Free Web NovelChapter 228: Chapter 205: Collaboration
"Is this a convenient time to talk?"
"Princess Yu Lan!"
The bedroom was dimly lit.
Yu Lan’s hands were tied behind her back. To prevent her from crying out and alerting others, her mouth was even gagged with a piece of cotton cloth.
Yu Lan stared intently at the person standing not far away, only able to make out the faint glint of a pair of amethyst eyes.
’Who could it be?’
’Someone sent by Louisa and Queen Belina?’
’No, if they had truly sent someone, I wouldn’t still be alive.’
’They would have been eager to finish me off with a single knife strike the moment we met.’
’Who in the world is he?’
As if sensing Yu Lan’s confusion, the man whose silhouette was barely visible in the distance spoke first.
"Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Ye Moyun."
"That Queen of yours, Belina, sent me to kill you."
’Just as I thought.’
The moment he finished speaking, Yu Lan’s heart sank.
Her amber eyes were fixed on Ye Moyun. Behind her back, she secretly tensed her bound hands. Shen Zueran had specially implanted a distress beacon on the inside of her hand. It could instantly release a unique pulse, buying her a chance to escape.
"Don’t waste your energy, Princess Yu Lan."
"I have been preparing for this meeting for a long time."
"While you were still on the Central Star, I was already lying in wait on White Sand Star, making thorough preparations."
It was a classic case of the prepared preying on the unprepared.
Besides, with Ye Moyun’s Dark Night Star Thief Group having operated in the Border Star System for so many years, it was all too easy for them to set a trap.
For Yu Lan, who had just arrived without sufficient backup, this failure was almost to be expected.
Ye Moyun stared at Yu Lan, his voice growing deeper.
"Princess, what do you know about Queen Belina’s collusion with the Dark Planet?"
’What?’
Yu Lan’s eyes flew wide open.
The Dark Planet revels in slaughter and sadism. Over the years, countless Imperial People and Federation People have died at their hands.
The Empire’s greatest enemy is the Dark Planet.
’How could Belina do such a thing?’
’No wonder...’
At that moment, Yu Lan suddenly understood everything.
She understood why Durant and the others’ spiritual power had flared up again even after taking her Hope Potion. She understood why the assassins captured during the National Day celebration had no records in the system.
’They weren’t Imperial People at all.’
’So what does Ye Moyun want, telling me all this?’
’This isn’t what a decisive assassin would do.’
Her panic began to subside.
When Yu Lan looked up at Ye Moyun again, she realized that while the man looked incredibly dangerous—hardly a good person—he actually radiated no killing intent.
’He sought me out for a reason. What is it he truly wants?’
While Yu Lan was lost in thought, Ye Moyun reached out and swiftly pulled the cotton gag from her mouth.
"Interested in discussing a partnership?"
"Princess Yu Lan!"
"What kind of partnership?"
Yu Lan quietly met his amethyst gaze.
Even in the pitch-black darkness, her amber eyes seemed to emanate a faint light.
Combined with her beautiful face, the sight was breathtaking.
After a moment of contemplation, Ye Moyun spoke.
"If you were to become Queen, what would you do?"
"What would you do about the Dark Planet?"
A flash of disgust crossed Yu Lan’s eyes as she thought of this hostile power—one that constantly conducted inhuman experiments, launched massive attacks, and harmed Imperial Citizens.
She answered without hesitation.
"I’d join forces with the Federation and destroy them."
CLAP!
Ye Moyun broke into applause.
"Excellent. You’ve got guts. Real backbone."
"It wasn’t a waste for me to go to all this trouble just to meet you."
The smile in Ye Moyun’s amethyst eyes was unmistakable.
But in the next instant, the man’s tone changed completely.
"But Belina won’t let you inherit the throne."
"If I’m not mistaken, Louisa is her biological daughter."
The corner of Yu Lan’s mouth twitched.
She had already suspected as much when Ye Moyun said Belina had ordered him to kill her.
’What kind of mother hires an assassin to kill her own daughter?’
Ye Moyun’s voice rang out again.
"It can’t be pleasant, being watched by her all the time."
"It makes it inconvenient to do... well, anything."
"But now, the perfect opportunity has presented itself."
Ye Moyun leaned in close to the beautiful female’s ear, his voice low and searing.
"Belina ordered me to lead the Dark Night Star Thief Group in an attack on White Sand Star. Knowing your character, you’ll definitely choose to resist instead of escaping on your own."
"She wants you to die a public death, in front of everyone."
"I’ll have my men stage a fake attack. You’ll use that opportunity to escape. When everyone believes you’re dead and their guard is down, you can investigate the truth of what happened eighteen years ago."
"Otherwise, what’s the difference between your current life—constantly watched—and being locked in a cage?"
Ye Moyun’s amethyst eyes stared unblinkingly at Yu Lan.
"What do you say, Princess Yu Lan?"
Eighteen years ago.
The struggle for the throne.
The annihilation of the Qi Family.
Belina’s child-swapping.
Lately, the words "eighteen years ago" had come up far too often.
It had reached the point where she could no longer ignore it. She had to find out the truth.
’What in the world happened eighteen years ago?!’
Perhaps, once the truth was revealed, everything would come to a new conclusion.
Yu Lan looked up, not easily swayed by Ye Moyun’s words. She watched him calmly and countered with a question of her own.
"And the price?"
"Everything has a price."
"If we work together, what do you want?"
Ye Moyun raised an eyebrow. "What do I want?"
"Would Princess Yu Lan care to hear a story?"
"A story from a long, long time ago."
Without waiting for Yu Lan to agree, Ye Moyun began to tell his story.
He spoke like a man who had been bottling things up for years and had finally found a kindred spirit, unable to hold back any longer.
In some ways, he and Yu Lan were the same.
Both were of noble birth, yet had spent half their lives adrift.
"A long, long time ago, a kingdom living in peace and prosperity under the rule of its king welcomed a group of heavily injured strangers from another planet."
"The kind King ordered his Chief Medical Officer to treat them. When they awoke, they claimed to be doctors and offered to stay and open a clinic. The King and his people welcomed them with open arms."
"But as the clinic began to operate, people gradually discovered something horrifying: everyone who left the clinic, or took the medicine it prescribed, died within a short period of time."
"The matter was reported to the King. Enraged, he dispatched men to capture them."
"Then, a monstrous black fog rose into the sky," Ye Moyun said, turning to Yu Lan, his voice tinged with an undeniable sorrow.
"The entire planet fell. Its people became senseless, unthinking creatures that knew only how to kill."
"Only the young Prince, under the protection of a personal attendant who sacrificed his own life, managed to escape."
"And now, he has returned for his revenge."
