Chapter 46: Radiant

"...No, the Little Mute is dead. I buried her with my own hands..."

"No, those were the Little Mute’s eyes! I saw them clearly!"

"But she died!"

"Maybe she came back to life. This is a 0.7 baseline reality world; supernatural powers and extraordinary abilities are perfectly normal!"

"But even if she lived, she couldn't have so many guards and maids serving her. Wake up, that’s not the Little Mute!"

"I have to confirm it!"

"You’re looking for trouble! Heaven knows what identity that girl has; she looks rich and noble. You’re still in the 'guarding time' and in an unfamiliar ancient world."

"I have to confirm it!!"

"What about Amadai and Xu Shilan!?"

In Su Xing’s mind, two voices seemed to be arguing. Just as he was about to step forward, the faces of Amadai and Xu Shilan flashed through his mind.

At this moment, he withdrew his step, took one last deep look at the sedan chair, turned, and jumped off the high wall.

Jiu Jiu wailed in mid-air for a long time. The person in the sedan chair didn't appear, so Jiu Jiu could only fly back to Su Xing.

At the same time, on the inner city gate tower far from the temple, a middle-aged man in red and yellow casual clothes, sitting in a rattan chair, narrowed his eyes slightly and smiled, pointing at the temple to those beside him. "What a lecher."

A middle-aged man in purple beside him said with a stern face, "Daring to spy on the Imperial Princess! What audacity! There are more and more scoundrels in Kaifeng Prefecture! Your Majesty, I will immediately send men to capture him!"

The Emperor was noncommittal, only smiling. On his other side, a man in Daoist robes laughed. "Why go to such trouble? Today is the Lantern Festival; we shouldn't disturb Your Majesty’s refined interest. Let this poor Daoist take a shot."

The Emperor nodded slightly. The Daoist smiled, reached into his sleeve, took out a piece of yellow paper, and used his finger to trace something on it with the tea in front of him. Then, he threw the yellow paper forward. It flew several meters off the gate tower and transformed into a crimson bird, about half a meter long, with fiery red feathers. With a clear cry, it flew toward the temple.

There were over thirty people on the gate tower. Aside from the beardless eunuchs and maids, there were over a dozen officials in purple or scarlet robes. Their expressions changed slightly, and their eyes were filled with gloom.

There were also a few young men who were clearly not officials and had seats; the looks they gave the red bird were mostly profound.

Only the Emperor’s eyes were full of appreciation.

On the other side, Su Xing jumped down from the high wall in disappointment and walked back with his head down. But after walking only ten meters, he suddenly looked up toward the inner city and saw a crimson bird swooping down. The closer it got, the larger it became. In the blink of an eye, it covered a ten-meter radius above him. The crimson bird turned into a giant firebird, spread its wings, and dove down.

"Ah!"

Su Xing was both shocked and angry. Seeing the giant firebird diving down, the surging flames already reaching his head, Jiu Jiu was the first to be unable to withstand the high heat and fell from his shoulder. He didn't care about anything else and let out a wild roar.

The next moment, all his National Martial Arts blood-qi gathered in his dantian, and his Human Immortal Martial Dao blood-qi filled his skin and flesh. He squatted slightly, his hands hanging naturally. In an instant, his qi gathered in his dantian. Although he didn't strike the 'Sitting Lotus' pose, his entire body’s strength was gathered at a single point in his dantian. The moment the firebird rushed in front of him, his roar and his full strength erupted together. His palms struck the air, hitting the firebird’s head in an instant.

The imagined scene of flames exploding and shattering didn't happen. The firebird was actually a paper tiger; the moment his palms touched it, it immediately collapsed, turning into specks of sparks. The sea of fire that seemed capable of sweeping through dozens of meters vanished instantly.

Su Xing’s double-palm strike had poured in almost all his strength—National Martial Arts, Human Immortal Martial Dao, all his power condensed within. Using the Sitting Lotus force to erupt it like a virtual Dantian force, the power in that instant was immense. Once the firebird dissipated, his palms continued forward, slamming directly into the high wall.

