Role Playing the Dark Horse Character

Chapter 118: Visiting the System's Home

The sun still hung in the sky; it was afternoon, not evening.

After a moment of stunned silence, Qu Ting turned to Princess Wuyu and said: "Why is Heige here!"

The news he received was that the "Prophet" had rescued the princess and returned to the imperial family.

But nowhere in that news was there any hint that "the illusionist Heige was among them"!

At this, Princess Wuyu said earnestly: "Allow me to introduce, this is the Empire's Prophet, Heige."

Just as she had introduced Qu Ting to Yiming and the others back then, even the punctuation was identical.

"Mm-hm." Li Li cooperated with a smile.

Only now, the roles were reversed, and the one being introduced beside the princess had shifted from Qu Ting to Li Li.

Like an abandoned Qu Ting: "???"

In broad daylight, had his eyes been deceived by the illusionist's tricks?

Perhaps because the purple-haired elder's expression looked rather grim, Wuyu asked with what seemed like concern for the elderly: "Qu Ting, are you alright?"

The decades-long facade of an elder that this purple-haired man had maintained was completely cast aside at this moment, replaced by a look as if he might faint with a roll of his eyes at any second.

"Thank you for your concern, Princess, but," Qu Ting took a deep breath, pointing at Li Li, then at himself, "a rebel of the Empire is now standing above me, a noble? Is the imperial family joking?"

He was unconvinced, utterly unconvinced.

Qu Ting himself was an old-school noble, an SS-rank noble patriarch.

His ability allowed him to act recklessly within the Empire, and though he was confined to Floating City, unable to leave, he was certainly not someone anyone could just trample over.

Let alone Li Li, who had led rebels and humiliated him before.

His words questioned the imperial family's decision, touching on their dignity. Princess Wuyu's expression turned stern, and she said coldly: "This is the imperial family's decision. You have no right to question it."

"I want to see It," Qu Ting said.

What he feared was never the imperial family, but the entity behind them—It.

Li Li watched from the sidelines for a moment.

Nobles like An Heyu and Lin Ruye, S-rank, were unaware of Libra's existence, but from Qu Ting's reaction, it was clear SS-rank ability users knew.

Including Lin Ran—she knew too.

From the memories An Heyu had read, Lin Ran had lingered in the imperial palace before leaving Floating City, likely conversing with Libra.

Only SS-rank ability users had the privilege of accessing the truth of this world, and only they were qualified to communicate with Libra.

Meanwhile, the entirely non-ability-using imperial family controlled this information, sealing it among a select few.

Li Li tilted her face, her gaze faintly sweeping over the pink-haired girl beside her.

Princess Wuyu's expression carried a maturity and decisiveness beyond her years, as well as the inviolable dignity of a imperial.

In a sense, this princess truly lived up to her status, especially considering she was just a non-ability user.

Clashes between high-rank ability users were not something she should have been involved in.

But Li Li's ideals differed from hers, so naturally, they couldn't see eye to eye.

"You're unconvinced?" Li Li said leisurely.

Qu Ting was questioning her status, and she wanted to seize the opportunity to test how far Libra's leniency toward her went.

The so-called gift—was it to let her humiliate Qu Ting, or...

Could she directly kill this SS-rank noble?

Her right hand flipped in the air, and a dagger appeared in her grasp.

She smiled faintly, her figure vanishing from the spot in an instant.

The sunlight glared, a blood thread burst forth in the air, then formed a flowing liquid like a rope.

Qu Ting hadn't expected Li Li to strike without warning.

A red wound on his throat bled, and at the same time, his "counter-damage" activated.

The hem of her black trench coat traced an arc as Li Li sheathed her blade and turned.

Her long boots tapped the ground, halting her slide.

A blood mark appeared on her neck as well, even deeper.

The splattered blood stained half her smiling face.

"Are you insane?!" Qu Ting roared. "This is Floating City! Didn't Wuyu explain it to you clearly?!"

The blood threads stitched up Qu Ting's wound, while Li Li reached out, her fingertips lightly touching her own throat.

The blood on her face vanished, and the wound healed instantly!

"Counter-damage, not invulnerability," Li Li said as if nothing had happened, taking a step forward toward Qu Ting with a smile.

"In other words, kill you before the counter-damage takes effect, or stack damage bit by bit until your body collapses. Either method can kill you," she said, smiling.

She was already SS-rank; of course, she wasn't afraid to go head-to-head with an SS-rank Qu Ting.

But Qu Ting instinctively took a step back.

Blood threads danced around him, but he only used them to heal his wounds, adopting a defensive stance.

His brows were filled with fury; he was clearly enraged.

Yet he didn't strike.

"SS-ranks cannot directly clash!" Princess Wuyu interjected, trying to stop them.

Her usually calm demeanor shifted, revealing a rare panic fitting her age.

But in a battle between two SS-ranks, a non-ability user like her couldn't intervene, nor could the mid-rank ability user guards nearby.

"You can't fight back?" Li Li suddenly said.

Qu Ting's expression grew even uglier.

Under Libra's oversight in Floating City, the nobles had made a deal with It.

They could enslave commoners and act as they pleased, but under no circumstances could they clash with another SS-rank.

Unless, like Lin Ran, they received Libra's permission to leave Floating City and act against another SS-rank, like the Prophet.

"Such a pity," Li Li said with a regretful tone. "I can."

Qu Ting: "?!"

"On what grounds!" Qu Ting roared.

Bound by Libra's deal, he couldn't leave Floating City or fight those of the same rank.

