Chapter 69
For human beings, no matter how noble the status, how much money, how luxurious the life, or how sophisticated the medical skills, they can only try their best to delay the arrival of death but cannot truly prevent it.
The old emperor had lived for a very long time. Among the Landians, who generally had a long lifespan, he was one of the longest-lived. Now he had finally reached the end of his life. His face was covered with wrinkles, and his loose skin hung down like a deflated ball. His hands were like dry branches, covered with dark brown spots. The crown inlaid with huge gems, the rings sparkling with brilliant light, and the gorgeous soft silk could not hide the aging and death that permeated him.
He lay on the bed, looked at his beloved little daughter, Serinda, and raised his hand. Serinda immediately came over and held the old emperor's hand, looked into his eyes, and whispered, "Father."
Looking at his daughter's round and smooth forehead, rosy face and delicate and soft skin, the old emperor could not help but feel jealous. He closed his eyes, and when he looked at his daughter again, there was only kindness and majesty in his eyes.
"Selinda, my daughter." The old emperor took a breath and said intermittently: "I'm sorry, you will have to bear the most difficult and heaviest burden in the world. From now on, you will no longer be my beloved little princess Serinda, but Her Majesty the Queen of Landia... From now on, you can no longer cry when you want to cry, laugh when you want to laugh, go wherever you want, and be with whomever you want. You will become a high and mighty emperor, and your relatives, friends, love, and dreams will all be completely unrecognizable under the royal power... Serinda, my Serinda, I will give you one last chance. Have you...really decided? Are you ready? It's not too late for you to regret it now, it's not too late..."
"Father." Serinda held the old emperor's hand and put it on her face. Tears flashed in her eyes, but she showed a gentle and lovely smile on her face. She said softly: "Father, if I back down now, what will you do?"
The old emperor snorted and said, "There are many people eyeing my position. You don't need to worry about it."
Serinda smiled and said, "Can you trust the empire to someone like that?"
"As long as you are happy, that's all. After I die, who cares about the floods?" The old emperor said capriciously: "Selinda, father knows that your wish is to follow that boy to travel the stars and have adventures everywhere. Father... father couldn't bear to let you suffer before, so he insisted on keeping you by his side. But father was wrong... wrong... You should live the life you want. No matter what the future holds, as long as you feel happy, that's enough. Go... go... While father can still protect you from the wind and rain again, do whatever you want..." As he spoke, he pushed Serinda with his old and weak hands, as if he wanted to push her out right now.
Serinda blinked her eyes to stop the tears from falling. She held the old emperor's hands with both hands, shook her head and smiled with tears in her eyes: "Father, I am your daughter, the princess of Landia. I have always enjoyed the best of everything. Now it is time to take responsibility. How can I be a deserter?"
"Have you... decided?" the old emperor asked hesitantly.
"Yes." Serinda's voice was soft, but her attitude was firm.
It was hard to say whether he was disappointed, sad, relieved, or calm because he had known this would happen. The old emperor's expression was extremely complicated. The impulse and willfulness of the moment quickly disappeared, and he became the emperor who had ruled this vast empire for more than three hundred years.
The room was silent for a moment. The old emperor tightened his grip on Serinda's hand. The hesitation and sadness in his voice disappeared, and he became dignified and deep again. He said, "Serinda, this throne will be more difficult than you think." He closed his eyes and murmured with a hint of pain, "I am a failed emperor. Whether as a father or as a monarch, I am a complete loser... When I wasn't paying attention, darkness had spread throughout the empire. Wherever the sun shines, there must be shadows... They are poisonous snakes lurking in the shadows, greedy jackals, and their desires will never end..."
His words became increasingly unclear. Serinda did not understand him and thought he was talking nonsense while in a daze. She whispered, "Father? Father? What are you talking about?"
The old emperor's eyes suddenly opened, and his sharp gaze was fixed on somewhere in the void, as if he saw his bitter enemy. His cold expression made people shudder.
Serinda felt uneasy and even wanted to run away from the old man for a moment.
"Selinda, my daughter." The old emperor looked at Serinda, his eyes became kind again, and he said solemnly: "You need a helper."
"Have you forgotten? I have many people around me who can help me." Celinda said: "Uncle Lance, the Right Prime Minister, the Left Prime Minister, General Leopold..."
"No! No! They can't!" The old emperor suddenly became a little excited. He slapped the bed hard and objected loudly. Serinda grabbed his hand and coaxed him, "Okay, okay, I get it. Don't be angry."
She finally calmed the old emperor down. Listening to the old man's violent breathing and the hoarse and unpleasant sound , Serinda lowered her head and leaned on his chest, tears silently sliding down her cheeks.
Then, she felt the old emperor's chest vibrate slightly, and his unusually calm voice came from above her head: "The captain of the Bird Team, are you still in touch with him now?"
"It's the Feiyan Team, Father." Serinda corrected subconsciously before replying, "Yes. The captain... um, Mr. Rong... I sometimes contact you by email."
She said this with some hesitation, because over the years, as the old emperor handed over more and more affairs to Serinda, they had not seen each other for a long time. Moreover, the old emperor had a bad impression of Rong Yuan and the Feiyan team. He thought that Serinda was of noble status and should not associate with such a wandering mercenary group. He was afraid that they were using Serinda and that they would sooner or later lead his daughter to a dangerous path. After the Feiyan team got into trouble, he was more convinced of this idea, so he had been deliberately obstructing Serinda's contact with Rong Yuan and others.
