Lian Qiu tore the poster and sat back down on his chair, Huo Bing noticed this and looked at what he held with curiosity, "What is it?"
He simply said, "A clue."
She wasn't content with his answer so she quickly walked up and took a look herself, "This guy looks just like Brother Ling!" she exclaimed.
Lian Qiu nodded, 'A clue...'
They stayed in an Inn for the night. The next day, early morning before the rays of sunlight reached the Inn, Lian Qiu asked the Innkeeper about the person in the poster... The others were still asleep.
The 1st floor of the Inn was empty, there were tables and chairs around for people to sit on and eat, in one of those sat Lian Qiu who seriously listened as an old lady who sat beside him sighed and said, "That is the crown prince of our empire, or rather, he used to be..."
He frowned, she continued, "The officials said that he murdered his father to take the power but was stopped by the empress..."
Lian Qiu was shocked, "That doesn't make any sense! Why would a crown prince attempt to murder the emperor when the throne already belongs to him?"
The old lady nodded, "That is also what the people thought and it didn't take long for us to realize it was the Empress who had done it to get the power but by then, it was too late..."
Lian Qiu felt uneasy as he urged the old lady to continue with his eyes and she did, "The crown prince was punished and then banished... That's all that was announced."
Lian Qiu waited for the catch, "But rumors spread that he was killed in Dark Demon City. Soon after, Xuanyuan Wentian became Emperor and ever since then, the Empire fell into chaos. Loyal factions to the Crown prince were shocked to find the sudden turn of events, they were kept busy and in the dark, they did not acknowledge Wentian and accused him of murder which then led to civil unrest. No great battle has happened yet but many skirmishes escalated the situation even further."
Lian Qiu felt angry as he leaned on the chair but he took a deep breath and calmed down to analyze the situation, 'So brother Ling was a prince? It makes sense... He did disguise himself entering this place too. But does he have a family? What kind of person was he?'
The old lady drank a little from her green tea and continued which instantly caught the attention of Lian Qiu, "Something happened recently, something that has caused even more civil unrest. Many think that an all-out war will happen soon. The widow left of the Crown prince is pregnant... The Loyal factions demand that child to become the Emperor with her mother as the temporary ruler of Xuan Empire."
Lian Qiu turned a little pale suddenly, 'Brother Ling has a Wife?! He probably does think that she is dead... He has no idea he is going to have a child either! Wait a moment, he slaughtered an entire city for that girl back then... That must have been a child of his! That woman said something about a prince being the father before dying! If so, what would happen now? The Empress won't let that child live! I need to save them not only for Brother Ling but also for all the innocents of this Empire...'
Lian Qiu could imagine Ling Tian going on a rampage and slaughtering the entire Empire, good and bad alike... He grew determined to save them for it was the righteous and right thing to do, he was taught as such growing up.
His determination became unstoppable as he remembered some memories with Ling Tian and felt pain in his heart when he realized what the latter had gone through losing a child, 'If brother Ling is dead, I will raise that child in his place. I can't fail him. He won't lose this one, not on my watch.'
While Lian Qiu returned to his room and began thinking of a plan, Empress Rong walked the stairs down to a dungeon.
It was a dark and gloomy place, the air was humid and filled with a horrible stench. The ground and walls were black and slightly wet. The deeper she went the worse the smell became but she didn't seem to mind as Qi blocked it from reaching her.
She finally reached the lowest floor, one could hear the sound of crying. She ignored it and walked till she reached a certain cell and stopped in front of it.
The cell had dark iron bars, inside, someone sat at the edge of the cell while crying and trembling from fear as she saw the Empress. It was a girl.
The girl was naked and her body was extremely dirty, the only thing she had on was the chains on her limbs and neck.
Empress Rong had a cold smile as the door of the cell opened, at the same time, the chains moved. The chains lifted the girl till she was suspended mid-air hanging from her arms. Her hair blocked her face from being seen; the bulge on her stomach was visible. She screamed as she tried to get away.
Empress Rong snapped her fingers and the chains on her legs grew tight holding her in place, helpless. "My dear disciple, Lingxi... I had such plans for you. You just had to get pregnant with the spawn of that trash..."
The girl began crying hysterically, "I'm so sorry, please have mercy. Kill me if you must but let my child live."
Empress Rong walked to the edge of the cell where an iron rod was placed in a fire pit. She picked it up, it was red from the heat.
The girl tried all she could to get away and scream but to no avail, the rod was placed right on her stomach. She screamed as loud as she could as a brand appeared on her stomach alongside countless others.
Empress Rong calmly continued saying, "Are you really willing to die for the spawn of that Trash?"
Lingxi replied with a hoarse voice, "It doesn't matter, it is my child. I am willing to do anything..."
Empress Rong smiled, "How willful of you, You were so heartless before, why change suddenly?"
She struggled to say, "It is my child, my flesh and blood, from my soul... How can I let it die?!"
The Empress laughed, "I see... I understand, being a mother myself. You see, that is why it must die. For my son! As punishment, I will feed it to the dogs right in front of you."
Lingxi's eyes widened in terror as she cried, "Please no... Please! I beg you!"
Seeing the uncaring look of the Empress, she raged and changed her tone, "Do you not feat the Xuanyuan clan?! My child is of their blood!"
The Empress frowned, "Indeed, it would be quite troublesome. What you are missing, however, is that they only care about talent. How could they be so indifferent if Wenhao was not Earth-level trash? His child..." She touched the girl's stomach and smiled.
"... Is also the same. They wouldn't pick a fight with me over trash like this. As you well know, my father is a saint of the Holy Empire..." She put the scorching hot rod on Lingxi's thigh and made her scream in pain, "Even the Xuanyuan clan can't mess with me without paying a price. The Death of that fool by the hand of his own sect's elder made me absolute in this Empire."
Lingxi eyes became full of despair, the Empress put the rod aside, "If not for the annoying loyalists, I would have put my hand inside and crushed that child in your filthy womb with my own hand. As for you..."
She lifted her face up and stared into her eyes, "After your supposed miscarriage, you will die mysteriously. It's a pity, such a pretty face... If Wentian hadn't branded your forehead in his rage, you could have earned me some money in a brothel. Considering the resources I spent on you, that's the least you could have done. Well, no matter, these things sometimes happen..."
She began leaving, "I will return tomorrow to have some fun again..."
Lingxi wailed in despair as all the things she had done flashed before her eyes, 'Is this my punishment? If so then why must my child suffer...' She felt regret, immense regret... 'If I had been truly faithful to Wenhao, he would have won against her knowing her schemes and I would have become a queen... I deserve this. But someone, help me, save my child...' Were her last thoughts before she passed out from the pain.
Ling Tian walked away from the corpse behind him, it was mutilated beyond recognition, 'She was sent to a Divine King so that they remove the Talisman and then soul search useful information out of her, there is still time, I can make it.'
He rode on the serpent sword and vanished in an instant, shooting off like a meteor.