The cold blow of the wind sends chills to everyone's spine. The snow is falling down, an indication that the winter season has officially started. It almost seems that the weather just waited for his majesty's last breath before it decided to make the people feel its extreme cold.
Although it's getting chilly, it doesn't bother Xu Zhenging at all. He's still staring at Emperor Yin Wenyan's empty container that's starting to lose its remaining warmth. The usual gentle face of his majesty remained even until the end of his last moments. In fact, he just looks like he's just sleeping soundly.
However, Xu Zhengming refuses to give in and is still holding on to the little bit of hope he has. He leads his head on his majesty's heavily wounded chest, hoping for at least a weak heartbeat. He listens attentively, waited for a little while but he heard nothing.
He's really gone... Leaving his regrets and unfulfilled dreams behind.
Of all times, why does he have to leave now? Now that Xu Zhengming is in a state of confusion? He still wants to ask him a lot of questions. He still wants him to help him clarify things to him. He still wants to hear what he has to say.
Tears created another path of streams flowing from his eyes. He doesn't understand why it hurts so much. He's aware that he's always afraid of being left behind but he never shed a tear except for that time when his mother left the mortal realm to reunite with her husband in the Underworld.
He sobs quietly, grieving silently over the greatest downfall of his majesty the emperor. Does Emperor Yin Wenyan actually manage to colonize a huge part of Xu Zhengming?
How should he say the unfortunate news to Princess Yin Xiulan and Yin Renshu? Or should he tell them right now? They're fighting the villainess, the empress dowager to death. And he knows they don't have it easy since her highness also has a vicious corpse, Eunuch Ye by her side. He's afraid he might distract them and get them killed. He can't afford to grieve over another death anymore.
Xu Zhengming never felt so useless as he is right now. Yes, he admits that most of the time, he's just fooling around. He doesn't really take things seriously, and that reflects his past romantic relationships with different women. He even took his palace duties lightly. There are times he doesn't bother to do the formalities even towards his majesty. He just sucks at serving the emperor.
Truth to be told, he doesn't know why neither of the two emperors dismissed him from his job. All he cared about were his good looks and himself. The only thing he's good at is giving love advice, hitting on women, praising himself through his literary works... but what good can those do in this situation?
But now, his uselessness hits him differently. He can't even do anything to help Emperor Yin Wenyan, his old friend and first fan.
Meanwhile, Princess Yin Xiulan unintentionally took a glance in Xu Zhengming's direction. He's leaning his head to her brother and his shoulders sometimes lift caused by sobbing. In an instant, she felt like her blood drained from her body. She has an idea of what's going on on their side but she really hopes that she only got it wrong.
Eunuch Ye extended his arms towards the princess. Five sharp fingernails almost marked her face. Luckily, she managed to hop backward in time, dodging the attack. Because of her sudden move, the warm liquid that formed on her pair of phoenix eyes escaped. Now that she can't hold on to her tears, she starts to break down.
On the other hand, Yin Renshu saw in his peripheral vision that Princess Yin Xiulan is becoming emotionally unstable again. The last time she's like this was when they got betrayed in the woods and were forced to leave the late Lieutenant General Liu behind. Whenever she's driven by her emotions, her actions are very predictable which puts her at a disadvantage.
"Xiulan!"
Yin Renshu calls out while blocking the series of attacks that the empress dowager makes. She's been fighting in a death battle for some time now. It makes sense that her moves are not as forceful and fast as earlier. She's nearing her limit as well.
"Don't let your emotions dominate you! Think logically!" If this continues, she might get killed this time around.
"Renshu, Wenyan is..." She sniffs harshly, trying to swallow her sobs.
The princess could barely keep up with Eunuch Ye. Her knees are slightly trembling and her right hand almost seems to lose strength that she couldn't hold her fan properly. She's too distracted by the fact that their brother is no longer with them.
"Wenyan is dead!" She yells with her voice cracked. Pain is evident in her voice.
Her highness the first princess actually sees this coming. She knows Yin Wenyan is dying but what upsets her the most is that she wasn't on her brother's side during his final moments. She isn't certain anymore if she paid too much time dealing with the enemy or it's just Yin Wenyan dying sooner than she expected.
