95 The Message (1/2)

She didn't panic. She kept her head and told everyone that the emperor was ill and not receiving visitors. He had read the report of the number of casualties from the ministry of animal protection and had been very disturbed. So, he went back to the palace and left her to deal with the mess while he dealt with the ministers.

It was a weak excuse but everyone believed her. Everything was still in chaos and not many people really cared if the emperor was there or not. What could he do anyway? He's better off dealing with the sorry asses of his ministers than stay here where he could just be in the way.The empress was here and she was, after all, a good representative of his majesty's will and good judgment.

An Ning though started to worry when two hours went by and yet still no sign of Gu Sheng. When Yi Hai arrived, she pulled him into the study and told him all she knew. She and the emperor had argued. Well, it wasn't really an argument but more of a disagreement. But he and she had agreed on the issue and actually shared a light meal while waiting for developments after which he went to the study to do some work.

She knew he was worried about the growing number of fatalities in the hunt which was why they were still up even though it was past midnight. She didn't stop him because it was a way for him to keep sane while waiting. Who would have thought...? Where was he? Where was the emperor?

”Didn't you see him go out at all? Maybe he's still outside checking some things out,” Yi Hai said, repressing the urge to shake her memory clear.

”I told you, the last time I saw him was when he went inside this same study.I didn't see him outside. It was too much of a chaos out there for me to remember to ask where he was.I thought....Yi Hai, what are we going to do?”

It was the first time she had turned to him and asked him for guidance. She never did so even when they were in the heat of fighting the rebels of Laniang.But he couldn't tell her that he, too, was frightened and uneasy.The emperor was his responsibility and yet he allowed someone to take him like he was taking candy from a baby.It was his fault not hers. He should have been more vigilant and attentive. And now they've lost him. With the emperor gone...what the hell were they going to do?

But he allowed the hunt to distract him. All those kids dead...the whole thing had been too much even for him.The torn and mangled bodies of kids fighting a vicious beast with nothing more than their swords, their arrows, and their magic.Who the hell set these young people up for an inglorious death like this? It was nothing more than an offering to the gods of massacre, it was as ugly as that and more.

”Does Ling Wan and Xiang Yu know?”

”I've already dispatched someone to let them know. They're probably on their way here,” An Ning said.

”Your grace...”

”No, don't.Don't say anything. I don't want to hear it,” An Ning said, her jawline tight and gritted.

”We have to. We have to take the possibility that he's been kidnapped,” Yi Hai spat the word out like it was a plague he was trying to ward off.

”Who?” she asked.

”Laniang...”

”We've killed everyone and Xiang Yu...”

”There might be some faction in his group that don't agree with what we did and wanted revenge.”

The empress was silent. Then she gathered some things and prepared to go out.

”Highness, where are you going?” Yi Hai asked, surprised.

”I'm going out. I can't just stay here while he...,”

”What's that?” Yi Hai suddenly asked.

”What?”

”Your ring is glowing,” Yi Hai said, pointing at the copycat ring on her finger. ”It looks like it's on fire!”

An Ning gaped at the ring somewhat confusedly. Then she hurriedly reached out and pulled out the shiny, glowing thing.It was a cellphone, the same cellphone she threw inside the ring when she realized she had been pulled in the past and was stuck here for god knows how long.

The messaging app was emitting a series of words! Messages that she could actually understand.

She read it and gasped.

”What is it? Is it about his highness?” Yi Hai asked, staring at the phone.

”It's...it's from home,” An Ning stuttered unbelievingly, still staring at the long line of words, completely stunned. ”It..it's from my mother. She said they're here but they took a wrong turn and wants me to guide them to the right door.”

”Yi Hai,” she said, looking up at him with dawning excitement on her face.”I have to go back. Back to Laniang. That's the entrance to this world. I have to show them the way here. Otherwise, they'll never get here and all of us will be stuck forever on a loop trying to find each other.”

”But what about his highness?” Yi Hai was panicked. ”Your grace, you can't leave now. Ling Wan and Xiang Yu are coming. What do I tell them? I don't even know where to start looking.”

”But my mother is here and maybe my dad and the kids. Yi Hai...”

”You can't leave just yet,” Yi Hai was nearly shouting. ”I won't let you.”

An Ning stared at him, conflicted. It was her chance to go back. She goes out the door and to Laniang and the great probability that her life will return to normal will be there as well. She'll see Cas and Lux again and her parents and grandparents.It was a future, the real future that awaited her. No fighting, no battles. Nothing but her world and her time from hereon.

But Gu Sheng...

Gu Sheng had no one one but her. No one who cared about him really except her, the stepmother. Gu Sheng must be out of his mind with worry about her right now. Not about himself but for her because she was more likely to blow things up when she loses her patience. He was the calm one. The one who can be bargained with, be reasoned with because he was more level-headed and yes, even-tempered than her.

And he was gone, and she didn't know where he was or who took him. Was he even expecting her to come for him?