Chapter 17 Gossip

　　Leaving the village, Kaya stayed silent. 　　The only surviving child, handed over to his kinsmen, should be unharmed. 　　That village was no different from the one they had killed with their own hands. 　　Planned on paper, measured with precision, but in reality turned into fresh lives, destroyed villages. 　　Had they not intervened, a similar scene might have occurred in Gumo. Again, Akatsuki would have shown no mercy to his enemies. But such a reason could not redeem itself. 　　The blood of innocents was spilled only for the sake of cold profit. 　　He tried to survive in the palm of the devil, but let himself become a devil as well. 　　Traveling day and night to set foot in Guzi, the lingering feeling of self-contempt and self-loathing filled every nerve. 　　Kaya secretly summoned the secret agents of the demonic sect stationed in Guzi and announced the details of the plan. 　　The situation gradually shifted in the direction they had predicted. 　　Within three days, rumors spread that Prince Chiju was collaborating with the Gumo people in order to seize the throne. 　　Within five days, it was rumored that there was a hidden agenda behind the Gumo's surprise attack and incompetent defeat. 　　Within seven days, the king's court broke the secret rumor that the close ministers who were supervising the battle in front of the battlefield had sent back a secret message that Prince Chihshu had colluded with the Gumo. 　　On the 10th day, the King of Guzi ordered to raid the private house of the assassinated Minister Zuo and found hard evidence of his dealings with Gumo. 　　On the twelfth day, Chiji returned to his country, and was greeted by the scorn of the people and the anger of the King of Guzi. 　　His brilliant and impressive achievements were regarded as a deliberate conspiracy. 　　People seemed to forget his past achievements, and rumors were spreading that he had let his brother-in-law to secretly communicate with Gumo to take over the throne, so that he could monopolize the military power and make a deal in front of the battlefield. 　　In a few days, the prince, who had been so highly regarded, was disgraced, and there was no one to defend him. 　　The balance of people's hearts are all in favor of his brother, the youngest son of the side consort. 　　Jia Ye lightly sipped his tea. 　　Listening to the commoners in the tea shop frothing at the mouth in contempt for Akatsuki, the marketplace was filled with the pleasure of expecting the king to rebuke the prince. 　　"Shuji, look." Her voice remained flat. 　　"How easy it is to ruin a man's reputation." 　　"Akatsuki has forever lost the possibility of succeeding to the throne in name only." He did not say the result cheerfully; this was supposed to be a scene they had planned in many ways. 　　"I know what you're thinking. It's cruel, isn't it." She flexed one finger at a time, like she was combing her mind for emotions. "There's no other choice, you know it, I know it." 　　He pursed his lips tightly, not uttering a word. 　　Yes, he had no other choice, but she did. 　　She could have left the Demon Sect, given up her life as a tiger, and spread far and wide like Himchin, where she could not stay. Favorably, she willingly trapped herself in a tainted quagmire, which he had always found difficult to understand. 　　"People are gullible, foolish, bloodthirsty, and impulsive." She spat out the words softly, her eyes still on the market. "Finding a hero different from what they expected, they make colors of indignation, want to get rid of them, wallow in the rage of being lied to and can't let go of it, believing only what they want to believe." 　　"I have merely forged a secret letter, passed on by Wolfgang to the close ministers who fell to the Sidekick; all else, true." 　　The engagement was true, the peace talks were true, and Akatsuki's uncle's collaboration with the enemy was true, yet all of these truths together, mixed with ulterior motives and intentional vagueness, induced enough answers to destroy a man. 　　Rumors confused the wise, convinced the foolish, and who had the courage to go against the crowd to find out a different truth before the rising voices of punishment. 　　She sighed softly, almost jaded. 　　"Tomorrow we pay our respects to the King of Kamez." 　　Since the slain left minister was a collaborator and traitor, his importance naturally diminished greatly. With the downfall of the hardline Akatsuki, the status of the side consort and the young prince instantly multiplied, and continued friendship with the Church became the preferred choice of Kamez. 　　The door was opened again. 　　At the cost of countless lives. 　　The visit went very smoothly. 　　Accompanied by the King of Guzi side consort smile brightly, holding tightly in the arms of the young son. 　　The young prince was only eight years old, innocent and naïve, clinging to his mother as if he were a fool. 　　He was the perfect chess piece for the king to manipulate the mighty Tortoise. 　　Jaya Night performed the rituals as if they were ceremonies, apologizing and making goodwill in a decent and generous manner. With their visit complete, they were guided out by the chamberlain. 　　They could turn back to Tianshan later, and Jia Yu seemed to relax a little. 　　A few people walking in front of the corridor with a hurried gait suddenly settled at the sight of her for a moment. 　　"Are you ......" 　　"Your Highness the Great Prince, this is the Demon Cult's honorable envoy, who has just met His Majesty." The chamberlain respectfully returned, but his eyes were filled with disdain for those who were plotting to usurp the throne. 　　"Demon Cult ...... Honorable Envoy ......?" 　　"The Devil Cult ......" 　　"...... Demon Cult ......" 　　