Within the Yangxin Hall, sandalwood incense curled in the air.
Ling Ze sat upright in the Dragon Throne, his gaze sweeping calmly and silently past Lu Qiancha and Xun Xue, who were concealed behind the curtain, before finally landing on Ling Muxue, who had burst in, her face streaked with tears.
“Muxue,” Ling Ze’s voice was even, yet carried an indisputable authority, “Did I not already instruct the Imperial Guards to forbid you from leaving your chambers without permission?”
“Royal Father!” Ling Muxue dropped to her knees with a heavy thud, heedless of her status as she kowtowed repeatedly.
“Your daughter begs Royal Father to grant a vial of Nirvana Elixir to save Sun Nian’s life! As long as Royal Father gives the medicine to revive Sun Nian, your daughter will return to the palace at once and, from this day forth, obey your every command without question!”
Watching his daughter humble herself so utterly, Ling Ze’s expression remained tranquil, but in his heart, a wave of disappointment arose.
“Muxue, how could the Nirvana Elixir be compared to ordinary pills? This is the treasured artifact of our Wolf Clan. You conspired with that demon to steal it before, and now you still have the face to ask me for more? Truly absurd.”
“What’s more, you would have me use such a divine artifact just to prolong the life of a servant with no hope of even reaching the Golden Core stage? Are you, perhaps, too self-centered, with no understanding of the wider world?”
Ling Ze’s refusal was direct and cold.
Ling Muxue’s voice trembled with desperation, “Royal Father, Sun Nian is dying! I swear to the heavens! As long as Royal Father bestows the Nirvana Elixir and saves Sun Nian, from now on your daughter will obey your every command without a word of dissent!”
She spoke incoherently, repeating her promise over and over.
Seeing his daughter so wholly consumed by emotion, completely lacking in discernment, the disappointment in Ling Ze’s eyes almost took form.
He recalled the hesitation he’d felt when Lu Qiancha proposed this plan. At that time, he’d thought the plot was too rushed and would inevitably leave many flaws.
Given Muxue’s top-tier upbringing and vision, she shouldn’t have been so easily caught up in it, yet she fell in without noticing anything.
Now it seemed he had overestimated her after all. Her temperament, her perspective, even her concern for those around her—none were suited to succeed his position.
Ling Ze sighed inwardly, extinguishing his last hope completely.
Very well, let’s continue this play and see how it ends.
On the surface, Ling Ze seemed moved by Ling Muxue’s desperate pleas, slowly rising to his feet, his tone softening.
“Fine. From now on, you must remain quietly in the palace, cultivate diligently, and cause no more trouble. Can you agree to this?”
“I promise, I promise! Royal Father, I’ll do anything, just please save Sun Nian!”
Ecstatic light burst from Ling Muxue’s eyes as she answered in haste.
“Very well. Follow me.” Ling Ze nodded, signaling Ling Muxue to rise, then led her toward the depths of the palace, to the secret vault.
As they walked through the shadowed corridors, Ling Ze spoke slowly, seemingly by chance, reciting the lines Lu Qiancha had prepared for him:
“The Nirvana Elixir holds immense power but requires vast quantities to refine. Each year when it’s retrieved from the secret realm, it’s typically exhausted before year’s end.”
“Muxue, you’re actually quite fortunate. After you and that demon stole one vial, I managed to recover the last remaining bottle in time and kept it stored in the vault. In a moment, you may take the medicine and hurry to save Sun Nian.”
When his words fell, he couldn’t help glancing at his daughter beside him, a trace of reluctance flashing through his heart.
Suddenly, Ling Muxue’s steps halted. She stood frozen as if struck by lightning, her face turning as pale as the finest rice paper.
Her mind went utterly blank, only the words “last remaining bottle” echoing madly in her ears.
Like a soul lost, she followed Ling Ze, watching as her Royal Father activated the familiar wards and opened the massive door to the vault—the very place she had snuck into to steal the medicine last night.
In her Royal Father’s hands, was there truly only this one bottle left?
But… but!
That only bottle of Nirvana Elixir!
Last night, she had already given it to Mu Feng in the prison with her own hands—
“Royal Father!”
Just as Ling Ze was about to touch the vault’s barrier, Ling Muxue’s tearful, panicked cry rang out, halting his movement.
Ling Ze turned, seeing his daughter’s face awash with tears, despair and a final flicker of hope tangled together.
“Royal Father, is there really only one bottle of Nirvana Elixir? Think again, please! The secret realm produces one bottle a year. After all these years, surely you have several saved up, right? Please, look again—is there nowhere else…?”
Her voice shook with urgency, as if a drowning person grasping at the last straw.
Ling Ze sighed inwardly, but his expression remained grave.
“Muxue, you know well that this medicine is scarce, yet its uses are many. How many Deacons and Pillars of the Noble Families— their lives and honors depend on this single vial’s blessing. Even maintaining a stock in the palace is no easy feat.”
Seeing the light fade instantly from his daughter’s eyes, his tone shifted, intentionally gentle and reassuring. “But you need not worry too much. Isn’t there one here? Take it to save Sun Nian.”
Before he finished speaking, spiritual light flashed in Ling Ze’s hand, and the Treasure Vault door swung open in response. With a flicker, he appeared before that familiar dust-covered hardwood shelf.
But the expected lustrous jade bottle was nowhere to be seen. Only an empty shelf greeted him, cold and cruel in the dim light.
The air froze in an instant. A deathly silence filled the Treasure Vault.
“Hm? The Nirvana Elixir? I distinctly remember putting it right here!”
Ling Ze’s brows knitted tightly, forming a deep furrow. His spiritual sense swept over every inch of the shelf, every corner of the vault like an invisible tide.
After confirming that the crucial Nirvana Elixir had indeed vanished without a trace, his face darkened, so gloomy it seemed it might drip water.
“Who?! Who dares to steal the Nirvana Elixir?!”
Ling Ze’s voice suddenly spiked, cracking like thunder. A piercing chill burst from him, setting off a gust of frigid wind in the vault, ice crystals instantly forming on the walls and floor.
“Guards!” he bellowed, his voice piercing through the palace.
Two shadows, ghostlike, appeared instantly in the Treasure Vault and dropped to one knee. “Your Majesty!”
Ling Ze’s expression was as dark as water, his gaze sharp as a blade as he swept it over the two trusted guards, his voice icy, anger barely restrained.
“The Nirvana Elixir has been stolen. I order you two to investigate at once! You must retrieve it within a single day—”
He paused, his eyes sweeping, as if by accident, over Ling Muxue, who stood deathly pale and on the verge of collapse. Then he changed his words, his tone even more urgent and severe.
“No, time is tight! I give you only one hour. Muxue needs this medicine to save a life. Within one hour, you must retrieve the Nirvana Elixir! If you fail…”
A cold light flashed in his eyes. “Bring your heads to me!”
“Yes! As Your Majesty commands!” The two guards shuddered, exchanging a knowing glance, then instantly composed themselves, displaying utmost gravity and resolve.
“We swear to recover the divine medicine or die trying.”
With that, not daring to linger for even a heartbeat, their figures turned into twin wisps of black smoke, streaking out of the Treasure Vault at once.
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