Genius Empress Cross

Red

Before Erhinai and company could reach the clearing that separated the small village and the mountain range, Erhinai suddenly stopped in her tracks and raised her right hand.

"Ai, activate invisibility mode and noise cancellation," she commanded softly.

"Yes. Invisibility and noise cancellation barrier now active," Ai responded in her childish robotic tone. At the same time, a transparent shield shaped like a small dome covered her body including the two kids behind her.

Erhinai merely nodded her head in approval.

The two children need not ask what was happening as due to their heightened senses, they already knew that several people were approaching their way.

"Big Sister, why is there a need to conceal our presence?" Little Red asked in a curious tone.

What she didn't voice out is that, with their strength, they could simply m******e anyone who dared block their Mistress's way.

"Let's watch a good show for now." Erhinai winked at her and turned her gaze back towards the approaching figures.

They saw a group of people entering through the mountain range entrance. They were six in total, excluding the person who was being carried on one of the men's shoulder like a sack.

"Halt," the woman in an emerald hooded robe commanded. Erhinai was not able to discern her face because, aside from the oversized hood on her robe, the woman also wore a veil over her face. She thought something fishy was about to happen, considering the woman's careful concealment of her appearance.

The man who was carrying a person unceremoniously threw the body to the ground. Erhinai could hear that person groan in pain as his body slumped on the ground.

The man then removed the cloth covering the person's head and Erhinai was able to see that it was a girl. Based on her young appearance, she was not far off from her own age.

The woman then bent over to reach towards the girl. She roughly grabbed the girl's hair and slapped her hard.

"Wake up, you slut!" A hint of gleeful malice reflected on the woman's eyes.

The girl was awakened by the hard slap on her face. It also left an angry red hand print on her right snow white cheek.

With great difficulty, she opened her eyes.

"Hello there, Princess." As soon as she awoke, she was greeted by the woman's mocking smile.

Recognizing the person in front of her, with her weak body, the girl could only barely whisper, "Why..." are you doing this to me? She was unable to finish the rest of her sentence because it took every ounce of her strength just to muster that word.

"Since I can sense that you are now teetering over Death's door, I'll give you face and let you know why I'm doing this to you." The woman snorted and stood up, pushing the girl back to the ground.

She patted her dress and hands of non-existent dirt before continuing to say, "I hate you, did you know that? I hate how you acted prim and proper. I hate how you act as virtuous and kind. I hate your face. I hate the fact that you will soon be the Crown Princess when it should have been me! I hate you because the man I love is hopelessly in love with you. I hate that you have everything I tried so hard to get. And lastly, I hate your existence!" The woman shouted in hysterical rage while kicking the girl's body to vent her anger.

The girl did not have the strength to retaliate nor respond. She could only lie there and helplessly receive all the insults and abuse being thrown at her. Tears flowed freely from her lovely eyes, dampening her now blue, black, and yellow face.

"I hate you, from the very core of my being! And guess what I did? I fed you the Black King Pearl Pill. Hahaha! It took me a lot of money but it's definitely worth it." Seeing the fearful expression on the girl's eyes, she continued ranting.

"It doesn't have any remedy and it will give you an extremely painful death. I see now that it also stripped off your cultivation strength, and wait, there's more. I also have a parting gift for you. The three friends behind me will let you know all about it later. Goodbye now, Princess and don't worry. I will take good care of your clan. Forget about the Crown Prince, he's mine now. Let's go!"

The woman called out with a commanding tone and strode away, followed by the other two men in black robes. Using their cultivation strength, their figures were gone almost immediately, leaving the girl with the three burly men who stood in front of her.

The man who carried the girl earlier curled up his lips in a vicious sneer. "That woman is truly evil. Thanks to her though, we can feast on prime meat."

The other two nodded in agreement, their eyes turning hazy with heated lust.

The girl trembled in fear and anger at the same time but she couldn't do anything at all. She didn't have any strength left in her. She could only close her eyes bitterly.

But before the men could do anything to her, she heard a soft thud and felt something wet spray on her face. She hesitantly opened her eyes and was shocked at the scene that greeted her eyes.

She saw an enchantingly beautiful lady in white holding a sword that looked like it came from one of the three men. She looked like she was dancing but not really dancing, and before her mind could process what was happening, two more headless bodies fell on the ground, painting a macabre, bloody picture.

Surprisingly, the lady in white didn't have a speck of blood on her pristine, white dress. She looked like an angel of death, reaping heads as she danced freely. The angel smiled at her. It was a warm smile but at the same time, she couldn't help but shiver in fear.

"Now, now, don't be afraid. I'm here to help you." The Angel opened her lips and a soothing melody in the form of a voice greeted her ears, relaxing her trembling body a bit.

The girl thought maybe she was already dead and the angel was here to fetch her. Maybe she just imagined everything. The girl didn't notice that the children have already moved her body to a so-called 'bed' which was unsurprisingly a large stone.

"Leave her with me. You kids dispose of those bodies. Do not leave any trace behind," Erhinai said to Little Blue and Little Red with a commanding tone.

"Yes, Master!" The two kids enthusiastically responded to her, their sparkling eyes full of adoration, forgetting yet again to call her 'Big Sister'.

It was the first time they saw their master fight and they were very satisfied with what they saw. They never thought that beauty could be birthed from gore and blood.

If Erhinai knew what they were thinking, she would probably be speechless.

Erhinai focused her attention towards the girl. She gently cradled the girl's head close to her chest. She pressed her middle and index finger on the girl's wrist and soon, her expression turned grave.

With a soothing voice she said, "I can cure you, but this will take time. The poison already entered your blood vessels and if nothing is done right away, you will die any minute from now. Forgive me for I must act with haste. I'll just explain it to you later."

The girl slowly nodded in agreement. After that, she felt her body being encased by a warm and gentle white aura. She closed her eyes, falling into a deep, dreamless slumber.

What Erhinai did was sending the girl's consciousness to her soul space, while sending her own body inside the golden ring.

The space inside the golden dragon-phoenix ring was still and it had a very vital part in curing the poison in the girl's body.

With the time stopped, the poison will be inactive, or rather, frozen, as well. The poison's penetrating power will be halted, giving Erhinai the time she needed to concoct an antidote.

On the other hand, the reason she separated the girl's consciousness from her body was because she needed to speak to her. As a result, she sent the girl's consciousness inside her soul's space.

Her soul's space was an entirely different world on its own. It was similar to having her own world inside her body. It was an effect of Ai's evolution and its merging with her soul.

When she saw the children coming back after cleaning the area, she told them to wait and stay on guard while she entered her own soul space.

Erhinai closed her eyes and concentrated on her soul's space.