Chapter 200: Chapter 200: It’s All Ye Xuan
"Master Hua Luoxuan, this matter of mine also concerns the life and death of a young friend." Elder Kuchen’s expression was extremely grim, and his gaze toward Hua Luoxuan held a trace of displeasure.
Hua Luoxuan shook his head, clearly leaving no room for compromise.
If it were an ordinary matter, Hua Luoxuan certainly wouldn’t argue with Kuchen. However, since Ye Xuan’s life was on the line, he had to act quickly.
For a moment, the atmosphere between the two masters became incredibly heavy and frigid.
Everyone was dumbfounded. They hadn’t expected the two masters to start clashing before they had even explained the cause of their anger.
Moreover, what both of them spoke of concerned the life and death of someone important to them. Could it be that their sons or nephews had run into some kind of danger?
All the guests present were incredibly curious.
"Masters, please, speak slowly. Don’t be anxious. Rest assured, as long as it is within my power, I will not stand idly by." At this critical moment, the Monarch, Zhao Jing, hurried forward to mediate. "I wonder, who is this young friend you speak of? And what has happened that requires me to seek justice for you?"
"Your Majesty, my young friend’s name is Ye Xuan."
"Your Majesty, his name is Ye Xuan!"
Kuchen and Hua Luoxuan spoke at the same time. As their voices fell, the entire hall was stunned.
Even Zhao Jing was taken aback.
"Hahaha." He immediately burst into laughter. "Masters, I told you to take your time. Could it be that you are both speaking of the same person? I wonder what trouble this Ye Xuan has encountered. Tell me in detail, and I will surely see that justice is done for him."
Zhao Jing’s resonant voice echoed through the grand hall. In his heart, he couldn’t help but feel a flicker of curiosity about this Ye Xuan whom both men had mentioned.
’To have two Masters plead for him at the same time... it seems this Ye Xuan’s status is quite extraordinary.’
’And for it to be a problem that even two Masters couldn’t solve, forcing them to come and petition me like this, it means this Ye Xuan must have gotten himself into some kind of monstrous trouble.’
’And it’s very likely this trouble is related to the royal family.’
’After all, given their status, if it were an ordinary problem, they would have no need to seek out the Monarch of a kingdom.’
In that instant, Zhao Jing made up his mind.
No matter what trouble that Ye Xuan had caused, he decided he would see justice done for him.
In his mind, no disaster, no matter how monstrous, could ever be more important than the two Masters, Kuchen and Hua Luoxuan.
Unlike the shocked confusion of the many royals and nobles in the hall, there were three people whose expressions changed dramatically the moment they heard Ye Xuan’s name, their faces filled with utter shock.
These three were the First Prince, the Sixth Prince, and the Eighth Prince.
And the nature of their shock was different for each of them.
Kuchen and Hua Luoxuan glanced at each other and couldn’t help but smile. They hadn’t expected that they were petitioning His Majesty for the very same matter.
"How about this, Master Hua Luoxuan, let me speak first."
Elder Kuchen spoke first. "It’s like this, Your Majesty. I have a young friend named Ye Xuan, with whom I am on very good terms. But just today, while he was minding his own business on the street, he was stopped by two young nobles. He was then attacked and nearly killed by their guards, right there in public. My young friend was forced to defend himself, yet he was thrown into a death-row cell by the security office. They twisted the truth, turning a clear case of self-defense into a public murder, and now they want to sentence him to death."
"When I heard the news, I immediately sent one of my subordinates to reason with them. But what he found was the so-called head of the security office colluding with the assailants’ families, working hand in glove. They were rude to my subordinate, and even the Iron Blood Guard was mobilized. The captain of the Iron Blood Guard even had the audacity to claim that as long as he was there, not even God himself could save my young friend."
Kuchen’s expression was laced with fury.
"What? Such a thing happened?" Zhao Jing was enraged upon hearing this.
He had initially assumed that one of Kuchen’s relatives had caused some great disaster and that he was here to plead for mercy. He never expected it to be something like this, and his face instantly darkened.
"Your Majesty, I, Kuchen, have always focused on my cultivation and rarely concern myself with such crooked dealings. I had long heard rumors that in the Royal City, certain dukes and marquises were arrogant and domineering, colluding with corrupt officials in the kingdom’s law enforcement agencies. I didn’t believe it at first, but now I have no choice but to. This matter concerns my young friend. I wasn’t trying to reverse the verdict, I just wanted to send a subordinate to understand the situation. And yet, the Iron Blood Guard threw my man out and nearly beat him."
"That subordinate of mine may not have a high rank—he’s only a deacon in the Soul Master Tower—but this incident has left me utterly disheartened."
"Your Majesty, I wish to resign from my position as Vice President of the Soul Master Tower. I hope Your Majesty will approve my request."
Kuchen’s tone was bleak and disillusioned, his eyes revealing endless disappointment.
The entire hall erupted in an uproar.
This was the prelude to a major incident.
Just an hour ago, Kuchen had been personally appointed Vice President of the Soul Master Tower by His Majesty. How much time had passed since then? For Kuchen to resign now—wasn’t this a slap in the face to the Monarch?
Recalling Master Kuchen’s earlier actions, everyone understood. He was deeply dissatisfied with the kingdom.
