Insurgents Thwarted?

His eyes were wide, as if he, himself, was surprised at his sudden outburst, but he quickly collected himself and stepped forth, standing before the Long family's VIP box.

"Li Daoming?" Long Junfeng said incredulously, turning to look at him with a confused frown.

"I apologize for my rudeness," Daoming said with the slightest bow of his head.

"But I cannot accept this engagement if Meiling isn't willing."

He looked at Long Meiling again, seeing that her expression had turned from confusion into utter disbelief. His gaze then moved to Long Junfeng, who was now looking down at him in mounting curiosity.

"And what does the Li family have to say, about this?" Junfeng said, his expression unreadable.

"Daoming! What do you think you're doing?!"

The voice of Li Deming carried from across the amphitheater, the man having since woken up from being knocked out by Luo Shuchang. He quickly jumped out of the VIP box and ran up to confront his son, already sweating profusely, seeing that Elder Shi was nowhere to be found. Had something happened while he was out?

"Father..."

Li Daoming wore a complicated expression, conflicted on whether or not to go through with what Luo Shuchang had asked of him. In regards to the engagement, he was moved after seeing Meiling's performance, but that wasn't the main reason why he was choosing now to speak up.

There was still something he had to do, if he didn't want his secrets to get out!

"I have a confession!" he shouted suddenly, looking towards the royal family's theater box.

"Li Deming, my father... Has been colluding with outside forces to bring insurgents into the city!"

Li Deming's jaw dropped in shock, and he grabbed his son by his shoulders, shaking him back and forth furiously.

"What the hell do you think you're saying, boy?! You're not in your right mind!" he yelled, wondering just what his son was trying to pull, at the moment. Did he not care if the Li family fell into ruin?!

A gasp arose from the crowd, chattering amongst themselves at this sudden development. Long Meiling just stood off on the sidelines, having removed the dagger from her side while she accepted first aid from Yuhan. Was this part of Luo Shuchang's plans?

"Explain yourself, young Daoming."

An imperious voice suddenly rang out, everyone turning to see the Zhou Emperor, Ji Min, descending from the royal family's box and making his way towards Li Daoming. The contestants, referees, and announcers all fell to their knees as he passed.

Li Daoming, too, got to his knees, saluting the emperor as he approached.

"Servant Daoming greets his Imperial Majesty," he said, looking down in deference.

"Your majesty, this child is confused--"

"I did not ask for you to speak, Li family patriarch," Ji Min said, cutting off Li Deming. He looked back at Li Daoming, signaling for him to continue.

"Your majesty, my father has been secretly meeting with the Great Void Sect, with plans to help them infiltrate the empire and take control from the inside," Li Daoming went on, bowing his head low.

"Lies! Your majesty, please, my son doesn't know what he's talking about--"

"Perhaps I could present sufficient proof, then?"

Everyone turned to see Li Huizhong calmly descending upon the amphitheater, along with a graceful young man pulling along an old geezer that looked much worse for wear. It seemed like today would be a good day for some drama.

"Huizhong!" Li Deming shouted through gritted teeth. However, when he recognized the old man they were pulling along, he immediately blanched; it was Elder Shi!

'I... I'm finished!' he thought, crumbling to the ground like a fallen sand castle.

Long Meiling was also watching the drama unfold as her wounds were being tended to, when she felt someone tapping on her shoulder. She turned to see who it was, her face brightening as she did.

"Ryker!"

Ryker gave her a thumbs up along with one of his usual grins, patting her on the shoulder excitedly.

"Good job out there!" he said, smiling widely.

"When did you get here?" Meiling asked, looking him over to check for any injuries. She frowned as she noticed the numerous cuts and gashes on his body, calling for Cheng Hui to tend to him.

"About when you broke through and started kicking ass!" Ryker said, nodding at Cheng Hui in thanks as he started to wrap him up in bandages.

{Congratulations, Meiling!}

[Indeed, it was a good showing.]

Bestie and Mini C added in their own praise, and Meiling accepted all of their compliments with a bashful smile, nodding her head.

"Thank you. I couldn't have done it without your help," she said, looking away to hide her rising blush.

"Sir Ryker, is that the Great Void Sect elder, over there?" Yuhan asked, pointing to where Luo Shuchang was leading Elder Shi along.

"Yeah. I think Shuchang's got this handled, so let's see how it goes."

They settled down and watched the drama that was about to play out.

"Brother! Are you really willing to let the Li family fall, today!" Li Deming shouted as Huizhong approached.

"Don't act as if we wouldn't just be in the way for this plan of yours, First Brother," Li Huizhong replied calmly, making way for Luo Shuchang to present Elder Shi to the emperor.

Shuchang threw Elder Shi forward, where he fell to his knees, hands bound behind his back. Luo Shuchang had crippled the elder before restraining him, so he was nothing more than a simple mortal, at the moment.

"...Shi Yan, of the Great Void Sect," the emperor stated, plainly, "What reason did you have to be here, today?"

Elder Shi looked up at the Zhou emperor despondently, before shaking his head and divulging everything.

