Chapter 71: The Execution

[Volume 2]

Chapter 71: The Execution

Two days before Mo Fei’s resurrection.

One day before the execution day. The world was normal, as if the execution mattered nothing to them.

Xue Lan was in his room and pulled out a mask from a drawer. He put the mask on the table and moved out of the room. His expression remained serious as he quietly reached near the prison.

Standing outside the prison, he looked at the gates. With slow, deliberate steps, he entered the prison chamber.

Xue Wei was behind the cells, his eyes still covered by a cloth.

Xue Lan stopped and observed the man’s expression, then he said, "The execution date has shifted. The Overseer said that the date will be today in the evening."

Xue Wei lifted his head up and nodded. "What will you do?"

"I’ll come back the moment you are taken away from here." With that, Xue Lan turned away and walked out of the prison with no words.

The time passed.

It was the moment when the execution was starting.

Outside, the people of Trasia waited for the Overseer to come. All of their expressions dropped into excitement, but how could they be happy over the execution?

Coming out of the shadows, the Overseer raised his hand from the top of his palace. He shouted at them. "People of Trasia, your emperor is here. Tonight, there will be a very important thing. You might have already known this."

The crowd screamed at him, trying to look at his face, which was hidden behind the veil.

Slowly, he pulled the veil from his face and dropped it nearby. "How desperate my loyal public is."

The moment the veil was lifted, his extremely charming face stopped their breaths. His beautiful red hair dropped onto his shoulder, lips curled in a seductive smile.

The moment the crowd saw his face, their breathing stopped at his appearance. Women of the Trasia fell on the ground, their eyes going dreamy and almost losing their minds. They fainted just by looking at his single movement of eyes.

Men were no exception; they also stared at his breathtaking appearance, some with jealousy, some with admiration, and some comparing themselves to him, only to be found countless times less worthy.

The Overseer’s voice echoed across the square. "Today we’ll cleanse the rot and show that loyalty is not a choice, but it’s a law." The crowd roared; they didn’t care about the elders. They only had one thing in their minds; they only cared about the spectacle.

With that announcement, he sat on his chair at the top, letting the people admire him.

He flicked his fingers, and the guards quickly nodded and moved to take the elders.

They rushed through the corridors and reached the prison with a royal guard guiding them there.

Slowly, they opened the prison chamber and walked toward the elders’ cells. The royal guard pulled the keys out, then threw them toward the guard, watching them while leaning against the walls.

They grabbed the keys and slowly opened the doors of cells, there were a total five of the elders. They opened the cells one by one and then finally moved toward the cells of Xue Wei. One of the guards spoke. "It’s time for execution."

Xue Wei looked for a few moments before standing up. One of the guards moved and opened his blindfold.

The man looked; his eyes could see clearly now. The moment they came out of the prison. Something fluttered.

A moth flew by the prison and slowly landed at the guard’s shoulder, who darted his eyes at the moth and the royal guard. He launched his palm to grab it, but as soon as he touched the moth, his hand was gone... the moth was also gone...

And from the shadows, two eyes looked at him with a faint nebula-violet glow.

The very next second, his body fell on the ground, entirely mutilated. The normal guards couldn’t even react when that happened. The eyes that looked were gone too.

With widened eyes, the royal guard stepped forward. His breath caught in his throat, and he looked at Xue Wei, who was as surprised as the other royal guards.

The second normal guard gulped then ran toward the royal guard to hide behind him. All of them rushed toward him, their faces tainted with fear.

The elder watched with terror in their eyes as they saw the guard being killed almost instantly. One of them, who was the oldest, with white hair and trembling hands, whispered to the others. "Is that shadow... here to kill us?"

Another elder shook his head. "No... as much as it seems... he killed the guard but not us."

The flapping of the moths’ wings followed the silence once again. All of them knew what was coming now; their expressions turned reminiscent of those seen when death was approaching.

The moths turned the prison gates shut tightly behind them. All of their hearts pounded hard beneath their skins.

Once again, two Nebula-violet eyes glowed in the dark. At that time, they flinched at the sudden light.

The royal guard threw his hand toward them, pushing them behind him, but it was no use.

He heard a wet crunch as if a blade had pierced through them, but no scream came. The blood sprayed against his hand, then a thud of a body falling on the ground echoed. In the dark he couldn’t see anything moving, not even a single voice came.

"These skills of an assassin..." He muttered under his breath and quickly turned to look at the guards, but his eyes widened from the scene behind him.

All the guards had gone numb; their bodies fell one by one on the ground with their heads swinging on the ground by their hair. The royal guard stepped back in fear. "Who are you?!"

No answer came, but a wind shifted nearby. The royal guard braced himself; the dagger followed, aimed directly to decapitate his head. The royal guard pulled his blade out, and the sparks shot across the chamber, and in that spark, the man saw the face of the killer... Xue Lan.

The royal guard’s pupils dilated in pure shock. "I knew those movements... but I couldn’t believe in my belief... it was you all along, Xue Lan."

The name hit the elders’ ears; all of them looked at the outline of the shadow, but in the dark it was impossible to see his true features. Xue Wei watched frozen; he did come... he did come to save... His eyes twinkled with warmth as his gaze was locked on the shadow.

All the elders glanced at Xue Wei; the four of them held a hope; they didn’t expect it either. They pressed against the back of their cells. One of them whispered, "Is that... the royal guard?" Another answered, "No. He betrayed them... for us..."

The royal guard stared with deep, raw rage. "You were a traitor, after all."

Xue Lan straightened himself, and behind the shadows, he tilted his head. "That’s a fine word to call me."

When they heard the voice, they finally were certain that it indeed was him. Xue Wei’s breath was caught in his throat. Xue Lan had kept his promise, but the coldness in his son’s voice... the way he moved... it was not the same man who had visited him days ago. Something was wrong. Something was very wrong.

Xue Lan stepped into the faint light, the shadow looming over his figure. "Ban Konshen, surprised?"

The royal guard’s face twisted in disbelief. "What the hell? Why did you betray? Did you forget that the Overseer gave you a life when he could have killed you?"

"I don’t owe him anything now." Xue Lan whispered again; his hands found his dagger once more.

"I’ll inform the Overseer of your betrayal!" The royal guard quickly turned toward the gate to open it and escape.

Xue Lan’s expression darkened; with a swift motion, he appeared right behind him and stabbed a dagger in his back, then kicked him toward the door. His voice dropped into a deadly whisper. "Oh no, no, no... you aren’t leaving too soon." He spat and then added. "Did you forget my title?"

The royal guard stepped backward, his back pressing against the door. "The perfect assassin..." Ban Konshen’s eyes were wide while he stared at Xue Lan’s moving figure, the realization dawning too late. He had heard the stories and the whispers of how Xue Lan had earned his title. The perfect assassin.

There were no witnesses of his victims, nor any single trace of who killed them; no one had ever found out about the murders. The most terrifying thing was... No mercy.

Ban shouted at him. "Don’t move closer! Do you know that the Overseer is watching?" He gasped a long breath. "He will not spare you... you know that, right?"

Xue Lan’s eyes squinted slightly. "Oh? What made you think that I don’t know he is watching me right now?"