The Human Emperor c1-2382

by Huangfu Qi (皇甫奇)

  “In addition…”

  Wang Chong once more looked at the scarf, his eyes narrowing.

  “Eunuch Gao’s cultivation is something that not even Tongluo Great General Abusi or Anxi Protector-General Gao Xianzhi can compare to. Anyone who could injure him must possess formidable strength. Battles of such experts should have created a large ruckus, and there’s no way that no one in the palace would have heard it. Tell them to investigate this matter. I must know if anything strange happened in the palace over the last few months! Have them report to me on the slightest turmoil!”

  There was a wise and perceptive light in Wang Chong’s eyes. Even though the information Little Li had provided was limited, Wang Chong had been able to extract many details. Little Li would have certainly been dumbfounded if he had been listening, because he would have never even thought about the possibilities Wang Chong had proposed.

  “Yes!”

  Xu Keyi solemnly bowed and left.

  Whoosh!

  A few moments later, carrier pigeons took flight from the King of Foreign Lands Residence. Yang Zhao, Li Jingzhong, Bian Lingcheng, and Zhao Fengchen had the powers of Consort Taizhen, the Fifth Prince, and the Imperial Army on their side. If such an incident had taken place, these four were capable of finding it.

  Time slowly passed. The inner palace seemed calm on the surface, but an undercurrent surged beneath.

  The four of them searched all the places Little Li had mentioned, but the results took Wang Chong completely by surprise. It wasn’t that they hadn’t found any trace of Eunuch Gao; Wang Chong had already prepared himself for that. Instead, it was that Yang Zhao, Li Jingzhong, Bian Lingcheng, and Zhao Fengchen had discovered that those places had been swept clean, all the furniture moved out and the room rendered spotless. It was like no one had ever inhabited those places before.

  Judging by what the four had learned, this had probably taken place only a few days ago.

  The four of them reacted very quickly and found the maids and eunuchs who had performed the cleaning. But these servants knew nothing, all of them saying that they had simply been following orders. The four followed the chain of command to find the eunuch who had given the initial order, but they discovered that the eunuch had disappeared. Moreover, the palace’s eunuch register did not contain this man’s name. It was like such a man had never existed in the palace.

  After receiving these reports, Wang Chong fell into a long silence.

  All the clues had been cut off right in the middle. There was undoubtedly some force in the palace who had noticed his movements and wiped away all evidence.

  Wang Chong deeply furrowed his brow.

  “Your Highness, it must be the First Prince’s work. I truly can’t think of anyone else besides him who would have a reason to do such a thing.”

  Xu Keyi, Cheng Sanyuan, Zhang Que, and Su Shixuan were all present, all of them indignant.

  Wang Chong said nothing. First, he shook his head, and then he nodded.

  Seeing Wang Chong’s reaction, Su Shixuan cautiously asked, “Your Highness, is there something wrong? Did we say anything incorrect?”

  “It wasn’t that you said anything wrong, but I feel like there’s something strange about this incident.”

  Wang Chong’s brows were locked together as he sternly spoke.

  “The First Prince’s men appeared during our last operation, pursuing Little Li. They would think of ways to clear up the evidence, so I don’t find that strange. But there’s something different about this time.”

  Wang Chong fell quiet. While he was thinking, no one dared to carelessly disturb him.

  At this time, countless ideas were appearing in Wang Chong’s mind.

  This was not Wang Chong’s first clash with the First Prince!

  In past incidents, while the First Prince had many advisors assisting him with his plans who were able to cleanly pull off the Jade Consort Xiao incident without leaving any clues, they were not so sharp to this level. He had only just given the order, but the First Prince had already swept away all the clues as if his actions had been predicted.

  This had never happened in his previous clashes with the First Prince.

  As the saying went, the difference of a hair could result in an error of a thousand li. While others might not have noticed anything from this incident, Wang Chong had noticed a subtle transformation with the First Prince.

  I hope I’m overthinking things!

  A thought flashed in Wang Chong’s mind, but he quickly rejected the idea.

  “Reporting!”

  At this moment, a Golden Guard rushed inside.

  “Your Highness, there’s news from the Imperial Clan Court! The assassin Asura that Lord Zhao Fengchen captured in the palace was rescued!”

  “What?!”

  Everyone turned in surprise, and Wang Chong’s brow furrowed even deeper as he stood up from his desk.

  “When did these things happen?” Wang Chong solemnly said.

  Wang Chong knew that Asura had a firm will and was resistant to torture, so getting any information out of him, particularly when it came to the First Prince, was nigh impossible. Thus, he had not paid him much attention.

  But the Imperial Clan Court was no ordinary place, and the inner palace was packed with experts and swarming with Imperial Army soldiers. The Imperial Clan Court itself was heavily guarded, so a rescue was normally impossible.

  The Golden Guard kneeled and sternly said, “It was just a few hours ago. The invader was extremely powerful and killed quite a few members of the Imperial Clan Court, and more troops are surging in. In addition, the Imperial Army has also gone over and the entire palace has been locked down.”

  There was a stillness in the hall as everyone glanced at each other.

