The Emperor's Woman

Almost died

It was the smallest chamber in her father's whole castle, though it was the most beautifully kept because of its occupant, even though everything in it was furnished with fake items. Her stepmother, who was in charge of the castle's interior furnishings, made sure she spent zero pennies on Jade's room.

Once questioned by the Minister about Jade's poorly furnished room, her stepmother had given reasons like Jade was blind and couldn't even notice if she was told to sleep in the gutter, so there was no need to waste gold in her room.

Jade burst into her room, shutting the door. She threw her stick to the floor and removed her blindfold, throwing it away as well.

"Witch?! I'm a witch?! Gosh, these people! If I hadn't lied about being blind a few years back, they would have really killed a young girl like me! Oh my." Jade scoffed, running her hands through her long hair as she looked into her shattered mirror.

Then almost immediately, someone burst into her room through the window. She flinched at first, but seeing it was Ming, her best friend, she sighed in relief as he quickly shut the window. Ming was the only son of a poor fisherman who lived near the kingdom's river.

"Did you find anything?" Jade asked, walking to him.

"Nope! It seems you're completely empty because all the powerful people I went to for advice on your case said they've never heard of a powerless girl at fifty before, unless you're a witch waiting to clock eighty to show your powers." Ming said, walking around the room in search of food. Jade slumped onto her tiny bed.

"What am I going to do now?" She asked herself.

"I heard fighting demons can awaken one's spiritual powers." Ming said, munching on an apple he found on the table. Jade scoffed, turning to the other side of the bed.

"Demons have been extinct for close to 500 years now thanks to the emperor." Jade sneered, so much annoyance in her tone. Ming's eyes widened as he went to sit beside her on the bed.

"You haven't heard? There are demons attacking some parts of the kingdom now, and demon slayers are in high demand." Ming said, and Jade quickly sprang up from the bed.

"Seriously?! I get to slay a demon, acquire my spiritual power, and also get paid?!" Jade asked energetically. When Ming nodded, she stood up, packing her long hair into a ponytail. She put on a cape, picked up her stick and blindfold.

"Let's go, I'm ready to slay some evil beings." Jade said, and Ming nodded.

"At least you're good with sword fighting even though you know nothing about spiritual powers. With my little power and your sword skills, we're bound to kill at least two demons before tonight, earn five hundred gold coins, and boost a little of your hidden powers." Ming said, and Jade smiled widely.

"I love the sound of that! Money!!" Jade screamed before jumping out of the window.

"It's your powers you should worry about, not money!!" Ming reminded her, going after her.

WEILANG CITY (A city next to the forbidden forest)

The city was buzzing with lots of lights and activities as usual, as most rich lords around gathered in an open big motel celebrating the fact that their daughters got summoned to the palace for training.

"I'm pretty sure your daughter will be home by tomorrow morning. She's a daddy's pet and only knows the basics of sword manipulation." A minister shaded his colleague, and the other frowned.

"Don't be angry, Minister Zhuo. Once my daughter becomes the Queen, I'll tell her to choose your daughter as her assistant, which is the emperor's first concubine." Minister Ling said, and the others scoffed, knowing his daughter Hani and the powerful power she possessed.

"Do you want me to announce your presence, your majesty?" Kai, the emperor's personal guard, said to a figure in the dark corners of the same motel who sat poisedly drinking observantly, his sharp ears peeping into his ministers' conversations.

"What for?" The emperor's ferocious voice asked as he took another sip from his tiny cup. Kai silently bowed his head.

The emperor was dressed in all black, a black cloak, and a black mask covering his handsome face, all screaming low-key royalty after being adorned on his well-chiseled body.

"Who's the minister with the proud voice?" The emperor's voice came again.

"That's Minister Ling. His daughter's the most powerful young—

"Pour me another glass." Emperor Damien cut him off, and Kai did as told. It was obvious the emperor himself was fed up with the whole selection thing because for a hundred years now, no one has been able to remove the sword from its rock.

***

"Ming, over here! The last demon is over here!" Jade screamed, jumping over the barricade into the forest. Ming's eyes widened as he went after her.

"Jade! Come back now, that's the forbidden forest!" Ming screamed, staying at his lane, too scared to go over the barricade like his friend.

Meanwhile, Jade was in a world of her own. All through the afternoon, she and Ming had slayed only one demon. Now, it remained the last one, and she must slay it to get paid and also get a power boost.

The demon was behind a tree next to a huge rock. It was oblivious to her presence; otherwise, it would have come for her. So she quietly tiptoed closer to it, hiding behind the mysterious rock next to the tree. With a huge iron spear in her hand, she prepared to strike. But when she made to throw the spear and kill the demon, it mistakenly fell to the ground, alerting the demon. The demon, instantly sighting her, charged towards her with its long claws and teeth, ready to ruthlessly tear her apart.

Swiftly and smartly, she removed a mysterious sword from the huge rock she had earlier hid behind and slayed the demon with it, making it disappear immediately. Jade was shocked as she stared at the mysterious sword in her hand.

"If it was my spear, the demon would only die, but the body wouldn't disappear." Jade muttered in puzzlement as she stared at the sword like a novice, then smiled cunningly.

"I'm pretty sure it will cost a lot. Gosh, I'm so lucky!!" Jade jumped in excitement, only for a loud thunder to boom, followed by a huge lightning strike from the sky almost hitting her. She screamed out, rushing to hide behind a rock.

Another lightning striked, almost hitting her. Jade looked away, giving in to death, only for a powerful figure to appear right in front of her, his firm marvelous back facing her as he held the lightning with his own surprisingly massive powers, his long hair and cloak flying behind him. Jade sighed in relief, admiring his good back features, but didn't take long before standing to her feet and running for her life.

Damien, upon sensing her departure, darkened his gaze. He instantly got rid of the lightning and turned to see her almost gone. He sent his sword at her immediately, but she dodged it.

Instead, the sword released her hair once packed in a ponytail and cut a few pieces of it. The pieces of hair fell to the ground before she finally escaped. That was when Kai appeared before the emperor, his eyes widened seeing the empty rock.

The emperor then teleported to where her hair had fallen, picked it up from the ground, and felt it in his palms, his eyes glistening with silent fury. He handed the hair to Kai, who took it.

"Find her and bring her to me." The emperor ordered coldly, and Kai bowed before disappearing.