Chapter 17: I Refuse to Believe Great Xia Truly Has No Law Left!

In the capital, at the Yuelai Tavern.

The main hall was packed wall to wall, yet not a single sound could be heard.

Only the young man standing in the very center was speaking, spittle flying everywhere as he talked, though his face was somewhat pale.

“I’m not boasting to you! At the time, that sword was less than half a cun from my throat, but I still did not make a sound…”

“I knew I represented the face of Great Xia! Can a real man kneel?”

“He cannot!”

The people around him immediately began shouting in agreement.

But someone still raised a question:

“Young Master Su, you said that man was a Second-Rank expert. You are not even at the Third Rank yet, so how did you survive?”

“An excellent question!”

Su Can slapped the table and immediately took up the thread:

“They had their experts, but Great Xia has even greater ones! At that moment, all I saw was a blur before my eyes, and that fellow’s head was already gone.”

“Then I rode without stopping and finally brought the evidence back…”

At this point, a look of worship appeared in his eyes.

“Do you know what else I brought back? The Heaven-Slaying Diagram that had been lost abroad. You all saw it for yourselves.”

“For anyone from the academy to dare question Big Brother Xu is a complete joke!”

“Big Brother Xu could not even be bothered to argue. He answered them directly with Vast Righteous Qi. So tell me…”

He swept his gaze around with a smiling face.

“That Vast Righteous Qi was so pure, and white mist filled the sky! Wasn’t that the best proof there could be?”

“If his heart were not open and upright, how could his Vast Righteous Qi possibly be so vast and mighty? Isn’t that right?”

“Yes, yes!”

The people around him all nodded in agreement.

There really was no room to argue with that.

Everyone knew that the Confucian Dao demanded much of one’s heart and temperament. If one harbored even the slightest dark thought, one’s Vast Righteous Qi would have long since dispersed.

Outside the crowd, two men were watching with deeply furrowed brows.

“Who is this fellow? How can he be so arrogant?”

One of them lowered his voice and asked the people nearby.

“You aren’t locals of the capital, are you?”

When the two men nodded, the one being asked understood at once and explained:

“That is Su Can.”

“Su Can? Never heard of him… Even so, he should not be acting like this…”

“His father is Su Wuming, the Minister of War.”

“Oh…”

Only then did the two men nod in sudden understanding.

No wonder. He had status backing him up.

But the man merely chuckled and continued explaining:

“You two do not know. Back then, Su Can was also one of the great wastrels of the capital. If not for His Highness the Prince of Qin…”

And amid the crowd, the flush of excitement on Su Can’s pale face could no longer be hidden:

“When the Prince of Qin spoke the truth outright, that Zhao Family young master who fed evil spirits kicked his legs twice and was scared to death on the spot!”

“…”

“And that envoy from the Shan Kingdom! If he had not knelt down and kowtowed, I’m afraid even his head would have been gone…”

……

On the second floor, inside a private room with doors and windows tightly shut, Su Can’s arrogant laughter still carried through with astonishing force.

Ding Qiu, the envoy from the Shan Kingdom seated in the chair, clenched the wine cup in his hand so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

Crack!

The fine porcelain cup crumbled into powder in his palm, and wine splashed everywhere.

“Bullshit! Every word of it is bullshit!”

Ding Qiu’s chest rose and fell violently, his face twisted with fury.

What kowtowing until his forehead nearly cracked?

He had not knelt!

He absolutely had not knelt!

Were all these people blind?

“These lowborn wretches of Great Xia…”

And yet, with his status, going out to argue with them would only make him lose even more face.

He could not curse them. No one would listen if he tried to reason with them. He had tried to see the Empress and had been refused…

Stifling!

A vile fire crashed about inside his chest, burning his organs until they ached.

“The Confucian Dao…”

Ding Qiu drew in a deep breath, his eyes dark and vicious.

Great Xia’s Confucian Dao had never hidden itself. On the contrary, it had even shown some intention of spreading outward.

But the Shan Kingdom—or rather, every nation besides Great Xia—agreed on one thing:

Confucian cultivators had too many restrictions and found cultivation exceedingly difficult. If they did not reach sufficient numbers, then they were utterly worthless.

On the battlefield, the situation changed by the instant. Frail-bodied Confucian cultivators would be scattered at the first charge and would have no chance to display their strength at all.

