Chapter 1267: Their Life
The avatar showed an amused yet curious expression.
"Rise."
He spoke, and Mei Zhilan rose from her kowtow.
"I’m curious. How did you suspect my identity? How did you know that I was the Great Emperor while I was still in the Underground City? No one knows it was me, not even those who accompanied me when I departed."
Mei Zhilan smiled.
"To be honest, Your Majesty, I simply felt that it was Your Majesty because of the sensation I felt from your very being when I danced near you earlier. Initially, I only intended to greet the person sent by the Great Emperor after receiving information that he would be visiting this place. The entire Red District is our territory, after all, and we are aware of Your Majesty’s movements."
"However, the moment I began dancing and passed near Your Majesty, I felt a kind of attraction that I had never experienced before. It was an attraction that came from my very being. My own soul. That was when I remembered the legend passed down by our ancestors."
"It is said that the first ancestor of our race had feelings for the Great Emperor of All Heavens. Although she already had her incubus partner, she still held those feelings for him. Those feelings were said to have become a kind of curse that was passed down to every succubus born from her bloodline. Everyone would experience the same feeling, or at least an attraction toward the being of the Great Emperor."
"At that moment, my feelings were suddenly drawn toward Your Majesty for no apparent reason. The feelings completely uncontrollable. That made me suspect that you were the Great Emperor of All Heavens. Combined with the disguise technique you were using, my suspicions only grew stronger."
"We had already received Your Majesty’s description from the members who attended the gathering, so I merely wanted to confirm whether my suspicions were correct."
Mei Zhilan’s eyes met the avatar’s directly.
"And I’m glad that my guess was correct."
The avatar nodded.
Hearing Mei Zhilan mention the first ancestor of the succubi, he could not help but remember Lustvelle herself.
What Mei Zhilan had said about Lustvelle being attracted to him was true. Despite already having her partner at the time, the incubus Ferelis, she had also been attracted to his past self, the Great Emperor.
Although she never dared to openly confess her feelings to him, her behavior could not always hide it. His past self was not oblivious to it. He could clearly sense her feelings.
Lustvelle was only one of countless women who had dreamed of becoming the Great Emperor’s woman.
However, even though he knew about her feelings and those of many other women, as the Great Emperor, he naturally had no interest in such things. He could still remember how different his mindset had been compared to his current life.
The crazy part was that Ferelis, her partner, knew about her feelings and saw them as completely normal. He did not mind that his partner had feelings for the Great Emperor.
Heck, he even seemed supportive of whatever Lustvelle wanted to do. If she truly wished to become the Great Emperor’s woman, Ferelis would support her without hesitation.
It was as if it were also an honor for him if his partner became the Great Emperor’s woman.
The avatar could not help but find it both funny and strange that someone could possess such a cuckold mentality.
"I see," the avatar said.
Then he suddenly realized something.
"Wait, doesn’t that mean all of the succubi I passed by felt the same sensation as you? Doesn’t that mean my disguise is useless against your kin?"
Mei Zhilan nodded.
"Yes, Your Majesty, they could feel that sensation. Well, at least those who come from our first ancestor’s bloodline. Though I doubt all of them would remember what that sensation signifies. Still, they would undoubtedly be attracted to you. I heard that Your Majesty received many offers from my sisters while on your way here. I truly apologize for their offense, Your Majesty."
She spoke in a regretful tone and bowed to him.
"No problem. However, this is new information for me. I will keep it in mind in the future," the avatar said.
Mei Zhilan nodded before a curious look appeared in her eyes.
"Your Majesty, if I may ask, are you a clone or something similar?"
"Well, this body is merely an avatar of my real body." The avatar smiled at her. "Why did you reach that conclusion?" he asked with interest.
"Well, I heard that two people departed for different places from the Underground City. I also heard that the Great Emperor himself never left the city. Since Your Majesty appeared here, I concluded that the ones sent outside were the Great Emperor’s clones."
Hearing Mei Zhilan’s answer, the avatar nodded.
"What a sharp mind you have. I suddenly don’t feel very confident in myself when you can find me despite how confident I was in my disguise technique. At this point, I feel like I cannot hide from my own followers. It makes me wonder whether my disguise technique is actually useful or not."
His tone was filled with resignation.
Mei Zhilan smiled.
"Your Majesty truly likes to jest. How could you fail to hide from us? It is only because of my innate attraction toward Your Majesty that I was able to deduce that much."
She poured another drink for the avatar, but he did not immediately drink it. Instead, his gaze remained fixed on Mei Zhilan.
Feeling the avatar’s gaze upon her, Mei Zhilan could not help but blush. Even so, she maintained her composure and did not allow herself to become embarrassed.
"How is your life here?" the avatar suddenly asked.
Mei Zhilan froze, and her embarrassment instantly vanished.
His question made her release a sigh.
Sadness appeared in her eyes.
"Well, what kind of life could a courtesan like me have? Even more so when we are controlled by the Remivas family. Our daily lives are filled with nothing but work after work. We are only given two hours each day for our own activities, though that is not entirely true since even that time is controlled by the Remivas family."
"We are given cultivation resources by them to cultivate and raise our strength. However, all of that is only so that we can become better partners for dual cultivation. The higher our cultivation, the better our treatment."
Mei Zhilan lowered her head as if she did not want the avatar to see the pitiful and humiliated expression on her face.
"Every five years, there is what the Remivas family calls the Fertility Season. During that year, thousands of succubi are selected to carry children for the next generation of courtesans."
"During that year, the chosen ones must bear children for the future generation. Our partners are incubi who share the same fate as us. If we fail to bear a child within a certain period, we will face harsh punishment. Even death is not out of the question."
"However, cases of customers impregnating courtesans are not rare. In fact, news of such incidents appears almost every week. Their children will never know who their fathers are."
Mei Zhilan clenched her fists.
"That is our life after reaching adulthood. Even before that, we are trained to become courtesans by the Remivas family. Every one of our descendants will suffer the same fate. Once they reach seven years old, they are branded with a slave seal on their lower abdomen to ensure that we can never escape our fate."
She poured out every grievance she had kept buried in her heart for so many years.
She had never spoken to anyone like this before because doing so would be exposing her humiliation and weakness.
However, in front of the Great Emperor, the one in whom she placed all her hope to change their fate, she revealed all of her suffering like a child confiding in a parent.
She then looked at the avatar with a resolute expression.
"And it will keep happening until we can break free. We have long sought freedom. Freedom from this kind of life. Even if we are succubi and incubi, this is still a humiliating way to live. We want to live as freely as our ancestors did before the invaders came."
The avatar could see the burning spirit behind Mei Zhilan’s eyes. It was completely different from just moments ago, when she had appeared weak and helpless, like someone trapped by a fate she could not escape.
Hearing what they had been through made his nonexistent blood boil.
In the past, Lustvelle and Ferelis had been able to live as a normal couple and freely do whatever they wanted. Now their descendants had been reduced to living like this.
’I wonder what their fate is now? Are they still alive?’
The avatar sighed and looked at Mei Zhilan solemnly.
"You will not need to live like that much longer. Mark my words. I will give you the freedom you have long sought. I will not abandon anyone, nor will I disappoint those who have placed their faith in me."
Mei Zhilan’s lips trembled, and her eyes began to water. She quickly lowered her head to hide her expression from the avatar.
Never in her life had she felt such relief from hearing words filled with confidence and reassurance.
At last, the time when their suffering would come to an end was approaching.
There would be no need for them to continue living such a humiliating life.
Tears unconsciously fell from Mei Zhilan’s eyes.
"Thank you, Your Majesty. Thank you for coming to us. Thank you for not abandoning us."