Chapter 617: Am I Really Going to Lose an Arm?

Not only was Zu An not frightened when he heard the emperor’s roar, he wanted to laugh. It was because he was thinking similar things earlier, but what he imagined wasn’t a food market, but a public restroom.

But honestly, this emperor shouldn’t be cursing out other people like this. Even though the guards were led by the nose this time, that was only because the enemy was too strong. The number one assassin organization Shadow Group and the elites of the Devil Sect came out. There was even a grandmaster that appeared, yet the most powerful emperor never made an appearance. What were these guards supposed to do?

What the hell was this emperor doing anyways?

Zu An wondered if he should announce his arrival. He might get caught up in the scolding if he showed up now.

The eunuch outside then told him, “His majesty has said that Sir Eleven should just enter once he comes.”

Zu An was immediately relieved and happy. “Thank you.”

He carefully entered and was then shocked to discover that there was no emperor inside, instead, there was only a massive mirror. The emperor’s reflection appeared on its surface. It was similar to the recording mirror he used to chat with Chu Chuyan, but this one was much larger.

He was alarmed. What is going on? He looked around and saw that the others weren’t surprised at all, as if they already predicted things to be like this.

He secretly sized up the surroundings. At this point, Zhuxie Chixin was an old acquaintance. He was bossy and domineering outside with his nose pointing at the sky, yet right now, he was standing to the side obediently like a little quail, his attitude incredibly respectful.

The one who was being pointed at and scolded was another old acquaintance, Guard General Liu Yao.

His head was lowered right now, continuously begging for forgiveness. His previous arrogance in Brightmoon City was nowhere to be seen.

Even though he was the empress’ uncle, so he was the emperor’s senior nominally, he didn’t dare show any of that before the emperor himself.

He was quite depressed himself. Even though the Guard General, in theory, was the highest ranked commander of the imperial palace, he usually lived in a manor. The imperial palace’s defenses were operated by the Left, Right, Guerilla Warfare, and Brave Rider Generals, as well as Zhuxie Chixin’s Embroidered Envoy and the Supervisor of Attendants’ few imperial bodyguards.

He already finished work and left happily. When all of this chaos was happening, it was nighttime. He was at home drinking happily. How could he possibly react to the situation in time?

Zu An’s eyes shifted to the side. These were all big shots in the imperial palace! Right General Guo Zhi, Guerrilla Warfare General Zhao Yuan, he met both of them in the eastern palace earlier.

He met one other big fella not too long ago too. He was chasing after Qiu Honglei, but was stopped for a moment by his own flame blade. This was precisely the Left Guard General Cheng Xiong.

Zu An didn’t see the Brave Rider General here. He wondered where this man was.

There was another lean elder. His bronze skin gave his slim body a mysterious explosive strength.

While he was at the academy, Shang Liuyu gave him an illustration book. This book introduced the clothing of important officials in the court. This uniform looked a bit like the Supervisor of Attendants.

Was this the new Supervisor of Attendants, Murong Qinghe, that little girl’s grandfather Murong Tong?

No wonder that little girl had tanned skin. Was this a hereditary trait of the clan?

Compared to the other yes-men, Murong Tong’s figure was much straighter. He was in charge of the emperor’s ceremonial bodyguards. The emperor’s cultivation was unmatched, so the ceremonial bodyguards’ duty was only nominal. Furthermore, he was transferred to this role through other intentions to this idle post, and so today’s assassination was not his fault.

Hmph, it’s all that brat Zu An’s fault! That’s why even I have to accompany these fellas and endure all of this!

You have successfully trolled Murong Tong for +723 Rage points!

Zu An jumped in fright when he saw the Rage points. He thought that Murong Tong recognized him! But after thinking about it, he changed his mind. This old man was probably still upset about being transferred.

After the emperor scolded them for a while, he seemed to have calmed down a bit. He thus said, “All of the officials here will have their ranks dropped by one level and you will forfeit your salary for three years. You all will temporarily remain in your positions and continue to deal with your matters like normal until you make up for your faults with contributions.”

“Thank you, your majesty!” All of them bowed down and expressed their thanks. For people of their level, things like salary were already dispensable. This type of punishment was already letting them off easy.

