Read Novel Full Chapter 488: The Ambush at Jade-River Pavilion
Chapter 488: The Ambush at Jade-River Pavilion
Sixteen days later, a warm late-spring drizzle fell over the willow-lined canals of Jade-River City, a prosperous fortress-town sitting at the southern river junction of Cloud-Mist Province.
At the center of the city’s restricted royal quarter stood the Jade-River Pavilion—a heavily walled, three-story palace compound built of green-veined marble directly over an underground limestone cavern that housed one of Emperor Huang Long’s four regional Secret Black-Ledger Vaults.
On the afternoon of the sixteenth day, the heavy bronze gates of the Jade-River Pavilion swung open to admit two converging processions.
Having arrived three days earlier from the Imperial Capital to secure the compound, Consort Mei (Mei Aoxue) and Consort Lan (Lan Caihe) waited inside the grand marble reception hall, surrounded by their four Half-Step Martial Emperor Inner Shadow Guards and twelve Peak Martial King female sword-attendants.
Walking calmly into the reception hall under oiled silk umbrellas came the delegation from Cloud-Mist City: Imperial Consort De Yan Ruyu, Noble Consort Cui Yulan, Imperial Consort Xian Zhao Mengxue, Imperial Consort Shu Su Xinyue, Virtuous Consort Ning Wan’er, and Guildmaster Lin Ruoli—followed respectfully by their own Half-Step Martial Emperor protectors (Eunuch Feng, Eunuch Liu, and Commander Jin), two veiled female bodyguards (Lyra and Cassandra), two quiet chambermaids carrying ledger trunks (Kara and Ulriya), and the humble gray-robed physician-steward holding Lin Ruoli’s medical and account cases, Alaric.
The moment the two groups met in the center of the marble hall, the air crackled with subtle palace tension.
Standing behind Lin Ruoli’s shoulder with his head politely bowed and his Azure Spirit Lion medallion completely erasing his Level 69 Peak Archmage presence, Alaric raised his eyes just enough to study the two new wives Emperor Huang Long had delivered right to his doorstep.
‘Consort Mei and Consort Lan,’ Alaric noted with quiet satisfaction as his gaze swept over the two women’s ripe, generous figures. ‘A Late-Stage Martial King assassin-mistress in dark plum silk with breasts and hips that look ready to burst out of her silver straps, and a Mid-Stage Martial King royal alchemist in violet orchid robes whose chest is even heavier than Su Xinyue’s. That brings Rungs Six and Seven of the Emperor’s Ladder into the room.’
Across the carpet, Consort Mei’s cold, sharp eyes swept over Yan Ruyu, Cui Yulan, Zhao Mengxue, Su Xinyue, and Ning Wan’er, before locking with predatory focus onto Guildmaster Lin Ruoli’s exquisite face and curvy emerald-clad body.
‘So this is Marquis Bao’s famous merchant wife whom His Majesty has been craving for months,’ Mei Aoxue thought coldly to herself, noting the alluring, mature flush on Lin Ruoli’s fair skin. ‘And look at Yan Ruyu and the other four—their skin is glowing like twenty-year-old brides, and they haven’t shown the slightest haste to return to the capital. Tonight, inside the underground vault, we will find out exactly what game they have been playing.’
“Welcome to Jade-River Pavilion, Sisters, and Guildmaster Lin,” Consort Lan Caihe spoke first, stepping forward in a cloud of sweet sky-orchid perfume as her massive, creamy breasts jiggled visibly beneath her low-cut violet collar. She offered a warm, practiced palace smile that didn’t quite reach her calculating eyes. “Sister Mei and I brought His Majesty’s Black-Ledger Token all the way from the capital after hearing how hard the five of you have been working to supply the northern front.”
