17. The Hand Behind the Scenes?
“What… did you say!?”
Baiyao Sheng’s blood ran cold.
Ignoring her own injuries, she asked with difficulty, “This has… nothing to do with what we agreed upon!”
“Prince Kui, you know my bottom line is Qin’er. I only followed the Heavenly Sin’s instructions for her safety.” Baiyao Sheng explained, “I understand the Lord’s intentions. I will seize the Baiyao Dynasty for him. Please spare Qin’er’s life.”
“Little Sheng, do you know why you were chosen for this plan?”
Prince Kui, seemingly ignoring her plea, smiled and examined his nails. “Do you think it was just because of your hatred?”
Baiyao Sheng was taken aback. “Then… why?”
“According to the results of the last Eight Desolations Deer Hunt, the Baiyao Dynasty will be completely overthrown by its ancient inheritor.” Prince Kui said, “You are Baiyao Sheng, the destined one we predicted. That’s why the Heavenly Sin saved you.”
“However…” he then looked at Leng Yuli. “It seems your sister is the true destined one. So, if she doesn’t die, you can’t inherit everything.”
“The Star Pavilion’s reputation may not be enough to defeat such a little girl.”
A destined one… Gong Yiling instinctively recalled the strange feeling she had felt from Leng Yuli.
It was because of that feeling that she suspected her identity was special. She never thought it meant she was the destined ruler of the Baiyao Dynasty.
However, this guy was wrong.
Baiyao Sheng thought she was in control, but Miss Gong had been secretly manipulating things.
How did she do it? By throwing money at the problem.
Wasn’t the Baiyao Dynasty in a state of disaster? Then she would open her own treasury and provide relief—though she was already short on cash herself, so she used her mother’s and Yan Chuyue’s resources.
Of course, this was all done in the name of the Baiyao family. They used the opportunity to announce the truth about the Baili and Baiyao families at a charity event, calling for unity to overcome the crisis.
And you might ask, where were the Baiyao Dynasty’s troops?
Well, why did Miss Gong, knowing about the reputation system, choose to act these past two days?
Simple. Because she knew Baiyao Sheng would launch a coup, and since she only had the remnants of those noble families under her command, she could only launch decapitation strikes in major cities.
Once that happened, the city’s defenses would be too preoccupied to notice her actions.
In the end, although the Star Pavilion was the one who acted, the Baiyao family’s reputation soared.
Gong Yiling even had her people spread the word that the Star Pavilion was part of the Baiyao family. Although some noble families wouldn’t believe it, there were plenty of independent martial artists in this land.
If they heard this, wouldn’t the Baiyao family’s reputation rise?
So, even if Baiyao Sheng killed the Emperor here, the wheels of history would still turn in favor of the Baiyao family, not the Star Pavilion.
But Baiyao Sheng clearly didn’t know this yet. She was still trying to assure Prince Kui. “I planned this. I lured Baili Yue into the abyss. This has nothing to do with Qin’er.”
“Why must she die just because she’s the destined one? Am I not the one who will succeed?”
“Little Sheng,” Prince Kui suddenly silenced her, putting a finger to his lips. “Shh~~ don’t let him hear.”
This strange gesture made Baiyao Sheng cover her mouth.
What was this Heavenly Sin they kept talking about?
And they also mentioned the Heartflame Empire, about someone with high ambitions but low abilities who failed.
Were they talking about the Young Palace Master of the Myriad Demons Palace?
Gong Yiling stroked her chin, puzzled.
On the surface, these were all individual actions.
If the Young Palace Master of the Myriad Demons Palace succeeded, the Heartflame Empire would become a puppet state. If Baiyao Sheng succeeded, she would control the Baiyao Dynasty.
It seemed like individual actions, but what if there was a mastermind behind them?
This so-called “Heavenly Sin,” was it trying to control the Four Kingdoms?
“Little Sheng, I know what you said, and I see the results of your work.” Prince Kui, after finishing with his nails, began to play with his fan, not even looking at her. “But you know, our actions are based on the results of the Eight Desolations Deer Hunt.”
“Since the result is as it is, then we should abide by it, support the destined one, or eliminate the destined one.”
He then looked at Leng Yuli and sneered. “From her eyes, I can tell she’s not one of us.”
“But it doesn’t matter. The method of creating a dead puppet was given to the Baili royal family by us, to pave the way for your actions today. Since you love your sister so much, why not turn her into a dead puppet too? Wouldn’t that solve everything?”
Was this something a human would say?
Gong Yiling, having watched the show for so long, although curious about the Eight Desolations Deer Hunt, knew that now, she had to deal with this guy.
“Before you lay a hand on my disciple, shouldn’t you greet me properly, Prince Kui?”
Gong Yiling gave Leng Yuli a reassuring look, then stepped forward, standing before Prince Kui.
“And she’s already injured. Do you think she can fight her sister? Aren’t you asking for the impossible?”
Hearing this, Prince Kui smiled calmly. “To achieve the impossible is the very purpose of the ‘Heavenly Sin.’ If the chosen one is incapable, then the ‘Heavenly Sin’ will take over.”
“Heh.” Gong Yiling sneered. “You’ll take over? Let me see how you’ll take over.”
As she finished speaking, Prince Kui’s fan suddenly flew from his hand and knocked off his mask. And the face beneath… made both Gong Yiling and Leng Yuli cry out his name in surprise.
“You are… Jiang Chenmo!?”