Lin Ran could leave, Li Li could attack him, yet he still couldn't do anything.

For the first time, he, a member of the privileged class, encountered a privilege higher than his own.

A long blade materialized behind Li Li, its edge carrying a sharp gust as it struck instantly.

"You'd ask 'on what grounds' too, huh," Li Li said softly.

Yeah, on what grounds?

Why you, and why me?

The blood threads gathered, clashing ferociously with the long blade.

"Do you know how Qu Yan died?"

After the red blood threads cleared the long blade before her, Li Li stood in place, smiling at Qu Ting.

"He never imagined that a noble born from commoners could have an ability to freeze souls."

The next instant, ice spread out from beneath her feet as the center, instantly expanding.

The blood threads slowed in the extreme cold, as if about to be frozen solid.

"Libra!" Qu Ting suddenly roared. "Are you trying to get me killed?!"

The SSS-rank ability's trade restriction bound his attacks.

When he tried to counter Li Li's assault, searing pain surged from within his body, from his soul.

The dagger in Li Li's hand danced like a fluttering butterfly, ice spreading from her grip, frost enveloping the dagger, forming a blade encased in chilling ice.

Behind the silver-white mask, those crimson pupils fixed on Qu Ting, exuding a calm that contrasted sharply with her flamboyant demeanor.

Qu Ting had been abandoned by Libra.

Blood threads clashed with the frost dagger, and that black-clad figure moved like an ungraspable shadow, ever-present.

Ice climbed up Qu Ting's body, and at the same time, Li Li endured the counter-damage from his SS-rank ability.

Blood sprayed around her, blooming like flowers.

Yet her expression remained smiling, as if she felt not a shred of pain.

"You... lunatic!" Qu Ting uttered his final words.

Ice encased him entirely, like a sculpture crafted by a master artisan.

Then Li Li raised her hand, turned, and casually tossed the dagger.

The dagger struck the ice sculpture, and after a few crisp cracking sounds—

"Bang."

It shattered into countless ice fragments, scattering across the ground.

Under the sunlight, they glinted faintly.

The fractured ice reflected the figures of those who had just arrived, standing beside Princess Wuyu, witnessing the death of a former colleague.

They were nobles residing in Floating City.

Among them, a green-haired man and a cyan-haired woman stood at the forefront, with others keeping a distance from them.

They were the patriarchs of the Sang clan and Feng clan, two of the six SS-rank ability users in Floating City.

No, perhaps now only two out of four.

Because the patriarchs of the Lin clan and Qu clan were dead.

They hadn't witnessed the former's passing, but here they saw the latter's demise.

And the black-haired youth who acted merely glanced up, smiling, looking at them with those crimson pupils, seemingly unconcerned.

"This is the 'Prophet' chosen by the imperial family?" the Sang clan patriarch said.

"What is It thinking?" the Feng clan patriarch said. "Why can he attack us?"

But Princess Wuyu only said: "He is the 'Prophet.'"

A figure second only to the imperial emperor.

"First meeting." Li Li leisurely stepped forward, facing their shifting expressions with a polite smile. "Nobles."

This time, she was truly invited as an honored guest, openly and legitimately, not through any forced reasoning.

...

After the incident at the palace entrance, the imperial family held a banquet to welcome Li Li.

The banquet also invited the patriarchs of the noble clans, who typically wouldn't attend such events, but today, all were present.

Their gazes subtly lingered on the black-haired youth seated in a high position, noting her listless demeanor and clear disinterest in the banquet.

[Want to leave?] the system asked.

"Just a meeting," Li Li said.

She idly toyed with the dagger in her hand, making some below tremble with fear.

The name of the illusionist Heige had been on the Empire's highest bounty list not long ago.

They all knew what kind of person Li Li was.

Ruthless, ferocious, a madman.

They didn't understand why this person had suddenly become the Empire's 'Prophet,' but it didn't stop them from fearing her.

[Alright.] The system agreed quickly. [I'll have Wuyu bring you over.]

Li Li glanced at Princess Wuyu, and as the system said, she seemed to listen intently to something, then stood, bowed to the emperor, and left her seat to approach Li Li.

Li Li followed suit, and after she left, the banquet's atmosphere noticeably relaxed.

The palace grounds were vast, and after a few turns, Princess Wuyu led Li Li to a hall.

She stopped there, nodded to Li Li, and left.

Li Li glanced at Princess Wuyu's retreating figure, then pushed open the door.

Inside was a sea of pale pink flowers, a few petals drifting past Li Li, carried by the breeze outward.

A small bridge over flowing water, entirely unlike the palace's opulence, exuded refined elegance.

As Li Li stepped inside, a figure in a white coat sat at a stone table on a stone bench, their form obscured by loose clothing.

Long white hair cascaded around Them, spreading like branches.

Those pale pink pupils carried a mist-like detachment from the mundane world.

They looked up, Their face exquisitely androgynous, like a sculpture crafted to embody the pinnacle of aesthetic perfection.

They looked at Li Li, offering a warm smile.

"We finally meet," They said.

This was Libra.

But Li Li's first thought upon seeing them wasn't about their appearance, or that the system was a tangible entity, or even that this face would be lethal in a manga.

It was: Libra, are They male or female?

The voice was male, no doubt, but there was no Adam's apple, and the face held a feminine softness.

For a moment, Li Li couldn't determine the system's gender, which made her think of Dan cross-dressing as a woman and herself posing as a man.

Are all concept-types this eccentric—no, it's a concept-type, so that's fine.

As a concept-type herself, Li Li nodded in understanding.