[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-dragon-of-a-thousand-faces":3,"chapter-the-dragon-of-a-thousand-faces-the-dragon-of-a-thousand-faces-chapter-289":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The Dragon of a Thousand Faces",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2269935,4431,"Chapter 289: Rise","the-dragon-of-a-thousand-faces-chapter-289",289,"\u003Cp>Has peace returned to daily life? Probably not anytime soon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Can’t these spies be more professional?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li En’s neighborhood in Nanmen is hardly lacking in services—it’s more accurate to say it has almost none.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The few vendors around his residence, Li En knew them all, often asking them to fetch goods (in times of scarcity, ordering and picking up was common). Now, upon opening the door, the familiar vendors were gone, replaced by a crowd of strangers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looking out, there were two dessert stalls, one grilled meat shop, three acrobatic boys glaring at each other, and two beggars already locked in a brawl.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the past, walking down the road in front of his door, you’d see barely a handful of stalls. Now, there were at least thirty scattered ones, and the acrobats and beggars were already preparing to fight with their fists for the prime spot to loiter outside Li En’s door.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Who should be more professional? Every spy has a different faction behind them—maybe even several.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shaliman glanced once, confirmed most were amateurs, then pulled the curtain shut and ignored them entirely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Having experienced intelligence work herself, she instantly recognized these spies as amateurs and rookies. For Li En, this was actually a good thing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It meant that although many had begun paying attention to Li En, prior intelligence gathering had been poor—they knew nothing of his true strength.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Also, “observation” was not a high priority; the likelihood of immediate armed conflict was low.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Bear with it—it’s normal. Your intel is probably selling like wildfire in the circles.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For a “new noble,” all factions naturally took great interest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Especially this new force, which had forcibly carved out an entire district from Huicheng—yet the Lord Mayor’s faction had openly declared it was fine, even welcomed more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Has the appointment for the Harbor District’s Public Security Chief been issued?” Shaliman asked suddenly—this matter was crucial.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The previous head of Harbor District’s security had been held accountable for “poor disaster response,” dismissed and placed under house arrest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The paperwork has arrived. I plan to appoint Larry’s cousin.” Larry belongs to the Labor family, a core member of the Free Faction, the enemy of Wang Quan’s faction—this, in a sense, also serves as a check.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Can you trust him?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“He’s just a figurehead; Larry does the real work. Larry is too young and holds too low a title—it would draw criticism. She’ll bring a group of her church’s Holy Knights with her. With no obstacles this time, she’ll build the Law Knight Order.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Simple words carried far too much information.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At first glance, Li En was merely an exploratory baron, granted a small town built on a subterranean ruin—seen by many as exile. But then, the furious Princess Dainya held the Harbor District officials accountable, stripping one-third of them of their posts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was understandable: the Harbor District had seen not only a cultist uprising but also the highest number of casualties and reports, especially the losses in the slave market—likely reaching “astronomical” figures. Reports demanding follow-up and investigation piled up on Dainya’s desk.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dainya, acting on impulse, used “major losses in the Harbor District, especially the catastrophic collapse of the slave market,” as grounds to hold the region’s top administrators accountable, stripping away the positions of those cowardly security officers who had hidden during the crisis.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What about the administrative post? Do you have suitable candidates?” The district’s chief administrator’s position was also vacant, and no replacement had been chosen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Shaliman, do you have anyone?” Li En knew few nobles—he could only turn to the Sudar family for help.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes. Will you dare to use them?” The great families had countless distant relatives, branches, and offshoots. Those who received some education often became managers of departments or major shops, extending the family’s influence like main tentacles.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Of course I’ll use them. Give me the list in two days—I’ll run it past Dainya, and we’ll finalize it.” Li En had no reason to doubt Shaliman.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Immediately, Shaliman smiled brightly upon receiving his affirmative answer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Power vacuums naturally demand filling. This deliberate clearing of the Harbor District’s upper echelon was obvious to many—it was making room for the “new nobles.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once authority over security and administration was handed to the new nobles, Li En wasn’t merely granted that underground town—he was granted every inch of territory from that town to the entire Harbor District. The whole Harbor District had been handed to Li En by Dainya!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Princess Dainya’s grace is something we can never repay—you’re repaying her like this?” Li En declared openly to Shaliman, Dainya’s trusted confidante.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing this, Shaliman frowned, hesitating slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why do I get the feeling your words mean, ‘since we can’t repay it, we might as well not bother’?” Shaliman raised her serpent hair, watching Li En warily.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That’s just an illusion. I swear—I love sweet little Dainya most of all… second only to my love for Miss Shaliman.”\u003C\u002Fp>",821,"2026-06-19T21:45:42.084Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","67279629edf3e1dfc5e7dba1800b8deefd7eeb9a2663a6f7912390f24d5e275b","the-dragon-of-a-thousand-faces-chapter-290","the-dragon-of-a-thousand-faces-chapter-288",362,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-dragon-of-a-thousand-faces-cover.jpg"]