All Are Players in the Play

Inside the Hall of Mental Cultivation, sandalwood smoke curled upwards.

Ling Ze sat upright on the grand master’s chair, his gaze discreetly sweeping over Lu Qiancha and Xun Xue hidden behind the door curtain, before settling on Ling Muxue, who had rushed in with a face full of tear stains.

“Muxue,” Ling Ze’s voice was flat, yet it carried an unquestionable majesty, “Didn’t I order the imperial guards not to let you leave your bedchamber without permission?”

“Father Emperor!” Ling Muxue fell to her knees with a “thump,” kowtowing repeatedly regardless of her status. “Child implores Father Emperor to grant a bottle of Nirvana Syrup to save Sun Niang’s life! As long as Father Emperor grants the medicine to save Sun Niang, Child will return to the palace immediately after saving her, and from now on, I will listen to Father Emperor’s instructions in everything!”

Looking at his daughter’s humble posture, Ling Ze’s face remained calm, but a wave of disappointment surged in his heart.
“Muxue, how can the Nirvana Syrup be compared to ordinary pills? This is the supreme treasure of our Wolf Clan. You colluded with that demon to steal it once, and now you have the face to ask me for it again? Truly absurd.

“Moreover, you actually want me to use such a divine item to extend the life of a servant who has no hope of even reaching the Golden Core stage? Are you, perhaps, too self-centered and ignorant of the immensity of heaven and earth?”

Ling Ze’s refusal was crisp and cold.

Ling Muxue was so anxious her voice trembled: “Father Emperor, Sun Niang is fading fast! Child swears to the heavens! As long as Father Emperor bestows the Nirvana Syrup to save Sun Niang, from now on, Child will listen to whatever you say! Absolutely no second words!”

She was incoherent, constantly repeating her promises.

Looking at his daughter, who was completely dominated by emotions and lacked any insight, the disappointment in Ling Ze’s eyes almost solidified into substance.

He recalled his own hesitation when Lu Qiancha proposed this plan.
At the time, he thought the plan was executed too hastily and would inevitably have many flaws. Given the top-notch education and perspective Muxue had received since childhood, she shouldn’t have fallen into it so easily without noticing anything.

Now it seemed he had overestimated her after all.
This child’s character, vision, and even her concern for those around her were completely unsuitable for taking over his position.
Ling Ze let out a long, silent sigh in his heart, completely extinguishing the last shred of hope.

‘Fine, let’s continue acting out this play and see how it ends.’

On the surface, Ling Ze seemed moved by Ling Muxue’s miserable pleading. He stood up slowly, his tone softening: “Very well. From now on, you must stay peacefully in the palace, cultivate diligently, and cause no more trouble. Do you agree?”

“I agree, I agree! Father Emperor, Child agrees to everything. Please, save Sun Niang quickly.”

A light of wild joy burst from Ling Muxue’s eyes as she eagerly agreed.

“Mm. Follow me.” Ling Ze nodded, signaling for Ling Muxue to rise, and then led her toward the secret treasury deep in the royal palace.

Walking through the deep, dark palace corridors, Ling Ze spoke slowly, seemingly unintentionally reciting the lines prepared for him by Lu Qiancha: “The medicinal power of the Nirvana Syrup is majestic, but the usage is surprisingly large. In previous years, what was taken from the secret realm was often used up before the end of the year.

“Muxue, you are actually quite lucky. After you and that demon stole a bottle last time, I retrieved the only remaining one in time and stored it back in the treasury. Once we get the medicine, go quickly to save Sun Niang.”

As his voice fell, he couldn’t help but glance sideways at his daughter beside him, a trace of bearability flashing through his heart.

He saw Ling Muxue’s footsteps pause abruptly. She stood frozen on the spot as if struck by lightning, her face as pale as the finest rice paper.
Her mind went blank, with only the phrase “the only remaining one” echoing madly in her ears.

