Chapter 814
Chapter 814
“So you’re saying if Duke Russell attacks before Her Majesty finishes her seclusion and awakens, the Queen’s City is certain to fall?”
Zhang Chunhua nodded.
“Yes, that’s exactly what will happen.”
“Damn it all. You call this an empire? It’s more like children playing house!”
Zhang Chunhua said, sounding resigned.
“Her Majesty the Queen never intended to establish any sort of empire. They were the ones who raised the banner of the Witch Empire and declared their loyalty to her on their own.”
“I just walked through the Queen’s City and saw people still singing and dancing. I didn’t sense any of the tension that should precede a war. Why is that? Aren’t they afraid the city will fall?”
“They aren’t. Queen Medusa has never known defeat. No matter the enemy, no matter who they were, she was invincible. When she charged, her enemies were utterly vanquished. So, the people of the Queen’s City believe that as soon as Her Majesty appears, the enemy will be defeated.”
“They don’t know that Her Majesty is in seclusion?”
“That’s right. Except for a very few, no one knows.”
“So if Queen Medusa doesn’t awaken, the Witch Empire will be destroyed and the Queen’s City will fall? When is she supposed to wake up?”
“I don’t know.”
“This won’t do. I have to see her.”
“You can’t. Of course, I don’t mean that I’m stopping you. Four great masters guard the mausoleum where Her Majesty is in seclusion. Without her command, no one can approach. I’d be beheaded if I tried, and you’re no exception. Even if the Queen’s City were to fall, they would not tolerate anyone disturbing Her Majesty.”
“Four great masters? Where did they come from?”
“I don’t know. They just appeared out of nowhere.”
“Where did they appear from?”
“From the ancient ruins.”
*Th-this is insane!*
“Ancient humans?”
“I don’t know. But they don’t look like us.”
“This won’t do. I have to see Queen Medusa, no matter what. Where is she secluded?”
“In the mausoleum beneath the royal palace. You’re free to go on your own, but I must tell you this: if those four masters try to kill you, I won’t be able to stop them or save you.”
“Just take me there!”
“Very well!”
Zhang Chunhua led Shen Lang toward the underground mausoleum where Queen Medusa was in seclusion.
* * *
The empress who built the Queen’s City was an architectural fanatic. During her decades-long reign, she not only built the royal palace but also constructed her own mausoleum beneath it. But for Queen Medusa to choose that mausoleum for her seclusion… what kind of psychology was at play here? According to Zhang Chunhua, Queen Medusa had spent most of her time in recent years in the mausoleum, with her waking hours being extremely brief. At that moment, Shen Lang thought of Yaoyao, and his heart ached even more. A five-year-old child, forced to spend most of her time asleep in bed. Not only was her father absent, but even her mother was rarely by her side.
Following the path down from the palace, they entered a long, winding tunnel. Was this the tunnel to the mausoleum? Why was it so sparkling and translucent? Just how much of a dreamer was Empress Seiren, who reigned over a century ago? The path from the palace to the mausoleum symbolizes the journey from life to death. And she built it as such a radiant tunnel?
As they continued down the tunnel, the radiance gradually faded into gloom, until finally, only darkness remained. Did it symbolize life’s journey from radiant beauty to somber twilight, ending in eternal darkness?
This dark tunnel was so long that no light penetrated it; he couldn't see his hand in front of his face. It seemed to symbolize closing one's eyes and falling into a deep sleep. Then, points of light began to appear in the tunnel. Like stars in the night sky, they seemed to be scattered all around.
As they descended further, the stars in the tunnel grew denser, making him feel as if he were floating in a brilliant, star-filled night sky. The stars were made of special luminescent gems embedded in the walls. Shen Lang couldn't help but marvel at the beauty of the tunnel. When they finally reached the end, Zhang Chunhua stepped forward, activated a mechanism, and the door at the tunnel's end opened. Beyond this door lay the mausoleum. Shen Lang tried to imagine what it would look like.
*Whoosh.*
The moment the door opened, a brilliant ray of light assaulted his eyes. Having been in the dark for so long, Shen Lang couldn't open his eyes properly.
*This… this is a mausoleum? Isn't this heaven?*
Slowly opening his eyes, Shen Lang was stunned by the sight before him. He had never seen a mausoleum like this. It was a world of resplendent, vibrant color. Beneath a pink stone bridge, a subterranean river flowed silently. At the end of the bridge stood the mausoleum. The mausoleum was built to be an exact replica of the royal palace on the cliff above. It had the same walls and palaces, a perfect copy, but it was built upside down, like a reflection of the palace in water. Can you imagine it? An inverted palace, built underground to serve as a mausoleum. It was designed to give the viewer the feeling that this place was the palace's shadow. The artistic sense of Empress Seiren of the Second Empire left Shen Lang in awe. What romantic sentiment, what overflowing talent, could conceive of such a design? Her Queen’s City was one of a kind, and her mausoleum was unparalleled in all the world.
Zhang Chunhua and Shen Lang crossed the stone bridge and stood before the mausoleum gate. In front of the inverted palace. But he could go no further. Because everything ahead was upside down, and he lacked the extraordinary martial arts needed to walk inverted into it. And, just as Zhang Chunhua had said, four figures stood guard before the mausoleum palace gate. They were so still and silent they looked like statues. *Are they the ancient humans?* Shen Lang couldn't be sure. They looked different from Mulan. They were not beautiful in the slightest. Though female, they were as sturdy and imposing as men, with uniformly square faces and standing two meters tall.
