Unruly Phoenix Xiaoyao

“How is Supreme Commander doing now?” Ning Xiaoyao picked the safest question to ask the person before her. Whether or not this Supreme Commander was being maltreated, no one could tell her intentions from these words.

A rather young palace maid stood nearest to Ning Xiaoyao. Hearing the query, she respectfully replied, “Your Majesty, Lou Zigui has already been sent to the execution grounds.”

Ning Xiaoyao dug her fingers into the seat cushion beneath her. These words revealed two pieces of information. One, this Supreme Commander was named Lou Zigui and two, Supreme Commander Lou was already at the execution grounds.

“That ninny is still wasting words!” the fat yellow cat cried. “That old man Xie sentenced Supreme Commander to death by a thousand cuts. By now he might not even have any meat left!”

Ning Xiaoyao jumped up from her chair. Not good, she had to do something. That old fellow the Grand Preceptor was from the same family as the empress dowager, so he was no help. In that case, the person he wanted to kill, Ning Xiaoyao firmly believed, was logically the enemy of an enemy that could be a friend.

“I want to go to the execution grounds!” Ning Xiaoyao loudly announced her intentions. Not only were the humans in the room shocked, the cats on the tree were stunned as well. What was up with this person?

When she saw that no one replied, Ning Xiaoyao walked towards the door. If nobody else was coming along, then she'd just ask someone for directions on the way. But then the palace maids and eunuchs all rushed to block her path. The maid who'd spoken to her before said, “Your Majesty, the execution grounds are a bloody place. Your dragon body is so precious, how could you go over there?”

Ning Xiaoyao replied, “I'm not afraid of blood.” How could a person from the apocalypse fear blood? When zombies ran around, it wasn’t just blood, but that and guts splattering all over the place, all right?

The maid spread open her arms as her tone turned stiff. “Your Majesty, did you forget Esteemed Empress Dowager’s repeated entreaties?”

“Miaow,” the black cat outside the window spoke up again. “An emperor like her might as well go die, die, die!”

“... ...” Ning Xiaoyao remained silent.

“If Your Majesty really wants to leave the palace, why not ask esteemed empress dowager?” the maid suggested.

Ning Xiaoyao didn’t waste any more words. What use would they be against the empress dowager’s people? She raised her hand and pushed the maid aside. In the end, she was still an evolved species. Without comrades-in-arms to fight with, Ning Xiaoyao’s push was enough to send the maid tumbling out the door. Everyone was shocked. Didn’t they say His Majesty had never practiced martial arts before? Taking advantage of their dazed state, Ning Xiaoyao ran out of the room, only to be stunned by the sight before her.

Right now it was daytime in April, when the rhododendrons and chamei flowers[1. chamei flowers (茶糜花) - a species of Rubus coronarius flowers, which contain many unique types of blossoms within the same family.] were blooming, filling the air with their dreamy scents. The endless courtyard spread outside before her vision was filled with rhododendron blossoms, while a tree full of chamei flowered by her side. The entire courtyard was suffused with the potent fragrance of the latter. Ning Xiaoyao was born in a world where the skies were gray and the lands desolate. Zombies ran wild in the last epoch of mankind, so the world before her now was something she’d never seen before.

“My...my God,” Ning Xiaoyao gaped at the flower gardens, close on the verge of crying. Come on, this should be the kind of world that humans live in!

“Your Majesty!” a female voice suddenly yelled out. “Your servant begs Your Majesty to still your steps!” 𝙛𝑟𝑒e𝘸𝑒𝗯𝘯𝗼𝘃el.𝒄𝒐m

Ning Xiaoyao recovered her wits from all the shouting. She discovered that there were quite a few eunuchs running towards her from opposite ends of the walkway. Since she didn’t want to start a bloody battle so soon after arriving in this world, Ning Xiaoyao flipped over the railings. The walkway itself was located about two meters off the ground, but the height was equal to walking on flat ground for Ning Xiaoyao.

“Ah, Your Majesty!”

“Hurry and report to the esteemed empress dowager!”

“His Majesty ran away--”

--

The shouts behind her devolved into chaos. The louder the ruckus, the faster Ning Xiaoyao ran. She could save the person first and worry about everything else later. A group of people rushed through the door of her courtyard. It looked like they were planning to block her way, so Ning Xiaoyao spun on her heel, ran to the corner of the walls, and used her hands and feet to scrabble up like a gecko. Before everyone’s eyes, the Yongning Dynasty’s[2. Yongning Dynasty (雍宁) - Yong means “harmony,” Ning means “peaceful, tranquil.”] newest sovereign jumped over the wall and escaped...