Chapter 53

Sykes strode back into his bedroom and pushed the door open. The intricately patterned carpet was littered with fragmented limbs. In the center lay a deathly pale head, its eyes wide open, staring at the intruder.

With a thunderous crash, Sykes slammed his fist into the door. Even Ye Zheng was startled by the violence of his rage and instinctively frowned, retreating a small step.

Her original plan had been to stage everything at the palace gates and disgrace the entire imperial family. Later, she reconsidered. Placing the provocation directly in Sykes’ room would be far more interesting.

Ye Zheng did not know whether, in the original manga, Sykes had gone to the blood-colored realm. By imperial convention, it was unlikely they would allow the crown prince to personally take such risks. Though in theory, Sykes was the strongest ability user in the empire and could likely destroy an A-plus realm.

Regardless of the original arrangement, in her version, Sykes had to go.

Aside from royal nobles, many civilians were trapped inside. The empire was unwilling to send their nationally cultivated “savior” to rescue people, instead blindly dispatching endless rescue teams and even planning to demolish lower-district shelters to build rescue passages.

Now, Ye Zheng had chosen the most efficient course of action for the empire.

Sykes stepped into the center of the bedroom and squatted in front of the wide-eyed head. He placed one hand on top of it, and in an instant, the skull was crushed.

Yu Tianming once again showed a trace of despair. Olin was a prince’s child. Killing rioters was one thing, but the crown prince did not even leave a corpse. This matter absolutely could not be allowed to spread.

“These disgusting things. Clean them all up for me.”

Sykes gave the order coldly.

“Your Highness, please allow me to investigate the scene. We might find clues about the culprit behind this. It is very possible he has not gone far yet, and we could catch him while we are at it.”

Yu Tianming spoke quickly, attempting to halt Sykes’ impulsive behavior.

“Your Highness, Yu Tianming’s words make sense. How about ordering a temporary lockdown of the palace first?”

Hearing the girl add her advice, Yu Tianming turned to look at her. The saintess’ face was slightly pale, her brows tightly furrowed in discomfort, as though the scene before her had deeply unsettled her. Yet she persisted in watching, appearing fragile yet resilient at the same time.

Yu Tianming then turned his attention back to the carpet, discreetly scanning the entire room.

There were no traces of water.

It seemed he had overthought things.

Yu Tianming could not understand why he kept paying attention to Ye Zheng, a character who should have been relatively insignificant.

“No need for a lockdown.”

“Right now, I will go to the aberrant realm and kill that myself.”

This was not only because of the mastermind’s arrogant provocation. Sykes had been born with immense power, designated as the empire’s heir from infancy. From a very young age, extreme luxury had left him both sated and hollow. Only violence and the stimulation of death interested him, and his threshold for stimulation continued to rise.

The palace became busy at once due to the crown prince’s willful decision. Equipment was prepared, personnel mobilized, all to ensure his safety.

The emperor was still in council with his ministers, but Yu Tianming felt that even if His Majesty learned of this and came to stop it, it would probably be useless. No one could stop Sykes once he had made up his mind. Moreover, Yu Tianming had always felt that the emperor harbored a certain fear toward this son.

Amid the chaos, few noticed Ye Zheng quietly withdraw. She strolled unhurriedly through the vast palace.

If someone were observing carefully at this moment, they might notice that Ye Zheng was surprisingly familiar with the palace pathways. From the crown prince’s bedroom to the palace gates, along this complex route, she did not ask a single maid for directions. She simply walked on, silently and steadily.

“Really hard to remember.”

Ye Zheng muttered softly, a helpless smile passing over her face. There was no one to blame but herself for causing so much trouble.

She had obtained the entire palace layout from Teacher Qin Lu, including the drainage system. The upper district had seen rain recently as well. She had carefully designed the route used to “deliver” those things. Considering possible accidents, Ye Zheng had memorized only a rough palace map to allow flexible action.

If Yu Tianming had been more suspicious, he might have deduced that the goal was achieved through water channels beneath Sykes’ room and outside the grass. Ye Zheng had observed his expression closely. He seemed to have considered this possibility but abandoned the idea due to the dryness of the bedroom and his underestimation of her abilities.

Even without knowing her true strength, her 【Stream】 ability possessed precision sufficient for surgical procedures. Leaving no trace through subtle actions was naturally not difficult.

Now Yu Tianming no longer had the mental space to continue thinking along these lines. Merely preparing for Sykes’ expedition was enough to keep him frantically occupied.

『But if Qin Lu mentions that you asked her for the palace map…』

The system sounded worried.

“Teacher Qin respects my secrets. I respect hers.”

Ye Zheng gazed at the intricately patterned ground and replied softly.

『!』

Hearing Ye Zheng’s words, the system seemed startled. It recalled the plot. Qin Lu indeed held a massive weakness. In an ancient eastern country, such matters would have led to the extermination of nine clans. But considering Qin Lu’s status as the emperor’s sister-in-law, her nine clans had not been destroyed.

“Just some guesses about Teacher Qin’s thoughts. I do not know the specifics. The same goes for what she thinks of me. We have a tacit understanding.”

Ye Zheng could clearly see that Qin Lu deeply hated the imperial family, especially her brother-in-law the emperor and her sister’s orphaned child. She also harbored intense loathing toward the church. At the beginning, Ye Zheng, as a saintess, had encountered many closed doors from Qin Lu.

