9: Ephemera Building

Chapter 9 Fuyou House

"Hoo, hoo... Damn it!"

North of the city, Golden Phoenix Mountain, Mountain God Temple.

Furious Vajra panted heavily, his previously frantic dashing finally coming to a halt.

"The mere Zhao family of Ganzhou is nothing much after all! Heh, heh, heh..."

His chest, shoulders, and back were covered in black palm prints, looking as though he had been poisoned, causing his entire skin to appear somewhat darkened.

At that moment, a figure slowly walked out from within the Mountain God Temple.

The figure was lean and wore a black mask, clearly also a member of the assassins.

"You're late."

"Bastard... The intelligence you gave was fake!"

"You said we had the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, who would have thought the Imperial Army would arrive so quickly..."

Furious Vajra strode over aggressively, swinging a slap toward the figure in black, but the figure easily caught it.

"Hmm?"

"If it weren't for the sake of diversion... This old man would never have agreed to let your kind participate in this plan."

The figure in black sneered, "In that case, go and die!"

"What?"

Furious Vajra was greatly shocked in his heart and immediately retreated.

But the black-clad figure's speed was even faster than his, closing in right before him almost instantly.

With a flash in his hand, a goose-feather saber appeared, a red light swept past, and a slash was made directly toward Furious Vajra's neck.

"Hundred Battles Blood Fiend Saber! You are—"

"Pfft!"

Before the words could finish, a large head soared into the sky.

"Trash!"

The figure in black said coldly, his gaze suddenly looking toward the south.

In that direction, fireworks flickered, clearly belonging to those conducting the pursuit.

"Arriving so quickly... It seems the dog emperor was prepared long ago."

"Fortunately... You lot won't be able to find out anything!"

His figure flickered as he immediately withdrew from the place.

Half the time it takes to burn incense later, a large number of troops surrounded the place and quickly discovered Furious Vajra's corpse.

"Reporting to Your Excellency! A corpse has been found, it is Furious Vajra, Wei Yijin, who just participated in the assassination of Your Majesty!"

"Was anything else found?"

Royal City Division commander Ma Jinwu asked with a frown, his gaze also extremely gloomy.

Right at the feet of the Son of Heaven, an assassination attempt against Your Majesty had actually occurred.

As the commander of the Royal City Division, he would bear the greatest responsibility!

"After investigation, this subordinate discovered that the person's wound has severe blood fiend Qi, and the time of death is no more than the time it takes to burn a stick of incense."

"Therefore, this subordinate deduces that the Move used by the killer is the 'Hundred Battles Blood Fiend Saber', and it must be at the pinnacle realm!"

"Hundred Battles Blood Fiend Saber? The frontier army!"

Ma Jinwu's expression suddenly changed as he abruptly turned around, "All of you, inspect the surroundings carefully. I am entering the palace to see Your Majesty!"

Deep in the night.

The entire imperial city was surging with undercurrents due to Your Majesty's assassination attempt.

Teams of the Imperial Army patrolled the streets and alleys, arresting all suspicious individuals.

In just a few hours, the dungeons and celestial prisons were packed to capacity, with sounds of fighting and screams echoing constantly.

At a time like this, it is better to kill by mistake than to let anyone escape.

Under curfew, anyone daring to appear on the street without a token would be dealt with as an accomplice of the assassins!

Meanwhile, inside a large courtyard in the imperial city, the black-clad figure was kneeling before an old man, reporting something carefully.

"The mission failed... That little emperor actually didn't die?"

The old man said in a deep voice, "It seems this little emperor was also prepared long ago, actually having people from the Hall of Offerings hide within the Imperial Army."

"And that old dog Wang Zhongyi, I didn't expect him to actually achieve a Breakthrough...!"

"My Lord," the figure in black said respectfully, "how should we be dealt with next?"

"You stay in this old man's residence first. Once this matter is settled, this old man will send you back to Bin Province!"

The old man was majestic without anger, saying indifferently, "No matter how bold the Imperial Army is, they would never dare to search this old man's mansion!"

The lamplight flickered, casting light on the old man's figure.

This person was actually... the current Prime Minister, Yang Xuansu!

"Yes, My Lord."

"Wait, this old man has another matter for you to do."

Yang Xuansu tapped on the table with one hand, his eyes full of mockery.

"It seems the little emperor also has his own plans. The Tang King is dead, so even if this old man doesn't make a Move, the little emperor will target this old man sooner or later."

