Chapter 212

The setting sun had already sunk beneath the horizon, yet the drifting white light particles continued to keep the world illuminated, interrupting the descent of night.

A turning point had finally arrived!

All of a sudden, a roar that nearly shattered their eardrums exploded through the air. The already broken walls and scattered ruins trembled violently over and over again. Ye Zheng’s first instinct was to clamp her hands over her ears. Right after that, she quickly grabbed Wu Shu’s hand, and the two of them rushed toward a distant building.

Ye Zheng didn’t turn back even once. She seized the moment to drag Wu Shu along as they ran. Amid the chaos, Wu Shu cast a glance behind them. A tilted clock tower spire had stabbed straight into the black dragon’s eye. One of its golden pupils was now bleeding heavily.

It roared without stopping. Its thick and powerful tail lashed out wildly, sweeping across the surrounding remnants of buildings and sending clouds of dust and debris rolling into the air. Strangely enough, that very chaos made their escape easier.

Wu Shu suddenly let out a stifled groan when a chunk of rubble slammed into her back, tearing her skin open. Even so, her steps didn’t slow in the slightest. The two of them quickly rushed into a relatively intact palace.

When she saw Bai Muqing, Ye Zheng wasn’t surprised at all. They had already made that promise to each other long ago.

Bai Muqing was the backup Ye Zheng had prepared for herself. If anything unexpected happened while dealing with Sykes, Bai Muqing was the strongest support she could rely on.

However, if everything had gone smoothly, Ye Zheng hadn’t wanted to involve Bai Muqing. That was why she’d signaled for her to leave during the confrontation in the banquet hall.

——But another person she was even more unwilling to drag into this had also shown up here.

“Zhengzheng!”

“Why did you come here?”

Ye Zheng blurted out in shock, even forgetting to use a respectful form of address. She hurried over to Shu Wan. For a moment, she could only stare at her with wide, stunned eyes, not knowing what she should say.

From the moment she’d made up her mind to kill Sykes, through the chain of unforeseen events that followed, and even when she saw the dead Sykes revive into an overwhelmingly powerful giant dragon, Ye Zheng hadn’t wavered or doubted herself even once. And yet, at this very moment, she felt a rare sense of confusion.

How could her mother be here? A noblewoman who’d spent most of her life in the Upper District, with barely any real combat experience, how could she have rushed into a place this dangerous?

Seeing her daughter standing right in front of her, Shu Wan’s initial excitement slowly gave way to unease. As she took in Ye Zheng’s expression, it only then occurred to her that she might be causing trouble for her daughter.

“You two, escort my mother… Madam Shu out of here.”

Ye Zheng averted her gaze from her mother and issued the order to the two knights at her side.

Bai Muqing, who’d been quietly listening the whole time, knit her brows. The two knights, who shared similar features, exchanged a brief glance. The younger knight with the darker complexion spoke, “Your Holiness, you gave us our orders yesterday. Today, our duty is to protect Madam Shu. Everything we do will put Madam Shu’s wishes first.”

“Yesterday’s Papess and today’s Papess… which one are we supposed to follow?”

The warmth completely vanished from Ye Zheng’s dark eyes. She fixed her gaze on the young knight who’d spoken, Cheng Cheng, the “troublemaker” who’d stepped forward to challenge her when she first founded the Order of Sacred Conduct. Ye Zheng had always valued such “troublemakers,” probably because she herself was one. But today, her patience felt unusually thin.

“Cheng Cheng, Cheng Che, I’ll say this one last time… take her and leave.”

Out of Ye Zheng’s line of sight, Shu Wan lowered her head, caught between embarrassment and unease.

“Ye Zheng, Aunt isn’t weak. I can tell her ability is quite strong,” Bai Muqing said.

Amid the tense atmosphere, Bai Muqing stepped over to Ye Zheng and rested a hand on her shoulder, clearly feeling the rise and fall of her breathing.

Ye Zheng’s reaction went beyond what she had expected, leaving Bai Muqing a little surprised. She’d rarely seen Ye Zheng this emotional.

“…It can track me. Staying by my side isn’t a safe choice.”

Ye Zheng’s whisper, light as a sigh, made everyone’s expressions shift. It meant they didn’t have much time left to catch their breath and regroup.

“We need to leave this place as soon as possible. You two, take her away. Muqing, Wu Shu, if you’re willing to continue, come with me to the hunting grounds.”

Ye Zheng issued her orders in a cold, crisp voice.

“Ye Zheng, I’m staying. You don’t need to carry the burden of my life or death. I’ll take full responsibility for the consequences,” the middle-aged woman, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly spoke. She lifted her head, her expression no longer awkward or hesitant. Her tone was quick and resolute.

“I’m an A-rank ability user. The empire permits ability users ranked B and above to voluntarily enter Aberrant Realms for rescue operations. One more powerful ability user means one more chance to stop the monsters. Your Holiness, what reason do you have to drive away a brave imperial citizen who’s stepped forward?”

“Do I have to leave simply because I’m your mother?”

Shu Wan usually kept her brows slightly lowered, giving off a quiet and reserved impression. In truth, she had high brow bones and deep-set eyes. When she looked straight at someone without restraint, she unexpectedly gave off a sense of pressure. The fine lines at the corners of her eyes only made her seem sharper.

“Your Holiness, you shouldn’t have personal feelings. The priority right now isn’t to have someone take Mother away, but to lead us in resolving the crisis outside!”

Her resounding words left Ye Zheng momentarily stunned. She unconsciously widened her eyes as she looked at her mother, even revealing a trace of animal-like bewilderment, like when she’d been a child and got caught hiding snacks by her mother, only to be lectured.

