Chapter 178

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Protagonist:

Shaowei

Liu Qi

The sky was pitch-black and oppressive, just like the atmosphere in the Main Hall of Weiyang Palace.

On both sides of the great hall, ministers and imperial clansmen led by Crown Prince Cheng knelt; at the head sat the Emperor with a face as still as water, and Rui Hou with a startled expression.

The Tai Puzhe, the Sixth Prince, and that Forbidden Army Commander who accompanied him, summoned into the palace, now knelt in the center of the hall, having reported in full what they had seen in the daytime.

Besides them, there was that rescued girl; the matter was of great import, and as an eyewitness, she was specially permitted by the Emperor to enter the palace for an audience and answer questions.

In the daytime she had been in a pitch-black abyss shrouded by death; by night of the same day, she knelt before the brightly lit Son of Heaven's hall — yet this girl showed little terror; though she trembled, it was purely from physical condition, and when she answered her voice was thin and slow but without the slightest hesitation.

All were silent; only that one thin voice echoed in the great hall:

"They only seize boys and girls between five and twelve years old, children who have not yet completed a full cycle of years."

"I stayed there for a year; the other children were locked in cages and killed within a month, except for that last Wang Shizi who was seized — he was killed that very day."

"Those children were all bled into vats, had strips of skin flayed off, bones picked out and crushed into powder, all taken away by Immortal Master Shunzhen… those three men all called him Immortal Master Shunzhen."

"The remaining things were all burned or buried."

"Only two people could come and go there; one was Immortal Master Shunzhen, he decided all affairs and we all had to obey him. There was another man; he didn't manage things there, only responsible for seizing children and bringing them — I was seized by him too. Not long ago, it was this man who came to silence witnesses."

"I heard Immortal Master Shunzhen say that when the deed is done in the future and Great Qian falls, we children will be reborn into noble fates and enjoy endless blessings."

The girl's voice was thin, innocent, yet carried a numb ignorance; those in the hall felt a chill crawl up their spines, as if sitting on needles.

They were not cowardly men; having reached their positions they had long seen and grown accustomed to all manner of bloody affairs — in the former dynasty there were emperors who gathered boys and girls seeking longevity, even using living boys as sacrifices for pill furnaces; worse still were the systems of thousands upon thousands of living people buried as sacrifices, from innocent craftsmen to meritorious soldiers, not a single one spared —

Since Consort Qu's founding of the dynasty, she had ordered the abolition of human sacrifice; the current Emperor further strictly forbade sorcery and evil techniques, so the general climate had become considerably clearer.

Therefore, hearing these words suddenly spoken publicly from the mouth of a young girl, the officials could not help but feel dread; more critically… the one who did these things was that Immortal Master Chiyang of immortal bearing and desireless pursuit, who only advocated following the natural opportunity.

Beneath the immortal's posture lay such a bloody visage; the officials who had previously defended Chiyang all fell into a silence of shock.

Huali knelt quietly, not speaking further; her half-lowered eyes' peripheral light fell on Que'er — this girl was named Que'er, Shaowei learned on the way into the palace.

Que'er's reactions were all far too calm, like a puppet, yet not the least bit dull or stupid — one could call her clever and sharp; in her recounting, only the last sentence was at Shaowei's prompting, but she combined what she knew and experienced, blending that lie in perfectly.

And apart from the strangeness of her emotions and mind, Shaowei also detected something unusual from her pulse.

Some of the unusual things Shaowei could perceive were likewise perceived by the Emperor and the others.

The Emperor looked at Que'er; Yan Xiang then spoke, first asking the girl's name, then asking her: "Que'er, before you were abducted, where did you live?"

"I am a beggar child; from the time I have memory, I have begged near Xishan Academy outside the city." Que'er answered: "In the academy there is a cook called Huahua Popo; she often gave me food."

Not only did she explain her origins, she also pointed out a person who could vouch for her.

