strokinit Chapter 6 The Empress
Chapter 6 The Empress
"Ye Zhong is already on his way to aid Dingzhou."
"The people from the temple have also made their move. Presumably, Wu Zhu has been lured away by now."
"Fan Jianyuan is in Jiangnan, Chen Pingping is trapped in the north, and there is no one left in the capital to protect her."
A chilling smile appeared on Emperor Qing's face.
"Hahahaha, everything is great."
"Now, it's time for the Queen to make her appearance."
Kunning Palace.
The Empress was dressed in a bright yellow phoenix robe, but her face was deathly pale.
Her eyes were bloodshot, filled with insane jealousy and resentment.
"Ye Qingmei, Ye Qingmei!"
She seemed possessed, repeatedly chewing on the name, as if she wanted to tear it apart and devour it.
"What makes you so special! What makes you worthy of all His Majesty's favor!"
"How dare you, a sorceress of unknown origin, possess such immense wealth and power!"
"You stole everything from me! You deserve to die! You deserve to die!"
Her emotions were on the verge of collapse.
Just then, a trusted eunuch whispered a few words in her ear.
A terrifying light flashed in the Empress's eyes.
"Your Majesty, are you finally going to make your move?"
"Good! Good! Good!"
She burst into a maniacal laugh, a laugh that was both shrill and piercing.
"Ye Qingmei, your death is near!"
"I'll make you taste what it feels like to wish you were dead!"
"I will make you wail in the flames and turn you to ashes!"
She stood up abruptly, her eyes flashing with a bloodthirsty light.
"Guards! Follow me to the Taiping Villa!"
"I want to see with my own eyes how that vile woman is burned to death!"
Taiping Villa.
After Wu Zhu was led away by the temple's law enforcement elder, the atmosphere in the delivery room fell into a deathly silence once again.
Ye Qingmei held her two children tightly in her arms, her heart sinking to the bottom.
She knew that the real killing blow was only just beginning.
Suddenly, the sound of hurried footsteps and the clash of weapons came from outside.
Immediately afterwards, flames shot into the sky!
"Fire! Fire!"
Terrified screams echoed through the night sky.
Thick smoke began to pour into the delivery room through the gaps in the doors and windows.
The pungent smell of burning was so strong it made it hard to breathe.
"Cough cough,"
Ye Qingmei coughed violently, tears streaming down her face uncontrollably.
She knew that it was the Empress's people, or rather, the Emperor Qing's people, who set the fire!
They want to burn her and her child alive here!
"Tian'er, Xian'er,"
Ye Qingmei looked at the two children in her arms who were crying incessantly because of the thick smoke, and her heart was breaking.
She is not afraid of death.
But she couldn't let her child die with her!
"System! System! Is there any way to save my mother?!"
While still in swaddling clothes, Ye Tian screamed wildly in his heart.
He could feel the surrounding temperature rising rapidly, and the thick smoke becoming increasingly choking.
He could feel his mother's breathing growing weaker and weaker.
He wanted to rush out and fight those enemies to the death!
But he is just a newborn baby!
He possessed immense strength, yet he was unable to unleash it!
The God-Slaying Needles he had just accumulated were also used up in the previous battle against the temple messenger!
"Mother, Mother!"
Ye Tian let out a weak cry, his little hands futilely reaching for Ye Qingmei.
Powerless!
An unprecedented sense of powerlessness overwhelmed him like a tidal wave!
He watched helplessly as the fire grew larger and larger, and as thick smoke engulfed everything.
He could feel Ye Qingmei's life force rapidly fading away.
"I'm sorry, Tian'er, Xian'er,"
"Mother, I can't stay with you anymore, I've grown up."
With her last bit of strength, Ye Qingmei gently kissed the two children on the forehead.
Her eyes were filled with reluctance, despair, and also boundless love.
Finally, her arm fell limply to her side.
The fire mercilessly engulfed the entire Taiping Villa.
It also devoured that legendary woman of unparalleled beauty—Ye Qingmei.
Amidst the thick smoke, a figure stood silently, like a ghost.
Qin Ye.
The governor of Kyoto, a confidant of Emperor Qing, was coldly observing everything before him.
His task was to ensure that this "accident" would proceed without any mishaps.
Make sure that Ye Qingmei, and everything she represents, is completely destroyed in this fire.
The firelight illuminated his expressionless face, making him appear exceptionally cruel and cold.
Amidst the thick smoke and raging flames, Ye Tian felt his mother's life completely extinguished, his heart filled with endless grief and despair.
"Emperor Qing! Empress! Qin Ye!"
"I, Ye Tian, swear to the heavens! If I survive, I will tear you to pieces one day! I will pay for your blood debts!"
The childish screams echoed in the flames, but no one could hear them.
His consciousness gradually faded into darkness due to the thick smoke and high temperature.
·············
Just as Ye Tian's consciousness was about to be swallowed by darkness at the last moment.
That cold, mechanical voice, like the last straw in his desperate situation, rang in his mind once again!
