Chapter 39: Seeing the Dragon in the Field

Lu Xingzhou thought for a while and did not speak.

The probability that the emperor himself did it was quite high.

If it was his brothers who did it, it would most likely not just be a blow to your leg... The emperor was very likely.

No wonder Shen Tang saw my feelings for Anuō; that kind of emotion was indeed hard to describe... It wasn't just what happened last night, but something she must have felt in her heart very early on.

People's likes and dislikes always have a source.

Shen Tang continued, "In short, no matter who did it, this kind of action of harming one's own flesh and blood caused the emperor's extreme dissatisfaction, so he sent Qingli to escort me away and protect me closely."

"So Qingli is the emperor's disciple, a direct descendant of the holy land?"

"Yes," Shen Tang said. "Qingli is a bit similar to me; she has cultivated bitterly in the Frozen Moon Cold River since she was young and rarely interacts with outsiders. But she did so for reasons related to cultivating martial arts... Originally, she was supposed to cultivate to the fourth rank before going out to travel and seek the path to the top three ranks. When my matter happened, the emperor let her come out early."

Lu Xingzhou sighed, "Your backgrounds can overturn the entire Xia State a hundred times and knead it into a pill. Xia State is just a county town; how can it accommodate such great Buddhas like you, and two of them?"

Shen Tang chuckled, "Actually, Xia State is a bit special. Rarely is a county town called 'State'; that's because in the early years, the state and prefecture governments were all here. Later, the spiritual energy here became thin, and the state government moved away, so it became a large county with certain specifications."

"I heard this once in my childhood. Is there still a story behind it?"

"Whether there's a story or not is perhaps a topic we can explore," Shen Tang said. "The emperor led the wind to rise in Xia State; I think there must be a reason... What happened before was already considered a storm for ordinary people, but for us, it seems not quite significant enough."

Lu Xingzhou nodded, "Let's continue talking about your matter. The emperor helped you, and then what?"

"Regarding my matter, if it was my imperial father who personally did it, things would be simpler. Him abolishing me is enough; there's really no need to go all out and kill me, as it would only ruin his reputation and provoke dissatisfaction from the holy land. Because of this, he will also restrain those younger brothers of mine and not allow them to mess around."

"Is the holy land's restriction on imperial power that great?"

"It's a mutual reliance, I suppose. The holy land cannot completely override the imperial family... But the imperial family is absolutely unwilling to fall out with the holy land. Being seen by the holy land as acting against heaven and reason is not a good thing."

Lu Xingzhou interjected, "Then if it was your younger brothers who did it, under the pressure of the holy land, he would most likely still need to give an account, at least needing to push out a batch of scapegoats. After this case ends, you can actually also openly show yourself with the Tianxing Sword Sect. Under the premise that you are safely crippled and pose no threat, they won't openly move against you again. At most, there might be secret plots, or they might use the name of gang struggle to suppress you."

"Not bad, so even if I recover, I will continue to pretend to be crippled for him to see."

Lu Xingzhou's heart skipped a beat. He also felt that if he recovered, it wouldn't be impossible to continue pretending to be crippled...

Shen Tang suddenly changed the subject, "Xingzhou, do you know? The first time I saw you, a sentence you said unintentionally touched me very deeply."

Lu Xingzhou was taken aback, "Which sentence?"

"You said, making people regret losing me is something we women like to do..." Shen Tang said in a low voice, as if talking to herself. "I originally indeed only wanted to leave far, far away and watch their brothers harm each other and father and son fear each other, regretting sooner or later. Heaven knows how much I thought in my heart when I suddenly heard such a sentence at that time. The blood of my mother, uncle, and countless innocent disciples of the Sword Sect actually all flowed because of me. If I truly just retreated and watched, who would I be worthy of?"

She paused, looked at Lu Xingzhou's eyes, and her gaze was bright, "In short, I now only want to make them, like Liu Qingcang, regret and feel pain because of failure."

Lu Xingzhou laughed, "Ha! I didn't expect the story of me and the Danxia Gang to have a different meaning to you as a bystander..."

"So you and I are really very fated, aren't we?" Shen Tang's eyes flowed. "Involved in such a matter, are you going to retreat?"

"I expected your matter to be troublesome," Lu Xingzhou said with a smile. "Since I dared to receive your jade talisman, I won't give up easily, Sect Master."

Shen Tang bit her lower lip, "Then... When can you take your hand off my leg?"

How embarrassing, I automatically forgot to pay attention.

Lu Xingzhou's hand moved away as if he had received an electric shock.

I was just thinking about the story and got lost in thought. It wasn't intentional, really!

Shen Tang looked at him for a while with a look that was like smiling but not smiling, but didn't say anything. She only said, "Then what kind of development suggestion do you have for me now?"

Lu Xingzhou touched his chin and thought for a while, "First wait for a change, then make a decision."

"The capital city has concluded the case?"

"No, let's see who the newly appointed city master is. During this time, the most important thing is to safely heal your leg."

...

At this moment, the capital city was boiling over two matters.

One was the case of the Tianxing Sword Sect being wiped out a few days ago.

Most people did not know that the Tianxing Sword Sect was an imperial merchant, nor did they know about the matter of the "princess losing her footing." Lu Xingzhou knowing about this matter before had quite surprised Shen Tang. Later, he naturally guessed that Lu Xingzhou's backing was the intelligence network of Yanluo Hall.

However, the Tianxing Sword Sect belonged to the righteous path, and the sect master, Shen Chaoqun, was a third-rank sword cultivator, considered relatively strong among third-rank cultivators. He was listed in the 103rd position on the Great Qian Heroes List and was quite famous. The overall strength of the Tianxing Sword Sect was also considered upper-middle standard. The sect being wiped out overnight indeed shocked the world.

