"The crown prince would replace you as the Emperor at an early age, Your Highness."
For this month alone, Xiu Rong held the tenth ox scapulae in her hands as she adjusted them under the lamplight swinging above their heads, making sure she clearly saw the cracks.
Her eyes couldn't have rolled back enough that she could see what her brain looked like.
It was good that the Emperor couldn't behead her for this insolence when she wore a deer skull mask over her face.
How many times did she have to repeat this to the Emperor before it sunk into that thick skull of his that his son was not only his son but the chosen son of the Heavens?
Xiu Rong sighed as she shifted in her knees, examining the oracle bones for the third time.
Yes, she wasn't blind.
Her interpretation was still similar to the previous ones.
She could feel the cold press of the facial bones against her sweaty skin while she adjusted the mask; its deer antlers lay heavy on her head.
Xiu Rong couldn't wait to take it off as she waited for the Emperor's response.
The dark and cramped dome-shaped chamber where she received her clients felt like she was inside a boiling cauldron as the small fire she lit at the center between her and the Emperor burned brighter, almost consuming the firewood.
It wouldn't be long before sticks burned out into its dying embers.
Xiu Rong needed to banish the Emperor like an evil spirit before that happened.
She lacked sleep from all the 'gu' she sent to the aristocrats who the Emperor had accused of treason in the Kingdom.
Xiu Rong was the Emperor's black shaman whose task was to curse all of his enemies who desired to usurp him from his throne.
She used to be one of the Ministry of Rites' shamans, provided with necessities: food, water, clothing, and a place to stay.
The Emperor heard the rumor that Xiu Rong was the best and most talented shaman endorsed by the Head of the Ministry of Rites and requested to meet her alone.
She could vividly recall what happened the first day.
Xiu Rong met the Emperor up close in one of his secret chambers as told by the Head Shaman to join him there.
She wasn't ready to engage the Emperor at that time because it was a shock for a penniless twenty-four-year old shaman to give an audience to the most powerful man in the Kingdom.
Xiu Rong wore an animal mask when she bowed down at the bottom of the stairs, kneeling in front of the Emperor, who sat on a pedestal.
The Emperor merely raised an eyebrow when she lifted her head to glance up at him for a second.
He didn't care about what she wore and went straight to the point. "Sell your soul in exchange for luxury or else… I will cut your head off."
That was how Xiu Rong sold her soul to the demons by becoming a dark shaman, the Emperor's death executioner, and his own spiritual assassin.
The Emperor must considered himself a god for having her in his control.
These months, it felt like the Emperor already forgot their agreement from the start.
Frowning, Xiu Rong bit her lip as she fought the urge to remind him.
He agreed that she would only kill the Emperor's enemies if ten assassination attempts had been made and all else failed.
The Emperor was supposed to use her as a final resort, but he was too impatient.
If it can be done, he wanted them dead as soon as possible after Xiu Rong read the enemy's oracle bones to figure out their secrets and weaknesses.
Xiu Rong must be certain if the enemies can be killed in just a single curse so that it wouldn't give her problems in the future.
If her 'gu' failed to destroy the Emperor's enemy, it meant that the Ancestral Spirit of the victim was strong enough to kill Xiu Rong, the 'gu' and the Emperor as revenge of his/her descendants.
Xiu Rong's soul was already sold to the devil, but if an ancestral spirit were stronger than her 'gu,' the ancestor would make her suffer while she lived, and of course, that would lead her to an early death.
Early death would mean dealing with the devil while her Master, the Emperor, had a free pure soul, which would lead him right to Heaven while she was tormented.
How unfair!
Gritting her teeth, she clutched on the oracle bones hard until it almost cracked.
Her hands were already dipped in the blood of the gu's victims, and the Emperor was determined to make the pool of blood on her feet turn into an ocean.
"Do you think this Divine Message would change in the next three days?"
At last, a response! But it made her release a heavy sigh.
She didn't bother hiding her frustration from the Emperor.
Jaws clenching, Xiu Rong placed the oracle bones aside, or else... she would be tempted to throw them into the fire. "I would like to be honest, Your Highness, but the answer is no. I have written this question ten times on the oracle bones, and the answer from the Divine is still the same. Please understand, Your Highness, that it wouldn't change."
The Emperor scowled as his beady eyes flew at the oracle bones as if urging her to pick it up and look at it again. "Did you find out the cause of the Crown Prince's death? I told you to ask the oracle bones about that."
"Ah. Yes, I did, Your Highness." Xiu Rong replied as she bowed her head respectfully, just if the Emperor might lash at her for telling him this. "I can foresee that the Crown Prince will fall off a boat and drown, or wild animals might eat him."
He seemed to like that. "But will he reach an old age?"
"Yes." Xiu Rong's brows knitted in confusion, her palms were flat to the ground. "Are you making sure that the Crown Prince would be safe until he becomes the Emperor?"
"No." The Emperor fixed a blank stare at her. "I want you to kill the Crown Prince."