Chapter 269-The Manga Pariah's Guide to Self-Salvation
"No. The one standing outside the fish tank—is me."
The words drifted through the dim corridor. The polished floor mirrored her slender shadow. Ye Zheng watched the goldfish glide gracefully for a while, then turned and left as silently as she had come.
She vanished at the end of the corridor. Only the moon hanging high outside the window bore witness to the shadow's coming and going.
The next day, a Nun delivered Heath's message.
Heath reported that she had found nothing unusual in the Imperial Palace so far. She had even risked entering the Emperor's bedchamber, but came up empty.
Ye Zheng was silent for a moment. She told the messenger to let Heath know—there was no need to keep searching.
In truth, she had long suspected where Margaret's remains were. She had simply held onto a sliver of hope that the bones had been kept intact.
But on second thought—if the Emperor had been so terrified that he buried the Dragon Bone in separate corners of the Empire, how could he possibly keep Margaret's actual remains at his side?
He hadn't even dared to test that spinal bone on a woman. Sykes had been destined from conception to be born male.
Ye Zheng sat at her desk as always. She looked up at the elegant, sunlit palace, yet felt a sense of suffocation. She rose and walked to the window, gazing into the distance.
The East District. Margaret's remains were in the East District of the lower district.
—Existing in the form of ashes!
They could have been scattered across any patch of soil in the East District, reduced to specks of dust invisible to the naked eye. Countless passersby trod over them without ever knowing.
The Emperor coveted the godlike protection that Margaret bestowed, yet feared her re-emergence in this world—feared she would strip him of his glory and power. His terror drove him to grind her bones to ash, yet he didn't dare let her remains disperse entirely.
He had weighed the power of Demonic Domains and demon dragons, perching on his throne in the narrow gap between them—year after year, his shadow perpetually looming over this vast land.
But so what?
Ye Zheng narrowed her eyes. There had once been a tower in the Imperial Palace tall enough to overlook the entire upper district. After her coming-of-age ceremony, the tower and most of the palace had been reduced to rubble. Now she could no longer see its faint silhouette in the distance.
The Emperor had managed to restore the palace to a semblance of its former splendor in the short term, but it was destined never to reclaim its past glory.
Next time, he wouldn't even get the chance to rebuild.
Sunlight seemed to ignite fireworks in the depths of Ye Zheng's eyes. Her gaze blazed with searing intensity.
By the window, a white bird swept past those eyes and soared into the distance.
The weather was growing warmer. Heath, strolling along a garden path, squinted up at the sun. She had already changed out of her elaborate court attire into something much lighter, though she couldn't yet try the fashionable Knight-style outfits—knockoff Holy Journey Knights Order uniforms were all the rage among female students lately.
The Emperor's dress code for women in the palace was practically archaic. She couldn't even openly wear trousers. Her mother—the palace's nominal mistress—was subject to the same restrictions.
Though her mother always professed disinterest in—even distaste for—such trendy things, masking the fact that she, too, had no say in the matter.
Heath suddenly found it amusing. Her mother's customary way of life would be upended someday. What expression would she show her daughter then?
After a few more steps, Heath spotted a figure ahead on the path. Her smile faded.
Yu Tianming was following his father and older brother out—apparently just finished meeting with the Emperor. He turned his head toward the side path, and his surprised eyes clearly noticed Heath as well.
Their gazes met for a fleeting instant. In an unnoticed corner, Yu Tianming's right hand, hanging at his side, made a finger-snapping gesture.
Heath merely paused her step for a beat, then walked on as if nothing had happened.
Yu Tianming was telling her: what they had been preparing was about to begin. The Emperor was already considering abdication.
Entering the elegant dining hall, she found the Emperor waiting at the head of the table. Heath curtsied first. After receiving his nod, she took her seat as directed by the attendants.
The attendants withdrew. The two ate in silence while Heath tried to work out why the Emperor had suddenly summoned her.
Halfway through the meal, the Emperor abruptly set down his utensils and spoke.
"Heath, I've heard a very interesting piece of news."
"...What news?"
"Roy is using his title as Prince to command the North District's forces in a purge of the insurgents."
Heath's face showed undisguised disbelief. "Did Roy have your approval? How dare he do such a thing?"
The Emperor laughed carelessly. He had brilliant golden hair and golden eyes, yet his entire being exuded a profoundly sinister aura. The creases on his face had grown deeper, and his once-handsome bone structure had, at some point, turned harsh.
"Good question—how dare he? I'm beginning to wonder if I sleepwalked and gave you a new order."
At the side of the table, Heath nearly lost her grip on her utensils. Her spine went rigid. It was a long moment before she found her voice again.
"The people I sent are already en route. Given the current situation, Roy and the others may refuse to come back... I'll find a way—I will bring them before you."
"Heath, don't disappoint me."
The Emperor said gravely. A shadow veiled his golden eyes.
"Your Majesty, you are the only living god in this world. How could I ever dare to disappoint you."
Heath assumed a posture of deference. She noticed the man at the head of the table relax slightly, and only then did she exhale.
Good—the Emperor couldn't find any trace of her communications with Roy. He wouldn't suspect her.
She had given Roy a small nudge. Otherwise, with their group agonizing back and forth in a deadlock, who knew how long they would have been stuck in a standoff with Sierra.
—More importantly, Roy's sudden emergence on the stage would make more people in the upper district realize that there were other options for the throne.
From the very beginning, she had deliberately misled everyone about her ability's duration, while also concealing its psychological suggestion function. Nearly everyone believed her power was limited to long-range telepathic communication.
The people who knew the true nature of her ability could be counted on one hand. Ye Zheng was among them.
