Monarch of Evernight - Chapter 872

Chapter 8-872: Volume 8 - Chapter 872: Heavenly Mystery

An airship rose into the air from the Transcendent Continent and flew into the distance .

The port officer observed the aircraft for a moment before writing down “headed to Qin Continent” in his register . After making the records, he checked the airship’s direction once more and submitted the documents for verification .

What he didn’t know was that the airship made a sharp turn after going out of sight, and two new masts rose up from the vessel, unfurling their kinetic sails . This increased the ship’s speed sharply as it sped into the boundless void . This officer would turn a blind eye even if he knew what was going on because, otherwise, the entire port and its staff would be punished for deficient supervision .

The distant airship’s outer shell opened up as numerous poles stretched out horizontally . The origin arrays on them flickered constantly as a new defensive barrier covered up the entire vessel, protecting it from the corrosion of the void tempests .

The cabin doors opened after the defensive barrier had been erected, and a heroic figure walked out to stand at the bow . This person was just standing there casually, yet a grand incisive aura was pouring out from her, almost like a sharp, unsheathed blade .

A thin elder followed this person out from behind . “Young Noble, you should at least tell your family about such an important matter . ”

The person at the bow turned back to reveal a perfectly handsome countenance . It was just that her eyes were so sharp and chill-inducing that the spectator had no time to admire her beauty . She sneered upon hearing the old man’s words . “Those old fogeys have no right to interrupt whatever I want to do . ”

“Young Noble, but…”

Li Kuanglan cut the elder short . “No buts, half of the elder assembly is weaker than me, and I’ll be catching up to the remainder very soon . How dare a group of untalented people criticize my path?”

The old man sighed . “What you say isn’t wrong, but you should tell the empress at least . ”

Li Kuanglan’s momentum faltered for a short moment . “My sister has so many things to handle, she has no time for such trivialities . ”

“This is related to the Great Maelstrom, how is that a triviality? Young Noble, please reconsider . ”

“We’re already on the road, won’t it be a hassle to go back?”

“The Great Maelstrom is about to fully open after a couple of days . It’ll only be one day’s delay if we rush back and that’s nothing for someone of your talents . You’ll suffer certain losses if it drags out . ”

Li Kuanglan didn’t approve of this . “It’s only the ones near the entrance, this young master doesn’t need them . ”

“The marine lotus from last time was discovered near the entrance . Is there anything more important than that?”

“There is . ”

“Oh? What would that be? This old servant really must know . ”

“Whether my blade is sharp and quick enough!”

The old man’s eyes narrowed . “Does that mean the young master has found a sharpening stone?”

“Yes, they’re in the neutral lands!”

The old man sighed . “Young Master, there’s nothing bad about sharpening your blade, but if you overdo it, you might break your sword before you manage to strike anything . ”

Li Kuanglan laughed coldly . “You think I can’t defeat her?”

“This servant doesn’t dare . ”

“Full speed ahead, I’ve already decided!”

The old man hesitated for a moment . “Since Young Master has already decided, this old servant will follow your orders . Nonetheless, we must still send word to the Empress so that she won’t have to worry about you . Her Highness might send experts from the palace after you if a long time goes by without any news . At that time, whatever young master has planned won’t go smoothly . ”

Li Kuanglan snorted but made no response .

Relieved, the old man turned around and made a gesture . Moments later, a beam of light shot into the sky and flew off into the distance .

After the light had vanished over the horizon, Li Kuanglan said coldly, “Go, I want to arrive early in the neutral lands . ”

“Yes, Young Master . ”

…

It was spring at the Imperial Palace . The warm rays of the sun were showering onto the brightly colored foliage, yet there was still a sharp chill when standing in the shade .

Empress Li was seated in the garden pavilion, enjoying the warm sunlight as she caressed the snow-white cat on her lap . Her fingers were like spring onions and even fairer than the cat’s fur .

The feline pet stretched its body under the warm light and eventually fell asleep .

Empress Li picked up the nearby teacup and only took a gentle sip before the maids switched out a new cup of tea . Her movements were silent and gentle but contained extraordinary power within them .

A series of crisp footsteps echoed in the courtyard as a fair-faced servant rushed over . He knelt down before the pavilion and said, “Empress, General Wang Zuo of the Imperial Guard seeks an audience . ”

“Wang Zuo? Why does he wish to see me? This is against the rules . ”

“General Wang says he has an important secret report from the neutral lands, and that he must hand it to you personally . ”

Empress Li frowned . “Neutral lands… fine, let him in . ”

The servant was startled . “Here? T-This isn’t too appropriate, is it?”

Empress Li said indifferently, “General Wang Zuo’s status is special . The emperor won’t say anything even if he finds out, bring him in . ”

All the experienced staff in the palace knew that the empress wouldn’t say something thrice . The servant jogged away swiftly, not daring to go against her words .

Moments later, a tall, handsome general walked in with large strides and knelt down before the pavilion . “Subject Wang Zuo greets the Empress!”