The man muttered and recited repeatedly, his voice gradually rasping. 　　"...... So ...... so ......" 　　Listening to the increasingly strange words, his heart shook. 　　Who would have thought. 　　The leader of the horse troop, that handsome and deep youth, was actually the Prince of Red Arts. 　　Kaya's face was as white as paper, her posture shifted imperceptibly, and he knew she was already on full alert. 　　"You are a messenger of the Demon Cult." Akatsuki finally uttered a complete sentence, staring straight at Kaya, his pupils seeming to burn. "Your emissary appeared in the battle realm the day before yesterday, and hurriedly rushed to Guzi." 　　"I guess it was really a hard journey." The man's words were thick with sarcasm. The veins on his forehead were hidden, and he desperately tried to suppress the urge to kill, leaning down and forcing himself to look at the skinny girl. 　　"For my Akatsuki alone, how fortunate." 　　"The prince ...... is too modest." Kaya calmed down and looked back at the other. "I had heard that Your Highness is a pillar of Guzi, how could this sect dare to underestimate it." 　　The man suddenly burst into a loud laugh, infinitely angry and resentful. It startled the chamberlain to take a few steps back. 　　"What a devilish sect, turning his hand to the clouds and turning his hand to the rain, all the countries in the Western Regions are in the palm of his hand, it really makes Red Technique sigh in admiration, losing to such an opponent, what more can one say." 　　"Your Highness is bold and generous, Jia Yu admires it." She said polite rhetoric without expression. 　　"That child? Was that also part of your scheme?" 　　After a long moment of silence, Kaya answered extremely slowly. "That is a survivor of the village, and has nothing to do with this sect, Your Highness will know once you check." 　　"How could it be unrelated if it can receive the attention of an honorable envoy, Akatsuki should indeed be carefully investigated." 　　Her pale face flushed red, she straightened her back and looked up, for the first time presenting a sharpness like a knife. 　　"That child is from Guzi, I was merely passing through. If Your Highness is a man, do not punish your enemy with your own kind." 　　The man instantly lost his senses and let out a low growl, his fingers already about to strangle the thin neck. 　　A line of cold light flashed before the soft thud of a sheath. 　　Akatsuki staggered back, a wound on his cheek slowly oozing blood, the handsome young man who had been silent and unmoving held his sword in front of Kaya's body and looked at him coldly. 　　"Please be calm, Your Highness, do not lose your manners." The icy cold words were vaguely threatening. 　　The girl behind him didn't even move her eyebrows, lightly glancing away. 　　After a long time of confrontation, the teenager put away his sword and followed closely behind, leaving behind various colors of different gazes. 　　"It was my miscalculation." Gathering up his wide sleeves, Kaya Night's brows knit tightly. 　　"Akatsuki knowing won't change anything." He was silent for a long moment. "That child's fate is beyond our control." 　　Even if we turn back time, what can we do. 　　Bring it back to Tianshan? It would only bring one more ghost to the war slave camp. Staying in the village? It was simply impossible to survive. Jia Yu had already made the best choice at that time ...... If that person wasn't Akatsuki, if he hadn't met him at first sight when he was out of the palace, making the prince in a difficult situation instantly figure out the cause and effect of things ...... 　　She sighed deeply. I don't know what kind of luck is counted, but I have met the target of this trip's secret plan three times. 　　"Perhaps I shouldn't have provoked him." 　　"It has nothing to do with that." 　　"That's right, it wasn't because of that one comment that he tried to kill me." 　　It was the uncontrollable hatred for what she had done, how could she not hate the fact that she had gone from being the proud son of a noble royal family to being a traitor to her country, accused by a thousand people, reviled by ten thousand people, and having everything at her fingertips turned into a dream? 　　The wind was a little cold, she hugged her arms tightly. 　　"Pack up your things, return to the Church tomorrow." 　　"The King of Guzi's banquet arrangements and meeting with officials?" He wasn't surprised. 　　"Push it." Kaya was disinterested. "Make whatever excuse you want." 　　"Akatsuki may not take it kindly." 　　She nodded, agreeing with his inference. "Surely arrangements will be made to intercept them on the way." 　　"It would be safer to wait a while before leaving, and in less than ten days, the King of Guzi will strip him of his military power and confine him to the palace." The possibility of an attack on the short return trip was too high for him to agree with. 　　"Not bad, unfortunately I don't want to delay." Kaya dropped her eyelashes, hiding the light of her eyes, "We must leave as soon as possible and hurry back to Tianshan." 　　"It is not too risky." 　　"It is imperative." 　　"The reason?" Kaya's will was quite resolute, and he was puzzled. 　　"The trip took much longer than I expected, and with Yaris within the Cult, it's better to return to the mountain sooner rather than later." After a long silence, she gave an answer. 　　"She ...... doesn't need to ask, this kind of darkness falls into the hands of the king of the Church, must be miserable and incomparable. There are a thousand ways in the Church to make life worse than death. 　　Probably thought of the same place, Jia night also no longer voice. 　　Heaven and earth is not kind, to all things as ruminants. 　　The only good thing is that today is still safe, who knows what will happen tomorrow.