Chapter 256-The Manga Pariah's Guide to Self-Salvation
In the gilded hall, Yu Tianming absentmindedly raised a glass of wine.
The moment the liquid touched his lips, his peripheral vision caught a white-robed young figure slowly entering. The entire hall turned to look.
"Cough—cough—Ye… the Pope?"
Yu Tianming was somewhat taken aback. Ye Zheng had just exposed the Royal Family's dirty secrets and severed the Emperor's left and right arms—yet here she was, waltzing into an Imperial Palace event in broad daylight?
He stayed inconspicuously in a corner, observing. While the crowd stood stunned, the evening's hostess, Heath, was the first to approach, greeting Ye Zheng with a perfectly measured smile and impeccable etiquette.
Standing too far away, Yu Tianming couldn't make out their conversation. He guessed that in so public a setting, the two would exchange nothing more than pleasantries.
Ye Zheng had brought four Knights as attendants. They weren't as imposing as Wen De, but their presence was sharp enough to give pause to every eager soul in the hall who wanted to approach—none dared look directly at them, let alone step forward.
Crystal chandeliers cast dazzling refractions of light. Beneath them, Heath quite naturally took Ye Zheng's arm. Ye Zheng glanced down at the gesture and let it be.
Yu Tianming clicked his tongue in the shadows. So Heath and Ye Zheng really did have a solid personal rapport. The rift between the Sei Curia and the Royal Family hadn't done much to damage their relationship. Heath hadn't lied to him.
He and Ye Zheng had been on rather unpleasant terms before, but toppling her was out of the question now. With Heath as a bridge, surely Ye Zheng wouldn't hold his past impudence against him.
A complicated look flickered behind his glasses. Even without Heath, Yu Tianming thought, Ye Zheng couldn't possibly bother with him now. To her, he was already a roadside nobody—not even worth a second glance.
Ye Zheng's power to rally the masses was terrifyingly beyond imagination. The moment the Dragon Bone truth came out, every ounce of the people's resentment toward the aristocrats was matched by an equal measure of adoration for Ye Zheng.
Public sentiment had always been something their kind dismissed as beneath notice—until they witnessed the Bai family's total collapse next door, and realized just how arrogant they had been.
A single Excommunication had prompted the commoners on Bai lands to mount a legitimate, voluntary resistance—no more taxes to the Bai family, no more surrendering crops or labor. The territory's private laws ceased to function. Common-born ability users fled the Bai household in droves. Stripped of their lands and honor, the Bai family was a family in name only.
More frightening still, commoners on other estates were stirring with the same ideas.
Yu Tianming had privately overheard more than a few people cursing Ye Zheng, calling her a traitor to the upper district who would sooner or later throw the nation into chaos. Some had even launched clandestine plots against her.
But Yu Tianming perceived something sharper: the reason the Empire had maintained relative calm and order after the Dragon Bone revelation was precisely because Ye Zheng existed.
Because people believed in Ye Zheng, they chose patience and restraint.
Yu Tianming forced down tasteless wine, his gaze hardening. Heath was right—he had to seize this opportunity and hold on tight if he wanted any hope of realizing his ambition to stand above all others. The identity of the one person above him didn't matter.
Better this than being sent by his family as a token gesture to an unloved princess's birthday party.
Heath took Ye Zheng's arm, and the two ascended the stairs to the second floor, looking down on the mingling figures below.
The four Knights stood guard nearby. No one dared intrude.
"Ye Zheng, do you know any of the people down there?"
Heath seemed to have had a bit to drink; her smile was slightly hazy as she leaned against the railing.
"That one, I believe, is the Finance Minister's second son. That one is the Chief of Public Safety's youngest daughter… They're about my age, but they're not my friends. And they didn't come to wish me well, either."
"They're expendable stand-ins, just like me—sent by their families to show loyalty to the Royal Family while avoiding any appearance of taking sides. They don't want to arouse your suspicion."
"Quite impressive, my friend."
Heath turned, her smile bright and unguarded.
"Heath…"
For once, Ye Zheng seemed at a loss for words. A slight furrow creased her brow.
