74 Gods

He wouldn't mind getting his hands dirty for her.

"Can't choose?"

A quarter of an hour later, the emperor's patience ran out, and the cold, iron-like blade was once again pressed against Ying Jianhua's skin.

He pretended to cup his hands in greeting, but actually gripped the tip of the jade hairpin hidden in his sleeve.

The arrow is on the bowstring; let's see who fires first.

"Your Majesty! I'm innocent! Please, Your Majesty, for the sake of the Fifth Prince... Yes, Xiao Ying, the Imperial Painter, said... said I'll be pregnant again... I don't want to die, Your Majesty!" Consort Li had already shed all her tears in silent repression and became desperate.

Her beautiful updo was slashed open by the blade, strands of hair scattering and falling to the ground. Her gracefully curved neck was bent into a twisted arc, stiff as a marionette.

Ying Jianhua couldn't bear to look away.

A prince? Given the emperor's cautious nature, he might not be willing to personally visit Consort Li. It's likely that Consort Li giving birth to a prince was also a means to lure a demon; she was using the child to fight for her life, which was tantamount to inviting a wolf into the house.

"Oh?" The emperor seemed convinced by her and asked with great interest, "Is that really what Director Ying said?"

Hearing his suddenly relaxed tone, Ying Jianhua's heart tightened.

Consort Li beamed with joy, thinking she had made the right bet. Just as she was about to thank the emperor and get up, she suddenly felt a warmth on her neck.

"Your Majesty..." She stared wide-eyed in terror, as if she had seen something terrible. However, she had forever lost the chance to tell the truth.

Her hair was disheveled, and her jade pendants jingled, but no one appreciated it.

Hu Dajian's scream caught in his throat, Grand Tutor Sun's face turned pale, and even Lady Hou unconsciously clenched her hands. The Emperor glanced at them with satisfaction, once again handing the choice to Ying Jianhua: "It's a pity, Consort Li is not a traitor. So, among the remaining people, who does Little Ying Jianhua think is the most suspicious?"

Who is the most suspicious? Who is possessed?

He silently pondered these two questions and quickly went through all the currently known clues.

The emperor wants to kill the demon and obtain its core, while the demon seeks revenge and approaches the dragon vein... Judging from the emperor's words and actions, the demon must have already appeared, and it is among the four, no, three people.

If he were a monster, who would he possess? In fact, given the current situation, possessing anyone wouldn't make a difference. The emperor's goal isn't to single out a traitor, but to wipe them all out, including his former friend's son; everyone who knows the truth must die.

As expected, before he could speak, the emperor designated the next suspect: "Hu the Grand Eunuch, raise your head and let me take a good look at you. I've almost forgotten what you look like."

"Your Majesty..." The blade of death was already close by, and Hu Dajian was in tears, his face full of despair, unable to move at all.

The emperor sighed: "Grand Eunuch, you have failed me."

As soon as he finished speaking, a cold glint flashed in the hand of the Imperial Guard, and another drop of warm blood splashed onto Ying Jian's screen. He could even smell the blood so close to his face.

This can't go on. He didn't care about Lady Hou's life or death, but Du Zhijin did; he couldn't let Lady Hou die here.

Grand Tutor Sun and Lady Hou were the only ones left present. Killing one person wouldn't take much time; he had to stall until Du Zhijin arrived.

"Grand Tutor Sun."

The roll call continued, and upon hearing that it wasn't Lady Hou, Ying Jianhua breathed a sigh of relief. He lowered his head slightly, as if unable to bear looking, and covered his face with his sleeve.

The emperor observed his actions, a strange excitement flickering across his face. It didn't matter if his close friends didn't understand; they would eventually pay the price.

Grand Tutor Sun pulled out a dagger hidden in his sleeve in an attempt to resist, but the dagger ended up stabbing himself.

He stared intently at the emperor before him, and with his last ounce of strength, he cursed, "A ruler who has brought about the downfall of his kingdom..."

The emperor ignored him, turning his gaze to the last person, making no attempt to conceal his ill intentions. In contrast, Lady Hou sat calmly beside Ying Jianhua, her expression serene.

"His Majesty."

Ying Jianhua suddenly spoke up, interrupting the falling executioner's blade. The emperor rolled his eyes at him, a forced smile on his face, and said, "Little Ying Jianhua, you've only just found the traitor? It's too late." "Your humble servant has a request."

Upon hearing this, the emperor suppressed his smile, as if he had seen through his scheme, and his eyes became deep and unfathomable: "Speak freely."

Ying Jianhua glanced at Lady Hou without changing her expression and said, "Consort Li once said that after giving birth to the Fifth Prince, she often couldn't sleep at night and dreamed of a... twin orchid."

"Your Majesty, I dare to ask if this matter is related to the ink orchid painting left by my father."

The room fell silent for a moment. The ten Imperial Guards all lowered their heads, but Ying Jianhua was the only one looking straight ahead.

The emperor let out a short, soft laugh.

He said, "You and your father are actually very similar. For example, you could pretend to be stupid and ignorant to save your lives, but you insist on getting to the bottom of things. Very well, then I will grant your wish, father and son."

After saying that, he flicked his sleeve, and the luminous pearl lit up again, illuminating the one-eyed blue dragon.

