Half a month later.
The moon was bright and the stars were sparse. Even with night fallen, the towering gates of Di'an City bustled with unbroken traffic as traveling merchants arrived in steady streams along the broad imperial highway.
Amidst this evening bustle, a carriage carved with the crest of the Court of State Ceremonial rolled out through the city gates, drawing a flurry of whispered chatter from the travelers along the road. Amid their hushed speculation, the carriage proceeded at an unhurried pace down the highway into the distance.
As the sole political heart of the Great Yan Dynasty, the surrounding mountains and plains of Di'an City were dotted with estates built by high-ranking officials and wealthy tycoons.
Some stood perched on lofty mountain peaks; others lay tucked away in deep, secluded ravines.
Inside the carriage, an exquisitely beautiful, blonde woman clad in a sumptuous gown gazed through the latticed window toward the Jiulong Mountain Range, which lay draped beneath the radiant lights of Di'an City. The look in her deep blue eyes was impossible to decipher.
After watching for a long while, Orenli quietly drew back her gaze and slowly closed her eyes, her lovely golden eyelashes trembling faintly.
The carriage left Di'an City behind, passed the most bustling stretch of the imperial highway in the city's outskirts, and then quietly veered onto a shaded woodland path branching off the main road.
Moonlight filtered through the layered branches of the forest and poured through the window lattice, spilling across the flawless profile of Orenli's closed-eyed face and making her look like a saintess bathed in lunar glow.
It was hard to tell how much time passed in that stillness before Orenli slowly opened her eyes, turning her gaze toward Huron, who sat opposite her.
As a carriage reserved for foreign envoys, the Court of State Ceremonial had fitted the interior with lavish, imposing grandeur to project the majesty of the imperial court.
It was exceptionally spacious. Even with Huron seated across from her like an iron mountain of a tin can, the carriage felt far from cramped.
"Your Highness, are you all right?"
Huron's voice sounded muffled as it resonated from inside the metal armor, speaking in a halting, foreign tongue that was not the language of Great Yan.
Orenli did not answer. With a slight lift of her slender, jade-like hand, a glass vial filled with pale blue liquid appeared between her fingers.
Casually twisting off the stopper, she tilted back her swan-like neck and drank it down in one gulp.
As the paleness of her complexion faded slightly, Orenli cast an indifferent glance at the moonlit forest path outside the window. Her voice was faint.
"Sedis, do you really think that Third Prince of the Great Yan Dynasty wants to cooperate with us?"
"I am only your guardian knight, Your Highness. I do not understand politics." Huron lowered his head.
"..."
After a heartbeat of silence, the corners of Orenli's lips curled faintly. She gave the slit of her gown a slight tug, casually crossing her long, fair legs before propping her chin on her hand, eyeing the metal can opposite her with amused interest.
"Truly a martial brute who only knows how to fight. How dull.
"Then let me ask you another question. If I said we are in great danger right now, could you, my guardian knight, bring me back alive?"
"..."
A momentary quiet hung in the air before Huron's voice rang through his visor, solemn and firm: "I am willing to lay down my life to do so."
"*Hoo*..."
Hearing that answer, a faint helplessness flickered across Orenli's languid expression. Looking toward Di'an City, which had long vanished from view, she murmured softly:
"Perhaps I should never have left the Royal Academy in the first place, and even less should I have agreed to the Second Crown Prince's request to come to this foreign empire."
"You judge that we are in danger?" Huron squeezed out the question like a wooden block.
"Heh."
With a clear, crisp chuckle, Orenli leaned forward slightly. Keeping one leg crossed over the other, she propped her elbow on her knee, resting her cheek in her hand as she asked softly:
"Ever since we set foot on this foreign continent, you've seen everything we've encountered along the way. I want to hear your assessment of this dynasty."
After a brief pause, Huron replied gravely:
"It is an empire that is vast, bloated, and corrupt—yet mighty."
At this answer, Orenli's rosy lips involuntarily curled upward. She tapped her cheek with a slender forefinger.
"A fair appraisal. But you missed the most important point.
"Arrogance."
Her crossed foot, encased in a violet-crystal heeled boot, swung gently back and forth. Her voice turned hauntingly soft.
"From the ruler of this dynasty down to the commoners on the streets, everyone in this empire possesses an arrogance born in their very bones toward us foreigners.
"Whether Dongying Island is occupied by you Sienese or by the Wa, it makes no difference to Great Yan... Sedis, just listen to what that imperial prince said back then. Saying such things while begging for our help—it is truly infuriating, isn't it?"
At that point, Orenli narrowed her brilliant eyes, her tender, crimson lips curling into a cold, mad smile.
