Forbidden City.
After witnessing Yi Junshi being imprisoned, Mu Feng and He Weining being killed, and Hou Chen and Yan Sijin being exiled, Gu Weifeng finally seemed unable to tolerate her existence.
He was always extremely dissatisfied with Yi Zhici.
Just then, news came that Lin Yuan had died in battle.
Due to this series of blows, Yi Zhici was in a daze, and she lost her child.
She felt so useless. She couldn't save the people she wanted to protect, and instead, she had ended up in such a miserable situation.
It was Yi Junshi who had thrown her out because, it was said, the Demon Clan had invaded the capital.
Lin Yuan had died in battle because he couldn't match the powerful combat strength of the Demon Clan. The Demon Clan had surrounded the Lin Family Army on all sides, leaving them defenseless.
But the Demon Clan was an ancient ethnic group that had disappeared for hundreds of years. Why on earth would they suddenly come out to attack the human race?
Yi Junshi told her to run away quickly.
But without Lin Yuan and Yi Junshi, where could she go?
Yi Junshi also said that he had failed to protect her well, and he was an unqualified father.
But where in the world could she find such a good father?
Everything was a gift from heaven. She knew that now, it was time for these gifts to end.
She had walked alone for so long. Outside the capital, everything was in ruins.
She couldn't even find Senior Brother Cu Li.
The world was vast, but the sky and earth seemed so boundless. Yi Zhici didn't know where she should go or the meaning of her existence.
... So, was this the great calamity in her fate that the Taoist priest had spoken of?
Yi Zhici stood up numbly, supporting herself against a tree and walking forward, but she didn't know where she was going.
Maybe she should go back to the Azure Sea Villa...
But the Azure Sea Villa had long been in ruins.
In the evening, she met a kind - hearted hunter couple who lived on the mountain. They took her in.
The hunter's wife kindly comforted her, "Girl, these days, it's really not safe for you to be alone outside. Where's your home? You'd better go back quickly."
Yi Zhici just nodded, "Yes, thank you, auntie."
But where did she still have a home...
She could only stay at the hunter couple's house for the night. She didn't know where she would go tomorrow, but for now, she could just muddle through one day at a time.
Maybe there would still be a turn for the better. Maybe she could still rescue Yi Junshi. She couldn't give up on herself first.
At night, Yi Zhici lay on the straw - filled bed, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep.
Suddenly, she felt uncomfortable, but she didn't pay much attention. Gradually, this uncomfortable feeling became stronger and stronger. It was as if her body was being burned by fire, and she was sweating profusely. It seemed as if even her internal organs were about to catch fire.
The clothes on her back seemed about to burst.
Although she had been wearing these clothes since she returned to the capital and they were already in tatters, tonight, they seemed particularly different.
It hurt...
Everywhere hurt...
Moreover, an indescribable fragrance emanated from Yi Zhici's body, mixing with her sweat, creating a strange and lingering scent. This fragrance was like that of a rose, fragrant and elegant, rich and mellow, fragrant but not cloying. It was even more pleasant than the best human incense.
Moreover, the fragrance spread far. At least within a ten - mile radius, it was filled with the fragrance from Yi Zhici's body.
Immediately afterwards, there were restless sounds coming from the Demon Clan not far away.
Yi Zhici's head was splitting with pain. Amidst the brief moments of clarity, she suddenly seemed to remember.
This was... the symptom when the Nine - Granted Star was about to break out of its cocoon.