Blue Phoenix Chapter 44 - Grave of the Unknown

“Grave of the Unknown?” Hui Yue frowned. He had never heard of anything like this before, but he quickly decided that it might not be as great a help to him as the king thought because he had Lan Feng by his side.

‘You idiot!’ a voice said in his mind as he decided that it was not worth it. ‘Graves of the various Saints are filled with many different kinds of treasures. They could have medicinal pills with so much strength that they would be of enormous help in advancing to the Emperor rank, and there could be treasures that even you could use. Even if you can’t use them, you might be able to find items for your new kid. He doesn't have the help of a phoenix,’ he snorted. Hui Yue could not help but agree with the phoenix. What he said was true. He had just been too full of himself.

‘Also there could be something that interests me there...’ the phoenix mumbled silently, so quietly that Hui Yue almost missed it. ‘What could you be interested in?’ he asked curiously. ‘Remember how you need to balance yin and yang energies. Well If we are lucky, he will have some yin medicinal herbs or pills, and if we are really lucky, we might even find something with ancestral worldpower.’

‘Well honestly don't think about this for now, just make sure that you can join when they go,’ Lan Feng said while thinking about all the treasures they might have missed out on. ‘Getting permission to enter was great as there will be a large number of traps and dangers inside. If the third prince were to die in this grave then no one would be able to blame you,’ Lan Feng’s voice became lower and lower as he spoke but the words caused the blood within Hui Yue’s body to burn with excitement. A grave was a fitting resting place for the third prince, and as he thought about this, a smile played across his face. He then turned his focus from inside his body to his surroundings.

The king had been attentively watching the expression on the young man by his side. At first, he had seen a lack of interest, something which completely shocked him as everyone who knew about the grave become insanely excited. So excited in fact that they would start to breathe roughly, their eyes would widen, and they would almost salivate. An apathetic expression was visible on his face.

But his apathetic expression soon changed, and a frown appeared on his face. His eyes seemed to become sharper as he was deep in thought. Seeing this, the king stayed quiet as he observed the expert in front of him. He wished for the young man to take him up on his invitation. He wanted the young man to owe the Royal Family a favor and get in his good graces.

His frown quickly vanished, and his usual emotionless expression returned. He noticed that as more and more ministers were continuously joining the discussion, it was becoming increasingly heated. Loud voices could be heard throughout the room, but despite this, the king said nothing and just sat there in his chair. The three would mostly just watch and try to follow everyone’s arguments, the best they could, and the king would occasionally lean to his side and exchange pleasantries with his daughter and the white-haired young man.

“They are discussing whether or not we should invite the families within the city, not to mention experts from Yueliang Province,” the king explained to Hui Yue as he saw that the younger man was trying to listen in on the conversations. “Half of the ones present think that we should keep this to ourselves so as to gain more treasure, while the other group fears that if we only have the strength of one empire, then we will not be able to explore the grave fully. When Saints decide to end their lives, they have reached the peak of their performance. When they have lived for uncountable years and experienced all there is to experience, that is when one becomes tired of life and wishes to end it. For this Saint to have decided to lay down his life here, he definitely would have set up a lot of deadly traps and dangers to stop any looters. No one wishes to have their grave robbed by others after all,” the king explained.

“Some think that because this might be a Saint’s final resting place, and that it is located in our kingdom, we won’t need help from others. However, considering that we do not have as many Saints as we would like, it is probably best to invite experts from the rest of the world so we can at least obtain something from the tomb and survive,” sighing the king glanced at the discussing men once more and leaned back in his chair. “Well, my opinion hardly matters right now, though. I am too old and weak actually to have a say in this discussion. Currently, it is the three brothers who are fighting one another. They will decide how we handle the situation and proceed,” he sighed, and his apathy about the subject was more than clear to Hui Yue.

Not knowing what to say, Hui Yue was quiet for some time before he lazily stretched his body. “I heard that my good friend Lord Rong from Riluo City supports his Highness,” he said casually as he looked out over the room. “But I also heard that his Highness has problems with his sons; tell me, has there ever been a queen?” he asked as he looked at the princess with a curious gaze.

The moment the question was asked the King suddenly sent a quizzical glance towards the young man, but no matter how he looked at the younger man's face, he found no clues about why he would ask such a question.

“The rumors of this beautiful princess have traveled across the world. Even I had heard tales of her beauty long before I ever reached Muchuan City. For a woman to have such a temperament as hers, to never be seen scheming nor participating in the affairs of the Royal Family, must require incredible self-control,” Hui Yue continued to muse out loud, and his words fell like thunderclaps in the ears of the king.