“His Majesty’s generosity is timely, Sister Lan, Sister Mei,” Yan Ruyu replied smoothly, adjusting her silver-rimmed spectacles without a flicker of nervousness as she met Mei Aoxue’s cold stare head-on. “Guildmaster Lin and I have brought all twelve trunks of the Wartime Logistics Directorate’s spring tax and pill ledgers. Whenever you are ready to unseal the subterranean Black-Ledger Vault and transfer the three hundred thousand reserve spirit stones, our clerks can complete the audit.”
Mei Aoxue stepped forward, her dark-plum silk gown parting along her long, pale thigh as she held up the Emperor’s black-iron dragon token.
“The location and internal array mechanisms of the Royal Black-Ledger Vault are a Class-One secret of the Inner Court,” Mei Aoxue stated in a sharp, uncompromising voice, her gaze sweeping over the eight Half-Step Martial Emperors (her four Inner Shadow Guards, plus Eunuch Feng, Eunuch Liu, Commander Jin, and Cui Yulan’s protector) standing near the doors. “By His Majesty’s strict ancestral law, no male guards, eunuchs, or outside attendants are permitted to descend the underground stairs into the vault chamber. At midnight tonight, when the subterranean water-locks align, only us seven Imperial Consorts and Guildmaster Lin Ruoli—along with four female attendants to carry the ledger trunks—will descend into the vault to conduct the audit and unlock the spirit stones!”
Hearing Mei Aoxue’s demand—which was designed specifically by Mei Aoxue to separate Yan Ruyu, Cui Yulan, and Lin Ruoli from Commander Jin, Eunuch Feng, and Eunuch Liu so Mei Aoxue and Lan Caihe could ambush them with poison inside the sealed underground vault—Yan Ruyu and Lin Ruoli had to suppress the urge to smile!
Once again, just like at the Nine-Dragon Hot Springs Villa, the enemy’s own paranoia and secret imperial protocols had caused them to order all the Half-Step Martial Emperor guards locked outside a soundproofed underground bunker!
“His Majesty’s ancestral vault rules must naturally be obeyed to the letter, Sister Mei,” Yan Ruyu agreed with a stiff, formal nod. “At midnight, Eunuch Feng, Eunuch Liu, Commander Jin, your four Inner Shadow Guards, and Steward Alaric will remain stationed here in the upper courtyard while we women take the four female attendants carrying the ledger trunks down into the vault.”
“Wait in the west guest hall until midnight,” Mei Aoxue ordered curtly, turning on her heel with Lan Caihe as she secretly exchanged a cold, victorious glance with her partner.
‘How easy,’ Lan Caihe thought smugly as she walked away, her wide, violet-silk-clad hips swaying lazily while her fingers stroked a hidden jade bottle of Eight-Fold Muscle-Melting Orchid Mist inside her sleeve. ‘They agreed to leave Commander Jin and their eunuchs upstairs without even arguing! And the four women they are bringing down to carry the heavy ledger trunks are just two quiet chambermaids and two veiled bodyguards! The moment the twelve-foot profound-steel vault door locks behind us at midnight, my Orchid Mist will paralyze all of them in three breaths!’
What neither Consort Mei nor Consort Lan knew was that three hours before midnight, while the two newly arrived consorts were dining in the eastern wing, the two quiet chambermaids—Kara and Ulriya—used their Peak Grand Mage Earth and Shadow magic to slip silently through the bedrock thirty feet beneath the courtyard, planting twelve of Alaric’s Sub-Spatial Teleportation Beacons and Sound-Severing Runes directly into the foundation stones of the subterranean Black-Ledger Vault!
Ten minutes before midnight, the heavy bronze clock-gong sounded across the rain-slicked courtyard of Jade-River Pavilion.
At the top of the heavily warded stone stairwell leading down to the subterranean Black-Ledger Vault, the eight Half-Step Martial Emperor guards—Mei Aoxue’s four Inner Shadow Guards, Eunuch Feng, Eunuch Liu, Commander Jin, and Cui Yulan’s protector—took up fixed positions fifty paces outside the stairwell doors, while Steward Alaric walked calmly back toward the western guest wing under the watchful eyes of the courtyard sentries.
