Poison Sect, Nightshade Belladonna

"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?!" shouted Elder Leo as he walked inside the Medicine Pavilion. The workers were frightened and immediately fled in fear. The housekeeper, on the other hand, felt tingling in his scalp.

The elder was rarely enraged. He was intrigued as to what had infuriated the elder today. The housekeeper thought that the elder might be upset because the palace had been burned down.

"Elder, please instruct this servant," said the housekeeper. He quietly wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Elder Leo scowled angrily. "You said that the Pei Family is just an ancient family in the secular world!"

"Yes, elder; they are nothing more than an ancient family in this world," confirmed the housekeeper. He had investigated the subject matter multiple times, with the same conclusion each time. There should be no mistakes.

"Then," Elder Leo slammed the table, "how did that brat of the Pei Family conjure an eternal fire!"

"What?!"

The housekeeper was taken aback. "How could that be possible? This servant has done everything just to make sure that my investigation didn't have any mistakes. Is the fire caused by the young miss of the Pei Family? That would be even more impossible. After all, no matter how we look at her, she didn't have any magical energy in her body."

The elder's eyes became darker. He had considered that as well. He concluded that the girl had no affinity for magic because she lacked an ounce of energy in her body. But if she was more powerful than him, then that explained why he couldn't see her energy.

A fifteen-year-old girl was more powerful than him---just thinking about it made his mind and heart hurt. And he didn't believe such a thing!

"But what if..."

Elder Leo turned to face the housekeeper. His eyes became fiery red frightening the latter. "What is it?" sneered Elder Leo, "If you have any idea, tell me!"

"None of the Pei Family has magical energy, even Duke Pei," the housekeeper gulped before continuing, "but if that girl was indeed the culprit in burning half of the palace, it wasn't necessarily her who conjured the magic."

Elder Leo frowned but did not respond, signalling that the housekeeper may continue.

"Perhaps she was the one who planned it, but someone conjured the eternal flame for her."

Elder Leo fell silent for a moment. Thinking back, what the housekeeper said could be correct. He just did not sense the presence of the other party because he/she was more powerful than him. But why would such a being work for the Peis? If that individual joined a sect, he would undoubtedly rise to the rank of a prominent elder.

Elder Leo waved his hand, sighing deeply. "Look for this person. No matter what happened, you need to know who this person is. If you find him, offer him good compensation and invite him to become an elder in the sect. Otherwise, inform the sect and kill this person."

The housekeeper pursed his lips. He then bowed and made his pledge.

When no one was there, Elder Leo sank into his seat. Aside from the pesky Pei Family, there was another issue that he overlooked.

That idiot emperor! How can he conceal the matter about Lady Harriet's descendant?!

That kid was brimming with enormous energy and had the potential to become someone great in the future, but the emperor didn't seize it and gave it to someone else!

Elder Leo wished he could take the child back, but given the circumstances, he wouldn't dare. The Pei Family appeared to have the support of a prominent being.

Who was it?

Was it someone from the Spirit Sword Sect?

What Is the Poison Sect?

Or perhaps one of the clans in the Earth Realm?

How regretful he was for underestimating matters in the secular world!

---

"You are quite daring," Duke Pei remarked, observing Prince Zak. "You really dared to steal a prince from the palace, and you even got Loid to play your game."

Lily shook her head. "He'd die anyway if he stayed in the palace, so why not take him?"

Duke Pei's eyes sharpened as he examined the prince. To avoid being escorted out of the estate, Prince Zak instantly straightened his back and attempted to appear excellent. He was desperate to learn more about magic!

"He has a good foundation," Duke Pei said after his assessment. "However, are you expecting me to teach him magic? Have you lost your mind?"

"I didn't," Lily rolled her eyes, "and I'm not expecting help from you anyway, grandfather. Loid knows the basics of magic and can already use his attribute. I plan to have him teach the little prince, but he also needs to learn martial arts, which is why I told the emperor that reason. So, I'll be asking one of our army's generals to come visit us."

"Why are you not asking me to teach martial arts to the prince?"

"Aren't you getting too old for that?"

The grandfather and grandchild pair exchanged glances before glancing away.

Duke Pei coughed and waved his hand, saying, "You're right. *coughed, coughed* Then, do what you must." He then left, still coughing and clutching his aching chest.

"Is... Is the duke sick?" Prince Zak inquired, concerned.

"He'll be fine," Lily said, waving her hand. "He's already eighty this year; it'd be amazing if he's still as strong as a bull."

"But..."

