Chapter 15: Xiao

"Who says I am dead?"

The woman before him spoke these words. Her identity, then, was all but revealed.

Su Ziye turned back, gazing at the woman who had appeared so suddenly, and smiled. "I thought you wouldn't come to see me."

He seemed to have everything under control.

"I noticed you the moment you entered this forest. If not for my intervention, you would never have been able to cross the ice plains sealed by the Shadow of Extreme Cold," Xiao said calmly.

She was an exceptionally beautiful woman, possessing a grace that was both elegant and refined. It was not a beauty that struck one with sudden intensity, but rather, standing before her, one could only feel that every aspect of her was flawless, unable to resist the weight of her presence and charm.

"I just didn't expect you to bring a weapon here," Xiao remarked.

"Is there a problem with that?" Su Ziye asked.

"Of course there is a problem," Xiao sighed softly.

With that, she walked straight ahead. Su Ziye followed, and Xingxi trailed behind him.

Before them lay a lake. It was not a very large lake. It was a snow-white lake. A snow-white, not-so-large ice lake. Yet, as Su Ziye gazed at it, he felt as though he were looking out over an entire ocean. He had never seen a power more formidable or magnificent. Nothing could compare to it.

"Surprising, isn't it? This is the molted shell of the End," Xiao said quietly. "When the End finally fell, its remains became this lake, and its blood splashed out to form the sea of flowers. To seal it completely, the ancient gods who had existed since the dawn of heaven and earth joined forces to cast a barrier—the very barrier that is now the Forest of Waning Radiance."

"You could say that all the magical beasts in the Forest of Waning Radiance survive and grow by relying on the faint traces of magical energy emitted by this lake."

"Yue Yi didn't mention this in his notes—for instance, I didn't know the name 'the End'," Su Ziye said with a faint smile. "But since you can speak the name, it means the End is truly dead, doesn't it?"

"Of course. If the End were still alive, no living soul would exist, and we humans would never have been born," Xiao said coolly. She turned around, her sapphire earrings tinkling softly. "So, why have you appeared here, Your Highness?"

"I have already met Xia," Su Ziye said calmly, reaching out to draw the Blade of Illusion and Annihilation. "Xia gave me this weapon. You should know how much karma it carries."

"I don't know why Xia chose you. Had it not been for that, I would have killed you the moment I laid eyes on you," Xiao said with a faint smile, though the murderous intent in her words was undisguised.

"Your existence is a disaster to this world. If you had died sooner, or if you had never been born at all, this world would be a much better place," Xiao continued. "But Xia does not think so."

"Perhaps because you are his descendant, or perhaps because he saw a glimmer of hope in you. Regardless, the fact remains that he gave you the Blade of Illusion and Annihilation."

"However," Xiao looked at Su Ziye and paused, "I am not Xia."

She said it simply.

"There are three Sages in this world. I have already met one of them. The Sage Yue Yi is dead; I chose to finish reading his notes," Su Ziye said coolly. "That leaves only one of the three Sages I have yet to meet, and that is you."

"And I happened to know exactly how to find you, so I came here."

"But you shouldn't have brought a weapon with you," Xiao said, glancing at Xingxi behind Su Ziye. "Aren't you afraid I might kill her?"

"I'm just gambling. I'm betting that you won't kill her," Su Ziye looked at Xiao. "Xingxi is a good child, and you wouldn't kill a good child."

"Your definition of a 'good child' must differ somewhat from mine," Xiao sighed.

She snapped her fingers lightly toward Xingxi. The girl collapsed straight backward, stiff as a statue.

Su Ziye did not move. Even as the sound of her landing echoed and faded, he did not turn his head.

"Thank you," he said.

"If you continue to be so clever, you will surely bring real bitterness upon yourself," Xiao said indifferently.

"I have some things I want to ask you," Su Ziye said, ignoring her warning and getting straight to the point.

"Are these questions only I can answer? Your Highness is truly greedy," Xiao said calmly.

"Do you know where I come from?" Su Ziye looked at Xiao.

Xiao smiled. "You come from the Ster Empire, the Xiguang clan. Is that not enough?"

"It is not enough," Su Ziye said without hesitation.

Xiao had asked if it wasn't enough, and Su Ziye had countered bluntly that it was not.

Xiao could only sigh. "I know you are a soul that does not belong to this world, but how your soul arrived here, I do not know."

Su Ziye laughed. He said thank you.

"Truly worthy of being called a Sage," Su Ziye continued.

"This age is no longer the age of Sages," Xiao added quietly. "I am merely a woman waiting to die."

"I want to change this world, and you will not stop me, right?" Su Ziye pressed on.

"I will not. But someone else will stop you," Xiao said coolly.

"That would be truly interesting. I have many, many things to do. If someone really intends to stop me, I will do everything in my power to make them taste the bitterness of failure," Su Ziye declared with absolute confidence.

"Not 'he', but 'she'," Xiao corrected him quietly.

Su Ziye had not expected it to be a girl.

"May I know..." Su Ziye stopped mid-sentence.

He wanted to know her name so he could eliminate her in advance, but in the end, he chose silence.

Xiao smiled.

"Her name is Ye Qing."

Su Ziye knew the name. It was a very famous name indeed. The royal family of the Lanye Empire was the Ye clan, and Ye Qing was the fourth daughter of the current Emperor of Lanye. She was the Fourth Princess of Lanye.

"I don't believe it," Su Ziye said, dismissing the thought entirely.

Though she was famous, she was merely a little girl, only six or seven years old. To tell Su Ziye now that a little girl would become the greatest enemy of his life, or even prevent him from realizing his desire to change the world—naturally, Su Ziye chose not to believe it.

A mere princess—Su Ziye truly did not take her seriously.

Xiao laughed happily.

"Your Highness, would you be willing to accept a commission from me?"

"I can grant you any reward you wish."

"Any reward you desire."