I’m not sure how, but it seems like Lucia has mistaken the emperor for … someone not the emperor. She even embraced him with her arms and rubbed her knuckles against his head! Why does my chest feel so stuffy? I’m not jealous of him! He’s being tormented by her, but…, but…. No, it’s nothing. Breathe in. Breathe out. Phew. “E-Emperor Yi. Are you alright?”

“What kind of person is this foxkin!?”

Lucia’s loving knuckle rub was still ongoing, and Emperor Yi was pouring out more and more qi, but none of it was working! Lucia was like a steady mountain, holding onto the struggling teen while completely unconcerned. It seemed like every knuckle rub of hers was interrupting the emperor’s qi from gathering. All he could do was emit it from his body. “Hush! This is your own fault for calling me a little girl. Repent for your crimes and call me big sister!” Lucia’s hands suddenly stopped moving. “Wait. No. Don’t call me that; I hate honorifics! Call me Lucia.”

“Unhand me this instant! I’m the emperor!”

“Gah! Look at what you taught him, you unthinking sect leader! He really thinks he’s the emperor.” Lucia rolled her eyes as her knuckles ground even harder against the emperor’s head. I couldn’t help but feel bad for him. I wish it were me…. That was able to subdue a sky-realm expert like that! I didn’t wish to suffer under Lucia’s punishment! T-there’s no way.

“I am the emperor! I really am! Look at my crown!”

Lucia’s knuckles stopped grinding against the poor man’s skull as her hand flashed. The crown disappeared as her fingers touched it, and then she resumed grinding his head again. “I don’t see a crown.”

“L-Lucia…. Stop. Please.”

T-the emperor conceded! How could a sky-realm expert bow his head so easily!?

“Mm. That’s better,” Lucia said and dusted off her hands after releasing Emperor Yi. She patted his back twice, planting his face into the ground with her overwhelming strength. I’ve been on the receiving end of that palm once. It’s not pleasant. “Ilya, hurry up and mend him.”

“Okay…,” Ilya said with a sigh. She rolled her eyes and sauntered over to the fallen emperor before placing her hand on his head. It glowed white with what she called mana, and then she retracted her hand. “All done.”

Mana was a curious thing. It behaves a lot like qi. It’s almost as if the person who came up with the concept had a firm grasp on qi and attempted to traverse his own path. I wonder if there are any sky-realm experts who use mana. I haven’t heard of any, but then again, I’m just a frog in a well. The world is vast, and I’ve only stayed in my sect for the vast majority of my life.

“Do you remember who you are?” Lucia asked, picking the emperor off the ground. She blinked at him and tilted her head, her tail twitching. “You must’ve been someone important since you know how to fly and teleport. Only earth-realm experts and above can do that! And this old man’s over a hundred years old, but he hasn’t reached the sky-realm yet. You’re, like, sixteen or somewhere around there and your qi is much thicker than his. Thus, you’re some kind of chosen from an important sect!”

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Ilya’s eyes widened. “Lucia’s deducing things? What is the world coming to?”

“I always deduce things! I’m an intelligent person!” Lucia stamped her feet and glared at Ilya. “I just have a lot of focus right now. Very, very, hyper focused.”

“Enough of this farce!” Emperor Yi shouted. His feet rose off the ground, but Lucia tackled him back onto the ground in an instant.

“I already told you, you can’t fly here!” Lucia growled. “Damn. Idiots these days. They can’t appreciate any good will!”

“Look at this!” Emperor Yi pulled something out of an interspacial ring as he struggled. The royal crest!

“And that is…?” Lucia leaned over the emperor and smelled the crest. Her brow wrinkled before she licked it. “Hmm. No idea.”

“Y-you licked the royal crest….” Emperor Yi looked crestfallen. He stared at the single wet droplet crawling down the lines of the bow and arrow engraved on the metal. “B-barbaric! How dare you try to seduce me, fox!?”

“…Seduce?” Lucia blinked. “I already said you weren’t attractive! Why would I seduce you?”

The emperor choked and coughed out a mouthful of blood. “Which part of me isn’t attractive!?” He roared and let out a massive fluctuation of qi. The floorboards cracked underneath him, and Lucia was blown up into the air as if she were hit by a geyser. A bow materialized in the emperor’s hand, and he drew back the string, an arrow made of white qi forming at his fingertips. With a twang, the arrow vanished and instantly reappeared embedded in Lucia’s chest.

“Lucia!” I couldn’t stop myself from shouting as Lucia coughed out a mouthful of blood, her tail stiffening as her eyes widened.

“This crazy person!” Lucia teleported beside the emperor and smacked the bow out of his hands. Surprisingly, he couldn’t resist! Just how strong was Lucia’s physical strength? Her physique was beyond my comprehension. Wasn’t she only at the strength of a red dragon? Wait. She did eat over a thousand aurochsen which are famed battle mounts known for their strength. But could it make that much of a difference? The impurities she accumulated from eating them isn’t worth it! “Who shoots someone in the heart!? What if my boob scars!?”

“You licked my royal crest first!”

Emperor Yi has absolutely no dignified manner…. Is he really the emperor? Maybe Lucia was right. He’s clearly an individual who lost his memory.

“Don’t say it like that!” Lucia’s arm once again wrapped around the emperor’s neck. Then, with smooth, practiced motions, Lucia’s hand slid around Emperor’s Yi body like a snake, and everything that looked valuable was stripped. I, I don’t think he even noticed. “Sheesh. People will misunderstand!”

“Father!” Who was that? Dozens of people were soaring through the air, heading straight towards us! Of course, with the wall disappearing, all the princes and princesses would come out to investigate once their father’s aura went missing.

Lucia’s jaw dropped open as she released the emperor. She looked down and plucked out the arrow in her chest before tossing it aside, blood spurting from the gaping hole. In a second, her flesh wriggled and healed, leaving behind her tanned skin underneath a partially torn robe. “Hey, Mr. Not Attractive,” Lucia said and pointed at the incoming crowd. “Those people are calling you father. And they’re wearing the same thing that thirtieth prince was wearing….” Her eyes widened. “Are you actually the emperor!?”

“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you,” my grandfather said as Emperor Yi glared at Lucia.

Lucia tilted her head. “But then why’s he so weak? How could he have so many women with no looks, no money, and no power? Don’t you think he looks like the kind of person who’d die alone?”

Emperor Yi winced and clutched his chest, blood leaking from his lips.

Lucia blinked and scratched her head. “Ah. Another heart devil gained. Which poor fellow was it this time?”