4: Chapter 4 My First Mission: To Have Me Join the Embroidered Uniform Guard?

"They're here!"

Commander Qin Hu, whose gaze had been fixed ahead, suddenly felt his heart tighten. He subconsciously straightened his back, quickly adjusted his attire, turned around, and whispered sharply to the hundreds of Imperial Guard behind him: "Everyone, perk up! Stand straight! If anyone makes me dissatisfied, you'll have a hard time when we get back!"

Only a few breaths later, the carriage stopped outside the city gate.

Eunuch Wei, who was driving the carriage, swept his gaze over Commander Qin Hu with a hint of a smile on his face: "Long time no see, Commander Qin. Your information network is quite sharp to be waiting here so early in the morning."

Facing Eunuch Wei's teasing, Commander Qin Hu dared not show any arrogance and hurriedly stepped forward two paces,

"I am merely following Your Majesty's order to respectfully welcome the Prince back to the capital."

As he spoke, Commander Qin Hu glanced toward the tightly closed carriage curtain, "Is the Prince... inside?"

Eunuch Wei's smile remained unchanged. He nodded and was about to speak—

"Little Wei."

A calm voice drifted out from the carriage.

"Why have we stopped?"

Eunuch Wei immediately restrained his smile, turned sideways toward the carriage, and bowed his head slightly: "My Lord, Commander Qin Hu is here under Your Majesty's orders to welcome you."

"... Engaging in these empty formalities again." Xia Jin in the carriage shook his head helplessly, "Alright, let's go straight to the Great Xia Imperial Palace."

"Yes," Eunuch Wei replied.

Commander Qin Hu, who had been listening intently, immediately interjected upon hearing this: "Your Highness, this subordinate will lead the way for you! We'll leave immediately!"

He turned around and waved his hand, "Clear the way! Escort the Prince's carriage into the palace!"

"Understood!"

The hundreds of Imperial Guard responded in unison, immediately splitting into two lines to guard the front and back, with Commander Qin Hu personally riding his horse at the very front. Soon, the group galloped toward the Great Xia Imperial Palace.

On the top floor of a three-story inn not far from the Imperial Way, a street-facing window was slightly ajar.

A pair of sinister eyes was peering through the gap, looking down at the carriage Xia Jin was riding in.

"The Black Dragon carriage..." Left Emissary Pei Wenhuan's expression turned somewhat gloomy. He smashed the wine cup in his hand onto the ground, wine spilling everywhere. "It actually is him returning. Why, why must it be at this time..."

Beside him, an old woman holding an ebony cane still wore a look of disapproval.

"Left Emissary Pei, aren't you overestimating this person too much! This time, it's merely him returning to the capital alone. Now that our Sacred Cult has joined forces with the 'White Lotus' and 'Joyful' sects, pooling the strength of three sects, are we really afraid of just him, Xia Jin?"

"Afraid of just him?" Left Emissary Pei turned around and looked at her coldly, "Granny Shang, that's easy for you to say! The battle on the summit of Mount Langya three years ago—even though you and I weren't there, haven't you heard the rumors?"

"'That Great Grandmaster Ling Buyu, known as a master of the sword, what was the result? He was slain on the summit by Xia Jin with a single sword!'"

"Three years have passed, who knows what level Xia Jin's strength has reached? Among the three sects, only our Ming Cult leader has stepped into the Great Grandmaster Realm. But do you think the leader alone can stop him?"

"This..." Granny Shang's eyelids twitched. She wanted to retort, but realized what Left Emissary Pei said was indeed the truth.

She could only whisper, "...Truly a monster."

"Enough." Pei Wenhuan walked to the table, poured himself another cup of wine, and drank it in one gulp,

"Since the leader and the others have decided to move against Great Xia, they must already have a plan to deal with Xia Jin. These major matters are not for us to worry about."

"Remember to give the order later," Left Emissary Pei said, watching the carriage disappear from his sight, "Before the leader arrives in the capital, tell our people to keep a low profile. Without my orders, no one is allowed to act rashly."

