After Luan Feixue gave the final hit, she sighed in relief. However, as she was sighing, she felt a hint of threat behind her.
With quick reflexes, Luan Feixue turned around, but the speed of the attack was too swift. 'W-What!?'
As she turned around, she saw the people she previously thought of as allies looking at her with cold looks.
However, before the sword light pierced her head, a fair and tender hand appeared in its way.
CLANG!
Everyone stopped, their faces full of confusion.
Meanwhile, Luan Feixue felt a soft yet firm arm wrap around her waist, pulling her into a soft and protective embrace. "You did well, Little Feixue. Sadly, you were so focused on the Dan Family that you failed to see that those you considered allies didn't want to get rid of the current dynasty, but the previous one as well."
"Y-You! Who are you!?"
"Isn't that woman Ainesay? The one we used to create all that chaos?"
"What? Impossible! Didn't she die on that carriage?"
Yasenia ignored the shouts around them and focused her attention on Luan Feixue. There would be more than enough time to deal with those who dared try to kill her precious disciple.
Luan Feixue, her mind somewhat blank, looked up at Yasenia. "Master… Why?"
Yasenia's golden eyes softened, her lips gently landing on her forehead. "Are you confused as to why they want to kill you as well?"
Luan Feixue nodded, her gaze full of confusion and complicated emotions. Even as she used these families to get rid of the Dan Family, after over two years of cooperation, she had gained some close friends among them.
After all, to keep her mind on track during all the scheming, she made sure to make some friends. Yet, the one who threw the sword aura talisman was one of those she considered friends.
"Why not ask them?"
Yasenia didn't bother looking at the mortals that she could erase with a thought. Her eyes were focused on seeing that Feixue was not too hurt, but hurt enough to learn.
Feixue glanced around, her eyes complicated. "Why? Didn't I help you get rid of the Dan Family?"
Of course, these people were cunning. The second that attack failed so miserably, they understood that the dragon woman who had been acting as a mute beauty was far more than she showed.
"Retreat!"
Knowing the danger, they did the only intelligent thing: flee.
Yasenia chuckled. "You want to leave? Have you asked for my permission?"
There was no violent aura, just a gentle pulse.
The second this pulse spread out, everyone around the courtyard was paralyzed, their muscles frozen stiff.
With a single thought, the human man who used the talisman appeared in front of Feixue. The man's eyes, the only part of his body that was not controlled by Yasenia, were frantically looking around, terror evident in his pupils.
Feixue opened and closed her mouth twice before she finally found her words. "Why did you want to kill me? Didn't I tell you that I would leave this country after I was done with the Dan Family?"
The man, feeling his mouth free to move, ignored Luan Feixue and quickly pleaded. "S-Senior! Please, mercy. We didn't know that you were such a powerful immortal. We didn't—"
Yasenia looked at him once, her golden slit eyes showing incredible majesty. "My disciple asked you a question. Answer it, and she might choose to spare you."
The man's pupils shrank to dots. 'Disciple?' He and everyone else listening were far from stupid. 'A setup. This entire thing was a setup!'
Clearly, this mysterious senior took in Luan Feixue and, after knowing about her background, decided to help her act. From the very beginning, the Dan Family was doomed to be erased!
The man looked at Feixue's complicated expression and stuttered, his heart thundering in his chest. "L-Little Feixue."
"Miss Feixue." Yasenia interrupted coldly. "Only I can call her Little Feixue."
Feixue's complicated emotions disappeared like a puff of smoke, her heart surging with tender emotions. 'Right… What does it matter? I have Master with me.'
Thinking to this point, Feixue's expression calmed down, a faint smile appearing on her lips, and she acted spoiled and leaned into Yasenia's incredibly soft embrace. Feeling her Master's soft curves press around her, Feixue rubbed her face on her shoulder. "Master, it doesn't matter anymore."
The dragoness glanced down at Feixue, and seeing that she was okay, she internally sighed in relief. Her arms became slightly firmer, pulling her closer, and her dragon tail moved to pat her head. "This is a lesson I want you to learn, so listen to what he has to say."
Feixue didn't complain and nodded obediently. "If that's what Master wants, I'll listen." Then, her smile disappeared and she looked coldly at her former friend. "Speak. I don't want to waste time I could spend with Master listening to you."
The man began sweating coldly. His eyes shifted around for a bit, and then he spoke with a tremor in his voice. "L-Lady Feixue, our intentions were for the empire. If Lady Luan were kept alive, your influence would affect the empire even if you left. Were you to return in the future with the intent to claim the empire, more bloodshed would flow!"
Finding his rhythm, the man's words became firmer. "Therefore, you needed to die! You are only a ghost of the past that needed to go!"
Luan Feixue's heart didn't fluctuate. She heard his objectively hurtful words and nodded. "I see."
