As night fell, a massive, eerie blood moon hung low in the sky.
Inside the Liurong Temple, the air was thick with the flash of blades and the scent of blood; corpses lay strewn across the floor.
"Witch, pay with your life!" The intruder vaulted through the window.
"You... dare?" Xie Jiuli, sitting before her desk, pulled the trigger.
*Bang.* The bullet struck squarely between the attacker's eyes.
Uncle Li entered carrying a tray. Seeing the monk lying dead on the floor, he wore an expression of utter disdain. This was the thirteenth assassination attempt this month; the Tianji Hall was truly... persistent.
"Young Mistress, have some late-night refreshments."
At that exact moment, the sounds of fighting outside ceased abruptly. The entire Liurong Temple fell into a deathly silence.
"Take your pants off."
Lou Qi, who had just stepped over the threshold, froze in shock. Whose pants was Ninth Miss asking to have removed? Surely, at his advanced age, Uncle Li couldn't be...
The confusion on his face vanished in an instant, replaced by a racing heart and a flush of crimson. He felt as though this unexpected surprise had come too soon.
"Ninth... Ninth Miss... this... this isn't quite..." He stammered, head bowed in bashful hesitation, yet his hands had already moved to his belt.
Just as he loosened his sash, he heard Uncle Li’s cold, stern voice: "They were actually disguised as Wojing people."
Lou Qi jerked his head up. Uncle Rong had already pulled the pants off the corpse on the ground, revealing the triangular white cloth loincloth underneath.
He felt so embarrassed he wanted to crawl into a hole. Seizing the moment while no one was looking, he quickly retied his belt.
"Well... I... I'll go outside and investigate." Fearing he would be caught and humiliated, he beat a hasty retreat.
Xie Jiuli, dressed in a robe of fire-engine red, lifted her head slightly. Her hair cascaded like a waterfall, framing a face of peerless, stunning beauty. Her obsidian phoenix eyes remained utterly calm.
Uncle Li’s expression was grave. "Over the past few years, we have purged the hidden Wojing bandits from Suzhou. I never expected the Tianji Hall to collude with them just to settle some grudge in the martial arts world!"
A maid named Yutang hurried in. "Mistress, a secret message from the Capital: Princess Anyang has rebelled, and the Emperor has ordered her public beheading in three days."
"The Empress has also been cast into the Cold Palace and will be deposed within days."
*Clatter.* The bowl of refreshments on the desk shattered in mid-air.
Lou Qi returned at that moment. "Ninth Miss, I learned from the Abbot that this man’s dharma name is Jiyuan. He was invited by the leader of the Tianji Hall from the Tianlong Temple in the Capital several days ago to perform rituals. The Abbot had no idea the man was a Wojing person."
Only after he finished speaking did he realize the atmosphere in the room had shifted.
"There is no need for the Tianji Hall to continue existing," Xie Jiuli said, a flash of ferocity crossing her eyes.
Lou Qi clasped his fists. "I shall attend to it immediately."
***
"Prepare to depart for the Capital."
"Young Mistress..." Uncle Li hesitated. "The Tianlong Temple is the state temple of the Great Zhou. Whether we are investigating the Wojing bandits or the matter of Princess Anyang, we will inevitably clash with imperial power. Should we inform the young Prince? With Prince Beichen's Estate behind us..."
"There is no need."
Xie Jiuli's deep eyes were filled with ice. "Yutang, tell Siyao to split the female vanguard into small units and head to the Capital immediately."
Rebellion? *Ha!* She would let that dog of an Emperor know what a real rebellion looked like!
Yutang’s eyes lit up. "Understood, Mistress."
Uncle Li remained silent for a moment. Since his Young Mistress had decided to send those people into the Capital, his duty as an old servant was to follow her and protect her with his life.
"Young Mistress, the journey to the Capital is fraught with danger, and the enemy is hidden in the shadows. Let this old servant have the clan send some capable experts to enter the Capital in secret to assist."
"Go ahead."
Xie Jiuli’s expression softened slightly; she did not stop him.
She had transmigrated into this world five years ago. In these five years, she had only one goal: to eradicate the Wojing bandits. She was determined to wipe that tiny, despicable nation off the map of this world. Not only for the sake of the original owner of this body, but because, as a Chinese, she carried a deep-seated hatred for the Japanese in her marrow.
