Chapter 116: Dealing with Corpses—I'm Good at This Job

Ning Shan gripped the short knife and pressed it against his neck, "That's right, she is indeed my beloved daughter. Lord Wang, in the past I turned a blind eye to your arrogant oppression of the workers under you, but today you bullied her, I won't show any mercy."

"Ning Shan, I am—"

Splat…

Lord Wang hadn't finished speaking when Ning Shan drove the short knife into his plump neck.

The blade was very short, only two inches.

Yet the whole thrust was enough to sever the carotid artery.

Ning Shan's strike was precise, and he didn't pull the knife out, to prevent blood from splattering.

In a moment, Lord Wang's frog‑like eyes bulged as he exhaled his last breath.

Ning Shan swiftly removed his official hat and robe, "The palace is holding an important ceremony, daughter, put on this robe so you won't draw attention."

"Dad, since you traveled here, you haven't stopped doing this kind of thing, have you?" Ning Jinli asked while putting on the robe.

"Cough…" Ning Shan cleared his throat, "The nature of my work is rather special; sometimes I have to deal with unusual situations. Don't worry, I'll find a way to take care of the corpse."

"Handling corpses…" Ning Jinli thought briefly, "Leave it to me; I'm familiar with this job."

Ning Shan turned his head in shock, his face slightly stiff, "What did you say?"

Ning Jinli, a bit embarrassed, chuckled, "I mean, I have a particularly convenient method."

"Is it using the Spacetime Portal?" Ning Shan blurted.

Ning Jinli was startled, "Dad, how did you know?"

Before Ning Shan could explain, Ning Jinli suddenly understood, "Oh, it must be Mom who contacted you."

Ning Shan stood up, tidied his daughter's clothing, muttering:

"You've grown so tall, thank goodness this damn fat guy, though short, is chubby; the robe was made long, otherwise you couldn't wear it."

"By the way, daughter, if you use the Spacetime Portal to send the corpse away, wouldn't it end up in a factory? Corpses aren't something you can just clean up casually; what if it's discovered there?"

"No, no, let me first find a way to get the corpse out of the palace first."

Listening to the long‑missed nagging, Ning Jinli felt a warm glow in her heart.

She opened her arms and gave Ning Shan a hug, laughing, "Dad, it seems you still don't fully understand the Spacetime Portal. Stay here for a moment; I only need a little while, and I'll have it sorted quickly."

Since his daughter said so, Ning Shan, as a father, naturally believed her.

Later, when he learned that there was also an entrance to the Spacetime Portal in this Wang Palace Storehouse, he said he wanted to see it.

"Here it is," Ning Jinli led him to a wall, "Imagine the wall as a water surface; the Spacetime Portal's entrance is like a vortex on the water, shimmering with multicolored light."

Ning Shan looked left and right, smiled, and said, "Just as your mom said, we can't see it."

"Dad, I'll go ahead then, see you later."

Ning Jinli dragged Lord Wang's corpse and plunged into the Fluorescent Vortex.

The next second, she returned to a small warehouse in the factory.

She immediately used the other end of the Spacetime Portal to transfer, then dragged the corpse inside.

A flash of light later, in an instant, the surroundings became Ye Zhiqiu's training hall.

Ning Jinli pulled a Walkie‑Talkie, which had already been arranged for Mom here, from the cabinet, pressed the call button, "Hello? Anyone there?"

Zzzzz—

A crackling electric sound rang out.

A voice came through the receiver: "Miss, please give instructions."

"Where's my mom?"

"Excuse me, Miss, you sent a few … excavator machines recently, and Sect Leader Ye Zhangmen selected a few disciples with strong learning ability, and they're hastening to learn how to use them."

"Oh, that's called an excavator; how's the training going?"

"Um… they're doing well, already collapsed three houses…"

…

Ning Jinli was silent for two seconds, "No rush, just practice slowly according to the tutorial video. Send a few people to the training hall right away."

"Yes, Miss."

Soon, a few Tian Shu Sect disciples hurried over.

Ning Jinli handed Lord Wang's corpse to them, urging, "Hurry and toss this corpse into Zhuiyingjian, don't delay, otherwise in the heat it'll start to stink."

The disciples were stunned, thinking how fierce the Sect Leader's daughter was…

"Understood, Miss," they said without further questions, swiftly taking the corpse to comply.

