Chapter 213: Chapter 210: A Familiar Plot
"Generals, you’re not here to execute Jin Quan?" Zhang Shao couldn’t help but ask.
"When did we say we were going to kill him?" Nangong Yi glanced at Zhang Shao.
"But he instigated a Beast Tide, a grave violation of Imperial law. It’s a capital offense!" Zhang Shao added.
"Are you questioning us?" Nangong Yi and Zhao Ruifeng’s expressions soured.
As Patriarchs of the "Two Generals" families, they had spent their entire lives on the battlefield.
Obeying orders is a soldier’s sacred duty, a principle that was deeply ingrained in them.
Even if this wasn’t a battlefield and Zhang Shao wasn’t one of their soldiers, they still couldn’t tolerate being questioned.
Zhang Shao flinched, realizing his mistake. He quickly bowed his head. "I wouldn’t dare. I was presumptuous. Please forgive me, Generals."
Although he was the Sect Leader of the Wolf Fang Sect, a lord in his own right, he knew he had to grovel before any of the "One King, Two Generals, and Three Doctors."
He couldn’t afford to provoke a single one of them, let alone Nangong Yi and Zhao Ruifeng together.
Seeing Zhang Shao’s humble posture and timely apology, the two men’s expressions finally softened.
"May I ask, which dignitary acted as guarantor to spare Jin Quan? As the Sect Leader, I feel it is my duty to thank them in person."
Zhang Shao was no fool; he quickly figured some things out.
’Who are Nangong Yi and Zhao Ruifeng? The only one who could make them both come here to personally oversee Jin Quan’s release is the reigning His Holiness, Li Shimu. And whoever could make Li Shimu change his mind, even to the point of ignoring Imperial law, must be a truly great personage.’
Zhang Shao didn’t know why this great personage wanted to save Jin Quan, but regardless, the news was very bad for him.
’If Jin Quan has latched onto someone powerful, doesn’t that mean I’m finished?’
Therefore, he had to find out who it was as soon as possible and see if the situation was still salvageable.
Nangong Yi didn’t hide it, saying, "It was a request made to His Holiness by the Blessed One who rang the Dragon Vein Imperial Bell."
What?!
’The Blessed One who rang the Dragon Vein Imperial Bell actually made *that* kind of request? Isn’t that a colossal waste? And why would he make such a request? What’s his relationship with Mo Qi and Jin Sanpang?’
’If the Blessed One were Mo Qi or Jin Sanpang, it would be understandable. But I saw it with my own eyes—the person who rang the Dragon Vein Imperial Bell wasn’t either of them!’
Why was he so sure that person wasn’t Mo Qi?
It was because when Mo Qi killed his son, Zhang Cheng, he had managed to leave a wisp of his own aura as an imprint inside Mo Qi’s body.
The imprint wouldn’t disappear unless Zhang Shao himself died.
Zhang Shao hadn’t sensed the imprint on the Blessed One, which proved it definitely wasn’t Mo Qi.
However, Zhang Shao had never considered that something called an External Incarnation existed in this world.
Zhang Shao’s mind raced. ’Mo Qi is out of the picture,’ he thought. ’Then there’s only one reasonable explanation: during the annual selection, Jin Sanpang and Mo Qi must have befriended the person who rang the Dragon Vein Imperial Bell. In fact, Mo Qi and Jin Sanpang must have gone to great lengths to help that person ring the Dragon Vein Imperial Bell. Otherwise, who would waste such an important "request" on saving Jin Quan? Thinking it through, it must have been a transaction between that person and Mo Qi, not a deep friendship. After all, in my view, any friendship is insignificant compared to the "request." If it wasn’t a transaction, who would be willing to give up such a great opportunity? In that case, Jin Quan hasn’t latched onto a powerful backer after all. As for me, I might be able to use this to stir up that person’s resentment toward Jin Sanpang and Jin Quan. After all, wasting the "request" would leave a sour taste in anyone’s mouth.’
At this thought, Zhang Shao immediately bid farewell to Nangong Yi and Zhao Ruifeng, left the Celestial Prison, and headed for the Imperial Academy, not once glancing back at Jin Quan.
After a brief moment of stunned confusion, Jin Quan quickly came to his senses.
’What a familiar plot twist! This is exactly what it felt like back when we were fighting the Void Sect over the Earth-level Spiritual Ore. Every time I thought victory was in the bag, Mo Qi would pull an unexpected move, often without even lifting a finger himself. This is his style, through and through! Mo Qi has to be alive!’
Watching Zhang Shao’s retreating figure, Jin Quan’s killing intent grew boundlessly, even as he enjoyed having the numerous jailers tend to his wounds.
"My debt to the Wolf Fang Sect is now paid in full. Zhang Shao, just you wait for my counterattack!"
...
The One King, Two Generals, and Three Doctors. At this moment, with the exception of the Doctor Zhuge family, who represented intellect, the other five families had all been affected to some degree by the incident with the Dragon Vein Imperial Bell.
The Nether Soul Flame had been the one to deal with the Soul-Draining Mother Spider, and as a result, every last hair on Qian Duoduo’s body had been burned away.
He was now completely bald, without even a single eyebrow left. The utterly hairless look was quite comical.
When Qian Duoduo and the others were teleported out in front of the passage Within the Pass, Qian Juduo had been horrified by his son’s appearance, thinking his condition had worsened.
However, with both Li Shimu and Liu Hong present, he couldn’t very well break protocol by rushing forward to ask what was wrong.
So after bidding farewell to Mo Qi’s External Incarnation, Qian Juduo went to find Qian Duoduo at the first opportunity.
"Duoduo, what happened to you?" Qian Juduo’s tone was anxious, full of concern.
Qian Duoduo was baffled. ’What happened? I’m perfectly fine, aren’t I? In fact, I’m better than ever!’
"You..."
"Old man, you’re just in time. I have some great news to tell you!" Qian Duoduo grinned broadly, cutting Qian Juduo off.
"Great news?"
Seeing that Duoduo was unharmed, Qian Juduo first breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed to be a false alarm; his condition hadn’t worsened.
Then, his brow twitched as a thought occurred to him. His face lit up with excitement, and he threw an arm around Qian Duoduo’s neck, roaring with laughter.
"Hahaha, great news? You little bastard, did you finally sleep with some young lady? Atta boy! A true son of the Qian Family! Quick, tell me, which family? I’ll go propose marriage on your behalf right now!"
Qian Duoduo struggled free and snapped, "Old man, what nonsense are you spouting? It’s not that kind of good news!"
The next second, he noticed Qian Juduo staring at him, eyes wide with utter disbelief.
"Hey, old man, are you even listening to me?" Qian Duoduo protested unhappily.
"You... your illness is cured?" Qian Juduo suddenly blurted out.
Huh?
Qian Duoduo was shocked. "That’s exactly what I was going to tell you! But I haven’t said it yet, how did you know?"
"It’s really cured?" Instead of answering, Qian Juduo was so excited he hauled his son into the air.
It wasn’t the first time he’d thrown an arm around Qian Duoduo’s neck. As his father, he knew better than anyone how much strength Duoduo had.
But just now, Duoduo, who should never have been able to break his hold, had actually struggled free.
And his strength was clearly far greater than before.
That should have been impossible for Duoduo; his strange illness was constantly sapping his strength.
If the fabulously wealthy Qian Family hadn’t been constantly supplying him with Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, Duoduo would have wasted away and died long ago.
The only explanation was that Qian Duoduo’s illness was cured!
