In the Tea Room on the seventh floor of the Haoqi Tower, there was no one else besides Wei Yuan. Xu Qi An entered with steady steps, his posture straight, and cupped his hands in greeting:
“Lord Wei.”
Wei Yuan had just poured a cup of tea and placed it on the opposite side. He gestured with his hand: “Sit.”
Xu Qi An sat down stiffly, symbolically took a sip, and then fixed his gaze on Wei Yuan. He had a premonition that Wei Yuan had summoned him to discuss the Princess Pingyang case.
“The Princess Pingyang case is over, but the Sangbo case must continue. His Majesty rejected my proposal,” Wei Yuan said while drinking tea, his tone neither hurried nor slow, as if casually chatting, telling Xu Qi An about what had happened in the Imperial Study.
Xu Qi An’s face darkened: “Minister Sun from the Ministry of Justice has old ties with Vice Minister Zhou Xianping from the Ministry of Revenue. He’s disliked me from the beginning…”
Wei Yuan waved his hand, interrupting him with displeasure: “These are all trivial matters!”
He spoke with a tone of slight disappointment: “His Majesty doesn’t like you. That’s the big issue.”
Xu Qi An’s face immediately turned gloomy.
What a coincidence, I don’t like him either. When I saw Emperor Yuanjing wearing Daoist robes during ancestral worship, I felt a faint dislike in my heart.
At the time, I thought it was because he represented feudal imperial power. Later, after the Spirit Dragon incident and having close contact, I discovered that my dislike for Emperor Yuanjing was pure, without any other reason. It was just a dislike from the bottom of my heart.
Maybe the Emperor and I have conflicting zodiac signs… I’m a Monkey and he’s a Goat? Xu Qi An forced a bitter smile:
“This humble servant doesn’t know where he has displeased His Majesty.”
“Maybe it’s just a lack of chemistry,” Wei Yuan rubbed his brow and said, “You just wait patiently, and there’s no need to investigate further. At this point, any traces have been erased. You won’t be able to find anything. When the time limit is up, if His Majesty insists on executing you, I’ll arrange for a death row inmate to take your place.
“Heh, don’t worry, no one will pay special attention to the identity of a mere Bronze Gong like you.”
Then I’ll naturally become your… underling who can’t see the light of day. Xu Qi An asked: “What if we can capture Zhou Chixiong?”
Wei Yuan smiled: “That would settle the matter.”
He then shook his head and laughed.
After leaving Haoqi Tower, Xu Qi An returned to Chunfeng Hall and informed Song Tingfeng, Zhu Guangxiao, and Li Yuchun about the situation.
Song Tingfeng and Zhu Guangxiao’s expressions suddenly stiffened. The former slammed the table hard, cursed, and began pacing restlessly around the hall. The latter looked increasingly bitter, his brows tightly furrowed.
Li Yuchun pondered and said: “The Princess Pingyang case wasted too much time. It will be difficult for you to investigate the Sangbo case thoroughly now. The Astrology Bureau’s divination techniques can’t implicate officials above the fourth rank. Unless you can persuade the Astrology Bureau Chief to help.”
Ask the Bureau Chief. Even if he was willing to help, would Emperor Yuanjing believe him? Xu Qi An thought to himself, I don’t want to go find that old codger anyway.
…
At the Star-Gazing Tower.
“Sister Caiwei, I need to see the Bureau Chief. Do you have any way to take me up to the Eight Trigrams Platform?” Xu Qi An asked, carrying bags of food, his smile resembling that of a devoted admirer from his past life.
Chu Caiwei shamelessly ate the food Xu Qi An had brought but said: “It’s not possible. Master is in seclusion and has sealed off access to the Eight Trigrams Platform. No one can go up.”
She was acting just like a goddess consuming her backup suitor.
“Is there no way?”
“No way.”
“When will our Master come out of seclusion?”
Chu Caiwei glanced at him, thinking, what do you mean by “our” Master?
She said: “At most a few months, at least half a month. I guess he’s up there interpreting the stars.”
…Xu Qi An nearly coughed up blood. This was karma. He had been freeloading all the time, and finally, one day, someone else was freeloading off him.
No, I can’t lose out like this… He placed all the food he had bought for two taels of silver on the table and said: “My sister at home is having her period and suffering from severe abdominal pain. What can be done?”
Hearing this, Chu Caiwei twisted her little waist, pitter-pattered away, and returned a moment later with a porcelain bottle. “Take one pill when it hurts. It works instantly.”
Although this girl was greedy for food, she was quite generous. Whether the medicine was expensive or not, she was always willing to give it away.
…
In Yun Province.
In the vast mountain range, a sizeable stronghold was built on the mountainside, with a string of lights dotting the pitch-black night.
The stronghold was easy to defend and difficult to attack, taking advantage of the terrain. Initially, when it was built, the government would send troops to encircle and suppress it, but after several failures, they turned a blind eye.
Yun Province was plagued by bandits, with countless roving bandits and mountain brigands. The people had been suffering for a long time, and the government had been troubled for decades.
After decades, people slowly got used to it. Chaotic regions had their way of life.
Just as night fell, the mountain wind began to blow fiercely. In an instant, lightning flashed thunder roared, and torrential rain poured down.
On the arrow tower, the mountain bandit on guard duty endured the cold raindrops blowing in at an angle, looking somewhat enviously towards the stronghold.
Today, the stronghold had pulled off another big heist, robbing a merchant caravan. Silk, tea, porcelain… there were many valuable items.
This was all thanks to the new Sixth Boss who had recently joined the stronghold. He was exceptionally skilled in martial arts and proficient in coordinated combat techniques, with a knack for training troops.
It was said that he had a military background and used to work in the capital of Great Shang. Later, because he couldn’t stand the incompetence and corruption of the court, he simply became an outlaw.