Prince Zak may be young, but he has learned a lot while imprisoned in the palace. He was still a prince, after all. With the help of those gossipy royal servants, he was able to learn what was going on inside and outside the palace. Because Duke Pei was still alive, the imperial family was cautious of the Duke's Estate at the moment. But if he died, what would happen to Lily?

The imperial family would never allow an entity stronger than it to remain in the empire. The imperial family would undoubtedly exterminate the Pei Family sooner or later now that the elder from the Medicine Sect had arrived, adopting the Immortal Dragon.

Prince Zak couldn't help but look at the girl who was fanning herself arrogantly. He didn't know whether Lily knew about the conspiracies happening within the court. Should he tell her?

Lily may have sensed his stare as she gave the prince a look. "Why are you looking at me with sympathetic eyes? My grandfather might be old, but he will certainly live longer than you," she said, snapping the fan closed and hiding it inside her sleeve, adding, "Loid will be back, at least, three days from now. The general who will teach you martial arts will be coming with him. Once they're back, your training will begin." She smiled and suddenly looked forward to the time when her disciple, who was trained by others, would conquer this empire. "Don't fail me."

Prince Zak quickly tapped his chest and exclaimed, "Don't worry, sister! I will certainly win the competition!"

Lily nodded in agreement. She then requested that Ji Lei accompany the prince to his assigned room.

When she was finally alone, someone suddenly broke into her grandfather's study. When she gazed out the open window, a woman with purple hair appeared. The newcomer was the lady who had been playing chess with Duke Pei the day before--- the pride of the Poison Sect, Nightshade Belladonna.

"Grandma!" cried Lily joyously. She stood up to greet the woman, but she was outrun by the latter. Belladonna ran to Lily's side and hugged her.

"You're already a big girl," Belladonna chastised, but her eyes were doting. "What did I tell you? A woman should act with dignity and pride. What you did just now looks childish." She caressed the girl's hair and was happy after a careful examination of the girl's body. Lily was in good health.

Lily sighed. "What woman?" she purred, rubbing her head in her grandma's chest, "In front of grandmother, I will always be a child."

"You child," Belladonna grumbled helplessly, "what will you and your grandfather do if I'm not here?"

"Why won't you be here?" Lily scoffed, "Anyway, if you're not here, Grandpa will surely die of sadness, and I'll be tortured by grief, so you have to be with us no matter what, lest your conscience eats you in the future."

Belladonna raised her brow and touched Lily on the cheek. "You've got guts now, ha? You dare to threaten me now."

Lily pouted and wrapped her arms around her grandmother. "You only visit us once in a blue moon," she complained, "and a lot of things happened while you were away, one of which was my engagement to the crown prince."

Belladonna nodded as she motioned her granddaughter to take a seat. "I've heard about it from your grandfather."

"You met him first?"

Belladonna chuckled. "You're quite busy these days. This is the only time I came here with you around in the estate," she explained, "Anyway, it's good that you're engagement is broken. There are a lot of good men out there. Why settle for someone less? Back in the days when you were born, I wasn't here so I didn't manage to prevent your grandfather from making stupid decisions. When I told him to break it, he was so reluctant. I don't understand why he values his friendship with the late emperor so much." She sneered when she spoke the last words.

Whether the late emperor sincerely respected her husband and viewed him as a true friend or not, she would never believe a word of care from a ruler. Duke Pei was a sentimental man who had been reared well by her mother-in-law. So, whether someone was genuine or not, he would treat them with respect. Duke Pei would never treat someone poorly as long as he wasn't treated to the point of frustration.

This trait of her husband needs to be changed in her opinion.

Fortunately, despite growing up with her grandfather, Lily did not inherit his personality.

For a brief while, Lily felt embarrassed. For her first three lives, the engagement remained intact. She only did it now in the hopes that a few changes would prevent her from reincarnating. If her grandmother found out, she would undoubtedly be chastised for a year.

"By the way, what about this Prince Zak? I heard you went to kidnap him from the palace," Belladonna inquired, her brow furrowed.

"What snatch? I saved him," Lily answered calmly, "the palace is full of schemes. He will die there sooner or later."

Belladonna didn't believe it. That prince was brimming with magical energy. Even if he was tormented, he would be able to survive until his magic manifested itself. But it was also a wonderful thing that Lily had such a strategy. That prince would be of help to her in the future.

"Do what you must, then," Belladonna said. "However," she added, "I must remind you not to use Hugo's name too much." Looking at Lily's curious gaze, she continued, "His maternal family is currently undergoing changes. I don't know if he would be able to hold on or if he could seize the power back into his hands, but once the chaos in their family continued and went out of hand, it would bear a disaster for those who are connected to him."