CHAPTER ELEVEN

Disaster​

With great haste, I made for the courtyard where Ma Yili was hidden away. The air hung heavy with the acrid scent of smoke and ash, multicoloured alchemical fires raging unchecked in patches throughout the sect. Chaos reigned supreme in the outer court of the White Orchid, punctuated by the occasional subtle creak of metal or the distant sound of shifting rubble.

Disciples and elders alike raced about as they struggled to control the flames, thankfully too preoccupied to pay attention to my return. The Longma beneath me bounded across the rooftops of ruined pagodas and pavilions, and soon, my courtyard came into view.

It was a wreck

I could feel the anger boiling within me as I stumbled off the mystical steed and raced into the ruined compound. Spinning around for any signs of life, I found none. Blood splatters, claw-shorn grooves, and scorch marks marred the once beautiful facade that was the mountain-side residence. The corpses of my guards and one other fellow littered the cratered floor, and the air thrummed with an aura that sent cold shivers up my spine.

...Ma Yili, my cauldron—the key to my very survival—was missing.

"Foul thief," I heard myself growl, voice dripping venomous rage. "How dare they ... HOW DARE THEY!"

The audacity!

"Xiao!"

"Yes, My Prince?"

"Divine the identity of the fool that deemed it wise to steal from this prince," I snarled, my gaze panning to a corpse I quickly recognised as Head Librarian Jiao. Thoughts racing, I promptly determined the bastard was most likely the one who interfered with my quest to find Li Yifeng's inheritance. He and Feng Yu alike, it appeared. They lured me out with bait. Stole from me. Twice. The scheme grew larger in my mind, and the depths of my worries grew with it.

The guard beside me paused hesitantly. "I cannot, My Prince," the powerful cultivator replied, much to my rising dread. "I can feel the foul taint of Anupata in the air. The heavens disdained to look upon its presence and, hence, have no memory of all within it. There is nothing to divine, My Prince."

...Shit.

Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit.

Fucking shit!

"...Bring me that fool, Feng Yu, then."

Another guard brought the disciple before me, dumping him roughly at my feet. "Wake him up," I ordered.

The disciple's eyes sprung open as the guard who brought him smacked him across the face.

"Who sent you to me?" I asked. Feng Yu blinked, his face quickly swelling from the strike. The bastard swivelled his head around in what I assumed was an attempt at feigning confusion.

"What you are talking about, My Prin—"

"If he tries to lie to me again," I interrupted, not at all in the mood for games, "cripple him." The cultivator froze, his eyes widening in disbelief, then terror as the seriousness of the situation quickly became apparent to him. His gaze panned across the devastation surrounding us before settling on one of the corpses in the compound. His eyes widened, mirroring the terror I felt bubbling within me.

"...Is that Head Librarian Jiao?"

"Who sent you to me?" I asked again, a snarl leaking into my tone.

"Lin Jiao!" the coward sputtered. "The Head Librarian! He did! There was a phoenix-eyed woman with him. Very beautiful. She was the one who gave me my instructions! She paid me to report your activities to her directly! This was the talisman she gave me to communicate with her."

"Who was she?" I asked, snatching the pendant from him. I ran my chi through it, but of course, the device had been rendered inert. It was useless.

Shit!

"I don't know, My Prince!" Feng Yu whimpered as my guards inched closer towards him. "She had a cultivation that rivalled Lin Jiao and always wore a veil! Even if I could, I didn't dare peer through her disguise. All I knew was that Lin Jiao was very fond of her; I assumed she was his Dao companion."

"...Lin Jiao's Dao companion?"

"I believe so, My Prince. Please spare me!"

My hands clenched into fists, my nails digging into my palms as I struggled to contain the storm of emotions swirling within me. Anger coursed through my veins like poison, fueling the fire of my fury until it threatened to engulf me entirely.

I felt my eyes narrow into slits, my grip tightening until my knuckles creaked and turned white. My heart pulsed, pounding in my chest like a caged beast desperate for release. The carefully constructed facade of control I always wore had long shattered like glass, revealing raw, unbridled emotion simmering beneath the surface.

Then, suddenly, a cold realization settled over me like a suffocating blanket, snuffing the life out of my rage and in its place, giving birth to fear.

Ma Yili was missing...

Someone took her, most likely recognising her importance...

Her importance to my survival.

They knew about the inheritance ... they stole that as well.

They knew...

