A Waste of Time

In the older imperial ages, the Obsidian Continent was a place where strength was equivalent to power. In other words, nothing was more important than the level of cultivation because it meant that one could be free from all control, even from the royal family. 

However, when the former Emperor took over, he started conducting drastic reforms to ensure that cultivators and aristocrats could not take advantage of the commoners and other weaker people. He never wanted to see people perverting power to hurt those who could not fight back. 

Moreover, he made sure that the royals and aristocrats would not sit in their positions without doing anything to help their subjects. One of the rules was that all communities could send a representative to present their troubles to the leadership, including the royal family. 

As long as they were proven to have no malice, they would be heard without fear of retaliation from the royal family. 

Every reform was met with opposition and numerous assassination attempts were made on the former Emperor, but he was too strong in his cultivation and stood at the top of the pyramid. In essence, he used their own feudal beliefs to force them to comply with his new rules. 

"Princess, should we send them away? Their action of surrounding the airship can be considered malicious." The royal guard spoke up from outside the carriage. 

Ultimately, the villagers were commoners without strength, so they could just send them away and board the airship. The only thing they could not do was kill them because the consequences would be bad once the current Emperor found out. 

He followed the reforms set by the former Emperor without exceptions. Well, perhaps with a few exceptions... 

The Eldest Princess understood that her brother honoured their father like an idol, so she would never tarnish the name of the royal family by sending away the villagers casually. 

"No, I will hear them out," She paused. "Get my two royal nephews to join me. It is time they learned some responsibility." 

The royal guard bowed even though the princess could not see him and went to look for Huo Delan and Huo Zhizhao. The princess straightened her clothes and adjusted her hair before stepping out of the carriage with the air of a warrior. 

Soon after, her two nephews joined her. 

"Imperial Aunt," They greeted her respectfully. 

"We are going to listen to the grievances of the Five Villages, and you will find a satisfactory solution." She explained. "The situation must be serious, or they would not have taken a risk to wait for us in this way. Pay attention." 

"Why do we have to do this? It is a waste of time." Huo Zhizhao grumbled in a low voice. "They are just random commoners without cultivation." 

The Eldest Princess looked at the prince with disdain. "Do you think you can still become the crown prince with an attitude like that? If the Emperor learns of your attitude, you will be lucky to even keep your small title." 

Huo Zhizhao's face lost colour because he did not think his aunt would threaten him with his words. He was just speaking casually. He was sure that everyone in the entire royal caravan had the same thoughts about the pathetic villagers. 

"Imperial Aunt..." His voice was a little unstable. 

"Do not worry. I am not a tattletale." His aunt rolled her eyes. "But you should think about fixing your attitude if you do not want to lose everything. We are no longer in the olden times where sneaky tricks are enough to stand at the top of the continent." 

Huo Delan said nothing, but his subtle smile said everything. He was taking pleasure in Zhizhao's misery. His older brother glared at him with disgust, promising to retaliate. Delan was not bothered. After his brief death, most things became clear. 

The three people walked forward to meet with the villagers. As soon as the villagers saw the three royals, they knelt and bowed with respect, but there was also a hint of desperation in the way they were grovelling. 

The Eldest Princess frowned. She could tell there was something wrong with this scene. It did not look like a normal small problem they could resolve within a short period. Even though she told her nephews it was serious, she was not expecting the level of desperation. 

"Tell us your troubles, and we will see how we can resolve them." She spoke, gesturing to them to stand up. "Which of the villages are you from?" 

One of the villagers stood up. "We are members from all five villages. We do not consider ourselves completely separate anymore. Over the decades, we have joined together to create a happier future for future generations. We never want a repeat of the tragedy." 

The old man gestured at the open field which had been 'salted' for the sake of ending a war between the villagers. 

"What is the problem that has brought you here?" The Princess asked. 

The old man looked to his fellow villagers. 

"A few months ago, two girls disappeared from the Oak Village. The two young women were sisters aged fourteen and fifteen." The old man shook his head. "We looked for them for a while, but after a while, we assumed they ran away to look for opportunities." 

The sadness from the group of villagers on the ground was palpable. 

"The next month, another girl disappeared from the Elm Village and two from the Ash Village. We realised there was a problem. Some infighting began between the Five Villages, each accusing the other of harming their families. It looked like another war would break out." The old man sighed. 

The Eldest Princess listened patiently while the princes just wanted the man to just get to the point. They did not understand why he was going around and about expressing himself when he could finish everything in one sentence. 

"The following month, all the Five Villages lost more girls, including the Fir and Yew villages. Eventually, older women also started disappearing." The old man seemed to be holding back tears. "Only a few old women are remaining in the villages." 

Someone else stood up. "We do not know what to do. We don't know how to look for the people who disappeared. All of us have lost a child, a sister, a mother, an aunt, a neighbour, or a friend. But there is no trace. We had no choice but to come here when we saw the royal airship." 

The Eldest Princess got the gist of what was happening. A cultivator was kidnapping women from the Five Villages without leaving a trace. It was likely that it was a devil cultivator based on the fact that only women were being kidnapped. 

It was not uncommon for devil cultivators to use women as furnaces in their cultivation. However, there was also a major possibility that there could be something darker going on since there had been no dead bodies turning up. 

The Eldest Princess took out a talisman and burned it to create an isolated space for the three of them to talk without the villagers hearing. 

"What should we do, princes?" The Eldest Princess questioned her nephews. 

While she was an important member of the royal family, she was not in a position to make decisions. She was more of a figurehead, even though the Emperor allowed her to do whatever she wanted. If the young princes made the decision, her imperial brother would be happier. 

Huo Zhizhao looked at his stupid brother who looked confused and decided to get ahead by being decisive. When the Emperor learned of it, he would forget his prejudices and understand that he was the most qualified to be the crown prince.