Yasenia was amused, looking at Feixue. "He lied to you. Is it that hard to read him? He is so shifty and uneasy."
The man's expression paled, and Luan Feixue was confused. "He lied? But his reasoning was not that… faulty. Cruel, yes, but his words made some sense."
"Exactly." Yasenia used her hand to gently caress Feixue's black hair. "Because you'd react as you have," he spoke with conviction. "After all, if you believed him, you probably would ask me to spare them, right? With that, their chances of surviving are higher."
Luan Feixue's eyes widened slightly. "No wonder… I was indeed going to ask Master not to be too harsh…"
Ignoring the terrified man who had all his thoughts easily read and exposed, Luan Feixue glanced at Yasneia. "What's the truth, then?"
She was absolutely confident that her Master knew the answer. 'After all, Master is the best!'
Her belief in Yasenia had reached the point of blind confidence.
Our dragoness laughed and kissed her forehead again. "Alright, I'll clarify your doubts this time. After all, these people won't confess easily, and I don't really want to lose more time here. Your revenge has been completed, and that's what's most important."
With a wave of her hand, five people appeared in front of them. "The one to the left, do you know his name?"
Feixue glanced at the short but good-looking man and nodded. "He is Fa Rudong, right?"
"Wrong." Yasenia chuckled. "His real name is Dan Moyuan."
Feixue stiffened. "...Dan?"
Yasenia smiled. "Yes. He is a spy who was planted in the Fa family at birth. The Emperor had one such child in each family. These people grew and exchanged like cuckoos do with the nests of other birds. Naturally, Emperor Dan used his own means to contact them and make them believe that they were the chosen ones of the Dan Family. By now, they are basically fanatics of the Dan family."
Luan Feixue's little mouth opened. The dragoness hugged Feixue from behind, placing her chin on top of her head. "The other two are also descendants of the Dan Family. Naturally, their children were secretly taught by them."
Feixue didn't know what to say. "Why… Why didn't they kill me then?"
"Because… Their fanaticism has twisted because of their ambition. They don't even know about each other, which is the funny thing. Each of them thinks of using this chance to eliminate all the other noble families and reclaim control. But someone stands in the path of their dreams. Guess who?"
Feixue looked up at her beautiful Master and pointed at herself. "Me?"
Yasenia nodded. "So, they came to an agreement. Once the Dan Family was exterminated, you would be dealt with, marking the 'True Beginning' of the new empire." She then shook her head. "Even if they succeeded, the only end of this Empire would've been an internal collapse. There is a small beast tide coming this way from the south that will arrive in around 3 years. By that time, no one will be able to resist, and everyone will be exterminated."
Luan Feixue: "Wow."
She didn't even feel angry. She was mystified by how ruthless the Dan Family was and how it basically ate itself from within until its collapse after Emperor Dan died.
"So…" Feixue asked, confused. "What did you want me to learn, Master?"
Yasenia lowered her face and kissed Feixue's cheek with a smile. "I wanted my precious disciple to engrave deep inside that you can trust nobody. Unless you are willing to place your very heart in their hands, always keep your guard up. Always look for hints of betrayal."
Luan Feixue nodded, seriously engraving this lesson deep in her heart. "What now, Master?"
Yasenia smiled. "Of course." She took out a sword and gave it to her precious disciple. "Time to decapitate the true last bloodline of the Dan Family."
Feixue grabbed it without a hint of doubt and nodded. She didn't even bother stepping out of Yasenia's comfortable embrace before swinging her sword at them.
SLASH!
Three heads flew into the air, truly and finally ending the Dan Family's bloodline for good. As for their children, Yasenia didn't mention them to Feixue; she dealt with them herself.
"Let's go, Master! We are done here." Feixue smiled, feeling satisfied.
Yasenia picked up her disciple like a princess and chuckled. "Let's go, then."
Then, she stomped the ground and shot up.
BOOM!
The shockwave exterminated everyone from the noble families, leaving absolutely no survivors nearby. She had previously used her energy to move innocent mortals, so there was absolutely no collateral damage.
Once in the air, Yasenia extended her Spiritual Sense to cover the entirety of the former Dan Empire and waved her hand.
Luan Feixue saw thousands of white stars the size of a head manifest, her eyes glittering. "Wow. What are these for?"
"Killing all the trash that dared conspire against you." With another wave of her hand, the stars streaked across the sky, landing on everyone who offended her disciple.
Luan Feixue looked at Yasenia's cold expression and felt her heart flutter. Not romantically, but full of love for her Master as a parental figure. She hugged her neck, her smile wide as she kissed Yasenia's cheek. "I love you, Master!"
Yasenia blinked and smiled at her. "I love you, Little Feixue."