"So infuriating that I want to see that handsome foreign prince kneeling at my feet, licking my shoes..."
"..."
Huron Sedis offered no reply to those words, remaining as quiet as a mountain of iron.
Orenli glanced at her knight and asked with a beaming smile, "Do you think I can't do it?"
Under her gaze, Huron lowered his head.
"My lord's will is where my heart directs."
The Blood Rose of the Empire, a lunatic who had butchered three of her own siblings, a noble who delighted in toying with the strong.
"*Giggle*~ Just kidding."
A laugh like silver bells rang out. Orenli uncrossed her legs, the murderous glint vanishing from her face, replaced once more by the serene gentleness of a saintess.
"This Great Yan Empire is different from the natives we encountered before. For now, let's be pragmatic and think about how to make our escape.
"After all,
"our purpose in coming to the Great Yan Empire has already been achieved."
***
"Hey, didn't you say Xu Changge would come?"
At the entrance of the manor secluded within the mountain ravine, Li Junqing looked at the figure cloaked in black robes, then at the empty, quiet mountain woods behind him. He felt an overwhelming urge to slam the gates shut in his face.
Xu Yuan pulled back his hood with casual ease and shoved past the prince blocking the entryway without a shred of ceremony. Walking into the courtyard, he cast an idle glance around the lavishly appointed grounds and clicked his tongue in admiration.
"You certainly know how to live, keeping an estate in a place like this. Why is it so dark? Where are the servants? Ah, right—a miser like you probably moved them all out already."
As he spoke, he strolled toward a pavilion on one side of the courtyard as if he owned the place. "Since you're leaving the capital anyway, why don't you sell this place to me? I just happen to need an estate to relax in."
Li Junqing, dressed in a blue-and-white martial outfit embroidered with purple dragons, hurried after Xu Yuan, snapping in a low, rapid voice:
"Cut the nonsense. If Xu Changge isn't coming, I'm not taking part in tonight's affair!"
At that, Xu Yuan gave a dismissive wave of his hand.
"What's the rush? There's still time before your agreed meeting, isn't there?"
Stepping into the pavilion, Xu Yuan sat down on a stone stool. Looking at the indignant Third Prince, he smiled with amused curiosity.
"Besides, haven't you already broken through to the third rank?"
"Now that my departure for Dongying is settled, there was naturally no need to suppress my cultivation anymore."
A trace of smugness crossed Li Junqing's face, though it dissipated almost immediately. He cast a wary glance across the quiet, classical estate.
"Seeing how fearless you look, I take it Xu Changge has already arrived?"
A grin crept onto Xu Yuan's lips. "Perhaps."
"Perhaps?!"
"..."
After an awkward silence, Li Junqing asked tentatively, "What did you tell Xu Changge?"
Xu Yuan tilted his chin upward, putting on a nostalgic look. "After that day, I went back to the manor to find him. I told him I'd met the princess of the Kingdom of Sien, and that since the two of us probably couldn't take them in a fight, I wanted him to help kidnap her."
Li Junqing sucked in a sharp breath of cold air.
"*Hiss*... You were that blunt?"
"I've always been blunt."
"And what did he say?"
"He told me to get lost."
"..."
Rubbing the bridge of his nose, Li Junqing rested his elbow on the stone table and buried his face in his hand, staring at Xu Yuan in sheer exasperation.
"In other words, your elder brother never agreed to tonight's plan at all, did he?"
"Nope."
"Xu Changtian, making a move tonight means completely dropping all pretenses! The Kingdom of Sien won't give a damn about your identity!"
"I know you're anxious, but hold your horses."
"How can I not be anxious?! If you want to die, don't drag this prince down with you!"
Li Junqing pushed himself to his feet, turning as if to bolt.
Seeing this, Xu Yuan hastily caught his arm and hissed in a low voice, "Relax, I was joking just now. Xu Changge will come."
"A joke? You mean Xu Changge actually agreed?"
"Well, no."
"..."
Facing Li Junqing's look, which screamed that he was looking at an absolute idiot, Xu Yuan declared with supreme confidence:
"You don't understand my big brother. If I say he'll come, he will definitely come. Even if he's utterly unwilling, he'll still show up."
"Why?" Li Junqing frowned.
Xu Yuan spread his hands wide and proclaimed loudly:
"If he dares not show up, I'll dare to die right in front of him!"
"..." Li Junqing.
"..." Xu Changge.
As the sound finished echoing through the mountain ravine, the courtyard settled back into dead silence.
In that quiet, Xu Yuan felt an inexplicable chill run down his spine. He cleared his throat hurriedly.