Afterwards, Ning Jinli used the Spacetime Portal to return to the Wang Palace Storehouse.

From taking the corpse away to returning, the whole process took less than three minutes.

Then the father and daughter tidied up the scene together; Ning Jinli chattered, asking her dad how his years here had been, and Ning Shan recounted everything in detail.

"Wow, I thought Mom being the Sect Leader of a major sect was already impressive, but turns out Dad is also so awesome, becoming the second‑in‑command of a secret intelligence organization?"

"Nominally I'm the second‑in‑command," Ning Shan said seriously, "In reality I run the entire Qingyou Platform, and the Wang family member is merely a connected official."

Ning Jinli laughed, "No wonder all these years you've always been able to sabotage Mom's plans and erase the various impacts she created, impressive."

Ning Shan's cheek twitched, he hesitated, then turned to fetch a fist‑sized melon and handed it to Ning Jinli, "There's not much good food in this era; this is a locally grown sweet melon, not as good as the fruits back home, just to quench your thirst."

"Thanks, Dad!" Ning Jinli took the melon and took big bites.

It's called a sweet melon, but for someone who's tasted all sorts of modern cultivated fruits, its flavor is only a bit sweeter than cucumber, with a hint of sourness.

It's quite juicy and has a peculiar fragrance.

Not bad.

Ning Shan thought for a moment, "So… have you really been dating Xiao Qidi?"

"Pfft… cough! Cough cough cough!" Ning Jinli was caught off guard and almost choked.

Ning Shan patted her back, "Eat more slowly."

"It's not… cough cough…" Ning Jinli thumped her chest, awkwardly saying, "Mom even told you about this? I… I had her keep it secret."

Ning Shan sighed, "Alas, the ancients were right: a grown daughter shouldn't be kept."

"Dad! What do you mean?" Ning Jinli's face flushed.

Ning Shan smiled, "I'm just feeling nostalgic. Before I crossed over here, you were a twelve‑year‑old little girl. Ten years later, not only have you grown up, you even have a partner."

Ning Jinli suddenly grew nervous, "Dad, then… you wouldn't be stopping me like you stopped Mom, would you?"

Ning Shan's face changed instantly, "What do you mean? Mom found a partner behind my back?!"

"No, no!" Ning Jinli, half crying half laughing, "That's a completely different thing! I'm saying you're afraid she'll affect this side, change history, and you stop her. So you wonder whether me being with Xiao Qidi would also cause an impact and thus stop me."

Ning Shan let out a big sigh of relief, "So that's what you meant. Change it if you must; Mom already told me this is a parallel‑universe world."

"At first I didn't really believe it, thinking she was just finding another excuse to persuade me. Then Lord Le An died many years earlier than the date recorded in our history, and the circumstances differed from the historical record. I found everything otherwise fine, no anomalies caused by a temporal paradox, so I truly came to believe it."

Hearing this, Ning Jinli relaxed a little.

But what made her most nervous wasn't this.

Because the issue itself was easily solved, and now it no longer seems a problem.

She feared Dad would think her being with Xiao Qidi was too dangerous.

Mom was reluctantly accepting for now, but might change her mind later.

So Dad's attitude became even more important.

"Dad…" Ning Jinli cupped a half‑bitten melon in both hands, looked at Ning Shan, and cautiously asked, "What do you think about me being with Xiao Qidi?"

Ning Shan replied seriously, "Yes, of course I have!"

Ning Jinli's heart, not yet settled in her stomach, leapt straight to her throat.

"My daughter," Ning Shan placed his hand on her shoulder, "I think—you're absolutely awesome!"

"Huh?" Ning Jinli was stunned.

She couldn't tell whether Dad was genuinely praising or being sarcastic.

Ning Shan's eyes glittered as he grinned, "Xiao Qidi is known as the 'Zu Long' Primordial Ancestor Emperor! He directly laid the deep‑seated unification ideology into later Huaxia. Even after the feudal era ended over two thousand years later and the nation entered modern society, the core cohesion of the people never changed. Such a badass being conquered by you—aren't you awesome? Dad is proud of you, proud of you!"

Ning Jinli listened, stunned.

It seemed… he was actually praising!

"But Mom said being with a monarch is very dangerous," Ning Jinli asked tentatively.

