Ch.31 Have Her Existence Erased

{Present}

Even during his funeral procession, the God of War had not shown up, causing rumours to spread like wildfire overnight. Some wondered if she had been slain after a futile attempt to seize the throne. Others guessed that fearing her military might and authority, the newly crowned Emperor had decided to banish her from the North. The rumours were getting so out of hand that Emperor Xuan Zong’s first order as the Emperor was, ‘No one shall mention the name, ‘God of War Luo Yue’, in this court ever again!’.

And so, the once revered name that could be heard in any street slowly withered away.

On that day, she had run away. Leaving behind everything -be it responsibilities, friends or even his funeral, she had kept herself hidden in that forbidden mountain. ‘Seclusion’ was a nice word, but to put it bluntly, she had merely been escaping from a reality that she had been unable to handle. The God of War who was unstirred even in the face of thousands of enemies fled from one cold body; it almost seemed like a joke that the Gods were playing on her.

And even now, as the Head Eunuch had said, she was still running away.

“Luo Yue, turning a deaf ear and a blind eye to that day hasn’t changed anything, has it?”

Indeed, it had not changed anything. The void in her was still as big as it had been the day she had disappeared. It was a void more painful than her illness. After all, once the pain from her illness reached a certain level, her consciousness would be taken over. However, as for this void, it didn’t matter how many times she had closed her eyes, the dull pain was still there, etching itself deeper into her soul with each passing year.

She moved her legs again as she followed behind Eunuch Liu.

“Life seems fleeting, even more so for those that have been left behind than those who have left. For someone who had lived more than half her life on the battlefield, you are naturally more aware of this than me.”

“It is not the same…” the white veil gently rested on her face and while he could not see her expression, he saw the confusion still clouding her eyes. It reminded him of the child who had once looked equally confused when he had told her that it was normal to have three meals a day. “Not one of those lives that had been lost on the battlefield is the same as his.”

“That is understandable.”

“Why?” She had never understood the emotions that others could so easily comprehend. It seemed, even after decades, living as a ‘human being’ was still the most challenging of tasks for the God of War.

“Because his Late Majesty was your only light at that time.”

Before his appearance, she had lived in darkness for so long that she had long forgotten how warm the light could be. Was that why her heart had been feeling exceptionally cold ever since his departure?

“Perhaps… it is about time for you to find someone else to replace his importance in your heart,” he lightly suggested.

Replacement… Luo Yue scowled. She did not like the sound of that.

Seeing that she had instantly shunned his suggestion, Eunuch Liu did not push further and merely bowed, “continue walking up these stairs and you’ll arrive at that place. Please take your time and I shall take my leave now.”

Luo Yue continued on as instructed until she reached a large clearing. Befitting of the Late Emperor’s nature, there were no fancy tombs with giant statures or whatnot. Instead, what appeared in front of her eyes was a normal burial grave and a simply erected gravestone.

‘Even to the end, you are such a minimalist,’ Luo Yue thought as she slowly walked forward.

For a long time, she stared at his grave unmovingly. Then, she finally knelt down beside it and used her sleeves to wipe the dusty gravestone. The immaculate white robe was immediately stained with a small grey patch. It took a while before the lady finally opened her mouth and her first words were,

“I apologise… for being late.”

~Meanwhile~

While Luo Yue was visiting the Late Emperor’s grave, the court was in procession. The bestowment of rewards befitting of the army’s achievement had just concluded.

“Raise your head, General Wu. You have made a great contribution to the North this time. It seems like this Emperor has not misjudged you. Your successful defence of the City of JiangNan and the following reclamation of the City of TianAn are both commendable achievements. This Emperor is pleased to see that you have indeed lived up to your title as the Leader of the Imperial Hounds,” Emperor Xuan praised the man before him.

From the start, he had held this exceptional individual in high esteem, thus even granting him the chance to raise his own army. If the Late Emperor had Luo Yue and the LoneWolf, then he would raise Wu Zhe Yan and the Imperial Hounds.

