While Lang Jiuchuan was busy on her end expelling poison and suppressing the plague, the Imperial Palace was shrouded in a pall of gloom and misery.

The new Emperor, Tantai Yan, felt as though he were merely a fool who had been selected to take the blame. The moment he ascended the throne, a great plague descended upon him — and not some pestilence born from natural disaster that could be treated with medicine, but a catastrophe wrought by corpse specters.

This sort of calamity caused by corpse poison, one that gave rise to corpse-fiend afflictions, was far more terrifying than ordinary corpse poison. In order not to incite panic and turmoil throughout the realm of Da Dan, he had chosen to conceal it — was that not warranted? And to prevent harm to other commoners, what was wrong with ordering quarantine and extermination?

Yet that unbending, iron-willed Shen Qinghe was still speaking of putting the people first, insisting those monsters could still be called human beings, and demanding he announce the matter to the world — would that not be telling all under heaven that he, the new Emperor, was lacking in virtue?

Tantai Yan felt both aggrieved and despondent. Had he known it would come to this, he would have been better off giving himself a slash and living as a carefree man of leisure, rather than coming here to learn how to be an emperor.

He also could not understand it — he was only sixteen, spending his days walking dogs and fighting roosters, thoroughly frivolous by nature. How had the National Preceptor managed to single him out from among countless frivolous young men and decide he was suited for the great responsibility of Emperor?

Was the man blind?

“Your Majesty, the Sacred Woman has arrived!” The chief eunuch scrambled to his feet in urgency.

Tantai Yan was so startled he immediately stood up. Watching the Tantai Imperial Princess enter from outside, her entire person emanating a cold aura, he hastily descended from the dragon throne and stepped forward to bow. “Sacred Woman, Your Highness.”

“Corpse specters have appeared within Da Dan, bringing calamity upon the realm, and many people have contracted the corpse poison. I have heard that rather than ordering treatment of the plague, you issued a decree to burn villages and slaughter the villagers who were infected?” The Tantai Imperial Princess looked at him with eyes cold as ice. “Those villagers — perhaps in your eyes they are lowly commoners of no consequence, yet they are all subjects of Da Dan, and they are your people. When a plague exists, the proper course is to eradicate the plague, pacify the realm, and safeguard the people. Yet your actions amount to nothing but slaughter to demonstrate your iron-fisted authority?”

Her tone was ice-cold and severe. Tantai Yan was so frightened his face went deathly pale. “Your Highness, I have already sent Daoist priests from the clan to attend to the matter — it is only that there is no proven remedy. This corpse plague is terrifying, and I feared it would spread even further, which is why I issued that decree.”

“Anyone infected with corpse poison — whether there is hope for them or not — to be executed without exception? Whose idea was this?”

Tantai Yan stammered and faltered, not daring to speak.

The Tantai Imperial Princess narrowed her eyes and looked toward the chief eunuch standing nearby. “Transmit my decree: Tantai Fang plotted to inflame the Emperor’s judgment, harboring treacherous intentions and acting as a root of harm to the nation. His entire clan is to be thrown into prison, including the three maternal lineages.”

Tantai Yan’s eyes filled with terror. He dropped to his knees with a thud. “Sacred Woman, I was wrong. I am young, this is my first time being Emperor, and I have only held the position for a few months. My conduct has been lacking and I have failed the expectations of the National Preceptor. Why not strip me of the imperial robes and let me return home? Please do not harm my family — they only offered a suggestion. I did not know better. Please have mercy on us. I renounce the throne!”

As he spoke, tears fell from his eyes.

Being Emperor meant forfeiting his family and inheriting this enormous, ruinous mess. Better not to be Emperor at all. Whoever wished to be Emperor could have it.

The Tantai Imperial Princess watched him — panicked and helpless as a child — and could not suppress a surge of fury. This was the new Emperor. So utterly useless. On what basis had the National Preceptor chosen him as sovereign?

An unnamed fire blazed within her heart, and only by digging her nails hard into her palm did she manage to press it back down.

