Nao was curious.
She had worked under many noble families but the courtyard of King Enma's Queen was unlike them all. In the earlier days, this part of the palace was just as ordinary as the others. When did the change occur?
Ah. That is right. After the first prince was born.
That is when the queen's sister, Ren Lihua started staying here for the most part. It would be days and weeks before the madam returned to her own home. That is also when Ren Lifen barred anyone from entering that building, which stood secluded from the rest of the structure.
Not even the maids were allowed to go in for the occasional cleaning. The one who frequented it the most was Madam Lihua. On rare times, she would notice two other men dressed in the same gloomy garb as her, enter those forbidden premises.
With them, they carried carts of stuff that smelled funky, covered by a sheet of jute cloth. All of this went in but nothing ever came out. Which is why-
Nao was curious.
Simply. Curious.
Oh. I shouldn't have come.
Nao silently thought to herself as she hid behind the door. She wanted to force her eyes away from the grotesque scene behind it and yet, that morbid curiosity held her down.
The purple lamps in the corners highlighted the array of blood carved on the floor. Unbeknownst to her, a mountain of animal corpses slowly bled onto the floor, their silhouette hiding outside her periphery. In the centre was a small table, around which that woman danced.
Her dance was wild like the evil spirits, her feet coated with dark blood as she swayed to the rhythmic chants. Those mantras were guttural and unnerving on her ears but she strained through it.
After all, what is that? On the table?
She watched Ren Lihua excitedly crash her whip onto the ground. This action mystically directed a lightning bolt out of thin air and onto the table. Nao did not begin to comprehend how this woman could summon a bolt of light because that burst of brightness was just enough to highlight what was on that table.
CRASH.
Ren Lihua's mad grin faded away as she turned towards the sound. Behind her, the gates were ajar. "Lifen jiě jie?"
No, that can't be. She is out to see Enma.
Ren Lihua rushed out, her clothes in disarray and her limbs covered in black ink and blood. Just now. There was an intruder.
But luck was down for her because no matter how frantically she searched, the intruder had slipped through her hands. Within her panic her sister's unruly face from that day, flashed through her mind.
"Make sure no one notices. No one."
Ren Lihua, who stood blankly in the open courtyard and looked like she crawled out of a bloody well, had no idea that tales of that moment would soon be the talk of the town.
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"…Could you repeat that?" Jin Niu asked, his voice tight. He and the doctor stood only a few steps from the bed where Lord Enma lay unconscious. Jin Niu's bewildered expression twisted further as the doctor's words sank in.
The doctor exhaled and repeated, steady but grim. "A cavity has formed in the Lord's dantian. His core appears to have been punctured by some external force."
"What fucking force could that be?" Jin Niu hissed, brow furrowing. "If His Majesty had crossed blades with some immortal monster out there, wouldn't the entire realm know by now?"
"Sir Jin," the doctor said flatly. "I see you do not trust me. Need I remind you how long I have been in this field?"
Jin Niu clicked his tongue but stepped back. The doctor continued, voice low. "I have told you what I have seen. The Lord's condition is extremely critical, so— "
A knock interrupted him. A maid entered, head bowed. "The Queen has arrived."
Before she entered, Jin Niu grabbed the doctor's palm and traced two words with sharp pressure. "Your highness." Both men bowed as Ren Lifen swept in.
Ren Lifen looked appropriately distraught at the sight of her husband. As if too grief-stricken to notice anyone else, she threw herself over Lord Enma's still body. Jin Niu slipped out quietly while the doctor moved to stand at the foot of the bed.
Ren Lifen quivering hand grasped Enma's cold palm. She tenderly rubbed them between her hands, trying to warm up his dropping temperature. "What's happened to him?"
Ren Lifen's trembling hands clasped Enma's cold palm. She rubbed it gently between her own, trying to warm his chilling skin. "What's happened to him?" she whispered.
"I…" The doctor lowered his gaze. "I feel ashamed to admit the matter is puzzling. His Majesty's physique is normal. His cultivation remains stable. By all medical reasoning, the most probable cause is excessive stress."
"Stress?" Ren Lifen echoed, confusion flickering across her face.
He cleared his throat. "With the population rising, his responsibilities have multiplied. I recommend he abstain from work for a time."
Ren Lifen's tears dried instantly, relief washing her face. "So… he is fine?" The doctor nodded. "Yes, though I will have to keep him under close observation."
