by Tinalynge
Looking around, Hui Yue could not find Li Meilin. He started to become confused about where the woman was hiding only to find that no matter how much he looked, he was not capable of finding the woman. Sighing Hui Yue felt a headache coming his way as he imagined various scenarios the woman could be undertaking to return to her kingdom. Perhaps she had already left the city and was on her way back; perhaps she was in town getting information. No matter what, Hui Yue had no idea where the woman was. He started to feel slightly annoyed that she had not just stayed put waiting for him to tell her that war was coming, and then help him find a way for her to return to her home. Hopefully, this was something he could still accomplish without her knowing that Hui Yue intentionally made her return.
Hui Yue was waiting in front of Li Meilin’s room, his body leaning against the wall as his mood was turning more and more foul the longer he waited. Finally, as the last rays of sunshine were vanishing, Li Meilin appeared at her door. Her hair was damp and her skin red. It was clear that she had taken a bath somewhere, but as for what she was doing before that, Hui Yue had no idea.
Looking at each other, Li Meilin was taken aback as she saw the young man waiting for her, and she instantly became alert and slightly defensive. So far, each time Hui Yue had been with her, the young man was dismissive and clearly hostile, yet here he was waiting for her with a grim look on his face. This was something which instantly made Li Meilin feel uncomfortable. She was ready for a showdown between the two humans within Shenyuan.
“What are you doing here?” Li Meilin asked with a hostile air to her voice. Although she previously had been trying to get close to Hui Yue, it had not worked very well. When she learned that the man did not put her in his eyes, she decided to get information other ways.
“I don’t like you,” Hui Yue stated with a bland voice, something which made Li Meilin snort in contempt. She already knew this. “I don’t like you, but you are the only other human within Shenyuan,” Hui Yue continued as his words made Li Meilin both apprehensive but also worried. For Hui Yue to wish to speak with her because she was human meant that something bad was going on.
“Aren’t you going to invite me inside?” Hui Yue asked sourly as he looked around him, watching for guards or other beasts coming his way, “This is not something we should be talking about here outside the room.”
Hearing this suggestion, Li Meilin nodded her head. Although she was slightly apprehensive, she was getting more and more worried. For Hui Yue to treat her the way he was, clearly something was very wrong, something where he had no other option than to come and find her.
Opening the door, Li Meilin gestured for Hui Yue to follow her, and the young man quickly followed as the two of them sat down within the room, neither saying anything. Li Meilin was waiting as Hui Yue looked as though he was in a tough position. He looked like he was considering how to inform the woman next to him about the information he had obtained.
“As you might know, I am half human, half beast,” Hui Yue said, this was the explanation he used for his human shape and his scent of a human which was impossible to hide. “I am living as a human as much as I am as a beast,” He continued. He stressed the fact that he wanted Li Meilin to know that he was as human as much as he was beast, and the reason he was speaking with her was because of his human side.
“Today I overheard something I am quite certain that I should not have,” He began before he paused slightly. The pause causing Li Meilin’s heart to beat erratically and her worry to grow further.
“I walked in on Wan Qiao and Lord Pan. The two of them were speaking about war. It seems that they are planning on waging war with the outside world. I did not hear which one of the kingdoms they will attack but no matter which kingdom they attack, we are all in trouble. I am from Taiyang while you are from Siban. No matter which kingdom they attack, there will be trouble.”
Hearing these words the world seemed to collapse in front of Li Meilin’s eyes. Her entire world spun around for a moment. She quickly sat down, and had a hand supporting her head as she closed her eyes and forced the nauseating feeling down. Her eyes slowly opened once more, and they turned dark with determination.
“What do you plan to do about this?” She asked Hui Yue, but the young man shook his head with a sad expression. “I am going to stay here until I reach the King rank, but I am going to try and speak with Wan Qiao and see if I can convince her to let you leave. However, if I succeed you have to swear that you will tell the Taiyang kingdom about the danger,” Hui Yue said, his eyes serious as he looked at Li Meilin.
The woman was quiet for quite some time as she considered whether or not to listen to the young man, but deep inside she was grateful that he had told her, that he was even willing to find a way for her to exit Shenyuan. If he truly managed to find a way to allow her to leave, then she would definitely do as he requested and tell the Taiyang Kingdom about the danger. Although she could not afford to pay any attention to other kingdoms preparations for war, she could at least warn them for the sake of this young man.
“How will you convince Wan Qiao to allow me to leave this place?” Li Meilin asked curiously as she looked at the young man in front of her. Hui Yue was quiet for some time, gnawing on his lip as though he was contemplating multiple options, and eventually he opened his mouth to say, “I think I am going to tell her about you constantly sneaking around and getting more and more information. That I heard about the war and would suggest that you get moved before you get hold of the news as it will make it harder for them to take over a prepared kingdom.” Hui Yue said with a decisive voice. He slowly nodded his head as if this was the best idea he could come up with, and even Li Meilin nodded in agreement thinking that this was the best, and most likely only way for her to leave Shenyuan.