Qin Lu was a person with clear loves and hates, yet also magnanimous. Her late sister, the empress, had been her most important kin, yet she died in a difficult childbirth because of Sykes. Her hatred toward her brother-in-law, her nephew, and even the church’s handling of the delivery was understandable. However, Ye Zheng’s intuition told her that Qin Lu’s hatred was not that simple.

『Every time you do this, my heart ends up in my throat. I am afraid you will crash.』

The system sounded lingeringly fearful, more nervous than Ye Zheng herself. Ye Zheng had already boarded the Ye family’s carriage smoothly and instructed the driver to head for the church.

“I have my measures. You do not need to worry about me.”

She responded faintly in her mind, rubbing her right palm with her fingers. The dragon bone fragment embedded there had initially caused a strong foreign sensation, but it had gradually vanished. Slowly, it felt as though it had fused naturally with her flesh, along with the power it carried.

If it were her from a month ago, she might not have dared to act so boldly. Ye Zheng could not help but think that if she obtained a few more such thoughtfully prepared dragon bone fragments, then…

She quickly calmed herself. Mere power was far from sufficient to achieve her goals. She could not allow strength to cloud her judgment. In her eyes, Sykes, despite his formidable abilities, was not a major threat. He was simply a useful mad dog.

Let him fight Sela.

She wondered which would be stronger. The all-devastating 【Destruction】 or the power-nullifying 【Invalidation】.

She did not dislike Sela. It was only her strange obsession that made her dangerous. She could easily trigger realm incidents. Having Sykes suppress her was the most suitable choice.

This time, she would go there as well, but not as Ye Zheng.

『Sykes and Sela are both easy to manipulate. Neither is a particularly brainy villain.』

The system analyzed calmly for Ye Zheng.

『The Pope is one of the major villains. Although he commands powerful forces and weaves deep schemes, his own ability is support-oriented. His direct oppression is not strong. He is not especially difficult to deal with.』

“What kind of villains are particularly difficult?”

Ye Zheng asked curiously.

『Those with deep schemes, extreme intelligence, abnormal strength, ironclad mentality, and exceptional skill at disguising themselves. At first, everyone thinks they are great people.』

The system recalled several classic villains and felt momentarily relieved.

Fortunately, the Throne of the Aberrant Realm did not contain such bug-level villains. Otherwise, with Ye Zheng’s tendency to deviate from the plot and jump around freely, she would easily attract fatal danger. Although judging by current results, she not only resolved danger with ease but also brought others quite a bit of danger.

『Rest assured. There are no such bug-level villains in the Throne of the Aberrant Realm. Just endure the big battle plot between Sykes and Pei Xi, and you will be safe and worry-free.』

“Ah, that is good. The type you described would indeed be extremely troublesome.”

Ye Zheng thought that among the people she had encountered, Wen Jian fit the system’s description most closely. But she was too familiar with him. Her loathing far outweighed any wariness. His disguise as a good person was completely transparent to her. His schemes were not difficult to see through, only supported by an advantage in information.

With this thought, the girl’s heart relaxed further. Her obstacles were not difficult to remove.

✧✧✧✧✧

Inside the church, a middle-aged man dressed in simple white robes was tending to a flower bed. He carefully pruned the branches with scissors. Looking at the neat, beautiful flowers, he revealed a satisfied smile.

“My lord.”

“Have you brought them back?”

“We found two corpses, but the woman is still missing.”

Snip.

A gorgeous flower suddenly fell from its branch.

Wen Jian stared expressionlessly at the empty branch. He bent down to pick up the fallen flower, and his expression soon returned to gentleness. A trace of heartache appeared in his eyes as his fingers lightly stroked the pruned blossom.

“Send people to continue the search.”

“Also, find the culprit who harmed my flowers.”

The reporting man froze for a moment, then understood what the Pope meant by “culprit.” It referred to the one who killed their dispatched personnel, ruined the Pope’s mood, and caused him to accidentally prune his beloved flower.

A chill ran through the man’s heart. He respectfully acknowledged the order and hurriedly left the Pope’s small garden.

The middle-aged man stood at the center of the garden. In his left hand was the pruned fallen flower. His right hand glowed faintly green as it covered the already wilting blossom.

The light brightened, then extinguished.

Wen Jian removed his right hand expectantly and observed the reborn flower.

The blossom, which had shown signs of withering, regained vitality. Its petals bloomed fuller than before, dazzlingly beautiful.

Wen Jian’s smile faded.

Dissatisfied, he looked at the “branches and leaves” and the “stem” he had kicked aside.

Beneath the gorgeous petals were tiny green human limbs. They stretched out newly formed arms and legs, like a newborn infant. Only the “head” and “skin color” were somewhat strange.

Wen Jian released it.

The reborn flower fell to the ground once more, and he crushed it under his foot. A thin, shrill scream echoed faintly from the ground.

“Pope, the saintess requests an audience.”

An elderly bishop bowed deeply, not daring to look into the garden.

“Mmm.”

Wen Jian responded perfunctorily and moved his foot away, leaving the small garden. All that remained on the ground was a small puddle of red-green mucus. No one could imagine that this unremarkable substance had once been a tiny living being.

┳⁠━━━━⁠━⁠⁠━⁠━⁠━━━⁠┳

Authors Note

┻━⁠━━━━⁠━━⁠━━━⁠┻

Zhengzheng: Heavens, the world has smart, deep, powerful lurking villains. Good thing I have never met them.

Future people persecuted by Zhengzheng: …