Around 02:45 A.M., Imperial Palace;
In the Emperor's chamber, Shang Fu was sleeping soundly. The wine glass and the opened jar of wine on the bedside table indicate that he drank before he went to sleep.
Or perhaps, he drank it to get some peaceful sleep. After all, the war in Western Yan is giving him a big headache. Adding on top of that, he found out that his enemies are supreme beings. Obviously, he needs some drink.
*knock* knock* knock*
It was one of those repeated events where his sleep would be disturbed by the knocks at midnight.
He didn't hear it and continued to sleep while snoring heavily.
This time, someone banged on the door as if there was an urgent matter. There was no response from the Emperor.
At once, the door was smashed with brute force. It was opened, making a loud sound as they collided with the wall.
"What!"
The Emperor abruptly woke up from his sleep and warily looked around. He then saw a blurry figure entering the room. The lights were switched on.
Rubbing his eyes, as the Emperor looked at the stranger who dared to disturb his sleep in such a way, he found it was none other than the second prince.
"What the hell are you doing, Shang Wen?" The Emperor angrily roared at him.
To which, Shang Wen replied in an unpleasant tone, "I apologize Your Majesty but I don't have the time to wait until you wake up."
"Another trouble?" Emperor Shang felt like he suddenly became sober. "What is it this time?" He asked while blaming his bad luck.
Tightly gripping the scroll in his hand, Shang Wen answered, "My sister… Princess Shang Jiao has been abducted by the enemy."
"What did you say?" Shang Fu's eyes widened in shock and he quickly snatched the scroll from his son's hand.
He read the letter. This wasn't a piece of information sent by some scouts. It was a ransom letter except that there was no ransom. Instead, there was a demand.
"Lan surname? But, I never heard of this name before. Who the hell is this Lan Ju? And what business she has with my wife?" roared the Emperor.
Shang Wen answered, "I don't know. Perhaps, you should ask mother… I mean, Queen Consort Lan about it."
Even though they were less than 15 years apart, Shang Wen still addresses Lan Jingyi as his mother because of the fact that she was the only one who treated him as a family after the demise of his mother.
However, he was also a general now, and he cannot address her that way, atleast before the Emperor.
"Let's go."
The Emperor and the second prince made their way to the inner quarters. As Shang Wen stopped at the entrance, the Emperor dragged him along with him, not caring about formalities in such a terrible situation.
Of course, that doesn't mean he would barge into his stepmother's room. And even the emperor wouldn't allow it. He just waited outside the room. A minute later, the Emperor also came out and stood with his son as the door was locked.
A couple of more minutes later, Lan Jingyi then hurriedly came out of the room in normal clothing as she cannot come out in her pajamas. Even if it is her stepson who is like her son, he is still a grown-up man. It is highly inappropriate in this world of the medieval era.
"Did you find out who sent this?" asked Lan Jingyi in a serious tone.
Feeling some kind of invisible pressure on him, Shang Wen replied, "The guard informed him that it was given by a middle-aged-looking man."
"Who is this Lan Ju, dear?" asked the Emperor. "What does she want with you?"
Lan Jingyi shook her head, "It isn't a she. It is a he, Your Majesty. Lan Ju is the pet of my late father. It is a son of the beast named Zheng. My father mistook him for a female when he was a baby and gave him a feminine name."
"Zheng?" Shang Fu and Shang Wen looked at each other. They never heard of such a beast.
Lan Jingyi continued with her mix of truth and lies, "It's a beast king he found somewhere. And I know what he wants. He probably wanted to use me to revive the Lan sect since his growth stopped at 7-circle and doesn't have credibility. Using my surname, he could bring back all the former disciples."
"It doesn't make any sense, Mother." Shang Wen opinioned that there must be a conspiracy. "Abducting Xiao Jiao when we were busy with the war and sending us such a letter in the middle of the night, something isn't right here. A beast king wasn't capable of plotting such a scheme. Somehow, I feel like there's a mastermind."
Hearing his words made Lan Jingyi remember Mark for a moment before she shook away such thoughts and said, "Whatever the case, we will know when I meet him. Since he said I know where to find him, I believe he might be at Mt. Lan. I'm going right now."
"What? Are you serious?" Emperor Shang grabbed her arm as she was about to walk past him without bothering to ask his permission or anything. "In the middle of the night?"
Lan Jingyi gave a sharp look at him and replied, "Our daughter is abducted. I would go to hell to take her back if I have to. If you understand it, then, let me go."
Shang Fu and Shang Wen were taken aback by her anger. While Shang Wen was surprised to see such impoliteness toward his father, Shang Fu was more understanding of her behavior.
He was aware that when it concerns Shang Jiao, his wife would become scary. For some reason, he would feel invisible pressure on his soul whenever she takes a decision on their little princess and he tries to object to it.
In the end, he would support her and even now, it was no different. Letting out a deep sigh, he said, "Alright but you won't go alone. What if it turns out to be a trap laid by an enemy? I'll come with you."
"No, Your Majesty, your safety is most important." Shang Wen volunteered to go with his stepmother. As a 7-circle realm Spirit Warrior who had the highest concentration of the bloodline of the phoenix, the second prince was confident enough to protect Lan Jingyi from a beast king of the 7-circle realm.
How would he even know that he was going to face a demigod beast emperor…
Lan Jingyi feared that they wouldn't let her go if she says the truth, and hence, she lied about the zheng's strength and his origins.
Knowing that she cannot go alone anyways, she agreed with Shang Wen's condition and hurried him to prepare for the transport.
Somewhere far away from the Phoenix Empire on an island;
It was the time the sun was about to rise.
Shang Jiao slowly opened her eyes to find herself on a bed, in some kind of wooden house. "Where am I? I snuck out of the academy and I was on my way to watch the fireworks and then, I received a shock of high power…"
As she thought about it, she remembered that someone skillfully struck her neck from behind with some kind of lightning energy ability and she lost consciousness.
Shang Jiao quickly got down from the bed and scurried outside of the room, reaching the living room. She saw decent-quality furniture, although with excellent craftsmanship around. She didn't care about them as she rushed to the exit.
However, as she stepped outside, Shang Jiao halted her movements at once as soon as her eyes fell on a giant dragon of cyan-bluish color (Azure).
"What the hell."
