Chapter 313
Chapter 313
The King's question came out of nowhere, and though most didn't understand, Grand Eunuch Yeo Jun knew he was referring to Ha Wanwan. For years, the King had not been swayed by any woman. But recently, one had stirred his heart, and of all people, she was involved in an improper relationship with the newly appointed scholar, Li Wenzheng, and seemed to have lost her virtue to him. Most critically, Li Wenzheng had been implicated in a conspiracy between the Crown Prince and the Third Prince, a case involving a curse against the Crown Prince. To prevent this from igniting a fierce factional struggle, the King made a swift decision, sending the Blackwater Terrace to eliminate Li Wenzheng and nip the conflict in the bud.
Whatever conspiracy lay behind the incident was, for the moment, unimportant. Moreover, the King did not execute the famous courtesan Ha Wanwan, but allowed her to live in seclusion in her hometown. He never touched her again, nor did he allow any other man to do so.
Yeo Jun replied.
"She is living quite well. I hear she spends her days writing calligraphy or painting."
* * *
At the Fifth Prince's estate.
Xiao Bing's belly was now visibly swollen. The Fifth Prince's wife, Lady Zhuo, was chatting with her. By rights, as a prince's wife, her status was far too noble to converse with a mere concubine like Xiao Bing. But she was the daughter of a merchant from a minor family. Beside them, two little girls were looking through a picture book—they were Gang Leader Yeo's daughters. The older one read the book while the younger one ate a snack.
"Ah..."
The older girl opened her mouth wide, pointing at the snack in her sister's hand to show she wanted some. The younger girl, quite generously, held the snack to her sister's lips for a bite. But in an instant, the older sister ate the whole thing. The younger girl stared at her empty hand, stunned, then burst into tears. "Waaah!"
"Mama, Mama..."
The chubby little girl ran crying into Lady Zhuo's arms.
"Big sister's mean, big sister's mean..."
Seeing her little sister wailing, the older girl figured she was about to be scolded. She quickly buried her face in Xiao Bing's embrace and started crying even louder. In a children's fight, doesn't the one who cries harder win? Xiao Bing held the older girl and saw she was only pretending to cry, without a single tear. She gently pinched the girl's small nose.
"You sly little thing."
The child's personality reminded her somewhat of Gao Ya. At the thought of him, Xiao Bing's eyes instantly grew moist.
*Gao Ya, what happened to you? Why haven't you returned? Everyone says you're dead, that you were boiled and eaten by the King of Jiang. I'm so worried!*
Just then, the Fifth Prince, Yeongjeong, returned, having suffered yet another humiliation. His entire body trembled with uncontrollable rage. Wang In, an assistant from the Court of Judicial Review, had come to his estate demanding he hand over two criminals: Gang Leader Yeo's two daughters. Wang In had said.
"Gang Leader Yeo privately sold the banned book, *Sordid Tales of the Eastern Village*, earning the wrath of the Great Yan Dynasty. His Majesty issued a decree to execute Gang Leader Yeo's entire family, but his two daughters are missing. This official has heard the two children are at Your Highness's residence. I must trouble you to hand them over so we may close the case."
Yeongjeong's voice trembled as he stammered.
"Th-th-they're just children, one is two and the other three. Are you going to kill them?"
Wang In replied.
"There is no need to kill them, but as family members of a criminal, they must be taken into custody. The Court of Judicial Review will send the two children to the Great Grace Pavilion."
The Great Grace Pavilion—it sounded like a pleasant name, but it was the most wretched place in this world. All children of criminals who were too young to be executed were sent there to be raised until they came of age. In essence, it was an orphanage for the children of convicts. The children there lived bleak lives from a young age. Going without enough food or warm clothes was the norm; they were lucky just to survive. Moreover, if they managed to live to adulthood, the boys were all made into slaves or castrated to become eunuchs. The girls were mostly sent to the Bureau of Music to become official courtesans.
The two children had been living at the Fifth Prince's estate for over a month, and everyone had grown fond of them. Now, the Court of Judicial Review was brazenly demanding their surrender, and they were acting in accordance with the laws of the State of Yue. It was painfully clear what a miserable life awaited the two children if they were sent to that hell. The Fifth Prince, Yeongjeong, felt utterly humiliated and grief-stricken.
*Am I truly a prince of this kingdom? A prince takes in two daughters of a criminal, and they come demanding I hand them over. To think a mere assistant from the Court of Judicial Review can come and harass me like this.*
Yeongjeong knew, of course, that this was retaliation from the Su Clan. What power did a mere Fifth Prince have against the Su Clan, a titan among the neutral factions? At that moment, Yeongjeong suddenly found himself missing Shen Lang more than ever.
"Shen Lang, what on earth happened to you in the State of Jiang? Rumors are flying all over the capital that you're dead, but I refuse to believe it!"
* * *
The State of Jiang, at the Sacred Temple.
*CRACK! BOOM!*
A loud roar erupted. The muffled thunder finally tore through the clouds, transforming into a sky-rending peal. Then, lightning began to strike with mad intensity.
*Whoosh, whoosh.*
The black curtain draped across the sky was ripped apart by countless flashes of lightning, illuminating the dark night. It was as if innumerable golden serpents were swimming across the night sky. At that moment, a figure rushed violently into the Sacred Temple. It was Princess Aronana, holding a Green Dragon Crescent Blade.
