Andrew said, "Anyone who didn''t know better would think you came here to pay your respects and visit his spirit. But in reality, after a hundred years, the little emperor''s childhood friend has be nothing more than a greedy coward who fears death above all else."


    His voice dripped with contempt as he continued his verbal assault. "You want to steal your childhood friend''s burial treasures, you want his precious belongings, and you want to wreck his tomb. Stanley, you foreigners are just like your so- called ancestors who invaded Holtrien back then-hypocritical, putting on false airs, and shamelessly greedy!"


    Andrew''s words caused the smile on Stanley''s face to fade bit by bit until his expression turned dark and menacing. He hissed, "I just don''t want to die-I want to extend my life! Is it wrong for a person to fear death and desire immortality?"


    Andrew scoffed coldly in response. "Everyone in the world clings to life and fears death, and I''m no exception! But I would never im someone as my childhood friend, say I''ll never forget him, and then run off to rob his grave, ensuring he can''t rest in peace even in death!"


    Stanley let out a furious roar that echoed through the chamber. "Enough! You know nothing about what happened back then and have no right to interfere!


    "When the Demon Queen was in power, all the talented people in the world were trying to curry favor with her. When the pce guards reported that the overseas fleet had captured the Elixir of Immortality from foreignnds, iming that whoever drank it would live forever and avoid death and hell, do you know how overjoyed and selfish that Demon Queen became?"


    His eyes zed with old resentment as painful memories surfaced. "She wanted to remain an empress forever and be the eternal ruler of the Fallen Crimson Dynasty! Meanwhile, the Little Emperor could only watch helplessly as that old hag sat in the position that rightfully belonged to him until he died of old age." Stanley''s voice grew bitter as he recounted the injustice he had witnessed.


    "At the time, I was only seven years old and didn''t understand anything-I only knew how to cockfight in the Luminous Pce. But I could still see that the Little Emperor was unhappy, so that night, I snuck into the Demon Queen''s bedchamber."


    He continued, "That old woman might have been aged, but her heart was still young-she was busy pleasuring herself with her male concubines, making disgusting sounds. I crawled behind the silk curtains and waited quietly in the shadows.


    "In the dead of night, after she had her fun and fell into a deep sleep, all the guards and pce maids withdrew from the room. It was easy for me to steal the Elixir of Immortality and slip away


    ove


    unnoticed.


    "But do you know what happened when I joyfully presented the Elixir of Immortality to the Little Emperor? He wasn''t very happy at all-he said what he wanted was the throne that belonged to him!


    "Casually, he gave the Elixir of Immortality to me as a reward, saying that after he became emperor, he would give me even more precious gifts.


    "But fate yed a cruel joke on us both. The very next day, he died, and I''ll never forget those wide eyes, bloodshot and frozen in terror. The Demon Queen told me he died from a cold.


    "Yet,ter, on the night I left the pce to return across the ocean, I learned the truth-the Little Emperor had been poisoned with arsenic, and the one who killed him was his very own mother!


    "Over 100 pce maids and the court physicians were also murdered along with him. I only survived because I was a foreigner and posed no threat to her power!"


    Stanley''s voice shook with barely contained fury. "This time, returning to Holtrien, I have only one goal to continue living and find that Demon Queen''s burial ce so that even in death, she will never know peace!


    "Andrew, and all of you, I know that Holtriens don''t particrly like that Demon Queen either. So let me take the Elixir of Immortality-it was originally something the emperor gave me as a reward!


    "I''m only taking back what''s rightfully mine, and I swear to use all of my power to


    ensure that Demon Queen is forever despised and reviled!"


    In the mostly destroyed underground tomb, only Stanley''s righteous and indignant voice echoed through the ruins.