“Not really…” I murmured, secretly scrolling through the Azure Dragon Store with my eyes in hopes of finding something that could break down the sedative.

Divinity ‘Spirit of the Jade Moon’ is shocked by the sight of Divinity ‘Heavenly Flora of the Spring.’

Divinity ‘Spirit of the Jade Moon’ stares wistfully at Divinity ‘Heavenly Flora of the Spring.’

I bit my lower lip and did my best to ignore the notifications. Meihua was one of the closest friends to Chang’e for centuries before the incident. To see her “alive” now, even if it was just part of the dungeon room’s illusion, must have been quite the distressing sight.

The two of them had bonded over their shared interest in medicinal properties. Chang’e focused on being a healer and immortality while Meihua concocted various poisons and medicines using herbs and flowers.

Wei ignored my snarky answer and continued to wait silently while his palace bustled with liveliness. Countless servants were running around and tending to the statues and plants that grew up the walls.

Meihua cleared her throat, still refusing to look at Yang, and said, “It would be much simpler for all of us if you could cooperate. Afterall, His Highness has already been very kind in choosing to hear you all out.”

I couldn’t bring myself to hate her. Maybe part of that was because of...

Observer ‘Socrates’: Jia Li, I don’t know how you can even stand to look at this family.

Observer ‘Socrates’: You’re lucky Archangel Michael is facing punishment. Let’s hope he’ll be released after all this is over.

God, this idiot was stressing me out. I was glad to hear that Archangel Michael was doing alright—punishment was expected, but it shouldn’t be too severe given there was a possibility he’d be released soon.

Hopefully that wouldn’t be the case, though. I didn't want to make more enemies.

“Your Highness, it’s as I said before. I’m the goddess of fate and fortune, and I’m here to warn you that Daji will soon run a mass campaign against you,” I declared confidently, my voice steady and strong, “The woman in black here is my disciple Yue. The Daji officer is Yang, but he was only using his position to warn you. And the little gir—”

Wei politely cut me off with a raise of his hand. “We’re already familiar with her.”

Amelia gave me a look of embarrassment. Sorry she mouthed, looking apologetic.

“Ha ha ha… and she allegedly freed some birds?”

“It wasn’t alleged,” Yang mumbled, looking at me through his mask. “She did create a pretty big mess with Ailun at the market.”

Amelia’s face lit up defensively, her eyebrows furrowed. “I had to! They were all trapped in there and begging to come out!”

I nodded, affirming Amelia’s actions. “Your Highness, don’t you think we should instill virtues of freedom and righteousness into our younger generations?”

Looking taken aback, Wei glanced at Meihua. “I mean, of course, but—”

“Justice is your whole character, Your Highness. Surely you don’t mean to criticize Amelia and Ailun for doing what they thought was right? That wouldn’t be very fair.”

“...”

Meihua waved her hand in the air gracefully. “We can talk about that later. Peijin, can you go back to explaining today’s events?”

“Yang isn’t allied with Daji,” I half-lied. Maybe he was in this fictional scenario, but he wasn’t in my world. “But he pursued Ailun in an attempt to get closer to both of you and warn you.”

Wei’s head cocked to the side, a peculiar look on his face. A man like him always assumed the best in people, but why would a high-ranking Daji officer leak classified information to help an accused divinity?

“So… Yang just decided to help me out of the kindness of his heart?”

Observer ‘Socrates’: Observer ‘Socrates’: Yang didn’t make a very good first impression

Fixing the reputation of a suspected pervert was out of my pay-grade.

Thankfully, Yang spoke up first, keeping his eyes glued on the ground. “I knew Peijin for a long time, and I trusted her judgment when she told me that Daji was attempting to sabotage Your Highness,” he mumbled, clearly nervous, “When I investigated the situation, I realized she was right and tried to alert all of you.”

“And you kidnapped Ailun while trying to execute that plan?” Wei continued.

“... Kidnapping is a bit harsh I think.”

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

A soft humming filled the air as Wei drummed his fingers, clearly deep in thought over Yang’s words. “What exactly are the accusations against me stating? I don’t think I’ve really committed a crime before,” he trailed off.

Meihua gave him a suspicious side-eye, and he responded with a light and nervous laugh.

“Well, other than descending into the mortal realm frequently, I haven’t really done anything. But I’m on good terms with the Jade Emperor.”

Gaining more confidence, Yang looked up for a brief moment before responding, “That you swapped the fate of Ailun with someone who would have become a divinity. Whether or not it's true doesn’t matter—accusations like that are treated with utmost seriousness.”

Wei leapt onto his feet, clearly outraged and overwhelmed with emotion. “But that isn’t true! I’d never do that. I don’t understand why Daji would fabricate something like that!”

