Unintended Immortality-Chapter 381: A Shocking Truth

Inside sat two people—a young maid and a woman who appeared to be around fifty years old.

It was none other than Princess Changping.

“...”

Song You remained silent for a moment before he started walking down the mountain.

Princess Changping’s carriage wound its way along the mountain path. As it approached, a Daoist priest could be seen standing by the roadside. Beside him stood a jujube-red horse, and at his feet was a calico cat, its head raised and curiously glancing around.

The two guards at the front exchanged a wary glance. Though alert, they refrained from making any rash moves, continuing to approach cautiously while keeping a sharp eye on the man.

Song You, aware of their nervousness, stood calmly. He waited until the carriage was within a safe yet conversational distance before raising his hand in greeting and introducing himself first, “I am Song You, a Daoist priest from Yizhou. I once had the honor of meeting you, Princess. Greetings.”

“...!”

The sound of reins tightening signaled the carriage coming to an immediate stop.

The two guards at the front instinctively reached for the hilts of their swords, while the two in the rear stepped closer. One positioned himself on each side of the carriage, bows and arrows now in hand, ready to protect the carriage and monitor the priest.

“Don’t be rude!” a voice rang out from inside the carriage.

With a swish, the curtain was lifted.

It was the princess herself who had lifted it.

Her face, now marked by signs of age, looked out and froze for a moment. She seemed to recall the Daoist priest she had encountered outside the capital but didn’t immediately recognize him. After a brief pause, she hurriedly stepped out of the carriage. With the driver’s respectful assistance, her embroidered shoes finally touched the grass.

Quickly, she withdrew her hand from the driver’s support and returned the priest’s greeting with a deep bow.

“It is you, Mr. Song! Greetings!”

“I did not expect to meet you here, Princess,” Song You replied.

“I have long since been stripped of my title and reduced to the status of a commoner,” Princess Changping said, shaking her head slightly. She remained in her bowing posture, her gaze lingering on the Daoist priest and the jujube-red horse and calico cat by his side. “Back in Changjing, I deeply admired you, Mr. Song, and longed to visit you. However, I heard that you are as reclusive as a drifting cloud, shunning disturbances. Thus, I never had the chance to see you in person.

“Until I left Changjing, this remained one of my greatest regrets. Unexpectedly, I was fortunate enough to see you once outside the city, though my ignorant eyes failed to recognize your true visage. And now, to meet you again so far from Changjing, here in remote Yaozhou—it feels like a blessing across lifetimes.”

Her words were eloquent and sincere, her tone respectful and warm.

“The last time we met, I did not have my horse, and the boy accompanying me had taken human form. Such circumstances hardly align with the rumors. With so many people in Changjing, it is perfectly reasonable that you could not recognize me,” Song You replied.

“If only I could have met you earlier,” the princess sighed wistfully.

“Word reached me that you were banished to Anmin County. Why are you here now?” Song You asked, puzzled.

“As you might imagine, once I reach Anmin, I will never be allowed to leave that place,” the princess replied with a soft laugh. There was no bitterness or regret in her expression, only calm.

“Here in Yaozhou, February already feels like the peak of summer, and the miasma along the way is unbearable. Yet in Fengzhou, even in February, the cold bites deeply. Perhaps I am growing old—I wake up shivering each night. This journey has already consumed much of what little life remains in me. Even if I make it to Anmin, I doubt I have long left to live.

“I have devoted most of my life to Great Yan, helping His Majesty govern the nation. Apart from indulging in the bustling beauty of Yangdu in my youth and a few occasional trips to Yangzhou for leisure, I have never truly seen the magnificent lands of our empire.

“So, after making arrangements with the officials passing through, I decided to take advantage of this banishment to properly explore the vast lands of our Great Yan.”

“I see.” Song You nodded thoughtfully. After some consideration, he said, “By the way, I recently traveled south with Miss Wanjiang from Hexian Pavilion for a while. We parted ways ahead. I went to Zhengxi, while she headed to Anmin County to visit you, Princess. She mentioned that you departed hastily last time and wished to properly bid you farewell.”

“Wanjiang?” The princess froze, her expression shifting to one of hesitation.

“What’s the matter?” Song You asked, studying her reaction intently.

“Ah...” The princess sighed deeply.

The princess let out a sigh, her expression a mixture of gratitude and guilt. “Back then, all I did was save her life. But over the past ten years, I have relied on her far too much. Even if there was a debt of gratitude for saving her, that debt must have been repaid long ago. Yet she has never once complained.

“I had told her that if... if I could accomplish great things, I would elevate her to the status of a deity. In the end, I failed. And yet, she still wishes to see me off...“

She couldn’t help but sigh again, “These years must have been so hard on her. Truly, it is I who am indebted to her. How could I ever deserve such loyalty and kindness?”

Song You averted his gaze.

After a moment of silence, he finally spoke, “May I ask how you first met her and how you saved her life?”