Zhao Jing’s expression changed. He could no longer worry about losing face and said hurriedly, "Master Kuchen, how can this be? Who else could possibly serve as Vice President of the Soul Master Tower besides you?!"
Kuchen shook his head, his expression grim. "Your Majesty, it’s not that I am unwilling to serve. It’s that there’s no point in me being the Vice President of the Soul Master Tower. My own young friend is framed, and when I merely send someone to inquire about the case, he’s insulted by the security office and the Iron Blood Guard, who ask, ’Who the hell do you think you are?’ I have lived for half a century, and this is the first time I’ve been insulted so crudely. So, I might as well not hold this position of Vice President."
"What? That actually happened?" Zhao Jing’s anger flared. His thick eyebrows nearly shot straight up.
At this moment, Zhao Jing finally understood why Elder Kuchen was so furious.
He was the esteemed Vice President of the Soul Master Tower, a senior elder. When his young friend was arrested, he sent a deacon from the Tower to the security office simply to ask about it, and they were met with ’Who the hell do you think you are?’. Anyone would be enraged by such a thing.
"Your Majesty, I also have a request." Just then, Hua Luoxuan’s resonant voice rang out. "What I have to say also concerns Young Lord Xuan. From what I know of him, he would never do anything that violates the laws of the kingdom."
"If he had truly broken the kingdom’s laws, then so be it, let him be arrested. The key is that, from what I understand, Young Lord Xuan was acting in self-defense. It was only because the other party was a young marquis of the kingdom that the security office and the Iron Blood Guard twisted the truth. I’ve heard that this time, his opponents are determined to see him dead. I would like to ask, how exactly do the kingdom’s law enforcement agencies conduct their investigations?"
"I also wish to state that this Ye Xuan is a registered Alchemist of our Alchemist Association. If he is truly to be executed, according to regulations, shouldn’t the kingdom’s law enforcement agencies report to our Alchemist Association first? Is the status of us Alchemists truly so low? Can any random City Guard or member of the Iron Blood Guard just execute one of us?"
"If that’s really the case, then there’s probably no need for me to continue as the Royal Vice President. Perhaps today I stand here, seemingly prominent, but the next moment I might be dragged away by some security office or Iron Blood Guard, thrown into a cell, and directly executed."
Hua Luoxuan was also filled with rage. The thought that Ye Xuan was still imprisoned by the Iron Blood Guard made his anger erupt like a volcano.
Upon hearing this, Zhao Jing’s expression became impossibly grim.
’I’ll curse out that security office and the Iron Blood Guard! I wish I could drag them over and execute them on the spot!’
’Of all the people to offend, you had to go and offend Master Kuchen and Master Hua Luoxuan, leaving me, the Monarch, with absolutely no face to show!’
But then, Elder Kuchen gave a cold laugh. "Master Hua Luoxuan, is it really so surprising that the security office and the Iron Blood Guard would dare to do this? Their backing is immense. They have a marquis as their patron, and who knows if that patron has a patron of their own? Why would they care about the likes of us Alchemists and Soul Refiners?"
The more Elder Kuchen spoke, the angrier he became. "Let’s not even mention that young friend Ye Xuan is an Alchemist from your Alchemist Association—he’s also a registered Soul Refiner of my Soul Master Tower! But what does that matter? When my deacon went over, they showed no respect for the Soul Master Tower whatsoever. They claimed it was a matter of national security, and that executing a Soul Refiner or an Alchemist was no different to them than crushing an ant. Tsk tsk, such arrogance!"
The entire hall was shaken, everyone completely dumbfounded.
What the two masters were revealing was simply too explosive.
If that Ye Xuan was truly a registered Alchemist of the Alchemist Association and a registered Soul Refiner of the Soul Master Tower, then not even the Iron Blood Guard had the authority to detain him arbitrarily.
They would have to report to both associations before they had any right to take action.
"What? There’s more?" Zhao Jing could no longer remain seated, his expression growing uglier by the second.
"Your Majesty, would I lie to you?" Elder Kuchen fumed internally.
"Masters, please calm yourselves. I will give you a satisfactory explanation for this matter. I wonder, who are the marquises you mentioned?" Zhao Jing asked, his voice cold and his face ashen.
"I believe they are called Marquis Tianqi and Marquis Zhenjun." Master Kuchen shook his head. "I spend most of my years in seclusion, so I don’t know the background of this Marquis Tianqi or Marquis Zhenjun. However, to be able to mobilize the security office and the Iron Blood Guard so easily, they must be of noble status, pillars of the state. I imagine I could never hope to compare to them."
The corners of everyone’s mouths twitched.
’This Kuchen really knows how to play dumb. As a third-rank duke of the kingdom, a mere marquis is nothing compared to him.’
Marquis Tianqi and Marquis Zhenjun?
Hearing the names of these two marquises, Zhao Jing’s gaze turned chillingly cold.
Seeing His Majesty’s expression, everyone knew that these two marquises were probably in for a world of trouble.
However, their two sons had always seemed to be quite close with His Highness the Sixth Prince. Could it be that the Sixth Prince was also involved in this?
Everyone involuntarily turned to look at the Sixth Prince. They saw him in the crowd, his forehead beaded with cold sweat, his expression tinged with panic, and his eyes darting about as if lost in thought.