The high wall, nearly five meters tall and two palms wide, was blasted by Su Xing’s strike, directly blowing open a large gap. The force hadn't even dissipated; the shattered bricks flew dozens of meters away. Although they had no power left, they still caused the guards near the sedan chair to cry out in alarm.

Su Xing was stunned for a moment. He couldn't understand how a firebird that looked so terrifying, with a momentum like a small fuel-air bomb, ended up only slightly burning his palms when it hit, and then just disappeared?

He stood blankly for a few seconds, seeing the guards in the distance surrounding him with swords and spears, and dozens more guards running in from the main gate of the temple, all surrounding him like they were facing a great enemy. He was at a loss for a moment and said hurriedly, "There was a fire demon just now—no, a bird demon—no, a firebird demon attacked me. I was forced to fight back, I..."

The guards didn't listen to a word Su Xing said, all acting as if facing a great enemy. Su Xing even saw some guards with crossbows running in from afar. He didn't dare delay any longer, turned, grabbed the stunned Jiu Jiu from the ground, and ran back the way he came.

The guards were stunned. They had been prepared for a bloody battle, but they hadn't expected this fierce man who broke a high wall with one palm to turn and run?

After a few seconds of stunned silence, the guards shouted and followed in pursuit.

The person in the sedan chair, conversely, was stunned for a long time before suddenly bursting into laughter.

On the other side, the dozen or so people on the inner city gate tower were silent. After a long while, the Daoist suddenly bowed to the Emperor. "Your Majesty, I see this man carries demon qi. Please allow this poor Daoist to pursue and investigate."

The Emperor nodded in agreement, saying, "National Master, don't be impatient. If it’s just a wild spirit from the mountains, spare its life; a small punishment will suffice."

The Daoist bowed and left the gate tower.

After the Daoist left, a purple-robed official suddenly said, "Your Majesty, Daoists are lowly and unreasonable. Furthermore, this Guo Jing is narrow-minded and truly should not stand in the imperial court."

The Emperor didn't get angry, only smiling happily. "Just use his talent... Gentlemen, did any of you see where this man came from?"

The ministers were all deep in thought. A resolute-looking official said, "His blood-qi is so thick it doesn't seem human. Although there is some demon qi, it doesn't emanate from his body. His bloodline should be purely human. And what he used to break the Daoist technique wasn't the baleful qi of the military. It’s truly hard to guess."

The Emperor looked up at an old eunuch beside him. The eunuch didn't speak, just nodded slightly and walked behind the gate tower. The Emperor, the Imperial Princes, and the high officials remained silent, watching the prosperity of Bianliang. Not long after, the old eunuch returned and whispered a few words in the Emperor’s ear.

"The 'Outsider' from the Mud Buddha Yaksha?" the Emperor said in surprise.

The ministers were all confused. Two scarlet-robed officials were stunned, and seeing the Emperor’s signal, they recounted the strange case on the spot.

"Mud Buddha, Yaksha?" the ministers murmured. A purple-robed official said, "Looking at this man’s short hair and tight clothing, he has a rather exotic style, but his language is the accent of our Song people. Could he be an outsider from overseas?"

The ministers had their own guesses, but none were certain. At this time, the Emperor said, "Let’s wait and see the National Master’s trip. Although the man was a bit rude, he only took a distant look; it’s not a major crime. He doesn't look old; young men are prone to infatuation. If his background is clean, such a brave warrior shouldn't be left to wander among the people."

The ministers nodded in agreement.

They were extremely vigilant against Daoist and demonic arts, but if it was just the bravery of blood-qi, it didn't matter. Now that the north needed brave warriors, if this outsider had a heart to serve the country, pardoning his crime of spying on the Imperial Princess wasn't a big deal—after all, he only took a distant look in the temple.

