The Human Emperor c1-2382

by Huangfu Qi (皇甫奇)

  Wang Chong also reacted swiftly in response to Li Bing's words. Since the other party brought in the Duke of Liu, Wang Chong decisively utilized his grandfather's name. Wang Chong didn't believe that Li Bing would be so arrogant as to snub even the esteemed Duke Jiu.

  "Bullshit! Do you know how many of our comrades have this lad killed? Don't even dream of taking him away with just those few words of yours!" a guard from the Duke of Liu Residence bellowed abruptly.

  "Hmm?"

  Wang Chong's eyes narrowed, and his gaze turned cold. Everything had already changed. He was no longer that profligate scion from before.

  Outside of the clan, his presence represented the esteemed Wang Clan.

  This was a conversation between the young master of a respected clan of ministers and generals, and the young master of a Great Tang duke's offspring. How could a subordinate be allowed to butt in on such an important conversation?

  Even so, Wang Chong couldn't be bothered to argue with the subordinate. After all, this matter only reflected the lack of discipline among the subordinates of the Duke of Liu, and only the Duke of Liu would be embarrassed. He simply turned his gaze back to Li Bing.

  "Back down! This isn't the place for you to speak!"

  As expected, under Wang Chong's gaze, Li Bing couldn't maintain his calm, and he immediately reprimanded his subordinate. The latter hurriedly backed down in embarrassment.

  "Chong gongzi, are you really determined to bring that man away?" Li Bing stepped forward and uttered deeply. His eyes were locked firmly onto Wang Chong's face, unwilling to let the slightest detail escape his gaze.

  Duke Jiu asked him to invite Su Hanshan to the Wang Clan as a guest? Li Bing didn't believe a single word that Wang Chong said at all!

  But nevertheless, that didn't change the fact that Wang Chong was here for this lad.

  At this moment, Li Bing wanted to know whether there was still any ground for compromise or not. Was Wang Chong really determined to bring away this lad at all costs?

  After all, the Wang Clan was not an ordinary clan. If it was on some other matter, there would be no harm conceding to them.

  However, this matter was of exceptional importance to the Li Clan as well.

  "Li gongzi, I believe that I should have already made my words clear. I must bring this man away no matter the cost!" Wang Chong declared, his finger pointing at Su Hanshan.

  He didn't appear here in the middle of the night to allow Li Bing to drag Su Hanshan back to the Duke of Liu Residence. Regardless of what the latter's relationship with the Duke of Liu was, he was determined to bring Su Hanshan away.

  "Chong gongzi, you don't seem to have... many people with you today?" Li Bing sneered coldly as he stepped forward.

  As he spoke, his gaze swept across Old Eagle, who was standing behind Wang Chong at this moment. His meaning was clear—Wang Chong only had a Profound Martial realm expert beside him at this moment.

  On the other hand, he had two beside him.

  If Wang Chong were to further insist on this matter and a battle broke out, Wang Chong would be too busy fleeing for his life than to save Su Hanshan.

  "HAHAHA! ..." Hearing those words, Wang Chong burst into laughter fearlessly.

  "Li gongzi, surely you aren't so naive to think that I would come unprepared and alone to the Duke of Liu Residence?"

  Weng!

  Hearing those words, Li Bing lost his composure. If Wang Chong really had prepared experts in the surroundings, it would be impossible for him to bring Su Hanshan away with him today.

  At the very least, if something were to happen to Wang Chong, the Duke of Liu Residence need not dream of getting away scot-free.

  Given Wang Chong's current standing in the Wang Clan, the Wang Clan would surely exact vengeance upon the Duke of Liu Residence.

  Putting aside Duke Jiu's influence in the royal court, just the alliance between the Wang Clan and King Song meant that all powers would have to tread carefully around them.

  Not to mention, the Wang Clan and King Song were currently at the peak of their influence in the royal court. There were many officials and powers across the royal court that had decided to ally themselves with them.

  On this aspect, the third generation Duke of Liu Residence couldn't possibly begin to compare with them.