"Especially those troublemakers, keep a close eye on them. At this time, if anyone dares to jump out and court disaster... I'll purge them myself before Xia Jin even has to make a move!"

...

Inside the Yangxin Hall of the Great Xia Imperial Palace,

Emperor Xia Yu had been waiting in the hall. Seeing Xia Jin step over the threshold, a smile immediately appeared on his face, and he walked up quickly: "Big Brother! You've had a hard journey! I'm sorry to have disturbed your cultivation this time..."

"Hmph! As long as you know!"

Xia Jin walked straight to a sandalwood chair on the side and sat down, glaring fiercely at Emperor Xia Yu.

"If the matter you mentioned in your letter wasn't so tricky, I wouldn't have had to make this trip. Cultivating my mind in Qingzhou was very peaceful."

The smile on Emperor Xia Yu's face stiffened slightly, then turned into a bitter smile. He waved away the guards in the hall, leaving only Commander Qin Hu and Eunuch Wei to serve at the door.

"Big Brother, please don't blame me. If it weren't for the Qingyun Sect being so aggressive this time, and the remnants of the Demon Cult frequently causing trouble in the capital region, I wouldn't dare to trouble you..."

"Wouldn't dare to trouble me?" Xia Jin glanced at him and snorted coldly, "The Qingyun Sect is one thing, but these remnants of the Demon Cult—you, the dignified Emperor of Great Xia, can't even keep your own capital in check and need me to come and clean up your mess?"

These words were extremely impolite, even somewhat vulgar.

Commander Qin Hu and Eunuch Wei, standing respectfully to the side, both twitched their eyelids upon hearing this. With great tacit understanding, they both turned slightly to the side, looking at their noses and focusing on their hearts.

In the entire Great Xia, perhaps only this person dared to speak so bluntly, almost reprimanding, in front of His Majesty.

Emperor Xia Yu was choked to the point where his face turned red and white, yet he dared not retort, only saying helplessly: "Big Brother is right to reprimand me... However, the Demon Cult operates so mysteriously. Although I have dispatched the Imperial Guard to arrest them with all their might, there haven't been many results..."

"Enough, besides the Imperial Guard, do you even..." Before Xia Jin could finish speaking, a prompt from the System suddenly sounded in his mind again.

Ding! Keyword detected, corresponding mission triggered. Please, Host, hurry and join the Imperial Guard!

[Mission Reward: Spiritual Perception (Entry-Level, 500-meter range), twenty years of cultivation.]

Xia Jin suddenly widened his eyes, feeling somewhat suspicious.

This mission issued by the System... could it be that it must be triggered by corresponding keywords? I seem to have just mentioned the Imperial Guard...

"Big Brother? Big Brother!"

Seeing Xia Jin suddenly fall silent with a stagnant gaze, Emperor Xia Yu waved his hand in front of him.

Xia Jin came back to his senses, his eyes refocused, and he waved his hand: "It's nothing!"

After a brief thought, he followed his previous line of reasoning and said to Emperor Xia Yu: "Go, bring me an Imperial Guard waist medallion."

"Huh?" Emperor Xia Yu was stunned upon hearing this and asked confusedly: "Big Brother, what do you need an Imperial Guard waist medallion for?"

Xia Jin glared at him with annoyance and instantly made up a reason: "The Imperial Guard you've raised can't even root out the remnants of the Demon Cult in the capital region. They are incompetent, simply a bunch of trash! Since I'm rarely in the capital, I'll take this opportunity to properly train these guys for you, and by the way, wipe out those rats in the gutter, so you don't have to worry all day long."

The word "trash" reached the ears of Commander Qin Hu, who was standing respectfully to the side.

Commander Qin Hu trembled imperceptibly, and fine cold sweat instantly seeped from his forehead. He wailed in his heart: This comment from the Prince... surely isn't aimed at me, the Commander, right?