"Your Majesty worries too much."
The Old Eunuch, with great tact, leaned forward and chuckled, "Although Your Highness possesses world-shaking Divine Might, she holds deep respect for Your Majesty, her Imperial Brother. This is a blessing for our Great Tang."
"Of course!"
The Emperor instantly straightened his back, a look of pride on his face.
"Don't you see whose sister she is! I watched her grow up... Er, well, I didn't watch her for many days, but is the fact that blood is thicker than water false?"
"That reminds me."
The Emperor suddenly seemed to recall something, and his expression turned solemn.
"Regarding Elder Bai..."
"Issue my decree."
"Welcome Elder Bai back to the capital with national rites. I will personally leave the city to greet him."
"Furthermore... have the people in the palace stand ready. As long as he still has a breath in him, they must keep that breath going!"
...Chang'an, West Market.
This was the most prosperous and bustling area in all of Great Tang.
It gathered people from all walks of life, including foreign merchants and common vendors.
Today, the Listening Rain Tower was packed to capacity.
Even the most stingy shopkeeper, who was usually the most frugal.
Had, for the first time ever, hung red silk banners at the entrance today.
In the center of the main hall, offerings of three sacrificial animals were laid out, and people bowed repeatedly towards the south.
Upon the high platform in the center of the hall.
A storyteller, dressed in a green robe and sporting a goatee, held a folding fan with a solemn expression.
The dense crowd of tea drinkers below held their breath and focused intently, not daring to make a sound.
*Clap—!!!*
The sound of the gavel striking the table made everyone's hearts tremble.
In the midst of the dead silence, the storyteller suddenly opened his eyes.
His eyes flashed with brilliant light. He sank his Qi into his Dantian, and his voice boomed like a great bell.
"The virtue of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, the achievements of Xia, Shang, and Zhou."
"The Five Hegemons and Seven Warring States stirred up the Spring and Autumn Period, their rise and fall fleeting."
"A few lines of names in the green annals, countless desolate mounds on Beimang."
"Let us cease discussing the matters of past generations, and today, let us speak only of—"
"Your Highness Zhaoyue slaying the Demon Chief!!!"
"Good!!!"
Immediately, cheers erupted below the stage, and copper coins and silver bits were thrown onto the platform.
The storyteller did not bother to pick them up, merely unfurled his folding fan to cover half his face, revealing only a pair of eyes that seemed to be smiling yet not smiling.
"Esteemed listeners, allow this old man to recount the details."
"It is said that on that day, in the Secluded Valley of Luling, fierce winds howled and murky waves surged into the sky. That Demon Saint Huiyue was a paramount fiend in this world, his true body tens of thousands of feet long. If he were coiled up, he would likely stand three heads taller than Mount Zhongnan!"
"When this old demon appeared, he blotted out the sun and sky. With a spout of purple flame, he scorched the Three Rivers dry and caused the Five Great Mountains to collapse!"
"At that time, what kind of figure was White Jade Tower, Hero Elder Bai, the Demon Suppressing Commander-in-Chief of our Great Tang?"
"Wielding a three-foot sword, establishing unparalleled achievements!"
"Alas..."
The storyteller's tone suddenly dropped, and his face was full of sorrow.
"Even though Hero Elder Bai burned out his heart lamp and fought with his life, time spares no one. Although his sword light was sharp, it could not overcome the demon's tenacity."
"Just as Hero Elder Bai was reaching the end of his life force, the Demon Saint Huiyue became utterly rampant, opening its massive bloody maw, its fangs like halberds, ready to swallow Commander Elder Bai whole!"
The crowd below was terrified, and some women couldn't help but cover their children's eyes.
"It was at this critical moment—"
*Clap!*
The gavel struck again.
The storyteller suddenly stood up, stomped his foot on the table, pointed his fan toward the sky, and spat flew everywhere.
"Only to hear a soft cry of rebuke coming from above the Nine Heavens!"
"Halt! You wicked beast, cease your arrogance!"
"This voice was like the cry of a Phoenix echoing through the Nine Heavens, and like the blast of divine thunder."