Whatever it is, she can't deny the fact that she didn't hear his last words. This negligence will be her lifetime regret.
Yin Renshu paused. He feels like a pail of ice-cold water is poured onto his head. He can't imagine what it's like living knowing that the leader of the pack is dead. All his life, the ones who are always with him are his siblings, and it was always Yin Wenyan who served as their eldest. He's always there to advise what Yin Renshu and Princess Yin Xiulan should do since their earliest memories. Now that he's gone, there will be no one guiding them from now on.
He gritted his teeth. Although they have a dispute, he is still angered by his death.
Princess Yin Xiulan and Xu Zhengming are grieving, Yin Renshu is drowning in his resentment. On the other hand, the empress dowager let out a laugh of victory. Fatigue is evident in her physical appearance but the expression on her face shows how pleased she is.
Proud, she exclaims, "Of course he is! This weapon of mine is not to be underestimated."
"Empress Dowager!" This is the first time that Yin Renshu raised his tone towards any of the empresses of this empire. Not even as the emperor. Why would he bother himself with formalities when this woman does not deserve any form of respect. His pair of phoenix eyes express anger, staring straight at the empress dowager. "You're going to pay for this!"
"I don't mind dying here and now." The empress dowager just responded with a chuckle. Guilt and regrets aren't showing in her eyes. In fact, she looks more like quite happy about what happened. "However, I won't give in to you easily."
"Then die, you evil woman!" Princess Yin Xiulan shouted in a distance. She levitates herself to the air. Now, she's out of the vicious eunuch's reach.
She concentrated the flow of her spiritual energy towards her palms. She made several hand seals that she's never done before. From the looks of it, Princess Yin Xiulan is going all out. She's planning the greatest spell that she knows. She's actually very much aware that casting this spell will consume a great amount of her spiritual energy.
With her current condition, she'll most probably lose her consciousness after the incantation. On the bright side, there's only a small chance that her spiritual core will break because of what she's attempting to do. However, the chances are never down to zero. In fact, there's only a small chance that she'll be able to recover her full potential.
The spell she's about to do is the strongest one she can execute. In other words, this is her last resort. To cast such a strong blow, of course, the cost it would take is not to be underestimated.
Yin Renshu knows what she's about to do and already has a premonition about the next moments that are about to happen. He immediately retreated, landed on the ground near Xu Zhengming. Without any warning, he pulled him up.
"We need to go as far as we can from here! Now!"
He then picks up his brother's body in his arms and yells to Xu Zhengming. "Let's go! Hurry!"
Even though Xu Zhengming doesn't know why exactly they have to run away, he still followed Yin Renshu and sprints away from the area.
The strong pressure of the chilly wind gets harsher as the moment passes by, an indication that it already started. Yin Renshu thought this is bad. They are not far enough. This is why he told Princess Yin Xiulan not to let her emotions dominate her and think logically instead. She's literally making a calamity without thinking about her comrades that are still inside the imperial palace!
With his long red bridal robes, Xu Zhengmiing is having a hard time running. Plus, the clothes he's wearing are heavier than it's supposed to be since he got soaked in the water earlier. His legs are unusually weak now as well due to too much trembling. The strong blow of the wind is a factor as too.
Of course, Yin Renshu noticed it. "Xu Zhengming, hop on my back."
However, Xu Zhengming shakes his head, refusing to take the helping hand. He wipes his wet eyes with his arm and puts on his brave expression. None of the people here in the imperial palace saw him wear that kind of face. "But it would slow you down. Please go ahead. Don't let me drag you down."
Xu Zhengming may be a little smaller than any other man of his age but it doesn't mean that he's lightweight. He's a big eater after all. Despite the truth about his diet, he still maintained a good body shape. But then again, he isn't as light as he seems to be.
"What are you talking about? This isn't the time for self-sacrifice. Hop on!" Yin Renshu insisted.
"..." As his former servant, Xu Zhengming hasn't gotten rid of his habit of not making the bad-tempered emperor more upset than he currently is. He ignored his conscience and did as Yin Renshu instructed.