The queen exhaled in visible relief. "Very well. I will ensure he rests."
After a few more polite exchanges about Lord Enma's health, she left the chamber, leaving the doctor alone with the unconscious ruler. With his job done, the doctor could have left long ago. But there he was staring blankly at Lord Enma's face. After all, Jin Niu had ordered him to not leave him alone.
Outside the inner chambers, the five elders sat in idle conversation with Zou Yaozu, Jin Niu, and Ren Jiang. Their words were light, their laughter hollow. When Ren Lifen entered, she caught the tail end of their praise for Ren Jiang's rapidly advancing cultivation.
"Prince Ren is truly the finest talent of his generation." Monk Shoji remarked gruffly. "At first, I credited that to Lord Enma's bloodline, but you stand well above your brothers."
Monk Shiraishi nodded. "The other two princes are not untalented, of course. I see potential in them. But Ren Jiang…" He lifted his brows. "A genius among geniuses."
The prince in question was practically glowing beneath the shower of praise. He forced his shit-eating grin into something vaguely resembling humility, not knowing that the monks were not interested in buttering him up. And so, the questions started.
"Have you been learning from your grandfather, King Chujiang?"
"He gives me a few pointers now and then," Ren Jiang replied smoothly. "But I have always followed my father's teachings with full devotion."
Monk Tsuneo scoffed. "Your dedication is obvious. If the gods were to strike me blind, I would assume your very presence was Lord Enma's."
"Esteemed elders." Ren Lifen rushed to interrupt that train of thought, bowing before taking a seat beside her son. She rearranged her expression into one of calm composure, masking the storm beneath.
Monk Hisao offered her a soft look. "Amitabha. How are you holding up?" Ren Lifen smiled through carefully staged sorrow. "I am… well. It is all due to the elders' blessings."
"Good, good. You must stay strong during this time," Hisao continued. "You are the only one in the capital who can support him now. Lord Enma has clearly been under far too much stress."
"At least, that's what we hear," Monk Tsuneo muttered under his breath.
"Anyway," Hisao continued smoothly, "We were discussing the first prince's progress. You must be very proud of him."
Like son, like mother—Ren Lifen smiled abashedly, though her pride gleamed through. How could she not be proud? Her son stood at the pinnacle of strength, peerless among his brothers. Those two weaklings could never compare.
"The queen must have guided him well." Monk Shoji added, raising an eyebrow. "She is a rare talent herself, after all."
A heavy sigh escaped Monk Shiraishi. "Sadly, Prince He did not receive such guidance. Living outside the palace with a sick mother… and now she is gone."
"Truly unfortunate." Monk Masashi murmured.
Monk Tsuneo folded his hands. "Somehow, I find myself more concerned for the third prince. He lives in a secluded environment, far away from the quality education he would receive in the capital."
"Liu Xiulan isn't a master cultivator either. She is at best a Golden Immortal. Even Ren Jiang has surpassed her." Monk Masashi said bluntly. "His education remains a matter of concern…"
"Why not call him to the capital?" Jin Niu set down his cup of tea, smiling as though he had just proposed something brilliant. "If the prince lives in the palace, he'll finally get the exposure he needs to break through."
"Why, yes!" Monk Hisao agreed, almost gleeful. He turned to the mother and son. "The Queen, Prince Ren, and Enma — the three of them would surely set him on the right path. I quite like your idea, Jin Niu."
What the fuck? Ren Jiang kept his expression flat. He didn't like that idea — not one bit. Why would he? He Bolin had stayed out of the palace for as long as Ren Jiang could remember. The boy was so invisible that Ren Jiang often forgot he even had brothers.
And now he's supposed to see that runt from the Liu family every day?
No. I hate it. I hate it. Hate it. Hate—
"I would love to take care of him." Ren Lifen amicably agreed. "If the Queen Consort doesn't mind, that is." Ren Jiang looked at his smiling mother with disbelief, all the while forgetting that his expressions are fully open for the people to see.
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When will this day end…
Ren Lifen thought bitterly as her carriage rolled to a stop outside her courtyard. She was ready to strip off this bothersome garb and finally get some sleep. She began removing her jewellery one piece at a time, placing each item onto the lacquered table with dull clinks. Her shoulders sagged.
"Why are you here?"
