Chapter 649: Trash

Evening sun was setting, but visibility remained; the Ink Ford City Guard immediately spotted the huge black shadow drifting in. Bows were raised, and before they could finish aiming at it, it had already passed the city gate...

Seeing the black shadow swiftly drift into the city, they immediately gave chase.

The Heaven-Covering Lord that had flown past suddenly braked and retreated back. The garrisoned city guard were on high alert, as if facing a great enemy; it didn't linger, and upon returning it directly tossed the thirty-plus people that Ling Yin had bound together with cotton cloth at the city gate.

The Heaven-Covering Lord, having shed those burdens, instantly felt lighthearted; it happily flapped its wings and flew into the city to complete the next task. The King had it locate the official residence on the full terrain map; after recalling a bit, it quickly found it. Ink Ford is a poor place, with only a few notable buildings in the city. It circled above the county office once, confirmed it was correct, then landed. The minor clerk at the gate saw only a large bird descending from the sky, found it strange, and then saw the bird pull something from its leg; in an instant, that thing smashed into his arms.

The minor clerk gasped and caught it; upon closer inspection, it turned out to be an exquisite jade pendant with a length of paper still wrapped around its cord?

The jade pendant's color was unusual—not the white popular in the Great Jin, but a rich shade of purple. It didn't matter if you didn't look closely; once you saw the carved pattern, he almost dropped the jade in his hand!

"Sir! Sir~!" his voice went hoarse from shouting. "Good heavens! It's a purple dragon, its woven tassel cords are yellow, black, and green—a multi‑color scheme extremely rare in the Great Jin; its aesthetic can be said to be remarkably ahead of its time.

They, from Ink Ford, had long belonged to the Northern Border; although they had never seen it, even when the emperor was still the King of the Northern Border he had a giant bird as a pet that followed him wherever he went, and he had heard of this.

The Ink Ford County Magistrate, upon opening the scroll, saw the first five characters 'To the Ink Ford County Magistrate', hurriedly turned to the back, and found a huge imperial seal!

"Hurry, hurry, hurry! Prepare the carriage and go to the city gate!"

They didn't bother to mention what they thought of the King's unfathomable methods; anyway, the Marquis of Dingbei, upon crashing head‑on into the King, truly looked as if he had seen a ghost.

He felt as if something in his head had crackled and exploded.

He had come out to chase bandits, but ended up colliding head‑on with the emperor returning from the south.

When he left the city, the emperor was still in the Purple Forbidden Palace; now the emperor is running ahead of him.

The Marquis of Dingbei muttered inwardly, 'Oh no,' tumbled off his horse, and knelt with his head bowed to apologize. The King ignored him and instead looked at the cavalry kneeling behind him.

"Which unit are you from? Whose troops are you?"

The cavalry's leader was a commandant; aside from the Marquis of Dingbei, he was the highest‑ranking. He stepped forward with a red face to plead guilty: "Your Majesty, we are the Sword and Shield Battalion of the Western Great Camp, under General Zhang Tu. Commandant Sun Lin, in his pursuit of the bandits, has been unsuccessful; I beg Your Majesty to impose punishment."

"Oh, you of the Western Great Camp—I suppose you can't defy the Marquis of Dingbei. Since it's the New Year, I'll spare you this once; everyone, forfeit one month's pay and get up."

Sun Lin breathed a sigh of relief and quickly led the cavalry battalion in expressing gratitude.

Having said that, the King, the Marquis of Dingbei—who had never suffered such insolence—was both angry and embarrassed, about to explain a few words, when he heard the King again lightly say to the kneeling Sun Lin: "You, meanwhile, send this good‑for‑nothing who violates orders and delays military affairs to the You Prefecture Great Prison, to ease the resentment in My heart."

Having said that, he patted Little Gold on the back; Little Gold snorted from its nostrils, and, bearing the same dignified demeanor as the King, they walked off...

The Marquis of Dingbei's face darkened, Sun Lin was momentarily at a loss, and asked, "What is this \"waste\"?"

He glanced at the kneeling Marquis of Dingbei, then quickly looked up to Ling Yin for confirmation. Seeing his pitiful expression, Ling Yin nodded as he passed.

Sun Lin:...

This time the Marquis of Dingbei was no longer embarrassed; he was so angry he wanted to burst out cursing, even dragging the ancestors of Bai Li Jing three generations into it. But the situation was stronger than the man—everyone around him was from the Bai Li Jing direct line, none shared his view, so shifting blame was useless; he could only shout his innocence. Sun Lin hastily felt around his person, produced an empty dry‑rations bag, and stuffed it into his mouth, after which the world fell quiet.

The King was delighted, his great vengeance fulfilled, and he handily disposed of the Marquis of Dingbei as well.

"If we calculate, returning to You Prefecture leaves us plenty of time—we can make it to the heavenly sacrifice on the first day of the year, and we can schedule the New Year's Eve palace banquet for that same evening~"

He wasn't in a hurry either; passing through Ink Ford, he deliberately went to the city wall to look. Sure enough, the county magistrate had those people hung in a row on the wall, and the notice he demanded was posted. Outside, quite a few people were gathered to watch.

The King was very pleased, feeling that this also served as a deterrent to public order.

Having had his fill, he pulled out a hardcover notebook and a pencil, and the soul‑artist began a quick sketch. Meanwhile, he lectured Ling Yin: "I'll roughly sketch this scene, then have Xie Tu polish the colors, publish it in the newspaper, and sell it down south~"

Ling Yin glanced at his abstract sketch, wanted to speak but held back. "Little Lord Xie, this job isn't easy—what's the difference between this and pure imagination?"

After passing Ink Ford, the King focused on the journey; with the two lively companions he wasn't bored, and traveling with Ling Yin, who knew his background, there was no need to avoid using the storehouse. They ate and drank well all the way; the wind‑blown, dew‑soaked lodging that Zhao Bao and Xie Yuan had imagined never materialized, and his cheeks looked plumper than they had been in Perpetual Peace~

On New Year's Day, the King returned to You Prefecture from the South City Gate; from afar he saw the Taotie Bag extending from the city wall. That tower is his private granary, where the earnings from shipping and the Ministry of Commerce are stored. Having just returned to You Prefecture after half a year away, he went straight into the city and headed for the Taotie Bag.

Just as a miser loves counting money, the King also loved inspecting his storehouse. Going around by the back door to have a look, who would have thought that the tower's steward, after greeting him, would exclaim delightedly: "Your Majesty has finally returned from the Imperial Academy!!"

The King's happy little steps paused—Imperial Academy?

He inquired without changing expression, and after two sentences the steward was coaxed into speaking. It turned out that, ever since he left You Prefecture, Xie Yuan had claimed he had prematurely sealed his brush, missing the Imperial Academy so much that he went there to devote himself to study.

The King struggled to keep his composure—who would ever miss the Imperial Academy?!

"... Let's go to the academy for a trip, let Zhao Bao come fetch me." We must cooperate with Mr. Xia. When the king said these words, his expression was as heavy as when making offerings at Ningde's tomb.