She followed behind Ling Ze like a lost soul, watching her Father Emperor open the familiar restrictions and the great door of the secret treasury.

This was the place she had sneaked into last night to steal the medicine.

‘In Father Emperor’s hands, there really is only this one bottle left?’

‘B-But!’

‘That single bottle of Nirvana Syrup!’

‘Last night, I personally gave it to Mufeng in the prison…’

“Father Emperor!”

Just as Ling Ze reached out to touch the restriction on the palace door, Ling Muxue’s urgent cry, thick with sobs, suddenly rang out, interrupting his movement.

Ling Ze turned around and saw his daughter’s tears bursting like a dam, her face filled with a mix of despair and a last shred of hope: “Father Emperor, is there really only one bottle of Nirvana Syrup left? Think again, the secret realm produces one bottle every year. Over so many years, you must have saved up a lot, right? I beg you to look again, see if there are any in other places…”

Her voice trembled with urgency, like a drowning person clutching at the last straw.

Ling Ze sighed in his heart, but his face appeared heavy: “Muxue, it’s not like you don’t know. The production of this medicine is meager, but its uses are wide. The life, death, glory, and disgrace of so many meritorious ministers and pillars of aristocratic families depend on the bestowal of this single bottle. It is truly not easy to keep any in the palace.”

Seeing the light in his daughter’s eyes instantly dim, he changed the subject, deliberately softening his tone to comfort her, “However, you don’t need to worry too much. Isn’t there a bottle right here with me? Just take it to save Sun Niang.”

Before his voice had faded, spiritual light flashed in Ling Ze’s hand, and the door to the treasure vault opened in response.
His figure moved slightly, and in an instant, he appeared in front of that familiar, dust-covered heavy wooden shelf.

However, the expected lustrous white jade bottle did not appear in his sight.
Only an empty shelf remained, emitting a cold and cruel aura in the dim light.

The air suddenly solidified. A deathly silence enveloped the treasure vault.

“Hm? Where is the Nirvana Syrup? I clearly remember putting the Nirvana Syrup here?”

Ling Ze’s brows instantly locked tight, knitting into a deep frown. His spiritual sense, like an invisible tide, instantly swept over every inch of the shelf and every corner of the storehouse.

After confirming that the crucial bottle of Nirvana Syrup had truly vanished without a trace, his face instantly became so dark it looked like water could drip from it.

“Who?! Who dared to steal the Nirvana Syrup?!”

Ling Ze’s voice rose abruptly, exploding like a thunderclap.
A biting, bone-chilling coldness instantly erupted from his body. A howling frost wind blew out of nowhere inside the windless vault, and fine ice crystals instantly condensed on the walls and ground.

“Men!” He shouted angrily, his voice penetrating the palace buildings.

Two black shadows appeared in the treasure vault like ghosts, kneeling on one knee: “Your Majesty!”

Ling Ze’s face was as calm as water, his gaze scraping over his two confidant guards like a knife. His voice was cold, suppressing his rage: “The Nirvana Syrup has been stolen by a thief. I order you two to investigate immediately! You must find it within a day…”

He paused, his gaze seemingly inadvertently sweeping over Ling Muxue, who was pale-faced and tottering at the side. He immediately changed his words, his tone adding ten thousand times more urgency and severity, “No, time is tight! I only give you one hour. Muxue is waiting for this medicine to save a life. Within one hour, you must retrieve the Nirvana Syrup for me! If you can’t do it…”

A cold light flashed in his eyes, “Bring your heads to see me!”

“Yes! We obey Your Majesty’s decree!” The bodies of the two guards shook. They quickly exchanged a tacit glance, then adjusted their expressions to show one hundred and twenty percent solemnity and determination. “This subordinate and others swear to retrieve the divine medicine or die trying.”

With that, daring not to delay in the slightest, their figures turned into two plumes of black smoke and rushed out of the treasure vault.