  Xu Keyi took a few steps forward and asked, “Your Highness, could it be…”

  “Impossible!” Wang Chong immediately said.

  Asura had been escorted to the Imperial Clan Court under the watch of the consorts, concubines, and their servants. Even if the Assistant Minister of the Imperial Clan Court was privately working with the First Prince, he would never intervene in this matter. Besides that, many soldiers of the Imperial Clan Court had been killed.

  Perhaps such a stir would have been warranted for someone else, but not for Asura.

  “Keep a close eye on this situation and report to me on any new developments!”

  Wang Chong frowned as he spoke. That idea from before once more emerged in his mind, and he felt even more intensely that something wasn’t right.

  “Yes!”

  ……

  “Senior, you’re brilliant! You really managed to predict the King of Foreign Lands’ moves!”

  In the Eastern Palace, an entirely different scene was playing out.

  Zhu Tong’en and the other advisors were all looking reverentially at the stalwart elder.

  On his throne, the First Prince gave a slight nod. He was finally convinced that this man would be of enormous assistance to him.

  Chapter 1633 - Old Eagle in Danger!

  Chapter 1633: Old Eagle in Danger!

  Translated by: Hypersheep325

  Edited by: Michyrr

  Upon arriving at the Eastern Palace, the elder had asked for a detailed account from the First Prince of everything that had happened.

  He had also looked through all the information regarding the First Prince’s greatest foe, the King of Foreign Lands.

  When he mentioned that Wang Chong was about to send his men into the palace to search for clues, and that men should be sent to wipe away any evidence within half a day, the other advisors had thought that he was jumping at shadows.

  But right after the Eastern Palace’s men had finished the cleaning, people appeared in those areas to search them. The smallest delay might have resulted in an entirely different situation. At this point, all the advisors sincerely trusted in this man.

  This was the first time in their battle with Wang Chong that they had
the initiative.

  “Hmph, I was just wiping your butt! There’s nothing worth celebrating here!”

  The elder showed no courtesy or grace. All the voices died away, everyone’s faces turning red with embarrassment.

  While some admired, others were discontent, and a soft grumble could immediately be heard in the hall.

  “Hmph, what’s so great about him? Just a blind cat catching a dead mouse, purely coincidence. It’s not like he did anything great.”

  Bang!

  The elder suddenly raised his head, his tiger eyes flashing with sharp and cold light.

  Before anyone could react, there was a massive boom. That grumbling Eastern Palace advisor was immediately slammed into the wall with such force that the wall cracked in an explosion of blood and debris.

  The Eastern Palace advisor’s chest had completely caved in, almost all his bones shattered. One could see that he would be dead soon.

  “Ah!”

  Cries of alarm resounded through the hall. The advisors were all frightened by this display, their faces paling as they backed away.

  This was the Eastern Palace of the Crown Prince. None of them had imagined that there would be someone so bold as to attack another right in front of the First Prince.

  Li Ying’s eyes twitched once or twice, a grimace on his face. It was clear that he had not expected this reaction from the elder.

  “Come! Carry him out!”

  The First Prince placed his hands on his desk and slowly rose to his feet.

  “In addition, all of you, listen up! In the future, no one in the Eastern Palace is allowed to disrespect Senior. I will now grant him my token. In the Eastern Palace, Senior’s order is my order. You should treat Senior with as much courtesy as you normally treat me. Right, Senior, everyone still doesn’t know your name. What should we call Senior?”

  “Hmph!”

  The elder sneered as he scanned the room. His eyes were as bright as lightning, and all the advisors in the room could only lower their heads and avoid his gaze.

  “You juniors don’t have the right to know this old man’s name. But as we will be colleagues in the future and I will need your help, you may call me ‘Ghost King’! This old man shouldn’t have existed in this world, but even if this old man is a ghost, he is still the lord of all ghosts!”

  The old man spoke in a domineering tone.

  “Haha, good! With Senior Ghost King, this prince can accomplish anything! All of you, pay respects to the Ghost King!”

  The First Prince had clearly found the name ‘Ghost King’ to be strange, but he quickly reacted and heartily laughed. Led by the First Prince, the others also began to express their respect.

  “Paying respects to Senior!”

  In a flash, all of them lowered their heads and acknowledged that the elder occupied the same status as the First Prince.

  “Senior, Wang Chong definitely won’t be stopping here. If he continues the investigation, there might be even more problems. In addition, Asura was just rescued, and investigations might begin soon. What should we do next?” the First Prince asked. While he was trying to maintain his calm when talking about Wang Chong, his reaction betrayed him.

  The First Prince felt great dread when it came to Wang Chong. In truth, if not for him, the Fifth Prince would never have been able to threaten him or have warranted such action.

  Hearing the First Prince’s words, the Ghost King’s expression relaxed.

  “This old man said before that if you gave me all authority, this old man would naturally help you take care of everything. As for that King of Foreign Lands, there is no need for Your Highness to worry. He’s merely an immature brat. Your Highness lost to him before merely because you did not find the right method to give him the crucial blow. If Your Highness kills this person, then your situation will be much better for the next few months. At the very least, there won’t be a need to be so passive!” the Ghost King said.

