Murim's Weakest Princess-Chapter 208: Difficult Request

Silence. Anji expected some silence and outright refusal. However, the silence that followed her request was even scarier.

Then, as if a dam broke, everyone reacted at the same time. Zhao Wanting broke down in tears at once, and Zhao Ruiting stood up to excuse herself. Anji heard something break in the distance, likely a tree that her older sister punched. Beside her, Zhao Mingshen unloaded an essay of questions that left his mouth quicker than Anji could respond to. Yet, among those reactions, only one remained silently calm like the eye of her storm. Anji looked at her father carefully. No trace of expression betrayed his thoughts or feelings. In that moment, Anji felt unsure if he was angry or sad.

After everyone else had gotten over their initial shock and reaction, Zhao Mingfeng settled the family down again with his composure. Zhao Ruiting’s hand was bleeding, but Anji knew her heart was hurting more than her wound. She knew this would not be an easy conversation. Anji had always worried her family because of her weak body. They feared that they might lose her anytime. Going through another spiritual operation only increased the risk.

"Settle down for now," Zhao Mingfeng spoke. "Anji isn’t done explaining. What is this operation for, and why do you want to do it? I cannot permit it if it isn’t for a good reason."

Of all the people in her family, Anji thought it would be the hardest to gain her mother’s approval. Zhao Wanting had always been the strict and overprotective one in her family. On the other hand, Anji thought her father would wholeheartedly support her because he had never once denied her anything.

The soft sobbing from her mother shook Anji’s resolve a little. For the first time in Anji’s life, her father appeared to be someone very far away from her. Yet, she refused to lose this opportunity.

"As you know, there are three seals on my cultivation core. Two of them by father and one by shifu to stabilise them," Anji explained. "The operation is to modify the third seal with the help of six elders to change how the circuit works."

Explaining the new seal’s idea and improvements compared to the previous seal from start to end, Anji wondered how much her family understood about spells and arrays. She tried to keep it simple and explained the pros and cons of undergoing the operation. Nobody stopped her, and everyone listened intently.

"Are there any risks to this operation?" Zhao Mingshen asked. It was the question Anji most dreaded.

Unable to lie, Anji told them how the spell was newly developed from a theory she was exploring with Yan Ping. When she revealed that she had a rare cultivation body, her father’s expression darkened further. Anji conveniently omitted the part about memorising the seals her father created, along with all his calculation errors that caused minor issues. If the operation progressed smoothly, they would be negligible. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

"There’s one more reason why shifu and I want to do this operation despite the risks," Anji admitted. "In the event that I am required to fight an enemy or die, this seal is the last straw to unleash my true cultivation level temporarily. Nobody knows what will happen with the upcoming Murim war. As the successor of the Mystical Qilin Sect, I have a duty to fulfil when the time comes."

"What happens after you release this new seal?" Zhao Wanting asked. "Why temporarily? Why not permanently?"

It was the same question everyone else had and Anji swallowed hard. There was a very high chance everyone in her family would reject after hearing the risks that came with it.

"I will have two hours to live," Anji admitted softly. Yet, the message was loud enough to make her composed father tremble. Anji saw how his hand shook, but continued anyway. They had to know.

"Shifu will try to arrive within two hours to find me and redo the seal and fix my ruptured meridians. It’s only a last resort, I will not use it recklessly."

Unable to keep the composed attitude, Zhao Mingfeng’s brow scrunched together. His eyes were averted, looking at the ground.

"And if Sect Leader Yan fails to make it in two hours?"

The long pause between them was telling. Yet Anji knew they needed her to be honest.

"I’ll die."

There it was. Brutally honest and painful all the same. There was no way to sugarcoat reality. Yan Ping must have already known this, it was why she sent Anji back home to seek her family’s permission. Even if the seal operation was successful, there was a high chance Anji would slip from them in a different way.

"You don’t have to participate in this war," Zhao Mingshen spoke up first while everyone was still coming to terms with the risks. "There is no need to do such a risky thing."

Not backing down, Anji insisted it was necessary.

"Even if I don’t go through with this operation, there is no guarantee that I will not die with this existing seal," Anji explained. "The reason why shifu and I had to design a new seal was because the successor training proved that there is an existing flaw. The golden core is suppressed very tightly now. At this level, it will hold because the seal created by father is powerful. However, in the event that my golden core transcends the limit of father’s power at the time of sealing it, I will still die. It’s only a matter of time. The longer we wait, the riskier this seal correction becomes."

Hearing how Anji was still destined to die before her time, Zhao Wanting’s tears came back at full force. Even Mingshen, who was normally smart and resourceful, could not find a third option. Anji looked at her father and older sister. Zhao Ruiting seldom hesitate. Yet, she looked so lost, and it was all Anji’s fault. Seeing how distraught and torn her family was, Anji wondered if it would be better if she never learned about a new method. If she did not discover this, there was still a chance she would live in bliss, not knowing when she would explode like a ticking time bomb. Alternatively, she could stop cultivating. However, it was a deal made between her father and teacher that Anji will become the Mystical Qilin Sect’s successor. Yan Ping sacrificed too much for her, and it was a debt Zhao Mingfeng could not pay back in this lifetime. Thanks to her, Anji was able to live past the age of six.

"We need some time to think about it," Zhao Mingfeng quietly stated. "Anji, this is a very difficult request that you’ve made."

Although it was not an approval, it was also not a rejection. Harbouring hope in her heart that her family would give her their blessings, Anji smiled brightly and thanked them for listening.

"Let’s get you showered before it becomes too cold," Zhao Ruiting broke through the tension with action, ushering Anji away to give her parents space to discuss. Likewise, Mingshen offered to make the bed.

Without the children around, the couple looked at each other.

"Dear, is the information from Sect Leader Yan true? Our little girl’s seal is like a ticking time bomb?"

Although not as well-versed in spells, Zhao Mingfeng could see what Yan Ping was getting at. Back then, the artificial cores created in Anji’s body were to help her regulate the excess energy leaking from the sealed core. Now, a new problem has arisen. Yet, there was a chance that the time they bought could end prematurely. It was a difficult situation.

"I need some time to think about it. But I don’t think what Sect Leader Yan says is wrong. There is a possibility, but we won’t know if it would truly happen."