Ren Lifen turned, startled, to find a dishevelled Ren Lihua kneeling motionlessly. "And why do you look like this?"
A cold, instinctive dread curled up Ren Lifen's spine. She tossed the bangle she was holding aside and grabbed her sister by the shoulders, forcing her to look up at her.
"What's the matter, Lihua? Why are you here — like this?" She gestured sharply to her sister's muddied clothes and trembling hands.
"Lifen jiě jie…" Ren Lihua's voice came out scraped and hollow. "Someone entered… the ritual. They—" She bowed, unable to bear her sister's darkening expression. "They saw it. Saw it all."
Outside the chamber, the guards and maids froze as a cacophony of crashes and muffled screams broke out. Before anyone could intervene, Ren Lifen emerged, leaning against the abruptly closed sliding door. Her expression was unreadable.
The maids scuttled forward hesitantly. Her order came cold and clear:
"All the maids and guards. I want them lined up in the stone garden. Now."
"Yes, Madam!"
Within minutes, hundreds of servants assembled in perfect rows beneath the moonlight, backs straight, eyes lowered. The air grew thick with suspense. What happened next, however, was far milder than any of them expected.
The Queen, accompanied by the head guard, merely conducted a headcount — marking names in the register with quiet efficiency. When it was done, she dismissed them all.
Their work was finished. Hers had only just begun.
Her hair bun sagged crookedly as she ran her finger down the page — and stopped. One person was missing.
Nao.
"Is she on leave?" Lifen asked, clinging to a fragile thread of optimism.
"No, Your Highness. She was assigned to clean the garden today."
The hope died instantly.
Ren Lifen pressed her fingers to her temple. "Find Nao immediately. Make it your top priority. I want that woman standing before me by sunrise."
"Yes, Your Highness."
As the shadows of the guards leapt over the eaves, Ren Lifen exhaled slowly, exhaustion settling in.
I am not getting any sleep tonight.
Unbeknownst to her, she was not the only one sleepless that night. Especially Nao, who was crouched in the corner of a filthy stable, shivering. Two sets of footsteps approached. The stable door creaked open, and two women rushed to her side.
"Nao, stop worrying. It's alright now." A maid who resembled her pulled her into an embrace, shushing her trembling sobs. "I brought the mistress. She will take care of everything."
Through blurred, tear-drenched eyes, Nao lifted her face to the woman her sister had spoken of.
"You are…?"
"Huiling," her sister supplied quickly. "She's the Head Maid of this estate."
"You can stay here," Huiling murmured, though her expression showed clear reluctance. Nao stammered "Would that be acceptable? But… what about Prince He?"
The answer to that would naturally be given by Prince He himself. He Bolin sat on the couch with Huiling by his side, Nao and her sister knelt before him, their eyes red.
"Huiling." He Bolin pointed his chin at Nao's sister. "Take her away."
The head maid bowed. She grabbed Nao's sister by the lapels and dragged her out. The heavy doors slammed behind them, the echo sealing Nao's throat shut.
Now alone, Nao felt his gaze—sharp, cold, curious—pinning her in place. She had run because she saw something wrong. Terribly wrong. But she had no money to run far. Her only refuge had been her sister's employment in the He household. She had assumed this outcast prince stayed far from the Ren sisters and their affairs.
But now he was looking directly at her, and her fragile confidence was cracking.
Eventually, his low voice fell.
"What did you run away?"
Nao looked up and opened her mouth to spout a suitable lie but a crushing spiritual pressure slammed into her throat. Her breath hitched. Tears leaked silently. Her vision swam. Just when her eyes threatened to burst from her skull, the pressure dissolved.
She collapsed onto her hands, gasping. If there had been anything in her stomach, it would have painted the floor.
"If you wish to live." he said, "speak only the truth."
"I—I will!" Her voice broke as she kowtowed. "I'll speak! I had to leave, Your Highness—please believe me—"
He waited in a stillness so complete it made the air feel thin.
"I… I saw something I shouldn't have." she whispered.
As she recounted sneaking into the restricted shed of Ren Lifen, and the horror she discovered inside, He Bolin's expression shifted. Shock, delight, and then intrigue.
"You forgot to tell me one thing, dear Nao."
"What, sir?"
He Bolin leaned forward with curiosity. "What was on that table?"
Nao's face froze, terror clawing its way across her features. "It was… it was…"
"A core."
