Chapter 13: Exposed
"I don't need to prove it with words," I said, a cruel smile touching my lips. "I bring proof of true medical supremacy. Lin Wan claims to be a peerless healer who can cure anything. Let us ask the greatest patient in the Empire if her skills are real."
Xiao Chen laughed mockingly. "What patient? Who are you talking about?"
"She is talking about me, Nephew."
BANG.
The heavy oak doors of the grand hall exploded inward, splintering off their hinges.
The wind howled into the room, blowing out half the lanterns. A figure strode through the doorway. He wasn't in a wheelchair. He walked with heavy, powerful, predator-like steps. He wore the dark purple robes of the Regent, a heavy sword strapped to his waist, exuding a spiritual pressure so immense it forced half the ministers to their knees, gasping for air.
Ye Wuchen.
The Emperor stood up from his throne, his jaw dropping in sheer disbelief. "Wuchen... you... you are walking?"
Xiao Chen stumbled backward, knocking over his wine goblet, his face draining of all color. "Uncle? Impossible! The Imperial Physicians said you would never walk again!"
Ye Wuchen ignored them entirely. He walked straight to the center of the hall and stood beside me. He looked down at Lin Wan, who was staring at his functional legs with an expression of pure, unadulterated horror.
"This 'Holy Maiden' visited my manor yesterday," Ye Wuchen announced, his voice dripping with lethal venom. "She claimed she could cure me. She gave me a pill identical to the one she just offered the Emperor. I fed it to a guard dog. The dog ran around with immense energy for an hour, then its liver exploded, and it died in agony."
The court erupted into screams and gasps of horror. Lin Wan’s face turned the color of ash.
"N-No! That's a lie!" she shrieked, entirely forgetting her innocent persona. "My system—I mean, my technique is flawless! He's lying to protect her!"
"Are you accusing the Regent of the Empire of lying?" Ye Wuchen asked, taking a single step toward her. His killing intent was so thick it practically choked the room.
"Then who cured you?!" Xiao Chen yelled, desperately, pathetically trying to save his own face. "If she is a fraud, who possessed the divine skill to heal the Frost Wyrm Poison?!"
Ye Wuchen turned to me. A genuine, terrifyingly gentle smile touched his lips. He reached out and took my hand in front of the entire, stunned court.
"The true genius of the Empire," Ye Wuchen declared loudly. "Lady Shen Luoyan. She cured me in ten minutes. And she did it without asking for a pathetic title."
The silence in the hall was absolute. Every eye was locked on me. The "venomous, discarded" woman had just tamed the God of War.
[WARNING! WARNING!]
[Hostile System Detected! Heroine 'Lin Wan' is initiating forced Aura Drain!]
The sudden red alert blared in my vision.
I looked down at Lin Wan. She was still kneeling, but her head was bowed. A dark, unnatural wind began to swirl around her. Her eyes snapped up to meet mine, and they were glowing with a sickening, static-filled light.
“If I can’t win the plot, I’ll just erase you!” Lin Wan’s voice echoed directly into my mind, a frantic, hysterical screech. “I read the book! I am the protagonist! Give me back my aura!”
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