Chapter 121 : Chapter 121

Chapter 121: Bet on Whether I Can Wipe Out Prince Qing’s Remnants Before Anyone Stops Me!

“As long as Lord Cheng is willing, I certainly will not disappoint you.”

Xu Quan revealed a satisfied smile.

Cheng Yu had yielded to him!

So the Jinyiwei killing star whose vicious name had spread all the way to the Great Qian Capital was nothing more than this!

All he had needed to do was lay out the stakes clearly. No matter how ferocious Cheng Yu was, his fangs would still be restrained by all the entanglements around him.

Xu Quan smiled calmly and confidently. “In that case, I still need to make a few arrangements, so I shall take my leave first!”

Cheng Yu returned the smile from the bottom of his heart and handed over a box of tea.

“I will not see you out, Inspector Xu. Take this tea with you as well!”

Since he liked drinking it, he might as well drink a little more.

Once he learned what had happened to the tea’s original owner, it would not go down so easily.

“Good! Then I shall gladly accept it.”

Xu Quan’s smile deepened. At their very first meeting, he had already made Cheng Yu lower himself and offer a gift. This trip to Jiannan Circuit was truly going smoothly.

From now on, all he had to do was advance steadily and methodically.

As long as he struck down Cheng Yu’s arrogance properly, it would count as a great merit.

Was not a broad and boundless avenue of official advancement already spread before his eyes?

Cheng Yu watched Xu Quan swagger away with his hands clasped behind his back. No matter how hard he tried, he simply could not suppress the smile in his eyes.

Only after a long while did he regain his calm.

“Someone.”

“Your subordinate is here! Please give your orders, Thousand-Household Commander!”

A well-hidden Jinyiwei emerged from the shadows of the main hall.

Cheng Yu glanced at the Jinyiwei, whose lips were twitching slightly.

A true professional should have been able to keep his composure.

He still needed more training.

“Keep a close watch on that Xu fellow. If he tries to run, break his legs immediately and tie him up before bringing him back.”

“Yes!”

The Jinyiwei subordinate had only just left when a hearty old laugh came from not far away.

“Hahaha!”

Ma Minnong walked over with two small porcelain bottles in his hands, both giving off a medicinal fragrance.

“Young Friend Cheng, the ingredients used in this wound medicine of yours are all ordinary herbs that can be found anywhere, yet when combined, their effect rivals that of spirit medicines and treasured miraculous plants!”

“It seems simple, but its efficacy is extraordinary. As for the skill behind the prescription and compounding, I am far inferior! Even after exhausting myself, I only managed to reproduce a single batch.”

“The one who made this medicine is truly a great master of the medical Dao. Young Friend Cheng, could you introduce me to him?”

Cheng Yu’s eyes widened at once.

Back when the matter at the Circuit Yamen had ended, Ma Minnong had seen Prince Qing’s Remnants reemerge and knew that great chaos was about to engulf Jiannan Circuit.

No matter what anyone said, he had insisted on returning to Divine Physician Mountain first.

Cheng Yu had not wanted to let go of this Divine Physician Ma, whose professional skill was extraordinarily high and whose character was excellent.

So he had chosen to bring out the healing medicine produced by the system.

That medicine, which did not belong to this world, had indeed attracted Divine Physician Ma, who was utterly devoted to the medical Dao.

After exclaiming that it was marvelous, he had immediately begun studying it on the spot without eating or drinking.

Cheng Yu had planned to handle the matters before him first, then think of a way to recruit Divine Physician Ma.

But he had never expected that in such a short time, Ma Minnong would already have reproduced the wound medicine produced by the system!

From what Cheng Yu knew, that medicine’s effect did not come merely from the medicinal power of the ingredients themselves. It also contained a trace of Dao principle capable of restoring vitality. That was what made its effect so extraordinary.

It was precisely because of that medicine that he had repeatedly pulled the Jinyiwei under his command back from the brink of death.

And yet Ma Minnong had managed to reproduce it with his own hands.

Did that not prove that his medical skill had already reached a level approaching the Dao?

Attaining the Dao!

Those two words flashed through Cheng Yu’s mind. As the inheritor of the Demon-Slaying Dao Canon, he naturally knew how terrifying that was.

His desire to recruit Ma Minnong immediately grew even stronger.

Cheng Yu smiled and cupped his fists toward Ma Minnong. “As expected of Divine Physician Ma, whose medical skill is renowned throughout the land! Unfortunately, I obtained this medicine through a fortuitous encounter, so I cannot introduce you to the expert behind it.”

Ma Minnong had long expected such an answer, and he let out a sigh.

True kindred spirits were few beneath heaven.

