Chapter 483
Chapter 483
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 483
>Chapter Title: New Emperor
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Half a shichen later, the towering reddish-brown palace walls reappeared before Li Huowang. Standing at the base of the wall and craning his neck to look up at it, a mountain-like oppressive pressure crashed down on him.
Li Huowang had no good impressions of this place at all. Right now, he just wanted to hand over the goods and get it done.
Under the guidance of the eunuch, they continued deeper into the palace. Even though Li Huowang had been here once before, he still felt a bit dizzy navigating this labyrinthine deep palace.
This time, he didn't catch sight of those golden halls. Li Huowang figured the destination wasn't the emperor's core residence but some peripheral support buildings.
Speaking of the Great Liang Emperor, Li Huowang still remembered the news he'd gotten from Liu Zongyuan last time—that the Great Liang Emperor was on the verge of death. If that information was reliable, he should've been buried long ago by now.
As Li Huowang was lost in random thoughts, the guiding eunuch stopped in front of a rounded archway and spoke in that neither-male-nor-female voice.
"It's right here. The Grand Director is inside."
"Hey, let me tell you, this Grand Director is someone you can talk to. He used to be from the Celestial Surveillance Division too, so he's practically one of us. Easy to deal with."
Lian Zhibei acted like a seasoned insider, sharing this internal intel with Li Huowang.
The two of them stepped slowly through the rounded archway. Lian Zhibei led Li Huowang further in; she clearly knew the way.
Soon, in a storage room, they found the so-called eunuch Grand Director.
Upon learning where Li Huowang and the other had come from, the square-faced eunuch complained in his pinched voice, his face full of dissatisfaction.
"Oh my goodness, how do you people from the Celestial Surveillance Division handle things? It's been nearly three months, and you're only delivering now? We're just missing this one thing, and the National Advisor is waiting anxiously. It's got me getting punished too!"
"Eunuch Cao, you were an old hand from the Celestial Surveillance Division yourself. You know how hard it is to get your hands on one of these. We put in a ton of effort to catch it, and look how fresh it is."
Lian Zhibei seemed very skilled at dealing with eunuchs. In just a few words, she had the Eunuch surnamed Cao beaming with smiles.
Before long, a sheet of paper stamped with a red seal was placed in Lian Zhibei's trembling hand.
"No need for me to waste more breath on where to pick up the goods?"
After saying this, Eunuch Cao ignored Li Huowang and the other. He wrote something down, tossed it into a copper basin, and burned it.
Seeing the ashes rise and drift out the window, the expression on Eunuch Cao's face instantly relaxed a great deal.
He then turned his head and instructed the other eunuchs to transfer the spirit aberration from the box into a nearby jade dish inlaid with agates.
"Eunuch, you go ahead with your business. We won't disturb you further."
Lian Zhibei smiled welcomingly as she held the paper, backing out butt-first.
"Don't they hand out lifespan directly here?"
Li Huowang asked quietly.
"Of course not, of course. We have to pick it up from the storeroom. Hurry, let's go. We need to make another trip to the storeroom. Do you have any loose silver? The King of Hell is easy to deal with, but the little ghosts are the trouble. Some loose silver to grease the palms of the storeroom eunuchs."
"This damn place is such a hassle!"
Li Huowang couldn't help but furrow his brows.
Just as Lian Zhibei nervously reminded Li Huowang to keep his voice down, a drawn-out announcement pierced through layer after layer of doors and railings.
"His Majesty the Emperor arrives~!"
Hearing this, Lian Zhibei's expression changed. She immediately scurried to the corner, knelt properly on both knees, and pressed her head firmly to the ground.
At that moment, Li Huowang couldn't help but want to curse inwardly. He had zero interest in kneeling for Great Liang's new emperor. Instead, he walked to Lian Zhibei's side, laid his body flat on the ground, and vanished from sight.
"His Majesty the Emperor arrives~!"
"His Majesty the Emperor arrives~!"
The announcement rang out three times in a row. Finally, Li Huowang laid eyes on the man himself: Great Liang's new emperor, clad in black robes with a golden crown on his head, slowly approaching amid the front and rear escorts of palace maids and eunuchs.
When Li Huowang used his exceptional eyesight to clearly make out the man's features, his pupils contracted slightly. He'd actually met this Great Liang Emperor once before.
The boy who had accompanied Miao Miao during the Shangsi Festival and been tricked into spending five hundred taels on a fake jade cat—that was him!
As the emperor's entourage drew gradually nearer and passed by, Li Huowang carefully scrutinized him and was completely certain: the person he'd encountered that night was definitely this guy.
"He's Great Liang's new emperor?!"
Li Huowang truly hadn't expected that Great Liang's new emperor would sneak out of the palace on Shangsi Festival to peep at unmarried girls.
On second thought, though, it did fit the kind of foolish thing a teenager around his age might do.
Though he knew this person was Great Liang's emperor, Li Huowang had no intention whatsoever of cozying up. In just these past few months, there had already been three emperors. Being the Great Liang Emperor didn't seem all that secure.
The invisible Li Huowang watched silently. Just as he thought he'd pass without incident, a white-haired, blind old Daoist at the emperor's side suddenly snapped his eyes open and swept his gaze toward him.
"Who's there!"
With his shout of alarm, the Great Liang Emperor was instantly engulfed by the surrounding eunuchs and palace maids. Guards who had popped up from who-knows-where surrounded Li Huowang's position.
As those guards were about to thrust their weapons toward him, Li Huowang immediately revealed himself and held up his Celestial Surveillance Division badge.
The atmosphere froze on the spot. The guards appeared extremely hesitant. This man didn't seem to be an assassin targeting the emperor, but if he was from the Celestial Surveillance Division, why had he been hiding here upon encountering His Majesty? They all turned their heads toward the National Advisor, awaiting his command.
"Who are you! Why are you here?!"
That utterly ordinary sentence made Li Huowang feel his breathing grow labored, his body struggling even to move.
This person's strength was absolutely terrifying. Ever since he'd taken on Hongda's identity, he hadn't felt this kind of pressure in a long time.
Li Huowang looked up at the old Daoist who had spoken. Back during the Celestial Surveillance Division's great battle with the Sitting Oblivion Dao, he'd been there on site. This was the Great Liang National Advisor who had wielded the Star Mansion Sword, performing rites nonstop.
The nearby Lian Zhibei reacted quickly at this point, hurriedly presenting the paper in her hand to prove their innocence.
"We are here on official division business. To disturb Your Majesty is a crime deserving ten thousand deaths!!"
Once it was clear this was a misunderstanding, everyone present finally breathed a sigh of relief.
The Great Liang National Advisor looked displeased as he addressed an elderly eunuch.
"How do you handle things? You dare let granted officials from the Celestial Surveillance Division into the palace?"
Just as he was about to say more, he was interrupted by a voice of delighted surprise.
"It's you!!"
The Great Liang Emperor happily emerged from the crowd and walked toward Li Huowang.
Naturally, he didn't get his way. As he neared, two old eunuchs blocked him.
(End of chapter)