Distressed?

For what?

The human?

Why should she worry so much about that human? What was this overwhelming emotion? It was a troublesome feeling, the kind that seemed to weigh her down.

Hongyue blinked.

It was foreign and untouchable.

She didn't like it, but she didn't hate it. It was a change from what she usually felt, and she was surprised by herself.

Pulling out the dagger she had gotten back from the Empress, she stared over the alien designs running down the side of the blade. She pursed her lips as she tried to compare it with the symbols she saw on the shadows' arms from memory.

They were not the same symbols.

Holding it blankly in her hands for a couple more minutes, she finally tucked the dagger back into the inner pocket of her garment, facing it in such a way it wouldn't create any harm for her. Her thoughts were chaotic.

Either way, it didn't matter.

Hongyue had a feeling they were related in one way or another. As she straightened up, her eyes met the scrutinizing eyes of Jiayi on her. His eyes moved from the dead shadow to her face as he tried to speak, but his words were caught in his throat.

"What? Do you pity this miss?" Hongyue sneered, "I don't need your pity."

She turned and tore off a few fresh petals that were attached to a flower nearby. Whatever the emotion was, it couldn't stay. So fragile, she thought, it wasn't suited for a dark soul like hers. She refused to house such emotions inside her. Watching the lost petals flutter from her fingers and into the wind, she came to terms with herself for her next steps.

"How did you do that?" Jiayi had a hard time pus.h.i.+ng out his words. He really wanted to know more, but at the same time, he realized how dangerous it would be if she did answer him.

How?

Why should she tell him?

Hongyue clicked her tongue.

It was something she designed in her past life to aid herself. While it was called a hex, it wasn't necessarily something harmful. In fact, it was to stimulate the body and give it an extra boost of energy in case she was worn out. But since the article she used to start the hex was blood, the affected article would only be blood. And of course, Hongyue added something extra to it so that instead of just being excited, the affected article would grow out of control due to escalating pressure. So in short, the moment the petals touched the shadows' bodies, the hex was activated and remained dormant until her trigger word 'tag.' Once the word was spoken, the blood of the victims would propel around the body so wanton, and pa.s.sionately, pressure inside the body would build up.

From that, well, the ending was not a mystery.

"Just a game of tag," Hongyue responded.

A game of tag?! He wanted to ask more, but he made a silent reminder to not ever play any games of hers. Focusing on the issue at hand, Jiayi looked around.

"What are you planning to do now?"

Hongyue gave a dark chuckle in response, "In a palace garden, must we do something other than look at flowers?"

Jiayi frowned. He looked off in the far distance where the first explosion had occurred. Wasn't this the perfect time for her to find out the perpetrator? Why hasn't Hongyue made a move to find out yet?

Hongyue followed his gaze.

Smart.

However, he was just a step short.

While the explosion of the blood would be able to tell her where the shadow had been going, actually going there herself was too risky. One, the eldest miss was supposed to be at the garden: anywhere else would leave her with too much to cover up and too many loose ends. Two, the explosions were not invisible, the emperor was bound to come to find them for answers and in turn, look for her. Three, Hongyue's eyes darkened, she wanted to see exactly how the other party was going to cover this up. Both the blood and sound would be too hard to clean and hide, which would let Hongyue see another good show.

Now, there was nothing to do other than wait for the emperor and give him a friendly welcoming.

"Burn it," There was a peculiar gleam in Hongyue's eyes, and she didn't appear to be joking. With her sights set on the scenery around her, Hongyue waved her hand nonchalantly before repeating herself, "Burn it down."

Jiayi stood in shock, his mind was in great conflict.

Hongyue sighed before strolling to the far side of the garden. Picking up a rose with fresh dark blood coating the petals, she spun it around in her hand as she spoke, "Royal pervert, do you really not know what will happen if your royal father sees this?"

Her tone was mocking and held a hint of ridicule. Dropping the rose onto one of the dead shadows, her next words came out quite harshly.

"Cross a bridge and burn all the loose ends, don't tell me you never heard of this?"