Chapter Seventy-Four: The Queen's Ruthlessness

These feet were both pale and small, instantly reminding Lei Xiang of the “golden lotuses” of the past life. “If these feet had existed in that era, the women of those days would have been utterly shamed. Even Zhao Feiyan would seem like dirt in comparison.”

Curiosity stirred within Lei Xiang as he gazed up along those small feet, only to be utterly astonished by what he saw.

He had expected an ethereal beauty, or at the very least a delicately refined elven maiden. Yet, to his complete bewilderment, the owner of those lustrous feet was, without a doubt, a man.

This male elf stood just over three feet tall, his entire body scarcely weighing more than six pounds. Lei Xiang wondered if there wasn’t a single plump man among the Azure Elves. On second thought, it made sense—the Azure Elves were ruled by women; men were merely servants, burdened with all the dirtiest and most exhausting work. Fatigue and hardship would keep any weight off them. It also explained why Lei Xiang was so popular here: at a dignified seven feet, he was a veritable giant among them.

Understanding this, Lei Xiang’s heart filled with sympathy. He smiled politely in the elven tongue, “Hello, is there something I can do for you?”

The small-footed male elf seemed a bit overwhelmed—perhaps no one had ever spoken to him so courteously before. After collecting himself, he said, “Lei Xiang, you’ve already learned our language so quickly. It’s truly incredible.”

Lei Xiang nodded with a gentle smile.

The little elf forced a smile of his own. “The Azure Queen has commanded you to bathe in the royal pool at the palace. Please, board the litter.”

At his gesture, two sedan-chair-like contraptions were brought forth. The little elf sprang lightly onto one, and Lei Xiang, after examining the structure—a chair mounted between two poles—shook his head and sat as well. Four male elves hoisted him up and staggered forward.

But Lei Xiang was pondering something else. “This little-footed elf seems to be of no low status among the Azure Elves, to be afforded a litter for transport. I need to look into his background.”

Just then they passed a main street, where the sides teemed with male elf beggars. Clad in filth and rags, some missing limbs, they crawled in the mud. Female elves strutted past like peacocks, pinching their noses in disdain. One woman even brandished a whip, mercilessly lashing two beggars.

Lei Xiang’s brows furrowed in disgust. The male elves were treated worse than animals—he felt an urge to leap down and intervene. Suddenly, around the corner, he saw a middle-aged male elf, bound tightly to a hitching post. His ribs were bare and lacerated with purple-red welts, some wounds gaping and raw, enough to make one lose their lunch.

Two female elves in red were thrashing him with whips nearly as thick as his legs, laughing wildly as they did. Their long hair whipped about in the wind, making Lei Xiang think of the hags of hell.

“Ha! Ha! Ha! Beat him to death. He’s not even fit for breeding, what use is he alive? Nothing but a dung-making machine!”

The other woman cackled, “Sister, killing him so quickly is too easy. Give him a hundred lashes, then bring him before the Queen for a show—let him perform with a bitch dog…” The rest of her words were too vile to bear.

Lei Xiang could stand no more and was about to act, when a voice whispered in his ear, “Do not meddle. Worry about yourself. Nurse your body well and serve the Queen’s pleasure. If you cannot satisfy her, I guarantee your fate will be ten times worse than his.”

Startled, Lei Xiang looked up to see the little-footed elf eyeing him with a sly, half-smiling gaze. Lei Xiang’s heart chilled. “Impulsiveness is the devil. I must endure! Patience now or all is lost.” He forced a friendly smile, then turned away from the tortured elf.

The litter picked up speed. Everywhere, Lei Xiang saw female elves trampling and abusing the frail males. He could only lift his head to the sky, staring into the sun, suppressing his hatred with feverish cultivation. After a day’s practice, he could now squint into the sunlight directly, though the blue glow in his eyes showed little true change.

They stopped before a colossal tree, dozens of yards thick, its dense foliage hiding the sky itself. Its height was unknowable. On either side of its trunk stood eight armored warriors, each five or six feet tall—much more robust than any male elf Lei Xiang had yet seen.

On sighting Lei Xiang’s group, the warriors saluted promptly. Two of them took up the little-footed elf’s litter, while Lei Xiang’s was set on the ground. He smiled, stepping down to walk on foot, still puzzled as to why the small-footed elf was afforded such privilege.

At that moment, a captainly elf produced a tender green branch and traced two symbols in the air. With a dull “thud,” a section of bark three yards wide fell away, exposing a massive hollow within the tree.

Could this be the Queen’s palace?

