Chapter 555: Emperor

Chapter 555: The Emperor

Rain poured down in torrents, and Li Huowang, his body twitching intermittently, knelt on one knee upon the ground, gasping for breath with great, labored breaths.

Not only were his wounds that had just healed beginning to tear open once more, but additional ones had been inflicted as well—his injuries were severe.

The one who could kill Anping was no ordinary person. The Taoist that Ji Lin had somehow summoned possessed tremendous strength, nearly rivaling that of Dan Yangzi himself.

Especially his mysterious and unfathomable thunder magic was incredibly powerful. Fortunately, Li Huowang at this moment was not the same man he had once been.

A bloodstained artificial mountain was lifted high by Peng Longteng, then hurled forcefully toward the dying beggar Taoist lying motionless on the ground.

With a violent tremor of the earth beneath, the entire body of the Taoist exploded like a watermelon struck by a sledgehammer, splattering in all directions.

Yet it seemed this wasn’t enough to satisfy her fury. Amidst the pouring rain, Peng Longteng struck the bloodied artificial mountain down again upon the corpse.

After several blows, what remained before her was nothing more than a deep crater; the flesh and blood had scattered everywhere.

"Enough! I said enough!" Just as Li Huowang spoke, the artificial mountain he had raised crashed down upon her, passing through her headless form and landing heavily on the ground—she reverted to a ghostly state once more.

After catching his breath, Li Huowang stood up, opened his mouth, and spat out Li Sui. "Sui Sui, help daddy with something."

As he spoke, Li Huowang walked over to the pile of corpses beside the memorial mound, reached out, and took off the head of Princess Anping, handing it to Li Sui. "Black Tai Sui is good at parasitism, right? Can you control this head?"

"Daddy, let me try." Li Sui extended his appendages, took the head, and absorbed it into his own body.

Soon after, when the head of Princess Anping rose again from within Li Sui’s body, it began blinking.

"Daddy? Is it like this?" The beautiful woman's head, now supported by countless tendrils, smiled at Li Huowang.

Li Huowang had originally planned to resort to peeling skin and using the Forgetful Dao technique to perform a skin-changing illusion if Li Sui failed. But now, it appeared that Black Tai Sui truly excelled in such matters.

Looking at her natural smile and gaze, Li Huowang nodded in approval. "Fine, that’ll do. As long as you show your face, others will believe Princess Anping is still alive."

"Since Princess Anping couldn't escape the pursuit, I'll continue protecting her. Li Sui, I know you're exhausted, but we can't hold out too long—we just need to last until the Astronomical Bureau returns."

With that, Li Huowang led Li Sui into the palace. He quickly located the corpse of Princess Anping, emptied its organs, and allowed Li Sui to enter. She became even more like the princess now.

Li Sui washed the blood off her body and slipped into a light-colored silk skirt adorned with gold filigree. The wide hem provided a place to conceal her tendrils.

She wore a soft pink brocade corset underneath, with dangling azure tassels adorning her ears, complemented by a coiffure styled with delicate willow-leaf hairpins. Except for the white silk band covering the neck where the head had been severed, she looked almost identical to the Princess Anping Li Huowang had seen before.

"All right, let’s go! We’ll circle around those hidden sentinels far away so they know Princess Anping is still alive." Li Huowang grabbed Li Sui’s hand and rushed into the heavy rain.

That night brought many events. When the rain had washed the city clean the next morning, everything seemed as though nothing had happened at all—the scent of blood had vanished completely. Citizens went about their daily lives as usual—working, shopping, buying vegetables.

At that very moment, Gao Zhijian had driven his carriage into the capital city. He looked around blankly at the rows of shops and pavilions lining both sides of the road.

Logically speaking, he should be the emperor here and feel familiar with this place—but why did he have no memory of it?

"Didn’t I used to come out of the palace often?" Gao Zhijian pondered silently.

After thinking for a while, he drove his carriage along the main road deeper into the city. After walking a bit, when he saw the familiar vermilion walls ahead, a flicker of memory sparked in his eyes.

He remembered this place—he had often been carried past these red walls as a child.

He stepped down from the carriage and tried to calm his excitement before walking confidently toward the guards stationed at the gate.

Seeing Gao Zhijian’s imposing figure, the guards frowned, and cold glints shimmered on the wall above.

When he reached two zhang away from them, he stopped, staring directly at them.

After a few moments, confusion crept across his face. “Strange—they don’t recognize me? I’m the emperor! Even an ex-emperor, they should know who I am.”

Gao Zhijian took two steps forward, pointing at his own face, about to speak.

“Royal grounds! Dare you act so brazenly!” A sharp halberd pointed straight at him, and he instantly felt a tingling sensation between his brows.

As a fellow clansman, he could sense the overwhelming aura of ill intent from the wall above. Their cultivation level far surpassed his. This wasn’t just a warning—it meant that one more step would likely end in death.

Quickly retreating to his carriage, Gao Zhijian stared at the towering palace walls from afar, unsure how to proceed. It didn’t seem quite like he had imagined. “Am I... the emperor?”

Just as he thought this, a figure passed by him and dashed toward the side gate of the main entrance.

Unlike Gao Zhijian, the guards didn’t even glance at him, letting him slip through the slightly open door.

Inside the palace, the figure’s legs moved swiftly beneath his robes, as if floating, rushing toward the emperor’s sleeping quarters.

Once he arrived outside the chamber, he slowed his pace deliberately and entered.

Though he had slowed, he was still struck in the head by a flying inkstone, bleeding profusely.

But he dared not show any defiance—because the one who hit him was the current emperor.

On his knees, trembling, he said, “Your Majesty, Princess Anping has yet to be found.”

“Throw him out and execute him!” Ji Lin roared, sentencing a man to death in an instant.

“E-Emperor!! Emperor!! Spare me!!”

All the eunuchs and maidservants inside the palace fell silent in fear, afraid that it might be their turn next.

However, among them, one eunuch remained unusually composed. An elderly eunuch holding a golden brush and a fan approached Ji Lin, soothing him: “Your Majesty, please don’t worry. I’ve divined the future. According to the oracle, Princess Anping has already fallen. One of the monks from the Lamp Offering Sect also sees it the same way.”

The pearl tassel on Ji Lin’s hat shook violently as he spoke. “I don’t want to see oracles! I want to see people! What if that Anping uses illusions? Alive, I want to see her alive; dead, I want to see her corpse! I want to see her head! You’re all useless!”

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Next chapter updates at 00:02

(End of Chapter)