Role Playing the Dark Horse Character

Chapter 117: Floating City

The Black Dragon burst out from the sea, its massive body as if shrouding the entire sky.

He unfurled his form, feeling the long-lost surge of energy, letting out a long roar to the heavens.

"Roar!"

Those golden beastly eyes carried a trace of satiated nonchalance, and atop his head, a black-haired youth stood with a smile, looking leisurely down at everyone below.

As always.

"Heige..." Yiming murmured, then walked through the seawater toward the dragon in the sky, as if wanting to get closer.

"Where's Yu Xiao!" Yiming looked up, shouting at the person standing on the dragon. "Where's Yu Xiao!"

Almost instantly, Dan blocked his path, while An Huyu and Tang together grabbed Yiming's sleeve, stopping him from getting too close.

"Wait, Yiming, that's an SS-rank ability user, the lord of Jiao Huang!" An Huyu lowered his voice.

"If Heige really killed, killed Yu Xiao, then they might all be enemies. It's too dangerous!"

As the Black Dragon passed overhead, they had almost all seen the two figures on the sea's surface, and they had also seen the long blade in Li Li's hand piercing toward Yu Xiao.

And the blood splattering in midair.

The young boys and girls, hardened by battles and constantly growing through combat, all knew what that amount of blood signified.

But Tang hesitated, then countered: "Hold on, we can't be so quick to judge, right? Have you forgotten your brother 'died' in front of you too?"

"Is that the same? Back then, I only saw a corpse!" An Huyu said. "This time, it was murder right in front of us. What is there to argue about!" Seeing Tang still unconvinced, he turned his head and said to An Heyu, "Big brother! Use [Necromantic Prelude] to check if Yu Xiao's spirit is here!"

An Heyu looked troubled.

He knew Heige had asked him to investigate Yu Xiao and was aware Heige suspected Yu Xiao.

In his eyes, this situation meant that person had indeed been killed by Heige, but that was his younger brother's friend.

He could only say: "Huyu, calm down. Actually, that person had some... issues."

"No need to check."

Atop the Black Dragon, the black-haired youth looked down at everyone, saying casually: "I killed him, then fed him to Jue Hui Shen."

The fact that Yu Xiao was Shuang Buyan could not be exposed.

The efforts of the Former Ability Guild could not become a laughingstock.

The Black Dragon beneath his feet instinctively raised its head slightly, nodding in agreement with the statement.

The black-haired youth narrowed his eyes slightly, his gaze sweeping over An Heyu.

An Heyu caught the hint and explained with some difficulty: "Jue Hui Shen's ability is [Devouring], swallowing everything, including souls. Those eaten by Jue Hui Shen leave no spirits behind."

He didn't want to say this, but he had no way to defy Heige's choice at such a moment.

Because saying this left nothing to explain.

"Nothing left?" An Huyu was stunned.

He couldn't quite understand why his big brother's companion, the black-haired youth who had always been on the same side as them, would suddenly kill a boy who wasn't of much use.

And not even leave a soul behind.

Yiming floated on the sea's surface, his brown hair already plastered to his face from the seawater.

He looked up, as if locking eyes with the black-haired youth standing on the Black Dragon from a great distance.

"What was the reason this time?" he asked.

"No reason," the black-haired youth said.

Yiming asked again: "Have I ever misunderstood you?"

The black-haired youth replied: "No."

"Don't you know perfectly well? I treat human lives like grass, kill without blinking. Helping you? Just found it amusing, that's all."

"Why would you think I'm a good person?" the person said unhurriedly, as if mocking Yiming's recent softening attitude. "Because of that face? You're too easy to fool, mid-rank."

Yiming just stared at those crimson eyes, biting his lip hard.

The black-haired youth showed a bored expression, mimicking Yu Xiao's tone on the spot: "Just this expression? Truly boring."

"What expression do you want from me?" Yiming's voice trembled slightly.

He had indeed turned a blind eye to Yu Xiao's disappearance, always believing Yu Xiao would reappear safe and sound.

But this time, having gone missing, he would never see him again.

That was his first friend, flawed in a thousand ways but who had accompanied him, helped him, and walked with him until now.

Yu Xiao had been killed right before his eyes.

He was right here, but he hadn't caught up to anything.

Hadn't saved anything.

Yiming, as if suppressing his emotions, said: "What next? Use Yu Xiao's face to linger around me, watch me hold onto hope, then tell me it was all fake?"

The black-haired youth didn't interrupt, still wearing that smiling face, looking down at him.

It was somewhat quiet.

"Killed Li, killed Yu Xiao, who else do you want to kill?" Yiming said.

His mind felt chaotic, as if something was clashing within, but the clearest thought was:

"If there's a next one, kill me, okay? Can you stop targeting them?"

He didn't want anyone around him to be hurt anymore.

In the sky, the black-haired youth paused, his bangs obscuring his expression, seeming momentarily lost in thought.

Then he sneered: "You really are..."

The sentence had no follow-up.

"Relax, I'm tired of this game." As if unwilling to continue the topic, the black-haired youth raised his hand and casually snapped his fingers.

An SS-rank ability unfolded, and crows formed by illusions flapped their wings at the horizon.

The lord of Jiao Huang did not stop this large-scale ability, only letting out a yawn as if full and ready to sleep.

The next moment, Princess Wuyu's figure appeared in midair.

Li Li had used her ability to directly bring Princess Wuyu out from Sang Feiling's custody.

