The Emperor's Phoenix

Chapter 20 | Her Connection

"Ah, so this is what you've been planning, wife?" Her husband's voice had a cold edge as the door slid open. Ying Yue quickly stepped away, noticing how the three men had fled with their lingering whispers of agreement except for Lu Cang.

The men gave each other nods of acknowledgement as Hei Wu flew on Zhang Wei's shoulder with a friendly greeting, Ying Yue staring her animal companion down in disbelief.

...Since when did they become so...friendly with each other?

She leaned against the door with a sigh, glancing up at her husband with a raised eyebrow. "Were you eavesdropping the whole time, husband?"

"We did agree that you would tell me about your situation back in Tang, did we not?" His lips twitched in a challenging smirk as he turned back to Lu Cang, who glanced between the two with an aura of amusement despite his seriousness.

"...Your Highness, I suppose it would be beneficial to interrogate the human trafficker we captured a while back now that we have the chance."

Ah, that's right. I hope he has mellowed out from these days of solitude now...

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A constant dripping sounded in the dark dungeons and the air had an overwhelming odor the further they entered, following the flickering candlelight to the end of the jails.

It's empty except for the man we captured...How surprising.

"Speaking of which...Why are you coming along, husband?" Ying Yue gave him a pointed stare over her shoulder as he casually shrugged.

"Is my presence a problem?" He narrowed his eyes. "Wife, I feel like there's more you need to tell me--"

...This man...

"How annoyingly persistent..." she sighed in exasperation. "That shall be for another day."

Before he could make another retort, Ying Yue strolled ahead and stopped in front of the man's cell as he lifted his head from his sitting position and slightly bowed.

"Ah, Your Highness," he acknowledged in a surprisingly calm voice, "We meet again at last."

Besides for the middle-aged man's unkempt beard and dirtied clothing, he appeared to be sufficiently nourished. An all-knowing glint appeared in his eyes that couldn't help but cause Ying Yue to feel more anxious. Without warning, Lu Cang unsheathed his sword and held the blade against the man's throat through the bars.

"...Who do you serve?..."

The man did not flinch or make a sound even with the threat of death. "I assume Her Highness already has an idea."

Ying Yue stepped even closer to the imprisoned man, glaring down at him seriously. "Of course I do. How about you?...What connection do you have through human trafficking?"

"Everyone makes money differently, don't they?" he glanced at Lu Cang meaningfully through his shrewd eyes for a split second. "In my case, I merely had orders to capture women of twenty years...This specific detail was quite unusual, but women are the same in the end, anyway."

Hm. If I was obviously the target, then why would those women be involved too...?

He barked out a mocking chuckle at the last few words, showcasing yellow, rotting teeth. Ying Yue stepped forward with a flare of anger, only to be held back by Zhang Wei's grip on her wrist. She took a breath and glanced down at the middle-aged man with an indifferent expression.

"Your masters must have been intent on reaching their goal to subject so many women to this fate..." She drawled out, watching as the shadows of his face darkened.

"This line of work is very profitable, after all. However, it's quite unfortunate that they were, in fact, sent to their deaths instead."

The blade of Lu Cang's sword slightly faltered at his words, clanking against the rusty bars in the tense moment of silence as her husband paced around silently.

Ying Yue narrowed her eyes as the middle-aged man casually cracked his knuckles and neck, leaning back against the filthy wall with a glint of warning in his eyes. "I suppose it would be time to cut the crap, don't you think?"

Lu Cang took a defensive position as the man stood up, pacing around his cell. Ying Yue held up a hand, signaling at the quiet man to relax.

"Your best choice would be to surrender upon Emperor Tang's request," he declared with a widening grin. "Believe me when I say this is in the best of his interests. The Shadow Realm--it's simply an impediment to divine rule."

"What the hell are you going on about?" Zhang Wei hissed at his words, the shadows flickering around him unnaturally with a slight murderous intent.

Damn it...What he said slightly complicates the situation even more...

The man refocused his gaze on Ying Yue again as the smile dropped from his face, his words increasing in speed. "Li Qiang was a failure! You...You are the one they need, Empress Jin!"

His tone was so adamant she didn't know what to believe among his crazed words.

"When the time comes, you have the choice of giving yourself up or facing the massacre of your people. The future of the new world--"

"Enough with this crap."

Before the two men next to her could make a move, Ying Yue grabbed the hilt of the assassin's sword and slit the man's throat in a fluid motion. Ignoring the scarlet stains which scattered on her white night robes, she watched as he fell to the ground and clutched his throat, staring at her with the last seconds of his life before the light in his shrewd eyes permanently dimmed.

Why...? All of these damn bastards against me always have the same thing to say--whether their remarks are about me or Li Qiang...

"...Your Highness--"

"Ying Yue--!"

She handed the sword back to Lu Cang before strolling out of the dungeon, the two men trailing behind her. Her anger had acted out before her mind, but those man's words served as a vital piece of information towards a larger whole.

Her originally simple and rather trivial idea of revenge was becoming threatened by a larger force concerning each nations' powers. It only made sense that the citizens felt threatened by the thought of war prior to the political meeting--along with why Consort Sui chose to ally with Tang.

Ying Yue was somehow connected to those two's thirst for power over the realms, and the situation had a chance of escalating into a full-out fight at the expense of many citizens' lives.

In order to be able to face off at the same level, it was only necessary for her to become just as ruthless.

It's like what Emperor Tang told me all those years ago--Life involves the survival of the fittest. The strong prevail while the weak are conquered.

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JungSHOOK because my friend spoiled the ending of an anime I was going to watch wHY :'(

-Y.P.