This Is What a Villain Is Like

The members of the Naxian Alliance immediately broke into smiles. They offered their hurried thanks, then tactfully took their leave.

Before leaving, they also remembered to take the young Daoist acolyte with them.

After confirming that there was no one else in the courtyard, one of the four handmaidens produced an ancient, unadorned seal wreathed in gray mist. A hazy, rosy light immediately burst forth, instantly cloaking the entire courtyard and ensuring no one outside could peer in.

’Father Emperor had me search for the Half-Immortal Zhenren. What was it for? Could it be for this brocade pouch?’

’Did the Half-Immortal Zhenren know I was coming, and so prepared this pouch for me? Or is there some other reason?’

Stroking the brocade pouch in her hand, Emperor Xia’s dark brows furrowed slightly beneath her Bronze Mask.

Dragon Energy emanated from her slender, jade-like hand and swept over the pouch. The Restriction placed upon it immediately dissipated.

Only members of the Royal Family could cultivate Dragon Energy. The Half-Immortal Zhenren had clearly known someone from the Royal Family would seek him out, which was why he had deliberately left a corresponding Restriction on the pouch.

If anyone else had obtained it, they would have found it difficult to open. A forceful attempt to break the seal would have only destroyed the contents within, leaving them with nothing.

Emperor Xia was now quite curious herself. What exactly had the Half-Immortal Zhenren left behind that would cause her father to repeatedly instruct her on this matter before his passing?

’Is this a prophecy?’

Soon, after opening the brocade pouch and seeing the object left inside, Emperor Xia was stunned.

It was just a slip of paper?

’Does it contain some important message?’ Emperor Xia was puzzled.

But then, as she unfolded the slip of paper and her eyes swept over the writing, her expression beneath the Bronze Mask changed instantly.

Her slender, jade-like hand subconsciously clenched the paper, her expression flickering between light and shadow.

’How is this possible...’

’Father Emperor, what is the meaning of this?’

She stood silently in place for a long time, her expression shifting through various emotions. For some reason, a surge of violent resentment and indignation welled up in her heart.

Finally, a wisp of Dragon Energy emerged, transformed into a ball of flame, and burned the slip of paper to ashes.

This was the first time the four handmaidens had sensed such a violent emotion from Emperor Xia. They were all startled and quickly bowed their heads, not daring to look up.

A long time passed before Emperor Xia seemed to recover from her earlier emotional state.

"Return to the palace,"

she said faintly. Beneath the Bronze Mask, her face showed no trace of emotional turmoil.

...

After seeing Su Qinghan off, Jiang Lan returned to the Prime Minister’s Mansion and began to ponder his next steps.

’The stage is set. That pawn, Xie Jianjia, isn’t going anywhere...’

’Considering Xie Jianjia’s personality, and with her true identity, origins, and even her life in my hands, I’m not worried about her refusing to cooperate.’

In the original story, Xie Jianjia had already died at the age of seven, when Bai He took her to Luohuang Cave.

To be precise, she was possessed in Luohuang Cave when she was seven.

Luohuang Cave is a place of certain death in the Celestial Central Province. As its name—"Phoenix Fall Cave"—suggests, a member of the Phoenix Race fell there in ancient times.

The phoenix blood lit up the sky for ten thousand li, turning the surrounding land into a scorched crimson earth that burned for several thousand years.

That Great Power of the Phoenix Race died there, but its great enemy from the Demon Race, with whom it had been locked in battle, did not perish. Instead, a Residual Soul was left behind, slowly recovering.

Many years later, it used the lingering aura of the Phoenix Race Great Power’s True Blood to attract a swarm of Demon Beasts, then commanded those Demon Beasts to find a descendant with the Phoenix Race bloodline and bring them there to receive an "inheritance."

Then, she would find a suitable body to possess.

Before Bai He brought Xie Jianjia to Luohuang Cave, quite a few Celestial Prides had actually been there and obtained significant benefits.

To avoid arousing suspicion, she acted with extreme caution. She first dangled numerous benefits to dispel public concern and worry, and only then did she choose the most suitable candidate, Xie Jianjia, to possess.

After the possession, she hid herself away in the Xie Mansion, slowly recovering her cultivation.

Jiang Lan knew this part of the plot intimately, which was why he dared to scheme against Xie Jianjia without any reservations.

After all, he needed to use Xie Jianjia to gain leverage over Xiao Teng.

Behind Xiao Teng were the National Master, Ge Qixing, and the Palace Master of the Divine Maiden Palace.

Furthermore, even the current Emperor Xia, Xia Junxi, could be considered Xiao Teng’s junior martial sister, at least in terms of seniority.

Of course, this was only in terms of seniority; Emperor Xia was actually much older than Xiao Teng.

In the original story, for certain reasons, Emperor Xia wanted to take control of the All Heaven Bright Void Reversing Wheel Array that enveloped the entire Imperial Capital. But because her own power was insufficient, she created a Divine Technique called the Star-gathering Skill, hoping to gather the Power of the Stars of the Celestial Sphere for her own use.

Ge Qixing was an expert in this field, so Emperor Xia had secretly taken him as her master.

However, Emperor Xia did not yet know that Xiao Teng was actually Ge Qixing’s illegitimate son.

Jiang Lan intended to clip her wings, and Xiao Teng was the perfect pawn for the job.

Tomorrow, Xie Jianjia will be escorted to the Canglan Sword Sect. During this time, Xiao Teng will appear to stop them. In addition, Emperor Xia will also arrange for people to protect her in secret.

Although his father had foreseen everything early on and had already set many plans in motion, he didn’t know that Xiao Teng had long guessed that Xie Jianjia wouldn’t be sent to the Dao Cang Sword Sect, and that all her guards would be focused on escorting her safely to her real destination.

Jiang Lan also had no intention of bringing Xie Jianjia to the Prime Minister’s Mansion.

In his plan, Xie Jianjia’s identity was of great importance, and the Prime Minister’s Mansion could not be associated with her in any way.

So even if his father’s plan succeeded, he would find a way to sabotage it from within.

’Before that, I should first find someone to forge a bronze mask that can conceal my aura...’

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