After reading Zhuogeng's message, Varys returned to his chambers to write a reply. It took him three full sheets of parchment to finish. He placed the finished letter on the stone table and returned to his room, as Zhuogeng had instructed to facilitate communication.
Once the door was closed, Varys pressed his ear against the wood, listening intently. He even felt a sudden urge to throw the door open and investigate.
But the mysterious sender had made it clear in the letter: he was not to attempt to uncover their identity, now or in the future.
After receiving Varys's reply, Zhuogeng hid in a tree and carefully reviewed the message, learning about the current situation in Westeros.
After being removed as Prime Minister by Tywin, Tyrion had been appointed Master of Coin, tasked with preparing for Joffrey's wedding.
Zhuogeng had long forgotten that Tyrion had once served as Master of Coin. Seeing this news, he found it amusing. For the spendthrift Tyrion to be put in charge of raising funds? That was truly putting him in a difficult position. Zhuogeng could easily imagine how stressed he must be right now.
In retaliation for his son's death, Rickard Karstark had murdered two fourteen- or fifteen-year-old prisoners, who were grandsons of Tywin's brother, Kevan.
Enraged, Robb had Rickard's head severed, alienating House Karstark and severely damaging military morale.
House Karstark was a branch of House Stark, having separated a thousand years ago to claim their own lands. They had remained loyal supporters of the Starks ever since.
Now that Robb had killed Rickard Karstark for the sake of two young Lannisters, the Karstarks naturally refused to follow him any longer.
After the House Karstark returned to the North, several other houses followed them, causing Robb to lose half his army. He was now trying to win over the Frey family of the Twins.
Zhuogeng was exasperated by the Starks' excessive righteousness. With Robb allying with the Freys, the Red Wedding and the complete annihilation of his forces seemed imminent. Zhuogeng was considering whether to save them.
Catelyn's father, the Duke of Riverrun, died, and her brother Edmure inherited the title. Seeing Edmure made Zhuogeng want to laugh.
The most vivid memory was of Edmure failing three times to shoot the funeral barges carrying his father's body. In the end, his uncle Blackfish snatched the bow and fired an arrow to ignite the barges. In Zhuogeng's mind, he was simply a buffoon.
After reading the news from Riverrun, the next matter concerned Winterfell.
Winterfell had been seized by Ramsay Snow, Roose Bolton's bastard son. Ramsay could be considered the most depraved character in *Game of Thrones*, bar none. Even Euron Greyjoy, the captain of the *Silence* who had ripped out the tongues of all his crew, paled in comparison.
Not to mention his methods of tormenting Theon. Simply to prove to his father that Theon was completely submissive, he forced the castrated, self-loathing Theon to shave him with a razor.
While shaving, Theon couldn't resist taunting him, telling him that Robb, whom he considered a brother, had been murdered by his own father, Roose, at the Red Wedding. Theon, tears streaming down his face and his lips trembling, used his shaking hands to finish shaving him.
Even Roose had to admire his bastard son's methods. He entrusted him with important tasks and promised to grant him his surname upon their completion, helping him escape his illegitimate status.
His depraved obsession with torture was a testament to his twisted nature.
Varys also learned that Littlefinger Petyr planned to secretly whisk Sansa away. Moreover, after Joffrey broke his engagement with Sansa, others began plotting to claim her.
Eddard's two sons, Bran and Rickon, were supposedly burned to death by Theon. If Robb were to fall, Sansa would become the new King of the North. Whoever married Sansa would effectively gain control of the entire North.
Of course, only Theon knew the truth: Bran and Rickon were still alive, and he hadn't actually burned them.
After hearing Varys' analysis, Zhuogeng had to admire the political acumen of the great lords. They had begun planning so early, and events unfolded exactly as they predicted: Sansa ultimately became the King of the North.
Zhuogeng had already learned the other news from Barristan. Now he had a general understanding of the world's trajectory.
After agreeing on a future communication location with Varys, Zhuogeng flew to the Lannister residence with Varys's letter of introduction.
As a fan of the "Little Demon," Zhuogeng naturally wanted to see him while in King's Landing.