“I can't go any further. In fact, I dare not. Anyone who steps within the mausoleum's bounds will be killed by them.”
“Then how do I prove I can enter?”
“If you walk over there and your head isn't chopped off, that's your proof.”
*Damn you, you vixen. Are you that eager to see my head roll?*
Shen Lang addressed the four masters.
“Excuse me, may I pass?”
The four masters didn't respond. Shen Lang shouted.
“Qiu Yao'er, Medusa. It's me, Shen Lang. I've come to see you.”
There was no response from within.
“Masters, I am the father of the little princess, Yaoyao. May I pass?”
The four masters remained as still as statues, ignoring his words completely. Shen Lang couldn't understand their intentions at all.
*Does this mean I can go in, or not?*
“Has anyone else tried to enter?”
“Yes. My senior sister came here to report an important discovery to the Queen. She, too, found the four masters standing like statues, showing no reaction. But before she could take a single step inside, her body was sliced into five pieces. That's how I became the only female official.”
Zhang Chunhua's calm words made Shen Lang's anger flare up again. Shen Lang fixed his gaze on the four masters, scanning their entire bodies with his X-ray vision. To be safe, he revealed the Nightmare Stone hanging around his neck. The four masters guarding the palace mausoleum still showed no reaction. Shen Lang closed his eyes. Firmly believing they would not kill him, he gritted his teeth, took a step forward, and entered the bounds of the palace mausoleum.
Zhang Chunhua held her breath. She was genuinely worried that Shen Lang would be instantly cut into five pieces. Although she had spoken lightly, she had been incredibly excited and happy when Shen Lang appeared before her again. She absolutely did not want to see anything happen to him. But nothing happened. The inverted masters remained as still as statues, showing no reaction.
*Why? Why is this happening?*
For a moment, Zhang Chunhua felt indignant and unconsciously took a small step, preparing to enter the mausoleum palace herself. In that instant, an overwhelming killing intent erupted. She was so startled she almost collapsed to the ground. The four masters still hadn't moved, but four pairs of eyes were now fixed on Zhang Chunhua. Their gazes were terrifying. To put it plainly, without exaggeration, she felt like she was about to wet herself. She had thought Shen Lang was able to enter because the four masters were asleep. But now she saw that wasn't the case at all. Shen Lang was allowed to enter, and she was not.
*Why? No one has ever been able to enter the Queen's secluded mausoleum. Why is Shen Lang the only one? Is it because they slept together? But Queen Medusa isn't Qiu Yao'er.*
* * *
After entering the palace mausoleum's grounds, Shen Lang walked with great difficulty. Everything here was inverted, so it was like he was walking on the sky. He had to proceed carefully into the mausoleum's interior. Queen Medusa was likely inside the central palace. Shen Lang painstakingly climbed to the top of the palace, finally reaching the main gate.
What was carved on this palace? Was this a statue of Empress Seiren of the Second Empire? A single glance was enough to captivate him, and he found he couldn't look away. Was the Empress of the Second Empire that beautiful? So beautiful that a mere statue could hold his gaze so completely? But now was not the time to dwell on this empress. What mattered was Queen Medusa. Shen Lang's mind raced with possibilities.
*What has Qiu Yao'er become? Is she, at the very least, still Qiu Yao'er?*
The mystery was about to be solved. Shen Lang took a deep breath and pushed the doors open with all his might. The sight of Queen Medusa inside met his eyes. And then, as if frozen in time, Shen Lang stopped all movement.
*She… is truly not Qiu Yao'er anymore. She was once, but not now.*
Shen Lang tried very, very hard to find traces of the old Qiu Yao'er in her, but it was incredibly difficult. Mulan, even after her transformation, was still Mulan. No matter how much more beautiful she became, how much taller, how much more voluptuous her figure, her personality hadn't changed, nor had her familiar aura. Even her appearance retained about eighty percent of its original form. But Qiu Yao'er? How much of her original self remained? Ten percent? Perhaps not even that. Shen Lang could find no words to describe the beauty of the woman before him, nor her figure. Because she transcended the scope of human language, of human perception. Both her face and her figure exuded a demonic aura. Even the phrase 'beauty that could topple nations' felt inadequate to describe this Queen Medusa. Perhaps it could only be described as a demonic beauty, a demonic charm. Seeing her like this, it was no wonder Zhang Chunhua couldn't be sure if Queen Medusa was human or not.
After a great deal of effort, Shen Lang managed to find some feature of Qiu Yao'er in her. A very, very small remnant. She truly didn't seem human. So why was she called Queen Medusa? Was it because of her bewitching, beautiful, demonic face? Or the fantastical curves of her indescribable figure?
Yes! Her figure exuded an unparalleled, mythical charm from every angle, and her face was like a fusion of heaven and hell, enough to utterly captivate and submerge a person's soul. What on earth had happened to her in the ancient ruins? How could such a drastic change have occurred? Having changed so much, it was no wonder no one called her Qiu Yao'er anymore. Did all of this have to do with her golden bloodline? So, what should he call the woman before him? The one who was ten percent Qiu Yao'er and ninety percent Queen Medusa? Shen Lang's mind was in turmoil.