I quickly interjected, finally able to move a bit thanks to administering an antidote I found through the Azure Dragon Store; although I kept my movements limited to prevent Meihua from growing suspicious.

“Daji is jealous about the success you’ve had in both the mortal and heavenly realm. You’re the youngest cultivator to have ever ascended, and you’re her only significant opponent when it comes to mortal and heavenly influence.”

“But still,” argued a frantic Wei, “It’s not like we’re enemies. I deeply respect her!”

Meihua reached out a hand and gently drew him back down into his seat, shushing him. She whispered soothing words, and despite her worried expression and furrowed brows, she did her best to not let her anxiety show.

After many deep breaths, Wei finally relaxed and slumped back down on his chair. “I’ll bring this up with the Jade Emperor.”

“He can’t help you now. He’s already aware of Daji’s report and is going to see it through.”

His eyes flashed with alarm once more but he said nothing else. He continued to drum his fingers, his knee bouncing up and down with overwhelming nervous energy.

If Wei or Meihua wanted to report us to the heavenly court, they would have done so by now. I felt utterly relieved that I had written such unrealistically nice people when I was younger.

“Guards,” Wei ordered, “Bring all four of them to the prison.”

Huh?!

“Give them each their own isolated cell, and make sure they’re properly observed.”

My heart fell in my chest, and my stomach flipped, causing bile to rise in my throat. “W-Wait, your Highness! What do I need to do to make you believe me?”

Armored guards wearing long white, yellow, and brown colored robes appeared behind me, lifting my limp body up from the sofa.

“I need time to go over this with Meihua,” he replied reassuringly, sparing me one pitiful look. I was undeniably a complete and utter mess, I was sure of it, but anger and frustration burned at that look.

“Are you fucking kidding me?!” I exclaimed, swearing at him. “Daji is coming today! You already know that she was watching us in the forest. I don’t have time for your goddamn suspicions!”

“Peijin!” Yue barked, shooting me an indignant glare as a warning to watch my tone.

“No, shut up, Yue! You don’t understand anything that’s going on right now!”

Her nostrils flared in outrage, and I was thankful she was paralyzed—I could practically see her lunging forward and bashing my skull against one of the statues.

“Because you don’t say shit to anybody unless it suddenly benefits you!” She rebuked, the volume of her voice rising with each word.

I had hit a nerve; over and over, Yue’s biggest frustration was how I kept almost everything secret from her. Although I promised to do better after my dungeon room, it wasn't like my party members wouldn't have hindered me if I did tell them my plans.

Wei lifted his hand before his face and quietly coughed into his sleeve, trying to remain polite and suppress his coughs despite the ongoing situation.

“Because you fuck up everything with how rash you are! You don’t think before anything!” I screamed back, whipping my head back to Wei as the guards dragged me backward. “Wei, you have to listen to me!” I desperately pleaded.

Wei continued coughing, this time it grew slightly louder as his eyes squeezed shut.

Chaos completely filled the room now as Yang shouted at Yue, trying to calm her down but only riling her up even more.

"Yue, Peijin, both of you need to calm down!"

Black flames traveled up Yue's paralyzed forearms, and her black eyes blazed with a blinding purple.

“How dare you!” Yue roared, her arms twitching as she slowly regained control back over her body. The flames only grew larger, sending the guards near her back as it quickly charred their skin.

Suddenly, Wei’s coughing heightened as he hacked and choked, grabbing onto Meihua as his entire body convulsed. When he pulled back his white sleeves from his mouth, a dark red sleeve remained.

At the sight of the bloody sleeve, the entire room came to a complete still.

“It’s… the city of Anyang,” Wei gasped in utter shock, “My temples and shrines… they’re all being burnt down.”

Wei began coughing again as he collapsed onto his knees, one of his hands still holding onto Meihua as she dropped down just beside him, her eyes wide with panic. Even Ailun, who remained silent the entire time, darted forward in fear.

It was starting.

“Gege!”* Ailun cried out, his arms extended to grab onto his brother.

Scathing Reviewer activated!

Hindsight activated!

Editor’s Pen activated!

… Had 'Scathing Reviewer' just activated all my skills?

The hairs on the back of my neck suddenly stood up as countless of outlined white figures flooded my entire vision.

I shoved the guards back and lept forward for Ailun, Wei, and Meihua. With a quick move, I tore the broken Shield of Truth from my bag and slammed it against all of them, sending them flying across the palace grounds.

“Get back! Get out of here!” I screamed, my voice shrill and hoarse as my vocal cords seemed to shred with every word.

With a massive explosion, the entire floor erupted as hundreds of Daji officers erupted and tore through, all of their weapons now aimed straight at me.