Phoenix Palace

I refined eleven pills in total that evening. Sky Ranked Pills! I placed them all in jade bottles, storing them in my conscious. Then I called Hhamir and Thanos to accompany me to the Phoenix Palace. Ao-ye was busy interrogating the head eunuch.

Thanos looked at me excitedly. He'd realized who I was, but that didn't do anything to our friendship. I'd asked Ao-ye to train Thanos personally, and all the other guards almost spit out blood.

"We're going to the Phoenix Palace?" Thanos asked excitedly, as he and Hhamir fell into step behind me, "to see the Emperor?"

"I thought part of Ao-ye's training was that you should be taciturn?" I said unkindly.

A palanquin was waiting at the entrance of Tranquility Palace. The eunuchs and maids bowed. I frowned, wishing I could teleport.

"Where's Nildan Laoren and the others?" I chuckled to myself.

"Over there," Thanos pointed innocently, and I groaned.

They were approaching from the other side of the wide paved road. Without warning, I ran to the palanquin and swung myself up, startling the eunuchs.

"Move!" I yelled at them, "if those Four catch up, you're dead!"

The four eunuchs immediately lifted the palanquin and started to run!

Nildan Laoren:..... what's happening??.....

Savitria pointed.

"Why is Her Highness in such a hurry?"

They never caught up. The eunuchs were huffing by the time we arrived at the Phoenix Palace. I jumped down and raced up the wide steps leading into the palace. The guards at the entrance bowed.

An eunuch quickly threw open the door and I entered the pavilion-like Palace.

"Your Highness?" A maid approached me while I was trying to locate Father's chamber, "His Majesty is in the Cultivation Room,"

"Take me there!" I ordered, and she led the way.

I told Hhamir and Thanos to wait outside the Cultivation Room, while I entered.

Father was sitting on a square platform levitated in the air, his eyes closed, his hands forming the training seal. The dense energy generated by a ten foot high Ular Tree planted on soil in the middle of the room coagulated into clouds of smoke and rushes unceasingly towards him.

I went over to the Ular Tree and placed my palm on it. It stopped pouring out more energy. I stood back and watched as Father completely absorbed the energy already in the room and open his eyes in surprise:

"Is it exhausted already? It's hardly been an hour...oh, Neiman, you're here," he cut himself short when he noticed me, "what are you doing here?" He unclasped his fingers and stared intently at me.

"I've come to help you expel the poison. The head eunuch committed suicide today,"

He didn't look surprised. His face was as calm as a rippleless pool.

"He injested blackwinter seed," I proffered more information. He continued to stare at me.

I produced the jade bottles from my conscious.

"One pill for a day. I have to guide the medicinal energy to the right places though,"

Still nothing.

I stared back into his eyes.

"Well?" He finally spoke, "is that it? Can I cultivate in peace now?"

I smiled sheepishly.

"I'll be waiting, then," I bowed once and headed out.

"Before you go, Neiman," his soft voice behind me made me stop, "would you mind unsealing the Ular Tree?"

I rolled my eyes out of his sight and returned. He could unseal the Ular Tree with a thought! At least, I thought he could.

***

"Your Highness," Ao-ye appeared beside me without a sound, "he's dead,"

I didn't ask who.

"Did you get any information?"

"I crushed his life imprint when he wouldn't say anything," he said ruthlessly.

"You what?!"

He went down on one knee, head bent, but said nothing.

What kind of human was he?!

"He said nothing at all?"

"No, your highness,"

I sighed.

"I got a bit of his memories when I crushed his imprint," he announced after a while.

"Why didn't you say that earlier? Have you looked through them?"

"No, your highness,"

"Well, go ahead,"

Still one one knee, Ao-ye closed his eyes. After a few minutes, he opened them.

"Someone communicated him through his imprint to kill himself,"

"Who?" I asked. Ao-ye looked straight at me.

"His Majesty,"