Chapter 228: Chapter 225: Hall of Envoys
Wait!
A few recent events flashed through Li Shimu’s mind.
For instance, the pills Liu Hong was always popping into his mouth, and that earlier slip of the tongue.
He had clearly started to say a name beginning with "Mo" but changed it to Qin Daye midway through.
Then there was Niu Kexin’s file. She was from the Void Sect, and her beloved was Mo Qi!
How could she have moved on to someone else so quickly?
Liu Ruyan had stayed with Liu Hong at the Void Sect for so many years. Why would she suddenly leave now?
And why were both she and Niu Kexin acting so friendly and familiar with Qin Daye?
When he connected all the clues, the answer was practically shouting at him: Mo Qi and Qin Daye were the same person!
Otherwise, how could there be so many coincidences?
The Medicinal Cuisine alone was enough to prove it.
Li Shimu refused to believe that after ten thousand years of no one mastering Medicinal Cuisine, two people had suddenly figured it out at the same time.
Besides, verifying this would be incredibly simple. He just had to check if a "Qin Daye" was among the participants of the annual selection assembly.
After a moment of thought, Li Shimu decided against verifying it.
He believed Mo Qi must have his reasons. Did it matter if his name was "Qin Daye" or "Mo Qi"?
It didn’t!
A name was just a label. As long as he was the one who rang the Dragon Vein Imperial Bell, everything else was trivial.
"Father Emperor, please just say yes to Miaomiao," Li Xuemiao pleaded coquettishly, shaking Li Shimu’s arm.
Li Shimu snapped back to reality and smiled. "Miaomiao, Uncle Wu Pill Master can’t make delicious Elixirs."
Hearing this, Li Xuemiao bit her lip in disappointment. "I guess I’ll have to go find Mr. Qin the Good Man after all."
"Hahaha, that’s right. Miaomiao, remember this: visit Qin Daye often, and build a good relationship with Liu Ruyan and Niu Kexin."
Li Shimu thought that if he could match the Blessed One with his second daughter, it would be a rather excellent affair.
"Father Emperor, you’re giving bad advice again! Hmph, you have ulterior motives! Miaomiao isn’t talking to you anymore."
Although Li Xuemiao was dorky and cute, she wasn’t stupid. She naturally understood the meaning behind Li Shimu’s words, so with a charmingly naive huff, she ran out of the Imperial Study.
After Li Xuemiao left, Li Shimu took out a Communication Talisman.
"All operations and tests targeting the Blessed One are canceled."
After sending the command, the corners of Li Shimu’s mouth turned up. ’Blessed One, oh, Blessed One, to stimulate your potential, I had originally prepared a "grand feast" for you. But now that Master Liu has made this move, you’ve saved me a lot of trouble.’
’The public enemy of every young prodigy in the Empire under the age of twenty-six... I really want to see the look on your face when you find out. I look forward to your performance.’
"Hahaha."
...
With the Soul-Draining Mother Spider sealed, Qian Duoduo’s physical condition was changing by the moment, and all for the better.
First, his lost talent returned. Then, his body underwent Acquired development. Although his height barely changed, his physique grew stronger by the moment.
At Qian Juduo’s call, the Qian Family’s ancestors came out of seclusion one after another.
At first, they didn’t quite believe Qian Duoduo’s story. But when he, right in front of them, broke through from the Half-Step Purity Realm to officially enter the Early-stage Purity Realm, and then, thanks to his deep reserves, leaped straight to the Mid-stage Purity, all the ancestors’ expressions changed. They no longer had the slightest doubt.
So the question remained: who was the one who had secretly harmed Qian Duoduo?
Within the Mountain and Sea Empire, they couldn’t imagine who would dare do such a thing, or what reason they could have for targeting Qian Duoduo when he was just a child.
The culprit was able to poison him silently. If they had simply wanted to kill Qian Duoduo, they could have used a more direct method. Why use a slow-acting poison like the "Soul-Draining Mother Spider"?
