The Little Shi Emperor?

It was a sleepless night.

The next day, members of the Rain Clan came to negotiate.

Naturally, they were unwilling to swallow their anger in silence, but with their clan's prodigy held hostage, they had no choice but to hold their noses and accept it for the moment.

Yu Zimo, in particular, possessed extraordinary gifts. Her spiritual intuition was even rarer than sheer talent for combat, almost impossible to find anywhere in the world.

There were hardliners among them, of course, but everyone sent to follow and probe them last night had been dealt with. After sensing the aura of an Inscription Realm expert in the courtyard from afar, they no longer dared to act rashly.

"What happened yesterday was our clan's fault. Please show mercy and release Zimo." Yu Zimo's grandfather had come in person, adopting a thoroughly humble attitude.

His conduct made several other members of the Rain Clan frown slightly, but in the end, they said nothing.

Shi Zhao sat upright in the hall, one arm clamped tightly around Yu Zimo's waist, holding her sideways on her lap, while her other hand kneaded the girl's cheek.

The two were about the same age, but Shi Zhao stood more than half a head taller than Yu Zimo.

At his words, she released the girl's cheek. Her fingertips slowly traced downward, brushing lightly over her jaw and snowy neck before finally settling on her delicate collarbone.

Shi Zhao blinked and chuckled. "All right, I've lowered my hand."

"Little girl, are you playing us for fools?" A member of the Rain Clan laughed in anger.

"I thought it over last night and changed my mind." Shi Zhao nodded, resting her chin on Yu Zimo's shoulder and blowing gently against the girl's earlobe. "You don't need to ransom her. I think it would be better to keep her here to serve me."

Before she finished speaking, she felt the girl in her arms tremble.

"Insolent brat! How dare you humiliate our Rain Clan like this!" Even Yu Zimo's grandfather was furious now. If she truly did this, wouldn't his granddaughter become her servant?

Not only would that make his granddaughter's life worse than death, it would also drag the Rain Clan's reputation through the dirt.

"You don't understand. I'm actually doing this for the Rain Clan's good. One day, you may suddenly see the light and realize just what you missed." Shi Zhao shook her head with a smile.

Outside, several formation flags dropped into place, enveloping the courtyard. The Magic Formation activated instantly, interwoven runes sealing off the area.

"You still dare to bewitch people with your lies! No matter what, we'll kill you today as a warning to others!" someone growled outside.

Lately, the Rain Clan had felt that nothing was going their way.

First, their properties in the Western Frontier had been plundered, and the steward sent to inspect them had been killed. Now this had happened: right here in the Imperial Capital, someone had brutally humiliated one of the clan's two outstanding young talents and outright abducted the other, even intending to make her a servant.

This was an utter disgrace, and many of them naturally could not endure it.

"No matter who she is or what her status is, she dies here today!"

"Exactly. So what if her talent is extraordinary? If we strangle her in the cradle and deny her the chance to grow, all of it amounts to nothing!" someone said sinisterly.

Several belligerent senior members of the Rain Clan arrived with a group of clan elites, surrounding the entire inn and leaving many onlookers gaping in shock.

"Huh? What's going on with the Rain King Mansion? Are they preparing to launch a war?"

The innkeeper appeared, but the Rain Clan ignored him. Furious, he dared not say a word.

"Is this everyone? You think you can handle me easily with just these people?" Shi Zhao remained unconcerned and perfectly calm.

Fourth Grandfather had left late last night with Third Grandfather and A Man, leaving her with nothing to worry about.

In fact, she probably wouldn't need to lift a finger today. All that fighting and killing-what if it damaged the flowers and grass? That would be such a shame.

"I'll give you one last chance. Release our clanswoman, then bind your own hands and feet and become our slave. Perhaps we'll spare your life!" a young expert declared, pointing his saber at her.

"You really are arrogant and overbearing. Don't think too highly of yourselves. You're merely a royal clan. To put it kindly, you're an ancient family that once produced a deity."

Shi Zhao scoffed. "But in reality? You've long since declined. You're nothing but a fallen household. And you think you can lord over the Imperial Capital and decide other people's lives and deaths at will? How laughable!"