“Your Majesty, you have given me too much credit.” Wu Zhe Yan bowed. He looked perfectly normal when the unfathomable glint in his eyes or the dangerous smirk on his face was kept securely hidden from sight. “It is all thanks to Your Majesty’s foresight in sending us a capable strategist.”

“Strategist?” murmurs broke up in the court.

Wu Zhe Yan was a little surprised when a glance at the officers in the court told him that they didn’t seem to know who he was talking about.

Xu Shi Jing stood forward, his features as graceful as they had always been as he nodded and gave a small smile. “General Wu must be talking about Lady She Li. She is an acquaintance of mine.”

“Sir Xu, I’m glad to see that you have returned.” Wu Zhe Yan first greeted the other man. Of everyone in the Imperial Court, Xu Shi Jing was perhaps the only one that Wu Zhe Yan could see eye to eye with. After all, he was the only one capable of shutting down the rest of the old fogies and Wu Zhe Yan took great pleasure in seeing that. If the Gifted Scholar had been present during the Southern Expedition, things would probably have been different. What a pity that such a misfortune had befallen him at such an important time. However, now that Wu Zhe Yan thought about it, he was starting to see a similarity between Xu Shi Jing and the little lynx in terms of the way they came up with strategies. “As expected of Sir Xu, even your acquaintances are quite out of the ordinary.”

“I’m glad to see that the both of you are getting along well.”

Getting along well? Wu Zhe Yan almost coughed. He found it hard to even recall the number of times they had attempted to take each other’s lives.

The Emperor watched the unnatural expression on his face. “That will be all for today. Court dismissed.”

As everyone slowly left the Imperial Court, Emperor Xuan’s voice sounded again, “Imperial Teacher, I would like to have a conversation with Lady She Li. And General Wu, I still have something to discuss with you.”

The court soon quietened down with only the Emperor and Wu Zhe Yan left behind.

“This… She Li,” the Emperor started, “how did you find her?”

“She was...” Wu Zhe Yan thought back to the past few days, “quite unique.”

“Unique…” the Emperor’s eyes seemed to darken, “I'm afraid she is more than that. She could bring ruin to a country if she so much as desires.”

Wu Zhe Yan had not expected such strong words from the Emperor. He immediately realised that the little lynx’s connection to the Court could not be as simple as he had thought.

Emperor Xuan continued, “however, I am quite surprised that she is still in one piece considering your temper, General. I’m well aware that the two of you would not have been able to get along with each other.”

“She is the strategist Your Majesty has sent after all. This general is not imprudent enough to treat someone like that roughly,” Wu Zhe Yan quickly bowed and answered earnestly. However, even as his voice resounded in the quiet Court, only a stretch of silence followed. An absurd thought came to his mind, and he looked up in surprise. “Your Majesty… were you actually hoping that-…”

“If you did not, then so be it.” The Emperor did not deny.

Wu Zhe Yan took a step forward. A drop of cold sweat rolled down his neck as he hesitantly asked, “Your Majesty, if I may be so brazen as to impose a question… Is she… someone you need to get rid of?”

There was a pause this time and Wu Zhe Yan waited with bated breath. Even he himself did not realise the apprehension weighing on his heart.

“No,” the answer came after a short while, “at least not at the moment.”

Wu Zhe Yan let out a mental sigh of relief.

“However, I have a task that I can only trust you with, General Wu.”

“This General is honoured to have Your Majesty’s trust. I will put my life on the line to follow your command.”

“Good. No matter the layers of wool it is covered under, I believe that everyone possesses an Achilles heel. I command you to use whatever means possible to bring that weakness before me.”

“Her weakness?” ‘He wishes to control her?’ Wu Zhe Yan thought to himself.

“And another thing. She is too dangerous to be left alone. Therefore, I order you to keep an eye on her and if she ever becomes a threat to our country,” the Emperor’s eyes darkened as he made his decision, “have her existence erased.”