Ning Shan's mouth twitched, "If you end up with a bad man, his status doesn't matter; you'll still be in danger."

Ning Jinli was stunned again, instantly recalling that scummy ex‑boyfriend.

"Daughter, what do you think of Xiao Qidi's character in private?" Ning Shan asked.

Ning Jinli recovered, "His character is fine; I trust him."

Ning Shan nodded, "If something goes wrong in the future, at least you can return to your original world, so rest assured I won't stop you from being with him."

Ning Jinli finally let out a big sigh of relief, "Thanks, Dad, hehe."

"But!" Ning Shan's expression turned extremely serious, "You must promise me that if one day you find Xiao Qidi's feelings toward you have changed and he might act unfairly or hurt you, you will cut ties with him without hesitation! You must not compromise your modern values just because he's from the past! Because you didn't come here and can't leave; you still have choices, understand?"

Ning Jinli looked into Ning Shan's eyes and solemnly replied, "Okay, Dad, I understand, I promise!"

After the father and daughter put the fallen shelves and scattered items in the warehouse back in order, they went together to the Heaven Sacrifice Ceremony site.

Ning Shan originally didn't want his daughter to go over there to kneel under the sun, but couldn't refuse her wish to see it, so he agreed.

By now the Heaven Sacrifice Ceremony was nearing its end.

Ning Shan noticed that the group of eunuchs who had been coaxed over by Lord Wang were still standing honestly in a corner under the blazing sun.

He quietly slipped around from behind.

The lead eunuch, upon seeing him, almost burst into tears, "Esteemed sir, where is the other official who was just with you? He clearly said the Heaven Sacrifice Ceremony lacked helpers, ordered us to wait for arrangements, but now it's almost finished and no one has come for us…"

"It was said we needed people, but now we don't, so no one came for you. Sorry for the wasted trip; please don't take it to heart," Ning Shan said, pulling a handful of broken gold coins from his sleeve, "Consider these a reward for you."

"Oh, how could I accept?" the lead eunuch beamed, taking the broken gold.

The other eunuchs instantly felt that the suffering of standing there so long was now fully worth it.

Ning Shan smiled, "No need to thank me, take care, no escort."

After seeing off the eunuchs who guarded the warehouse, Ning Shan returned to the rear of the officials' line.

"The Heaven Sacrifice is complete!" the priest shouted, "All officials, please proceed into the main hall to audience His Majesty!"

Hundreds of officials of various ranks from the Royal City rose in turn, filed up the steps, and entered the palace's main hall one after another.

The main hall could hold so many, yet it was never as spacious as the outside; a few hundred people inside made it a bit cramped.

The foremost dozens were core ministers of the court; they couldn't be squeezed.

Thus, the closer officials got to the main hall's front gate, the less space there was to stand.

So Ning Shan and his daughter Ning Jinli were already with their heels pressed against the threshold.

"Minister, I bow to His Majesty!" Si Tu Wei, standing at the front, shouted loudly.

All officials echoed, "Your humble servant bows to His Majesty!"

Then Si Tu Wei began to lead the kneeling and bowing, completely ignoring whether those behind had room to kneel.

"All of you, you may forgo the bowing ceremony," Xiao Qidi's voice rang in the hall, "The hall is crowded; the bowing ritual is unnecessary."

"Thank you, His Majesty!" the crowd replied in unison.

"Your boyfriend is really handsome," Ning Shan whispered teasingly.

Ning Jinli's ears warmed, and she quietly looked toward the throne.

Today Xiao Qidi wore an opulent dark‑colored imperial robe, which especially suited his bearing. Tall and upright, he sat steadily on the throne, his deep black eyes calmly gazing down, truly exuding a sovereign aura.

In that instant, Xiao Qidi met Ning Jinli's gaze.

His pupils jerked, then after a brief shock, excitement welled up in the depths of his eyes.

But because the occasion was special, and although on the surface it was a coronation, in fact he had already prepared to overthrow Si Tu Wei today, allowing no mistake; he could only suppress his inner joy, and even to keep from laughing, he secretly pinched his thigh hard.

Others didn't see Xiao Qidi's fleeting reaction, but Ning Jinli saw it.

Her heart instantly felt sweet, and no matter how tightly she pressed her lips, she couldn't keep the corners of her mouth from turning up.