Their secret arts might not be any weaker than the Confucian Dao, and so none of those nations took Confucian cultivators very seriously.

But when he recalled that endless rain of swords from yesterday, and that towering mountain-like “Suppress” character, he still felt a chill run down his spine.

Even if the Confucian Dao was not truly that strong, he still had to do something.

The Second Prince of the Shan Kingdom was about to arrive. If he saw that Ding Qiu had disgraced the Shan Kingdom, then forget his official position—he would not even be able to keep his life.

Knock, knock, knock.

A measured, rhythmic knock sounded at the door.

Ding Qiu abruptly lifted his head, a fierce gleam bursting from his eyes.

“Enter.”

The door opened a crack, and a middle-aged man in Great Xia official robes slipped inside. He was an official from the Court of Judicial Review.

The official went straight to the point without the slightest hesitation:

“Ding Qiu, I can take your case, but I will only take it. I will do nothing beyond that. As for the benefits, I want every bit that was promised…”

Ding Qiu looked at the newcomer and slowly curled his lips into a savage smile.

Since the Empress was unwilling to see him, then he would reclaim his face on his own.

Bang!

He pulled an exquisite little box from his robes. A faint trace of spiritual energy leaked from within it.

“I understand. You are merely taking a case. You have not violated Great Xia’s laws, and you are only carrying out the duties of your office.”

Hearing Ding Qiu’s words, the official visibly relaxed.

Slipping the little box into his sleeve, he offered a kindly reminder:

“It is good that you understand. I have only just emerged from closed-door cultivation and was assigned to this post by my sect, so I do not know much of the situation. But even I have heard that the Prince of Qin’s prestige is extremely high. Be careful.”

“Do not worry.”

Ding Qiu let out a cold laugh and explained at a leisurely pace:

“Does Great Xia not pride itself on being a land of rites and laws? Since it wants to speak of law, then I shall speak to you of law.”

“A life for a life, a debt repaid in coin! Could it be that a prince of Great Xia may stand above the law itself?”

Watching the Court of Judicial Review official leave, Ding Qiu narrowed his eyes.

He refused to believe Great Xia truly had no law left!

……

The night was dark as ink, and Prince of Qin Manor blazed with light.

Xu Yong strode into the study in great long steps, and it seemed that even now, a trace of blood still lingered on his Flying Fish Robe.

“Big Brother, we have intelligence on the Zhao Family!”

“Although the Empress’s side has already severed every connection with the Zhao Family,”

“our surprise move still managed to catch a few loose ends, and we found some clues connected to the Shan Kingdom… in the western outskirts!”

As he was speaking, a stooped figure appeared soundlessly in the corner of the study.

“The Shan Kingdom? Then Your Highness the Third Prince should be somewhat more careful.”

“Uncle Li, you’ve returned.”

The old eunuch gave a grunt of acknowledgment and spoke in an even tone:

“Yes. The one from the Shan Kingdom who attacked Su Can was a Second-Rank expert. Although this old servant has already slain him, there is certainly more hidden beneath this matter. Your Highness the Third Prince should still proceed with caution.”

“Uncle Li, you can rest easy.”

At some point, Xu Yong had already drifted silently to the desk and extended his hand.

Seeing that Big Brother did not react, he very naturally tucked several Slaughter Word Formula calligraphy sheets into his chest.

“With Big Brother’s calligraphy sheets in hand, my safety need not even be mentioned.”

As he spoke, his figure was already moving toward the door, his tone full of impatient excitement:

“I’ll go let Second Brother see the might of the Slaughter calligraphy sheets first… Kekeke…”

Watching Xu Yong leave, Li Lianying turned his gaze toward Xu Tian and said hesitantly:

“Oh, yes, there is one more matter… On my way back, this old servant went to see His Majesty as well. His Majesty said…”

Under Xu Tian’s puzzled gaze, the old eunuch seemed somewhat reluctant to say it aloud.

“The southern frontier has been somewhat unsettled. The imperial princess of the Miao Kingdom, said to be the reincarnation of the Gu King, will be coming to the capital soon to attend the Empress’s birthday banquet.”

Xu Tian frowned slightly.

“The imperial princess of the Miao Kingdom? Who is that?”