Chapter 240: Returning Home
The shadow known as Song Jie instantly left Wan Qiao’s side rushing towards the barracks where the guards were living. After what seemed to be but a few moments, the shadow returned to Wan Qiao side, in his hand was another man who seemed greatly confused.
Looking around the man soon noticed Wan Qiao and although the guard was still confused he instantly fell to his knees, bowing deeply in front of the woman that looked at him with curious eyes. She nodded her head and finally started to speak. “Guard, I have a very special job for you.” She motioned with a gesture as she offered the man to enter her private chambers. The young man did not hesitate even the slightest amount following behind.
“I have a human living in the castle as you most likely are aware. I need her to be moved to the borders of the Siban Empire, but I am not able to make this trip anytime soon. I’m going to give this task to you,” Wan Qiao said her words confusing the guard even further. Although he knew that a human was currently living within the castle, he had never expected that the Queen of Shenyuan was interested in assisting this human. However, this young man knew better than to ask questions, and instead he nodded his head, his lips sealed tight.
“Tomorrow morning is when you leave. Go tell her to be ready by then.” Wan Qiao said with a casual voice as she once more turned towards the stack of papers on her desk; however, just before she submerged herself in working on these papers, she stopped, and her voice became frosty, “I need this woman to safely reach the border of the Siban Empire. If she dies before then, I will personally make sure that you follow her within moments,” Wan Qiao warned before the cold chill vanished, and the guard instantly scrambled to his feet and rushed out from the room.
Without looking at the guard who was escaping from her, Wan Qiao sat down to once more to finish of the papers that she had to deliver to Hui Yue. Her eyes focused on the papers in front of her as a deep sigh could be heard; nothing else could be sensed from within the room. The three shadows from before seemed to have completely vanished.
While Wan Qiao focused on finishing her papers, the guard rushed to Li Meilin’s room where he knocked on the door.
“Enter,” The woman called, but she did not turn around. Having her back facing the door, she kept packing one document after another, and although she heard the door open she did not speed up nor did she become fluttered. Instead, she spent the entire time packing what she had been using during the time she was living in Shenyuan.
“I am here to help you leave this place,” The beast said with a neutral voice and Li Meilin nodded her head. Her heart was beating in her chest as she once more contemplated whether or not it was worth it to follow this guard. If she was lucky she would end up in Siban again, if she was unlucky she would end somewhere in the forest where her bones would be gnawed upon by small monsters.
Closing her eyes and steadying her breathing for some time, she nodded her head in approval on hearing what the guard said. Her eyes slowly opened, and they were filled with a bone-chilling cold glare. As she looked out the window, her hands tightened into fists. She was an Emperor; if they wanted her to die then she would make sure that they paid a high price. However, if they were truly helping her return home, then Li Meilin was willing to take that chance.
“I guess he won’t come back to visit me,” Li Meilin mumbled to herself as she looked at the door. The guard who appeared before decided to stand watch outside her door and Li Meilin felt like a prisoner as she considered whether or not Hui Yue would come back to say goodbye. As soon as she thought about it, she shook her head in a mocking way. She Mocked herself for thinking such a naive thought. It was obvious that Hui Yue did not like her, and according to what he said before, the only reason he was helping her was so she could tell the Taiyang Kingdom about the danger. He never said that he would spend more time on her than that.
The day went by quickly while Hui Yue was seated in his room constantly cultivating. He had previously reached the peak nine-star Duke rank, and he wished to push through final hurdle. He wanted to become a King before it was time for him to participate in the war. Although he knew that his strength was not what mattered, he could not help but feel as though he needed strength. He needed to be able to protect himself, and he needed strength to do so.
Having planned for a guard to escort Li Meilin, Hui Yue no longer paid any attention to her, however he was excited to see what would happen with the Siban and Taiyang empires. Whether or not they would truly start to protect themselves, something which he needed to go further with his war.
Sighing deeply, a glance out his window allowed for him to see the massive horde of guards who were settled outside the city wall, and he wondered if they would listen to him.
While Hui Yue was busy studying the many people outside, a black shadow slowly made its way inside his room where it disappeared in the ceiling. No aura could be felt just as nothing could be seen. The moment the shadow entered the room, it seemed as though he had flown right through the door itself without opening it and vanished into the ceiling the exact same way.
