Chapter 10
Chapter 10.1: Flare Up
“Cough cough cough…..”
In the quiet Imperial Study, the sound of a series of stifled coughing broke out suddenly.
“Your Majesty, your Dragon’s body is more important. Have a rest first!” A young man who was a close aide in waiting said with a worried expression on her face.
The Water Edge Kingdom was different from other kingdoms. They did not have eunuchs here as the founding ancestor had abolished that cruel and immoral system of castration.
They only had palace maids and close aides in waiting who took charge of caring for the reigning Emperor’s daily needs and their battle skills were also top notch, carrying the responsibility of protecting him as well.
Behind the dragon table, a man covered his mouth as he coughed violently before he slowly raised his head up from the memorials laid out before him.
It was seen that it was a man with striking sharp brows and a pair of bright eyes, his face smooth as crowning jade. His facial features were gentle and elegant, but his complexion was unfortunately rather pale, where it could immediately be seen that he was not all that well.
“I’m alright. How is the Duke of Vast Oceans doing recently?” Yue Mu Chen asked in a soft voice with a slight lift of the ends of his mouth.
“My Lord!” Bai Zhi Yan called out as he heard the suppressed roars of pain, as he grew frantic. His good looking face was filled with resentment and remorse, blaming himself for his own lack of skills, helpless before the fire and ice poison as he could do nothing but watch his Lord suffer such torment.
In his anxiety, he wanted to just rush inside in wild abandon but Lian Ji held on tightly to him as she said: “Master, you cannot go in there. You will die…..”
“Let go!”
“Lian Ji cannot allow you to send yourself to your death!”
“Insolence! You dare defy me. Let go of me now…..”
Through their struggles, something dropped out, and the sound of a “ting” was heard, causing the two of them to freeze.
Bai Zhi Yan lowered his eyes to look and saw the exquisite little bottle that that youth had left behind.
He bent down to pick it up and he gripped the bottle tightly for a long while. At this moment, he could only risk it and give this a try!
“My Lord, try this!” Bai Zhi Yan did not go inside. He knew that Lou Jun Yao would not want anyone to see him in his current state and hence he only a slight gap in the curtain to push the bottle inside.
It was pitch dark inside the room and nothing could be seen clearly.
But in one corner, something seemed to be giving out a faint glow. The pair of violet eyes were exceptionally bright in the darkness and he was born to be able to see in the dark.
A small white porcelain bottle was sitting there by the door all alone.
He stood up slowly, and right beside his violet eyes, a dense web of blood coloured vein lines crawled over his entire face, making him look like a demon straight from Hell.
He reached out a large hand and sucked the bottle right into his palm. There was a green round pill inside the bottle that was giving out a soft lustrous glow.
Without the slightest hesitation, he immediately swallowed the pill.
The fire and ice in his body were still violently fighting to establish their own domains, neither giving way at all. The excruciating pain he felt then seemed to suddenly settle the moment he swallowed the pill.
The icy chill and searing heat was no longer felt in a few breaths’ time like they had fallen into a deep sleep.
The frightening vein lines on his face had also miraculously began to turn fainter and fainter, till it completely faded away.
There was a mirror in the room but it had already been shattered to pieces. Even the powerful Lou Jun Yao could not bear to face his demonic berserk self.
He stood there quietly in his spot. After a long while, he picked up a fragment of the broken mirror and his violet eyes then slowly turned to look into it.
Nothing. There was nothing at all.
That handsome face that was resented by the Heavens and mortals alike was clear and flawless.
He reached his hand up to feel his face.
Was he….. hallucinating?
It was as if nothing had appeared before.
But he had clearly seen himself covered with weaving blood vein lines and he had not even dared to look at his own face directly after that.
As time passed, he was almost going to forget his own looks.
Within that dark and tiny little space, the man’s violet eyes flashed unsurpassably bright as his spirits soared, his thin luscious lips slowly lifting up at the corners into a beautiful smile.
Bai Zhi Yan waited outside anxiously for a long while, his brows furrowed up tightly as he paced back and forth incessantly.
Suddenly, the door was being opened.
Bai Zhi Yan immediately stopped and turned himself around to look, where his eyes then widened incredulously in disbelief.