"Everyone looked up and saw ten thousand streaks of golden light and a thousand auspicious auras above the clouds!"
"A figure wearing black robes and wielding a Great Halberd appeared, stepping on auspicious clouds, majestic and radiating Killing Intent!"
"It was none other than the Current Emperor's own sister, Grand Princess Zhaoyue Your Highness!"
A clueless youngster below couldn't help but interrupt, asking, "Sir, I heard the Grand Princess is only seventeen or eighteen. That Demon Saint is in the Lamp Lighting Realm—they're separated by a hundred thousand miles! How could she fight him?"
"Heh! You youngster, you don't understand, do you?"
The storyteller glared, but wasn't annoyed; instead, he wore a look of profound mystery.
"Who exactly is this Your Highness of ours?"
"On that day, when Your Highness saw the old demon's arrogance, she said little, only sneering, 'You long worm! Since you cultivated a human form, why don't you stay in your cave and enjoy your fortune? Instead, you come out looking for a beating. Today, this Granny will strip your hide, pull your tendons, and turn them into belts for the common people!'"
"When Demon Saint Huiyue heard this, he was so enraged that his 'Three Corpses Gods' jumped and smoke poured from his seven orifices. He charged forward with monstrous cries."
"Your Highness was unhurried. She tossed the Heavenly Halberd she held into the air."
"Good heavens!"
"The Great Halberd grew against the wind, instantly transforming into a Pillar of Jade Supporting Heaven, its tip reaching the Thirty-Three Heavens, its base suppressing the eighteen layers of Hell!"
"Your Highness extended her jade hand and lightly grasped it."
"Hah—!!!"
The storyteller imitated the movement perfectly, as if he had been present at the scene.
"One strike of the halberd slammed down!"
"Only a massive cracking sound was heard, as if the sky was collapsing and the earth was splitting, plunging the sun and moon into darkness."
"That arrogant Demon Saint Huiyue didn't even have time to utter a sound before he was violently smashed by that single halberd strike into the bottomless abyss!"
"But that wasn't the end!"
"Your Highness, having the upper hand, showed no mercy and followed up with two more halberd strikes!"
"The Demon Saint was pounded so hard he cried for his parents and begged for mercy on his knees: 'Granny, spare my life! This little one was blind and failed to recognize Mount Tai! I am willing to serve as your mount, or even just guard your household!'"
"How could Your Highness possibly listen? She only replied, 'My Great Tang does not suffer the calamity of raising a tiger!'"
"The final halberd strike descended!"
*Pfft—!*
The storyteller spread his hands, making a gesture of smoke dissipating into thin air.
"A generation's Demon Saint was thus turned into dust, utterly and irrevocably dead!"
*Boom—!!!*
Inside the teahouse, thunderous applause and cheers erupted.
"Excellent! Well slain!"
"Truly a Divine Being!"
"Grand Princess Your Highness is mighty!"
In a corner, several men dressed as traveling merchants exchanged glances.
One of them lowered his voice and said, "Lao Liu, isn't this too fantastical? The storyteller's mouth is a deceiving ghost! That was a Demon Saint; could he really be smashed to death that easily?"
The man called Lao Liu, however, picked up his teacup and took a satisfied sip.
"Fantastical?"
"I actually think the storyteller understated it."
"You haven't seen what was written on the Official Ranking List: Mountain Gazing slaying Lamp Lighting Realm! What kind of concept is that..."
"Besides, who cares how she killed him? As long as that man-eating monster is dead and we can enjoy a few days of peace, that is a tremendous blessing!"
"Exactly! That's the truth!"
Outside the teahouse, throughout the streets and alleys of Chang'an.
Whether it was a secluded Young Miss from a wealthy family or a beggar soliciting alms along the street.
The words they spoke were invariably those few phrases.
"Grand Princess," "Slaying the Demon Saint," "Mountain Gazing killing Lamp Lighting Realm."
Even the children's rhymes by the roadside changed lyrics overnight.
"The moon is bent, shining on Chang'an, the Grand Princess, descends to the mortal world."
"Golden armor bright, halberd cold, slaying demons, protecting peace."