"An assassin! Protect His Majesty! Protect His Majesty-"
The chief eunuch's voice rang out shrilly from above. The guards inside the hall and the Imperial Guards outside who could still move rushed over, some protecting the emperor, others shielding the officials as they surrounded the intruder in an impenetrable ring.
Inside the Golden Hall of the Imperial Palace, the oppressive weight of the dynasty's destiny pressed in from every direction. Daoist Xue, who had come expressly for the emperor, felt as though he were suffocating. Even his Dharma Power seemed to turn from something intangible into molten lead.
Even so, Daoist Xue's imposing presence did not diminish in the slightest. The lingering aura of the Fire Dragon made him seem enveloped in blazing flames, too fierce to look upon directly.
"You brazen traitor! How dare you trespass in the Sun and Moon Hall! Surrender at once-"
The guard commander advanced with his hand clenched around his saber. His words made Daoist Xue burst out laughing.
"Hahahahaha! A traitor? An assassin?"
Daoist Xue stopped laughing. Blood still stained his body-human blood and demon blood, his own blood and others'. He pointed at the floor.
"If I were an assassin, you would already be like those lying on the floor! Oh, but those aren't human either. Still, those who sit in high places, drawing salaries while doing nothing and treating human lives like weeds, are demon spawn too."
Daoist Xue raised his head again.
"Wretched emperor, I mean you-and those shameless officials in your court-"
As he thundered his rebuke, Daoist Xue swept his broad sleeve. The talismans fell from the corpses beside the coffins, and the white cloths unfurled, revealing what lay beneath.
At that moment, the three demon spawn slain in the battle outside the city the previous night revealed