Chapter 3 — ILK Chapter 3

Death Sentence Commuted, Life Sentence Unavoidable

The Chamberlain accompanied Sang Ye, personally delivering the dinner she had prepared to the Emperor.

Lin Shuangxu finally saw the source of the mental energy she had been sensing, and she raised an eyebrow in slight surprise. Her royal chefs would occasionally try to prepare food for her to taste, but never had a dish looked like this—vibrant in color and emitting a truly intoxicating aroma.

The Chamberlain placed exquisite porcelain spoons and forks by Lin Shuangxu’s hand. There were no chopsticks; in this era, there was no use for them, and people had long since forgotten how to use them.

Before eating, Lin Shuangxu sized up Sang Ye, who stood quietly to the side. As the Empress of the Empire, Lin Shuangxu naturally wouldn't have attended the trial of a minor Guide, but she had heard of it and seen the recordings. She found it difficult to reconcile the person in the video with the woman before her.

Sang Ye was tall, nearly 1.8 meters, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the Sentinel-born Chamberlain. She was well-proportioned, wearing the combat uniform she’d been arrested in, which faintly revealed well-trained muscles beneath. This was a complete departure from the traditional image of a Guide; since combat wasn't a Guide's training goal, they rarely focused on physical fitness. She stood there like a silent black blade—focused and lethal.

Her features were striking, framed by voluminous red curls. A small black mole under her left eye added a touch of charm, but her expression was calm, devoid of the hostility seen in the court recordings.

With a skeptical attitude, Lin Shuangxu lifted a spoonful of the dark, clear soup. The broth was saturated with the fragrance of meat, incredibly flavorful and far more mellow than the experimental mixed alcohols the Head Chef usually made. The moment it touched her tongue, Lin Shuangxu felt the mental energy within it. It surged through her body without hesitation—brain, torso, limbs... her entire being was washed clean by this external energy. Most shockingly, she felt absolutely no rejection toward it.

The reason mental channeling was so difficult was that both Guides and Sentinels instinctively rejected external mental power. The higher a Sentinel's rank, the more severe the rejection. This was why high-rank Guides usually only treated low-rank Sentinels; attempting the reverse often led to mental backlash and insanity for the Guide.

Overwhelmed by shock, Lin Shuangxu lowered her head to hide the amazement in her eyes. She then used a fork to lift a swirl of noodles fragrant with lard. The noodles were cooked perfectly—neither raw nor mushy—with a slight chewiness that made her crave the next bite before the first was even finished.

After finishing most of the Yangchun noodles, Lin Shuangxu turned her attention to the fried pork cutlet. With advanced preservation and heating technology, the cutlet arrived looking as if it had just come out of the pan: golden and crispy.

With the first bite, she felt the delicious juices hidden inside. The cutlet, which had locked in its fats, wasn't dry at all and possessed a unique texture. She didn't know what processing method Sang Ye had used, but it was a world away from the pork jerky the Head Chef usually gave her. There wasn't a hint of gaminess. The egg wash coating had soaked up the oils, becoming a thin, crispy layer that, when paired with the tomato sauce, was sweet, sour, and perfectly balanced against the greasiness of the pork.

Lin Shuangxu chewed slowly but ate quickly, finishing the noodles and most of the cutlet in short order. Finally, she picked up the special drink. The sharp alcohol was tempered by the sweetness of milk and fruit juice; it was smooth and delicate, without the throat-burning sensation of previous drinks.

With every bite and sip, Lin Shuangxu accepted the baptism of that unrejected mental energy. If she, an S-rank Guide at the pinnacle of the Empire, didn't reject this energy, then what about the Sentinels who were currently suffering because their rejection reactions were too strong for traditional channeling?

Linking this to Sang Ye’s death sentence, Lin Shuangxu suddenly understood why the girl had requested to cook this dinner. She pushed aside the remaining half of the pork cutlet and tapped her long fingers on the table. "Chamberlain, bring Charles here."

The Chamberlain seemed surprised by the order, but after glancing at those present, he departed.

Sang Ye, who hadn't spoken, finally looked at Lin Shuangxu. The Empress had a light smile on her face, as if a great burden had been lifted. Seeing this, the heavy stone hanging in Sang Ye’s heart finally began to settle.

A moment later, the Chamberlain returned with a young man. He looked haggard, his eyes weary and his gait unsteady—classic symptoms of a Sentinel who hadn't received mental channeling in a long time. There were many such Sentinels in the military; Guides were rare, and those with higher ranks than the Sentinels were even rarer. They often had to wait in long lines for treatment, only to suffer through rejection reactions.

"Greetings, Your Majesty," Charles said. Despite his exhaustion, his etiquette was flawless.

