Chapter 375
Chapter 375
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 375
>Chapter Title: The Emperor of Great Liang
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Chapter 375: The Emperor of Great Liang
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>> The Record Minister chewed on his flatbread as he spoke. “You don’t get it. This kid’s no ordinary fellow. I pored over every book from the First Library to the Fourth before I figured out what he did to get us out. It was the Ao Jing Cult’s secret technique—Cang Guan Ascension!”
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>> “Brother, what’s that?” Noticing the gravity in his tone, the old woman lowered her voice considerably.
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>> “My clearance isn’t high enough. All I could find was that most who’ve used this technique end up dead. Those who survive aren’t your average Joes.”
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>> “More importantly, think about it. What does ‘ascension’ even mean? What was he ascending to? Once you use this technique even once, you’re no longer mortal! Can we afford to cross someone like that?”
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>> Hearing the Record Minister’s words, the old woman nodded with lingering fear. “Then you did the right thing, Brother. We can’t owe a favor to someone like that.”
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>> “I suspect this kid joined the Celestial Surveillance Division for some other reason altogether. It’s definitely not about revenge on the Sitting Oblivion Dao like he claimed.”
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>> The old woman pulled out a handkerchief with some heartache and wiped the dense sweat from his forehead. “It’s fine now, Brother. Let’s not worry about these trifles. They’ve got nothing to do with us anymore. Let’s go home.”
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>> Watching the gates draw steadily closer, the grim-faced Record Minister nodded slightly.
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>> As the Record Minister flashed his Celestial Surveillance Division badge, the massive city gates creaked open just a crack. Once his carriage had left the Upper Capital, they slammed shut again like twin mountains.
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>> Li Huowang rose early the next day. After preparing and packing everything he needed, he stepped down from his bed and headed toward the prison through the morning mist.
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>> To his surprise, he wasn’t the only one. A half-grown boy was already there, leading a blind man by the hand.
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>> “They only need us to escort the prisoner, yet the military’s hiring outsiders?” Li Huowang waited silently.
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>> Before long, another arrived: a man riding backward on an ox. Li Huowang had never seen attire like his. He sat cross-legged on the beast’s back, cradling a clay statue of a four-armed, azure female Buddha, head bowed as he muttered incantations.
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>> Whether the people of the Upper Capital knew something or not, they veered away from a distance, and not a single shop stood nearby. Though the sky was bright, the prison entrance remained eerily deserted.
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>> In their wait, the heavy prison gates soon groaned open, and an iron-barred prisoner cart rolled slowly out.
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>> The man inside didn’t match Li Huowang’s image of a typical convict. He wore a golden mask over his face.
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>> It was an utterly bizarre mask: square face, hollowed-out eyes, triangular nose, and broad ears.
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>> If not for the more intricate, twisting lines, Li Huowang might have mistaken it for a Sanxingdui mask.
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>> “Just take him to the Meridian Gate and have him beheaded,” the accompanying military man ordered Li Huowang and the other two.
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>> “Meridian Gate? No need to leave the city?” Li Huowang almost thought he’d misheard. Even at a snail’s pace, it was barely two hours from here to the Meridian Gate—this bore no resemblance to the grueling assignment he’d imagined.
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>> “That’s right, that’s right.” The military man seemed in a great rush. After barking the orders, he scurried back into the prison.
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>> As the prisoner cart began to move under the guidance of an elderly jailer with white hair, Li Huowang glanced at the other two and took up position beside the cart, heading toward the Meridian Gate.
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>> Whatever their true intentions, as long as it lifted Bai Lingmiao’s deathly aura, he’d play along.
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>> As the cart entered the bustling market, the surrounding clamor swelled. The citizens of the Upper Capital pointed and laughed at the cart’s occupant, utterly unfazed by the golden mask—as if they’d long grown accustomed to such sights.
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>> The noise seemed to rouse the prisoner. He suddenly pressed his golden mask against the bars and screamed desperately at the onlookers. “You... you can’t do this to me! I’m the emperor!! I’m the Emperor of Great Liang!!”
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>> Li Huowang’s heart tightened at the words, but when he looked around, the others showed no reaction whatsoever.
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>> Meanwhile, the hunchbacked blind man beside him chanted like a mantra, over and over. “No blame on the strange, no blame on those who do their duty. No blame on the strange, no blame on those who do their duty.”
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>> Seeing this, Li Huowang ignored it and focused on his role as a prison guard.
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>> He could already guess why the military had hired outsiders like them for this execution—and why it tainted one’s official career.
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>> The cart’s wheels rolled slowly along the broad avenue until they reached the crimson palace walls.
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>> Li Huowang’s sharp senses picked up gazes from atop the walls, but he caused no trouble. After all, they were fixed on the prisoner.
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>> “Ji Song! You think you’ve won? It’s not over yet!! One day, you’ll end up just like me!” The prisoner in the cart screamed hysterically up at the wall’s summit.
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>> No one on the walls responded. They simply watched in silence.
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>> The cart moved slowly, but eventually arrived. The executioner had been waiting, and it was just past noon. Crowds of commoners encircled the execution ground, eagerly craning their necks in excitement.
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>> “Ji Man! For plotting rebellion! An unforgivable crime! He shall be executed!”
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>> A red plaque was tossed down. The masked man was dragged from the cart, his body limp as noodles, yellow urine soaking his prison garb.
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>> As the executioner hauled him along, Li Huowang noticed something odd about his physique. His belly protruded massively, yet his limbs were gaunt.
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>> And that belly wasn’t from fat—it looked like it was packed with lumps of varying sizes.
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>> “Pah~!” Fierce liquor sprayed onto the broadsword. The burly executioner raised it high and brought it crashing down. The head, spurting blood, tumbled to the ground.
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>> The executioner removed the bloodied golden mask from the severed head and presented it with both hands to the officiant’s table.
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>> As the officiant wrapped it in yellow silk, mounted his horse, and galloped toward the palace walls, the nearby officers withdrew, soon vanishing entirely and leaving the corpse to cool.
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>> No sooner had the officials departed than the spectators swarmed like flies, dipping steamed buns into the blood pooling on the ground.
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>> Two women even quarreled over how much they’d scooped up. To Li Huowang, the whole procession seemed a grotesque farce.
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>> “That’s it? So simple?” Li Huowang furrowed his brow and turned to leave.
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>> But as he started walking, something occurred to him. He pushed through the crowd to the headless corpse.
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>> With a small dagger, he sliced open the bloated belly. Pills of all sizes spilled out.
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>> “Hm?” Li Huowang picked up a fist-sized one and examined it closely.
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>> “This so-called ‘Emperor of Great Liang’ was stuffed full of pills. That’s what bloated his gut.”
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>> (End of Chapter)