The original owner and Princess Anyang, Ji Jiuyue, were twins. But the imperial family viewed twins as an ill omen, so the original owner had been raised by her aunt, Divine Doctor Xue, in Phoenix Valley.
Five years ago, Wojing bandits suddenly began running rampant along the coast of Suzhou, burning, killing, and looting. They even breached Phoenix Valley, a place even outsiders could rarely track down. All one hundred and thirty people who cared for the original owner died by the bandits' blades, and her aunt disappeared without a trace.
She had arrived in this world at that very moment. For five years, she had not dared to rest for a second, constantly expanding her power, gathering capable individuals, and slaughtering the bandits.
In the original owner's memories, she had a very close and protective relationship with her twin sister. The original owner was healthy and sharp-witted, while her sister was the exact opposite. When the twins were born, the older sister arrived safely, but the younger had a difficult birth, leaving her constitution frail—she would cough up blood in the slightest breeze—and her intellect slightly impaired. She had to be sustained year-round with rare medicinal herbs and medicinal hot spring baths just to cling to life.
How could a princess with a mental deficiency and a body that could barely withstand a breeze commit treason? What would she even use to rebel? Furthermore, the Empress had no sons; what would be the point of rebelling?
The dog Emperor was either blind or deliberately malicious. Clearly, someone was framing them. Or perhaps... the dog Emperor wanted to use this opportunity to completely purge the Empress's faction!
Xie Jiuli’s phoenix eyes narrowed sharply. If he dared to execute the Empress, she would dare to slaughter the dragon!
"Ruyi, I need to reach the Capital tonight." The falcon-delivered secret message had already been delayed by two days, and tomorrow was the final deadline.
The system, Ruyi, which had been dormant for three years, stretched. [Ancestor, you drained and overdrawn me for two years. To help you kill those bandits, I’ve been constantly opening backdoors to provide you with all sorts of thermal weapons, and I even let out 411. I really don't have the capacity to...]
"You’ve been resting for three years. Whose system works two days and rests three, measured in years, no less?"
[Was that a rest? I was paralyzed from being drained and overdrawn by you! I only went into deep sleep because I had no choice!] Ruyi wanted to laugh in frustration.
"Since you're awake, hurry up and see if there’s a way." Suzhou was too far from the Capital; even with horses pushed to the limit, it would take at least seven days, and seven days was too long.
Ruyi: [...]
A moment later.
[Ancestor, I just checked. Although you have slaughtered countless Japanese over the past few years, after deducting the previous overdraft, the remaining points are not enough to open the transportation module.]
Xie Jiuli was just about to curse.
Ruyi’s voice sounded again: [But I can use the remaining points to teleport you to the Capital. However, it can only be used once, and your points will be reset to zero.]
Ruyi was a system she had customized for herself at the age of eight, before she transmigrated, back when her eldest brother had died in the line of duty in Nagoya. She had forced herself to grow up quickly, driven by her hatred for the Japanese. Therefore, the only way to earn points for the system—other than healing and saving lives—was to kill. Kill the Japanese. The more she killed, the more points she gained.
Xie Jiuli stopped dwelling on the past and asked, "What about an overdraft?"
[Ancestor... I just woke up from being overdrawn and haven't even caught my breath. If you force an overdraft again, it won't just be three years of paralysis; I might be completely scrapped.]
Xie Jiuli remained silent for two seconds. "Then reset the points to zero first—" wait until I catch my breath, then we'll overdraw.
***
In the Capital, the Imperial City Bureau’s dark prison.
Princess Anyang, Ji Jiuyue, hung suspended in the air, barely clinging to life. Her body was covered in whip lashes, her skin torn and flesh mangled.
"Little fool, didn't expect this, did you? You finally have your day."
"...Second Sister... Yuer hurts... No... don't hit... don't hit Yuer..."
The Second Princess sneered, "Seems you still don't hurt enough. A prisoner still dares to call this Princess 'Sister.' Keep hitting!"
The jailer’s whip lashed out again: *Snap... snap...*
"Ah... ah... Second Sister is a bad... person... you're a bad person... ah..."