  If what Wang Chong was saying was the truth, Li Bing would really have to reconsider his options.

  "Brother Li seems to be doubting my words?"

  It seemed as if a flicker of flame was burning in the depths of Wang Chong's eyes. It wasn't too difficult to fathom what Li Bing was thinking of when he still refused to back down at this point. Thus, he raised an arm, signaling with a gesture.

  Sou!

  An arrow suddenly appeared on the ground right in front of Li Bing, the tip of the arrow nearly touching the end of his toenail. The back of the arrow was still reverberating from the immense impact of the arrow.

  Seeing this arrow, Li Bing's heart suddenly sunk, and his complexion turned awful.

  He didn't think that Wang Chong would really come prepared. That arrow already showed that much.

  But even so, Li Bing was still reluctant to let Su Hanshan go.

  The Duke of Liu Residence had spent so much time and effort to lure this lad into their trap. How could he possibly allow the other party to get away so easily?

  More importantly, wouldn't the matter back then be exposed like that?

  Li Bing couldn't allow that to occur.

  Retreating was out of the question, but advancing wasn't an option either. In an instant, Li Bing was put at a dilemma.

  Hualala!

  Just as Li Bing was conflicted, hualala, a snow-white Western Regions eagle suddenly flew across the night sky.

  This sudden commotion caught everyone's attention.

  The Western Region eagle clearly belonged to the Duke of Liu Residence. Li Bing stretched out his left arm, and the eagle landed on it

  Li Bing raised his right arm and took out a letter from the strong talons of the eagle.

  TL Notes:

  I'm not sure if Old Eagle is at Profound Martial realm at this point, but it is indicated that even if he's not at it, he's very close to it.

  Chapter 292: Saving Su Hanshan!

  Chapter 292: Saving Su Hanshan!

  After reading the letter in his hand, Li Bing heaved a long sigh of relief, and his tense expression finally loosened.

  "Chong gongzi, my father wants me to relay a question to you. If we were to allow you to take him away today, will you promise not to leak the slightest news about what the happenings today?" Holding onto the letter, Li Bing stared at Wang Chong intently.

  "The letter is indeed from Duke of Liu!" Wang Chong was taken aback. But giving it some thoughts, given the effort the Duke of Liu Residence had put into capturing Su Hanshan, there was no way Duke of Liu was not keeping tabs on the operation.

  "Don't worry, I know what I should do. You can tell the Duke of Liu that he can regard it as though nothing had happened today. There won't be the slightest rumor detrimental to the Duke of Liu Residence coming from our Wang Clan." Wang Chong replied earnestly. His goal was only to save Su Hanshan. Everything aside from that was not within his consideration.

  "Alright, you can take that lad away then. Chong gongzi, I hope that you can remember the promise you just made… Retreat!" Li Bing nodded before waving his hand, beckoning his group to leave.

  His departure was so decisive and abrupt that even Wang Chong was stunned for an instant.

  The group of twenty or so men disappeared without a trace very quickly, and even the corpses on the ground were hauled away.

  "This Duke of Liu sure is decisive! Brother Su... Brother Su? Brother Su! Old Eagle, come over and support him!"

  As soon as Wang Chong turned around, he saw Su Hanshan's tense body slackening, and his body fell to the ground.

  As soon as Li Bing left and the danger was averted, the taut string that was holding onto Su Hanshan consc
iousness finally snapped.

  Wang Chong hurriedly fed Su Hanshan the recovery pill before having Old Eagle carry him back to the Wang Clan.

  Su Hanshan's external injuries were already terrifying enough, but Wang Chong knew that his internal injuries were even more severe.

  As soon as the tension left his body, blood immediately started flowing profusely from his multiple wounds.

  Under normal circumstances, one would be doomed if one were to sustain such grievous wounds. It was only by feeding him three Resuscitation Pills from the royal court that were bought from Six-fingered Zhang for fifty thousand gold taels each that Wang Chong managed to preserve his life.

  As Su Hanshan's wounds finally stabilized, an extremely powerful aura of vitality suddenly gushed forth from the depths of Su Hanshan's body, hastening his recuperation.