The little-footed elf was borne inside, and Lei Xiang followed. Within, a stone staircase spiraled upward, seemingly endless, the walls lush with moss.

After climbing for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, they reached a green door. Opening it, they were greeted by an expanse of white clouds, radiant greenery, and moist, fresh air—a natural paradise.

Lei Xiang frowned, lost in thought, as the little-footed elf and two guards knelt and shouted, “Long live the Queen! May she reign forever!”

A gust of wind blew as if from the depths of the clouds. A figure in azure appeared, her dark blue eyes fixing at last upon Lei Xiang. “Rise. So this is the prey Xiao’e and the others hunted—a foreign breed chosen by royal decree? Why does he not kneel?”

The two guards leapt at Lei Xiang, seizing his arms and trying with all their might to force him down. Yet Lei Xiang remained unmoved. How could they know that he practiced the Dragon Aspect Divine Art, his body already tempered by lightning, his strength extraordinary even without channeling inner power?

A crack sounded as the guard who kicked at Lei Xiang suffered a compound fracture in his right leg, while the other was hurled more than five yards away, unable to rise.

The woman in blue’s eyes flashed coldly. “You must not realize where you are. Who lets you run wild here?” With a leap, she landed before Lei Xiang, her jade-like hand flickering before his eyes while her seemingly boneless leg struck at his lower body.

Her long leg twisted mid-kick, its flexibility almost inhuman, as her booted foot coiled behind Lei Xiang, aiming to bind and toss him aside. After all, this foreigner was a royal selection—she dared not wound him, only to teach a lesson.

Her vine-like legs entwined, but Lei Xiang’s body suddenly vanished. She hesitated, and in that instant, a flurry of palm shadows sealed off all her escape.

Heaven-and-Earth Soul-Seizing Palm!

Lei Xiang unleashed a secret technique of the Lei family fortress—Lei Yunlong’s own move—striking the sole of her entangling foot. With a swoosh, the woman in blue shot out like a cannonball, crashing into the door and sliding down to the floor.

A gasp echoed from the clouds above. The woman in blue quickly regained her feet and, from a gourd-like pouch, drew a branch over a foot long. With a flick, it extended to more than two yards. She was about to attack when the voice from the clouds called again, “Enough. Bring them in.”

The blue-garbed woman froze, then bowed, replying, “Yes.” She shot Lei Xiang a venomous look. “Lei Xiang, just wait. When the Azure Queen tires of you, I’ll deal with you myself. For now, go in.” With a tap of her branch, a wooden ladder materialized, reaching into the clouds.

The little-footed elf now dismounted his litter. Before the Queen, he dared not be insolent, crawling up the ladder step by step. Staring at this stairway to heaven, Lei Xiang was filled with emotion. “Do the Azure Elves truly live in the sky?” What he had seen in the past days was utterly unlike the human realm, overturning all his expectations.

After climbing for half a cup of tea’s time, they finally reached the summit, enveloped in mist. Only then did Lei Xiang realize his mistake—the Azure Elves did not live in the sky, but in the trees.

This ancient tree was simply too tall, piercing the clouds themselves and creating the illusion. Before him stretched a vast courtyard, leading to five grand chambers. Under the guidance of the little-footed elf, Lei Xiang entered the leftmost room.

Inside was lavish opulence. Beside a rosewood rocking chair stood a massive white jade bath, large enough for a dozen people to bathe at once. Against the north wall hung a green vine hammock. The Azure Queen was nowhere to be seen, but from the great tub, a constant stream of milky mist billowed forth.

The small-footed elf hastily knelt, chanting, “May the Azure Queen’s life be as enduring as the mountains, eternal and unending.”

From the milky mist, the Queen’s voice emerged, “Mm, Jade Fat, come up quickly.”

Jade Fat? What was that? Go up? Go where?

Before Lei Xiang could make sense of it, the little-footed elf stepped forward, sat on a rattan chair, and, after washing his feet thoroughly in a basin, took a piece of beast-hide from a palace maid and dried them meticulously, as if he were polishing a rare work of art.

Two frail male elves approached, lifted him gently, and placed him on the rattan rocking chair, then began to swing it. The chair swayed higher and higher, almost a person’s height.

“One, two, three!”

As the two elves counted, at “three” the chair swung forward. Both elves pulled at the sides, releasing the chair and sending the little-footed elf soaring straight toward the milky mist.

But the force on the left was weaker, causing his petite body to veer slightly right.

A splash sounded as he landed in the bath. The two elves, their bodies trembling, knelt and kowtowed in terror, their heads tapping the floor like pecking chickens.