[Ding! Host detected to be in critical condition, life force extremely weak!]
[A special guaranteed reward mechanism has been triggered, granting you an emergency sign-in opportunity!]
[Sign in now?]
"Sign in! Sign in!!"
Ye Tian used his last bit of strength to roar wildly in his heart!
This is his last chance!
[Ding! Emergency check-in successful!]
[Congratulations, host! You have received a reward: Fire Spirit Orb (Fragment)!]
Fire Spirit Orb!
A legendary artifact containing the essence of endless flames!
Although it is incomplete, at this moment, it is a life-saving treasure!
A surge of scorching yet pure energy instantly flowed into Ye Tian's small body.
The life that had almost come to a standstill due to the thick smoke and high temperature has miraculously begun to revive!
More importantly, with the integration of the Fire Spirit Orb, Ye Tian felt a strange connection between himself and the surrounding flames!
He seemed to be able to control the flames!
"Open it for me!"
Ye Tian roared inwardly!
Suddenly, the swaddling clothes wrapped around him spontaneously combusted without any fire and turned to ashes in an instant!
His small body, however, was completely unharmed under the flames, and instead emitted a faint red glow!
The body, tempered by the innate sacred body and the divine elephant's prison-suppressing power, displayed unimaginable strength at this moment!
At the same time, several eunuchs who were ordered by the Empress to "confirm" whether Ye Qingmei and her child were alive or dead also cautiously approached the center of the fire.
"Hahahaha, they're all burned to a crisp, aren't they?"
"Hmph, daring to oppose the Empress, this is what happens!"
While covering their mouths and noses with damp cloths, they used their spears to poke at the burning debris, trying to find the body.
Suddenly, one of the eunuchs felt something trip him up.
He looked down and saw a naked infant whose skin glowed with an eerie red light.
It was staring intently at him with a pair of cold, inhuman eyes!
"Ah! A ghost!"
The eunuch was so frightened that he let out a piercing scream, and the spear in his hand fell to the ground.
The other eunuchs looked over upon hearing the sound and were terrified by the bizarre scene before them!
How could there be a living baby in this fire?!
Moreover, his eyes were terrifying!
"Kill him! Kill him! He can't be allowed to live!"
One of the bolder eunuchs mustered his courage, raised his spear, and thrust it fiercely at Ye Tian!
A cold killing intent flashed in Ye Tian's eyes.
"court death!"
With a thought, the power of the Fire Spirit Orb was instantly unleashed!
"call--"
The surrounding flames seemed to come alive.
Suddenly, it transformed into a fierce fire serpent and pounced on the eunuchs with lightning speed!
"ah--!"
A heart-wrenching scream echoed through the night sky!
Those eunuchs didn't even have a chance to react before they were instantly engulfed by the raging flames!
Their bodies twisted and struggled in the flames, eventually turning into charred corpses!
Under Ye Tian's control, the flames precisely avoided him and the unconscious Fan Xian in his swaddling clothes, but burned those malicious enemies to ashes!
After dealing with those few scoundrels, Ye Tian immediately turned his attention to Fan Xian beside him.
He could sense that Fan Xian's aura was already very weak.
"Little brother, hang in there!"
Ye Tian stretched out his small hand and painstakingly transferred a wisp of the Fire Spirit Pearl's gentle energy into Fan Xian's body to protect his heart meridian.
Just then, a black figure rushed in from outside the fire like a ghost!
It's Wu Zhu!
He lured away the temple's law enforcement elders, but he was still worried and rushed back as fast as he could!
When he saw the ruins of Taiping Villa and the towering flames before him, his unchanging expression cracked for the first time!
"Miss!"
Wu Zhu let out a hoarse roar, wildly swinging the iron halberd in his hand, clearing away all the surrounding flames and ruins!
He saw Ye Qingmei lying in a pool of blood and flames, her bright eyes forever devoid of their luster.
Wu Zhu's body froze.
An indescribable sadness and violence emanated from him.
At that moment, the Empress, accompanied by a group of guards, arrived arrogantly near the fire.
When she saw the body, burned beyond recognition but still vaguely recognizable as Ye Qingmei's,
A sickly yet gleeful smile appeared on his face.
"Well done! Well done!"
"Ye Qingmei, you bitch, you're finally dead!"
However, her laughter had not yet subsided.
A black lightning bolt appeared before her!
It's Wu Zhu!
His eyes, covered by a black cloth, seemed to be radiating a palpable killing intent!
"It's you!"
Wu Zhu's voice was as cold as if it came from the deepest hell!
The Empress was so frightened by the terrifying murderous aura emanating from Wu Zhu that she turned pale, screamed, and retreated repeatedly.
"Protect the Emperor! Protect the Emperor!"
Her guards, though terrified, had no choice but to grit their teeth and rush forward.
"Pfft pfft pfft!"
The iron halberd in Wu Zhu's hand transformed into the scythe of death!
Every swing takes away several precious lives!
Those palace guards were no match for him, like clay chickens and earthen dogs!