  ---

  About three days later, with a low groan, Su Hanshan finally roused from his coma.

  "You're awake!"

  A smile emerged on Wang Chong's face as he looked at Su Hanshan. This fellow had finally awoken. If he really died like this, Wang Chong would be put in a spot.

  After all, he was destined to be a great general in the future, a valuable asset of the empire!

  Talents like him were extremely limited in the Central Plains. It would be a huge loss to Great Tang were he to die just like that.

  His vitality sure is ridiculous!, Wang Chong thought as he looked at Su Hanshan.

  He had found a physician to take a look at Su Hanshan, and all in all, the latter had suffered around thirty deep cuts, seventeen of which left gaping holes through his body. One was even right beside his heart.

  And of the seventeen, there was eleven which were fatal.

  His wounds were so horrific that few could maintain a straight face before them. Surviving such injuries would take a miracle, and yet Su Hanshan actually managed to make a substantial recovery within just three days.

  His wounds had already healed sufficiently to be considered as non-lethal, and he was still recovering at an astonishing pace.

  Even in his previous life, Wang Chong had never seen a person with such overwhelming vitality.

  It seemed like it was no coincidence that he managed to become one of the brightest stars that emerged from Kunwu Training Camp.

  Wang Chong could tell that he was still hiding a lot of secrets.

  "Where is this?" Su Hanshan asked as he slowly propped himself up on the bed. His expression was as calm as usual, unlike the typical anxiety and panic one would feel when waking up in a foreign place.

  The first thing Su Hanshan did after waking up was to assess his surroundings carefully before speaking.

  "You are at my home, this is a room reserved for guests," Wang Chong smiled.

  "Thank you," Su Hanshan nodded. That was just an ordinary expression of gratitude, but based on Wang Chong's understanding of Su Hanshan, that was probably the very limit he could go.

  Considering Su Hanshan's cold and haughty personality, it was no easy feat for him to utter words of gratitude to another.

  In fact, Wang Chong was probably the only one who had ever heard these words from him in the two timelines.

  After saying those words, Su Hanshan crossed his legs, closed his eyes, and began to cultivate. While his condition had stabilized, his face was still pale, and his body was still weak. He was still a far distance away from making a full recovery.

  "You should rest first. If you have any needs, feel free to inform me," Aware that this was simply Su Hanshan's personality, Wang Chong shook his head inwardly and walked out.

  ------

  But just a mere two hours after Wang Chong left the guest room, a maid rushed into his study and exclaimed,"Gongzi, gongzi! Bad news!... Su gongzi has barged out of the residence!"

  "How long has it been?" Wang Chong asked.

  "Around half a tea's time. We tried to stop him, but he still managed to get past us."

  (~7.5min)

  The young maid's eyes were reddened, and she was so anxious that she was on the verge of tears. While speaking, she even raised her finger to point at the direction of the main door in agitation.

  "I see..."

  A deep frown appeared on Wang Chong's forehead. He knew that he couldn't keep Su Hanshan here, but even so, he didn't expect the other party to leave so quickly.

  Even though Su Hanshan's life was already out of danger, he was still a far stretch away from being able to move freely. On top of that, he was still carrying grievous wounds. If the Duke of Liu Residence were to set their eyes on him once more, he would be in deep trouble.

  Nevertheless, Wang Chong had expected this from the very start. After all, this was simply Su Hanshan's character.

  If he was a person capable of compromise, he wouldn't have suffered such a tragic fate in his previous life.

  Considering that the other party had been gone for half a tea's time and the huge crowds that filled the streets of the capital every day, it was probably difficult to find him now.

  This sure does sound like him, unwilling to owe a favor to anyone, Wang Chong thought as he shook his head.

  "It's fine, let him be. You don't need to worry about it," Wang Chong waved his hands.

  Since the Duke of Liu allowed Su Hanshan to leave yesterday, Su Hanshan should still be safe for now.

  "Right, gongzi. Su gongzi left behind a note before his departure." That maid suddenly recalled something and hurriedly retrieved a note from her sleeves. Looking at her clumsy appearance, Wang Chong couldn't help but chuckle.

