harleyscars Chapter 18 Duchess Zhu Yue!
Chapter 18 Duchess Zhu Yue!
She is forty-three years old.
As the legal wife of Duke Dai Hao of the White Tiger Kingdom and the legitimate daughter of the Zhu family of the Star Luo Empire, she should have lived a life of unparalleled glory and wealth.
But only she knew how much anxiety and sleepless nights lay hidden beneath this glamorous facade.
Because her husband had someone else in his heart.
That bitch, that maid she "disposed of" more than a decade ago, that woman who died without any official status.
Zhu Yue had always thought that the matter was over. That woman was dead, and her bastard child... even if it were still alive, it wouldn't be able to cause any trouble.
How could an illegitimate child, a bastard with no status, no background, and possibly no ability to even awaken a martial spirit, threaten the status of her two sons?
But she was wrong.
Three months ago, her trusted confidante, whom she had placed in the Duke's archives, accidentally discovered an old file from over a decade ago. The file stated that the maid was already pregnant when she left the Duke's mansion. Moreover, she had left in the direction of the outer edge of the Star Dou Great Forest.
Zhu Yue immediately sent people to investigate.
This investigation uncovered something major.
That bastard didn't die. Not only did he not die, but he also awakened a martial soul, and it was a twin martial soul.
A Sharingan with one tomoe, and a sapling. Although his innate soul power is only level three, and his talent is poor, he still possesses twin martial souls. What if he encounters some fortuitous event in the future, what if he catches the eye of some powerful force…
Zhu Yue dared not think about it.
She has two sons. Her eldest son, Dai Yueheng, is eighteen years old. He is a five-ring Soul King, almost approaching the Soul Emperor level. He is studying in the inner courtyard of Shrek Academy and is a leading figure among the younger generation.
The youngest son, Dai Huabin, is thirteen years old and a three-ring Soul Master. He is also exceptionally talented and has a limitless future.
But all of this is based on the premise that "the White Tiger Duke's Mansion only has these two legitimate sons".
If there were another illegitimate child, even if he had poor talent, he would still be Dai Hao's bloodline. What if Dai Hao suddenly felt pity for him? What if the other side had some ideas? What if…
No, there's no "what if".
Zhu Yue immediately made a decision—to nip it in the bud.
She dispatched her younger brother, Zhu Ye, with fifty elite White Tiger Army soldiers to a small border village called "Konoha Village" to deal with that bastard and, incidentally... wipe out the entire village.
Dead people cannot speak.
But Zhu Ye was gone for two months, and there was no news of him at all.
At first, Zhu Yue thought her younger brother had been delayed on the way or wanted to play for a few more days.
A month passed, then two months, and there was still no news. The messengers sent to meet them returned to report that Konoha Village was now a ruin, littered with corpses—some of villagers, some of the White Tiger Army—but none of Zhu Ye's.
Zhu Ye has disappeared.
Fifty elite White Tiger Army soldiers were all killed.
That bastard child... is gone too.
"lady."
A knock came from outside the study, and an old voice answered.
Zhu Yue snapped out of her daze, took a deep breath, and tried to make her voice sound calm: "Come in."
The door opened, and an elderly man in a gray robe walked in. The man looked to be over seventy years old, with gray hair and a face full of wrinkles, but his eyes were exceptionally bright, as sharp as an eagle's.
He was Zhu Yue's confidant and also the Zhu family's old steward, Zhu Fu. He had served Zhu Yue for thirty years with utmost loyalty.
"Uncle Fu, have you found out?" Zhu Yue put down her teacup, her voice a little tense.
Zhu Fu walked to the desk, bowed, then looked up at Zhu Yue, a hint of hesitation flashing in his eyes, but finally spoke:
"Madam, we've found out. The second young master... is indeed dead."
"boom."
Something seemed to explode in Zhu Yue's mind.
She suddenly stood up, bracing herself on the table with both hands, her fingernails digging deeply into the mahogany surface, making a harsh scraping sound.
"What did you say? Say it again!"
Zhu Fu lowered his head, his voice hoarse: "This old servant led men to Konoha Village and carefully examined all the corpses. Fifty White Tiger Army soldiers, all killed in action, their deaths... were gruesome. Some had their necks snapped, some had large holes in their chests, some... their bodies were twisted and deformed, as if they had been torn apart alive by something."
He paused, then continued, "The Second Young Master's body... was not found. But this old servant discovered a pool of blood in the center of the village. There were strong spatial fluctuations remaining around the bloodstain. Moreover... the Second Young Master's bloodline aura was detected in the bloodstain."
Zhu Yue's face turned deathly pale instantly.
She staggered back two steps, slumped into a chair, her chest heaving violently, her breathing becoming rapid and erratic.
died.
Zhu Ye is really dead.
Her only younger brother, the brother who was closest to her since childhood, the brother who always called her "sister" with a smile and always patted his chest and said, "If there's anything, your brother will take care of it for you," is dead.
She died in a small border village, at the hands of... a bastard she thought she could easily crush.
"That bastard..." Zhu Yue's voice trembled, her eyes bloodshot, "Is he still alive?"
Zhu Fu was silent for two seconds, then nodded.
"Judging from the traces at the scene, someone has left. And they left in the direction of north. In addition, I found some...unusual things in the village."
"What is it?"
"Signs of burning from flames." Zhu Fu's voice turned serious.
"That kind of flame is very strange. It's black and has no temperature when it burns, but it can burn through soul power armor, burn through bones, and even... burn through space. There are remnants of this kind of flame around the pool of blood that the Second Young Master had."
"Also," he added, "there are traces of vines in the village. The vines are very tough, with golden patterns on their surface, radiating a powerful vitality. Judging from the residual soul energy fluctuations, those vines... are at least at the level of a thousand-year soul skill."
Zhu Yue listened blankly, her mind a complete mess.
Black flames? Flames that can burn through space?
Golden vines? A thousand-year-old soul skill?
That bastard, wasn't he only level seventeen? Didn't he only have two trash martial souls?
How could he possibly use a thousand-year-old soul skill? How could he possibly kill Zhu Ye, a four-ring soul master? How could he possibly kill fifty elite White Tiger Army soldiers?
"Impossible..." Zhu Yue murmured, "Absolutely impossible... Someone must be helping him. Yes, someone must be helping him! Which power? Which sect? Daring to oppose my White Tiger Duke's Mansion?!"
Zhu Fu looked at Zhu Yue, who was on the verge of collapse, a hint of pity flashing in his eyes, but he still forced himself to say:
"Madam, there is another possibility."
"What?"
"That child... might not be an ordinary twin martial soul." Zhu Fu's voice was soft, but every word struck Zhu Yue's heart like a hammer blow.
"Perhaps... he's a once-in-a-century genius. Perhaps his martial spirit has undergone some kind of mutation or evolution that we don't know about."
Zhu Yue's breathing stopped completely.
She stared intently at Zhu Fu, her eyes bloodshot, like a mother beast on the verge of madness.
"So... I let go of a genius who could potentially overturn everything for me in the future?"
"I let one go, a monster that might have killed my brother, and might even... have killed me?"