  These words had the attention of everyone in the hall, and even the First Prince was rather curious.

  “The right method? What does Senior mean?”

  The Ghost King simply handed over a prepared slip of paper.

  ……

  In a restaurant in the western part of the city, Old Eagle was wearing a veiled bamboo hat, disguised as a traveling martial artist. His hands clutched the railing of the balcony, his eyes twitching.

  He had already heard everything about the Asura incident. In truth, he was the one who had sent the reports to Wang Chong.

  “Something is wrong!”

  Old Eagle’s eyes twitched. He had followed Wang Chong for a long time and had never seen him fail before, whether it was on the court or on the battlefield. But recently, Old Eagle had begun to sense something strange.

  I hope that it’s just my misperception,

  Old Eagle quietly said to himself as he slowly scanned the crowd below.

  Unlike others, while Old Eagle had an established residence, he never stayed in one place for long. As he spent more and more time at Wang Chong’s side, he had come to understand more and more that the intelligence officer could not stay in one place. Even the most secretive of residences would leave behind traces of evidence that would allow it to be noticed.

  Even a rabbit had three burrows, so why not humans?

  “Still no news?”

  Old Eagle turned to a member of his spy team. Wang Chong had picked out the name for this organization, and only elites were allowed to join it.

  “Milord, I also find it very strange. The members of the spy team have always been prompt, and Little Cui was one of the best in the batch of new recruits. Given how the last few operations have gone, he shouldn’t have made a mistake. His Highness is still waiting for news from the Imperial Clan Court, and all he’s doing is delivering the report. That report should have arrived a long time ago, but he’s late by five minutes!” he middle-aged man sternly said, his brow furrowed in concern.

  This delay was rather abnormal, but it was still acceptable according to the rules of the spy team.

  After a few moments of thought, Old Eagle made his decision. “Something isn’t right! Immediately send a carrier pigeon. If we don’t receive any news then, I’ll go myself. In addition, inspect our surroundings. I can’t shake off this strange feeling. Get ready and settle the bill. We’re leaving now!”

  The spy team member grunted and immediately turned around.

  “Soup dumplings! Two strings of cash for a bowl!”

  “Fresh pork! Your money back if it’s not fresh!”

  “Iced tanghulu! Sweet and sour! Come and take a look!”

  Old Eagle looked down at the street and saw that the capital was just as bustling as ever.

  No! I must go and see His Highness!

  With this thought, Old Eagle prepared to leave.

  Whoosh!

  Suddenly, he heard the flapping of wings.

  Old Eagle looked up and saw a white carrier pigeon flying toward him. On its left leg was an azure hoop.

  “It’s Little Cui’s carrier pigeon!”

  Old Eagle immediately recognized it. In the end, Little Cui’s pigeon had managed to come within the time limit. Old Eagle’s spy team had a rule that once the time had passed, it would mean that a mishap had occurred and everyone needed to leave.

  Old Eagle’s heart relaxed as he extended his right hand to receive the bird. He proficiently removed the letter and looked down.

  As Old Eagle focused…

  “Not good!”

  His pupils instantly constricted and his eyes flew open.

  “Everyone, hear my order! Immediately—”

  Before the word ‘withdraw’ could leave his mouth, a large ruckus came from the door of the restaurant. Old Eagle looked down and saw that a white-robed scholar, perhaps dejected from some event in life, had become intoxicated and charged inside.

  As he charged in, he knocked aside a waiter and then spat a mouthful of alcohol and saliva at the pe
rson trying to block his path.

  “Young Master Zhao, you can’t come in!”

  “You’re already this drunk! You’re going to disturb the other patrons! Please, leave immediately!”

  “What are you standing around for? Hurry and stop him!”

  Chaos ensued in the entrance to the restaurant.

  But this sight only made Old Eagle more uneasy.

  Swoosh!

  Old Eagle immediately jumped on the railing and flew off.

  “Tang barbarian, hand over your life!”

  Suddenly, the exquisitely crafted screen on the balcony exploded in blade energy. Five or six Tibetans had been behind the screen, and all of them were now lunging toward Old Eagle at incredible speed.

  Chapter 1634 - Suspicion and Fury!

  Chapter 1634: Suspicion and Fury!

  Translated by: Hypersheep325

  Edited by: Michyrr

  Clangclangclang!

  Halos radiated from the feet of the Tibetans, and dark energy seethed behind them. Massive Buddhas with six, eight, or ten arms, and three, six, or eight heads suddenly appeared, various weapons in their hands as they attacked Old Eagle in unison.

  It was obvious that they were all top-class experts!

  Old Eagle instantly paled.

  ……

  At the King of Foreign Lands Residence…

  Wang Chong frowned as he looked away from the map of the Imperial Palace, his eyelids twitching. For some reason, recently, whenever his eyelids twitched, he had an ill foreboding that some foul event had taken place.

  “Reporting!”

  Just then, in a rush of air, a Golden Guard came inside.

  “Your Highness, it’s bad! There’s been an incident! We’ve just learned that Old Eagle was ambushed at Western Crane Pavilion! He was badly injured and is currently unconscious! His chances of survival are dire!”