Descending the winding white-marble stairs eighty feet down into the earth were fifteen women:
Leading the way walked Consort Mei (Mei Aoxue) and Consort Lan (Lan Caihe), flanked by only four of their most trusted Peak Martial King female Shadow-Plum captains (having left the other eight upstairs so Yan Ruyu and Cui Yulan wouldn’t grow suspicious before entering the vault).
Following right behind them walked Noble Consort Cui Yulan, Imperial Consort De Yan Ruyu, Imperial Consort Xian Zhao Mengxue, Imperial Consort Shu Su Xinyue, Virtuous Consort Ning Wan’er, and Guildmaster Lin Ruoli—accompanied by the veiled Lyra and Cassandra and the two maids Kara and Ulriya carrying the brass-bound ledger trunks.
At the bottom of the stairs stood a massive, three-foot-thick circular door forged from black profound-steel and engraved with an Eighth-Tier Royal Dragon-Seal Isolation Formation—built by the founding emperor so that even if a full war broke out inside the vault, not a single tremor or sound could reach the surface!
Mei Aoxue pressed the Emperor’s black-iron token into the center of the steel door, and all fifteen women stepped inside the vast, crystal-lit subterranean vault.
CLANG—THUD-THUD-THUD!
The three-foot-thick profound-steel vault door rolled shut behind them, and eight heavy dragon-iron bolts slammed into the bedrock, activating the Eighth-Tier Isolation Barrier around the underground cavern!
The vault itself was an enormous circular chamber carved out of glowing white quartz and supported by crimson sandalwood pillars. Along the outer walls sat hundreds of locked iron chests filled with millions of emergency imperial spirit stones and rare herbs, while in the center of the chamber stood a twenty-foot-long audit table covered in thick crimson velvet carpets and soft silk bolsters where the Emperor himself occasionally rested when inspecting his secret wealth.
The very second the vault door locked and Kara and Ulriya set the ledger trunks down beside the velvet-covered audit table, Consort Mei and Consort Lan stopped pretending!
“Lock the inner array and release the mist, Sister Lan!” Mei Aoxue barked coldly, her Late-Stage Martial King aura erupting in a whirlwind of dark-crimson plum blossoms as she drew twin curved shadow-daggers from her hair while her four Peak Martial King female captains lunged forward with drawn swords toward Lin Ruoli and Yan Ruyu!
At the same time, Consort Lan Caihe laughed triumphantly, pulling the jade bottle from her wide violet sleeve and shattering it in mid-air with a burst of Mid-Stage Martial King Qi:
“Sky-Orchid Secret Art: Eight-Fold Muscle-Melting Mist!”
POOF—HISS!
A dense, sweet-smelling cloud of iridescent violet gas exploded across the entire underground vault, designed to instantly numb the meridians and dissolve the Battle Aura of anyone who inhaled even half a breath of it!
“Don’t blame us, Sisters!” Lan Caihe giggled, her massive breasts bouncing above her low-cut violet bodice as she stepped back behind the cloud of violet mist. “His Majesty personally ordered Sister Mei and me to paralyze all of you inside this vault, strip Sister Ruyu of her Directorate seal, and haul Guildmaster Lin Ruoli back to the capital in chains so His Majesty can enjoy her in his dragon bed!”
Yet instead of coughing and collapsing to the floor as Lan Caihe expected, not a single woman on the other side of the vault even blinked!
Before the cloud of violet poison mist could spread ten feet from Lan Caihe’s hand, a calm, resonant voice echoed from directly atop the velvet-draped audit table in the center of the sealed vault—where a flash of silver-violet spatial light materialized out of thin air:
“Cleansing Zephyr: Arcane Vortex!”
WHOOOOSH!