He Bolin could understand why the maid was frightened to see a core. After all, the core is as good as a soul, a physical manifestation of it. Everyone in hell is born with it. But if the individual refrains from cultivating it, the core remains as useful as a dry husk. Normal civilians would not see it that often as its extraction is deemed to be the cruellest of all acts.
Which is why it was important to know whose core it was.
"Like a core." Nao continued. "It looked incomplete and yet it was pulsating with tremendous power…"
He Bolin made a mental note to find out what exactly were those two sisters conspiring but for now he had a lead toward resolving a death long dismissed. "Listen carefully, Nao."
Nao looked at him like a baby deer. His tone softened, though not kindly. "You made the right decision to run here because Ren Lifen is already looking for you."
"She has sent her guards out to find you before sunrise. In fact, I found three of her search dogs barking in my backyard while I was trying to sleep."
He sighed, as though inconvenienced. "And now you are here."
Nao collapsed again, clutching his feet with trembling fingers. "Please—don't send me back! Those sisters will use my body and soul for that black magic! I will never find peace! Not even in death!"
"Calm yourself." He knelt, taking her face in one hand. His touch was almost tender. "I am not turning you in. Your sister has served my household faithfully and I must reward her for that."
"Now wipe your tears and draw me the map to that building."
"Yes, yes." She obediently swiped her palms over her face.
"And one more thing." His voice halted her hands mid-motion. Nao apprehensively looked in his amber eyes as he spoke.
"If you want to keep living," He Bolin murmured, "you will not speak of this matter to anyone. Not even your sister."
She nodded—quick, frantic.
At his gesture, she rose shakily and called Huiling back into the hall. The head maid entered, bowed, and locked the doors behind her with a heavy click.
"Are the arrangements done?"
"Yes, young master." Huiling reported. "The girl's trail is being fabricated by our demoness. It will point to Liu Xiulan's palace just as you ordered."
"Good." He Bolin's smile curved, slow and satisfied. "Now we wait for the queen to walk into our trap."
---------------------------------------------------
The sun eventually rose in hell. The speciality of hell's sun was that it looked as wild as the demons living under it. Its vibrant red sunrays were unlike the gentle warmth it gave to the mortal world. This aggressive sun shone its light on Ren Jiang, who was lay on the roof of his mother's inner chambers. With his cultivation heightened and his mother distracted, he successfully hid in the arches to eavesdrop on the two sisters.
Naturally, he did not go there to spy on them. In fact, he was bothered by his mother's acquiescence to those old monks' proposal and wanted her to oppose it as fervently as he hoped. However, upon entering his mother's courtyard, he found its atmosphere tense. As if his mother was preparing for war.
The maids fearfully did their duties while the number of guards coming in and out of there had increased. Additionally, his mother and aunt roamed in the inner chambers restlessly.
So, there he was, eavesdropping on the two to find out what had gotten them so tensed.
Upon sunrise, the irregular movements of the guards ceased as they took back their original posts in the palace. The matter seemed to have resolved for the world but inside those chambers, the two sisters were in a tussle over the resolution.
"What a snake!" Ren Lihua hissed with anger. "She remained right under you for so many decades only to be her fucking spy!"
"Treachery! She has snaked you!" She confidently declares her verdict. But Ren Lifen doesn't seem to get too swayed by it. "So what if Liu Xiulan planted her in my shelter!" Ren Lifen glowered. "Did I not warn you to be secretive?"
"And was I not?" Ren Lihua fired back. If she didn't, she might as well lay backward in front of a hungry beast. "I have been doing this for decades now. Did anyone find out? No. But Nao did. Because she was here to spy on you."
"Liu Xiulan was always out to get you, sister. Do you not find her docile manner of exile suspicious?" Ren Lihua rushed to pin the blame on the new scapegoat. "She never liked you. Liu Xiulan was always out to get you and- "
"Now she did." Ren Lihua displayed a defeated expression.
No one knows how much Ren Lifen was swayed by her sister's smooth accusations but those words of malice had hit some target.
That target was Ren Jiang.
He already hated the idea of Liu Xue being in the royal palace and now he had a reason to hate his mother too. He couldn't care less about what this 'Nao' caught his aunt and mother doing. No, he was interested in the audacity of Liu Xiulan who intended to spy on his mother.
How dare, that bitch…
Ren Jiang leaped out of her courtyard and went to his. Surely, mother would like it if this consort is gone too.