She had gotten to know Ye Zheng too early. Had it been a bit later, perhaps even Ye Zheng would never have found out.
[Mind Imprint] was indeed not a dominant ability. Its suggestive effect was like adding kindling to a furnace—without an existing flame, the wood wouldn't ignite on its own.
She had merely perceived the defiance buried deep in Roy's heart and given him a push. As for how far he could take it, even Heath couldn't predict.
Suddenly, Heath looked up. "Your Majesty, aside from Roy, must Percy be brought back as well?"
The thought had just struck her: if the Emperor intended to take over Roy's body, why bring Percy back too? Percy might prove an obstacle, and surely the Emperor didn't want to broadcast his secret of immortality.
Hearing his daughter's question, the Emperor's gaze sharpened abruptly. Heath quickly added:
"Percy wields the Divine Sword and shouldn't be underestimated. If Roy also gains command of the North District, bringing both of them back becomes significantly harder. I need to make more thorough preparations..."
"Percy must be brought back."
The man cut her off.
The Emperor's calm tone carried an obsessive certainty that brooked no argument. He repeated himself.
"He must be brought back."
At those words, Heath felt an involuntary shiver. She stared at the lavish feast spread across the table with no appetite whatsoever, her mouth dry. She fell silent.
Could the Emperor's true target be Percy after all? But the moment he chose Percy, he could no longer sit on his beloved throne—unless he was confident that, through Percy's identity, he could once again ascend to supreme power.
Yet if he had chosen Percy, there would be no need for Roy to be present. Though she couldn't rule out the possibility that Roy was a smokescreen, since Ye Zheng apparently knew his secret as well.
Heath forced herself to calm down. Whenever things exceeded her understanding and she couldn't settle on an answer, she was prone to panic.
The meal was utterly tasteless. When it ended, Heath dabbed the corners of her mouth with a napkin, stood, and solemnly promised the Emperor that she would ensure everything went smoothly.
The Emperor's gaze stayed on her the entire time. He shifted in his seat, seeming to want to say something more, but held his tongue until Heath had left.
A man in Knight's attire entered the empty dining hall and reported something. The Emperor nodded absently, then commanded:
"Keep sending people. Until we've thoroughly mapped out Ye Zheng's abilities."
The Knight's expression flickered with hesitation, but he could only leave in silence.
The Emperor sat alone in the dining hall, staring at the cold, exquisite dishes on the table. Then, in a sudden motion, he yanked the tablecloth away. A cacophony of shattering and clattering filled the vast hall. A twisted smile crept across his face.
Useless—all of them! Of the many he'd sent, barely any could get close to Ye Zheng alive. Those who escaped had never even witnessed her abilities in action.
He had also sent people to threaten and bribe members of the Papal Palace staff. The only intelligence they gleaned was that Ye Zheng's water-manipulation ability was extraordinarily powerful. Nothing more could be extracted—Ye Zheng's close attendants guarded her secrets like a fortress.
"Mother of All Things..."
Once he switched to a more useful body, he would personally kill Ye Zheng!
[Mother of All Things] was not a static ability. Its original wielder, Marcy, had demonstrated miraculous regenerative powers. But subsequent Popes who inherited it found the ability drastically diminished—capable of producing only deformed offspring and misshapen limbs—and it seemed to weaken with each generation.
By rights, Ye Zheng's acquisition of [Mother of All Things] should have given her merely a support-type ability. The Emperor hadn't paid it much mind at first. Sykes's [Destruction] had been the ultimate power he truly coveted.
Yet ever since the day he witnessed her kill Sykes with his own eyes, his convictions wavered. His vigilance toward Ye Zheng had grown by the day.
Until he fully understood Ye Zheng's abilities, he would not sleep soundly for even a single night.
*
Late at night, Ye Zheng received word that the Emperor's body transfer was imminent, but she had no mind to deal with it at the moment.
Ye Zheng had spent half a day racing from the upper district to the Middle District. She finally reached a secluded house where she found Wu Shu, her face drained of all color.
The young woman lay on the bed with her eyes shut. Wen De had been keeping watch at her bedside and rose when Ye Zheng entered, reporting on Wu Shu's condition.
"We secured the Dragon Bone, but there was a small accident along the way. Wu Shu, she..."
Ye Zheng stepped closer. She lifted the blanket covering Wu Shu—and her breath caught.
Wu Shu's arms were gone.
Ye Zheng's pupils contracted sharply. Her lips parted and closed soundlessly, nearly at a loss for words. Wu Shu should have been the person best equipped to protect herself. Why was it that she always got hurt while carrying out Ye Zheng's orders?
"Where are her limbs?"
"Devoured. They can't be recovered." Wen De's voice was low, laden with self-reproach.
If the severed limbs were still available, a high-level healer could reattach them within a short window of time.
Though Wen De had managed to stanch the bleeding in time and Wu Shu's life wasn't in danger, she couldn't be moved. After much deliberation, Wen De chose to stay put and notify Ye Zheng. She knew Ye Zheng would come.
"I'm sorry. I failed in my duty."
"There's no need to blame yourself, Wen De. I'm still here."
Ye Zheng sat at the head of the bed and placed her hand on Wu Shu's severed limbs, gently unwinding the blood-soaked bandages.
Last time, she had let Marcy take over her consciousness and used [Mother of All Things] to heal the dying Wen De.
This time, she wanted to try it herself.
Perhaps it was because Marcy had lingered in her consciousness for so long, indirectly influencing her ability. Her own [Mother of All Things] was fundamentally a power to manipulate life force. Once fused with her primary ability [Stream], the healing properties of water had become remarkably potent.
*
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