Chapter 104 - A Woman Scorned (2/2)

Oh, this damned servant girl! She'd make her pay for this!

While Yin Lin Lin was seeking bloody revenge, Hong Bao had recovered from her speechlessness. She wasn't one to stay quiet anyway. Thus, Hong Bao pursed her lips and looked at Yin Lin Lin accusingly. ”What are you talking about? You said yourself that you're the goddess of love! And you also told me where to find that dagger and that it would be enough to injure him so that I wouldn't have to kill him!”

Yin Lin Lin slapped her. ”Shut up! What nonsense are you talking? Everyone knows that the soul-devouring dagger is a deadly weapon. What does it matter how much you injure someone with it? The soul will be lost anyway!”

Hong Bao held her cheek, tears glittering in her eyes. ”I never wanted to kill him! I only wanted to stop his trial so that he could attempt it another time and Shun Tao wouldn't be punished!. You said that wouldn't be a problem!”

”You —!”

”That's enough!”, roared the heavenly emperor. ”We don't care who said what to whom! We only care about the fact that someone tried to assassinate our son! If not for that dragon thwarting the assassin's plans, he would have already died!”

Hong Bao's face fell. She looked at Shun Tao but the fate's scribe ignored her. Then she looked at Leng Jin Yu who only sighed. What was there to say? She had attempted to do that! Even if she was talked into it by someone, you couldn't resolve her of all blame, could you?

Hong Bao bit onto her lower lip and looked up at the heavenly emperor. She had a bad feeling. ”I … I don't understand. The goddess of love just —”

”There is no goddess of love!”

Hong Bao winced and nodded. ”She just said as long as one was cut by that weapon the soul will be lost. Is that true?”

The heavenly emperor snorted, not bothering to answer her. Qiang Yan sighed and took up that role. ”That's right. The soul-devouring dagger is a weapon we managed to wrest out of the demons' hands. It is highly dangerous. However light an injury is, it'll obliterate the soul of that person, even though a small injury will take more time than a large one.”

”But … I did cut the crown prince with that dagger. So … he … he is dead?”

All eyes went to Hong Bao.

”You … What … did you say?” Rong Su only narrowly managed to press these words out. His hands trembled and his heart beat faster, cold sweat forming on his brow. He felt faint. He wouldn't be able to take it if that woman nodded.

Seeing his brother-in-law going pale, Qiang Yan ran over. Though, he himself didn't know how he stayed afoot.

In a rare show of perception, Hong Bao felt that answering wasn't a good idea and stayed quiet. The tension in the hall climbed higher and higher until it seemed possible to cut it in two parts with a blade.

Finally, the rattling of wooden slips broke the deadly silence. Shun Tao was fumbling to open Jing He's scroll of fate. His eyes scanned the words slowly forming. Finally, he looked up at the heavenly emperor with a pale face. He himself couldn't believe what he had read.