Chapter 374
Chapter 374
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 374
>Chapter Title: Small Favor
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Li Huowang, sitting on the long bench, silently stared at Captain Cao as he lit incense for the prison god on the wall and bowed.
By all rights, burning incense and worshiping Buddhas didn’t seem like the military’s style, but Li Huowang knew little about them. Perhaps the soldiers of Great Liang had their own unique way.
After finishing the incense, Captain Cao returned to Li Huowang and Eunuch Ji, casually glancing at the copper coin mask on Li Huowang’s face before speaking.
“Eunuch, it’s rare for you to come to this inauspicious place. Surely you have some business?”
“Heh, Captain Cao, you’re a straightforward man, so I won’t beat around the bush. This is Brother Er Jiu. Someone in his family has been possessed by baleful energy. A trifle like this should be a piece of cake for you, right?”
Seeing Captain Cao nod with a smile, Li Huowang’s heart tightened. The man’s reaction was beyond his expectations, as if this possession by baleful energy was utterly trivial.
Li Huowang immediately yanked the gourd from his waist and poured out all the Lifespan Pills inside.
“Captain Cao, a small token of respect—not worth mentioning.”
Unexpectedly, the other man didn’t take them and pushed the Lifespan Pills back.
“Hey, you’re treating me like an outsider! Though we’re from different yamen, we’re all working for Great Liang, aren’t we~?”
Hearing this, Eunuch Ji’s mouth cracked into a grin as he asked amiably,
“So, Captain Cao, this small favor—”
Eunuch Ji’s words were quickly cut off by Captain Cao.
“By rights, I, old Cao, should help out, but…”
An hour later, Eunuch Ji and Li Huowang emerged from the prison with somewhat unsightly expressions.
Eunuch Ji spat viciously at the gradually closing gates.
“What kind of person is he? He won’t lift a finger for this small favor unless we help them first! You might as well take down that bi’an from your gate and hang up a pixiu instead!”
Li Huowang reached out to stop him.
“Forget it, Lord Eunuch. Since we need their help, pitching in a little is only fair.”
“That’s true, but…” Eunuch Ji slapped his hands in frustration.
“Agh, it’s all my fault for being useless and finding you such a one.”
Though Li Huowang knew this gesture from Eunuch Ji was likely an act, the man played it convincingly well.
“No matter. It’s just a small favor—I’ll handle it.” Li Huowang hadn’t come expecting free help anyway.
If escorting a single prisoner could get Bai Lingmiao back to normal, the deal was more than worth it.
“Hey, I’m truly sorry—truly sorry.” Eunuch Ji kept apologizing, his face full of shame.
“Lord Eunuch, say no more. Let’s head back. You’re making me feel bad instead. If you really can’t let it go, about this escort mission—whatever you know, please fill me in.”
Taking on a job from the Great Liang military out of the blue without getting the details from an insider left him uneasy.
“That’s no issue. Old Cao was right—it’s just a small matter. As long as you don’t pursue an official career afterward, it won’t affect you much.”
“Official career?” Li Huowang grew curious now. Just what was the military having him escort?
Two sedans arrived one after the other at the back door of the small courtyard. To show his thanks, Li Huowang insisted Eunuch Ji come in for tea.
Eunuch Ji agreed with a face full of smiles, but as he sat in the main hall, Li Huowang’s words froze the grin on his face.
“Lord Eunuch, are you really leaving? Not reconsidering?”
Li Huowang saw no reason to hide such a matter. If he didn’t clarify now and Tuoba Danqing died after the man left, who would he turn to next?
Eunuch Ji sighed faintly and slowly set down his tea.
“You know what we went through last time. Plus, I’ve reached the age of knowing heaven’s will this year—it’s time to rest. And there are people waiting at home. From now on, it’s the world of you young folks~”
He then clasped his hands and humbly bowed toward the northeast corner.
“Besides, who knows what His Majesty is up to—I dare not ask, dare not listen. After weighing it all, preserving my life comes first.”
Li Huowang frowned slightly as he took a sip of tea. From Eunuch Ji’s tone, the capital likely wouldn’t be peaceful henceforth.
He’d need to tread carefully afterward to avoid getting dragged in. Whatever happened up top had nothing to do with him.
He had only one goal: find North Wind and get the method to dispel the heart-element hallucination from him.
As if reading Li Huowang’s concerns, Eunuch Ji reached into his robe and slid over an even more exquisite waist tablet, pressing one edge with his finger. It bore the character for Geng Banner.
Li Huowang picked it up and examined it closely, a hint of surprise crossing his mind.
“Have I been promoted again? Skipping Xin Squadron straight to Geng Banner?”
Eunuch Ji explained leisurely from the side,
“Er Jiu, this is as high as I could get you transferred. Any higher, and even I can’t call the shots.”
“Once I’m gone, you can take this straight to the Ministry of Revenue to pick up work from the Supervisory Celestial Division. It won’t interfere with your revenge.”
“With Geng Banner rank, other eunuchs can’t order you around. You can pick your own jobs, and any common foot soldier—as long as he’s idle—you can command as you please.”
Li Huowang stared at the waist tablet in his hand without speaking. If the house had been repayment of a favor, this made it Li Huowang who owed him one.
“Lord Eunuch, with you doing all this, I really…” Eunuch Ji waved a hand, stopping Li Huowang mid-sentence.
“Er Jiu, you’re a man of great ability—greater than my family’s Erniu. If you rise high someday, just don’t forget me.”
With a beaming smile, Eunuch Ji finished speaking, brushed nonexistent dust from his robes, and solemnly bowed to the seated Li Huowang before heading to the back door without a backward glance.
Li Huowang sat alone in the vast main hall, staring blankly at the waist tablet in his hand.
Suddenly, he stood and headed inside. He remembered the man mentioning he’d left some small gifts in the house.
Eunuch Ji’s gifts were quite conspicuous, and Li Huowang found them quickly. But they were no small matter—it was his Rotten Wood Ruyi!
Sensing the newcomer, the heart-element’s withered tongue twitched slightly.
Li Huowang’s expression grew complex as his fingers slowly brushed over the tongue and the coffin nail pinning it to the ruyi.
This item was invaluable, yet Eunuch Ji had left it without a word.
He didn’t know what the man thought he was, but one thing was certain: he’d guessed wrong.
Under cover of the pitch-black night, Eunuch Ji hurried alone to the gate of a small courtyard. As the door opened, a brand-new carriage waited.
Hearing the noise, a gray-haired woman poked her head out from the carriage and asked toward Eunuch Ji,
“Brother, how’d it go?”
Eunuch Ji nimbly leaped onto the carriage and drove it north out of the city.
“That kid from the Ao Jing Cult has come to the capital. I’ve done everything I promised him, and even gave him plenty more. The favor’s more than repaid—we can leave with peace of mind.”
“Really? That’s wonderful! Brother, we can go home!” The old woman’s face lit up with a pure, girlish joy, clearly well-protected all these years.
She reached into the carriage, pulled out a flatbread, broke off a small piece, and held it to Eunuch Ji’s mouth.
“Brother, why treat that Ao Jing kid so seriously? Even waiting for him this long.”