And why, after all these years, had they just let Qian Duoduo live? Why hadn’t they struck again?
Logically, it made no sense.
"Juduo, what are your thoughts on Duoduo’s situation?" an ancestor asked.
Qian Juduo pondered for a moment before speaking. "Duoduo was poisoned eleven years ago. I think you ancestors should recall that time period. For some unknown reason, people from *that* place suddenly descended upon the Empire and stayed for a long time."
"You mean people from the Hall of Envoys?"
The Qian Family ancestors were aghast.
If the Hall of Envoys was involved, then forget the Qian Family; even the Mountain and Sea Empire would have to swallow its teeth and suffer in silence.
The Mountain and Sea Empire was just an inconspicuous corner in a messy part of the Martial Arts World. Beyond the Empire, there was a much larger and more wondrous world.
There were many, many existences like the Mountain and Sea Empire. They were by no means the Sovereigns of the world.
So why was the Royal Li Family still able to rule this small patch of land without a care in the world?
The reason was simple: the place was poor!
So poor that those powerful factions couldn’t be bothered with it, not even bothering to collect taxes.
Once a Cultivator reached the Void Realm, unless they had Top-grade Spirit Stones, the only way to continue their Cultivation was to go to a Secret Realm.
This was a complete joke to those powerful factions.
To them, the concentration of Spiritual Energy in a Secret Realm was probably lower than in their own Servant Area.
And the Hall of Envoys was the name of the faction that was the Mountain and Sea Empire’s direct superior.
This was why the Qian Family ancestors were so shocked.
"That’s right!" Qian Juduo said grimly. "According to the Empire’s historical records, people from the Hall of Envoys only appeared during the founding of the Empire by the Great Ancestor. But eleven years ago, they descended again, without any warning."
"They looked down on the people of the Empire, not even showing His Holiness any respect. I don’t need to describe how arrogant they were. In any case, during that time, if not ten thousand, then at least eight thousand innocent people died tragically at their hands, and even more respectable women were violated."
"The Soul-Draining Mother Spider... a potent poison I’ve never heard of. I believe no one in the Empire could produce such a thing, except for the Hall of Envoys."
Qian Juduo’s words plunged everyone into silence.
"No, that’s not right!" Qian Duoduo suddenly spoke up. "I was only eight years old eleven years ago, but I remember it clearly. I never had any contact with that group of strange people who came to the Empire, so..."
"So, the one who harmed you was someone else, who very likely used their connections to the Hall of Envoys to get the Soul-Draining Mother Spider’s poison from them," Qian Juduo finished, picking up where Qian Duoduo left off.
"Exactly, that’s what I was trying to say," Qian Duoduo said with a nod.
"Juduo, who was in charge of receiving the Hall of Envoys back then?" an ancestor asked.
"It was the Nangong and the Zhuge families."
The Nangong Family, one of the Two Generals, and the Zhuge Family, the strategists among the Three Grand Ministers!
Only these two families would have had the opportunity to get close to the Hall of Envoys and obtain the Soul-Draining Mother Spider.
So, was it the Nangong Family or the Zhuge Family who targeted Qian Duoduo? Or did the two families work together?
Qian Juduo’s brows furrowed. The One King, Two Generals, and Three Grand Ministers... although they were rivals and occasionally had conflicts, he didn’t think they would resort to such a despicable act.
"Hmph! We of the Qian Family can’t be bullied for nothing! I will personally pay them a visit. Those two families must give us an explanation!" a more hot-headed ancestor said angrily.
"That’s right! This old man will go with you!"
"Let’s go together! They must give the Qian Family an answer!"
"Ancestors, please hear me out!" Qian Duoduo spoke up, stopping the indignant crowd of ancestors.
The ancestors all turned to look at him.
"Right now, this is all just our speculation. We don’t have any evidence, so it would be inappropriate to confront them rashly. This matter started because of me. If you ancestors trust Duoduo, why not authorize me to investigate this secretly?"
