A System That Beats Death

"So Guren... is truly dead?", Nanling muttered to no one in particular. She had been repeating the same line over and over again for at least hour after Atlas broke the news to her. Wuyue's reaction was in the same vein but far more extreme. Her eyes immediately lost their vitality and her psyche seemingly shattered. Occasionally, the husk's gaze would accidentally return to Atlas and hope was temporarily rekindled right before being extinguished once again by the reality of the situation.

After waiting a long time for the end of their grieving session, Atlas lost finally his patience and began to walk away. It had been two hours already and they were doing the exact same thing as if they were just bugged out or irrelevant NPCs stating their only line of dialogue.

Upon seeing him depart, Nanling and Wuyue immediately stopped him.

"Don't leave me again, Master!", Wuyue screamed. Instinctively, she grasped the end of his sleeve and assumed a childlike disposition. As she was no longer in the right state of mind, she did not remember that he was not Guren.

Even though Nanling was not as affected, she also held onto the end of his other sleeve but remained silent.

"First of all, I really am not Guren. Second, you two really underestimate him", Atlas stated with a sigh.

Both grips on his sleeves faltered but strengthened right after.

"What do you mean?", Nanling asked.

"Guren's death was intentional and his interactions with you two were calculated", Atlas stated in a matter of fact manner. As he was quite calculative himself, he already had some suspicions that were confirmed upon meeting the two of them. Calculative didn't necessarily mean that Guren only cared for himself though. After all, Wuyue undoubtedly benefited and some affection had definitely been formed if the following actions taken after the incident were considered.

Atlas then narrowed Guren's eyes. That would mean that the aristocratic lady from the Jian Empire was the final clue he had. To why these people in particular were all harboring Spirits that had no will of their own.

___

Meanwhile, Wugai sat with an irritated expression on the Imperial Throne. Although, he had successfully usurped the Jian Emperor, it wouldn't be official until he had the Imperial Seal in his hands. It didn't help that Wujun managed to successfully escape. As the "Emperor" did not have the Imperial Seal on him, he couldn't help but consider the possibility that this "Emperor" was a body double. But, what the hell was an Emperor doing assassinating his subjects? An Emperor ordering for the assassination his subjects covertly was normal and expected. But, he was personally assassinating them? Not to mention they were his sons. Is he even my father?, Wugai thought indignantly and conveniently neglected to consider that he himself was fully willing to kill his father without feeling any remorse.

A messenger then passed through the doors of the Imperial Court and knelt down in front of Wugai with a scroll outstretched.

"Read it", Wugai commanded with a bored expression.

The messenger then unfurled the scroll and began reciting, "Third brother has indeed been assassinated. The skull was split in half with the rest of his flesh looking as if it had been shredded like vegetables on a cutting board. As for the bodyguards assigned by our Temple, they were found pulverized with all of their remains in the same puddle. This Prince suggests that second brother be wary. If what Wujun said is true, then the position of Crown Prince has been granted to second brother instead of this Prince to both incite conflict between us and make you d.e.s.i.r.e the throne. As the position was granted when you were already five, our enmity must run deeper than we expected".

The messenger then sneered and stated boldly, "To think the Jian Emperor would be so hostile towards his own sons"

Wugai then stared at the messenger for a while before saying, "This Prince trusts the Sheathed Temple will keep this matter confidential?"

The messenger nodded right before vanishing.

___

Unsurprisingly, one of the most profitable industries in the Heart of the Capital was the courtesan business. Fully developed without resistance from the Imperial Family, for some, it became the sole reason to be in the Heart of Jian. Located a good distance away from the Imperial District, it discretely kept tabs on the political climate of Jian. In fact, many mistresses usurped the legal wife in the noble families and many high-ranking courtesans from the Heart of the Empire's Red-Light District married into prestigious families. They were good enough to make the incredibly strict family heads somehow disregard their lack of maidenhood and history of defilement. The District's true name Rila Vinea was known to very few and could be roughly translated to The Eden for Human Men in a forgotten language.

At this time of night, Rila Vinea's streets were filled to the brim with licentious men who would woo proper females during daytime and discharge their lascivious urges through luscious yet priced females at night. Of course, Rila Vinea also had gigolos but they were purchased by wealthy female clients that preferred to engage in dirty affairs in their own boudoir. It was better that way or they might've been mistaken as one of the available courtesans.

As expected, the highest-ranking courtesans of Rila Vinea almost never took clients. They cost 5 years worth of salary for a general manager of a flourishing franchise chain. Unlike other places where they're priced so highly because they're an untouchable flower that all men d.e.s.i.r.ed to pluck, Rila Vinea operated on a different set of principles. Most people of this world would go after a noble lady if they wanted an untouchable flower instead of a high-ranking courtesan. After all, a powerful background could compare to a beautiful appearance and that didn't even take into consideration the fact that they could still visit the Red-Light District. In fact, an ambitious business that wanted to compete with Rila Vinea had attempted this due to it being the norm in other countries and failed miserably. Those of Rila Vinea understood that the difference between perceived prestige which is utterly worthless and quality that justified one's boasting.

The highest-ranking courtesans of Rila Vinea were actually so highly-priced due to their incredible ability. They were said to be able to defy impotence, cause one to experience the furthest depths of carnal p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e, and had appearances stunning enough to entice those of the same gender to become love struck. This was also why the highest of Rila Vinea did not marry into noble families. After all, they did not even age and could easily remain Rila Vinea's Enchanting Lotuses until the end of time if they so d.e.s.i.r.ed.

On this particular night, Tianli had been attempting to investigate Rila Vinea's connection to the underworld.