TO ENDURE CONTEMPT.

"Is it possible that by pure chance you hit your head here and forgot everything in an instant?" A cautious question came from behind the monk. "Your aura doesn't resemble that of a reincarnated mortal fool, so why are you pretending to be one?"

Not a muscle twitched on the Emperor's face as he stared intently, clearly expecting an answer to his own question, not the ramblings of a disobedient servant. 

The monk also remained still and silent, but his gaze betrayed him as he studied the Emperor, his eyes slowly tracing the outlines of the figure in front of him.

An awkward silence reigned in the chambers until the servant spat again. "What, by all the Cursed Heavens, is going on here?!" 

But he was not allowed to continue, as the Emperor leapt from his seat, grabbed a scroll, and accurately threw it at the servant, who had just emerged from behind the monk. It looked like, even the monk himself was a bit surprised, as the scroll hit the servant squarely on the forehead, eliciting a displeased cry.

"Oh, you bastard, who did you dare raise your hand against!" The next moment the servant lunged towards the Emperor, clearly ready to fight for his honor, but the monk managed to grab him by the collar.

"Let me go, you worthless old man! I won't let your age define my respect towards you when I slap you back!" But the monk, apparently anticipating this, managed to twist the servant's shoulder, forcing him to his knees.

"Calm your dog, or I'll put it on chain myself!" the Emperor began his displeased note, but at that moment, a sudden gust of wind knocked him back onto the pillows. There was no surprise, only obvious discontent on the Emperor's face. He opened his mouth definatwly to say something, but the monk spoke first, still holding the servant.

"Your Majesty, you called me for a reason, so tell me directly. And I apologize for my servant's behavior, as well as for my own disrespect towards you earlier. I mistook you for an old friend of mine, also familier to my servant, so we took liberties!"

Unexpectedly, same moment while the monk was speaking, the servant, breaking free from the monk's grip, managed to approach the platform where the Emperor was still lying down among the pillows. Tugging at his collar with one hand and striking him with the other, he screamed, "Ling Xuan, you piece of trash! Not only did you disappear when the Prince needed you most, but now you're putting on a show in front of us right now? What did this lousy Jade prick promise you to make you ignore everyone and everything? What did you gain from the Prince's betrayal?"

The Emperor's face was already covered in scarlet streaks, and his unsuccessful attempts to defend himself ended in nothing, when the monk finally threw one more gust of wind, this time at his servant.

"You couldn't do that right away?" the Emperor muttered, spitting out a bloody clot and wiping his face.

"I was just hesitating. I am a 'peaceful' monk after all. Please, don't think, Your Majesty, that I was not in a hurry to help you, do you?!" An obvious grin was heard in the monk's voice. 

"Well-well, I see, you live up to your reputation. Seeing your abilities now, reading the future is clearly fun for you. Just like you are enjoying onserving me now, am I right?"

The monk sighed and looked towards the servant. "Lord Lao, if you don't mind me calling you that, please pull yourself together from now on and don't cause any more trouble. We are in the Emperor's chambers after all and must listen to why he called us here."

The servant remained in place, only casting a distrustful glance at the Emperor. 

"Who would have thought that I would ever be hit, and by some mad dog at that! For shame! You better give me good reason for this torture!"

"You yourself are a mad dog," the servant started to move from the corner, but the monk stopped him with a look. 

"He is not Ling Xuan you used to know. Please refrain from unnecessary scenes. Let's finish quickly here, and then finally leave. We have much left unfinished."

Turning to the Emperor, the monk addressed him with a light bow, "Your humble servant asks Your Majesty to tell the reason for our meeting today, so he can serve you at his most."

The Emperor's eyes finally showed no anger, and with a light breath he replied, "What if I tell you that I die every night and am resurrected again in the morning, will you believe me?"

Thx for reading.