Into The Sea

More and more sea yaos summoned their weapons, their eyes fixed warily on the man on the throne. Lan Ji stared back at them in silence, the fury slowly draining from his face like a mask stiffening into lifeless wood.

“Heh…”

Finally, he let out a cold chuckle, shook his head, and stood up slowly. “I am indeed not Lan Ji.”

Jiang Luan’s eyes widened in shock, “Do you know what you’re saying? You’re admitting to impersonating His Majesty? That’s a capital crime!”

“A capital crime?” The man sneered. “Even if I’m not Lan Ji, I have every right to sit on this throne.”

He brushed his hand over his face and said coldly. “Open your eyes and see for yourselves who I truly am!”

A handsome yet cold face appeared before the crowd, instantly causing an uproar. It was the face carved into jade tablets, the regal visage sculpted into statues that watched over the sea clans over the Sea Palace day and night.

An elderly merfolk minister knelt with a thud, crying out, “Your Majesty! It’s His Majesty! He’s alive! He has returned!”

Unlike the overwhelmed sea yaos, Lan Wu stared hard at the long-lost face. Her voice dropped low, each word deliberate and tense. “Lan… Zhi… chuan.”

“After all this time, the first thing you say to your father is to call him by his full name?” Lan Zhichuan sneered, his gaze sweeping over the countless sea yaos inside and outside the hall, who were in shock.

He slowly spread his arms. “Your emperor has returned. Kneel!”

His commanding voice echoed through the water, reaching the ears of everyone present. Under the immense pressure, the terrified sea yaos instinctively knelt. Only Lan Wu and her companions remained standing, their eyes locked on him.

Lan Zhichuan lowered his gaze, scanning the prostrate figures before finally settling on them. Jiang Xi stepped forward, her eyes red. “It really is you… Lan Zhichuan. What happened to Ji’er? What did you do to him?!”

“Ji’er?” Lan Zhichuan frowned. “Ji’er is dead.”

Jiang Xi hadn’t expected him to answer so readily, so bluntly. She froze, staring at him in shock.

Lan Zhichuan sighed and shook his head: “I knew you wouldn’t be able to accept it, so I took on his place. So that, at least, you could go on thinking he was still alive and still with you. I did it out of kindness, and yet look at what you’ve done today. You’ve taken my good intentions and trampled them.”

“What did you say?” Jiang Xi’s long lashes trembled, staring at him in disbelief. “You pretended to be Ji’er… for me?”

“Of course,” Lan Zhichuan said, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. “Had I told you he was gone, you would’ve been devastated.”

“You… you…” Jiang Xi shook violently, voice rising. “Then tell me, how did Ji’er die?!”

“He died the same way you thought I died.” Lan Zhichuan narrowed his eyes, his cold gaze falling on Lan Wu. “Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten. Xiao Wu used to be headstrong and reckless, constantly running away. One day, I got news that she had run to the Abyssal Sea. I led the troops myself to search for her. We ran into the Sea Demons… and I was the only one who made it back.”

The more Lan Wu heard, the deeper her frown became. She couldn’t believe that he could lie and frame her so brazenly, even with her standing right in front of him.

She scoffed. “Really? Then tell us, what kind of Sea Demons were so powerful they could defeat even you and your forces?”

But Lan Zhichuan turned the accusation around. “And you—what is the meaning of this? If you suspected someone was impersonating Lan Ji, fine. But now that the truth is out, it was all just a misunderstanding. Put your weapons down.”

“A misunderstanding?” Lan Yuan could no longer hold back. “That’s not a misunderstanding—that’s a damn lie!” she shouted. “You murdered your own son. You tried to kill your daughter. You’re heartless, cruel, and you treat your own people like disposable pawns! What kind of Sea Emperor are you?”

“Ah, I almost forgot—you don’t deserve to be the Sea Emperor. After all, you stole the throne. You betrayed your family, betrayed your own people. You colluded with humans and even handed your own people over to them in exchange for power. You have no right to call yourself the Sea Emperor!”

Her fury echoed through the great hall. Even for the sea yaos, Even among a crowd already stunned by revelation after revelation, her words rang out like thunder. Lan Zhichuan’s face darkened, “Silence! You have lost your mind! How dare you spread such vile nonsense!”

Lan Yuan sneered and raised her chin in defiance. “Nonsense? Hah, I swear to the Sea God on my life, I haven’t spoken a single lie. Can you do the same? Can you swear to your people that your throne was won righteously? Can you swear that you have never harmed your own kind?!”

A moment of silence fell over the hall as countless eyes stared intently at Lan Zhichuan.

But the man suddenly let out a cold laugh, “In the end, it all comes down to the throne. Yuan’er, if you want the throne, just say so. Why humiliate your own father with such lowly tactics?”

Lan Yuan was taken aback. “Don’t change the subject…”

But Lan Zhichuan cut her off sharply. “Guards, seize these two unfilial daughters!”

Lan Wu gritted her teeth. “On what grounds are you arresting us?”

“On the grounds of treason. You conspired with the High Priestess and the Empress Dowager to overthrow the throne. That alone is punishable by death!” The smile vanished, replaced by a stern expression.

Lan Zhichuan raised his voice. “By the authority of the Sea Emperor, I hereby strip Lan Wu and Lan Yuan of their royal status. Guards! Take them, along with this demon, to the water prison!”

At his command, merfolk guards began to surge into the hall. Jiang Xi turned and shouted, “I would like to see who dares!”

Lan Zhichuan clenched his teeth. “The Empress Dowager no longer of sound mind. Lock her away in the Red Coral Palace!”

The merfolk guards gradually flooded into the hall. With a metallic sound, Jiang Luan drew her sword, her emerald eyes blazing with fire. “Let anyone try to touch her!”

Lan Zhichuan clenched his fist. “Jiang Luan, are you rebelling too?”

“Rebel?” Jiang Luan turned her head, scoffing. “You probably don’t realize this, but all these years, I have obeyed you out of respect for Jiang Xi. If you no longer respect her, what’s stopping me from rebelling?” She turned to look at Lan Wu not far away, her voice sharp. “Little fish, have you made up your mind? What are you going to do?”

Lan Wu ignored her nickname for the moment. “I have decided a long time ago.”

She spun her sword in a fluid arc, locked eyes with Ji Lingyue, then stared straight at the man on the throne.

“Kill Lan Zhichuan.”

Jiang Luan raised an eyebrow, then quickly smiled and called out. “Moonstone Dragon Clan!”

From outside the hall came a unified, resounding response: “At your command!”

“Follow me! Kill Lan Zhichuan!”