Yan Xiang nodded, then asked: "Why did they alone spare your life for a year? And how did you escape the silencing this time?"

Que'er's answer still had no pause: "I was chosen by Immortal Master Shunzhen to test medicine; every day I had to take medicine; those medicines were often different — sometimes after eating I feared cold, sometimes feared heat, sometimes felt fear, sometimes joy, sometimes could not sleep for days on end."

She looked as if she needed no recollection at all, simply narrating what had happened: "Not long ago, I took medicine for the last time; my whole body shook, and I collapsed…"

She felt she had merely fallen, merely could not open her eyes or move; but afterward she heard those three men surround her, yet say she had no breath; a short while later, they said her body had gone cold and stiff.

By then Shunzhen had not appeared for five or six days and left no word — a rare occurrence before — and those three butchers all felt uneasy. Added to that, they slowly became convinced that continuing like this they would eventually be silenced, and had long since harbored thoughts of escape; seeing her "dead," they casually grabbed a mat, rolled her up, and threw her aside, then began secretly plotting how to escape.

They wanted to try digging a tunnel, or kill Shunzhen the next time he appeared and seize the chance to flee through the opened entrance.

The tunnel was not yet dug when someone came — not Shunzhen, but the man responsible for seizing children.

Whoever it was, those three had already decided to seize the chance to kill him; and the newcomer bore the same killing intent.

She only heard them exchange blows, constant screams; that man was also wounded, but his martial skill was still far above those three — since he came to silence witnesses, he presumably had confidence.

The wounded man cursed, kicked her already stiff body; at this the only still-living heavily injured man lunged at him; the man cursed again and broke free, leaving.

When she could finally open her eyes and move, she saw all three men dead; several rats lay dying as if poisoned; she hurriedly hid in the unfinished tunnel, covering herself with an iron plate.

She avoided most of the poison mist; or perhaps because of long-term medicine testing, the poison had little effect on her; she lay unconscious in the tunnel for a while, woke up, and survived on the small amount of food and water in the dark room's bamboo baskets and jars.

Until she heard noise once more, hid back in the tunnel, and was discovered by that man wearing a mask and draped in colorful feathers.

Que'er recounted these events, showing not much lingering fear.

Everyone now knew — this child's puppet-like abnormal state was actually due to the medicine testing.

As the ministers murmured and speculated, Guo Shi spoke up to ask the child: "Poor child… do you know what purpose the tested medicines served?"

Que'er, her lips pale, shook her head: "I don't know; Immortal Master Shunzhen never mentioned it."

Before long, a physician was summoned into the hall to diagnose Que'er's pulse and verify the truth of her words.

Shaowei had already examined Que'er's pulse on the road; this physician's words differed little from Shaowei's diagnosis: "…the viscera, heart, and vessels have all been eroded by medicinal poison; signs of paralysis are widespread; her life is not that of a long-lived appearance."

As these words fell, Liu Qi could easily imagine how disappointed his Imperial Uncle must feel in his heart.

The Emperor's face showed no fluctuation; Rui Huanghou's eyes held unbearable pity, and she was about to say something when she suddenly covered her mouth and let out a low cry.

The frail Que'er, having supported herself through answering everything, tilted and collapsed.

Whether unintentional or subconsciously entrusting trust, the direction she fell was precisely toward Huali.

Kneeling Huali, expressionless, hurriedly stretched out both hands, caught that falling little bird, cradling a messy little head.

Palace attendants quickly stepped forward, took Que'er away for treatment.

The attendants and physician who took Que'er away had just withdrawn from the hall door when another attendant bowed his head and entered to announce: Commandery Princess Liu Ming requests an audience.

Before long, Liu Ming knelt in the great hall; today there were no tears in her eyes, only when she prostrated did Shaowei see a trace of trembling from her back.

The Emperor sighed and assented: "I will certainly give your Prince Father and Zhao Guo an accounting."