A plan was already formulating in his head. Bright ideas that would bring about many people's demises.
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It was supposed to be just another evening for young Liu Xue. In the chaos of early adolescence, he preferred wasting time with his friends over enduring his mother's nagging. After their morning lessons, he and Hao Enlai would slip out of the house to play Cuju with the village kids, returning only when hunger clawed at their stomachs.
Today should have been no different. The two loafers trudged down the snowy road toward the palace—snow so clean and pale that the streaks of red smeared across it looked almost obscene.
"What… is that?" Hao Enlai crouched, squinting.
"…Blood," Liu Xue whispered, staying a few feet back, rooted before the iron gates. The guards who had once stood tall there now lay crumpled in grotesque heaps, limbs bent at impossible angles, faces frozen in the shock of their final moments. A creeping, icy horror slid up Liu Xue's spine.
They ran. Not thinking—just running. Their stomachs twisted, brains blank with terror, as they shoved through the broken palace doors.
Inside was worse.
Furniture lay overturned, splintered like broken bones. Screams—long extinguished—seemed to cling to the walls. And bodies. Gods, the bodies. Blood slicked the floor, pooling in dark, sticky patches beneath the people they had eaten with, laughed with, lived with.
Hao Enlai's breath hitched. "Pa!" he screamed when he recognized a familiar mangled form. Liu Xue couldn't register anything anymore. His guards—slaughtered. His servants—cut down. His friend's parents—dead, twisted in ways no human body should be.
What about my mother?
Footsteps echoed—bold, heavy, not hiding at all. Whoever had done this was still in his home. Liu Xue froze as he saw shadows approaching. Then he saw something worse: Hao Enlai had fainted over his father's corpse, defenceless.
Liu Xue lunged. With desperate strength, he dragged Hao behind the curtains. There was no time, no options, no mercy left in this place. He shoved his unconscious friend underneath the limp body of a fallen maid. The corpse's cold weight hid him completely.
I need to find my mother.
The thought slammed into him with electric force. His muscles coiled, qinggong activating as he darted through the blood-smeared halls. His insides churned, but even through grief and dread he knew these mercenaries were stronger. If he panicked, he would die like the rest.
Pressed against a wall, he followed two mercenaries.
"To think this petty job pays this well," one snickered. "Hope this 'young master' keeps us busy."
"This is no ordinary work." the other hissed. "We're here to kill the third prince and his kin. This is treason."
"Ha! We're in the middle of nowhere! Peng Ge, Who's gonna catch us?"
They headed toward the inner parlour—his mother's usual place. Liu Xue stalked them like a starving wolf.
But before he reached the doorway, a thick arm wrapped around him. Fingers like iron clamped over his mouth. A jab to his spine sent a violent wave through his body, stealing all control. He sagged helplessly as the attacker dragged him into a storeroom.
Through sluggish, flickering vision, he recognized the face.
"Mmph—"
"Quiet," the royal guard ordered, pressing him further inside. "Stay put, prince. It's death outside."
Liu Xue glared, fury burning through his paralysis. The guard whispered harshly, "Forgive me, but if you move even a little, I will knock you out."
Of course, his father had stationed secret guards. But this stubbornness—this obsession with protocol—was maddening. Liu Xue pushed against the numbness. He would break it. He had to.
Then—shouts erupted.
"Fuck! Me! Isa saw the battalion approaching— they'll be here any moment!"
"Oh fuck… Forget the fucking prince and run already!"
Panic exploded among the mercenaries. They hadn't expected a single city patrol, let alone the royal battalion. Treason, after all, came with terrible consequences—even for well-paid murderers.
"But we didn't kill the prince! What if the young master refuses to pay?!"
"Who gives a shit? Just run already, you assholes!"
Liu Xue didn't care why these bastards were suddenly running away. He just needed to see them all dead. He just needed to know who this 'young master' was. But more importantly, he needed to find his mother. His rationality went down the drain The moment he regained control of his limbs; he burst out of the storeroom. With a single kick, he shattered the door to the inner parlour.
"Mother?" he called, breathless. The dim room glowed blue from the snow outside. In the centre, on her favourite high chair, sat a woman.
He stumbled forward. His mother loved to knit. Every evening he'd find her in that chair, sipping tea and creating absurd clothes for him.
"Mother…" His voice cracked.
