The Emperor's Phoenix

Chapter 25 | Her Finding

刘  映 月

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Liu Ying Yue

"Hm?" Zhang Wei's onyx eyes slightly widened in realization. "Wife, can you hand me the lantern?"

She raised an eyebrow curiously and did as he requested, watching as he removed the lid of the lantern to expose the candlelight. Considering the shelves of books he read, it wasn't a surprise that her husband already had an idea of what to do. As he slowly slid the aged paper over the flickering flame, the true nature of the supposed blank scroll was revealed as lines of words slowly began to come forth. 

I'm surprised that the invisible ink has still lasted until now...

Their shoulders brushed together as the two leaned closer to the scroll with burning interest at what important information would present itself.

Reporting to Grand Master Bei: On the first day of winter during Emperor Kong's birthday banquet, a large army of soldiers charged into the palace. The hint of unrest has already presented itself for many years now among the realms, and many people have carried the belief of the Blood Realm's instability and lust for power.

They have reason to fear us. We are the strongest realm and have the capability of wiping out the others--yet it is ironic that they are the ones who turned on us and spared no mercy to our people.

Although we may be powerful, it comes at the same price as our lives.

It is undeniable that humans are naturally selfish. They constantly take what they want and immediately resort to violence when threatened. We are in a never-ending cycle of violence that no one will learn the true meaning of peace in the end.

I fear that the historical records of this inhumane massacre will be lost in the ashes, never to come to the surface for future generations to tread upon--however, I have already accepted this fact.

It is not long before they track me down. No matter what, there is one last thing I would like to request of you--Never reveal your 'seal technique' for the sake of the future. 

Last words of subject Prime Minister Pan.

Zhang Wei closed the scroll with a dark expression, a thick silence hanging over them as he observed the fading imperial seal of a red sparrow. The notice had an unbelievable quality, as the information went against everything they knew about the realms' history until now.

All the history books stated that the four realms came to be from four tribes...How could there possibly be a fifth--with such power too?...Not to mention, if what the deceased prime minister stated was true, how is it that no living person now has not even mentioned the event even once?

"Hold on...Who exactly is Grand Master 'Bei?' " He pondered out loud with a pensive expression as she glanced at him questioningly. "...He has the same surname as Ming Yu, but I don't think that physician told me anything about his family besides his parents..."

"It's a possibility." Her eyes widened momentarily at a sudden memory. "That reminds me...Lu Cang was looking for this red scroll when we first met. As I recall, it was the request of a prime minister."

...It's been a while since I last saw him off on his mission...To be honest, it's quite unusual that he isn't back by now...

"Judging by the darker burn marks near the edges, I assume the consort already found out what she needed," he sighed, leaning back in his chair thoughtfully, "...but besides the seal, how can we determine if the 'Blood Realm' actually existed? I don't know if Ming Yu will be any help, but I'll have to ask him tomorrow."