Tyrion lived in the southern part of the city, not far from the Red Keep. However, Varys had warned him that Tyrion was likely not at home. He was busy visiting various nobles to raise funds for Joffrey's wedding. Tywin had indeed given him no easy tasks.
Arriving at Tyrion's residence, Zhuogeng waited for a while without seeing anyone come or go. He decided to fly to Dragonstone instead.
On Dragonstone, the Red Priestess gradually regained consciousness after spitting up a large mouthful of blood. Stannis had been keeping vigil by her side and urgently asked her what she had seen.
"You say you saw a black dragon in the sky?" Stannis sounded skeptical.
He had been right behind the Red Priestess at the time and had only seen the shadow of a black bird. How could it have been a dragon?
"It might not have been a dragon. The black dragon was an omen I saw in the fire, but it's definitely connected to one."
"No dragons have appeared in this world for over a hundred years," Stannis insisted.
"The Lord of Light doesn't give omens without reason. And the backlash I suffered trying to see it clearly was almost fatal—an event that should be impossible. This omen must be significant."
"Isn't there still a girl alive from House Targaryen? As long as their family isn't completely wiped out, dragons might still be reborn."
"If she truly possesses a dragon, she will be a far greater obstacle to your unification of the Seven Kingdoms than even Tywin Lannister."
The Red Priestess finished speaking, her breath coming in ragged gasps. The injury she had sustained was far more severe than a mere cough of blood; it had struck at her very core.
This puzzled her greatly. Though her power wasn't yet sufficient and she often had to draw strength from Stannis or through sacrifices, merely peering into the flames for omens should have been harmless. She never expected such a devastating backlash.
Lying back on her pillow, she ran her fingers through her hair and noticed several strands of silver among the once raven-black tresses. She quickly checked the red ruby necklace hanging around her neck.
It still glowed faintly, and she felt a surge of relief that it remained intact.
"Do you intend to leave Dragonstone again?" Stannis asked.
"I'll rest for a few days before departing. This injury will delay your grand unification efforts."
Stannis had already feared the Red Priestess would abandon him, and he didn't want her to leave. Now that she was recovering and still planned to depart, he could only nod in resignation.
***
Upon arriving at Dragonstone, Zhuogeng immediately flew to Shireen's room. As soon as he landed on her windowsill, she spotted him and rushed to open the window.
"I thought you'd never come back," Shireen said, her voice tinged with both disappointment and joy.
Zhuogeng opened his backpack and offered her a handful of nuts he'd picked up along the way. This time, Shireen didn't refuse, happily taking the nuts and eating them.
He then pulled out a piece of parchment and handed it to her. "Is this for me?" Shireen asked, taking the parchment with a puzzled expression.
*What ugly handwriting,* was her first thought. But as she read the contents, she was utterly shocked.
"Someone can completely cure greyscale?" she asked in astonishment.
Seeing Zhuogeng nod, Shireen's eyes widened. "Did you write this?"
Zhuogeng hesitated for a moment before nodding.
-----------------------
Completed English PDF of this fan-fic on my Patreon shop if you want to support and own the full fan-fic in one go. Just grab the PDF and binge the entire story from start to finish!
Guys, I've uploaded some High Quality english translated fanfic on my Patreon shop! Feel free to check it out-if you're interested, you can grab a copy and support me there.
Here are a few titles of recently uploaded fanfics:
New Addition:
" Game of Thrones: The Holy Flame King "
" Game of Thrones: Beginning with the War of the Five Kings "
" Game of Thrones: Elden Lord The Wolf King Rises "
" Game of Thrones: Reborn as Drogon, Mind-Read by the Dragon Queen "
" Game of Thrones: The True Dragon Descends "
" Game of Thrones The Glory of a Knight's "
" Game of Thrones: The Storm of the Stag "
" Game of Thrones: The Glory of the Seven Gods "
" Game of Thrones: The Strongest Dragon Mother "
Your support means a lot-thanks in advance, legends!
many more are available.
patreon.com/EminentWriter
(End of Chapter)