Chapter 746: The Human Imperial Court Has No Surplus Grain Either

In the Imperial City, the Immortal Department.

As an office directly under the Human Emperor's jurisdiction, the Eight Bureaus bear the responsibility of controlling clouds and rain across the realm; the Demon-Slaying Bureau, in particular, guards the Four Continents, wielding the power of life and death, with countless powerful experts under its command, truly holding sway over the court.

Yet such an existence is tucked away in an inconspicuous corner of this vast city.

It is hard to imagine that in the deeper, darker recesses of the office, sitting in a small study, is the slender middle-aged man who heads the Immortal Department, Lin Shuyi.

"..."

At the other's gesture, Lady Lady Feng Xi sat down before the table, skipped small talk, and directly produced the folded memorial prepared long ago, handing it over.

"Are you the only one who came? Where are the others?"

Lin Shuyi lifted his gaze slightly, sighed softly, reached out to take the memorial, and casually opened it.

The secret letter sent out back then was not wasted effort after all.

These old generals who have fought for the Divine Dynasty for many years, fulfilling their duties, should not die outside so valuelessly just because of someone's whim.

If we can save one, let's save one.

"General Yang and General Yan are still stationed in Da Nanzhou and did not come together," Lady Lady Feng Xi replied softly.

"..."

Hearing this, Lin Shuyi fell silent for a moment, slowly furrowed his brows, said no more, and instead turned his gaze to the memorial in his hand.

When those neat small characters came into view, his eyelids twitched slightly a few times.

Rather than a report on the situation in Da Nanzhou, this letter was more like a summary of achievements belonging to a single person; almost every two lines, that somewhat unfamiliar name would jump out once.

Elder Yu Chi, a great demon, wreaked havoc across three prefectures.

Immortals, in collecting Imperial Qi, dispatched disciples carrying magical treasures to disturb the common people.

Cultivation sects withdrew entirely from Shenzhou, taking away the talismans left by the True Gods, allowing the Demon-Locking Tower to collapse.

The Puti Sect ambushed and killed the titled generals of Da Nanzhou.

Eight fourth-rank demons led their demon hordes to invade Songfeng Prefecture.

Led by the Southern Emperor, great demons, accompanied by several third-rank Demon Venerables, joined forces to break through Da Nanzhou.

Incident after incident, the later ones became increasingly shocking to the heart.

But the one thing that never changed was that after each of these events, the same phrase was appended.

【24】 Beheaded by General Nanyang!

He was slain by the General of Nanyang!

Just from the words between the lines, one could see that chilling, killing aura.

Inside the study, only the sound of turning pages remained; the instant that sound ceased, the room fell into a silence of Tianyan Siji.

"..."

Lin Shuyi carefully finished reading the entire memorial and arrived at an answer that made his breath constrict.

Da Nanzhou had actually held!

Lady Lady Feng Xi had not returned after withdrawing; he had simply come to report.

And the reason for all this lay with the person called General Nanyang.

Yes, it was precisely that Nanyang, who had previously displeased him, prompting him to send a message ordering these Southern-Stationing Generals to abandon Nanyang.

"Is this truly so?"

Lin Shuyi took a deep breath and carefully closed the memorial.

Even with his status, he now felt his face burning hot; he, who commanded the Immortal Department, had made such a serious judgment error.

"Not a single word is false."

Lady Lady Feng Xi slowly rose to his feet: "Please, my lord Lin, inform Your Majesty as soon as possible and summon General Nanyang for an audience."

"Naturally."

Hearing this answer, Lin Shuyi pressed his lips together, a light of excitement welling in his eyes; in these times of widespread suffering, receiving such great good news was truly cause for unexpected joy.

Having said that, he casually intended to put the memorial away: "I will present this to Your Majesty as soon as possible."

Just then, however, Lady Lady Feng Xi reached out and pressed down on the memorial, stating calmly: "This need not trouble my lord Lin; Lady Lady Feng Xi still wishes to present it to Your Majesty personally."

"..."

Lin Shuyi was stunned for a moment; the meaning behind the other's action was too obvious—it was clearly a lack of trust in him.

His lips twitched twice, a trace of imperceptible desolation flashed in his eyes, and he said faintly: "May I ask why?"

Lady Lady Feng Xi looked at the slender middle-aged man before him, pondered for a moment, and said: "If the imperial court has no surplus strength to provide the aid Da Nanzhou needs, it may withhold it; we can understand that. But where did the Immortal Department send the rewards due to General Nanyang?"

"Your Majesty has not decreed any rewards," Lin Shuyi shook his head.

Lady Lady Feng Xi had served as a Southern-Stationing General for many years; how could he be fooled by such words? He couldn't help but sneer: "Does my lord Lin mean that every single reward in the past was personally drafted by Your Majesty?"