“I am going to speak with her tomorrow. Don’t pack up or do anything, pretend you heard nothing, and that we did not meet.” Hui Yue said with a nod as he left the room in a hurry, leaving behind Li Meilin who was feeling uncertain.
Li Meilin was an Emperor. She had lived all her life at court and was used to intrigues. Her current feeling told her that she was being played for a fool. However, although she was being fooled, if it ended in her leaving Shenyuan and capable of telling the Siban’s about the danger, then so be it. She had no choice but to walk directly into the trap which was laid out before her.
Sighing deeply, the woman sat down and started to brush her hair. Her eyes were sharp and on alert, and her ears were strained to their limits as she listened to everyone who walked past her room. She had a feeling that Hui Yue might return, but as the night turned into the early morning with sunshine coming in through the windows, the woman finally accepted that he would not be coming back to visit her, to give her more information.
Unlike the previous days, Li Meilin did not step outside her room. She did not go out and try to gather information, instead she sat down at her desk and wrote document after document containing the information she had gathered during her time in Shenyuan.
While Li Meilin was busy writing, Hui Yue went to Wan Qiao’s chambers once more. Knocking on the door, a voice called for him to enter, and the young man stepped inside only to be greeted by a sight he did not expect to see.
“What are you doing?” He asked as he lifted one piece of paper which was laying on the side of her desk letting the ink to dry. Hundreds of such papers were stacked by the side. Her golden hair was disheveled, and her eyes focused fully on the papers in front of her. Hearing the voice, Wan Qiao lifted her head and a sour look appeared on her face.
“What am I doing?” She asked, her voice dangerously low, and Hui Yue instantly took a step back, wondering if he was prone for another slap. “You told me you needed documentation about every single one of the lords, is it not obvious that I am writing down the documents you want from me?” She growled, clearly annoyed, but for now, she stayed seated. The only change visible was a glare from her eyes.
“So why are you here anyways?”
She asked as she stood up leaving behind the table filled with documents.
Chapter 41 – The Danger of Leaving
“Why are you here?” Wan Qiao asked as she rose from her chair while glaring at the young man as she slowly started to tidy the papers in front of her.
“I spoke with Li Meilin,” Hui Yue said casually as he looked around him seeing if there were any other places in the room which were messed up, but no matter how much he looked the only untidy place was the desk in front of him.
“I think I managed to convince her that she needs to return to the Siban Empire and warn them about the upcoming war. I told her to warn Taiyang kingdom as well,” Hui Yue continued as he picked up one piece of paper and read it.
This particular piece of paper was about a lord whom Hui Yue had not noticed before. It said that he was a Two-Fanged Spotted Lion. That his attacks were astonishing, and his personality seemed to be perfect for war as well. Reading the paper Hui Yue smiled at the thought of these strong experts being able to assist him in the coming war, but he quickly put down the paper as he saw a pouting expression on Wan Qiao’s face.
“So you spoke wit Li Meilin, and it went the way you hoped? What do we do now?” She asked with a sigh, waited for Hui Yue to continue. She did not have to wait for long. “I told her I would try and convince you to let her go, which is now what I’ll do. We need her to leave Shenyuan and enter Siban Empire. Preferably you could use one of your guards to fly her to the border of Shenyuan and Siban. Then she can make her way from there. It will most likely take her a month to reach the capital, and that would still give them more than enough time to start and prepare for war. I expect us to spend six months training the guards into soldiers and then start the war.” Hui Yue said with a sigh, and the woman in front of him nodded. She had already waited for more than four thousand years, for her to wait another half year was nothing.
“I will speak with her about it. I agree to send her away because there is no reason to keep her here any longer,” Wan Qiao said smiling. “Now scram so that I can call for that woman and get her out of here. When I am done with these documents, then I’ll make sure to have someone send them to you,” She finished as her stomach started rumbling incredibly loud. Looking down, she was flabbergasted for a short while before she laughed loudly. “Perhaps I need some food before I continue,” She said gently causing even Hui Yue to raise an eyebrow in surprise.
How could a Saint ranked expert be hungry? The higher rank one achieved, the more nurtured the body became from the essence of the heavens and the earth. Their body became more and more resilient to bodily needs. Food was no longer necessary and drinks even less so, yet Wan Qiao’s stomach just growled, showing that she was hungry. Hui Yue was taken aback as he heard the sound his eyebrows rising higher and higher. For her stomach to be growing it meant that it was years since she last had a meal, years without eating.
A sad smile was visible on Wan Qiao’s face as she gently patted the boy on the head. “Long ago the last normal beast died within Shenyuan’s borders. At first, the villagers had animals whom they bred; however, all the magical beasts hunted down the domesticated ones, eating them one after another until eventually no beasts were left. The beasts in the towns and villages live from both vegetation they farm and at the same time magical beasts which they hunt down.”
“It is okay for these beasts to attack the other beasts as this is the world of the fittest, but as a Lord of the Forest, and the Queen of Shenyuan, I am not willing to attack and eat any beasts in the forest. As for eating wheat products and fruits that is quite disgracing for a One-Horned Jasmine Eagle,” She continued with frown.