Liu Ming prostrated and kowtowed in thanks again.

Liu Qi spoke at the right moment to request a command: "Imperial Uncle, the demonic Daoist Chiyang's plot is not yet fully clear; the whereabouts of the children's bones and skin are unknown; behind this there are likely further entanglements — Chiyang must be punished, and this matter must be investigated to the bottom before the hearts of those above and below can be settled!"

"To investigate thoroughly..." The Emperor's gaze, lit by candlelight, flickered between light and shadow: "Whoever uses evil witchcraft to obstruct the National Fortune shall die ten thousand deaths; not a single one shall be spared."

Strictly banning witchcraft and evil techniques was his decree, and this matter had already spread far and wide, so there was no reason to treat it leniently.

Moreover, what plot lay behind the evil technique, and whether others were involved in advocating it—all these had to be investigated until the truth was revealed.

Various guesses had already flashed through the Emperor's heart, including the whereabouts of the Pengzu Tomb—since the face shown to him was fake, then the rest were often means of scheming; whether the so-called Longevity Art was a void fraud, or rather intended to borrow his Son of Heaven's fortune to plot something else, who could know?

Anger and suspicion weighed in his heart; the Emperor pointed to a minister who had just returned to the city today and ordered him to step forward: "Colonel Qu, I command you to take Liu Qi and the Brocade Guard to investigate this matter together."

Liu Qi was originally searching for assassins, and the Emperor now suspected that these two matters might be connected... After all, the appearance of those death-squad assassins was also intended to assassinate Tai Puzhe Huali, and it happened just as Chiyang was trapped in the predicament of the Chi Ba's incarnation.

If Chiyang was truly using evil techniques to obstruct the National Fortune, then he would surely not spare Huali, who used drought prophecies to avert disaster; now thinking back, perhaps Huali's strange encounter in the Changling Tomb was Chiyang's early hand in preventing trouble before it happened...

The Emperor added a layer of strange regard for Huali in his heart, but did not show it on the surface.

He only said to Liu Qi and Colonel Qu, who had stepped forward to receive the order: "Since the secret of the An Shi was revealed by the Tai Puzhe, if you two encounter strangeness or confusion while investigating this matter, you may seek help from the Tai Puzhe."

Colonel Qu's name was Qu Bai, a close nephew of Empress Qu through her natal family; he was over forty years old, steady and experienced, holding the post of Third-Rank Colonel of the Metropolitan Command; though the Colonel of the Metropolitan Command ranked below the Three Excellencies, its authority could supervise the Three Excellencies and the Crown Prince, and it possessed a unit of armored guards, with the seven commanderies surrounding the capital also under its supervision.

Two months ago, Qu Bai left the capital on a secret imperial order to investigate the case of the Hanzhong Commandery Governor being secretly accused of covertly gathering troops; Hanzhong had already been pacified, and this man had only returned to the capital today.

At this moment, this Colonel of the Metropolitan Command, along with the Sixth Prince and the Tai Puzhe, prostrated themselves together within the great hall to receive the order.

The flames on the Bronze Sparrow Candle Stand flickered; firelight spread from the Weiyang Palace hall, to the entire Imperial Palace, and then to the whole of Chang'an City, which still dared not extinguish its lamps.

Outside the tightly closed city gates of Chang'an City, multiple flickers of firelight also appeared.

Because of the disaster and plague, wealthy households in the counties, commanderies, and villages outside the city organized the "Sending Off the Plague God" exorcism ritual, inviting folk Wu Nu and Nuo practitioners; they made Plague God statues from wood and straw, erected them on ox carts, and whipped them with fire whips along the way until they were sent to the riverside and burned to ashes in one blaze.

This exorcism and plague-sending ritual was a necessary measure to pacify the people's hearts in years of disaster and plague; however, burning the straw-made Plague God statue at this moment still could not calm people's hearts, because the true Chi Ba Plague God had not yet been punished.