That was true in the medical Dao, and it was true in the way one dealt with the world as well.

“It doesn't matter. Being able to see this medicine has already satisfied me.”

Cheng Yu continued, “If Divine Physician Ma is willing to join the great cause of my Jinyiwei and save the Great Qian people from fire and flood, then you will surely still have a chance to meet that master of the medical Dao.”

Hearing the grand prospect Cheng Yu painted for him, Ma Minnong smiled and shook his head. He handed over the two bottles of medicine in his hands.

“These old bones of mine can no longer endure much turmoil. It is enough for me just to treat a few children. You let me see this medicine, young friend, which was already a medical opportunity for me. If you need anything from me in the future, I will spare no effort.”

He politely refused Cheng Yu.

Although he found this young Jinyiwei Thousand-Household Commander greatly to his liking, joining the court was still out of the question.

He had already weathered more than enough storms in the greater part of his life.

Now, all he wanted was to retire peacefully.

Cheng Yu accepted the medicine and sighed.

This was already the best medicine he currently had, and even so, it still was not enough to keep Ma Minnong.

He almost wanted to raid a household and kill someone right now just to force the system to hand over a miraculous life-restoring medicine.

Ma Minnong could see Cheng Yu’s disappointment.

He shook his head and smiled.

“Prince Qing’s descendants have come into Jiannan Circuit with fierce momentum. Do you have a plan, Young Friend Cheng?”

Behind every rebellion, it was always the common people of the world who suffered the deepest and heaviest.

He had to ask what Cheng Yu’s stance was, and what stance the Great Qian court truly held.

At that, Cheng Yu revealed a faintly helpless smile.

“Divine Physician Ma, when you came in, did you happen to see a man wearing official robes?”

“I did. He looked quite pleased with himself.”

Ma Minnong was rather puzzled. Why bring that up?

Cheng Yu silently raised his head and looked toward the northwest. “He is an Imperial Envoy sent from the capital to inspect and investigate the matter of Prince Qing’s Remnants.”

“To inspect the matter of Prince Qing’s Remnants?”

Ma Minnong frowned.

A fellow whose Martial Realm was no higher than the Fourth Rank could handle a rebellion?

Cheng Yu shook his head helplessly, his tone carrying sorrow.

“They claim he is here to inspect the case, but in truth, he is here to watch me. Because of what happened at Sword-Forging Manor last time, I earned the resentment and displeasure of many great figures in court.”

“To watch you? After what happened at Sword-Forging Manor, are there still people dissatisfied with you?”

Ma Minnong was even more bewildered.

Cheng Yu had sought justice for a million laborers and saved tens of thousands of families.

He had greatly admired Cheng Yu’s actions, and he had even assumed that the Great Qian court strongly supported him. He had not expected there to be a hidden truth.

Cheng Yu raised his head and looked at the sky.

“Great Qian has been weak for too long. It has become so weak that some people do not even dare to offend the Jianghu in the slightest. I killed too many guilty men, and that made them deeply dissatisfied.”

“If I had not killed them, those people would only have sat down and negotiated with Sword-Forging Manor.”

“They would have divided the gains among themselves. Then who would seek justice for the innocent commoners who died? Who would save those trapped in the depths of misery?”

Cheng Yu’s expression was calm, but his words carried bleak desolation.

“The Jianghu resents me and hates me. How are the civil and military officials filling the court in the Great Qian Capital any different?”

Ma Minnong’s heart shook violently.

On the face of this young Jinyiwei, he saw loneliness.

He had never expected that Young Friend Cheng, so young and so accomplished, holding high office and saving the people from suffering, was carrying such hardships on his back.

“Young Friend…”

“Divine Physician Ma!”

Cheng Yu looked at Ma Minnong with absolute sincerity.

“Prince Qing’s Remnants have risen in rebellion many times and committed monstrous blood sins. All under heaven condemns them, yet when have they ever not been allowed to survive? Never once has anyone rooted them out completely.”

“I have already seen through it! The Great Qian court needs a chance to stand shoulder to shoulder with the Jianghu against a common foe, and the Jianghu needs a target upon which to play the hero and eradicate evil.”

“They simply do not care about rebels who can never truly amount to anything, nor do they care about the innocent commoners butchered in the slaughter.”

It was as if thunder had struck Ma Minnong’s heart.

At that moment, his doubts were finally answered.

“Then you, Young Friend?”

Cheng Yu looked at the Xiuchun Saber in his hand, and a resolute expression appeared on his face.

“Let me make a wager with you, Divine Physician Ma. Let us see whether I can wipe out Prince Qing’s Remnants root and branch before anyone can stop me!”