The golden rays of sunlight illuminated the Grand Xia Imperial Palace. It’s marble stairways were the centerpiece of the palace as they stretched endlessly into the heavens. Opulent to the point of being gaudy, palaces dotted the sides of this stairway, their numbers, countless. The Xia Dynasty had reached the peak of its power. It was at this peak that, some scheming people saw the omen for the end of the Grand Xia.
Grand Xia was too strong, the preceding thousand years could be said to have solely belong to the Xia dynasty. Their invincible might resounded in reaches of the Divine Continent. There were hundreds of kingdoms in the vast Divine Continent but only Grand Xia stood the test of time, not only lasting for 1000 years but prospering as well.
The rise and fall of a kingdom was an immutable part of the natural laws. The invincible Grand Xia could not stay invincible forever. In recent hundred years, it started to show signs of its impending fall into decadence. The rulers were inept and virtuous ministers were nowhere to be found. With the rise of the Ancient Mongols in the north and the reappearance of the Eternal Night Cult after 1,000 years of silence, the Xia Dynasty faced a bleak future.
The current emperor was incomparable to the emperors of previous years who expanded the empire’s vast territories. However, neither was he a decadent ruler. This coupled with the inheritance of his ancestors meant that while the emperor wasn’t good, nothing irreparable happened as well.
The northern mongolian cavalry had crossed the northern border in large numbers, trampling the majesty of the Grand Xia. The hawkish and dovish factions within the dynasty constantly bickered over a countermeasure to no avail. With the emperor entering his twilight years, he started to adopt a weak and indecisive mindset towards matters of the court, to him, peace was fine, war was fine as well.
However, the issue of the Mongols paled in comparison the resurgence of the Eternal Night Cult. The mysterious Eternal Night Cult were a major threat to every dynasty in the mainland. Grand Xia’s ancestors made use of their impressive strength to suppress the cult , nearly driving them to extinction. However after a thousand years of laying low, their rise was an inevitable disaster.
The might of the Eternal Night Cult stemmed not only from its thousand years of faith but also its unfathomable military might. The Grand Xia of that period were strong to the point where the continent submitted to them but they still weren’t able to exterminate the Eternal Night Cult. Instead, they could only force them into hiding.
Under the darkness of the night sky, Revelations Hall shone like a lighthouse as its court proceedings continued. On the dragon throne, the emperor sat with a grave expression on his face as his ministers debated among themselves.
“Your Majesty, we cannot afford to wait any longer, the generals in the north desire for battle grows stronger by the day, if we keep ignoring the Mongols, it would dampen the morale of these patriotic generals.
“No. Once the fighting starts, it won’t end without massive deaths among the populace. Besides, with the resurgence of the Eternal Night Cult, we would face a war on two fronts if they decided to take advantage of this moment.”
“Hmph, abiding by their actions would only embolden the Mongols, our valorous subjects would never lose to a mere Eternal Night Cult.
“-----”
The debate raged on, as no one wanted to compromise, only the 3 dukes kept quiet.
The three dukes rarely participated in government affairs since the dawn of the empire. It wasn’t that they weren’t allowed to but that they didn’t want to. Unless the situation was truly dire, they refrained from expressing their opinion. It was common knowledge so no one heeded them as they debated.
The emperor was wracked with indecision as he sat atop the dragon throne, to deploy the troops or not, it was a tough decision.
*whoosh*
Suddenly, a piercing silver light penetrated the hall and shot towards the emperor. Its sudden arrival caught everyone by surprise as they barely had time to react.
A single arrow, silent and deadly whizzed through the hall, capturing the attention of all present.
However just as it looked like the arrow would find its target, a shriveled hand latched onto it, halting its tracks. Behind the emperor,silently stood an old eunuch. No one knew how he came to be by the dragon throne, blocking all calamities for the emperor with his hands.
“Assassin, catch him!” Everyone finally came to their senses as started shouting as what had just transpired dawned upon them.
The normally silent three dukes stood up and coldly stared in the direction the arrow came from. Truly audacious. In a thousand years, no one had dared to enter the palace to assassinate the emperor especially under their watchful eyes.
The emperor stood up, his eyes burned with fury as he shouted , “Find him!”
“Yes!”
The emperor was truly furious. The ministers were all silent, thoughts racing in their head. This assassination attempt had come at a truly inopportune time.
The next moment, a flurry of orders were sent out by the palace. A curfew was imposed, the gates were to be shut tight, and the palace grounds were to be completely surrounded. Every 5 steps one took, a patrol could be found, with every 10 one could spot a guard post. Even a fly would find it difficult to sneak in.
“ What happened?”