Her mind was still racing rapidly. She wouldn’t just feel guilty and keep silent like she had when she was little. She had plenty of ways to refute her.

Mother and daughter locked eyes, neither willing to yield. Ye Zheng knew Shu Wan was lying. What “standing up for the safety of the empire and its people”? Shu Wan was clearly staying because Ye Zheng was her beloved daughter, because of a mother’s selfish heart.

But was Shu Wan wrong?

The air fell silent once again. Ye Zheng lowered her head. How could she not have a daughter’s selfish heart too?

The others present tactfully stayed quiet, giving the mother and daughter enough space. Wu Shu glanced out the window, then at Bai Muqing’s expression. She thought to herself that things were looking bad, time was running out.

Just as Wu Shu was about to speak and remind her, Ye Zheng pulled her gaze back from the tense standoff with her mother. She calmly turned around and headed toward the palace’s rear entrance.

“Let’s go. Everyone, to the hunting grounds. I’ve got a way to handle this.”

Ye Zheng moved at the very front by herself. The composure on her face eased just a fraction, and a self-mocking smile flickered across her lips before vanishing. Along with it came a quiet sense of relief and lightness that no one else could notice.

She’d always hoped that Madam Shu would find a life beyond the role of “mother,” yet up until this moment, she herself had still been judging her through the eyes of a daughter.

Even though Shu Wan still behaved around her as a mother, her gaze had already begun to widen, slowly taking in a broader world. Ye Zheng had no reason to hold her back anymore.

A faint smile passed over Bai Muqing’s face as she remained silent the entire time. She was the first to step forward and follow Ye Zheng, and the rest of the group quickly fell in behind them.

It seemed Madam Shu’s selfish heart had won in the end, Bai Muqing thought.

As her thoughts wandered, the misty chill returned to Bai Muqing’s pale pupils. The slight tension in her expression revealed a trace of unease.

Within the range of her 【Divine Domain】, not a single person had entered.

So many people had gathered at the city gates, and nearly half the palace had already been reduced to ruins, yet no one had been sent in to stop it.

This wasn’t some ordinary Aberrant Realm. This was the imperial palace. She could understand her father needing to seek the emperor’s permission before taking action, but this continued delay filled Bai Muqing with an indescribable sense of dread.

Maybe she should wait just a little longer. After all, the creature outside wasn’t some ordinary Aberrant Realm monster. It was the emperor’s own son, Crown Prince Sykes.

With 【Divine Domain】, Bai Muqing had recognized him immediately.

If word got out that the Crown Prince had transformed into that thing, it would deal a devastating blow to the imperial family. Just what was the emperor planning to do about it?

No matter what the emperor intended, they had to kill it today.

…Even if what she did brought trouble upon the Bai family, she could only hope her family would endure her righteous selfishness.

✧✧✧✧✧

The Crown Prince’s hunting grounds lay beneath the imperial residence, hidden underground. By the time the group arrived, the palace above had already been emptied out. Only the faint echoes of monstrous roars drifted up from the hunting grounds below.

After Sykes had been driven out of the palace, the people responsible for maintaining the hunting grounds had clearly grown far less diligent. When Ye Zheng brushed her hand against the railing of the high platform, it came away coated in a layer of dust.

She guided the group toward the center of the hunting grounds, a vast and imposing colosseum. Passageways for holding monsters stretched along both sides. Under normal circumstances, Sykes would have the monsters released into the underground arena to fight, while he sat back and watched leisurely from the high platform.

Naturally, this place wasn’t only marked by the blood of monsters. From time to time, human blood had been spilled here as well.

“Ye Zheng, do you have a plan?” Wu Shu asked. At this critical moment, she’d forgotten her usual respectful form of address, and her voice carried a trace of urgency she couldn’t quite hide.

Ye Zheng motioned for them to stay calm and said, “This place was built using heterogeneous stones. Otherwise, the emperor wouldn’t have dared to let Sykes raise those things inside the palace.”

Heterogeneous stones weren’t just incredibly hard, they also possessed highly unusual properties. They could isolate Aberrant Realms and suppress the powers of ability users as well as Aberrant Realm monsters.

Hearing this, Wu Shu felt somewhat reassured. Tracking usually relied on special energy fluctuations. This hunting ground should be able to cut off those signals, so that guy probably wouldn’t be able to locate them anytime soon.

“That guy really knows how to hold a grudge,” Wu Shu said with a hint of teasing. “Even after turning into that form, he still hasn’t forgotten to come after you for revenge.”

Ye Zheng smiled back at her. “That’s right. Who knows, he might still remember everything.”

Wu Shu’s smile instantly stiffened. Ye Zheng shifted her gaze toward Bai Muqing, and Bai Muqing slowly spoke.

“Mm. Judging from the state of its soul, it’s different from those monsters. It’s more… intelligent, with emotional fluctuations. Almost like a human.”

Hearing that, Wu Shu glanced at the oblivious Shu Wan and the two knights, then swallowed the rest of her words back down. “So he only changed in appearance, but underneath he’s still that…”

“Alright, what should we do next?”

Wu Shu asked. Everyone present turned toward Ye Zheng, waiting for her next instructions.

“Have Muqing keep monitoring its movements. The rest of you should rest and recover.”

Ye Zheng turned her head toward the towering iron gate at the far end of the plaza. Faint monster cries drifted out from the deep corridor beyond it.

“I’ll go take a look at the Crown Prince’s beloved pets. They might be more than willing to help.”

A smile slowly curved across Ye Zheng’s lips. Not long ago, 【Mother of All Things】 had dominated their master. Dominating them wouldn’t be difficult for her either.

Let this hunting ground truly become Sykes’ “hunting ground.”