If so, what is the use of you, the head of the Immortal Department?

"Huff."

Facing this sharp questioning, Lin Shuyi exhaled and closed his eyes.

When he opened them again, he looked back with equal calm: "The Imperial Qi the imperial court can mobilize is not abundant; the same amount of Imperial Qi, if placed elsewhere, could save countless common people."

"You, without notification, privately killed Bodhisattvas and Immortal Venerables of the Puti Sect and the Sanxian Sect, escalating the situation and making people see no hope for Da Nanzhou."

"I cannot let the other common people bear the cost of your willfulness."

"Of course, that Da Nanzhou can be held now was something I did not expect."

"But even if we started over, I would not allocate this Imperial Qi to Da Nanzhou."

"..."

Lady Lady Feng Xi stared tightly at the stubborn face before him, yet suddenly the figure standing above the Southern Emperor's head flashed through his mind; the other's mouth was full of blood, nearly exhausted.

That was not a battle of certain victory.

Any single mistake could have killed Nanyang; under such circumstances, even a slight increase in foundation was of immense importance to him.

When that young man who had recently joined Zhan Yao Si was fighting desperately for the Divine Dynasty.

Yet this Lin my lord, stationed within the imperial palace, casually chose to abandon it.

For some reason, hearing those righteous words now, Lady Lady Feng Xi felt only a chill in her heart.

To privately escalate the matter... unless absolutely unavoidable, who would be so foolish as to offend Sanxian Sect and Puti Sect!

They sit high above as Bodhisattvas subduing dragons and taming tigers, waiting to feast on your Divine Dynasty's imperial qi—how comfortable they are.

"Hah."

She shook her head, losing interest in further argument, yanked the memorial away forcefully, and turned to leave the study.

Lin Shuya stared silently at the retreating back of the other, then looked at his own empty palm; after a long while, he gave a helpless smile and clenched his fingers tightly.

Deep night, outside the deepest courtyard of the imperial palace.

Lady Lady Feng Xi waited with Shen Yi in place; she turned around, somewhat embarrassed: "It shouldn't have been necessary to wait until this hour to summon you—probably Your Majesty just woke from his drunkenness."

Speaking of which, even she felt a touch of annoyance.

Truly, thanks to cultivators' long lifespans, nearly all had joined Zhan Yao Si long ago, when the Emperor was still a revitalizing sovereign, and everyone had personally witnessed how diligent he was in those days.

Without this reputation to uphold him, the current state of that old drunkard would have driven most Zhan Yao Si elites away long ago.

"It's fine."

Shen Yi shook his head; though he was eager to escape, he didn't mind waiting a day or two.

Besides, though the Divine Dynasty's imperial palace couldn't compare to the Sumeru Mountains of true Buddhas, it was still among the safest places on earth.

"Your Excellencies, this way, please."

Soon, a maid emerged holding a lantern, guiding the two toward the courtyard's wine pool.

Shen Yi walked in silence; compared to his last visit, now that he harbored many suspicions, his perception of the surroundings had changed.

When the rich scent of wine reached his nose, Shen Yi halted slowly and finally saw again the silhouette leaning against the edge of the wine pool.

Laid open beside him was the memorial Lady Lady Feng Xi had just sent in—clearly, the man had already read it.

No court ministers were present; even Lin Shuya, who had been here last time, was absent. Aside from the retreating maids, only three remained beside the wine pool.

There was no sign of respect due to a great hero of the Divine Dynasty.

"You may leave. I wish to speak alone with this General of Nanyang."

The man in the wine pool waved his hand, dismissing Lady Lady Feng Xi as well.

"..."

Though Shen Yi didn't care much for such formalities, this scene was far too hasty—nothing like what he had imagined.

Lady Lady Feng Xi cast him a glance—reassuring, yet warning him not to speak rashly—before turning and leaving the wine pool pavilion.

"Come, sit."

The Emperor gently patted a nearby pebble.

For anyone else, this would have demanded polite refusal—how bizarre a meeting between sovereign and minister... even if granting a seat, one should at least bring a chair.

Yet Shen Yi, though he had lived under a human imperial court, had never truly engaged with it, let alone learned its rituals.

Since the man spoke, he paused a moment, then walked straight over and sat cross-legged beside the Emperor.

"I've read the memorial."

The Emperor spoke softly at last, turning his head; his flushed face looked aged, offering no striking features—just an ordinary old man.

His expression was complex, with little joy, then he threw out an odd question: "Do you think... if they've never experienced slaughter themselves, will they still believe those great sect cultivators?"

Just those words sent a chilling frost into Shen Yi's eyes.

One of his purposes in entering the imperial palace was to confirm his suspicions—but he never expected the answer to come so fast, so abruptly.

Merely this one sentence proved the Emperor had long foreseen the Divine Dynasty's current decay—and possibly even acted to accelerate it.

