Qing Bai's movements grew increasingly rough, a fierce, unyielding emotion burning in his eyes, like a demon trapped in a cage for ages, tearing at Ye Ziling's clothes.
“Get lost!” Ye Ziling gritted her teeth, in her panic, she grabbed a silver hairpin and with all her might, stabbed at the man, her fingertips instantly stained with blood.
The man grunted, the force of his hands suddenly loosening. Ye Ziling seized the opportunity to escape his grasp, falling onto the bed.
Qing Bai clutched the wound on his neck, his breathing rapid, as if desperately suppressing something. His gaze, like a wolf's, fixed on her, the coldness in his eyes deepening.
Ye Ziling straightened her clothes and said coldly, “… If the Emperor acts like this, aren't you afraid Fu Qu Niang Niang will find out?”
Fu Qu was Qing Bai's concubine, with powerful backing. One of the reasons Qing Bai sacrificed her to the heavens was to marry Fu Qu, thus solidifying his position in the Heavenly Palace.
Fu Qu, completely unaware that she was being used as a tool, was simply deeply in love with Qing Bai. It was a pity her devotion was likely to be unrequited.
“Tu Yao! Was there anything you ever wanted that this seat didn't give you? Why must you be so obstinate!” Qing Bai rasped, his tone filled with anger. He could clearly see the resistance in Ye Ziling's eyes.
“Slaughtering my people, destroying my immortal body, is this your so-called giving me everything?” Ye Ziling curled her lips into a smile, finding it all absurd.
Everything had been meticulously planned.
Long ago, Qing Bai staged the massacre of her kin and brought her to the Heavenly Palace with the intention of killing her to forge the Sun and Moon Divine Lamps.
This served two purposes: to intimidate his rivals and to prevent the connection between the mortal realm and the Heavenly Realm, thereby halting mortals from achieving immortality and preserving the interests of the elder immortals, thus gaining their support.
Qing Bai had intended to kill her. However, upon realizing her potential value, he kept her by his side, turning her into a pawn under his power.
“This is your fate!” Qing Bai shouted, as usual, that sentence that filled her with indignation.
“Fate?” Ye Ziling repeated, suddenly bursting into laughter, her laughter desolate and mournful.
Because of a mere word, fate, she had to endure such injustice?
Before Ye Ziling could speak again, the man lunged towards her, his hand ruthlessly clamping around her throat, forcing her against the wall. “This seat cherishes and dotes on you now, and you are displeased?”
Ye Ziling panted slightly, her eyes filled with mockery.
Her clothes in disarray, like a camellia trampled underfoot, her serene face now shattered to an extreme degree, possessing a peculiar beauty born of torment.
The man’s gaze flickered, then he pushed her down. His palm slid from her fair neck to her chin, and he said in a deep voice, “… This seat gave you a chance.”
Ye Ziling knew what he intended, and her stomach churned.
Damn it, she must have had her head caught in a door in the past to have even considered becoming his Empress.
Just as they were struggling, a sharp sword flew through the air, piercing the window with a fierce whistle, grazing the man’s cheek, and embedding itself in the wall.
A strand of hair fell. Qing Bai’s movements froze abruptly, rage igniting in his eyes.
He stood up, straightened his robes, and cast an icy gaze towards the door.
“Who?”
Ye Ziling breathed a sigh of relief.
But before she could catch her breath, Qing Bai suddenly returned, his hand forcefully gripping the back of her head, forcing her mouth open to swallow a pill.
Ye Ziling struggled, but the pill went down her throat and into her stomach, quickly dissolving.
“Until this seat returns, do not expect to leave even half a step,” Qing Bai said indifferently, then swept out with his sleeves.
The moment Ye Ziling swallowed the pill, a violent dizziness washed over her, her entire body feeling weak.
She knew it was a love potion. Now, she was like a corpse, lying still on the bed, her vision gradually blurring.
The moment Qing Bai opened the palace door, several familiar sword energies shot directly at him, severing another lock of hair from his forehead.
His pupils constricted, and looking at the lock of hair on the ground, his eyes blazed with ferocity.
“Who dares to be so presumptuous in this seat’s palace!”
Qing Bai scanned the area. As he stepped out, he saw the Heavenly Soldiers in the courtyard kneeling on the ground, a man in dark robes standing before them.
Qing Bai looked confused. Seeing that it was Ling Xi, he immediately understood.
Ling Xi gazed at him with dark eyes, a mocking arc curving his lips.
A palpable coldness permeated the surroundings.
“The Heavenly Emperor has issued an order. Today, mortals have caused chaos in the Heavenly Palace. We are here to apprehend someone.”
Qing Bai glanced back at the grand hall behind him, his gaze dimming. He said coldly, with a hint of sarcasm, “Apprehend someone? Does the Zhuangyuan believe that Qingwei Palace behind this seat is hiding someone?”
He had already imprisoned Ye Jingxian in the underground pavilion. How could such an insignificant ant escape?
“Whether someone is hidden or not, a search will tell,” Ling Xi said indifferently. He had already sent people to search the Heavenly Palace several times without finding any clues, assuming only Emperor Qing Bai’s sleeping quarters.
Although his target was not that flamboyant young master.
“He is merely a mortal, is it necessary to make such a fuss? You even dare to suspect this seat!” Qing Bai’s voice was chillingly sinister. He flicked his sleeve, “Perhaps that insignificant ant simply wandered off. Are you certain you want to search my Qingwei Palace?”
Ling Xi heard the implicit threat in his words, and his lips curved upwards, a flicker of mockery in his eyes. “Since the Heavenly Emperor has decreed it, I shall obey.”
Ling Xi took a step forward, his imposing aura filling the area outside the grand hall with a deadly intensity.
Looking at his murderous face, Qing Bai’s eyes darkened.
“Does the Emperor think I am seeking your opinion?” Ling Xi raised an eyebrow, his tone light, with a mocking smile in his eyes.
Qing Bai furrowed his brow.
If his intention was to seek his opinion, those sword energies would not have been so decisively fired at his sleeping quarters.
Qing Bai’s stern eyebrows relaxed slightly, a suppressed rage simmering in his eyes. He probed Ling Xi, “What if this seat says no?”
The dark silhouette decisively turned back, his gaze sharp, and coldly threatened, “Then we shall be forced to offend.”
Ling Xi’s long sword moved slightly, ready to be unsheathed at any moment.
The clash of their gazes rapidly spread, the air thick with the scent of gunpowder, ready to ignite at any moment.
Qing Bai pursed his lips, his gaze gloomy. He finally conceded, stepping aside.
With the military tally stolen, offending the Heavenly Emperor at this critical juncture would clearly be disadvantageous to him.
“Search,” Ling Xi uttered the two words faintly. His figure instantly transformed into a blur, streaking past Qing Bai. A few Heavenly Soldiers followed him into the palace.
However, they searched every corner of the palace, but found no one.
It was as if they needed to dig three feet deep.
Moments later, Ling Xi emerged from the palace with the Heavenly Soldiers.
He found it strange. There were clearly signs of a struggle inside, yet there was no one present.