But this evening, she did not greet him with a smile.
Cold seeped deep into Liu Xue's bones as he approached. Liu Xiulan sat perfectly still—pinned upright by her own knitting needles, buried deep in her chest. The blood around them had dried in dark, cracked rivers down her robes.
She would never rise from that chair again.
Outside the Liu Palace, the mercenaries' optimism quickly turned into dust. The military had arrived at vengeance's doorstep. They surrounded these pests and slaughtered them with conviction. Their swords brought upon justice to the massacre of Liu Palace.
Albeit, a little too late.
Zou Yaozu couldn't help but flinch as he entered the scene. Even so, the man must continue his duties. After ordering the soldiers to account for all residents, he followed the faint sound of wailing.
When he had departed the capital, he had done so with the intent to escort the third prince with him. Queen Consort Liu Xiulan had acquiesced to this arrangement and was awaiting his arrival.
Zou Yaozu stood near the broken door, his empty eyes taking in her stiff corpse, struggling to stand in front of Liu Xue's devastation.
He was too late.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Following the incident, Hao Enlai was handed over to distant relatives, while the third prince was escorted to the capital—with his mother's corpse, and with her murderer.
The funeral would take place on government grounds, and so would the interrogation. Mercenaries are always hired by someone, but this employer was no ordinary man. He had paid handsomely for top-tier killers. They had called him "young master." And Zao Yaozu dreaded discovering who that truly was.
Meanwhile, the funeral could no longer be delayed.
In the cold hell of mourning, Hao Enlai hammered another coffin shut. When he lifted his head, the world seemed to dissolve into a forest of caskets. "So many of you… gone…"
"…leaving me all alone."
Beside him stood the only other person who carried that weight. Liu Xue stared expressionlessly at his mother's coffin. Even after the final nail sank in and the earth swallowed the last trace of her, he remained there—frozen in front of the gravestones. His gaze drifted to the name carved beside Liu Xiulan's:
He Suyin.
"His mother's dead too," he murmured, recalling He Bolin and his mother speaking in this very place. A quieter whisper followed. "He didn't come."
"Nor did your husband. Father never came to your funeral."
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"For fuck's sake…"
He Bolin hissed as he picked the lock of the restricted building deep in Ren Lifen's territory. Ever since Nao had stumbled upon it, the queen refused to leave the place alone. Like a neurotic hawk, she hovered over it—nails bitten to the quick, eyes darting, flinching at every sound, were among the other things the maids had noticed.
So, what exactly lay inside this building? And why couldn't she simply move it?
As He Bolin slipped inside, those questions simmered, but they were not his main purpose. Liu Xiulan's funeral had drawn the queen and her sister out of the palace; this was the perfect moment to search for what he needed—evidence that He Suyin had been poisoned.
He Bolin knew Liu Xiulan's death and his father's mysterious illness were all tied to the queen. Soon, justice would carve its blade across Ren Lifen's thick neck. But even then, she would never be punished for his mother's death. People would go on believing she had simply died of sickness, and He Bolin loathed that.
Huiliang and He Suyin had gathered every trace of the compound that poisoned her. The old doctor had examined it, concluding its energy was akin to Lord Enma's—a strange toxin infused with his tamasic energy.
But how in all hells had they gotten that?
That question tormented the three of them—and Jin Niu, who couldn't investigate openly without raising suspicion against Lord Enma himself. Considering Enma was also half-ruined, they could safely assume he was not the culprit. And even if he were, he would never use something so roundabout to kill his own wife.
Which was why He Bolin was certain he would find more of that poison in this unsettling building. The queen and her sister were brewing something foul, and he meant to uncover it.
As he descended deeper, the walls seemed to breathe and narrow around him. At the end of the cramped passage stood a heavily sealed door.
"It's begging to be opened," he muttered, placing his hand on it and beginning to break the seals.
When the door finally swung inward, he realized Nao hadn't exaggerated a single detail.
Because in the middle of the blood-stained room…
"What… is that…"
A broken, fleshy core pulsed on a wooden stool—throbbing like a disembodied heart. The energy it emitted was horribly familiar.
For a moment, He Bolin had the sickening illusion that it was his father lying dead on that stool.
---------------------------------------------------------
Ren Jiang was honestly confused.
