Chapter 295: Perhaps They Would Die
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“If you are an assassin, I am afraid I will have to kill you. It is unfair of me. I know. I deal with people much worse than assassins every other day. Yet, instead of throwing them to the dungeons and letting them kill each other so the world might be a more silent place, I greet them with open arms and mediate their many childish issues. If I must do that for them, you’d think an assassin would merit lands, riches, and women. It’s all so tiresome.”
Liu Jin blinks.
Xiang Zuolin, Emperor of the Crimson Cloud Empire, sits alone in his throne room. His legs are stretched out, and his arms hang loosely to his sides. His head is tilted back far enough that he is staring at the ceiling with a look of distinct annoyance and resignation. The aura of gloom around the man is so intense that it is nearly visible.
“I am not an assassin, Your Majesty,” Liu Jin says. His body blurs as he steps out of the shadows and bows in front of the Emperor. “Granny Zhao would not have let me inside if I was.”
“Oh, do not discount it. When I was young, she often allowed assassins to try their luck. I am pretty sure she hired some of them just so I’d get experience. A pity she never did the same with beautiful women,” the Emperor says. Slowly and reluctantly, he brings the upper half of his body forward to look at Liu Jin. “...Are you sure you are not an assassin? You stand like one. I am fairly certain you move like one. You are more assassin-like than people who have tried to kill me.”
“I am fairly sure I am not an assassin.”
The Emperor sighs. His whole body slumps back into his throne. It is a very undignified position, yet Liu Jin does not feel the Emperor has let his guard down in the slightest.
“What a pity,” the Emperor says. “It has been decades since the last time I unwound. Oh well, what are you here for? If you wish to ask for a favor, I have none to give. If you want me to mediate any issue, I will warn you I am terribly biased. If there is a grievance you must air, I might fall asleep while you do so.”