"Since assassination won't work, then don't blame this old man for being ruthless!"

"Can Lang, after this matter calms down, you go and spread this news, make sure the entire world knows!"

"My Lord, what matter?"

"Come closer and listen."

After a few breaths, Can Lang's eyes widened abruptly, and he exclaimed, "How is that possible! The current Your Majesty actually..."

"Heh, heh, heh..."

Yang Xuansu sneered, "If not for this, how could that Tang Xiaozu forsake Your Majesty and defect to the Tang King?"

"This matter was told to this old man personally by Tang Xiaozu when I visited him in the celestial prison!"

"If this matter is leaked, how can the little emperor continue to sit upon the throne?"

He said proudly, "By then, you only need to use this opportunity to continue leading the army south, and we can force Your Majesty to abdicate."

"Under the late emperor's knees, the only adult princes are the Tang King and the current Your Majesty. The remaining Prince Ning and Prince Qing are merely babes in swaddling clothes, how could they escape this old man's palm?"

"By then, the entire Great Yu realm will be within reach!"

Can Lang said respectfully, "Wishing My Lord success in all your wishes, we will definitely support you with all our might!"

"Very well, you may withdraw."

"Yes! My Lord!"

...

Deep within the imperial palace, Jiaotai Hall.

Wang Zhongyi stood bowed before Emperor Zhengyong, speaking in a low voice.

Beneath the flickering flames, Emperor Zhengyong's expression was uncertain, and it was unknown what he was thinking.

"Not a single one left alive?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty, those who stubbornly resisted were all killed. Among them were also dead soldiers with poison hidden in their mouths; after being captured, they bit down on their gums and died of poison..."

Wang Zhongyi said helplessly, "I beg Your Majesty for forgiveness, this servant is incompetent."

"Forget it, Grand Attendant." Emperor Zhengyong shook his head and said, "Was anything else found out regarding the assassins' identities?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty, it has been preliminarily investigated that there are three factions of assassins."

Wang Zhongyi said, "A portion of them are figures from the Martial Forest, led by Furious Vajra, Wei Yijin."

"This person is one of the Protectors of the Martial Forest organization 'Fuyou House', and his hard qigong Golden Bell Shield has long advanced to the first-rank realm."

"Unfortunately, he died beneath the 'Hundred Battles Blood Fiend Saber'!"

"Hundred Battles Blood Fiend Saber? The Bin Province frontier army! Damn it!"

Emperor Zhengyong gritted his teeth and said, "What on earth is Yang Xuansu doing? The frontier army mutiny still hasn't been resolved!"

"There is also Wu Country invading, yet he actually requests peace!"

Wang Zhongyi said, "Your Majesty, this second faction is the Bin Province frontier army."

"this servant didn't expect that they actually brought heavy crossbows into the imperial city. If not for... Shadow being here, Your Majesty, you would have been in grave danger!"

"Heavy crossbows?"

Emperor Zhengyong's gaze changed as he said, "The Imperial Army?!"

"Indeed... The Imperial Army has their people."

"What about the third faction?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty, this servant does not know about the third faction either," Wang Zhongyi said. "However, to be able to cultivate so many dead soldiers, it must either be an influential aristocratic clan or royal relatives."

"Or perhaps..."

"Yang Xuansu!"

Emperor Zhengyong gritted his teeth and said, "We should have thought it was him earlier, we didn't expect that he couldn't hold back either!"

"Your Majesty, you must not act rashly," Wang Zhongyi hurriedly advised. "Now the frontier army has mutinied, Wu Country has invaded, and there are civil unrests in Qing Province and Bin Province as well. If the imperial court falls into chaos again..."

Emperor Zhengyong took a deep breath and said, "We know. As long as Nanyue County remains stable, We can mobilize the Longxiang Army to march north."

"Abominable!"

After pondering for a long time, Wang Zhongyi spoke again, "Your Majesty, this servant doesn't know whether he should mention a certain matter."

"What matter?"

"It is also related to that Shadow... He has favored Bi He for more than a month now, the news can hardly be kept hidden any longer..."

"The inner palace... Who knows how many people's shadows are there, of course it couldn't be kept hidden if one wanted to."

"Today's assassination... Where is Bi He?"

"Following Your Majesty's instructions, she also went along."

Emperor Zhengyong said, "Bi He has rendered meritorious service in saving the sovereign, bestow upon her the rank of Noble Lady, to be Noble Lady Bi!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"