Without them stopping from running, Xu Zhengming managed to hop on Yin Renshu's back and put his arms on his shoulders, and his legs around the other's waist.
Xu Zhengming isn't wrong. They really slowed down somehow. Little did he know, Yin Renshu is already making an incantation. Just as Xu Zhengming was about to protest, Yin Renshu leaps on something.
"Hold on tight." Xu Zhengming heard him say before he noticed that they are getting farther from the ground. Only by then did Xu Zhengming find out that the thing that Yin Renshu hopped onto was his holy weapon, his long sword.
As far as he could remember, the last time that he's riding a flying sword is when he's with Yin Wenyan. It was chaotic at first but he managed to calm down somehow in the middle of their long journey.
"You're afraid of heights aren't you?" Yin Renshu's voice this time is low and soothing. Also, a hint of worry is evident in his tone. "Just close your eyes. Trust me. I won't let you fall."
Instead of closing his eyes as Yin Renshu told him to, Xu Zhengming's eyes open wide. His majesty also said the same words as he is uttering right now. He's very sure that it was Yin Wenyan who told him that because he's very gentle and smiley towards him, the fluffy one. He couldn't possibly get it wrong. He's pretty sure of it.
Xu Zhengming shakes his head. Why is he remembering it now? The memory only made him feel even sadder over his old friend's death.
"Even if you fall, I'll catch you before you'll reach the ground."
This last statement made Xu Zhengming gasp quietly. Yin Wenyan also told him that. He gritted his teeth and tightly closes his eyes. He then buried his face on Yin Renshu's shoulder. Why does it seem like everything reminds him of the late Emperor Yin Wenyan?!
Just as they arrived on the top of the tall palace walls, a tornado is already forming in the imperial garden. At first, it's not that big yet it's already destructive. However, as time passes, the tornado starts to get bigger and more devastating. It has begun to destroy the imperial garden at first, then the nearby buildings. Although all the structures in the palace complex are made of wood, they are well-built and could withstand a couple of strong earthquakes. Even so, the tornado that the princess just created wrecks it all.
It's not very obvious at first but the longer one observes it, a very important detail will be seen. The tornado itself is like a huge wind blade that has a spiral form. Any object that will have the slightest contact on it will be destroyed. Some of the vicious bloodthirsty monsters were sucked towards it, causing their bodies to turn into shreds. The blood of those poor victims made the tornado red in color.
Princess Yin Xiulan totally lost her rationality and morality towards human life. It doesn't seem like she's planning to stop this turbulence sooner or later. If this continues, the entire imperial palace will turn into a site of ruins. More or less a hundred years of legacy and rich history will be destroyed in one night.
Now that Yin Renshu thinks about it, he thinks that the imperial palace really needs to make a complete change. The dark past and its hideous history shall be eradicated and replaced with new and rightful ones.
Yin Renshu landed on the top of the palace walls. He let Xu Zhengming down and carefully lay his brother's corpse on the same ground. He took a deep breath and concentrated his spiritual energy. Yin Renshu then did make a hand seal and an array appeared in front of him. With another hand seal executed, a huge flame got out of the spiritual array. It extended towards the tornado.
The whirlwind, just as what Yin Renshu is anticipating, adapted the fire element. The tornado of sharp wind blades slowly turns into a burning cyclone, causing fire everywhere. The flames consumed all it could.
On the other hand, Wang Jujnjie and Zhao Yangguang are almost freaking out when they saw the huge tornado just earlier, and now, it has turned into a burning whirlwind!
Just like what Yin Renshu thought, Wang Junjie has a bad premonition. Even them, think it would be better to evacuate as soon as possible. He hurried to Sect Leader Zhao's direction, asked him to lower his barrier, and carried him away from the place. "Your disciples are crazy."
"Hey, they are your disciples too! Don't make it sound like it's all my fault!" The sect leader defended himself. "In fact, I am not the one responsible for teaching them regarding spiritual energies. I only thought them some martial arts and the trick for making barriers. As far as I could remember, It's you who taught them about their spiritual powers."