Chapter 122: The Third Red Pill

Gu Pin’s father was arrested and immediately tortured upon being thrown into prison.

About an hour later, a new list was freshly compiled.

What followed was arrest, interrogation, then more arrests.

A large number of Suqin spies and those colluding with the Suqin were captured and brought to justice.

Among them were even personnel from the Secret Investigation Bureau.

But what surprised Chu Danqing was that Li Wanwu was not implicated at all.

The ghost market’s dealings were from the previous Taichang Emperor’s time; Li Wanwu handled the dirty work and inevitably touched on Suqin matters.

This time, he deliberately connected with the lamas to uncover the Qiutan Party’s smuggling routes.

Li Wanwu couldn’t be found, so Chu Danqing found him first.

This smuggling route belonged to the Qiutan Party; now that Chu Danqing had netted them all, the truth was laid bare.

What remained were household seizures, exiles, executions, and other matters.

After finishing all that, another five days passed.

Dust settled, and Chu Danqing’s trial mission was complete.

【Mission complete. You have received: Paradise Points ×5000, Attribute Points +3】

The difficulty of a B-rank mission lies in acquiring sufficient authority to purge these people; once achieved, the rest is easy.

Chu Danqing had saved the emperor’s life and aided his ascension, and with the support of Xiong Zhigang and Wang Qi, he held command of the Imperial Guard and Feathered Forest Army.

With troops, power, and righteous cause, if he still failed, he might as well quit.

Yet he still didn’t understand one thing: what was Li Wanwu’s situation?

But then he looked again at the mission.

The mission was to kill high-ranking Suqin spies and destroy their hideouts.

Li Wanwu didn’t qualify, so the mission was marked complete.

If the mission had added “collusion,” Li Wanwu would’ve been on the list.

Thus, the trial mission ended; the remaining time was left for Chu Danqing to act as he wished.

As for Li Wanwu, Chu Danqing would find an opportunity to kill him and replace him with a slightly more human-like Provincial Military Commander to manage the Secret Investigation Bureau.

A good man was out of the question—no one decent could handle this job.

He was waiting for court stability, then he would move against the Taichang bandits.

Now was not the time to act.

Three more days passed before the Taichang Emperor summoned him.

Li Wanwu stood beside the Taichang Emperor, head bowed, submissive.

“Minister Chu, you’ve come.” The Taichang Emperor wore a rare smile and handed a memorial to Li Wanwu: “Show this great victory to Minister Chu.”

Li Wanwu showed no resentment or anger; his demeanor remained unchanged as he obeyed.

Chu Danqing read it: Xiong Zhigang had crushed a fifty-thousand-strong Suqin army.

The external threat was temporarily lifted, and the internal turmoil in court had been fully purged by Chu Danqing’s violent cleansing.

With many positions vacant, the Taichang Emperor promoted his own men, centralizing power and removing obstacles to implementing new policies.

For a moment, it was double fortune.

The last time he’d been this happy was when his very long-lived father died.

“It is all due to Your Majesty’s wise leadership,” Chu Danqing flattered, knowing it was Xiong Zhigang’s doing but not daring to say so.

After speaking, Chu Danqing prepared to mention the bandit suppression.

He had come anyway; this was the perfect moment to ask for authority while the emperor was pleased.

But before he could speak, a eunuch rushed in hurriedly and whispered something.

The Taichang Emperor’s joy deepened further.

“The son of Gu Shushi, Gu Pin, has found the third longevity elixir left by the former emperor, named ‘Immortal.’”

“He offers this elixir in exchange for the safety of his entire family,” the Taichang Emperor said.

Li Wanwu immediately responded: “Congratulations, Your Majesty! Longevity, agelessness, immortality—these are the blessings of an emperor for ten thousand generations!”

“Your Majesty, the elixir offered by a traitor’s son must be treated with caution,” Chu Danqing glanced at Li Wanwu.

The third red pill? That was the poison left by the previous Taichang Emperor in the Taiyi Academy.

Li Wanwu was trying to kill the Taichang Emperor.

“Minister Chu speaks wisely. Have it brought forth so I may examine it myself,” the Taichang Emperor agreed with Chu Danqing, yet the allure of “ten thousand generations” was stronger.

Gu Pin was brought in; his eyes held hatred as he looked at Chu Danqing, then he presented a finely crafted silk pouch.

Then he knelt, silent.

The Taichang Emperor ignored him, eagerly opening the pouch.

Indeed, another red pill—identical in appearance and scent to the previous ones.

Chu Danqing had never expected Li Wanwu to attempt to kill the Taichang Emperor at this critical moment—what did he gain?

Could it be he sensed Chu Danqing intended to kill him and struck first?

Or was he trying to further expand his advantage?

“Where did you obtain this elixir?” the Taichang Emperor asked.

“Your Majesty, I stole it from the Taiyi Academy,” Gu Pin replied immediately. “My father told me of three elixirs: Longevity, Agelessness, Immortality.”

“Longevity and Agelessness were kept together and seized by the Suqin, later recovered and presented to Your Majesty by Minister Chu.”

“Only the Immortality pill remained hidden, which I found,” Gu Pin explained.

Chu Danqing was certain this was orchestrated by Li Wanwu.

