Chapter 30: The Real Play Along With Assassination Attempts
Emperor Liu Hui Huang swallowed the rage that suddenly filled his chest. In calm, even, tones he demanded as he slammed his cup -that he had intended to take a drink of- upon the table. "What are you barging into the dining hall to do, Commander Jiang!"
Commander Jiang cut a dignified figure and was every bit the picture of respect toward his sovereign. Unlike General Bai who lifted his eyes and looked about, who spoke in a sneering and taunting manner; Commander Jiang, though carrying a commanding air, kept himself humble before the emperor by locking his eyes to the floor, his voice monotonous as he gave his answer.
"I do beg your highness, the emperor, to consider this matter carefully and allow yourself to not be deceived artful lies."
"What do you mean by this?"
There was a sinking feeling overcoming Liu Hui Huang as this line came into his ears. The careful planning between him and those closest to him felt as if it were going to be undone. However, it wasn't as if he could expel this man from the room after such things had been said. Doing so would have himself seem biased and foolish, or worse yet, having a dark agenda.
Not moving an inch from his kneeling position, Commander Jiang responded in the monotonous tone he used for reports. "It is my error to have come later than this deceiver that you, my great emperor, had to have your ears besmeared by this swine. I'm afraid-"
"Deceiver, swine!? Just who are these referring to-"
"Silence!"
Liu Hui Huang sliced into General Bai's squawking outrage with his sharp command. Ragging over the comments of others like a lowlife would only lower the general's face in front the present crowd, making it that much more difficult to prove his credibility in their eyes. Seeing the general's poor performance now and when with his brother, Liu Hui Huang began to regret trusting Minister Li on using this man.
Taking a breath, he told the commander, "continue."
"Yes, your majesty. I'm afraid that the cause of the riots he spoke of was merely a front to pass the blame off to the innocent in order to hide their own dark ambitions."
The emperor felt like hyperventilating as he felt a sweet coppery taste rush up his throat. Swallowing it down, he spoke as steady as he was able. "Oh? Those ambitions would be?"
"Your throne."
A silence stole over the dining hall. A deafening sort of silence that even breath feared to touch. To make such claims before the emperor, if Commander Jiang could not show proof to back his words, then he would suffer severe punishments. However, should he be able to prove it, then General Bai and those related to the scheme and their entire families would be executed for the crime of treason.
General Bai felt ice travel down his spine and settle into his bones. He had been stunned mute along with everyone else for a good minute before he began to rage. "Don't you dare slander people with such things! That is a hat I refuse to wear! Without proof, how dare you speak such slanderous lies!" Spittle began to fly from his mouth as he screamed for his anger was so great!
"It would have reached your esteemed ears eventually," Commander Jiang continued as if the general were not ragging, "that one of the Spirit Realm reeked havoc across Mencheng. Therefore, to hide their crime, Minister Li and his men concocted this believable lie. However, they had not been aware that I and my men had found their facilities hidden in the mountains outside of Mencheng."
Upon hearing this piece of news General Bai felt his soul fly out his chest. His body that had been prepared to trade blows with the kneeling commander became boneless and fell upon his rear. It was over, if that place had been found, there was nothing that could be done to salvage the situation.
Unlike the general, Liu Hui Huang tried to grasp on to a bit of hope by asking, "and the proof for this, where is it?"
The crowd felt a bit stunned at the emperor for asking after proof when his general had lost his steam at the mere mention of this facility. Ah, but then again, more than words really should be given before condemning a man and his entire familial line to death. At this thought, the crowd -at least some- felt that their emperor was truly a benevolent leader, while others understood a bit of the play going on behind these well-acted words.
"As we have your majesty's permission... the two of you, bring forth the evidence." Commander Jiang commanded both of the soldiers at his side. The two stood from their kneeling, cupped a fist, and bowed their head low before turning and heading out of the dining hall.
A few minutes later they returned, a chain over the shoulder, hauling in a large cage. A howling and snarling spirit beast were held within. Collective gasps and screams from the crowd filled the hall as everyone stood from their seats, scattering to be as far from the beast as the room would allow.
Nastasia felt a bit of trepidation from the creature slamming around the cage with all its strength. Large teeth hung over snarling lips, yellowish eyes wildly looked about, as its body -the height of 3 meters and a length of 2- covered in dense silvery black fur thrashed around. It looked like the creature could easily smash through the cage that contained it.
To the people of the Mortal Realm, it looked like a gigantic raging beast as they could not sense the enormous amount of spirit energy surrounding it. Had they been able to, rather than merely giving the cage a wide breadth, they would have outright sought to flee the room. This creature was comparable to the top marital practitioners of the Mortal Realm.
