Cui Ji stood guard outside the palace.
All around was silent and desolate. The palace lanterns hanging from the eaves swayed in the wind, distorting and twisting the shadows of flowers and trees on the tiled ground.
He was watching those shadows when suddenly, a loud "bang" echoed.
He turned sharply to look at the palace, disregarding his identity as a court official of the Great Zhou Dynasty, and rushed in without hesitation.
He made his way unimpeded to the palace hall. Yan Zheming was already nowhere to be seen. The thin silk curtains hanging in the hall fluttered and swayed in the night, while the bath slowly revealed shocking red streaks of blood. A delicate figure emerged from the water, her long black hair spreading out like a fluffy fox tail, accentuating her pale face that resembled a sheet of paper.
"Madam Shen!"
Cui Ji called out in a hoarse voice and jumped into the bath without hesitation.
