Chapter 83: Visiting Emperor Ming
Everybody was sleeping at Ming's imperial palace.
Even the emperor, who had gone to sleep one more night without having received any news about Soul Edge's whereabouts.
The Emperor Ming was a very old man. He had ruled for a lot of years.
Hehad once beena wise and fair man, respected as much within his empire as outside it.
However, power corrupted him little by little, and he was now an unscrupulous man, who would do anything in order to get more power or wealth.
He had even hadsome of his own men executed for being incompetent. Not a long a time ago, he had discovered a traitor in his ranks, Chai Zhang, and he had ordered his murder, regardless of his many years at his service or the fact that he would leave a girl orphan.
That night wouldn't be like any other for Emperor Ming.
He was sleeping alone on his big bed (he had never got married) when he felt something covering his mouth.
That made him wake up. He tried to cry out but a hand covering his mouth prevented him from doing so.
- Don't shout. – said a sinister voice, quietly. – I'm here to help you.
The emperor groaned.
- If you promise not to shout, I'll release you. Do you promise?
The emperor nodded, nervously.
The other man released him and he could finally look at him, although in the darkness.
However, he wouldn't have seen his face even in a desert in broad daylight. He was hooded.
- Who are you? How do you dare…?
- That doesn't matter. I know you're looking for Soul Edge, and I can help you.
- What? How? Do you know where Soul Edge is?
- No, but I have a clue. Someone left it to me, but I don't know how to interpret it. I'm sure that you or maybe one of your men will.
- What clue is that?
The hooded man took out a little box.
- Here it is.
The emperor looked at the box suspiciously.
- How did you manage to avoid my guards?
The hooded man smiled, although the emperor couldn't see it.
- The same way I'll do when I get out of here.
- How? – insisted the emperor.
- That way. – said the hooded man pointing at the wall behind the emperor's bed.
The emperor looked there but he didn't see anything strange.
- There's no... – he stopped talking when he noticed that the hooded man had disappeared.
The emperor looked all around the room, but he didn't find a trace of him.
He quickly stood up and opened the door to talk to the guards who were watching over the room.
- Guards! I don't know how, but a hooded man entered my room and now he has escaped!
The two guards looked at each other, confused.
- Find him!
- What do we do then?
- What do you think? – asked the emperor ironically.
- Yes, sir!
The guards left quickly.
The emperor closed the door again and went back to his bed, where the little box the hooded man had left was.
He examined the box for a few seconds and he finally decided to open it.
As soon as he did so, a strange white powder came out from it, smoking.
The next morning, the guards found the emperor's dead body lying on the floor. Beside him, there was a little empty box.
However, when they looked inside it more carefully, they found a message written on the bottom of the box. It said: "Anyone who keeps going after Soul Edge, will soon be keeping the emperor company."