Only hours after attending Liu Xiulan's funeral, his mother had urgently summoned him to her courtyard. Ever since the day she discovered Liu Xiulan's spy in their midst, Ren Lifen's complexion had been steadily deteriorating. Even now, he could see her hands tremble beneath her sleeves as she sat there, silent and pale.
Could it be because of Liu Xue? Ren Jiang assumed so, and let out a small chuckle.
His mother's eyes widened—as if demanding to know what exactly was so amusing. He explained, light-hearted: "Mother, you do not have to worry about that spy. I will take care of it too."
Ren Lifen's brows knit together sharply. "What spy…? And how do you know about that?" Her voice was tight, irritated. "And what do you mean 'take care of it'? What have you been taking care of?"
She exhaled harshly, wondering why Ren Lihua was taking so long. Ren Lifen had summoned her son for one purpose: to administer his regular dose of her special elixir. Ever since he was a child, she had been diluting fragments of the ritual's creation and feeding it to him to advance his cultivation slowly and safely.
And Ren Jiang, oblivious to what the elixir truly was, had been drinking it without a second thought.
Feeling that his mother wasn't taking him seriously, he pressed on.
"I heard everything. The night you searched for that maid until daybreak."
Ren Lifen's fingers stilled.
"I heard she was sent by Liu Xiulan."
A cold, crawling dread slid through her as she stared at Ren Jiang's innocent posture.
"…and you took care of it?" she asked quietly.
Ren Jiang grinned, stepping closer with pride puffing in his chest.
"Mother," he whispered, his green eyes gleaming with something feral, "the Liu palace massacre…" His lips curled.
"That was me. I ordered that."
"No…"
"I sent those mercenaries. It was actually quite easy—"
"Are you out of your mind?!"
Her slap cracked through the courtyard like a whip. Ren Jiang staggered, stunned, and before he could even raise a hand to his face, she seized him by the lapels.
"You are lying," she snarled, voice shaking with horror. "You would not do that. Certainly not. Repeat after me!"
"I— I would not do that…" Ren Jiang stuttered, terrified by her expression.
Ren Lifen spoke each word like she was hammering a nail into stone.
"You had nothing to do with it. Do you understand?"
He nodded quickly, if only to make her release him. As he rubbed his aching jaw, it dawned on him—this was the first time his mother had ever struck him.
And still, her rage hadn't cooled. She opened her mouth to continue, but a knock interrupted them.
Expecting Ren Lihua, the two hastily composed themselves. Instead, another maid entered, carrying only a letter—from Ren Lihua.
"Why is she writing to you? She's in the palace, isn't she?" Ren Jiang muttered, but Ren Lifen ignored him.
Thinking the same thing, she snatched the letter open.
Dear sister,
You have been found out. The guards in that building have been knocked out and the doors left wide open. Needless to say, this is goodbye.
I was awaiting your ruin, and now it's here, just not in the way I imagined. Farewell, and wish me luck in my new life.
With utter hate,
RL
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Thus, began the tedious court proceedings. He Bolin remained in the shadows as he watched the events swiftly unfold. He had surrendered Nao as a witness and the poison to Jin Niu to detach himself from the proceedings. Meanwhile, Zou Yaozu had unceremoniously interrogated the mercenaries to know who their 'young master' was. Only 'Peng Ge' coughed it out before he died.
Ren Jiang.
This was enough for Jin Niu to mobilize the troops to Ren Lifen's palace. After searching the entire premise, the soldiers came to a dark building. They searched every nook and cranny and found countless bones, elixirs, blood, and demon cores.
If that didn't make their backs shiver, they found the Queen in a room filled of horror with her son lying on the pentagram made from blood. Her majesty was stained with the gore of black magic as she stood above her unconscious son.
The soldiers unconsciously stepped back when her mad emerald eyes landed on them. But the exposed queen simply smiled.
"Well, aren't you guys fast."
The Queen was taken into custody on the grounds of poisoning King Enma and Queen Consort He Suyin. The soldiers matched the room according to Nao's description but there was still one thing missing.
"Where is that 'core' she was talking about?"
The Queen smiled through the constant subjugation. Because she may have lost the battle, but she had won the war. Before her imminent arrest, she had dragged her son to that room, and made him eat the entire flesh of the stolen core.
No matter how much he groaned about it being disgusting, she made him chew every last bit of that pulsating flesh. Upon gaining such massive power in one shot, Ren Jiang promptly dropped into a coma. His cultivation base fluctuated wildly as he struggled in his sleep. He would either become the strongest man of that realm or he would die.