As the day drew to a close, the woman, Li Meilin, was seated in her room. Her heart was beating steadily. Her eyes were closed as her head was resting in her palms, and her elbows resting on her knees. This was her last night in the capital of Shenyuan. Whether or not her life would be forfeit, she did not know but she would do anything in her power to return to the Siban Empire.
*Knock* *Knock*
Hearing the knocking sound on her door, Li Meilin was dragged from her thoughts, and she instantly stood up. Looking around the room, she was slightly nostalgic. The room was now completely empty of everything, and no one could tell that someone had been living here for as long as Li Meilin had. Although it was slightly nostalgic, the room also felt like a prison cell because it was somewhere she had been forced to stay when she would much rather be somewhere else.
In the courtyard the guard was waiting for her, however this time, he did not wear a guard’s outfit, nor did he look like a humanoid beast any longer. He was a massive eagle, expanding at least seven meters long with the wings spread out. His height well above two meters.
His proud eyes were filled with displeasure, and unfortunately, this displeasure was impossible to get rid of. The proud eagle allowed for the woman to climb onto his back, tugging tightly on the feathers around his neck and with a screech of displeasure, the eagle took to the sky as he quickly vanished into the distance. The direction leading towards the Siban Empire.
The wind in Li Meilin’s face was crisp and fairly cold. Beneath the eagle was the vast jungle. The jungle which had taken over this entire section of the continent, and far, far off in the distance Li Meilin could see the tall mountain ranges which surrounded every single kingdom on the continent.
Seated on an Emperor beast, Li Meilin was astonished to see how fast it flew. The jungle beneath had turned into a blur of green, and screech after screech sounded out, clearly showing how the eagle felt about the whole situation. Although he felt that it was undignifying, the eagle would in no way go against the will of the Queen of Shenyuan. The fastest way to get it over and done with was to rush to the borders of Siban and drop off the woman then head back home and pretend that this never happened. Acting as a this was nothing more than a stain on his past. As a magical beast with a consciousness being used as a mount was something which seriously put a dent on their dignity.
The eagle did not rest at night, instead it kept flying and soon two days had passed. Two days where the distant mountain range got closer and closer, and the screeches fewer and fewer as the bird slowly came to understand what was occurring.
Li Meilin had been on high alert ever since she got onto the back of the eagle. At first, she had been incredibly worried. Every bit of turbulence or wind which was stronger than before made her terrified that the eagle was intentionally going to make her death seem like an accident; however, no matter how much the eagle swung in the incoming winds, never once was she close to falling to the ground.
Knowing this, Li Meilin felt a little ashamed of herself because she knew that she did not trust the beasts. She was also well aware that these beasts most likely had their own agenda, something which she had no way of knowing.
Sighing deeply, she paid no more heed to the plans made by the beasts, and instead her eyes shone with happiness as she saw how the cliff wall was right in front of her. She tugged harder on the feathers as the bird shot into the air, flying directly upwards aiming to get over the mountain range. During these two days the two, human and beast, had not spoken at all since the eagle had taken flight, and the woman could not think of anything to talk with the beast about.
Flying past the mountain range, happiness shone in the eagle’s eyes as he landed on the ground. He didn’t wait a moment as he immediately shook his entire body, making the emperor on his back drop to the ground. With a final screech, the eagle once more took to the skies and vanished in the distance.
Watching the beast depart, Li Meilin felt that everything was surreal. She expected that the chance of her surviving was less than twenty percent, yet here she was, standing on the edge of the Siban Empire without even the slightest scratch.
With one last glance at the mountain range, Li Meilin bowed deeply to the jungle behind the forest in respect to the beasts who helped her return home and allowed for her to survive. Standing like this for a few seconds, Li Meilin turned around, and while trusting her own legs, she stomped hard on the ground propelling herself forward. Without another glance behind her, the Emperor rushed as quickly as she could back to the capital. She had a lot of information which she needed to share with the Emperor and the Taiyang Kingdom. Even if this was a trap set by the beasts, Li Meilin was willing to follow their plan as long as it allowed for her to evacuate citizens and prepare the army.