Close Combat Mage
chapter-156

Chapter 156 – Planned In Such A Way Pt. 2

The Emperor abruptly jumped up and hurriedly rushed to Suo Jia, anxiously asking, “What? You said that there’s a way to bring Empress An Rong back to life?”

Suo Jia nodded in response to the question, “There’s about a 50% chance!”

Hearing the news that the Empress could be saved, the Emperor’s face couldn’t help but light up with happiness. He reached out to grab Suo Jia’s hand and urged, “Hurry! Hurry up and save Empress An Rong! If you can save her, I will definitely reward you generously!”

Suo Jia smiled and said, “I alone am not enough. I can only take responsibility for retrieving the crystal. If you want to save her, you’ll still need a Light element Great Mage!”

“That’s not a problem. I’m a Light element Great Mage, so I’ll accompany you. Go ahead and tell me…what should I do?”

Suo Jia couldn’t help but secretly smile to himself when he saw how anxious the Emperor was. This was precisely part of his plans. If Suo Jia resurrected Empress An Rong by himself, it would be hard to prevent the Emperor from getting suspicious about using the trick of injuring oneself to gain the other party’s confidence. Only by allowing the Emperor to personally witness and confirm that the Empress had indeed died, and let him personally resurrect her, would he be able to completely believe the scenario.

Suo Jia walked up to Empress An Rong. As he saw her two hands folded neatly in front of her chest and her rosy, serene face, Suo Jia couldn’t help but sigh in praise. Even when dead, this woman had made herself so beautiful, intentionally seducing the Emperor. This wasn’t something that Suo Jia had told her to do.

Suo Jia closed his eyes and stretched his hands out, moving them in a circle in the air above Empress An Rong’s body. Suicide by swallowing a crystal meant that, although the Empress had died, her face was still rosy, and didn’t impact her beauty at all. Actually, death by swallowing a crystal was a type of punishment in the palace. Many imperial concubines had been sentenced with this penalty so that they wouldn’t draw any people’s suspicions.

However, Suo Jia had warned the Empress repeatedly that before swallowing the crystal, she had to drink more water. Otherwise, no matter how powerful Suo Jia was, it would be extremely difficult for him to draw the swallowed crystal back out. As long as she had consumed enough water, Suo Jia could use his water manipulation to retrieve the crystal.

Under the anxious gazes of the Emperor and the Grand Empress, Suo Jia slowly waved his hands around. The next moment…Empress An Rong’s throat seemed to move. Her lips then parted ever so slightly, and a blue crystal glowing with a hazy light appeared in her mouth!

“My God!” Seeing how massive the gem was, Suo Jia couldn’t help but cry out in shock to himself. That thing was just too precious; it was a Great Frost Wyrm’s crystal core! It was a completely priceless treasure. The only way to obtain it was to kill a Great Frost Wyrm, but retrieve it while it was still alive, since a Great Frost Wyrm disappeared shortly after dying.

He snuck a glance at his side. At the moment…the Grand Empress and the Emperor were both completely focused on Empress An Rong; neither of them cared about the crystal core at all. Suo Jia then made his decision; since they didn’t care, Suo Jia wouldn’t hold back. He swiftly reached out the grab the crystal core in the Empress’s mouth, and with a flip of his hand, he tossed it into his interspatial ring.

Actually, Suo Jia simply wasn’t aware that not all the palace maids committed suicide by using such precious crystal cores. This was something that only the Empress had the qualifications to use. Swallowing a Great Frost Wyrm’s crystal core kept the body from decaying for thousands of years. In addition, one would be able to maintain their face’s appearance of when they were still alive!

After putting away the crystal core, Suo Jia hurriedly retreated, and said to the Emperor, “Ok, now you need to immediately cast the Resurrection Technique. You have a 50% to bring the Empress back to life!”

As a Light element Great Mage, the Emperor naturally knew whether Suo Jia’s words were true or not. Just as Suo Jia had said…the Resurrection Technique could indeed bring a person back to life. But based on Empress An Rong’s time of death, there was only a 50% chance of success. In addition…if he couldn’t save her with his first attempt, it meant that her soul had already escaped. No matter how many more times he tried, it would no longer be of any use.

Although the Resurrection Technique could be used infinitely, in reality, if it failed after the first attempt, any number of future attempts would also fail. If the person could be saved, a single attempt would be enough. Since An Rong had just died, there was still a chance to bring her back to life before her soul scattered. The Emperor could only pray to the Heavens to bless An Rong in hopes of making sure her soul hadn’t left her.