"We were planning on using a secret teleportation array to move our experts here and quietly take over. I will cooperate fully in your investigation, so I hope his majesty will show leniency."

His cultivation was already gone, and the sect leader obviously wouldn't take pity on him. He might as well try and receive amnesty from his captors.

The crowd began to jeer, throwing trash and other refuse at the elder as the Zhou Empire guardsmen dragged him away. Li Deming was also apprehended, and the emperor, along with Li Huizhong, strode towards the arena's exit.

"Er, due to these unforseen circumstances, we are sorry to announce that the Young Geniuses exhibition is to be put on hold," an announcer cried over the din of the crowd as an imperial official whispered into his ear, though it was unclear whether anyone heard him. The guards on security detail moved to usher people out of the amphitheater, though with the excitement of the day, it was slow going.

Li Daoming watched all of this in confusion. Luo Shuchang had blackmailed him into revealing the connection between his father and the Great Void Sect, but it looked as if his testimony wasn't even necessary, at this point.

He gave Luo Shuchang a questioning look as he walked past, to which Shuchang just smiled, leaning in closer to whisper in his ear.

"Sorry, you were just the backup in case we couldn't secure this elder," he explained, patting Li Daoming on the shoulder, "Don't worry, since you followed my instructions, your secret regarding Young Master Dang is safe with me."

Li Daoming's face went pale, looking around to see if anyone had overheard him, but Luo Shuchang just laughed and continued walking, heading over to where Ryker, Meiling, and the rest were gathered.

"Nice, Twin, you looked good out there!"

Ryker waved him over with a casual hand on his hip, though Meiling and her entourage were a bit more wary of him.

"Haha, was that supposed to be sarcastic?" Luo Shuchang asked with a good-natured smile, gesturing down at his dirty and disheveled clothes.

"...Luo Shuchang," Long Meiling greeted curtly, her arms crossed as she eyed him suspiciously.

"It's been a while, Miss Meiling," he greeted back, dipping into a slight bow.

"...Hm."

She didn't spare him another glance, suddenly becoming interested in the crowds leaving the amphitheater, but Luo Shuchang paid it no mind, nodding slightly with a smile.

"Well, I think if you go to Miss Meiling's father, now, he'd be a bit more amenable to calling off that engagement," he said, turning to Ryker, instead.

"You're not coming with us?" Ryker asked, tilting his head to the side.

"No... My presence might make things a bit awkward, and I have other things to take care of, as well."

Shuchang moved to leave, waving goodbye as he did so.

"Take care, for now."

With a final salute, he activated his Void Crossing Steps and disappeared from view, off to who knows where.

"Mm. Well, shall we?" Ryker asked, looking to Long Meiling. She nodded her head, looking up at her father one more time before turning to leave.

"Let's go," she said, leading them to where her father would be waiting.

--

In a large, vacant room at the back of the amphitheater, Ji Min, Li Huizhong, and a host of the emperor's guards gathered, the emperor taking a seat on a chair placed upon a makeshift platform, slightly raised as was dictated by tradition.

"Li Huizhong, please, explain to me what you've found, in regards to the intruders."

"Your humble servant obeys," Li Huizhong said, kneeling at his feet.

He went on to explain the details of what had been going on for the past month, including the letter he had found and the tip from a 'mysterious expert'. He shared the findings of his own investigation, promising to assist the emperor in making sure they had rooted out all traces of the Great Void Sect in the empire.

"This is rather thorough," Ji Min observed, flipping through one of the reports brought by Li Huizhong.

"You understand that I must punish the Li family for letting insurgents into the empire, but I will try to keep it lenient in light of your efforts to prevent this disaster."

"Of course, your majesty," Li Huizhong said with a bow. For the sake of the empire's face, they would need to be punished... But based on the emperor's tone, it would likely be made up for in the future with some kind of favor.

"Right," the emperor said, looking up as if just remembering, "Was the 'mysterious expert' that young man who came with you? Who is he?"

"That man is Luo Shuchang, your majesty," Huizhong answered, "he is of the Luo family, though he hasn't actually been seen much, this past year..."

"Where did he go? I would like to speak with him."

"I'm afraid that might be difficult, your majesty; I had some men look into his activities just the other day, but he's been untraceable. Even his family is unaware of what he is doing, most of the time, and his whereabouts are a mystery."

Li Huizhong had looked into Luo Shuchang's background when he had come to him two nights ago, asking for his cooperation in exposing the Great Void Sect's plot. All he could find was what was common knowledge; that he was crippled one year ago, and had kept a low profile, since.

That clearly wasn't the case, however, based on how he had been able to infiltrate the Li family estate. But finding anything on his movements past the day he'd been crippled was proving to be impossible, as if he had ceased to exist after that day.

Huizhong could only assume he'd been covering his tracks, well.

"Hm..."

The emperor fell into thought, stroking his beard. After a moment of thought, however, Li Huizhong spoke up, offering a potential alternative.

"If I may, your majesty, there was actually another young man that looked to be working with him who might be easier to keep track of..."