Her intention was clear: she wanted to completely sever ties with Tide, at least in Yiming's eyes.

The pink-haired princess noticed the change in her surroundings but showed no trace of surprise.

She elegantly adjusted her clothing and looked at Li Li atop the dragon.

"It seems our Empire's Prophet is willing to return to Floating City with me," she said.

"Prophet?" Li Li knew this was likely a role assigned by the system, which had long planned for her.

In the Empire, a Prophet was akin to 'God's representative,' wielding considerable authority, second only to the imperial family and emperor.

Quite generous, Li Li thought.

But she only smiled, then extended her hand to the princess, guiding her to stand steady on the Black Dragon's back, and said with equal elegance: "Of course."

To her, it was just so-so.

Though she had never joined Tide, this action was akin to betrayal.

This way, no one would investigate Yu Xiao's identity, and she could head to Floating City.

To meet the system, Libra's true form.

She had no intention of bringing An Heyu or Dan along; she wanted them to stay with Tide. The Black Dragon soared through the air, and before departing, Li Li used an illusory voice to whisper in Dan's ear, who looked utterly pitiful: "Stay with Tide for now. I'll come back for you in a few days."

She used the word "come back."

Dan's eyes instantly lit up.

She said the same to An Heyu, just as the Black Dragon turned in the sky, about to leave.

"Why?" Yiming asked again.

He had asked this before, but now he repeated it with a touch of stubbornness.

And Li Li's answer was the same as before.

"What's there to ask why?" she said.

Blame her for being a villain, that's all.

...

The Black Dragon, Jue Hui Shen, moved swiftly, and in just three minutes, Floating City appeared before their eyes.

It was a city, as its name suggested, suspended in the air.

Compared to Ranmu City, its area was four districts smaller.

At the city's edges, a few thick chains occasionally dangled, as if they were what kept the city afloat.

Above, the city resembled an aerial garden, with skyscrapers peeking out amid greenery, the scenery visibly stunning, carrying the beauty of a high-tech metropolitan capital.

But below, in the shadowed, sunless underbelly of the city's dangling edges, densely packed buildings housed human residents.

No sunlight, on the sun's opposite side, in the shadows.

The imperial family naturally resided in the upper city, where people were either rich or noble, the stark opposite of the residents in the shadowed underside.

Jue Hui Shen completed his deal with Li Li, delivering her to Floating City before leaving.

He neither could nor wanted to stay away from his own city for too long.

The princess's return had likely been arranged before they set out.

After they stood on Floating City's ground, servants laid out a long carpet for the princess, ensuring their feet never touched the earth as they walked to the imperial palace.

A luxurious wing-horse carriage stopped before them, the wing-horse's hoof studs embedded with dazzling diamonds.

"Prophet, Princess." The palace servants who came to greet them spoke in perfect unison.

A grand display, flaunting prestige and wealth, Li Li thought.

Since arriving in the manga world, she had been on the move—fighting to survive, to act her role, to evade pursuit.

Now, sitting in the wing-horse carriage, she looked through the window at the people on the streets outside, nearly all dressed in lavish formal attire, exuding authority.

She felt a bit out of place, after all, in the real world, she was just part of a moderately well-off family. In a way, it aligned closely with "Heige's" commoner background.

"Is Floating City beautiful?" Princess Wuyu asked.

It was just the two of them now.

The pink-haired girl sat upright, looking at Li Li with poise.

In contrast, Li Li had her legs crossed, her posture casual, her expression somewhat listless.

"Beautiful," she replied indifferently, then suddenly smiled. "A hollow beauty."

This city floating in the air was like a cave eaten away by ants inside, inhabited by people like ants.

In the heart of this empire, its capital-like city, class divisions were even more pronounced, even more extreme.

And what wrapped it all was merely a false, glamorous facade.

Wuyu said: "The lower city provides the energy to keep Floating City running, while the upper city guarantees the lower city's safety." She saw no issue with it. "It's a fair deal, and Floating City has the lowest annual death toll in the empire."

Li Li didn't want to engage with her and reverted to her listless demeanor.

[If you're upset, why leave them?] The system's voice rang in her ear.

Li Li didn't respond.

The system couldn't read her inner thoughts, only inferring her mood from her actions and words.

Li Li roughly guessed why the system thought she cared deeply about the manga world's bonds.

She was always performing, playing the role of "Heige"—tough-talking but soft-hearted, a bit gentle, and someone who valued bonds.

It was probably this facade that made the system think she cared so much.

[Don't be upset,] the system said. [As an apology for hiding things, I'll give you a meeting gift. I think you'll like it.]

Admittedly, this piqued Li Li's curiosity a little.

And the system didn't disappoint.

When the wing-horse carriage stopped, and they arrived at the imperial palace, the meeting gift the system mentioned appeared before her.

Princess Wuyu stepped out of the wing-horse carriage first, and at the same time, a voice sounded outside.

"Princess Wuyu, are you going out again? We must let those lowly commoners witness the might of the imperials and nobles. Next time, I won't give them any chance to play tricks..."

Li Li, hearing this somewhat familiar tone, unhurriedly followed and stepped out of the wing-horse carriage.

"I'll kill all the rebels, including that Heige," the purple-haired elder was saying, but upon seeing the figure that appeared next, his words suddenly changed in tone.

"Yo, isn't this Qu Ting?" Li Li greeted with a cheerful smile. "Dreaming so early in the day?"