"You ignorant brat, how dare you bark so wildly! Here, the Rain Clan is heaven itself. We can decide whether you live or die as we please!" a middle-aged member of the Rain Clan said, his expression icy.

He stared at Shi Zhao, trying to discover why she was so fearless, but even with cultivation beyond the Spirit Transformation Realm, he could discern nothing.

"I don't think I'll die here today. What do you think, little beauty?" Shi Zhao pinched Yu Zimo's cheek again.

"I..." Yu Zimo turned her head and met a pair of eyes.

What a pair of eyes they were-so beautiful, more dazzling and splendid than the river of stars above the nine heavens, yet so cold and unfeeling that they sent a chill through her heart.

The next moment, she shuddered. She saw her own reflection in those eyes, and seemed to glimpse a fragment of her own future.

"No! Stop! Stop this! Hurry and leave!" she suddenly shouted.

"It's already too late," Shi Zhao said calmly. Then she smiled again, tilting her head toward the middle-aged man. "You said the Rain Clan is heaven here, but why do I remember this Imperial Capital belonging to our Shi Clan?"

At those words, the middle-aged man's pupils abruptly contracted, and his expression changed drastically.

The other members of the Rain Clan also turned deathly pale, an ominous foreboding rising in their hearts.

Boom!!

Just then, perfectly synchronized footsteps sounded outside the inn, killing intent surging into the sky. Waves of anguished cries followed, and the Magic Formation sealing the inn was forcibly shattered.

"We arrived late to protect Your Highness! Please forgive us!"

Rank upon rank of soldiers charged in, filling the entire inn. A group of experts beyond the Spirit Transformation Realm also descended, eyeing the Rain Clan like tigers watching their prey, killing intent thick in the air.

"The... the Imperial Guard?!" Yu Zimo's grandfather's eyes rolled back, and he collapsed on the spot.

The middle-aged man in the Inscription Realm felt his scalp crawl as well. What was the Imperial Guard doing here? Weren't they forbidden from mobilizing without the Human Emperor's decree? And what did that cry of "Your Highness" mean?

A chill shot from his tailbone straight to the crown of his head. He did not even dare think any further.

Even if they had offended an ordinary prince or princess, the Human Emperor would never have dispatched the Imperial Guard. There would have been no need-unless this person was even more important.

As Shi Zhao saw that it was the Imperial Guard who had arrived, the smile gradually vanished from her face.

Damn it! That old geezer played me again!

She had sent A Man to the Imperial Palace to pass along a message, intending to bring in a few palace experts to keep things under control. Why had the Stone Emperor sent her an entire contingent of the Imperial Guard instead?

With such a huge commotion, coupled with that shout just now, nearly half the Imperial Capital could have heard them. Rumors would probably be flying everywhere before she even stepped outside.

This was just great.

At this rate, tomorrow I could take up the title of Little Shi Emperor, marry a fair-skinned, wealthy beauty, and reach the pinnacle of life!

"You... forget it. You're forgiven, you're forgiven." Shi Zhao released the girl in her arms and scratched her head helplessly. Then she said rather fiercely, "Throw every one of these traitorous rebels who defied their superior and plotted treason into the Heavenly Prison!"

She rubbed her face, restoring her original appearance.

Though her features had not fully matured, one could already see how peerless and breathtaking she would become. She could claim the title of the greatest beauty beneath the stars ahead of time.

Shhk!

Shi Zhao strode outside. Passing the young Rain Clan member who had provoked her earlier, she casually snapped the saber in his hand, then picked up its tip and drove it through the center of his brow.

"Clean this place up. And don't disturb the common people."

Yu Zimo slumped in the chair, which still retained a trace of warmth, watching that figure leave. Her gaze gradually grew hazy.

She still had not seen that person's past or future, but she had just glimpsed a fragment of her own future, which was why she had shouted a warning. Unfortunately, it had already been too late.

And she realized that everything that person had said earlier seemed to be true.

"What exactly did our clan miss..."