Especially since Shen Chaoqun was killed outside the capital city under the emperor's nose, it was even more of a major case.

The emperor was suddenly furious and issued an order to thoroughly investigate.

After a month of chaos in the capital city, a conclusion was finally reached recently.

The third prince, Qi Wang Gu Yiheng, had evil intentions fueled by greed, killing people and stealing goods. The evidence of his crime was solid. He was ordered to be demoted to a commoner and confined to his mansion without permission to go out. The subordinate forces of Qi Wang involved in this case were beheaded one after another, causing fear and shock in the capital city.

This was the account the emperor gave to the holy land...

As for whether it was truly Qi Wang who did it, or if Qi Wang had an accident in another struggle and was used to take the blame in this way, no one knew.

At the same time, the emperor also issued an edict to support the remnants of the Tianxing Sword Sect and not allow them to be bullied because of their decline.

"Is the emperor safe now?" Gu Zhanting slowly ascended the stargazing platform and looked at the figure in the center of the high platform, surrounded by smoke.

His eyesight could naturally penetrate the heavy fog and see the figure's graceful posture, sitting cross-legged, calm and composed.

The master of the Tianyao Holy Land, and also serving as the emperor of Great Qian, the world's number one on the Great Qian Heroes List, Tinglan Zhenren.

It was a pity that she wore a veil, making her appearance invisible.

But there was no need to look. Gu Zhanting had seen her when she was young. He still knew that year she was not "Zhenren," but still used her original name, Ye Tinglan... That was perhaps the most beautiful woman Gu Zhanting had ever seen in his life.

It was a pity that such a woman could never marry into the inner palace; he could not even think about it...

Hidden world monsters are countless, the royal family itself has a bunch of old monsters, and there are even more in the holy land. The heroes list cannot list them all. They were the only two super-grade figures active on the surface in Great Qian, seemingly evenly matched. But he knew he could not defeat Ye Tinglan, and after being injured in the war with the demon emperor and not healing until now, he was even less able to compete.

In the end, on the heroes list, the dignified emperor was ranked second.

Ye Tinglan would not look at men of low strength, or simply put, it was impossible for her eyes to have male-female love... Her eyes were only on the path to immortality. Even her interest in Yan Jun was only slightly greater than in others.

The third in the world... Yan Jun of Yanluo Hall, number one below the super-grade, invincible among the same rank of the first rank.

But because the holy land was the holy land, it did not avoid the world. For better or worse, they still spoke of justice and also checked and balanced Great Qian so that this ship would not easily deviate from its course.

"That is your own daughter. You ask me if I am safe?" Ye Tinglan slowly opened her eyes, her beautiful pupils showing no sorrow or joy. "Why not ask yourself if your heart is safe?"

Her voice was flat and magnetic, as pleasant to listen to as it was that year.

As if the years had never left any trace on her body.

Gu Zhanting was silent for a moment, "Tang's martial and academic talents are both high, and she has her own power. It is a pity she is a woman. For the future of the country, it is not necessary to do this."

"You are still not as open-minded as your ancestor."

"In fact, several female emperors in the past... All did very nonsensical things. Historians wrote spring and autumn chronicles and gave them some face, that's all."

"They indeed did not do well," Ye Tinglan's voice was slightly sarcastic. "But you, a seven-foot man, have you done very well?"

Gu Zhanting said solemnly, "I resisted demon magic outside and soothed the people inside. I have not been slack for a single day and am worthy of my ancestors."

Ye Tinglan said lightly, "What crime did the Tianxing Sword Sect commit to be massacred by the emperor without reason? The sects of the world are in panic. Is this what you call 'good'? Those who know the inside story also know that the father killed his daughter and framed his brother and son. Indeed, it is 'good'."

Gu Zhanting was silent.

Ye Tinglan said again, "Yesterday, I heard someone report that the city master of Xia State was secretly cultivating demon magic and feeding on blood... If it hadn't been discovered in time, disaster would have truly struck Xia State. Is this what Your Majesty calls 'good'?"

Gu Zhanting then had something to say, "Although that was a local official illegally violating the prohibition, it has always existed since ancient times. How can it be blamed on me?"

"Similar cases have doubled in recent years compared to past years. If the officials involved are not responsible, as the emperor, could you let someone else be responsible? Not to mention, how did Xu Bingkun, a sword guest who only knows how to cultivate and break through, become qualified to be appointed as the city master? It certainly wasn't appointed by me."

Gu Zhanting was silent again.

Xu Bingkun was a person recommended by Grand Preceptor Huo, and the Huo family was so trusted by him.

As a result, Ye Tinglan seemed to know what he was thinking and added, "The Huo family abuses the people, complaints are everywhere, and the emperor uses them as his arms. Is it the emperor's fault, or mine?"

Gu Zhanting, a dignified emperor, did not come to be scolded. Finally, his face began to show impatience, and he said coldly, "Isn't the emperor overstepping the boundary?"

Ye Tinglan chuckled lightly, "Xia State is considered good... All over the country, sects, officials, families... The strong bully the weak, and beasts prey on people, even more so than demon magic. If the day of decline truly comes, I hope Your Majesty can say that sentence 'worthy of ancestors'."

Gu Zhanting snorted coldly, flicked his sleeves, and left. The conversation ended unhappily.

Ye Tinglan coldly watched Gu Zhanting leave. Her slender fingers suddenly lightly pinched a magic formula and did a simple calculation.

"Qian, nine-two, see the dragon in the field, benefit from seeing an adult." Ye Tinglan was slightly startled, "How can it be this hexagram? The main and guest don't match... I calculated for Tang. Who is the adult?"

She can calculate hexagrams, she is a beautiful woman, she has a beautiful silent disciple, and her name is Tinglan. Then Qingli won't be... 😳