Yang Qing handed the Bone Jade Thumb Ring to Jiang Zhizhou, and the others passed it around.
"There's actually an Imperial Scepter on this."
Mo Beixing stared at the tiny emblem carved into the Bone Jade Thumb Ring, astonished.
"Holy Maiden, do you know anything about it?" Yang Qing asked.
The Holy Maiden Hall had existed for ages, even before the kingdoms of Western Chu and Northern Liang had come into being.
Their knowledge of the Eastern Radiance Ancient Kingdom ought to far surpass his and his companions'.
After all, the duty of the Holy Maiden Hall was to protect all living beings beneath heaven.
Their Holy Temple must have held many of the world's hidden secrets.
"The Imperial Scepter depicted in this emblem did indeed belong to the imperial family of Eastern Splendor, but that doesn't necessarily mean the ring belonged to Emperor Zhetian."
Emperor Zhetian had liked bestowing his cherished possessions upon his subjects as a sign of favor.
Thus, this Bone Jade Thumb Ring had not necessarily belonged to Emperor Zhetian himself.
It might well have belonged to one of his subjects.
"According to legend, the Imperial Capital of Eastern Splendor stood on the shores of the Eastern Sea. But this place..." Mo Beixing gestured at the barren land around them. "This is a great distance from those shores."
"So, as you just said, this Bone Jade Thumb Ring most likely belonged to a noble of Eastern Splendor, or a subject who enjoyed Emperor Zhetian's deep trust?"
Yang Qing said, "If so, that would make sense."
But who, then, had been the person in the portrait he had seen?
Could he have been the ring's last owner?
"Do you still remember what the portrait looked like?" Mo Beixing asked again.
Yang Qing shook his head. "That hidden