“We have never had a queen before,” he stuttered as he looked at Hui Yue. Hearing the answer the young man did not pursue the matter further, but instead, he shrugged his shoulders and ended the conversation with a “That’s too bad.”

While the King did his best to forget what the young man said completely, a puzzled expression crept its way onto the princess’ face. She slowly started tapping her finger against the armrest as the young man’s words seemed to have caused a great disturbance in her heart.

Their discussion continued for another two to three hours before the princes finally stilled their conversation. As soon as they stopped talking the other ministers instantly held their tongues as well. Even someone who had been yelling about how it would be a waste to invite other experts stopped as a shout was making its way up his throat. No one dared to interrupt the three princes.

Just as they moved towards the throne, Hui Yue looked at them with a curious gaze. He knew that they had already made up their mind, and finally the third prince spoke.

“Our esteemed Royal Father, we have decided to invite the families of Muchuan City alongside the Royal Family of the Yueliang Province to join us on our trip. We decided this because this is very likely a Saint-level grave. A Saint-level grave like this one has to be filled with a substantial amount of energy, and from what we have heard about just the locking inscription on the cave entrance we will need assistance. We believe that whatever is hidden within has been sealed using blood essence to keep it hidden for as long as possible, and therefore we think that our power alone will not be sufficient to enter and survive in this grave,” he continued, and his words caused an uproar from the ministers.

“If that is the decision you have come to me with, then I will heed your request. Send out invitations to the families you wish to invite, and we will enter the Grave of the Unknown in half a year’s time.”

“Half a year?!” another minister called out in shock. “Your Highness, six months is simply too long, the other families could easily go there before us!” he called out, for once forgetting his position. Only after he had spoken did his face turn as pale as he bowed deeply to his king apologetically.

“Let them try,” the king chuckled. “It will take us half a year to prepare the inscriptions needed to unlock the grave itself. This half year is also needed for the families from the Yueliang Province to arrive here. If anyone wants to try on their own, then let them. They will be courting death.”

Hearing the voice of their king a collective shiver ran down the back of the ministers, and even the princes had not expected their father to speak this harshly. He was usually not very outspoken especially now that he knew that his reign was coming to an end. He knew that it was only a matter of time before one of his sons replaced him, but even so, he still had pride in those old bones of his.

Hui Yue had gotten what he had wanted from his visit to the Royal Family, and he looked at the king and the third prince. Bowing to them, he quickly left the room, but on the way, he handed a memory stone to the third prince. Accepting the memory stone, the third prince nodded in return to Hui Yue as the white-haired man left the hall.

But he had not walked far down the hallway before he was stilled by a gentle hand on his arm. Turning around he felt as though he was drowning in those endlessly beautiful black eyes, and it took him a second until he understood that the princess was in front of him.

“My lady, what can I do for you?” he asked with a small smile on his face, and internally he was smiling widely as he saw that the woman had definitely taken the bait he had tossed out earlier.

“You spoke as though a woman could become the ruler of a kingdom,” she said with a cold and dismissive voice. Although she was beautiful, her cold demeanor was known to all men throughout Muchuan City, and she would never start a conversation with a man unless it was about something important for the kingdom. However, this ice-queen had personally stopped Hui Yue, and her black eyes were fixed solely on the man in front of her. Although she sounded arrogant and cold, there was no disdain within her words.

“In Shenyuan gender does not matter,” Hui Yue said as he shrugged his shoulders. “All that matters is how strong the one is, and how skilled they are at the task at hand,” Hui Yue continued with a shrug. Hearing his words caused the princess to frown, and he paused a moment before continuing. He allowed the woman to process the information she had been given thoroughly.

“My teacher and the strongest within Shenyuan is a woman, and looking at them, they are doing just fine with a woman leading them,” he continued as the woman in front of him kept listening intently to every single word which was spoken.

“Are you trying to make me into a candidate because you are not satisfied with any of the princes?” she suddenly asked, and her behavior caused Hui Yue to smirk. “No one likes a woman who is too smart,” he said while shaking his head.

“I am not as dumb as I look,” she said with narrowed eyes. “I know about your past with my third brother, but you seemed not to have any problems with him considering your current relationship. Still, you are obviously trying to push me against my brothers. Are you just using the Royal Family as you wish?”

Hearing her words Hui Yue could not avoid laughing, and this cheerful sound echoed through the corridor before he calmed himself. “The Royal Family can play anyone else for a fool, abuse their powers, and decide what is right and wrong. Does it matter if I play the ones who usually play the people? All you need to do is decide whether or not you want me to make you into a queen, or if you are fine being a tool for your three brothers.” Seeing the princess turning paler by the moment, Hui Yue shrugged his shoulders once more before he turned around to leave, but not before he left six words behind for her, “You know where to find me.”