After leaving An Xora's side, Wei Yenwu contacted Baizao at the fastest speed possible.
After all, to fulfill An Xora's conditions, relying on Lungmen alone was clearly not enough. Moreover, this was no longer just Lungmen's problem—if it wasn't handled properly, once the armies of the Holy Terra Empire marched to the borders, all of Yan would suffer.
As expected, once Wei Yenwu contacted Baizao, the entire Yan court was thrown into upheaval.
The True Dragon urgently convened the full court to discuss countermeasures. Although fierce arguments broke out among the officials during the session, a final decision was reached nonetheless: follow Wei Yenwu's proposal and hand over the fragments of Sui.
To protect Yan—and his own Lungmen—and to ensure the plan succeeded beyond doubt, Wei Yenwu made his stance very clear. He was just short of bluntly telling the True Dragon and the court officials:
"Your Majesty… you wouldn't want to see the fate of Victoria repeated in Yan and Baizao, would you?"
Once that killing blow was dealt, even though some officials still felt this move damaged Yan's dignity, when they recalled the massive crater hundreds of kilometers outside Londinium that remained to this day, losing a bit of face didn't seem like such a big deal anymore. In the end, they all pinched their noses and accepted it.
As for the opinions of the Sui fragments? No one cared from beginning to end. If anything, Yan had long found them troublesome. Keeping a group of latent threats within the country required constant supervision by the Sui Administration Bureau. Taking this opportunity to send part of the Sui fragments to the Holy Terra Empire actually aligned with the wishes of most officials.
Thus, the True Dragon immediately issued an imperial decree. The Yan Imperial Guard, the Celestial Masters' Mansion, and the Sui Administration Bureau worked together. In just two days, Talulah and An Xora—already packed up and on their way back to the Empire from Lungmen—received the Sui fragments that Yan had "packaged and delivered."
"Um… h-hello?"
In the returning entourage, Nian looked awkwardly at An Xora, Talulah, and Lappland, who were all staring at her and the sisters beside her, and greeted them hesitantly.
"They're the same as that guy who insisted on playing chess with me before—also incarnations of a giant beast?"
Talulah stepped forward curiously and reached out to touch Nian's dragon horn as she spoke.
To be honest, the temperament of these people was vastly different from that of Wang. If An Xora hadn't explained things to her, Talulah wouldn't have believed they were siblings split from the same giant beast.
Standing beside Nian, Shu sighed and stepped forward.
This time, Yan had sent three fragments in total: Nian, Shu, and Dusk.
During the journey, the three had already learned about what happened in Lungmen from the Sui Administration Bureau, the Celestial Masters' Mansion, and the Imperial Guard.
Nian and Shu were relatively calm—mostly lamenting that their second brother had dragged them into this mess. Only Dusk, the most timid of the twelve fragments, had been utterly terrified. She'd been forcibly pulled out of her painted world and told she would be delivered before the emperor of the strongest nation on Terra to face her wrath. She had been scared half to death the entire way. Now that she stood before An Xora and the others, she couldn't utter a single word and wished she could dig a hole and bury herself on the spot.
As for Nian, Shu didn't quite trust her to handle such a serious situation properly. Naturally, Shu, as the elder sister, had to step forward to shield her younger sisters from the storm.
"I am Shu, the Sixth Fragment of Sui. These two beside me are my younger sisters, Nian and Dusk."
"Regarding our second brother's offense toward you all, I am fully aware and deeply apologize. I am willing to bear the consequences on his behalf. If you harbor any anger, you may direct all cause and effect upon me alone. I only beg that you spare my sisters and the common people of Yan, and do not plunge the world into suffering for the sake of personal grievance."
Shu bowed deeply, speaking sincerely.
Under normal circumstances, Shu would never introduce herself using the term "Sui beast." However, the people before her were not Yan insiders and had only encountered her brother Wang. Moreover, she was asking a favor—this was simply the clearest way to convey their identities.
At the same time, Nian tugged Dusk forward.
"Don't say that, Sister Shu. Even if this was that lousy chess addict's fault, how could Dusk and I let you bear the punishment alone? Whatever happens, we sisters will face it together."
Dusk: ... (No objections.)
Although she agreed internally, Dusk was very unhappy that Nian hadn't even asked her opinion before dragging her forward.
But with the Emperor of the Holy Terra Empire right in front of her—and two people who looked extremely dangerous (An Xora and Lappland)—Dusk didn't dare voice any complaints.
Honestly, given the situation, the fact that Dusk was still standing—despite trembling like a sieve, tail and limbs shaking nonstop—and being dragged rather than carried or hauled along was already a miracle.
Even though she'd spent years holed up in her painted world and initially didn't understand what the Holy Terra Empire meant, she did know what kind of monster it took to conquer Ursus, Kazimierz, and Victoria in succession. She also understood just how terrifying such a super-empire would be under such a ruler.
If that ruler wished, they could easily march an army straight into Baizao and grind all of Yan into dust.
At that point, the palace would fall, the true Sui would awaken, and they siblings would return to the furnace—losing their lives and all traces they'd ever left in this world.
By comparison, being "packaged and delivered" to quell the emperor's anger almost felt like a tolerable ending.
"All right, that's enough," An Xora said calmly. "Talulah isn't angry about this at all. Asking Yan to hand you over was nothing more than a whim. You don't need to worry that we'll take out our anger on you because of someone else's offense."
In truth, Sui's second fragment had caused neither An Xora nor Talulah any real trouble. The illusion posed no threat whatsoever—they could have shattered it at any time. The only reason Talulah played along for a few rounds was that, without An Xora's reminder, she wasn't sure of his intentions, and her kindness led her to indulge him briefly.
In Talulah's eyes, it wasn't even worth getting angry over. As for An Xora, he had been enjoying the show from start to finish. Otherwise, even with the aid of the beast Ya, had An Xora been willing to act—or simply summoned Jibril—the matter would have ended instantly.
Moreover, Yan's attitude had been suitably cooperative. Without hesitation, they delivered Shu, Nian, and Dusk—the female fragments they could find. In both An Xora's and Talulah's eyes, the matter was already over.
"That said," An Xora continued, "the one hiding in the shadows can come out now. If you don't, we'll have to use some rougher methods to force you out—and then things might truly turn unpleasant."
As his words fell, a powerful aura erupted from Lappland beside him, her sharp gaze locking onto a certain spot.
"Heh, so even that won't fool you. Your strength really is impressive—no wonder you've achieved what you have."
A woman with long blue hair, clad in flowing garments, bare legs, and boots stepped out beside Shu, Nian, and Dusk.
It was Ling—the eldest sister among the twelve fragments.
Unlike Shu, Nian, and Dusk, who had been sent by Yan, Ling's appearance had nothing to do with Yan. Although Yan had tried to find her, they failed. Ling had come of her own accord, worried about her sisters.
With Ling's arrival, all female members of the Sui family who had appeared so far were now gathered.
At Talulah's command, the returning entourage immediately increased speed, intending to bring everyone back to Londinium first and deal with matters afterward.
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