They knew!

...Once again, I felt truly vulnerable. Exposed to forces beyond my control, I caught myself pacing like an antsy beast, every fibre of my being writhing in indecision. A feeling of vulnerability overwhelmed me.

"This bitch..."

Was she... like me?

The moment the thought crossed my mind it took root like a malignant weed.

...Another transmigrator would prove disastrous to my plans. More so if they were inclined to actively sabotage and undermine my efforts. I knew at that moment I had to find and destroy this person or risk being destroyed myself.

Who were they? I wondered. What kind of transmigration brought them here? What sort of person were they before they arrived? What sort of person are they now? What did they want? Did they read the original novel? Did they read a fanfiction of the original novel? Or is my existence just another novel they stumbled upon in the real world and now intend to exploit at my expense just as I did Dai Wei and Li Shen?

It was with great effort I reined in my spiralling thoughts and stamped down the feeling of existential crisis blooming in my chest. I schooled my expression as I turned my attention to Feng Yu.

Regardless, first things first. It was time for damage control.

Step one: trimming off all loose ends.

"Kill him."

One of my guard's blades rose

"Prince Na!" Only to hang frozen in the air as a voice called from behind me. "Please wait!"

I felt an intent far superior to mine settle over my spirit like a curse. Compelled by the command phrased as a request, I found myself pausing. To my great horror, it seemed even my guards were not exempt from this, magically frozen and unable to carry out my instructions.

Such monstrous power!

I slowly turned around to face the speaker. Clad in flowing robes of pristine white silk that billowed gently in the breeze, the newcomer's stature was tall and imposing, his movements light and agile. Upon his back laid a sheathed sword, its hilt adorned with intricate carvings of flower petals. The weapon gleamed with an otherworldly radiance, seemingly forged from the finest celestial bronze and tempered in the fires of ancient alchemy.

"Who are you?" I hissed, uneased by the man's presence.

"This one is Daoist Yu Xiang of the White Orchid," the elder said, "Honoured Swordsman and creator of the Serene Petal Sword Art. May I have a word, Your Highness?"

...Creator of the Serene Petal Sword Art? Yu Xiang?

"You are the Sect Master," I intoned, looking at the silver-haired, seemingly thirty-something-year-old man with fresh eyes.

The monster chuckled lightly. "This one is grateful for His Highness's recognition."

I tilted my head as I regarded the sect master. "Please do not even suggest this prince spares the fellow who connived with one of your elders to steal from me and murder two of my treasured guards," I warned, not at all deterred by his identity. Previously, my response might have come across as a faux pas, but given the debacle that came of Feng Yu's and Lin Jiao's foolishness, the sect master had inevitably been forced into a disadvantageous position. Of course, it was the Emperor and the other sect masters that stood to gain the most from this, but even I knew a few ways to turn this disaster to my advantage.

"I wouldn't dare, My Prince," the sect master said with an easy smile. "This one was just hoping you would grant him the boon of dispatching the traitor himself. Matters like this must be handled internally, lest the emperor doubt the sect's loyalty."

I stared at the sect master for a long moment before nodding my head.

"Go ahead."

Feng Yu's head slid off his shoulders without warning. The sect master remained where he stood and his sword didn't appear to have left its scabbard. "This is one is in your debt, Your Highness," Yu Xiang said.

I stared at the sect master for a moment, surprised by the display, before promptly composing myself. "Who was the woman that colluded with Lin Jiao to steal from me?" I asked, unsure if the inquiry would bear any fruit.

"Her name is Wu Jingmei," Yu Xiang replied much to my surprise. "She was Li Yifeng's core disciple. It seemed she returned a few days before you arrived at the sect. She left again shortly before her master's cultivation advancement was concluded and only returned a few days later. I was told she informed the other elders that Li Yifeng succeeded and would soon emerge from seclusion. That was a lie. Li Yifeng failed to advance and someone extracted the Anupata from his corpse within the privacy of his Heavenly Grotto. Given the state Elder Qingfeng was in when I eventually emerged to dispatch him, I assume Wu Jingmei was also the one responsible for his unnatural transformation. Again, I apologise, My Prince for the ugliness we have shown you, after so graciously allowing us your presence. I have informed the emperor that I will personally see to it that this traitor is brought to justice."

I had long stopped listening to the sect master's insincere and possibly recorded apology. My mind was instead focused on one name.

"Wu Jingmei..."