The second day of the Lunar New Year, Capital, south of the city, a deserted courtyard.
"It's precisely the Five Heavenly Monarchs. If we overlook Qian Xia, this matter wouldn't amount to much," said Turquoise Pool as she removed her veil, adding another splash of color to an already brightly lit room.
"That Shao Yuanjie and what's-his-name Tao are so annoying! Pft!" Li Qianxia spat out a melon seed shell, her small mouth never stopping.
"I could make a fake one for Jiajing," suggested Lily, one of Turquoise Pool's subordinates. She was a petite beauty in green, embroidered with butterflies on her dress, and had a delicate face.
"I can help too," said one of Bi's subordinates.
Both possessed skills or instincts to alter their appearances.
"That's an idea," considered Turquoise Pool as she lifted the tea Violet had poured for her, "unfortunately, we can't involve the other four. If we impersonate them, they would expose us themselves."
Li Changzhou looked out the window; the snow that started last night hadn't stopped yet, piling up on the window sill like a city wall.
"No player would place their hopes on someone else. I don't need, nor can I rely on, the Jiajing Emperor's mercy," he said.
"Why not just teleport there and snatch him out to kill him?" Bi said, munching on candy.
Li Changzhou smiled and replied, "Kill him? I might as well keep him in my hand and use him to suppress anyone from Heavenly Monarch to Heavenly Master to Sect Leader, slaughtering Dao Cultivators as easily as chickens and ducks."
"Hmm, cough! That's a great idea!" Li Qianxia spoke hastily, choked by the seeds, but her eyes were bright.
"What's great about it!" Turquoise Pool handed her a cup of water.
Drinking the water, Li Qianxia listened as Turquoise Pool continued, "What's the use of killing them? They're people who have been dead for hundreds of years. Jiajing is key to this mission and should not be touched lightly."
"I agree with this view," said Yang Qinglan to Li Changzhou, slowly, "He's asking you to capture the Five Heavenly Monarchs, but he did not act against you directly, which shows he has not given up on dreaming of immortality from you. Conversely, just as Turquoise Pool said, those Heavenly Monarchs are people who died hundreds of years ago—"
"Hey, hey!" Li Qianxia protested.
Unconcerned, Yang Qinglan continued, "—and have committed many evils, so it's no big deal if they are killed."
"But be careful," added Turquoise Pool, "achieving immortality through Tribulation, these people might just be your 'Human Tribulation.'
"And possibly ours as well," said Yang Qinglan.
"What's this 'his' and 'ours'?" Bi said, frustrated.
"It means," Li Qianxia put down her cup and grabbed another handful of seeds, "it's not just the Four Heavenly Monarchs, ugh, it's that there will be many people ambushing my brother, and we will suffer fallout too."
"I get it," nodded Bi, "there's going to be a spectacle to watch, right?"
"...You could look at it that way."
The five Russian subordinates of Princess Bi giggled and laughed.
They talk like that, but when the time comes, they would still need to help out.
Bi received some miraculous spells from Li Changzhou and also obtained some residency slots on the Moon Base. In exchange, they gave up on this mission to help Li Changzhou instead.
"With so many of us, six plus six plus three, that's fifteen people, we won't be afraid no matter how many they bring, right?" Li Qianxia was full of confidence.
"We need to allocate some to protect Jiajing," Li Changzhou, fingers tapping on the armrest of the couch, his mind actually full of Daoist texts, said, "The Zombie Fungus has been eradicated, but there's still an issue with that Honored Concubine Cao."
"And the Empress," Yang Qinglan chimed in simultaneously with Turquoise Pool.
Li Changzhou couldn't help but return to the moment, glancing between them with some surprise.
Yang Qinglan was clad in a white robe, her skin as white as snow, her expression tranquil;
Turquoise Pool pressed her lips into a sweet smile, like a blooming red flower, captivating and enchanting—she must have activated some kind of "Favored Concubine" effect.
"What's the issue with the Empress?" Li Changzhou still didn't know that the hand touching him that night was not Turquoise Pool's, but the beauteous Empress Fang.
"Her issue is the biggest," was all Turquoise Pool said.
Li Changzhou didn't ask further, "Capturing the Four Heavenly Monarchs is risky. I, Qing Lan, Qian Xia, Turquoise Pool, and Bi, the five of us will go. The other ten will use their instincts and skills to protect and monitor the Jiajing Emperor in the palace and will directly take him away if necessary."
The five beautiful subordinates of Turquoise Pool all looked to her. Although Li Changzhou was likely to become their boss, at least for now, he wasn't.
"Just listen to him," Turquoise Pool said with a laugh.
This was also to protect them.
"Princess, we can't let you act alone," Misha said to Bi, her expression serious.
"Are you trying to stage a rebellion?" Bi pointed at her with the candy in her hand, her small face stern.
Misha's lips moved, but in the end, she said nothing and had to turn to Li Changzhou, saying, "Mr. Li, please make sure to protect the princess well."
"Don't worry," Li Changzhou smiled, "if anything happens, I'll teleport away first, safer than all of you."