The Emperor said, “Humans suffer four kinds of pain: birth, old age, sickness, and death. But I am the Son of Heaven! My power extends throughout the land, I rule over the nine provinces, I am the master of the dragon veins, the ruler of the world. I was born extraordinary, how can I conform to the mundane world? But my father died of illness, he too was once the ruler of the world, why did he not have a peaceful end? And look at those lowly demons! Why can they live forever?! I am the one who deserves to live ten thousand years!”

The luminous pearl flickered on and off several times, causing the Azure Dragon's single eye to become dim and indistinct, like a ghostly phantom.

The emperor continued his eloquent speech: "...Fortunately, Heaven ultimately sided with me. After ascending the throne, I unintentionally obtained a pot of orchids left by the late emperor. That orchid was truly beautiful, its fragrance lingering. In a daze, I saw it transform into a person."

"Originally, I caught a cold, and the Imperial Hospital's treatment was ineffective. But the orchid fairy casually cast a spell, and my illness was cured. How strange! Such a small orchid fairy has such a great effect. I can't help but think, if I also had such a body, and a powerful demon core..."

"Sure enough, after consuming its demon core, I have become what I am now." After saying this, his figure appeared on the left and right at will, showing his true "immortal" nature.

He raised his hand, and eighty-one luminous pearls shone as brightly as day. With a wave of his hand, boundless darkness swallowed everyone up.

With a flick of the wrist, one can create clouds; with a reverse flick, one can create rain.

He burst into laughter: "From this day forward, I shall reside eternally in this palace, living as long as Heaven itself!"

Having seen the paintings of true immortals, Ying Jianhua felt that the current emperor was just a frog in a well.

Superficial, stupid, despicable, and pathetic.

He feared death and longed for immortality, yet he transformed himself into something neither human nor ghost. He built the city of Asia, where he saw no outsiders for three years, even allowing his subordinates to use torches for light. This precisely illustrates that while he proclaimed himself a "god," he knew in his heart that he was not even as good as the "demon" he despised.

He was just an ugly monster, neither human nor demon, and certainly not a so-called god.

Having grasped this point, one should understand that the painting now only held the emperor in contempt. Not receiving the expected kneeling and homage, the emperor grew displeased and intended to order the Imperial Guards to eliminate the two men, but then discovered...

Ten Imperial Guards were found lying on the ground, their bodies unaccounted for.

He stared at Ying Jianhua in disbelief, to which Ying Jianhua responded with a provocative laugh.

The sleeping potion in the hairpin was gone. This was a sleeping potion that had been improved several times. He was confident that he could take down not only ten mortals with some demonic power, but even a demon in the world.

In traditional Chinese stories, this tactic is called "the villain dies from talking too much."

"Who did you learn from? Your father? No, Ying Zimu knows nothing about painting except for calligraphy... You learned from your mother? Hahaha! Hahaha!" Seeing him suddenly burst into crazy laughter, Ying Jianhua frowned slightly, but dared not make any rash moves, for fear that he would fight to the death.

He wasn't worried about the ten fallen Imperial Guards; his only concern was the emperor before him, who had gone mad with greed.

Clearly, he has gone mad. Ying Jianhua decided to stay away from him to avoid catching his madness.

"Haha, cough! You don't know yet, do you? Poor child." After laughing, he put on the act of a kind elder, which was so fake that it was nauseating.

Ying Jianhua sneered. He wanted to hear what else the emperor could say.

Seemingly confident in what he was about to say, the emperor showed no anger at the fact that ten Imperial Guards had fainted. Instead, he remained calm and composed, his gaze softening with pity: "Ying Zimu, that is, your father. We were once close friends, so I told him everything about the demon core. But he said that all things have spirits... How laughable! A mere demon, worthy of being on equal footing with me? What's worse, he developed a grudge against me because of this and willingly resigned and returned to his hometown. Later, I heard that he married and had children..."

After a long pause, he deliberately stopped, trying to detect even the slightest fear or something else on Ying Jianhua's face. But he didn't; Ying Jianhua's expression remained unchanged, calm and undisturbed.

The emperor then said coldly with a stern face, "Do you know that your mother is a demon?"

Knowing his mother was a demon, and that he carried tainted blood, he must be in agony, right? Pain, hatred—the sins of the father must be visited upon the son; he will make Ying Zimu pay the price...

Just as he was indulging in his daydreams, Ying Jianhua had already roused Lady Hou, who had fainted from inhaling a sleeping potion, by pinching her awake.

His mother was just a demon; what was there to be so surprised about? Knowing he was no match for the two demons, he decided to let them fight like dogs.

If Du Zhijin can't bring himself to do it, then let him do it; he doesn't mind getting his hands dirty with blood for her.

"Didn't you want revenge?" He stared at "Madam Hou's" bloodshot eyes and said, "Go."

Lady Hou turned her neck, making a "crackling" sound. She leaped over the painting and pounced straight at the emperor, who was pretending to be insane. The two demons quickly began to wrestle.

He watched coldly, occasionally turning his head to avoid the splattering blood and foam.

Suddenly, he collapsed to the ground, frantically ruffling his hair. After a moment's hesitation, he reluctantly smeared a trail of blood on his face, albeit in a cleverly placed spot, adding to his fragile, delicate appearance.

Du Zhijin arrived with his sword in hand, just in time to meet his gaze.