Everything Gu Pin said were lies Chu Danqing himself had invented—yet now Gu Pin was fabricating further on top of those lies.

The Taichang Emperor believed him, mainly because the previous two pills had produced such convincing sensory effects.

Combined with psychological suggestion, he had long believed himself immortal and ageless.

“If the former emperor possessed longevity, agelessness, and immortality, how did he die by assassin’s hand?” Chu Danqing raised the flaw.

This also raised another key question: if these three pills were so precious, why didn’t the former Taichang Emperor take them himself and instead hide them in the Taiyi Academy?

Who wouldn’t want to be a ten-thousand-generation emperor?

As soon as he spoke, the Taichang Emperor realized.

Longevity and agelessness could still end in death—perhaps the former emperor had taken them—but if you were truly immortal, how could you die?

His words jolted the Taichang Emperor awake; the illusion of “ten thousand generations” began to fade, and he reexamined Gu Pin.

“I do not know,” Gu Pin could not explain the flaw, only bowed his head: “Whether to believe or not rests solely in Your Majesty’s mind.”

After speaking, Gu Pin fell silent.

The Taichang Emperor felt torn.

Take it, and fear poison.

Don’t take it, and regret the loss.

The temptation of immortality made his heart itch.

“Minister Chu, you once brought me the Longevity and Agelessness pills. What is your view on this Immortality pill?” The Taichang Emperor turned to Chu Danqing.

He assumed that, besides himself, only Chu Danqing had ever handled longevity elixirs.

“It’s poisoned,” Chu Danqing said bluntly.

“Oh? Does Minister Chu know something?” Li Wanwu seized the chance to press.

Chu Danqing shook his head: “No, I simply don’t believe a traitor’s son would act so kindly.”

“Especially since his family is nearly wiped out—everyone here is his enemy.”

The Taichang Emperor swallowed hard, his gaze fixed on Gu Pin.

“Dare I say otherwise? Rain and thunder are both the grace of the sovereign,” Gu Pin replied quickly. “My family’s great calamity is deserved punishment.”

The Taichang Emperor rubbed his temples; greed and reason tangled in his mind.

Then he waved his hand: “Temporarily imprison Gu Pin. Minister Chu, you may withdraw. Let me think carefully.”

Chu Danqing didn’t hesitate—he turned and left. No wise words could save a man doomed to die.

He needed to save the Taichang Emperor by physical means.

If the Taichang Emperor died, the capital and the entire Taichang dynasty would plunge into greater chaos, and the common people would suffer most.

If the realm were peaceful and the people content, Chu Danqing wouldn’t care whether the Taichang Emperor lived or died.

Chu Danqing felt only like a patchwork repairman—too high up, thinking too much.

He couldn’t save the world; he could only do his best to let ordinary people live a little better. Beyond that, he was powerless.

Then, tonight, he’d kill Li Wanwu—let him live two more days to cause more trouble.

Seeing Chu Danqing leave, Li Wanwu’s lips curled slightly.

The plan hadn’t deviated, though it hadn’t reached his full expectation.

Xiong Zhigang’s victory disrupted his deployment—Chu Danqing shouldn’t have been here.

Without Chu Danqing, the Taichang Emperor would have already swallowed the red pill.

Fortunately, Li Wanwu had backup plans—he still had the influence of the imperial harem; he needn’t worry the Taichang Emperor wouldn’t be fooled.

Li Wanwu knew exactly what the red pill was—he’d held it for so long, he knew it was a deadly poison.

Otherwise, why would he bother offering it to the Taichang Emperor?

If it were truly a longevity elixir, he’d have taken it himself—why leave it for the Taichang Emperor?

After Chu Danqing left, he immediately summoned the Demon of Human Desires and ordered it to steal the Red Pill.

The plan was this simple and crude.

No need to worry that Li Wanwu would have someone else present another one.

If they kept appearing one after another, Emperor Taichang would grow suspicious.

About seven minutes later, the imperial palace erupted in chaos.

The shadow formed by the Demon of Human Desires leapt out and placed a Red Pill into Chu Danqing’s hand, then once again drew the enemies away.

“Chu my lord, did you see the fleeing assassin?” Li Wanwu rushed out and asked at once.

I was just about to return to the inner palace when a man suddenly dashed out and snatched the Red Pill from Emperor Taichang’s hand before fleeing.

He immediately gave chase and locked Chu Danqing as the prime suspect.

“No,” Chu Danqing replied calmly. “What are you trying to imply, Director Li?”

“Commander Chu, you’ve been negligent,” Li Wanwu chuckled lightly, then turned and swept his sleeve aside without further argument.

Chu Danqing wondered—was Li Wanwu planning to use negligence as an excuse to target him?

“Without the Red Pill, what can you do?” Chu Danqing thought, as the Red Pill’s attributes appeared before his eyes.

【Longevity Blood Pill】

【Type: Consumable】

【Quality: Excellent】

【Effect 1: +10 years to lifespan】

【Effect 2: Lose 100 HP per second for ten minutes】

（Note: The higher your Constitution, the weaker the effect）

It won’t grant immortality, but it does extend life.

Provided you can endure it—otherwise, you’ll die first.

It’s barely useful: limited effect, and hard to extend lifespan if your Constitution is too high.

Must be paired with other healing potions or skills to be effective.

(End of Chapter)