Standing tall and broad-shouldered in the center of the vault, having shed his gray steward’s disguise to reveal his black-and-gold Archmage attire and blazing ruby eyes, Alaric casually flicked his wrist!
A concentrated funnel of silver wind-mana compressed the entire cloud of Eight-Fold Muscle-Melting Mist into a fist-sized purple ball in less than a second and Sealed it harmlessly inside an empty crystal vial!
“W-What?!”
Consort Mei and Consort Lan both froze in their tracks, their eyes bulging in disbelief as they stared at the tall, devastatingly handsome man who had just teleported straight through an Eighth-Tier Royal Dragon-Seal Vault Formation without opening the door!
“The steward?!” Mei Aoxue gasped, her twin plum-blossom daggers trembling slightly as she felt the immense, suffocating pressure of a Level 69 Peak Archmage and a Beast Emperor bloodline radiating from Alaric’s chest, while all around the vault, her five “sister-wives”—Cui Yulan, Yan Ruyu, Zhao Mengxue, Su Xinyue, and Ning Wan’er—alongside Lyra, Cassandra, Kara, and Ulriya spread out in a seamless circle that cut off every corner of the chamber!
“You were right about one thing, Consort Mei,” Yan Ruyu said coldly, adjusting her silver-rimmed spectacles with a dark, predatory smile as her Late-Stage Martial King Star-Weaver Sword Qi flared to life alongside Cui Yulan’s crackling purple-gold Suanni lightning. “Once you stepped inside this soundproofed vault and locked your four Half-Step Martial Emperor guards outside on the surface… not one of you was ever going to escape our Master’s net.”
“You—all five of you have betrayed His Majesty for this man?!” Consort Mei shrieked in horror and fury, realizing instantly that the trap she and Consort Lan had brought from the capital had been completely inverted against them! “Sister Lan, kill the four guards with our captains and break the door lock—I’ll take the man’s throat!”
Before her four Peak Martial King female Shadow-Plum captains could even take two steps toward the vault door, Matriarch Lyra Steele, Aunt Cassandra Galanis, Kara, and Ulriya moved in a blinding blitz of Western Martial King power and Grand Mage magic!
“Dual Earth-Shadow Magic: Abyssal Stone Shackle!” Kara shouted, slamming her palm into the quartz floor!
“Grand Mage Ice Magic: Glacial Mirror Prison!” Ulriya chanted simultaneously!
“Celestial Phoenix Breath: Golden Wing Sweep!”
“Garuda Wingbeat: Violet Flash Strike!”
CRACK-FREEZE—BOOM-CLANG!
Black shadow-chains and solid blue glacier ice erupted beneath the boots of the four Shadow-Plum captains, freezing their legs to the floor for the single second it took Lyra and Cassandra to blur across the vault like golden and violet comets—striking the necks and dantians of all four captains with the flats of their blades and knocking all four women completely unconscious against the spirit-stone chests in three seconds flat!
In the center of the vault, Consort Mei (Mei Aoxue) and Consort Lan (Lan Caihe) were now left completely alone against Alaric, the five conquered Imperial Consorts, and his Western women!
Refusing to go down without a fight, the lethal Late-Stage Martial King Consort Mei kicked off the quartz floor with her long, pale legs flashing through the high slits of her dark-plum gown, her massive breasts heaving as she spun in mid-air like a crimson wheel of death and unleashed her strongest assassination technique straight at Alaric:
“Shadow-Plum Supreme Art: Midnight Blizzard of a Thousand Plum Blades!”
At the exact same instant, Consort Lan Caihe summoned a heavy, three-legged bronze alchemical cauldron from her spatial ring, pouring her Mid-Stage Martial King Wood-and-Fire Qi into the vessel to unleash a roaring torrent of emerald poison-flames and constricting spirit-vines across the center of the chamber:
“Sky-Orchid Cauldron Art: Jade Viper Flame-Vine Torrent!”
