"No, there's still a chance!" A thought suddenly flashed through Li Hong's mind. He froze, then murmured, "If the emperor were to pass..."
He had landed on the emperor's blacklist. Once the emperor died, that would naturally cease to matter. But he had barely begun to say it before an involuntary shudder ran through him. He hastily shut his mouth, feeling that he had truly gone mad!
Though he valued his own interests, he had never considered becoming a traitorous subject. In his eyes, the emperor was supreme, the Son of Heaven, a man sheltered by the entire imperial dynasty.
In this world, ghosts and gods existed, as did monsters, and everyone believed that anyone who became an emperor must have been extraordinary from birth.
At that thought, cold sweat broke out on Li Hong's forehead. "No," he muttered, "I cannot be a disloyal subject..."
The words had barely left his lips when a voice suddenly spoke beside him. "Indeed. To whom are you loyal? Whose subject are you? Now that matters have come to this, you ought to give that some serious thought."
"Who's there?!"
Another voice had suddenly appeared in a study where he should have been alone, just when he had nearly uttered words of high treason. How could Li Hong not be terrified?
For an instant, Li Hong was so startled that nearly half his three souls and seven spirits fled his body!
As he shouted "Who's there?!", he sprang to his feet.
Who would appear like a ghost at a time like this? An assassin?!
Yet when he looked around, he saw no one. Then a faint sound came from behind him, and a man abruptly moved around into view before him. The man had been behind him all along!
His appearance was even more