Tianzun simply smiled and bowed once again, he showed no emotion to the fact that his apprentice had been turned into a meal and fed to her own mother.
None of that seemed to bother him and that's what made Daji wary. Tianzun simply turned around and left, as Daji took his retreat as a victory.
"You didn't get to write your story did you scholar? If you could write your story, something like this could have been easily avoided. Nothing but a coward who won't even retaliate after all this." Daji taunted with a grin and inflated sense of victory.
Tianzun turned around before agreeing with her, "Yes you're right Daji. I am a coward. Hence I will retreat."
With that, the veil of fog had lifted and the illusions disappeared leaving only a bloody mess on the ground reminding Daji of reality.
She stared at the people who had woken up and had them all executed as she watched his shrinking figure in the distance.
But something was off, something felt off. She couldn't quite put her finger on it. She hummed and waltzed down the street before returning to the palace not knowing that the entire city had been covered in threads.
~~~~
Daji had grown bored of this emperor and his dynasty. It was time to tear it all down- "Consort Daji! We've caught wind of an underground play performance." A guard rushed in only for Daji to glare at him.
"An underground performance? I thought I said all such acts are prohibited?" Daji scoffed before handing the job of capturing the participants. "Also bring their scripts over, maybe if it is a play that satisfies me, I will allow them to live." Daji spoke softly.
Within half a day, the first round of playwrights had been rounded up and they kneeled in front of her chambers.
Daji looked amused, for a moment she thought that it was time to really tear down the city. But who would have expected others to follow the footsteps of that stupid scholar.
Daji read the script as her face furrowed in displeasure. Displeasure soon turned to anger.
"WHO?" She growled before her patience ran out as she executed them all.
She gripped the script with clawed hands in anger.
The tale of the fox who brought ruin to a dynasty. The script was clearly jabbed at her. Or even if it wasn't, it was too close. But she wouldn't be that furious if it was only a story about her. No. It was what the ending was.
The story was crafted perfectly, even emulating her traits and personality. Even the story plot was rich, yet when it came to the ending, it was so abrupt and pitiful.
"Just as the fox demon was about to bring all of Shang to ruin, she died because she drank poisoned tea given by her servant."
Daji was furious, dying at the hands of a servant and from poison no less?
She looked at the corpses before burning them away with fire.
~~~~
Daji's mood had been sour the last few days. Numerous other underground or concealed plays were held in various parts of the city. All with the same script, or similar motif. She executed every single last one of them, yet they keep appearing and popping up like rats.
Every single play was a little bit different, yet one thing remained the same, the fox always loses.
It was at this point that she felt her hairs stand on end.
All those stories had kept her on her toes yet when she took a good look at her surroundings she started seeing things.
Her servant would occasionally pinch his right eye as if something was supposed to be there. That night she discovered poison in her food. She had the servant executed instantly.
That night another similar event happened, a child she met on the road pointed at her and called her a fox. For an instant, she might have missed it if she even looked away for a split second.
The pinching of the right eye.
Immediately she had the child executed. For the first time in a very long time, Daji or rather a possession of Amaterasu felt something go very wrong.
The last few years had been getting stranger and stranger. The mighty gods and divine spirits had been getting restless. Something about the spirit world fluctuating. Amaterasu had zero interest in the spirit world.
But perhaps the others cared as the older gods looked almost terrified when they heard news that the spirit world had fluctuated.
In that moment she looked out of her window at the people crawling like ants and maggots. Nothing but toys for her to play with.
A chilling realisation sent fear down her spine. Not the normal fear, but genuine fear out of a strange event.
Every single individual in the city suddenly stopped and turned to look at her, they all held the same smile as that wretched scholar. She soon ran out of her room and frantically checked everyone there.
Her worst fear had been realised. She wasn't weak, no on the contrary anything but weak. But this was something new, a primal fear born of the unknown.
She gazed at all the servants roaming in the castle. Each gave a polite bow before wearing the same sick smile and pinching their right eye.
She ran to the emperor's chamber before waking him up. "Wake up emperor!"
A sleepy groan emerged as the emperor opened a single eye before asking in a concerned tone, "What's wrong Daji?" Daji suddenly felt a sense of relief. At least that meant the wretched scholar's influence was limited to some extent.
The emperor looked confused before insisting, "Consort Daji... What's gotten you so bothered?" Daji sat at the side of his bed before asking him, "Do you still have contact with that storyteller?"
The emperor hummed for a bit before nodding, "Yes, the man left me with a method of contact if I ever wanted to hear a story again." Daji couldn't take this kind of assault anymore.
It wasn't something physical, but it was mentally draining and infuriating.
The door knocked as Daji's head instantly snapped in the direction of the door as the emperor went to open it.
"Wait no! Your majest-" Daji cried out before the emperor looked at her weirdly and asked, "Are you okay Daji?"
Daji looked at the confused servant. The servant seemingly sighed a breath of relief and reported to the emperor, "Apologies for waking you at this time of the night emperor. However, we thought it was proper to inform you that Consort Daji seemed to be very panicked and was running through the palace with haste."
The emperor smiled before reassuring the servant, "Thank you, please take a break for the evening." Daji looked puzzled as she sat silent.
It couldn't be, it couldn't be all in her head. She bit her lip before deciding on the best course of action. The scholar shouldn't be stronger than her, all this could have been illusions. The best way would to kill him.
"Emperor, please call the storyteller tomorrow. I feel like a story would calm my nerves." She requested in a coquettish voice as the emperor nodded and approved of it.
"Very well, I'll have someone bring him over tomorrow."
~~~~
Daji sat next to the emperor as she observed the entrance with a sharp gaze. Today she would kill that wretched scholar and free herself from this mental torment. She was sick of seeing the people pinching their right eyes and that smile.
The guards soon opened the door and shut it tightly before the emperor waved his hand to dismiss them.
"Storyteller... Consort Daji has been unwell lately and believes a good story can take off some stress. Today will be your recommended story, the best one you have." The emperor smiled before sipping from his cup.
Daji almost spat out blood from looking at the genuine article, that stupid monocle and smile along with his twirling star studded rod.
Her eyes shrunk with fury as the first words came out of Tianzun's mouth.
"There once was a fox... It was a spirit fox, a monster many considered the most vile and evil."
She held it in reminding herself that the climax would be killing the scholar after the story. She would write his ending for him.
Time passed as Tianzun soon finished and bowed. The emperor clapped and laughed before he asked, "Storyteller, I have a question. Perhaps a scholar like you may tell me the answer. If people fear monsters, then what do monsters fear?"
Daji looked at the king, surprised he could even ask such a deep question. She stayed her clawed hand only for the answer that this scholar would give.
"Esteemed emperor, you must understand, monsters do not feel fear. But they do understand loss. Not of life but of control. When they believe everything is going their way and suddenly the strings of influence snap."
In that instant Daji snapped as she lunged and tore off Tianzun's head. The body slumped as blood gushed out like a flood rain. She tore him limb from limb with relish, for so long she had wanted to do this.
She would finally be free. The emperor had been spell bound before her actions as she quickly conjured flames to burn the body to ashes.
In that instant a sigh of relief escaped her mouth only for it to be stolen and dragged her back to the depths of the horror within as she turned her head to look at the emperor.
The emperor smiled before pinching his right eye and asking, "Did you enjoy the stories Lady Daji? I wrote my masterpiece just for you."
//Next Chapter: The Scholar's Gambit, History's Correction//