Ning Chen wondered as he gazed at the patrolling palace guards. However, this was a momentary thought as he remembered his impending fate.
Not too far away, there were a number of teenagers who had equally downcast expressions. They were kids forced into this situation by their poverty.
“Sigh, what should I do.”
He cupped his chin as he wondered. He would rather die than be a eunuch. There was a saying , “Since you are already here, we might as well settle you in.” However, changing from a healthy, diligent youth into an impotent eunuch overnight was truly too much for him to bear.
“What to do…”
Ning Chen sighed once more. He wanted to escape but with the tightened security, he would become mincemeat before he could escape. It was said that this era still practiced death by torture. This included being buried alive, being pulled apart by chariots, being pulled apart by horses, skinned, and being tied to a pole naked while your flesh was slowly carved away. Let’s not think about this. Head hurts.
"The palace doors are like an endless abyss, once through the barrier between that life and this, I can be nothing more but a stranger"
His single sigh, drew the immediate scorn of the room. Ning Chen lifted his head and laughed sheepishly. He had forgotten. Everyone was in a bad mood…
The clanking sounds of the guards’ armor only increased as the night passed. The attempted assassination of the emperor was a momentous incident. As the string of orders continued, everyone waited for the outcome with bated breath.
As he watched each teenager get carried off, completely bloodied in their nether regions, his anxiety grew deeper. But with so many palace guards patrolling, his skinny legs were clearly not up to the task of outrunning them.
“Heavens, just kill me”
As the final teenager was carried off by the usual eunuchs, he looked out the window and screamed in his heart.
*boom*
The inky black sky above the palace lit up as a lightning bolt streaked across the heavens, followed by a loud boom as it struck the ground. The sudden lightning strike startled everyone.
“I…”
Ning Chen was scared witless by the thunder, “Heavens, I was only joking, you don’t have to take it seriously.”
*Boooom*
As the thunderstorm intensified and the rain became a downpour, the torches carried by the guards were instantly put out.
In that instant, a black shadow jumped down from the corner of the wall and into the room. The room’s light reflected off the sword as it slit the throat of the old eunuch cleaning his tools. The eunuch barely time to react before he collapsed lifelessly, eyes wide open in shock.
The room was now devoid of anyone else other than Ning Chen and the assassin. If it wasn’t for the injuries inflicted by the palace guards, Ning Chen would have been killed by the assassin as well. However, with his current state, killing the eunuch was all he could manage. If Ning Chen wanted to call for help, he couldn’t stop him.
“I can get you get out of here”
As the pair locked gazes, Ning Chen immediately made his suggestion. This sudden offer startled the assassin.
Noticing the surprise in the assassin’s eyes, he decided to seize this chance and immediately continued, “ The grounds are swarming with palace guards, there’s no escape. They will soon investigate this room at which point, you will have nowhere to hide.”
He almost choked as he rushed to get his words out. He took a quick breath and continued, “ You have no choice but to trust me.”
“Who are you?” The assassin finally replied in a cold emotionless voice.
A girl? This revelation caught him by surprise momentarily. “I’m a eunuch.”
Ah, what a foul mouth.
As he said this, his eyes drifted to the girl’s chest. As expected… it was the Great Plains down there. Maybe they were bound? Even so, aren’t they too flat?
*shua*
The familiar sword light appeared once, this time in front of him. He mentally scolded himself. Of all the times to be thinking about that.
“Calm down , calm down. However before I help you, I need a little favour.”
Having temporarily calmed the girl down, Ning Chen heaved a sigh of relief and walked up to the eunuch, stripping him. “ Quick, put this on before it’s too late.”
As he said, he rubbed the eunuch’s fresh blood onto his trousers, especially in his nether regions, creating a bloody mess
Having finished his grisly task, he extinguished the majority of the lamps in the room, leaving only a few so that one could still see but just barely.
A short distance away, the girl had finished putting on the old eunuch’s clothes, she threw him a look but did not say anything. She could see that kid was pretty savvy. Perhaps he could really help her escape.
She wasn’t afraid of dying but given a choice, no one wanted to die.
Ning Chen turned around and finally saw the face behind the assassin’s mask. It was breathtakingly beautiful. It was in the prime of its life, bewitching and feminine…
However, at this moment, this face did not do them any favors.
He pondered for a while before staining his hands with the blood on his trousers. He then rubbed them on the floor before walking up to the girl and with a dashing smile on his face, rubbed the blood and dirt stained hands on her face.
Of course, Ning Chen had given her a warning gaze, one which clearly said that he was pleased with himself, really pleased with himself, extremely pleased with himself.
The girl did not object and coldly watched as her once bewitching face was turned into a dirty mess...