"*Ahem*. I know what I'm doing. Just stick to the plan."
Li Junqing massaged his temples, warning him in a rather sour tone, "Fine. This prince has already broken through to the third rank. Even if we can't beat them, this place is only three hundred li from Di'an City. As long as I want to flee, they wouldn't dare pursue."
"Don't worry. When it comes to running away, you might not be faster than me."
"Tsk, that remains to be seen."
"Heh."
Sitting back down, Li Junqing checked the sky and lowered his voice: "There are still about two quarters of an hour before the agreed time. Let's discuss a strategy first."
"Strategy? What strategy?"
Xu Yuan gave him an odd look, speaking as if it were the most natural thing in the world: "If Xu Changge doesn't show up, you, a third-rank Grandmaster, aren't expecting a mere Body Integration cultivator like me to take on that tin can, are you?"
With that, Xu Yuan tapped his fingertips against the stone table before him.
"Instead of planning that, why don't you tell me what you and that Princess Orenli have been discussing this past half month? The whole city is buzzing with rumors that the two of you have met privately at least seven or eight times."
"Met privately? Heh... isn't that all to lay the groundwork for tonight?"
Li Junqing gave a soft scoff. "That woman is sharp. Every time I negotiated with her, it took everything I had just to push the agenda forward. It took eleven negotiations over the past half month to finally hammer out the general framework for cooperation, which is how I managed to lure her outside Di'an City for the final consultation."
Hearing that, Xu Yuan frowned slightly.
"You invited her to meet eleven times in half a month? Isn't that too frequent? It might make her suspicious."
Li Junqing waved his hand with a grin. "I naturally accounted for that. I told her I might be dispatched to Dongying next month. Under those circumstances, it was only natural for this prince to be diligent."
"You're leaving next month?"
"A lie, of course. My mission to Dongying hasn't even been submitted to the morning court."
"In other words, if she found out, she could be certain this was a trap?"
"Right now, only a handful of senior ministers in the court know about it. Where would she verify it?"
Li Junqing answered without a care in the world. "Besides, this prince already slipped our imperial family's Thousand-Li Dim-Soul Incense onto her. Even if she wants to run, it's already too late."
"..."
After a brief contemplation, Xu Yuan gave a slow nod.
As foreign envoys entering an unfamiliar empire, once those in power resolved to have them dead, there was very little room for resistance even if they realized what was happening.
The reason he and Li Junqing had gone through the trouble of choosing such a remote place was largely to conceal Xu Yuan's identity and hide the ties between Li Junqing and the Prime Minister's Manor. That was why they couldn't act inside Di'an City.
Just as he was thinking this,
a cool, refined masculine voice suddenly sounded right by Xu Yuan's ear:
*"Two idiots, still sitting there plotting. Those two have already abandoned their carriage and fled. If you give chase now, you might still catch them."*
The instant he heard the voice, Xu Yuan sprang to his feet. His spiritual vision flared outward, scanning the surroundings, but unfortunately, he could sense no one other than Li Junqing.
*Xu Changge's voice transmission!*
Seeing Xu Yuan jump up so abruptly, Li Junqing asked in surprise, "What's wrong? Are we attacking the moment we see them, or should we ambush them after I talk with them for a bit?"
Xu Yuan cursed under his breath: "Stop plotting, you idiot! Those two already abandoned their carriage and fled! If we chase now, we might still catch them!"
"..."
Li Junqing froze. The vast, majestic intent-soul of a third-rank Grandmaster instantly surged outward like a tidal wave, sweeping down the path in front of the manor gates. A moment later, he frowned.
"What are you talking about? I've been watching the whole time. Those two are sitting right inside the Court of State Ceremonial's carriage, barely a quarter of an hour away from us."
"..."
Xu Yuan didn't waste another breath. Crimson light flashed in his eyes, and he vaulted forward, hurtling along the woodland path at blistering speed.
Seeing this, though confusion filled Li Junqing's eyes, he immediately turned solemn and leapt after him.
A moment later, two figures descended silently before the luxurious carriage carved with the crest of the Court of State Ceremonial.
Through the window of the driverless carriage, Xu Yuan's gaze locked directly onto Orenli, who was peering out.
The instant their eyes met,
the willow ghost blade snapped into Xu Yuan's hand. Before Li Junqing could utter a word, he unleashed a horizontal slash.
A sword scar accompanied by splashed-ink crimson light spanned more than a hundred feet, shearing both horses and carriage clean in two!
Yet beneath that devastating slash, the two bisected figures inside lingered for only an instant before silently dissolving into a shower of starlight, scattering away into the moonlit woods...
Chapter 486