Seeing the Emperor pray so fervently, Suo Jia couldn’t help but secretly feel satisfied. Actually, the Empress had only just died. Although she had indeed swallowed the crystal, she had actually only swallowed it down when she had heard their approaching footsteps. But right after the Grand Empress and the Emperor had arrived, Suo Jia had also come, and he had taken control of the swallowed crystal with his water manipulation, making sure that it didn’t land in her stomach. Otherwise, she would’ve instantly died!

The Resurrection Technique had an 100% success rate on a completely intact body that had just died. However, if too much time passed after the initial death, then there would be no hope of revival, even if a god himself descended.

Suo Jia was actually stuck in a really difficult position. First, the Empress had faked her death, and just now, when Suo Jia acted, she had really died. Not even a minute had passed in between, and there was a surefire chance of successful resurrection within 10 minutes. There was absolutely no room for concern.

After praying for a while, the Emperor suddenly stretched out his hand and in that instant…a holy scepter appeared in his hands. As he looked at the jade-like, sparkling and translucent scepter in the Emperor’s hands, Suo Jia couldn’t help but drool with desire. Wasn’t this an Epic ranked staff that boosted light magic by 200%? With it, An Rong would have a hard time dying even if she wanted to.

The Resurrection Technique could only be used on a dead person. If used on a live person, nothing would happen; the spell wouldn’t even produce any light. There was absolutely no way to activate it!

As the Emperor began to move…a pure and holy glow arose from the scepter, swiftly entering the Empress’s stomach. The next moment…the Empress’s body suddenly lit up, her entire body enshrouded by the layer of pure, holy light.

Everyone knew that whether it would be successful or not would depend on that moment. Time seemed to crawl; a second suddenly felt longer than an hour.

Finally, as everyone impatiently awaited, Empress An Rong’s eyelashes moved. Her brows also furrowed slightly. It was evident…that the Emperor’s Resurrection Technique had succeeded! However, the newly resurrected Empress couldn’t immediately awaken. She had to sleep for a bit to cultivate her injured soul before being able to regain consciousness.

The Emperor let out a long breath, and wiped off the sweat on his forehead as he looked at Suo Jia with a grateful look. Only then did he suddenly realize that this child wasn’t from within the palace; the palace didn’t have such young children.

The Emperor knit his brows in suspicion and said in a powerful voice, “Who are you? Why are you in the palace? How did you enter?”

Suo Jia smiled at this and said, “You’re kidding? You don’t even know who I am? You really aren’t doing your job properly then, to not even recognize your wife’s lover, ai….”

“What? Her lover!” The Emperor and the Grand Empress couldn’t help but cry out in shock.

Suo Jia looked at their shocked faces and patted himself on the chest as he loftily replied, “Don’t doubt your ears; I am indeed the male lead in this sex scandal, Her Highness’s lover!”

They stared at Suo Jia, dumbstruck. If Suo Jia had been this rude before, they would’ve dragged him out to behead him in a heartbeat. However, it was evident that at the moment, neither the Emperor nor the Grand Empress had such a bad temper. Suo Jia had just saved the Empress, so no matter how sinful he was, they’d still have to suppress their angers.

The Resurrection Technique was not unrivaled. It was impossible to resurrect someone that had died by swallowing a crystal unless the crystal core was removed. Otherwise, the person would die once more the instant they were revived. Although one could also surgically open the stomach and remove the crystal core, people that normally went through this process typically couldn’t be saved with just the Resurrection Technique. Their injuries would too severe, and nothing could possibly save them.

With a frown, the Grand Empress indignantly demanded, “Don’t think that you can say whatever you want just because you’re a young child. This matter concerns the Imperial Family’s dignity, so you’d better act more sincerely. Hurry up and say…who exactly are you?”

Suo Jia smiled bitterly and shrugged. He helplessly spread his hands and said, “Even if nobody else knows, how could you, the Grand Empress, not know? Although the Empress hadn’t notified the Emperor when she left the palace this time, she did tell you. Right now, there are rumors of a sex scandal stating that the Empress went out to take a lover. I’m precisely the male that the Empress went to go seek. If I wasn’t her lover, who else could I be?”

“What!” The Grand Empress’s eyes suddenly lit up as she urgently asked, “You’re the legendary Sage Doctor, Suo Jia?”

“Sage Doctor Suo Jia?” Suo Jia repeated the words in confusion and asked, “I don’t know if I’m a Sage Doctor or anything, but my name is indeed Suo Jia, the owner of Holy Light City’s White Villa!”

The Grand Empress nodded in understanding, and replied, “Then that’s right, it definitely is you. The reason the Empress left the palace this time was firstly, to visit the Fourth Prince and help him choose a bride, and secondly, to find you!”

“What…what is going on?” The Emperor cried out after he heard the Grand Empress’s words. He had just realized that there seemed to have been something concealed from him!