"We've met twice now. Tonight's just a casual chat, a joke—don't take it to heart."

The man waved his hand and burst into laughter.

Shen Yi's gaze instantly fixed on the gap in the Emperor's front teeth: "..."

The Emperor skillfully sidestepped the previous topic, picked up the memorial, and tapped it idly: "Your achievements have me truly baffled—what should I reward you with?"

"I don't know."

Since Lady Lady Feng Xi left, the Emperor had dropped "I, the Emperor"—conveniently, Shen Yi disliked formalities too, and given the earlier question, his tone had grown blunt.

"Technically, you should be promoted and ennobled, but our Guardian Generals aren't cultivators—they rely solely on imperial qi to reach second-rank cultivation."

The man scratched his head: "They're mortals, with fixed lifespans—that's why I trust them with imperial qi. But you're different. Given your trajectory, immortality is inevitable. Besides, imperial qi is limited. Grant it to you, and someone else must give up their position. Tsk."

Here he slapped his forehead: "How about this—I appoint you as First-Rank Divine Dynasty Grand General... without imperial qi. What do you say?"

"..."

Shen Yi had figured it out: this so-called Emperor had no intention of serious talk—he still acted like a jester.

He fell silent a moment, then stood up.

"Hey!"

Seeing this, the Emperor finally dropped his grin, clicked his tongue, called out to Shen Yi, and his cloudy eyes gradually cleared.

He lifted the memorial again, sighed: "Look at you, always so impatient... forget that. What shall we talk about? Your strange resume?"

The Emperor traced his index finger across the pages: "It doesn't mention this, but look here—Puti Sect ambushed General Wushan. The memorial only names one fourth-rank cultivator and one fourth-rank wolf demon. That's not how those monks operate. If this fourth-rank wolf demon serves Puti Sect, where's the Bodhisattva he pledged to?"

"You just brought him back alive?"

"Look here—protecting the sutras, you slew sixteen fourth-rank prodigies of the great sects. Did those Bodhisattvas and Immortal Lords just watch you kill them? You clearly didn't act under the Divine Dynasty's authority."

"Oh yes, yes—here too."

The Emperor turned to another trivial matter: "Bai Yun Cave was granted horses by the Celestial Court, and a Celestial Official arrived. You discovered Bai Yun Cave had been murdering people and wiped them out. Where was the Celestial Official? Did he just watch you kill them and leave?"

"It's obvious, isn't it? You're more than just my Divine Dynasty's General Who Pacifies the South."

The Human Emperor set down his memorial, spreading his hands casually: "Under these circumstances, would I dare to reward you?"

"..."

Shen Yi raised an eyebrow and sat back down.

A man with such a clear head truly lived up to the title of a sovereign who could restore the dynasty's prosperity.

Then why would the other party disregard heaven, earth, and all living beings, even personally pushing them into the fire pit?

Seeing Shen Yi's reaction, the Human Emperor suddenly laughed: "Of course I dare, because no matter who you are, you saved Da Nanzhou. As long as your heart is with the people, I don't care what methods you used."

Saying this, his tone shifted, his face full of helplessness: "The problem is I can't afford to reward you. I have imperial qi, but I can't give it to you."

The Human Emperor pointed at the massive stone pillar in the pool: "These things are of great use to me. How about this — you fish out the wine yourself, drink as much as you can."

Shen Yi followed the direction of the other's finger, and in an instant, the wine pool that had been calm moments before suddenly changed its appearance.

It was as if he had pressed his eyes right up against the Blazing Sun — a golden light so dense it nearly seared his pupils filled his entire field of vision. In just a single instant, Shen Yi's mind was shaken, and along with it, his Dao Fruit and Fruit Position both trembled as if about to shatter.

Fortunately, it lasted only an instant; everything from before faded away as swiftly as a moon reflected in water.

Shen Yi sat rigidly by the pool, not knowing how long it took before he came back to himself.

That was imperial qi! A vast quantity of imperial qi beyond his own comprehension.

He suddenly turned to look at the Human Emperor.

He saw the other party open his mouth wide, revealing a missing front tooth as he laughed with an "heh-heh," just like a child showing off his most precious toy to a companion.

But within those eyes, there was deep meaning.

He had great use for these things!

Therefore, not a single bit could be shared out.

"After all that talk, you're just trying to welch on the debt." Shen Yi adjusted his mood and rolled his eyes.

Even he himself hadn't noticed that the two of them were clearly meeting for only the second time, and the other party was still the common sovereign of the mortal realm — yet under this man's quiet and subtle guidance, he no longer felt the slightest distance.

"Let's negotiate, use something else to make up for it." The man rubbed his palms together and sighed: "Even the Human Emperor's household has no surplus grain."

(End of chapter)