“The only time I eat is when I leave Shenyuan, and last time I left was the day I saw you in Riluo City. Since then I have been holding back,” She complained with a sigh. Hui Yue nodded his head. He could understand why the woman refused to eat her own kind, but although Hui Yue himself had become a half beast half human, he had no qualms about eating other magical beasts.
“Well nothing you can do about it,” She continued and she waved her hand a little, telling Hui Yue to keep walking and not worry about her. Hui Yue did just that. Although Wan Qiao was hungry, Hui Yue knew perfectly well that she was nowhere near death. Although she was starving, she would be fine even though she had not eaten for years. She could easily go another ten years before it became dangerous.
Knowing this, Hui Yue turned around and left. He went back to his room where he sat down and started to cultivate while waiting for someone to bring him news of either Li Meilin’s departure, or perhaps give him the papers saw waiting for him on Wan Qiao’s desk.
….
“Hello, there young one,” Wan Qiao said as she looked at Li Meilin, who had just entered her rooms. The One-Eyed Jasmine Eagle was sitting at her desk, sorting a large stack of documents, her back turned to the woman who just stepped inside the room.
Li Meilin felt her hand tremble as she worried what would happen. Hui Yue said that he would do what he could to allow her to leave Shenyuan; however there was the option that this Queen of Shenyuan would refuse to help her leave, that the Emperor had to leave on her own. That she would be forced to travel through both Shenyuan and Siban before she returned to her hometown, the capital.
“I remember I told you that you could leave Shenyuan when Hui Yue managed to reach the King rank,” Wan Qiao started as she straightened her back and walked towards the young looking woman in front of her. Gesturing to a set of chairs, Li Meilin and her, sat down. Both of them were looking at one another not speaking, but waiting for the other to speak first.
Seeing that Li Meilin had no intention to speak, Wan Qiao sighed deeply before she leaned back in her chair and looked at the woman in front of her.
“During the last few days you have been quite busy, have you not?” Wan Qiao asked with a feigned curiosity. The words she spoke caused a shiver to run down Li Meilin’s spine. Could it be that this Wan Qiao was aware of all the actions she had made these last few days of her constant search for information and her hard work. If she was noticed then who knew what would happen to her. Perhaps she was not going to be leaving Shenyuan after all. Maybe she was going to be buried here for eternity.
“I could kill you and then you would no longer pose any threat to me,” Wan Qiao said casually, lifting her hand looking at her nails. Every word she said caused Li Meilin’s back to break out in a cold sweat, and fear was visible in her eyes. She knew that her life depended on Wan Qiao; however, the woman seemed like she did not care about the Emperor at all.
“I could kill you, but doing so would just bring me more trouble,” She finally sighed and stopped looking at her nails; instead, she leaned forward in her chair and looked at Li Meilin, her face slightly sour. “Hui Yue personally requested that I allow you to leave,” She continued as hope started to appear within Li Meilin’s heart.
“Although he did not tell me why he wanted me to let you go, he was quite compelling,” She continued observing every reaction on Li Meilin’s face. The woman showed great uncertainty, but after hearing what Wan Qiao said hope was visible deep within her eyes.
Li Meilin was seated still for some time while she was considering how she felt about this. She knew that Hui Yue was not able to tell Wan Qiao to let Li Meilin go without a convincing argument, but it seemed as though these reasons were not going to be told to her. This made her instantly think about the war which Hui Yue mentioned before.
Li Meilin was incredibly worried. She knew that there were multiple ways for her to vanish during her trip hope. If she was to go back on her own, who knew what she would encounter on the way. If she were to be escorted by another Emperor guard, she was likely to be ambushed and killed during the trip. Even now she could vanish from this city, and Wan Qiao could just tell Hui Yue that she had already left.
Thinking about all these dangerous situations, Li Meilin could not help but be very worried and scared. She knew that she was likely to never see her
home again, but at the same time, she steeled her determination and looked with serious eyes at Wan Qiao.
Although it was highly likely that she would die, if she followed these beasts when they claimed to take her home, she was still willing to take that gamble. She could not afford not to take the risk. The slim chance that she did return home and was able to warn the kingdom was enough for her to be willing to risk her life.
Seeing determination and calmness appear in Li Meilin, Wan Qiao was greatly satisfied. Her face filled with a smile and her voice was light.
“Go and pack your things, I have a guard who will take you to the borders of Shenyuan.” Wan Qiao said with a calm voice. Hearing this Li Meiling scrambled to her feet and almost ran from the room, rushing towards her room to pack all her things. Seeing the urgency in the other woman, Wan Qiao smiled with satisfaction as she left the room.
“Tend to me!” Wan Qiao said with a loud voice, and four experts appeared by her side. All of them seemingly out of nowhere. These four experts were clearly Wan Qiao’s bodyguards and all of them were Saint ranked experts. Had Hui Yue been in the room, shock would have been present on his face. He would not have felt any energy ripples coming from these four experts, were he not looking straight at them. He would not even know that they were there.