“Oh?” The princess blinked in surprise. A less perceptive person might not have noticed anything unusual, but she immediately sensed something amiss. “Why do you ask such a question?”

“You are not obliged to answer,” Song You replied. “It’s just that I happened to pass through here and meet you. A doubt arose in my heart, so I asked.”

“I’ve heard that the Hidden Dragon Temple is at the pinnacle of Mortal Dao. It is said that Great Yan was established with the help of the Hidden Dragon Temple. I am now so close to death’s door and far removed from the Changjing court. If you wish to ask me anything, there is no reason for me to withhold an answer.”

The princess first made her position clear before continuing, “Back then, I was still young and enamored with the splendor of Yangdu, so I traveled to Yangzhou. At the time, the Marshal of Yangzhou was hosting a grand hunt outside the city. Many local elites and courtesans were in attendance. The Marshal invited me to join them, so I went.”

“A grand hunt?”

“Yes, on a nearby hill—not a tall one,” the princess explained. “A young nobleman managed to shoot a rabbit, hitting its hind leg with an arrow. However, this rabbit was extraordinary; it seemed to possess a certain intelligence. When it was captured, it repeatedly bowed to the crowd as if begging for its life.

“The young nobleman, amused by its behavior, requested permission to present it to me. As he claimed, the rabbit continued to bow the moment it saw me, turning to face me and bowing as if pleading. I realized then that it had already gained sentience and become a demon.”

“Go on.” Song You’s expression darkened as he listened.

The princess studied him carefully, her words continuing without pause, “Though there is a distinction between humans and demons, cultivation is never easy. Even if a rabbit gains sentience and becomes a demon, how much harm could it truly cause?

“Seeing its pitiful state, I ordered my attendants to compensate the young nobleman and take the rabbit from him. I spent several days tending to its wounds before releasing it. I never imagined that, years later, it would return to repay me.”

“That’s all?” Song You asked.

“I would never dare deceive you, sir. This incident was widely discussed in Yangdu at the time, and it’s only been twenty years or so. If you are interested, you can inquire in Yangdu to verify its truth.”

“...“

Song You’s eyes flickered briefly, and a faint smile appeared on his face.

In his heart, the first emotion that surfaced was astonishment.

What an intricate plan.

The princess, noticing his reaction, became concerned. “Sir, is there something troubling you?”

“That Miss Wanjiang from Hexian Pavilion is not a rabbit,” Song You said calmly. “She is a fox—a legendary eight-tailed fox demon. She’s several centuries old and has a thousand years of cultivation. She is a rare great demon.”

His calm voice hung in the air.

But that very calmness stirred a tempest within Princess Changping’s heart.

Her ears seemed to explode with a deafening roar.

She was not a rabbit, but a fox! An eight-tailed fox demon! She was centuries old with a millennium of cultivation!

Every word resounded in her ears like thunder.

Was this truly the little gray rabbit she had saved in Yangdu years ago, the one that had nearly been killed by an arrow? The rabbit demon who came to Changjing to repay her kindness, possessing nothing but a mastery of the qin and no other trace of magical power?

No wonder, when she had suggested visiting the Daoist priest before her, Wanjiang had discouraged it. She had said he was reclusive by nature, disliked social interactions, and detested being disturbed, thus dissuading her from going.

And now, she had gone to Anmin to visit her.

Princess Changping suddenly felt a chill spread through her body, her scalp tingling. She swayed unsteadily, almost collapsing to the ground.

The driver quickly stepped forward to support her.

From ahead came the voice of the Daoist priest.

New n𝙤vel chapters are published on novelbuddy.cσ๓.

“Princess, there’s no need to fear. It’s hard to say what that fox’s true nature is, but she is undoubtedly very clever. Even if she claimed to visit you, she wouldn’t harm you. Moreover, I suspect that her talk of visiting you was merely an excuse to put us off. She likely hasn’t gone to Anmin, nor does she intend to. Even if she once harbored ill intentions, at this point, such plans would be meaningless. Princess, you may rest easy.”

By now, Princess Changping’s mind was in disarray. The priest’s voice seemed to waver and distort, at times ringing right beside her ear, and at others echoing from some distant place.

How pitiable it was that she, a woman so skilled in calculation and strategy, had once single-handedly supported her father’s ascent to the throne. Before the arrival of the State Preceptor, she had wielded the reins of governance herself, ushering in this golden age. Even after that, she had schemed for the throne, and though she failed, it was only because she was outmatched by the Emperor, the State Preceptor, and the nation’s entrenched laws and customs.

That failure had left her regretful, but never defeated. Who would have thought she had been deceived by a demon for ten years without ever realizing it?

“Thank you for sharing this with me, Princess. The weather in Yaozhou is stiflingly hot—please take care of yourself. Farewell.”

By the time Princess Changping regained her senses, the Daoist priest had already disappeared into the distance.