“Rise. Issue the decree: broadcast the symptoms of the corpse-poison plague widely so all commoners may be on guard. Should anyone discover that someone nearby exhibits irregularities or shows symptoms, they must report it and self-isolate to avoid harming those around them. We are already developing an antidote — there is no need for excessive panic. Order the Five City Constabulary to patrol day and night. Any who have been bitten, develop symptoms, and fail to report are to be apprehended and quarantined without exception. Anyone who reports another shall receive a reward of one tael of silver. The corpse-specter calamity is a tribulation and crisis for all of Da Dan — to prevent the plague from spreading ever wider, all people must be enlisted.” The Tantai Imperial Princess said in a cold voice, “Furthermore, requisition medicinal herbs and grain from the major herb merchants and grain merchants throughout the capital. Any who deliberately inflate prices by more than twenty percent are to be executed immediately.”

Tantai Yan rose trembling to his feet. “Understood.”

The Tantai Imperial Princess turned and walked away. After two steps, she tilted her head slightly. “A qualified sovereign must learn to know talent and employ it wisely, possess breadth of heart and mind, and hold a benevolent spirit within. I do not expect brilliance or grand strategy from you — only that you place the people first and seek their welfare. Tantai Yan, even if you cannot be a wise ruler, do not be a tyrant.”

Tantai Yan acknowledged her words in a small voice. After she had gone, he went limp and sank to the ground, realizing that his back was drenched in cold sweat — an icy chill spreading through him.

The Tantai Imperial Princess turned toward the Bureau of Surveillance. In the detention area, everything was in chaos — with leads being followed one after another, more and more people who had contracted the corpse poison were being found, some with mild symptoms, others severe. The entire detention area was nearly overflowing.

Her complexion went ashen. It had already spread this far. Wu Jing had only just discovered it — the situation in Guanjiang Village at the source must be far more dire.

A catastrophe upon all living beings — it was nothing less than this.

If it could not be controlled, would all of humanity within Da Dan be wiped out by this? Would the world itself collapse?

The Tantai Imperial Princess made her way to Gong Si’s area. He had just finished administering needles to expel poison and his complexion was slightly pale from having expended spiritual power. Upon seeing the Sacred Woman, he merely gave a shallow bow with cupped hands. “Sacred Woman, in this time of catastrophe for all living beings, I ask that the Sacred Woman convey to the National Preceptor that he should step forward — to bestow spiritual purification upon the people, participate in developing an antidote for the corpse-poison plague, and deliver the ten thousand living beings.”

These words…

The Tantai Imperial Princess looked sharply toward him. “Whose intent is this?”

Gong Si frowned. “You and the National Preceptor — one is the Sacred Woman who protects the nation, the other is the National Preceptor who protects the nation. Now that a plague has erupted across Da Dan, and moreover this is no ordinary pestilence but one caused by corpse specters, it will require all those who cultivate the Dao to participate in purifying the filth and resolving the calamity. Is that not so? I assumed Dao-friend Lang had already made this clear to you.”

An ordinary physician, even if capable of devising a herbal decoction to purge the corpse poison, would have no means of expelling the yin energy brought by that corpse poison. This required cultivators of both the Buddhist and Daoist paths to resolve.

A hint of bitterness touched the corners of the Tantai Imperial Princess’s mouth. Lang Jiuchuan had not made it explicit, yet she had anticipated a great many things — for instance, that the new Emperor would not dare inform the realm and would even decree the slaughter of already-infected villagers, that she would be called upon to take charge of the overall situation. And what of the National Preceptor, whom she viewed as her mortal enemy? Had Lang Jiuchuan also anticipated his decisions?

“I will relay this to the National Preceptor.” She turned and left.

Gong Si watched her retreating figure, a faint light shifting in his eyes.

Walking out of the Bureau of Surveillance, she raised her head to look at the sky — dark clouds pressing down, the atmospheric pressure low and suffocating, barely allowing one to breathe. Looking at the streets below, though it should by now have been the New Year, there was not a trace of festivity anywhere.

The Tantai Imperial Princess withdrew her gaze, drew a slow deep breath, and sent the Daoist Bagua to invite the National Preceptor to descend the mountain and deliver all living beings. She herself returned to the Bureau of Surveillance — since Lang Jiuchuan was at Guanjiang Village, she would hold Wu Jing.

Daoist Bagua furrowed his brow. His pale eyes fixed on the direction where the Tantai Imperial Princess had disappeared, his lips pressing together. Ever since that person appeared, the Sacred Woman’s heart had been thrown into disarray.

Lang Jiuchuan received the transmission from Gong Si, her gaze coldly sharp as she looked into the void. This seemingly coercive test — to force the old monster’s hand — would the old monster accept it?