Chapter 175: Chapter 171: Upheaval at the Governor’s Mansion, an Old Friend’s Fickle Heart
The Han Kingdom.
Beichang State, the Three States Governor’s Mansion.
Yang Wenwan, his hair white with age, was dressed in his finest robes, hosting a banquet for an emissary from the Capital City.
The musicians swayed their heads as they played, and the dancing girls were drenched in fragrant sweat.
At the banquet, cups were raised and wine flowed freely. The host and guests were all in high spirits.
Just as the wine was warming their spirits, Yang Wenwan’s face suddenly darkened. He opened his mouth and spat out a mouthful of foul-smelling blood.
He looked around in a daze at Mr. Si and his personal guards, who were also coughing up blood. He saw the emissary from the Capital City drop his disguise, baring his fangs and killing everyone in sight.
A beautiful dancing girl was cut down with a single slash. A musician, covering his head as he fled, was stomped on and beheaded. A frail advisor struggled to lift a table and hurl it at the assailant, only to be run through with a spear. One of his grandsons, bare-handed, was knocked to the ground and hacked into a bloody pulp...
Yang Wenwan wanted to rise and fight back, but his body was limp and devoid of strength.
He tried to circulate his True Qi to force out the poison, but he couldn’t muster even a shred of it.
The emissary from the Capital City gave a sinister smile. "Don’t waste your energy, Governor Yang. I know you are an Innate Grandmaster, a god of Martial Arts, impervious to all poisons. But this particular poison... it’s not something you’d find in the Mortal World."
Yang Wenwan was dazed once more. "Not from the Mortal World? A treasure from an Immortal Family? But why would the Zhongxuan Sect move against me?"
"The Zhongxuan Sect? I’ve never heard of any Zhongxuan Sect. This poison was a gift from His Majesty himself, said to have been bestowed by an emissary from an Immortal Sect. Governor Yang, you appoint your own cronies, rule this region as your own fiefdom, impose exorbitant taxes, and make life unbearable for the people of the Northern Three States. You show no respect to His Majesty, nor to the ghosts and gods..."
After rattling off a long list of Yang Wenwan’s crimes, the emissary, his mouth dry from speaking, finally concluded: "By His Majesty’s secret decree, Yang the Thief is to be arrested and brought to justice. All members of his clan within three generations are to be escorted to the Capital City to await trial. Any who resist are to be killed on sight. The Governor’s Mansion is to be immediately disbanded, and all civil and military officials are to be taken to the Capital City as well. The Jianghu eccentrics recruited by the Governor’s Mansion are to be vetted and either executed or exiled..."
That night, the screams from the Three States Governor’s Mansion echoed until dawn, never ceasing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Lord Yu, you’re so handsome! Do you have any Dao Companions? Would you like me to introduce you to some of our sect’s pretty female disciples? Uh, Lord Yu, could you please ask this beautiful, generous, and peerless swordswoman next to you to move this sword away from my neck?"
"Lord Yu, you’re so young and promising, already at the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage! I’m not too bad myself, you know. I’ve already reached the Qi Cultivation Late Stage at my young age. How about you invest a little in me? Elixirs, Spirit Stones, anything will do. Once I reach Foundation Establishment, I’ll pay you back tenfold!"
"I’m not trying to swindle you, Lord Yu! Could you please... ask this young lady to, once again, move this sword away from my neck?"
"Lord Yu, I heard that you and my Brother Yuanqing were good friends. Brother Yuanqing was my dearest friend, a true brother to me. So, could I call you Brother Yu Fei?"
"No."
"Oh. How about Brother Fei?"
"..."
"I get it, I won’t call you Brother Fei. Can you please ask this pretty young lady to move the sword away from my neck for the third time?"
Watching the... middle-aged fatty bowing and scraping cautiously, while Fang Hua was fuming, the killing intent practically overflowing from her eyes.
Du Youqian seriously considered whether he should just kick this middle-aged fatty off the Flying Boat, fly back to the Zhongxuan Sect, and find a new Garrison for the Han Kingdom.
"Brother Yu, this must be your first time in the Han Kingdom. Let me tell you, the women here are the feistiest, and incredibly hard to deal with. But they also have a certain charm. Back in the day, my Brother Yuanqing had a beautiful confidante. She was a Demoness from a Demon Sect, but her allure, her fiery spirit... TSK TSK. My Brother Yuanqing was a great hero, but even heroes have a weakness for beautiful women. If it weren’t for that Demoness, he’d probably still be alive today, right? Maybe he’d even be at Foundation Establishment Middle Stage by now."
At this, the middle-aged fatty showed genuine emotion, wiping away a few tears.
But he quickly forgot his sadness and said excitedly, "I asked someone who used to be a Royal Court Official. The Han Kingdom’s Imperial Family gives us Immortal Sect Garrisons whatever we ask for. My demands aren’t high. I’ll just have the Emperor issue a decree to hold a nationwide selection every three years. One beauty from each state will be chosen and sent to the Imperial Palace."
"Hmph." Fang Hua turned her head away in disdain.
’What a lecher. Utterly shameless.’
’Right now, she only worried about one thing: would this fatty be a bad influence on Fellow Daoist Yu...’
’Or maybe, tonight under the cover of darkness... In any case, Fellow Daoist Yu definitely wouldn’t blame me for something so minor.’
’I’ll just castrate the guy, not kill him.’
