Jingrui looked at Yuansong with furrowed brows and patted his back. "My, my, I haven't seen you for only a week and look at you."

Yuansong shot her a razor-sharp glare. "Shut up, little maid. Did you look after my Prince well?"

Jingrui shrugged. "The God of War doesn't need looking after, but of course, I did."

Zhanying let out a dried chuckle. "Did you? Why do I think I was the one who looked after you?"

Yuansong flared up with anger at Zhanying's words, and he narrowed his eyes at Jingrui. Before he could spit threats at her, pain swept across his face, and he coughed out blood. "I'll get back at you later." He gritted his teeth and turned to Zhanying. "Your Highness, bad news, very bad news."

"Go on." Zhanying gestured for him to carry on.

Yuansong huffed. "I pursued Emperor Yihuai's pawn to the end of the horizons and back. My stamina was terribly drained by that time, and with that opportunity, many spies ambushed me into a fight. I barely fled alive, but that's not the appalling thing. . ." Yaunsong gulped as his nails dug into the wooden tabletop. "On my way back to Your Highness, I ran past an army camp. A war scale force was gathering together, and out of suspicion, I went to spy on them. I overheard the generals talk and found that the army was the Heavenly Imperial Army under the Empress Dowager's command. The troop is to wage war against the Phantom Sect."

Zhanying's eyes darkened as he grabbed the cup Jingrui poured for him and sipped it to tranquilise his mind. He tilted his head back towards the sky as he could sense a red dawn. "Presumptuous." His words seemed to cut those around him as he slammed his cup against the table, spilling the tea. A taunting chuckle left him as he clenched his fist against the cup. "Yihuai wants to wage war against the God of War, how audacious."

"Exactly!" Yuansong slammed his fist onto the table, following Zhanying. "He would really attempt to eliminate your highness in such a dishonourable way. Your Highness has done everything to step away from the throne, but his greed knows no end."

Jingrui had gone a shade paler at the thought of war, and she tugged on Zhanying's sleeve with a frown. "But why would the Emperor do that? Aren't you the God of War whom he needs as a pillar to protect the world? He already has the throne, so why would he still feel threatened to the point he needs to kill you?"

Zhanying sighed at her words. "As long as I am still alive, he will feel threatened. You see, I still can fight even without my eyes. What if one day I were to revolt against him? He knew if I were to do it, even the law restricting me from taking the throne due to my disability will be futile. He has long wanted to get rid of me for good, but he has never gotten the right opportunity to do so."

Jingrui furrowed her brows. "How despicable. Then Your Highness should just go for it and dethrone him!"

Zhanying shook his head and chuckled. "I don't have the intention to become the Heavenly Emperor, I do not know why Yihuai and the Empress Dowager are always fretting." He looked up at with a smile evident in his eyes. "What was that, Bao Bao? You want me to become the Heavenly Emperor? Did you just suggest that I revolt?"

Jingrui immediately shook her head as she slumped down against the table. "I was just thinking that Emperor Yihuai is too awful to be the fair ruler of the four seas and eight deserts."

For the first time, Zhanying thought her words were sensible. He nodded. "Indeed. He is reckless and impulsive; waging war and wasting his men. His army should arrive at the Jade Dragon Mountain in a couple of days from now if he really decides on this course of action.

"Yihuai loves to hide his selfish motives beneath a political move. The Jade Dragon Mountain is the borderline between Heaven and Hell where mystical powers lie. Heaven can benefit a lot if they claim the mountain as their property, a seemingly wise and political move. But he has never considered the losses these lands and the people will receive from bloodshed."

Before anyone could say anything, Xiao shot up from his seat after staying quiet for too long. "What the hell are all of these about? Why are your stupid Hell people trashing the Jade Dragon Mountain? If you wanna fight, go fight somewhere else!"

Yuansong's eyes narrowed as he scanned Xiao up and down. "Who are you to be as daring as to admonish His Highness?"

"I am the Phantom General." Xiao glared at Yuansong with a smirk and pounded his fist against his chest.

Yuansong sneered. "More like a gorilla. Never heard of you."

"You—" Xiao began, but Jingrui thumped her fist hard against the table, jolting him back into his sensibility.

"Stop fighting, already." She put her hands over her ears. "Are you all not worried? What if I die in the war? How am I going to bring Sister and Master justice?"

"You are not going to die if I don't let you," Zhanying said as he massaged his temples, and a smile tugged the corners of his lips. "I can't wait to test these eyes out on the battlefield. Besides, after thinking through it, I have already thought of how to turn this misfortune into a rather profitable bargain."

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