Chapter 522
Chapter 522
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 522
>Chapter Title: Zu Yi
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Chapter 522: Zu Yi
“Investigate! Investigate thoroughly! I want this man’s entire clan exterminated, and him sliced to death by a thousand cuts!!” Ji Lin’s furious roar echoed continuously through the palace.
Not a single civil or military official below made a sound. They clutched their crescent-shaped jade tablets tightly, standing silently in a row, staring at the spotless floor.
“Have you all gone deaf? Huh? Have you all gone deaf? My mother! My imperial sister!! Identities so noble! Tossed into the wilderness like stray dogs!
“Hahaha! Is this still the Ji family’s empire? Is this still the realm of mighty Great Liang?!” Thick stacks of memorials were flung down from the towering dragon throne by Ji Lin, scattering over the officials below.
When the scattered memorials finally landed on the heads of the civil and military officials, someone finally spoke up this time.
A rotund military officer stepped forward. “Your Majesty, according to the accounts from those who survived, the one who killed the Empress Dowager was definitely an evil cultivator!”
“I don’t care what kind of cultivator he is! I just want his head!! Within three days, I want to see his head!”
The morning court ended in this oppressively tense atmosphere. As Ji Lin stormed through the palace toward his chambers with fury on his face, every eunuch and palace maid in the entire palace fell deathly silent, terrified of incurring the emperor’s wrath.
But the moment Ji Lin reached his chambers, the fury on his face vanished instantly, replaced by a savage, bloodthirsty glee.
“Er Jiu, you did well this time. This sword of yours is indeed sharp and reliable! Far more useful than those who only know how to flap their gums! Tell me, what reward do you want?”
The moment Ji Lin spoke, Li Huowang’s figure materialized to the left of the massive gold-threaded sandalwood screen. “Your Majesty, I seek no office or wealth. I only believe Your Majesty is the one chosen by heaven’s mandate.”
Ji Lin, clad in his dragon robe, adjusted his slightly sagging left cheek and circled Li Huowang half a turn with hands clasped behind his back. “Heh heh heh, no office or wealth? So you want to make this emperor owe you a favor?”
Li Huowang said nothing in response to Ji Lin’s question.
Having already demonstrated his immense value, it was time next to start scheming how to leverage Ji Lin against Dice.
Ji Lin clapped a hand on Li Huowang’s left shoulder, then waved his other hand toward the elderly eunuch standing in the corner with a tray.
Ji Lin picked up a gold token engraved with a dragon pattern from the tray and stuffed it into Li Huowang’s hand. “This is an amnesty token. With this, even if you commit a crime that reaches the heavens, it can atone for it.”
Feeling the hefty weight of the gold token in his embrace, Li Huowang immediately discerned its deeper implication—this thing would only work while he was emperor. If someone else took the throne, it’d be fit only for pawning at a shop.
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
Ji Lin stepped forward, staring intently into Li Huowang’s eyes. “I know this doesn’t match your merit, but rest assured—as long as I ascend the throne and survive, you will be my greatest contributor!”
“Your Majesty, do you hate the Sitting Oblivion Dao?”
Ji Lin paused, stunned by Li Huowang’s sudden shift to the Sitting Oblivion Dao.
“Your Majesty, do you hate the Sitting Oblivion Dao?” Li Huowang asked again.
“Of course! My father perished because of the Sitting Oblivion Dao! They are my father’s killers!” Ji Lin spat through gritted teeth.
Hearing this, Li Huowang nodded in relief and raised his hands in a Daoist salute toward Ji Lin before him. “Your Majesty, I understand. Who shall we kill next?”
Starting with just enough for now was fine. These two heads alone wouldn’t be enough to enlist Ji Lin’s full aid.
“No rush, no rush. This emperor needs to see how others react first. This matter is tricky—killing is your specialty, but after the killing, how to turn their supporters toward me? That’s where you can’t help. Go back and rest for now. I’ll send someone to notify you next time we move.”
Under the escort of a squad of imperial guards, Li Huowang soon exited the crimson palace walls.
On the way home, Li Huowang’s grave expression replayed Ji Lin’s every reaction from moments ago, pondering the meaning behind each twitch on his face.
The old Ji Lin had been straightforward, saying whatever was on his mind, but Li Huowang wasn’t sure if he still was.
From a standpoint of interests, the Great Liang emperor already clashed with the Sitting Oblivion Dao. If they moved against Dice in the future, they had every reason to join in, both emotionally and logically.
Yet a doubt lingered in Li Huowang’s mind: why did Dice specifically want Ji Lin on the throne? What benefit did Ji Lin’s ascension bring him?
Until he clarified that, even if Ji Lin agreed to deploy Great Liang’s state apparatus against the Sitting Oblivion Dao, Li Huowang wouldn’t dare reveal everything.
“Could Ji Lin be a pawn of the Sitting Oblivion Dao?” Alarm bells rang in Li Huowang’s heart.
“Brother Li, rest easy on that—Ji Lin isn’t with the Sitting Oblivion Dao. No matter how incompetent the Bureau of Surveillance is, they wouldn’t let someone so important right under their noses be replaced by the Sitting Oblivion Dao.”
Zhuge Yuan’s words eased Li Huowang’s concerns. He nodded, pondering his next move to break the deadlock.
It was difficult, because for every possibility he considered, he had to think backward: would Dice have anticipated it?
“Dad, you’re back? I steamed buns for you!”
Li Huowang had just entered when Li Sui blocked him, proudly showing off her handiwork.
Looking at the lumps in the pot—charred black on the bottom, utterly unrisen and doughy—Li Huowang cracked a wry smile and picked one up to shove in his mouth.
Though Li Huowang knew that facing an enemy as formidable as Dice couldn’t be rushed, how could his heart not burn with urgency knowing Miao Miao was in his clutches?
Patting Li Sui’s white skull, Li Huowang’s weary, anxious heart finally felt a sliver of relief.
“Dad, is it tasty?”
“Not tasty. Don’t make it next time.”
“Why not tasty? I think my buns are delicious.”
As the two conversed, a “knock knock knock” sounded at the door that had just been shut. “Great Elder, Zu Yi pays respects.”
Li Huowang, seated on the bench, stopped chewing immediately and turned toward the door along with Li Sui.
“The door’s not latched—come in.” Li Huowang’s voice was indifferent, as if utterly unsurprised by the visitor’s arrival.
The moment he’d seen this man turn traitor and help kill the Eldest Princess, Li Huowang knew the matter wasn’t over.
The wooden courtyard gate was pushed open, and in walked a man wearing a veiled bamboo hat and an oversized robe.
His body was completely shrouded within, the only information Li Huowang gleaned being the acrid stench of charred coal.
With her keen sense of smell, Li Sui immediately recognized him as the man who’d been entirely wreathed in flames back then.
(End of chapter)