At this moment, a celebration feast was being held in the stronghold.
In a room with roaring charcoal fires, the six bosses and some small leaders were eating and drinking heartily, telling crude jokes, and raising large bowls.
Scantily clad women served on the side, forcing smiles. They were all women who had been abducted, some ordinary village girls, some even daughters of wealthy families.
Those with good looks were picked out to serve the bosses and small leaders exclusively, while those with average looks were shared among the other brothers in the stronghold.
Zhou Chixiong sat at the table, habitually sitting up straight, his demeanor at odds with the lecherous mountain bandits. A pretty young woman was serving by his side, but Zhou Chixiong didn’t even bother to look at her.
Such vulgar flesh held no interest for him, not even enough to touch.
Zhou Chixiong had come to Yun Province with his family. His wife and son were not in the mountain stronghold but had been arranged to stay in Baidi City, the largest city in Yun Province.
It was one of the few safe havens in Yun Province, free from worries about bandits and thieves.
The Big Boss was a man with a full beard, appearing rough but actually as meticulous as can be, a top expert at the peak of the Spirit Refining realm.
“Brother Zhou, is it that the women here don’t suit your taste?”
Before Zhou Chixiong could respond, the Big Boss laughed heartily and said: “I heard that there’s a beautiful young lady in this merchant caravan, still locked up in the woodshed?”
“Yes, Big Boss, that woman is damn beautiful.”
“Big Boss, compared to her, the women in the stronghold are like… like the difference between mud and white sugar.”
As the image of that woman’s peerless beauty floated in his mind, Zhou Chixiong’s heart also began to burn with desire. He had captured her himself and knew exactly what she looked like. If he hadn’t just arrived, that woman would already be in his room by now.
The Big Boss pondered for a moment, then laughed heartily: “Someone, bring that woman up here. Tonight, she’s at the Sixth Boss’s disposal. He captured her, so he should have the first taste.”
The other bosses had no objections. It didn’t matter who went first; sooner or later, they would all get to sample her.
After a while, a woman was brought up. She wore a layered white long dress, her skin was as white as snow, her eyes were large and bright, and her features flawless.
She looked somewhat frightened, like a timid little deer in the forest.
The surroundings suddenly fell silent as everyone was captivated by her beauty, staring at her in a daze.
“Gulp gulp…” The sound of Adam’s apples bobbing could be heard.
The woman seemed to already know her fate. Biting her lip, she timidly said, “Which… which master would this slave serve?”
Zhou Chixiong swallowed hard, feeling that her beauty was truly a feast for the eyes. He strode over and pulled her to the table.
Zhou Chixiong embraced the beautiful woman, groping and nibbling hungrily, making the surrounding mountain bandits jealous, wishing they could take his place.
“Are you Zhou Chixiong?” The woman’s gentle voice sounded in his ear.
She knows my name… Zhou Chixiong’s heart suddenly chilled, his desire instantly vanishing. At the same time, he noticed that the beauty in his arms was gradually turning pale, losing her vitality.
In an instant, she transformed into a human-sized paper doll.
“Hehehehe…”
The woman’s shrill laughter echoed in the room, sending chills down everyone’s spine.
Bang… The window was blown open by the strong wind, extinguishing the candles in the room.
In the darkness, the sound of swords being drawn rang out continuously, followed by the Big Boss’s shout: “What kind of demon is this, playing tricks?”
The woman’s shrill laughter stopped, but a few seconds later, everyone in the stronghold heard a piercing scream echoing through the mountains and the night sky.
“It’s a Mei,” Zhou Chixiong said in a deep voice, a sense of foreboding rising in his heart.
Mei, also known as seductive ghosts, had almost no combat ability but excelled at luring people with their beauty and draining the essence of those who fell for their trap.
Although warriors were not adept at dealing with ghosts and demons, by stirring up their blood essence, they could achieve immunity to a hundred ghosts. What Zhou Chixiong cared about was the master behind the Mei.
Zhou Chixiong vaguely felt that the other party was coming for him.
Just then, drum sounds resounded throughout the entire stronghold, and shouts from the mountain bandits came from outside: “Enemy attack, enemy attack…”
The bosses and small leaders of the stronghold gripped their weapons and rushed out of the room, peering through the pouring rain. The night, the rain curtain, and the forest obscured their vision.
Sharp whistling sounds came from the air – it was a volley of arrows.
Mountain bandits continuously fell to the ground after being hit by arrows, with screams of pain rising and falling.
The Big Boss deflected the arrows, his heart slightly relieved. Attacking from below, the force of the arrows was not strong. As long as one wasn’t unlucky enough to be hit in a vital spot, even if struck by an arrow, they wouldn’t lose their fighting ability.
“Prepare the rolling stones, tung oil…”
The stronghold had the advantage of terrain, and these two things were the key to defense. When the stronghold was first established, it was these things that helped them withstand the government’s siege and survive the most difficult period.
As soon as the Big Boss finished speaking, a silver light streaked across the night sky. It wasn’t the light of lightning, but the radiance bursting forth from a long spear.
Boom!
Lightning flashed at the right moment, and the mountain bandits below saw a figure standing on the silver spear.
She wore scale armor with a bright red cape behind her. She wasn’t wearing a helmet, and her long hair was tied in a waist-length ponytail. Her heroic and valiant appearance was like that of an awe-inspiring goddess of war.
The goddess of war formed hand seals, summoning heavenly thunder. “Boom!” Lightning struck down, and she caught it between her fingers, then flung it with all her might.
The two arrow towers at the front of the stronghold collapsed with a thunderous crash.
Daoist Lightning Control Technique?
Zhou Chixiong’s heart sank, his entire body feeling as if it had plunged into an ice cellar.