The middle-aged fatty, still unaware that his "little brother" was in grave danger, asked enthusiastically, "Brother Yu, what do you think of my idea?"
Du Youqian, who had been too lazy to respond until now, couldn’t help but frown. "You’re going to have the Emperor hold a selection, but the chosen women won’t enter his harem? They’ll be sent to you for your amusement? Won’t that cause widespread resentment? The high-ranking officials who know about the Royal Court Officials will see you as a demonic charlatan, and you’ll tarnish the Zhongxuan Sect’s reputation for no reason."
In the Han Kingdom, the connections between the Immortal Sects, the Imperial Family, and high-ranking Court officials were extremely close.
For example, Yang Wenwan, as the Governor of Three States, was even accepted by the Zhongxuan Sect as a Registered Disciple.
In fact, most kingdoms were similar in this regard.
The Wu Kingdom was no different.
It was just that during Du Youqian’s time as a powerful minister in the Wu Kingdom, the disasters that befell the nation were all caused by a Core Formation Elder from the Holy Blood Sect trying to forge a Demon Artifact. The Shengxuan Sect was completely powerless to stop it and could only pretend to be deaf and dumb.
They felt embarrassed in front of the mortals, which was why they had distanced themselves from the Imperial Family and the court ministers.
The situation in the Han Kingdom was different, however. Guo Mingsheng’s idea had room for implementation.
It was precisely because it was feasible that Du Youqian felt displeased—it was the kind of thing that would bring disaster to the country and its people.
Guo Mingsheng was on a roll and didn’t notice Du Youqian’s displeasure. Instead, he said enthusiastically, "How could that be? The chosen women will, of course, enter the palace. They’ll even be given titles, like ’Consort’ or ’Concubine’ or something."
"So..."
"That’s what makes it interesting! How can an ordinary woman compare to the thrill of being with one of the Emperor’s own consorts!"
Du Youqian looked at the fatty in astonishment. ’I haven’t seen this guy in decades, and he’s become a Cao the Thief.’
SWOOSH.
Guo Mingsheng said cautiously, "Brother Yu, could you ask this young lady to move her sword away from my neck for the fourth time? I have a weak heart. I can’t take the fright."
Du Youqian shook his head at Fang Hua. "Put your sword away. Don’t scare him."
Fang Hua did as she was told and retracted her sword, but she couldn’t help but glare at the middle-aged fatty.
Du Youqian added, "By the way, if he wastes my time and ruins my mood with any more of this boring talk about women, food, and fun, just go ahead and cut him down. The standard compensation for a Guardian Envoy killing a Qi Cultivation Realm Inner Disciple from a Fourth-class Sect is... I remember it being 10 Spiritual Jades? Or was it 8?"
Du Youqian directly grabbed two handfuls of Spiritual Jade from his Storage Treasure Pouch—at least several dozen pieces.
He pried open the fatty’s carrot-thick fingers, shoved all the Spiritual Jade into his hand, and said gently, "Here’s the compensation money in advance. Keep the change."
Fang Hua let out a "PFFT" of laughter. Her gaze, usually as sharp as a sword, had suddenly become charming and affectionate.
But a moment later, it returned to its usual sharpness, her eyes sweeping back and forth over Guo Mingsheng’s neck, heart, and other vital points, as if considering where to strike.
Guo Mingsheng’s face turned ashen with fright. He fell silent as a cicada in winter, not daring to ramble on any longer.
Du Youqian sighed inwardly.
Once upon a time, Little Fatty had been one of the very few people in the Zhongxuan Sect he could have a proper conversation with.
But now, they couldn’t even exchange a few words without disagreeing.
’Time... it really can change so many things...’
Of course, he wouldn’t actually let Fang Hua kill the guy.
But he figured they wouldn’t have any kind of friendship from now on.
Their Daos were different; there was no point in travelling together.
~~~~~~~~
Du Youqian didn’t even bother to attend the ceremony where the Emperor of the Han Kingdom respectfully welcomed the Immortal Master and appointed him as a Royal Court Official.
He went straight to the grand hall built by the Han Kingdom for its Immortal Master Tributors and chose the room with the most agreeable decor to stay in.
As for the room’s original owner?
’Did he dare have an opinion?’
’If he did, Du Youqian would just make the room ownerless again. It would only be a little extra trouble for him to move in afterward.’
Then, his daily routine began.
Every day, he would prepare the nourishing Spiritual Liquid to feed the egg and attempt to comprehend the Red Blood Seven Transitions Technique.
As for meditation and breathing exercises, the Spiritual Qi was nearly nonexistent here, making such efforts pointless. So, he didn’t waste his time on them.
A Foundation Establishment Cultivator was already close to having a Leakless Body.
As long as they didn’t recklessly use Magic, their Magical Power wouldn’t easily dissipate even in the mortal realm, so there was no need to restore it through arduous daily meditation.
On this trip to the Han Kingdom Imperial Palace, Du Youqian had only brought Fang Hua with him.
Luo Jinyu and Gu Xiaofang both remained at the Feixian Peak Blessed Land to continue their Cultivation.
Fang Hua was a quiet person herself. She never stepped out of the residence and stayed by Du Youqian’s side all day long.
As a result, Du Youqian was very out of the loop.
By the time he learned of the incident at the Governor’s Mansion, Yang Wenwan was already being escorted to the execution grounds.
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