SHING-SHING-SHING—ROOOAAAR!
A thousand razor-sharp crescents of dark-crimson Sword Qi laced with shadow-poison converged on Alaric from every blind spot in the air, while thirty thick, flaming emerald spirit-vines whipped across the floor like giant fire-pythons to crush his legs!
Alaric stood calmly in front of the velvet-draped audit table, not retreating half an inch.
‘Fast shadow-blade angles from Consort Mei, and alchemical wood-fire vines from Consort Lan,’ Alaric evaluated smoothly as the attacks closed in. ‘Let’s strip those claws clean without leaving a scar on their skin.’
Raising both hands, Alaric wove two sixth-tier arcane circles in a fraction of a heartbeat while Noble Consort Cui Yulan, Imperial Consort De Yan Ruyu, Zhao Mengxue, Su Xinyue, and Ning Wan’er struck simultaneously from the flanks:
“Sixth-Tier Spatial Magic: Dimensional Blade-Swallow!”
“Lightning-Flame Vortex: Incinerate!”
ZZZZT—BOOOOOM!
Every single one of Mei Aoxue’s thousand crimson plum-blossom blades vanished harmlessly into a rotating ring of miniature spatial rifts three inches in front of Alaric’s chest, while a roaring vortex of purple-gold lightning and crimson fire—amplified by Cui Yulan’s Coiling Suanni Lightning and Zhao Mengxue’s Scarlet Fire-Hawk Qi—burned Lan Caihe’s thirty emerald flame-vines into drifting ash in mid-air and blasted her heavy bronze cauldron spinning into the corner!
“Impossible!” Mei Aoxue gasped as she dropped out of the air, only to find Yan Ruyu’s silver Star-Weaver Sword threads wrapping around her ankles from the left, Su Xinyue’s Deep-Sea Water Dragon coiling around her waist from the right, and Ning Wan’er’s seven-string jade zither unleashing a targeted Heart-Mirror Pulse wave that froze Mei Aoxue’s Late-Stage Martial King Qi inside her dantian for one fatal second!
Before either Mei Aoxue or the stumbling Lan Caihe could recover their balance, Alaric blurred forward with a silent Spatial Step, appearing right between the two voluptuous Imperial Consorts!
His left hand caught Consort Mei by the back of her slender neck as his fingers tapped three rapid Arcane Meridian Locks down her spine, while his right arm hooked around Consort Lan’s soft, narrow waist—hauling both of Emperor Huang Long’s prized wives off their feet and slamming them face-down side by side across the wide, crimson-velvet-draped audit table in the center of the Emperor’s own secret treasury vault!
THUD!
“Let go of us, you bastard!” Mei Aoxue snarled, twisting her wide, dark-plum-clad hips fiercely against the velvet tabletop as her massive breasts flattened against the cloth and her long, pale legs kicked in the air—only for Cui Yulan and Zhao Mengxue to grab her ankles on either side while Alaric reached down with both hands and ripped the back of Mei Aoxue’s dark-plum gown and Lan Caihe’s violet orchid robes wide open from their necks all the way down to their thighs!
RIIIIP—TEAR!
As the shredded royal silks fell away, exposing two pairs of breathtakingly lush, snow-white, mature buttocks and heavy, swaying breasts to the crystal light of the subterranean vault, Consort Lan let out a terrified, high-pitched gasp as she felt the scorching heat of Alaric’s bare hand slap hard across her plump white ass cheek while Yan Ruyu and Su Xinyue leaned down on either side of their heads with wicked, welcoming smiles.
“Welcome to the audit, Sister Mei, Sister Lan,” Yan Ruyu purred behind her silver-rimmed spectacles as Alaric unbuckled his belt behind the two squirming, helpless Imperial Consorts. “By the time we unlock this vault door in a couple of months, the two of you won’t want to go back to Emperor Huang Long’s cold bed either.”