"Come." Lin Shuangxu pushed the pork cutlet toward him and personally handed him a clean fork. "Take a bite."

Charles didn't hesitate. With just one bite, his eyes widened as if he had tasted something impossible. A surge of mental energy rushed toward his restless mind, instantly soothing the chaotic spiritual entity screaming within. The entity that had tormented him for days gradually fell silent.

"Aunt, this is..." Charles blurted out in shock.

Lin Shuangxu saw the change in him immediately. She nodded. "Take the rest back and finish it. Once you wake up, I will perform one more mental channeling for you, and then you can return to your military district."

A Sentinel's duty was to obey. Even with questions in his heart, Charles did not refuse. "Yes, Your Majesty."

As he left, Charles noticed a strangely familiar woman standing in the corner of the study. Wasn't that...? Before he could remember who she was, the Chamberlain had already escorted him out.

Only Lin Shuangxu and Sang Ye remained. The Empress swirled her glass and gestured for Sang Ye to sit opposite her. "Sit. Let's talk."

Facing the Empress of the Gamma Empire, Sang Ye didn't flinch. Her expression remained calm.

"That was Charles Wenno, my sister’s child," Lin Shuangxu began. "He was recently wounded in battle. No Guide in his district could channel him, so he came to me. I was going to treat him before bed, but it seems that won't be necessary now. I’ve seen your file. You are only B-rank; it should be impossible for you to release mental energy externally. You’ve never shown this ability before today.

"But that doesn't matter. You came prepared. Be frank—tell me what you want." Lin Shuangxu’s amber eyes scrutinized her, her voice pleasant but carrying the heavy pressure of a ruler.

"I can save your son," Sang Ye said without hesitation, delivering her prepared line. "But first, you must save me."

Lin Shuangxu laughed. "The five of us S-rank Guides couldn't bring Changli back, yet you, a B-rank, dare to make such a boast?"

"Charles just now—his rank is higher than mine, isn't it? But you saw and felt it: my mental channeling isn't restricted by rank, and it produces no rejection," Sang Ye said steadily. "Furthermore, I am a growth-type. The mental energy I can release will only increase. Give me time, and one day, I will release enough energy to channel the Marshal."

Sang Ye had realized that the mental power of this world corresponded perfectly with her cultivation. By cultivating her pocket dimension, she could raise spiritual fruits and beasts. By bringing them out through her storage ring, she could create food filled with spiritual energy, using it as a medium to disguise her "external release."

She remembered hearing in the cultivation world that thousands of years ago, a Great Power from Shifang Grotto had integrated their pocket dimension with the mortal world to protect it from war, creating what people called "Peach Blossom Spring." She just needed to stay alive to reach that level.

"If you save me, I can save the Marshal in the future. You and the other S-ranks have reached your peak, but I haven't." Sang Ye’s expression was sincere. "The Marshal's life versus my own—I believe you know which carries more weight."

Lin Shuangxu stared at her for a long time before finally speaking. "Changli suffered a mental riot after the expedition to the Sulfur Star System. When we tried to enter his mental landscape, we were all burned back by the flames within. Three were backlashed. We didn't even see his spiritual form. If you ever see his landscape, you might think death is a mercy."

"Also, I must warn you: Black Tower Planet is where the Empire’s most brutal and mentally unstable Sentinels gather. Those who can be treated or those who aren't dangerous aren't sent there. Most of them have given up on Guides and chosen self-exile. Some are there because their spiritual forms are so unique that no Guide can channel them. Whether you can survive there depends entirely on you."

"I have to be alive first to make that judgment," Sang Ye replied. In her pocket dimension, the Parasol Tree rustled. "Also, I wanted to ask... what is the Marshal's spiritual form?"

Lin Shuangxu chuckled. "Since you have the ambition to treat Lin Changli, why not see it with your own eyes?" She stood up and pressed a hidden bell. "In the distant past, our planet had a saying: Death may be escaped, but punishment is inevitable."

"In my name, I grant Sang Ye a special pardon from the death penalty. Her sentence is commuted to 9,999 star-years of exile on Black Tower Planet, with a fine of 10 million star-credits to each victim's family. She is permitted to earn sentence reductions by treating Sentinels. During her exile, Sang Ye is not permitted to leave a 0.3 light-year radius of Black Tower Planet without an Imperial decree."

Sang Ye stood frozen. If she remembered correctly, the average lifespan on this planet was 1,500 years. 9,999 years essentially meant being locked away until death.

"I will allow you to take whatever you need from the palace warehouse," Lin Shuangxu said regally. "My Chamberlain will maintain contact with you. If you need anything, ask him. A transport ship goes to Black Tower Planet once a year; it will bring everything you need at once. Show your skills on Black Tower. I hope you bring me good news."