The news of the An Shi's evil techniques spread; the Immortal Master had become a demonic Daoist, and the Imperial Guards on Lingxing Shan had changed from protectors to jailers; they all feared in their hearts, fearing the enraged populace before them, and even more the ghost sitting motionless in the pavilion behind them.

The voices demanding the demonic Daoist be burned alive shook the heavens, until a troop arrived, torches lighting the way; the leading youth sat high on horseback, revealing a radiant and brilliant face in the firelight.

Behind Liu Qi were the Brocade Guard led by He Pingchun, ordered by imperial decree to capture Chiyang.

Hearing this decree, Chiyang, who had been sitting in meditation in the pavilion, rose to his feet and was led out under the escort of two Brocade Guards.

Outside his pure white Daoist Robe, he still wore a black cloak; the red spots on his snow-white face were reflected by the firelight, appearing even more vivid.

Thinking of the rumors they had vaguely heard about the demonic Daoist drinking blood to continue his life, the people around looked again at those glaring red spots, and now felt as if they were the fresh blood of children overflowing; for a moment they were both afraid and angry.

Under the gaze of countless terrified eyes and the follow of firelight, Chiyang was escorted down from the mountain peak, like a magnificent descent from the mountain.

At the eastern horizon, the true Morning Sun was preparing to rise.

The sky was not yet fully bright, but the city gates were already wide open; Liu Qi and He Pingchun escorted Chiyang back into the city.

The journey was smooth, with no accidents, no suspicious figures appearing, and no one daring to rob this prey that was destined to fail in its robbery.

The procession entered the city and met a carriage head-on.

Sitting on the high carriage was Tai Puzhe Huali, who had just left the palace; the driver actively gave way to the Brocade Guard and the Sixth Prince, pulling over to the side.

He Pingchun on horseback clasped his hands in salute to the person in the carriage; Liu Qi looked into the carriage, accompanied by the morning breeze and gauze, and vaguely made eye contact with a pair of pitch-black, crystal-bright eyes.

After those eyes looked at him, they shifted their gaze, looking toward a carriage in the middle of the procession that was under the custody of the Brocade Guard.

Liu Qi ordered them to continue forward; the procession moved slowly, and soon, that carriage with only a narrow small window passed before Shaowei's eyes.

She did not hesitate to lift the gauze hanging from the carriage cover, turning her head to gaze steadily at that small window.

Inside the carriage, Chiyang slightly turned his head; their four eyes met; the young girl on the high carriage still had sharp eyes, and the gauze fluttering in the wind seemed like her demonstration of looking down from above—she had caught him.

Yes, she had caught him.

Looking at the girl bathed in the morning light, the smile that appeared again on the corner of Chiyang's mouth hidden in the dimness was one of self-mockery and realization.

She had actually perceived and seen through the Concealment Array laid out by the extraterrestrial strange stone.

And he was trapped in another Concealment Array, only realizing the truth after a long time—compared to the extraterrestrial strange stone used by him, was her Signless Strange Stone from outside the Heavenly Way not also the array eye that Shixiong had set up on the strange gate?

This Signless Strange Stone possessed a more vigorous and surging power than the extraterrestrial meteorite; she was reckless and disorderly, charging straight ahead, stimulating good and evil to move people's hearts, amplifying all power; wherever she went, whoever was affected by her, all became promoters of Shixiong's false salvation array... including him.

So this was the power of Heavenly Secrets.

Chiyang withdrew his gaze and looked forward.

Since it was so, then let him try... another use of the power of Heavenly Secrets.

The corner of Chiyang's mouth hooked slightly; this smile was extremely secretive and restrained, but what surged in his eyes was a flame that burned others and burned himself.

Treading on the golden Morning Sun, Shaowei returned to Jiang Zhai, strode toward Ju Yuan, and once again welcomed the greeting ceremony of four shadows rushing out from all directions.

?? (Everyone good evening, desperately begging for monthly tickets!)