Chapter 1 (2/2)

He lowered his head, only to see the gleam of a sharp blade swiftly penetrate and leave his chest The ebb and flow of his blood that spewed forth arm, yet the sharp stab of pain from his wound was ice-cold

It was the kind of sinister and fearful cold a person experienced before his i death

Slowly, his body slid down, yet he refused to accept it Taking a deep breath, he half-knelt on the floor, fighting to see the face of that ruthless man who had bestowed upon him with death Only then would he know frohost

The sound of heavy objects thuhts

A vision, he saw tens of bodies fold and collapse onto the floor, the breath of life leaving their owners before they even had the time to make a sound of protest

Blood stained the porcelain walls, a vibrant colour under the diht

He turned to look at Mou Quan

Mou Quan remained frozen in his previous stance, yet his posture was unnaturally stiff and rigid Zhang Jin understood hen he saw the four lier

Despite that shocking ie, it appeared that Mou Quan's wounds were not meant to be fatal, for he could still tilt his body to witness the horrifying scene playing out before his eyes

Suddenly, Zhang Jin heard sound of footsteps, lithe and graceful

Struggling, he braced both his hands on the floor to support hi his jaw, his narrowed eyes squinted in the direction of those steps

The unhurried steps passed by him There were four or five people Fro Jin could see the elaborate boots of the leader, which were eon, its satin a resplendent yellow

With a jolt, he suddenly recalled that, years prior, he once had the fortune of seeing these exact pair of boots

Back then, he had been kneeling prostrate on the floor That person had left his elevated throne to walk to his side, and, with the corners of his mouth lifted in a ss of a literary talent Your knowledge is extensive In future, you will surely be a man of importance'

That year, in the I Jin had ranked third and was posted to the Imperial Hanlin Academy Later, he would be conferred the title of assistant Minister in the Ministry of Rites, where he would aspire to one day repay the E to his stubborn disdain and refusal in cli with one of the numerous factions within the iuard after offending an influential official

Would that person be him? Yet the prisons were a filthy and sordid place Why would this man be here?

Except, in this world, what other person would dare to wear shoes displaying such embroidery and colour?

'My Prince, please, spare me my life!'

A ing onto the fragile threads of life, a hoarse and grotesque voice e towards the fewbefore them

'Who are you? Should I recognise you?' Avoice answered, careless and unconcerned

'It is I, your humble servant, Mou Quan My little sister is a concubine to the accountant in your manor My Prince, please, spare my life, please spare my life, I will ko to you!'

Zhang Jin shi+vered Long Zijin, the Prince Lingrui, was also here?

Mou Quan's entire face arped with pain Sprawled across the floor, he repeatedly koed, the sound of his head connecting with the cold prison floor echoing across the roo Jin could not suppress the soft exhalation of laughter that escaped him

'And you? Who ht you be?'

That voice belonged to another person It wasJin stilled

Enduring his pain, he struggled to lift his head Fro from the lamps, he saw the four individuals who had entered the prison cells

He gri hiroup, until he was prostrate before those pair of boots The floor beneath him was mottled with flecks of blood

'This hu live Your Majesty!'

'Ah!' In the silence of the prison cells, the sudden exclamation reverberated 'Your Majesty? It is Your Majesty, the King?' Mou Quan's jaw dropped Terror stricken, he stared agape at the tall and iure before him

'Didn't you say that you wanted to have a tu?' the Emperor said, his voice a soft caress

In an instant, it was as though all the life was sucked out of Mou Quan, whose face turned ashen A sudden putrid s Jin saw the clear strea legs

'What did you say your name was?' the Emperor inquired coolly

The E Jin kneithout a doubt who he was referring to

Reluctantly, he adopted a deferential tone, and said, 'Your hu Jin'

'You see person,' the E to the man beside hih you have exerted strength in spearing that blade of yours, you have not wounded his heart vessels Qingfeng, wouldn't you agree?'

A youth dressed in a green walked forward fro, he said, 'Yes'

Alar Zijin immediately knelt to the floor, and said, 'Your brother dare not'

'Your Majesty, why don't you let rui?' Another individual, dressed in greenish-blue and who had been standing by in attention, said

The Emperor assented

Zhang Jin forced back a bitter smile Once, he had been a noble official; now, he was a servant Yet the Eer rerui chose to spare him, and even less could he fathom the Emperor's desire to kill him

Only, when an Emperor wished to kill a person, no reason was needed

Cold sweat led with his blood, which slowly pooled to the floor Of the prison guards within the cells, a few re for desperate survival with their last breaths of life; others lay lifeless, their eyes unseeing, their bodies cold

The reenish-blue walked forward, his movements swift like the wind

Fro personality Even in his despair, he refused to plead for aze to ratitude

Slowly, he closed his eyes

In the still air, there was a faint exhalation, so soft that one could not be sure if that breath were not ination

An enormous palm moved to cover his face

In a moment, he would die

'Eunuch Xu, please show mercy'

As a wave of dizziness surged forth in hi his life suddenly vanished, as though dispersed by the force of that soft voice which emanated from behind the white curtains of the prison cell

'Yes, Your Highness'

He did not die! He actually survived! After the e between life and death, Zhang Jin was left dazed to the extent that he could not utter a single word of relief His heart thu to reconcile itself with the hazy fact that he was alive

Then he heard the detached laugh of the Emperor, and his heart constricted His body, which had been paralysed in fear, involuntarily took a half-lurch backwards Having flirted with death once, he had no wish to experience such a feeling ever again

'Ah Li' A woh the air once more

Ah Li Whose na?

Zhang Jin felt the slide of cold sweat over his body, heard the wild thu of his heart

Prince Lingrui - Long Zijin; the Head Eunuch - Xu Xi; that youth - Qingfeng

'Yes' A murmur of assent issued from the austere man

Indeed Within the four walls of this prison, there was a fourth person, one whose name had the word 'Li' Only, no one had ever dared to address that man by his name directly

E Fei-li