Intrigued, the maids in the pavilion stole glances at the man . What they saw was a fair, well-groomed man without any facial hair . He was indeed handsome but also somewhat feminine .

Empress Li raised her hand, gesturing for him to rise . “What news is so important that you must see me in person? You do know that your head will roll if it isn’t important . ”

The general turned pale . “This information comes from Song Zining of the Song clan . He spared no expense in transmitting this information from the neutral lands to the Qin Continent and even dispatched a messenger to relay a second copy . General Zining says that this news is related to the future of the Li clan and must reach Your Highness’ hands . ”

“Song Zining? I heard he’s an intelligent person . ” Empress Li’s expression relaxed somewhat upon hearing this name . “Let me see it . ”

The general produced two sealed tubes and passed them to the handmaid . “The seventh young noble sent two copies, reportedly containing the same message . Your subject presents both of them . ”

Empress Li checked the tube and opened it after finding the seal intact . At this moment, an aged servant rushed out from the shadows behind the pavilion . “Your Highness, allow this old servant to open it, lest it be a trap . ”

Empress Li smiled . “An intelligent person like him won’t do something so stupid . What can he fit in this small tube that can hurt me?”

With that, she twisted the tube open and began reading the letter in earnest .

The correspondence wasn’t long, yet the empress looked through the contents several times before putting it down . Then, she opened the other tube and compared them . Upon finding that they were identical, she rubbed the paper gently with her hands, reducing them to wisps of smoke which scattered in the wind .

Empress Li sat with an expression of both joy and worry, yet there was also an inexplicable charm to her . After a moment of contemplation, she said with a spurious smile, “This child is really quite bold, even daring to scheme against me . ”

General Wang Zuo was startled upon hearing this . Then, a sweep of the empress’ gaze caused him to fall on his knees, trembling all over, yet he never uttered the word mercy .

“Wang Zuo, what benefits did Song Zining promise you that you would help him with such a thing?” Empress Li’s voice was as frosty as it was charming .

Wang Zuo clenched his teeth . “The seventh young noble once took a great risk to save my only son . I’m willing to repay this debt with my life . Additionally, I firmly believe that he will neither harm me nor Your Majesty . ”

Empress Li smiled . “A loyal person who repays his favors is not easy to come by . This news is indeed important to me . Let’s do it this way, you head to Duke Rong and tell him that I sent you, see if he has any rural post that needs filling . ”

Wang Zuo was pleasantly surprised . He quickly kowtowed, saying, “Thank you, Your Highness!”

Empress Li dismissed Wang Zuo with a wave of her hand . After a moment of hesitation, she said, “Bring the Heaventheft Jade . ”

The old servant was shocked . “Empress, that thing shouldn’t be used liberally!”

“It’s fine, this warrants a use . ”

The old servant left and soon returned with a suet jade box on a layer of brocade and satin .

Empress Li received the box and opened it . Inside were several jade tokens, each as thin as a cicada’s wings and with ancient words carved upon them . The characters on it were so obscure that none of the people here could recognize them .

Empress Li fished out the tokens and, after a moment of calculation, scattered them onto the ground . The jade tokens made pleasant jingling sounds as they fell and bounced about like leaping fairies .

Empress Li stared fixedly at the tokens, refusing to miss a single detail . The unfathomable servant and the maids all held their breaths, not daring to disturb or alarm the empress in the slightest . They had been working in the palace for a long time, yet this was the first time they had seen the empress use the Heaventheft Jade . This was also the first time she was going all out to divine the heavenly mysteries . Death would be a light punishment if they were to disrupt her during this moment .

Empress Li didn’t claim this position just because she was beautiful and gentle .

The jade tokens suddenly erupted in popping sounds and shattered at the same time!

Empress Li’s expression turned paper-white and began coughing until she was bent over .

Everyone was shocked, but they didn’t dare rush over for fear that the divination was still underway . All they could do was watch helplessly .

After a good while of coughing, Empress Li stood up and glanced at the hand she had over her mouth just now . There was a shocking puddle of blood in her palm .

She grabbed a white towel and wiped the blood away from her lips and hand . She suddenly broke into a laugh as she muttered to herself, “Ah, fate… the more you hide things, the clearer it becomes . ”

She sat down once again and said with the dignity of a Great Qin empress, “Clean this up and invite Eunuch Liu over . ”

Moments later, a white-haired elder whose brows hung on either side of his face arrived outside of the pavilion . He didn’t kneel and merely performed a salutation, saying, “What does the Empress need of this old man?”

The empress treated Eunuch Liu’s lack of prostration as something that was right and proper . “I have a personal matter that requires your service . Head to the neutral lands and convey my message to Kuanglan . After that, you may act on the circumstances, no need to return in a hurry . ”

With that, Empress Li’s lips moved ever so slightly as her voice threaded into Eunuch Liu’s ears .

Eunuch Liu’s brows rose up all of a sudden . “This old man understands, I’ll do my best . ”

Empress Li said gently, “Nothing can be better than having Eunuch Liu in the field . ”

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