"He wants to see you. The situation has left him no room to play deaf and dumb any longer. I suggested using my birthday as the pretext. He agreed at once and said, 'Your birthday comes at a very thoughtful time.'"
"Ye Zheng, I truly believed Professor Qin would be all right when I made that choice. After all, the people who genuinely celebrate my birthday can be counted on one hand."
Heath's eyes shimmered with broken light. She blinked hard, then regained her composure.
"He's ordered me to execute Professor Qin Lu ahead of schedule. She's being held in the farthest palace to the southeast of the grounds."
"Ye Zheng, take her and go."
Ye Zheng's dark eyes were deep and still. She held Heath's gaze for a long time, then asked, "And what about you? He'll know it was you."
"He might not be able to hold out much longer. He may name Roy as his heir and then… become Roy and continue sitting on the throne."
"My only use was to liaise with Roy and help him keep watch on Percy. Once that happens, my existence will be even more insignificant."
Heath's gaze shifted slightly. Ye Zheng's heavy stare sharpened—she had guessed that Heath had uncovered certain truths, but hadn't expected her knowledge to run this deep. The Emperor relied on Heath more than she had anticipated…
Lost in thought, she heard Heath ask softly:
"Ye Zheng, did you really think I would sacrifice Professor Qin Lu for my own sake?"
Ye Zheng looked up. Her dark eyes, unblinking, resembled a divine statue devoid of joy or anger—with just a thread of heart-piercing compassion.
A sledgehammer struck Heath's chest without warning. Her blue eyes trembled.
"Heath, I understand now."
Ye Zheng's voice was as soft as a sigh.
Heath was momentarily speechless, silently watching her.
"Today isn't your birthday, so I'll spare you the pleasantries."
"Where is the Emperor waiting for me?"
At the question, Heath answered plainly: "…In the great hall of West Palace."
West Palace was where the court council convened—where the throne symbolizing secular power sat.
Having spoken, Heath turned away to stare at the revelers below. The lively shimmer was gone from her blue eyes, leaving them desolate.
Before leaving, Ye Zheng took one last look at Heath.
"No matter the time, no matter the identity—I will always send you my true birthday wishes, Heath."
Heath turned, staring blankly at Ye Zheng's retreating figure, a lingering ache pooling in her eyes.
Why is your heart as sharp and perceptive as the clearest mirror—yet you insist on forgiving every dark and shameful part of me?
Heath lifted her gaze to the crystal chandelier. Its faceted surfaces fractured her reflection into countless shards—fragments even she could not piece together into her true self.
*
Ye Zheng led her people out through the rear door of the banquet hall. She did not head southeast to where Qin Lu was held, but toward West Palace.
Before entering the banquet hall, she had assumed Heath simply saw the situation turning dire and wanted to leak information so Ye Zheng could help rescue Qin Lu.
Heath did want her to save Qin Lu. But beyond that, she had layered in far more calculations.
This time, Heath had factored even Ye Zheng herself into the equation.
Ye Zheng lowered her eyes—not with reproach, but with an irrepressible hint of amusement.
Under the night sky, the white-clad young figure, cloaked in starlight and moonlight, pushed open the palace doors. Moonlight crept across the cold floor but could not climb to the throne above.
A man in a dark-red ceremonial suit was seated upon it.
The four Knights remained outside. Ye Zheng closed the doors behind her and walked in.
"Ye Zheng."
The handsome middle-aged man tried to muster a breezy smile. The result was somewhat distorted.
"This time, what do you want to discuss with me? Vincent—or do you go by another name?"
"As you like. Names hold no importance for me."
Moonlight streaming through the windows stretched the shadows on the floor. Ye Zheng looked up, eyes slightly narrowed, at the man on the throne.
"Very well. Then please—come down."
"I don't like looking up at anyone."
Ye Zheng said evenly. The man on the throne clenched his jaw at once, muscles twitching—but in the end, he descended and stood before Ye Zheng.
"Ye Zheng, you really are… Ha. You have the audacity for this kind of arrogance now, and there's nothing I can do about it."