Apart from the first time when the Feiyan team escorted Serinda back to the country, this was the second time in many years that the old emperor mentioned Rong Yuan to Serinda so calmly and frankly.
"Is his ability really as strong as you said?" asked the old emperor.
"It will be stronger than that." Serinda said with a little pride. The affirmation and trust in her tone surprised the old emperor. Then Serinda realized the meaning of the old emperor's question and shook her head and said, "You think too much, father. The captain... is like the free wind. Even if he lingers in one place temporarily, he will not stay forever. But I think if I need help, he will definitely not refuse."
"Not enough, this is not enough!" said the old emperor, "You need a helper who will help you wholeheartedly, be loyal to you, never betray you, and always stand behind you!"
"You mean... Isli?" Serinda asked uncertainly. She knew about Isli's feelings for her, but she had never accepted them.
"He can't do it. His ability is too incompetent!" the old emperor rejected it without thinking.
"But, didn't you say... no matter how strong a person's ability is, it is like dust compared to the country and is nothing at all?" Serinda asked back, remembering what the old emperor had said before to belittle Rong Yuan and others.
"I was wrong." The old emperor denied his previous statement swiftly and said with narrowed eyes: "Absolute force can sometimes play a role in subverting the world."
"But it is impossible for the captain to be loyal to me." Serinda said. In her heart, she was unwilling and unable to imagine that Rong Yuan would kneel before her and obey her like the others.
After the old emperor pondered for a moment, he ordered: "Give me the box on the cabinet."
Serinda turned around and found an inconspicuous square box on the cabinet at the side. She took it and handed it to the old emperor.
The old emperor sat up with the help of Serinda, stroking the lid of the box, and recalled: "Eighty-nine years ago, you said that the Feiyan team that saved you had an accident, and you insisted on asking me for an army. You searched the Pillar of Creation for a full ten years. Although you didn't find the person you were looking for, you found some things from the alien galaxy, and this is one of them."
The old emperor opened the box, and Serinda saw a thin transparent glass tube inside. In the colorless liquid inside the tube were some bright red lines that looked like characters or paintings. Those lines seemed alive and were swimming slowly in the water. It looked both weird and disgusting.
“What is this?” Serinda asked, shrinking back.
"This is a legendary thing called a soul charm. Not many people know about it." The old emperor looked at the glass tube. The red lines seemed to sense his gaze and moved towards him. The old emperor said, "They found three of them. One has been used, one was given to the Academy of Sciences for research, and this is the last one."
Serinda suddenly had a bad feeling. She bit her lip and asked softly, "What is the soul charm... for?"
"Drop a drop of your blood into it, and it will become colorless and tasteless. Then give it to the man named Rong Yuan to drink." The old emperor said indifferently, "From now on, your will is his will. He will do his best to fulfill your orders - even if it means for him to die. He will always be by your side, wholeheartedly, without any second thoughts, and will never disobey any of your orders. He will become the sharpest sword in your hand, cutting off any obstacles that stand in your way."
Serinda's fingers twitched, and her face was completely pale. She lowered her eyes and looked at the soul symbol, as if she had seen the most terrifying thing in the world. After a long time, Serinda whispered: "Rong Yuan... He is like the embodiment of free will. I'm afraid he would rather die than be someone else's slave."
"He can't die." The old emperor said coldly: "For those who drink the soul talisman, life and death are all in the hands of the master. If you want him to die, he can't live; if you want him to live, he can't commit suicide even if he wants to. Of course," looking at his daughter who looked pale, the old emperor added: "Even if you have the soul talisman, it is best to make people stay with you willingly. You can give him power, money, women, fame, titles... As an emperor, this star field is yours. As long as he wants it, you can give it to him. It doesn't matter if you care about some petty gains."
Serinda didn't say anything. Her ten fingers were as cold as the thousand-year-old ice on the Imperial Star.
The old emperor closed the lid, held Serinda's hand tightly, and said lovingly, "Don't be afraid, child. The soul talisman sounds scary, but it's actually not a bad thing. There are countless people in this world who want to be loyal to you. You gave this only soul talisman to Rong Yuan, which means you will absolutely trust him in this life. This is not harming him, but his luck."
He used his palm to warm his daughter's cold fingertips and said, "Don't worry, Father won't let you do this kind of thing yourself. I have already arranged people for Rong Yuan. You just need to give me a drop of your blood, and you don't have to worry about the rest. Father will arrange everything for you."
As he spoke, he took out a long-prepared needle from the box, grabbed Serinda's hand, and pointed the needle tip at her finger. Serinda trembled violently and wanted to pull her hand back, but the old emperor was so strong at this time that he held his daughter's hand tightly and stabbed the needle tip into her without hesitation.
A drop of bright red blood emerged.
Serinda trembled, watching in fear as the old emperor pushed open the lid of the glass tube with his thumb and squeezed the blood beads in. The soul symbols were like small fish that saw the bait, and they quickly surrounded it and swallowed up the blood in an instant. Their own red color gradually faded, and after a few breaths, it turned into something like clear water.
The old emperor closed the lid and was about to put the glass tube back, but Serinda shuddered and suddenly reached out to grab it.
"Father, let me do it myself!" she heard herself say calmly.