  "You are Little Plum, right?" Wang Chong suddenly asked.

  "Y-yes! Gongzi, you remember my name?" The maid was astounded. She had only entered the residence for five months, and she was still fearful that the young master might blame her for her previous mistake. She didn't think that the young master would actually remember and recognize her.

  It would be weird if I didn't remember you!, Wang Chong chuckled inside. In his previous life, Little Plum had brought him much joy after the downfall of the Wang Clan, but it was a pity that she eventually ended up...

  "Little Plum, you will follow me from now on," Wang Chong replied.

  "G-gongzi... Won't that be bad?" Little Plum's face immediately flushed red, and she began fidgeting awkwardly.

  You lass, what are you thinking of? Knowing what she was thinking, Wang Chong chuckled. She was still as clumsy as always, just like the Little Plum he remembered.

  "What I am saying is that you will serve me personally from now on. You'll bring me tea and fold my bedsheets," Wang Chong replied.

  "Ah, so that's what you mean!" Realizing that she had misunderstood, the tip of Little Plum's ears turned red. But she quickly put all of these to the back of her mind and replied cheerfully, "Gongzi, I'm willing to serve you..."

  Seeing the joyful look on the innocent lady, Wang Chong felt the burden weighing his mind down lightening.

  After sending the young lady away, Wang Chong opened up the note that Su Hanshan left behind.

  "I owe you one."

  These cold words were written with powerful and decisive brush strokes. Wang Chong could immediately tell that it was Su Hanshan's handwriting.

  "Heh, as expected!" Wang Chong chuckled as he crushed the paper into a ball.

  Su Hanshan had a solitary and cold personality, which made it extremely difficult to get close to him. Nevertheless, he was still extremely thankful for Wang Chong's help, just that he wasn't good at expressing himself.

  Thus, he left this note behind.

  In the other world that Wang Chong came from, there was a professional term to describe such a person—social communication disorder.

  Su Hanshan clearly belonged to this class of people.

  "Since I'm already at it, I might as well help you resolve this entire issue."

  Glancing at the direction of the main gate, Wang Chong walked out of his study with a smile on his face.

  There was a saying, “eyes are the
windows to the soul”. In the room, Su Hanshan's gaze had already betrayed his intention to request help from Wang Chong, just that his solitary and haughty personality held him back.

  Walking through the hallways, Wang Chong instructed someone to summon Old Eagle over.

  ---

  Now in the main hall, Wang Chong was seated on a fine wooden chair. He lifted the cup of tea placed beside his table and sipped on it before asking, "Have you found anything?"

  Three days ago, when Wang Chong saved Su Hanshan from the Duke of Liu Residence, he instructed Old Eagle to get to the bottom of this matter. Considering how Su Hanshan was willing to risk his life to scout out the Duke of Liu Residence in the middle of the night, it couldn't possibly be something trivial.

  Not to mention, Duke of Liu was even willing to risk offending the Wang Clan and King Song, and insist on killing Su Hanshan. There was no doubt that this was no simple matter.

  Su Hanshan would never reveal anything to him, so Wang Chong could only seek answers alone.

  Perhaps, if he were to get to the bottom of the mystery, he might be able to free the shackles binding Su Hanshan, allowing him to soar to even greater heights this life.

  Perhaps, he might become the most capable great general in the Central Plains!

  "Gongzi, I have been looking into this matter the past few days, and even though the Duke of Liu has maintained top secrecy regarding the matter, I was still able to obtain some clues from the servants working in the Duke of Liu Residence. It seems that there is a young lady living in the Duke of Liu Residence who is very tightly guarded. Her daily necessities are provided only by the most loyal of servants, and outsiders aren't allowed to approach her living quarters at all.

  "Around three to four months ago, the young lady was suddenly moved to another room for no particular reason. After the incident a few days ago, the servants are speculating that the reason why Su Hanshan was scouting the Duke of Liu Residence might be due to the young lady," Old Eagle said deeply.