The talk within the group was basically between Azrail and Huifen, Xuanyin not speaking as always, while Valencia remained quiet, seeing through the plays that Azrail was making, giving Azrail the chance to get some points in with Huifen, who slowly is getting closer and closer with Azrail in every sense of the word.
"So you are being bullied by your sisters?"
Azrail asked with a calm tone, to which Huifen, nodding her head, spoke.
"My mother's rise in power makes it such that she has a lot on her plate, the others want to crush her."
Azrail nodded his head at Huifen's words, his eyes glazing over a bit as he spoke.
"It must be hard living through all that."
His words now make Huifen nod her head, her eyes now falling down from the covering of innocence and smile to show a much more weary look on her face. She now already has been trained by Lady Xia, her mother, on the prospects of always hiding your expression, to use all the opportunities that may come her way.
Thus, under the eyes of any pressure, she always keeps a very calm yet gentle smile, one she inherited from her mother, and it was within when Azrail was about to speak that a voice echoed in his mind.
'I have brought him here.'
The voice layover of Ming Yao resounded in his mind. A bit ago when walking towards the garden, Azrail had commanded Ming Yao to bring the very special prince to this place. After all, Azrail has to lay the groundwork for the little skit he's going to play. Ruibo has already been brought here, the open garden being one of the favorite places of Ruibo's mother, Diwei.
'On the north wing right to the fourth layer.'
Hearing this, a sly smile came to Azrail's face. He spoke directly to Valencia.
'Do me a favor and go to the north wing of the fourth layer and accidentally flash a bit of your face. Be sure to show a sad aura, reminiscent of a caged bird.'
Azrail didn't have to specify anything from there. The smart and scheming Valencia already saw the outline of the plan as a whole.
'You want to jump and interfere?'
Azrail replied back, making Valencia smile a bit under her veil. Thus, suddenly, when Huifen was speaking, Valencia stood up from where she sat. This sudden action took Huifen aback, a hint of fear passing through her eyes as she shut up directly. Huifen's mind already playing with the fear of what happened to the ones Valencia didn't like being around Azrail.
But thankfully to Huifen, Valencia didn't do anything to her, just looking at Huifen for a moment after which she started to walk away. No words were spoken as her back stayed to the figures sitting on the bench, an awkward atmosphere forming within the group as Huifen asked with a hint of hesitation.
"Um... is Lady Valencia angry?"
The same question is being asked by his sister, but more with her feelings. To this, Azrail sent a subtle message to Xuanyin's mind.
'Don't worry, it's all part of a plan.'
Though confused again, Xuanyin went with the flow. Thus, Azrail turned to look at Huifen, a small smile filling the edges of his lips as he spoke.
"It's nothing. Valencia was just feeling a bit moody, so she just went for a walk."
That is all Huifen replied, and Azrail could see it. Though she was feeling a bit fearful of Valencia, the beauty with no limits that came from above, she still felt a little satisfaction at having Azrail to herself for some time at least.
'She really wants to make use of me.'
Azrail mused, not put off by this behavior. In fact, it would be very helpful for his plans ahead.
Ruibo, now called the fallen genius, walked through the garden, his back smaller than before, his eyes reddened from anger and craze, his body a bit more sickly than before. He looked like a lost soul as he kept walking along, his pasts passing through his mind.
The once great mighty genius, one that learned to walk, talk, and learn with fast speeds and might, one called a fighting genius by his trainer, now falls to the ground. He was the Emperor's favorite, the apple of his mother's eyes, now all he is, is a disappointment. Ruibo could still hear the words from his mother's mouth.
[Why are you so useless!]
She shouted at him, her face filled with the slap mark from her failure... him.
Ruibo saw with his own eyes how everything started to fall apart as he awakened his talent at the Body Refinement level, the lowest level of talent anybody could have, the worst of the worst. Ruibo is deemed to be no one powerful or worthy in his life. The beggar on the street might have more talent than Ruibo, and that is the truth.
The arrogant little boy of 10, one said to be very good-looking from a young age, said to be some kind of genius reincarnator, fell to the ground. He lost his supporters, the people who kept running around him left. The servants started to look down on him, his siblings started to torture him more and more.
His engagement was being called into question, the friends he had easily given him away, joining in the glee of torturing the previous genius prince they all envied, his father who looked at him with pride now not even willing to gaze at him. Ruibo easily fell from the position of power to the position of someone less than the value of dirt here within the palace.
The only one not staying away from him, or hating Ruibo is the little friend he made with one of the palace maid's kids and one of his little sister that he kept by his side, little girls of his age. They were the only ones not pushing him away or treating him differently after everything, but the fallen Ruibo kept pushing that girls away and away, his mind not being able to easily accept the fact that he has fallen to such a level, the level of shit on the ground.
At least, shit helps the ground, he is just a waste of air. That's how Ruibo has started to feel, this slowly deteriorating his mind such that he has started to lash out at everyone, turning more and more into a ravaging idiot who just shouts and tries to be as bad and hurtful as he can be. He just being steps away from taking in drugs and more.
He even pushed away the little girls who just wanted to help him, his mind being too stubborn and prideful to accept the fact that he had fallen to such a level. And now he walks upon this night sky within this garden, his mind trying to calm down, trying to reach out to his mother and say the fact that he can be better, that perhaps she didn't mean what she said.
The garden being the place he used to run around with his mother, this being a sanctuary for his mother and now perhaps a contrail for him too. Thus, Ruibo kept walking around, shuffling through the garden, his mind still raging with greed and jealousy of what he saw in the evening, something which he still can't forget.
The news spread about some time ago, the rise of an unseen genius that fully took control and slaughtered everyone from his family that made his and his mother's life hell. A normal genius of the Yun family who was being mistreated by the Yun family, that suddenly rose in power than even the monsters lying within the Yun family.
Even with Ruibo's closed-off life, he still heard the bits and whispers from all around, the words being spoken of how talented and powerful the child had become, the unbelievable news of a child reaching the peak of the cultivation level at this layer of heaven is more than enough to break all layers of peace spread around.
A child of 11 had gone forth and broke away from all the old fogies around. This news not being a believable one for any powers within the Empire or the continent itself. It was just pure nonsense. But when the same news kept coming from all the different sources, then the sayings started to change. The powerful ones already seemingly had the truth around, and it didn't even take long for the news itself to be verified.
And thus a burst happened! The whole of the Empire to the continent, the news spread, a ripple causing the changes and the jealousy causing Ruibo to be driven mad once again.
Ruibo could hear it all, the whispers around comparing him to the child that had now debuted to the whole world, the mockery in their tone as they spoke of him, comparing the fallen prince to the risen genius that no one expected to see.