"Big Dummy, Shen Lang, can I fight with you tonight? It's a shame I couldn't find my master. Otherwise, she would definitely... Master!"
Aronana spotted the Divine Maiden Xue Yin. She tossed her great blade aside and ran toward her.
"Master, what happened? Why are you like this? Don't scare me. Don't leave me..."
Seeing Xue Yin completely still, Princess Aronana was so shocked she burst into tears. Shen Lang said to her.
"Princess Nana, you've come at the perfect time. I'm about to save your master, and I need your help."
Aronana nodded desperately.
"Please, save my master quickly. She's the best person in the world. She can't die."
"Hold your master and follow me into the small tent!"
Inside, there was a frame with hooks, designed for suspending a person.
"Hang your master on the frame so that her body hangs down naturally."
Aronana was surprised but said nothing and did as Shen Lang instructed. The Divine Maiden Xue Yin was suspended, hanging in mid-air. Shen Lang took out several glass vials and a sharp knife. Finally, he produced a test tube containing the essence of the golden bloodline. He had drawn a pint of blood from Big Dummy to extract just one milliliter of the golden bloodline essence. The essence glowed with a golden-yellow light; anyone else would have surely mistaken it for molten gold.
How many gu-worms were inside Xue Yin's body now? It was impossible to know, but an astronomical number of them must have occupied her blood vessels, releasing neurotoxins and paralyzing her entire nervous system. That was why she was completely immobile, like a person in a vegetative state. Shen Lang had already experimented to see how fatally attractive this bloodline essence was to the gu-worms of Mount Fudao. Upon sensing the essence, the worms would swarm toward it like moths to a flame. To them, the bloodline essence was like the most exquisite energy in the world. But whether it could save Xue Yin was still unknown.
Shen Lang handed a needle to Aronana and said.
"In a moment, I will point to a part of your master's body. You must quickly pierce that spot with this silver needle. Do you understand?"
Aronana nodded. Shen Lang began his attempt to save Xue Yin. He used a needle and tube to pierce a blood vessel in Xue Yin's foot. Instantly, crimson blood poured out into a glass vial. The blood was teeming with countless gu-worms.
"Success or failure hinges on this moment!"
Shen Lang held his breath and dropped the golden bloodline essence into the vial of crimson blood. In that instant, an incredibly bizarre scene unfolded. The blood in the glass vial began to boil. Of course, the blood wasn't boiling from high temperature. It was because the countless gu-worms within, sensing the energy of the golden bloodline essence, became incredibly agitated and started to move, madly trying to devour the power.
As Xue Yin's red blood continued to flow through the inserted tube into the glass vial, the gu-worms seemed to communicate with each other, awakening every worm throughout her body in an instant. All the gu-worms went into a frenzy, instinctively swimming toward the golden bloodline essence. Tens of thousands, no, hundreds of thousands. No, millions, tens of millions, perhaps even hundreds of millions of gu-worms rushed forward like moths to a flame. In fact, they rushed with even more intensity and speed than moths. Hundreds of millions of gu-worms moved in a single direction, swiftly swimming along the Divine Maiden Xue Yin's blood vessels, out through the wound, through the tube, and all madly diving toward the golden bloodline essence in the glass vial.
The movement of the gu-worms was visible to the naked eye, and a thick, captivating fragrance filled the air, intoxicating those who smelled it. At the same time, a uniquely beautiful purple color appeared on Xue Yin's body.
*Swish, swish, swish, swish.*
The moving purple masses were countless gu-worms. Like a school of salmon returning to the sea, millions, no, hundreds of millions of gu-worms left Xue Yin's body in just a few short minutes and entered the glass vial Shen Lang had prepared. The half-full vial of crimson blood seethed violently. The blood inside was no longer red, but a vivid purple. It was impossible to know how many hundreds of millions of gu-worms were inside. But the purple color that had appeared on the surface of Xue Yin's body vanished completely.
Then, the queen gu-worm appeared. It emerged from within Xue Yin's cardiac artery. Shen Lang had examined Xue Yin's body several times before, but because the queen gu-worm was hidden inside the artery, it had appeared as one with the blood vessel during his X-ray scans, and he hadn't discovered it. It was only later, when Shen Lang took out the golden bloodline essence and the queen moved a few times, that he had detected its presence.
The queen gu-worm was so thick that it could only reside in the cardiac artery. Summoned by the golden bloodline essence, it tried desperately to swim out, but at two to three millimeters thick and three to four centimeters long, it was difficult for it to pass through the blood vessel. It was about to become a clot blocking Xue Yin's artery, endangering her life. The queen gu-worm quickly swam into a relatively thicker vessel, neither an artery nor a vein. Shen Lang moved his plan forward, pointing to Xue Yin's chest and saying.
"Here, now!"
With lightning speed, Aronana plunged the needle in her hand with all her might. In that instant, the queen gu-worm was pinned by the needle. Shen Lang quickly made an incision at the spot with a small knife, extracted the queen gu-worm whole, and sealed it in a test tube.
* * *
*RUMBLE.*
Outside, the sky-splitting thunder grew even more intense. The lightning flashing across the night sky grew thicker, striking down with astonishing force. In the instant a bolt flashed, the night sky would turn as bright as day. Soon after, the sound of densely packed footsteps could be heard as Shen Lang's Sacred Temple was surrounded. Two thousand five hundred bald warriors, each looking fierce and menacing, had surrounded the Sacred Temple he had built, leaving no room for escape.