Bated breath in the room, the bystanders bent over the little emperor’s back.
“No hope, no chance,” every single one of them thought. And yet…
The lotus tattoo on the little emperor’s back remained unchanged.
There was a resigned look in the First Princess’ red phoenix eyes. She sighed softly to herself, battling a disappointment she thought she had been ready for.
The other Duke healers often administered their treatments with loud whirls of sound and fury, sometimes causing the green light to grow strongly, battling the black lotus’ qi at other times.
Of course, all of those tries had failed to do much.
Still, at least such epic struggles stirred hope within. This completely unremarkable action left them a little unsure of how to feel.
Li Luo’s resonant power seemed to be too weak to even effect any change.
Li Luo looked a little embarrassed himself. “Junior Li Luo, don’t take it to heart,” the First Princess said kindly. “This is not the first failed attempt.”
Li Luo hung his head. “I’m sorry you took the trouble, Your Majesty.”
The little boy nodded mutely, his face a little faint as it usually was.
Li Luo rose and moved towards Jiang Qing’e, who gave him a sympathetic look as well.
“Your Highness, since the attempt has been made, we’ll be taking our leave,” Jiang Qing’e said simply. Both sides had achieved what they had come here to do.
The First Princess inclined her head, giving them permission to go.
“Wait.”
A hoarse voice rasped.
The First Princess looked curiously at the grey-cloaked old man beside the bed, as did Li Luo and Jiang Qing’e, for whom he was still an enigma.
“Grey One, is there something wrong?” the First Princess asked.
The old man’s hooded eyes flared open, bright, profound eyes that locked onto the little emperor’s back.
“Your Majesty, let me have a closer look,” he said in a voice like dry paper.
The little emperor looked at him, nodding as he stopped dressing himself.
The old man’s eyes began to glow, as he carefully inspected the little emperor’s lotus tattoo.
The First Princess could sense something strange about his manner. She knew how powerful he was, and that he might well see something they could not.
But was the change for better or worse?
Li Luo and Jiang Qing’e were standing worriedly together. What if the attempt had instead worsened the little emperor’s condition?
Surely not. A little Resonant Master cultivator like him couldn’t cause much harm…
The tension built in the silence, until even the First Princess was watching with rigid attention under the bright lights.
If the little emperor came to any harm here because of her, there would be hell to pay in the royal court tomorrow.
Her reputation was on the line.
The old man continued his meticulous inspection for several minutes.
On his face was surprise and shock.
Li Luo watched the rollercoaster of emotions on his face. “Damn, say something, old man! My heart can’t take this much longer!”
He finally finished his inspection. “Your Highness,” he turned to the First Princess, “there is indeed a very slight change in the lotus tattoo on His Majesty’s back.”
“What change?” she whispered, almost afraid to hear the answer.
He hesitated, then pointed at the lotus tattoo. “After my examination, I have determined that the black lotus energy has receded a little.”
They stared at the spot where he had pointed. It was a protrusion in the black design that was incredibly small—perhaps the size of a tiny petal, if the black lotus was a fully bloomed flower.
And…
It was still black!
Li Luo stared intently at the spot. He could not detect any difference. It looked black as it could be to him.
That was it?
Was the old man exaggerating?
The First Princess ran the two steps forward. “Grey One, are you sure? The blackness has faded a little?” She could not overlook this. The black lotus energy had faded a little? That was something none of the experts had been able to achieve thus far.
By their explanations, the black lotus energy was a product of dual resonances and was exceptionally tricky to undo.
But why had it become fainter?
A small change, but still a change.
The old man known as Grey One nodded solemnly. “Your Highness, I might be getting on in my years, but my eyesight is as good as ever. And I have memorized every minute detail of the lotus tattoo after all these years. My judgment is without error.”
The First Princess breathed out deeply, her heavy bosom heaving. “The cause?”
Grey One was silent for a moment. “I know it sounds unbelievable, but the only possibility is our friend here.”
This was hard to swallow, even for the logical minds of the First Princess and Jiang Qing’e.
“Surely not?”
Even Li Luo himself forced a dry chuckle.
None of this was making sense. The great Duke healers had failed, and he could do it?
“Could it be a natural recovery by His Majesty?” Li Luo offered. He sure didn’t want them to pin the heavy responsibility of healing the little emperor on him.
What if it went wrong? Who was going to shoulder the blame?
Grey One shook his head silently but firmly. He had looked after the little emperor all these years. Of course he knew the lotus tattoo best.
In all these years, the lotus tattoo had continued to worsen, the black spreading over the green. There had never been a reversal before.
Their years of experience had taught them just how stubborn and deadly the black lotus energy was. Even dual resonance Dukes had struggled against it. They had even asked the principal of the Astral Sage College before. He was a King, but he was unsuited to healing. He had not been able to help at all. The black lotus energy could perhaps only be dispelled by someone who wielded all three healing resonances.
But Kings were incredibly rare already, and the odds of finding the perfect King were astronomically slim.
Which was why today’s events had shocked the old man so deeply.
He turned to the First Princess, awaiting her decision.
Her face was frozen underneath the lights, then she turned to Li Luo. “We cannot pass up any opportunity, no matter how slim the chance might be.
“Junior Li Luo, please try again!”
If Li Luo’s healing had some small effect, they could test it again to ascertain that the change was caused by him.
Li Luo balked.
She jerked forwards to him. “Junior Li Luo, this is very important. If you can heal His Majesty, the royal court will be indebted to you!” she pleaded. “I’ll support you in everything you desire!”
He could not help but blush at such a goddess begging him so fervently. “Eh, but…” he stammered. “Tha- that was the last drop.”
He was just a little Resonant Master. How would these General Stage experts understand how dry he was?!