But the ministers weren't aware of this. They needed Ren Jiang to wake up as soon as possible because Prince Ren Jiang has been convicted for the grand massacre of Queen Consort Liu and her family. Additionally, a charge of attempted murder of the third prince Liu Xue. Prince Ren must explain all of that. Until-
"It was me."
Jin Niu's ears perked up as Ren Lifen confessed. "I hired those men to kill Liu Xiulan and her son under my son's name."
Her steady gaze levelled with Jin Niu. Somehow, she felt herself wanting to speak more. "I hated that bitch ever since I saw her. She stole my husband from me! and so did He Suyin!"
Just let it all out.
"How dare they bear his sons?! Wasn't I fucking enough!" Tears ran down her bloodshot eyes. "Those old bastards and their sick tales! They ruined my family."
Let it all out.
"He Suyin! Liu Xiulan! All of you ruined my life! How I wish I could have gutted them myself…"
"Alright, that's enough- "
"Skin their ugly faces and ram a knife through their breasts! What peerless beauty would they become then!" Ren Lifen had finally let her insanity loose for the world to see. They could finally see her true colours which were heinous, vile, and sickening. The true nature from which her elder sisters ran away from.
And it was all very relieving!
With a fat grin plastered on Ren Lifen's face, she made her way to the execution block. Her hair was down, devoid of her crown and accessories. Her face was bare and her clothes were plain white as she kneeled on the executioner's blade.
She lived a glamorous life but she would get a sombre death.
The first prince was still asleep while the second and third prince sat in their thrones, overlooking the justice of their mothers' deaths. Just like them, Ren Jiang would not get the chance of bidding his mother goodbye.
Ren Lifen held her head high to the sky, enjoying the gentle breeze in her hair. Strangely enough, in her last moments she didn't think of her husband or her son.
She thought of her one and only younger sister.
"Lihua. I wish you luck. You will need it." The blade pointed upwards and dropped down with a sharp arc.
And just like that, the mighty queen's head rolled down the block, landing at He Bolin's feet.
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The sentence of justice might have spared Ren Jiang from his fate, but it would not allow the true conspirator to escape. What were their crimes without Ren Lihua? The elder sister drew the map, but the younger sister blazed the trail.
Ren Lihua had cunningly left behind her sister to take the fall for her actions, hoping to build a new life away from her. Ever since her birth, Ren Lihua has been constantly eclipsed by the blazing sun called Ren Lifen. She was the heroine while the rest of them weren't even in the script. It irked to death that her other two sisters ran away, further paving the way for Ren Lifen to shine.
Ren Lihua never believed she was any lesser than that bitch. They looked similar, she was just as talented, so why the fuck was she hogging all the attention? To the point that she was crowned the queen?
Well, enough was enough. Ren Lihua decided to become a fucking monk if she had to but she will get that attention by hook or by crook. She too was under the illusion that this woman was simply unbreakable. A force sent by god himself. Until that night.
When she learned Ren Lifen's husband was bringing in another woman, Ren Lihua saw it: the first crack in the goddess. And through that crack, she spotted her opportunity.
Like a viper, Ren Lihua struck at the weak point—husband, son, anything she could weaponize, she turned against Ren Lifen. The woman treasured her image and her confidence above all. So, Ren Lihua destroyed both.
And in the end, Ren Lifen became crop fertilizer, rotting beside the other dead queens. Their glory turned to ash. And Ren Lihua, crowned herself the last surviving victor.
But in her grand daydream, she forgot one small detail: Ren Lifen might have been a tool, but the royal battalion was not. The only thing that held them back was the government—who had unleashed them to hunt the final dog.
Just one day after Ren Lifen's execution, Ren Lihua was effortlessly assassinated—an arrow through the skull inside a traveling caravan. Her corpse was tossed into the sea without a name, without a grave. And with that, the epic of Ren Lihua ended in a single pitiful splash.
In the royal cemetery, two new graves now sat beside He Suyin's.
He Bolin kowtowed before his mother's resting place, a serene smile touching his lips The yellow flowers laid on her clean grave fluttered with the breeze which carried the end of a promise.
"Ma," he murmured, glancing at the two fresh mounds of earth. "You are no longer alone. I have sent others to accompany you."