NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 363 - Empress of Jade Dominion
363 Chapter 363 - Empress of Jade Dominion
"Soon, we will leave for the main city. Is there something you want to tell me, Lady XiuYing?" Ryuk, with everyone already prepared to leave, entered a room where a woman was seated in a lotus position at the center, her hand holding an artifact as she tried to channel internal energy through her body.
"...How do you know? Even being a Devereaux, don't tell me that man told you about me?" As the woman's eyes opened one after the other, her malnourished body and weakened physique became evident, with dark circles beneath her eyes. She looked toward the young man, whose bone age hardly seemed to be 18, making it confusing how he was aware of her true identity.
"Which man?" Ryuk inquired curiously as the space within the room was filled with a dense amount of internal energy.
Given the concentration, it was clearly creating an atmosphere most suitable for cultivation. However, it was not feasible and would yield more wastage, considering the need to fulfill the atmosphere nearby with a large number of internal energy sources.
"The one who gave you that suit." Fenghuang narrowed her gaze, observing the black suit, which she had prohibited everyone from wearing in the Jade Dominion due to an ugly memory of an arrogant man who had dared to challenge her authority several years ago.
She even remembered the small embroidery details of his clothes, considering it was the first time she had faced defeat at the hands of someone, getting killed and then needing to become strong again from scratch.
After all, this defeat taught her that if she lost her powers, regaining them would take centuries, prompting her to create an energy source for herself, which she kept in the basement under her throne. She hoped that whenever she lost her strength, she could easily regain it by simply retrieving it from there.
And this was her aim as well, at present.
"I see." Ryuk just nodded, observing her body language. The calmness and glint in her eyes, even though dull, gave him all the answers he needed.
Before arriving in the Jade Dominion, he had been informed by Devereaux members that the Empress of the Jade Dominion had prohibited others from wearing the black suit. Now, seeing how she mentioned the real owner of these clothes, which naturally belonged to his father, he understood that there was enmity between her and his father—enough for her to even hate the clothes he wore.
So, he found it unprofitable to tell her that it belonged to his father. Instead, he added, "Just an enemy whom I defeated."
"...You wear the clothes of people whom you defeat?" Fenghuang was keenly suspicious, having already seen how strong he was, but she was well aware that defeating that man was another matter entirely.
However, the way he mentioned it with a clear, nonchalant demeanor made her believe he was telling the truth, and maybe he had really defeated him.
"Don't tell me that even the Empress of the Jade Dominion cannot see that it's an artifact," Ryuk stated while standing with his hands in his pockets, observing her reaction to his words. He thought about how it appeared that there was an opportunity for him to gather more information.
He might get a few clues about that man from Fenghuang, who may have met him. But, given her eyes, he understood that asking her would only embitter their relationship.
Naturally, since earlier she had been moving toward the capital city, it was clear that she was trying to get her body back.
So, it was possible for him to help her and gain her loyalty.
But there was also the possibility that, considering how desperate she was while clearly not cautious enough to hide her identity from him by rejecting the fact that she is an Empress, it was clear that she was confident that once they reached the capital city, she would be able to regain her strength.
This confidence made Ryuk suspicious of the fact that maybe it was not only about getting her body back but also regaining her strength.
So, if she had really, just as she could separate her soul from her body, stored her internal energy somewhere in a form that could be consumed, wouldn't it be profitable for him if he could get his hands on it?
Of course, it was just his hypothesis based on her behavior.
Still, if that were indeed the case, then he would simply claim that energy for himself. If he found that he could not confirm her loyalty, he would enslave her and choose that path.
"...Yes, it seems you are correct," Fenghuang nodded as she placed her hand on the floor and slowly tried to stand, prompting Ryuk to come forward before offering his hand to help her. Holding her by the shoulder, he assisted her in standing up. "I can stand myself; you don't need to help."
"You are too slow to stand. I was just trying not to get delayed," Ryuk stated nonchalantly, his eyes meeting her dull ones through the mask space.
Not only that, but a few hours ago, after she had sensed a battle going on in the nearby area, she tried to see what was happening there, only to find him defeating a woman.
Afterwards, he gave a strange order to his subordinates.
At that time, he had said = // There is a family called the Wei family in the upper town. Except for those jokers following me around the Phoenix Order, kill everyone in that family, including the children. //
After listening to how he had specifically mentioned killing the children, she thought he was cruel without a hint of mercy, but now?
"Not more than a woman who can give birth to herself," he said, trying to lighten the mood while giving a smile, seeing her blank yet confused reaction. He recalled how she had tried to do surveillance on him, observing what he was doing a few hours ago.
This prompted him to intentionally give that member of the Devereaux family such a strange order, which portrayed him as evil and, at the same time, foolish to mention such unnecessary detail about killing children.
After all, this woman had lived for more than 13,000 years, and given how many people she had witnessed in her life, he wanted to make her confused—confused enough to not see through him, not only in terms of power levels but also personality-wise.
To make someone with so many years of experience grow closer, he needed to first make her confused, then curious, and finally loyal—a simple way to tame a wild phoenix, maybe.
And as expected, he got a blank reaction from her, as if she didn't get his joke and only found it confusing.
"Let's leave, and while on the way, tell me about the layout of the capital city," Ryuk inquired, clearly wanting to give her clarification for his gesture to help her.
"So, you helped to know this," Fenghuang said, as Ryuk retreated, leaving only his hand holding hers. He could feel bones and wrinkled skin clearly near her palms, while she realized that he just wanted to get some information from her.
"Indeed, so how about we start with the Empress's throne room?" Ryuk nodded, exiting the room.
In his previous life, being an emperor himself, he always kept his weapon near his throne, mostly in some secret space built into it or some basement kind of thing.
So naturally, putting himself in her place as Empress, he just casually inquired, not expecting any reaction, but the flinch in her body gave away all that Ryuk needed.
'!'
'N-no, how did he...' For a moment, Fenghuang halted in her path, her eyes turning to invisible surprise before composing herself.
Considering her hair strands all over her face, her expression was not that visible, but soon enough, as her eyes met his amused ones, she realized—he just made a guess, and she confirmed it.
And the only thought resonating through her mind was, 'He is dangerous.'