Chapter 68: The Puppet Queen
The sudden death of the Queen of Loulan had forced Sarah, in the midst of her half-childhood, to bear not only the pain of losing her mother, but also the heavy burden of an entire kingdom.
Seeing the cheering "people" at her feet, a shimmering wetness flickered in Sarah's eyes.
Loulan had once been a crumbling ruin. It was only with Anrokuzan's help that her mother had transformed it into the prosperous sight before her. This was her mother's lifelong work, the most precious treasure Sarah had inherited.
Sarah waved enthusiastically, greeting her "subjects" below.
Suddenly, a sharp, violent tug from behind yanked her off balance. Unprepared, she stumbled forward towards the platform's guardrail.
CRACK-BOOM!
The guardrail and the stone platform beneath her feet shattered simultaneously. Her foot met empty air. Before she could even scream, she was falling from a height of tens of meters.
Just as death seemed inevitable, a dark shadow shot past. An arm hooked around her waist, and in an instant, she was whisked away from the cascading debris.
"Alright, you can open your eyes now."
The voice was calm. Liumu set down the girl who was still curled up, eyes squeezed shut, on solid ground.
"Huh?" Dazedly, Sarah opened her eyes. She found herself in a dark alley of the ancient city, completely unharmed.
"You…" She blinked, then her eyes widened in panic. "Ah! Why did you hit me?!"
Whether from residual fear or sheer confusion, upon seeing the unfamiliar boy, Sarah closed her eyes and began slapping at him wildly.
Liumu: "…???"
Is this how you treat people? I'm your savior! Shouldn't the beneficiary be offering to pledge their life or something in return? How did I end up getting slapped?
"Are you crazy?! I just saved you!" Liumu roared.
The memory of the fall flashed through Sarah's mind, followed by her safe landing… Her flailing hands froze.
"Oh… it was you. I'm sorry. I… I blamed you wrongly." She bowed deeply, her apology sincere.
Liumu sighed, letting the matter drop. "Forget it."
"By the way, who are you?" Sarah asked, studying his clothes with a slight frown. "Your attire… you don't seem to be from Loulan."
Loulan, situated deep in the desert, saw few outsiders. The last stranger Sarah remembered was Anrokuzan. The sudden appearance of another one piqued her curiosity.
But…
Liumu just chuckled, pointing towards the "people" in the square. "People of Loulan? You mean… them?"
Before she could answer, he vanished, reappearing in the square to snatch one of the "citizens." As he flew back, several crystal-clear chakra threads snapped in the air with a faint ping.
That single, brief contact was enough.
In a dark chamber within the city, a bloated man hidden in shadows suddenly snapped his sharp eyes open.
"Ah… so our distant 'guest' has finally discovered our little secret," he murmured, a cold smile twisting his lips.
"Look. This is what you call your 'subjects.'" Liumu tossed the puppet onto the ground with a dull thud.
Seeing that the "boisterous crowd" in the distance was composed entirely of lifeless puppets, Sarah's face drained of color. She stood frozen, her mind blank.
"And not just this one. Every single person in that square is a puppet."
Watching Sarah's knees buckle, sending her crashing to the ground in tears, Liumu knelt beside her, patting her back gently. "You're the Queen of Loulan. Do you think it's fitting to kneel here and cry right now?"
"H-how… how could this be?" Sarah sobbed, her shoulders shaking. Through her tears, her gaze drifted to the forehead protector on Liumu's arm.
Noticing her look, Liumu answered her unspoken question. "My name is Liumu. I'm a shinobi from Konohagakure."
"Konoha?" Sarah repeated blankly, the name meaning nothing to her.
"Doesn't matter what Konoha is. What matters is you've seen the lie. Now you need to do something."
Sarah was still a child, freshly ripped from her protective shell. Having just lost her mother, she had seen Anrokuzan as Loulan's pillar, its most loyal retainer. She had no idea this "faithful minister" had murdered her mother for the sake of the Dragon Vein.
Liumu hadn't earned her trust yet. No matter how much he knew, he couldn't simply tell her.
"I'm going to find Anrokuzan!" Sarah's expression hardened. She wiped her tears roughly with her sleeve and stood up.
Everything about Loulan, aside from herself, was best understood by Anrokuzan. If even the common people had been replaced by puppets, it was impossible he didn't know. And his silence could only mean one thing: he was behind it.
Moreover… looking at these standard-issue puppets, only one person in Loulan possessed such skill: Anrokuzan himself.
Without giving Liumu a chance to speak, Sarah followed an overhead pipeline to a well, heaved open the cover, and jumped straight in.
Navigating the underground passage, Sarah emerged into the royal district. Before she could take a step, a pair of hands dragged her into the shadows of a nearby house.
"Don't move. Give them back to us!"
Sarah: "…???"
A candle was lit. Under its flickering light, a group of ragged, desperate Loulan citizens revealed themselves.
"Y-you are…?" Sarah asked, shrinking back in fear.
"Your Majesty… please, give our families back to us." A short woman with freckles stepped forward, her voice breaking with a plea.
"Families?" Sarah frowned. "What families?"
"Six months ago," the woman explained, "soldiers broke into my home and took my father and brother. They said it was by your order, to serve in the royal city for three months. But now, half a year has passed. The soldiers are still taking people, and none of those taken before have returned."
"My order?" Sarah looked utterly bewildered. "But… I never gave any such order."
The gathered citizens stared, stunned. They knew Queen Sarah. They couldn't be mistaken about her identity. Yet her firm denial left them speechless and lost.
"But…" The freckled girl started to speak again but was stopped by a taller woman behind her.
The woman stepped forward. "Your Majesty, it's not just her. Every woman here has had the men in their families taken. If you didn't give the order… then who…?"
"I understand." Sarah's voice grew resolute. "I will investigate this matter immediately."
With that, she turned and strode out the door, heading for the main audience hall. Liumu, having just dropped from the roof, landed beside her.
"Where's Anrokuzan?" Sarah muttered, scanning the empty hall suspiciously.
Suddenly, the harsh grating of metal on stone echoed through the chamber.
"Watch out!"
Cold glints of light flashed from both sides of the hall. Sarah felt her body tense. The next moment, the air was filled with the sound of shattering stone and snapping threads.
(End of Chapter)
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