On the other side, Su Xing ran quickly through the crowd, his movements fast and agile. He shook off the guards after only two streets. The guards didn't pursue too closely; for one, Su Xing had only broken a temple wall and hadn't hurt or killed anyone, and for another, they didn't dare press a fierce man who could break a high wall if he turned vicious. So, they gradually stopped their pursuit.

Feeling there were no pursuers behind him, Su Xing slowly ran back to where Amadai and Xu Shilan were. Soon, he saw the two standing in the crowd, watching the juggling with great interest.

Seeing Su Xing return, both asked about the Little Mute.

!

Su Xing hesitated. "I only took a distant look, and I only saw the eyes... they were very much like the Little Mute’s, but I can't be sure if it was her. And I buried the Little Mute with my own hands, so... I don't know anymore."

Amadai said boisterously, "Why didn't you go up and see clearly?"

Su Xing shook his head. It wasn't easy to explain in detail here. He said, "Let’s exchange the gold first, then find an inn or something to stay."

The two nodded. Just as they were about to follow Su Xing forward, someone suddenly patted each of their shoulders. They turned simultaneously and saw a young man carrying a sword box smiling at them.

Su Xing’s hair stood on end instantly. He twisted his feet and blocked in front of the two. He whispered to them, "Run into the crowd. This person is very..."

Xu Shilan was the first to be surprised. "Chu Minghao, why is it you!?"

Hearing Xu Shilan’s voice, Su Xing slowly lowered his guard, but his whole body was soaked in cold sweat.

Chu Minghao smiled brightly. "Long time no see, Miss Xu, and the two human heroes. Hello, I am Chu Minghao."

Amadai said boisterously, "Who are you? A maintenance staff from another district?"

"No, he’s not a maintenance staff."

Xu Shilan’s expression was complex. "Level 7 citizen, qualified user of the three major human super-brain assistants, war hero of the Fourth War, ace of aces of the Human United Government mecha troops, strongest user of the Dragon Knight system, the youngest presidential candidate... Chu Minghao."

Su Xing asked in a low voice, "Friend? Enemy? Or... an enemy of the past?"

Xu Shilan paused. She looked at Su Xing and said with a happy yet somewhat depressed smile, "No, he doesn't count as an enemy, let alone an enemy of the past. He... he is an idealistic fool, barely a good person, and my university classmate, the man who almost became my marriage partner..."

She asked Chu Minghao, "Why are you here? No, what I want to ask is, why can you wake up? Isn't it said that all citizens are trapped in the dream world, and only maintenance staff can wake up?"

Chu Minghao looked like a seventeen- or eighteen-year-old boy, smiling very sincerely and brightly. "It’s a long story, and this isn't the place to talk. Let’s go, find a restaurant to talk in detail... Don't worry, you two, I’m here to help you."

Xu Shilan seemed to trust Chu Minghao very much. She nodded to Su Xing and Amadai, and the two naturally agreed to go.

But after only two steps, Chu Minghao suddenly stopped. He looked at Su Xing, then into the distance, and smiled. "Wait for me a few seconds."

The others were confused. They saw Chu Minghao suddenly pat the sword box behind him. In an instant, the world turned black and white, and everyone fell into stillness. Even the falling leaves stopped in mid-air. Everyone even lost their thoughts. Only the Sleepless Spiritual Sense in Su Xing’s sea of consciousness suddenly shone brightly, and the Huang Lian fragment he wore around his neck also emitted a bright light. The two combined, allowing him to see everything in this black-and-white world.

A sword light, radiant beyond description, surged from the sword box. In the blink of an eye, it flashed into the distance and returned. Amidst the ringing of the sword box, the world regained its color.

Xu Shilan and Amadai were bewildered, only Su Xing was full of horror and disbelief.

In the distance, on the Imperial Street of the Imperial City, the Daoist who was galloping on horseback suddenly screamed and rolled off his horse.

He touched his head and neck in terror. After touching for a long time, before he could breathe a sigh of relief, the Daoist crown on his head suddenly cracked and fell off.

The Daoist looked at the crown.

The crack was as smooth as a mirror.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 47 =====