"Impressive—pushing me this far. You must be enjoying yourself."
Ye Zheng gave him a quizzical look. "Honestly? The sense of accomplishment is… modest."
Veins pulsed wildly at his temple. The Emperor's smile was a rictus—dark and distorted to the extreme.
"Ye Zheng, I advise you to quit while you're ahead. All I want is to be the secular Emperor. I have no objection to you being the spiritual leader. If there have been… unpleasantries in the past, I can compensate you."
"Wealth, territory, even armies and weapons… Think about it. Those things are far more useful to you than Dragon Bone."
Ye Zheng stared at him, then slowly curved her lips into a smile. "Could it be that gathering all the Dragon Bone really can revive the demon dragon?"
"…"
The Emperor's breathing grew heavier.
"Stop provoking me, Ye Zheng."
"If this nation turns on me completely, I may not be able to resist delivering a true punishment…"
Ye Zheng's expression turned ice-cold. She had a vague sense of what "punishment" he meant.
Perhaps something exactly like what she had witnessed in the time-space of five hundred years ago.
"When that happens, I'm afraid you won't have the chance to practice your benevolence. At least half the population will die in the catastrophe. Total annihilation isn't out of the question."
"You're insane!"
Seeing Ye Zheng's composure crack for the first time, the Emperor finally broke into a genuine smile.
"I am the one true god of this world. You will never understand what I am."
The Emperor said, laden with meaning.
Ye Zheng lowered her head, her expression unreadable, seemingly locked in fierce deliberation.
After a long pause, as though she had made her decision, she looked at him again.
"I agree. I'll halt the Sei Curia's Dragon Bone collection."
"Who on this land would want to see the demon dragon rise again?"
Ye Zheng sighed, almost imperceptibly.
The Emperor's smile deepened. Her decision was no surprise. Ye Zheng was riding high; digging up Dragon Bone was merely a gesture to the common people. If the demon dragon actually returned, it would be nothing but harm for her.
"There are conditions to my agreement. I'll draft a set of provisions later. The Dragon Bone may not need to be dug up, but certain outdated regulations need changing."
The Emperor's expression cooled slightly, but he nodded. Then he heard Ye Zheng add:
"Oh, and one of the conditions is—release Qin Lu."
Ye Zheng smiled. "That shouldn't be difficult. Qin Lu's life or death has no bearing on you."
The Emperor paused. Ye Zheng's demand wasn't surprising in itself, but Qin Lu had originally been his outlet for frustration and a convenient test of Heath's loyalty…
"Agreed." The Emperor's voice was flat.
Ye Zheng clapped her hands once, beaming. "Wonderful. Let's hope that this time… we can enjoy a pleasant cooperation."
The Emperor stretched his mouth into something approximating a smile. "Let us hope Her Holiness the Pope won't hide any 'surprises' this time."
"Likewise."
Ye Zheng turned. Her white robe shed the cool moonlight as her voice drifted through the empty palace.
The Emperor watched her leave from the shadows, the murderous intent in his eyes startling.
Ye Zheng stepped out of the palace and into the moonlight.
Heath knew Ye Zheng had the ability to strike a deal with the Emperor. As long as the Emperor personally agreed to release Qin Lu, Heath would no longer bear the weight of his suspicion.
While striving to win Ye Zheng over, Heath had also hinted at her own usefulness.
In truth, even without Heath's gambit, Ye Zheng had been planning to trade the abandonment of the Dragon Bone excavation for Qin Lu's freedom.
Because she didn't want anything to happen to Heath—whether from the standpoint of a friend, or from a rational calculation.
Ye Zheng needed a more reliable set of eyes inside the Imperial Palace—someone who could get closer to the Emperor.
Beyond that, Heath had also solved another problem for her.
She had decided on the person to shadow Percy's Dragon Bone quest.
—Roy.
Percy would never trust someone who appeared out of nowhere. Nothing inspired more trust than a comrade who had been through life and death together.
And the Emperor had been having Heath manage the line to Roy all along. Whether that spoke to Heath's competence or the Emperor's own overconfidence was anyone's guess.
*
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