Sensing her unease, Li Yu Rong murmured loud enough for her to hear. "It's okay," he told her soothingly, "that spirit beast won't dare do anything beyond what it is." Though she would only understand a bit of the sentence he still spoke it and it was not merely said to comfort. This spirit beast was lending itself to the play, for its own bit of revenge.
"Your Majesty, this is one of one hundred and fifty spirit beasts found within their facility. The details of the experiments are within these documents." One of the soldiers strode forward and handed over a stack of papers to one of the emperor's attendants to pass them over. "As you can see from what is written, they had been attempting to grow spirit beasts that can be born and live within the Mortal Realm without the need for the protections offered by the contracts that bind them to a person of the Mortal Realm.
"Their purpose had been to grow an army of spirit beasts to overrun the capital that they might snatch the seat of power from your eminent hands, your majesty. Those involved in the plot have also been written down, including their points of contribution. We also have the researchers conducting the experiments in our custody if you wish to interrogate them at a later date."
General Bai was finding it hard to breathe. There was no way out, this crime was going to be pinned on his head. A tool that was no longer useful could only be thrown aside. Now that it had come to this, in what way would those above him in this plot extend their hand to save his hide? Driven to a corner, yet not willing to give in completely, his mind ambled along to find some way he could turn his failure into a success.
Although his vital energy was not considered top tier when compared with many of the younger geniuses out there, his strengths were nothing scoff over. Although he wouldn't be able to fight his way out to save his life, he could rectify the situation for his superiors. If he could accomplish this, perhaps a lighter sentence could be given to his family members. No matter what he did, his own life could no longer be spared.
Slipping his hand beneath his sleeve to pull a dagger from a sheath strapped around his wrist, General Bai all of a sudden, threw the blade toward the demon girl with all of his vital energy behind it. It was done so quickly and so suddenly that one should have been unable to defend against it. The demon girl should have died with the blade between her throat so that his master might still be able to collect the blood from the demon.
Unfortunately, Li Yu Rong was not ordinary. He had sensed the other man's intent a bit before the action had been cast. With a sharp wave of his arm, sleeve fluttering at the swift counter, the blade met a wall of energy to be sent flying back to its owner.
As the blade sailed into the general's throat, sending up an arch of blood, a female attendant flew forward to send a leaping kick into his chest. The bones cracked and shattered under the strength of the hit, the pieces shredding into the lungs. A gasping breath had barely been made before General Bai hit the ground a corpse. Paoxiao angrily stomped on his chest once more for good measure, causing a horrifying crunch to resound before spitting on the general's body and walking back to his place at Li Yu Rong's side.
A crimson eye flashed as Li Yu Rong tried to swallow back the rage trembling his body. The fact that someone would even dare attempt to kill her while she was in his arms was something so wholly infuriating that he could not swallow it back no matter his efforts. A murderous air began to rise about his person as the atmosphere dropped in degree, freezing the room as if summer suddenly turned to winter.
Li Yu Rong no longer cared. The outcome would be the same whether he was present or not. There was nothing that could be done to salvage the situation. There was nothing Liu Hui Huang could do to turn this in his favor. Not with so many eyes paying attention to this particular case.
Slipping his hand over Asya's eyes, he forced them to close and then lifted her into his arms as he stood to his feet. "Be still and don't move." His crimson eye was flashing in his rage, making his appearance much more sinister than his usual look. It was even more difficult for those nearby him to stand his presence.
"My Pet has fainted from shock. So, though the festivities have yet to end, we shall be taking our leave."
With that lurid expression facing his way, Liu Hui Huang felt a lump form in his throat. He could only muster the strength to nod his acceptance under that crushing aura. It was a frustrating thing to be suppressed to that degree, but Liu Hui Huang could only hold it in his heart and curse his brother silently.
Without another word and without looking back, Li Yu Rong left the room. As he left, everyone felt as if a weight had been lifted from their chests. The dining hall had become much brighter and much easier to breathe in.
A collective sigh had been released. Now they hoped for the play to finish so that the meal cooling on their plates could be devoured before growing completely cold.
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A/N:
I see that a lot of people are asking for more chapters a week... while I can't promise anything -especially this week as I've got my school project to work on- I'll try and see if I can get more time to write more. If I can't increase the chapters a week, I'll try to at least write a bit more so that I can amass a few extra chapters to mass release when I can.
Also, a BIG thanks to all those who wished me well on my project... you guys are wonderfully nice and awesome people! XD
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Saoirse
Saoirse I hope you all enjoy Wednesday's chapter! o(^^)o
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