Zu An was the only one who was upset. Bruh, I haven’t even gotten a single paycheck yet, but you’re going to take three years of it already?

I don’t have other sources of income like these fellas. Not only do I have to risk my life to help the emperor complete his stupid mission, I have to work as a slave for three years?

Not even a sweat shop is this abusive!

But he had just witnessed the emperor’s power. Even though he was cursing inside, he didn’t dare jump out and complain here.

The emperor nodded in satisfaction when he saw everyone’s reactions. Then, he said, “Cheng Xiong, you will be in charge of the empress’ assassination case, and you will also look into the background of those assassins!”

“Guo Zhi, you are in charge of the eastern palace’s crown prince assassination. Eliminate all of the escaping assassins.”

“Liu Yao, Zhao Yuan, you all are in charge of locking down the capital city. You are permitted to arrest all suspicious individuals. All those who resist are to be executed!”

“Understood!” Everyone received their orders.

Zu An was glad that Qiao Xueying got away earlier today. Otherwise, her clansmen might not be able to get away even half a day later. She suffered patiently in the capital for so long and finally managed to successfully save her clansmen. It would be far too tragic if everything failed at the last step.

Comparatively speaking, he was more worried about Qiu Honglei. It was already dark, and the security around the walls was strict. She had no way of leaving the capital city. He wondered if she’ll be able to escape from Liu Yao and Zhao Yuan.

The others left after receiving their orders. Zu An and Zhuxie Chixin were the only ones left in the study.

The emperor looked at Zhuxie Chixin. “Did you capture that woman?”

Zu An was alarmed. He knew that the emperor was talking about Qiu Honglei’s master. His ears pricked up.

Zhuxie Chixin shook his head.

“This humble one is incompetent. We searched for a long time, but we were not able to find her whereabouts. We don’t even know if she left the palace.”

The emperor’s appearance instead became amiable. “That woman is a grandmaster. Even though she is seriously injured, she’s not that easy to capture. However, the city games are already shut, so I am sure she hasn’t left the capital city yet. You are still in charge of finding her.”

“Understood.” Zhuxie Chixin bowed respectfully.

The emperor then said, “You’re familiar with all types of intelligence. After fighting against her, have you determined her background?”

Zhuxie Chixin said, “That woman used a short sword at first and fought with master level cultivation, which I reckon to be because she didn’t want to reveal her identity. But when she faced your majesty’s attack, she was forced to use her true weapon. This allowed me to pick up some clues.”

“The weapon she used is the Wheel of the Crescent Moon, and she is a light element cultivator. She is able to slow down time. This matches the identity of the Devil Sect’s Sect Master Yun Jianyue.”

Zu An’s heart began to pound. Holy crap, she’s exposed! Qiu Honglei and the others’ plan to frame King Qi is probably done for! Not only that, the court is probably going to attack the Devil Sect at full force now… Things don’t look good for them.

But Qiu Honglei’s master’s name and her bearing were quite fitting. Back then, she looked just like a moon among the clouds. [1]

The emperor remained silent for a while. Then, he said, “Did you tell anyone else about this?”

Zhuxie Chixin hurriedly replied. “This subject knows the importance of this information. I have not spoken about it to anyone else.”

The emperor nodded. “That’s good. We will keep this matter a secret. You are not permitted to bring it up again.”

Even though Zhuxie Chixin was a bit confused, he didn’t ask further and only agreed. “Understood!”

Zu An was stunned. What the hell is going on? Could it be that Qiu Honglei’s master is the emperor’s old flame or something? That doesn’t seem right! If she was a former lover, then he should’ve quickly realized who she was from that exchange.

“You can withdraw. Zu An, stay behind.” The emperor’s indifferent voice sounded from the mirror.

“Yes.” Zhuxie Chixin gave Zu An a look of shock before leaving, but he didn’t say anything else. He quickly withdrew and closed the door behind him.

The emperor looked at Zu An. His expression became extremely sharp. “I heard that you carried the crown princess today?”

Even though he was only facing a mirror, that pressure caused Zu An’s clothes to be soaked in cold sweat. “Reporting to your majesty. The situation was critical, I did that to save the crown princess…”

He was interrupted before he could even finish. The emperor gave him a cold look. “Which hand did you use to carry her? Cut it off yourself.”

1. Yun = Cloud, Jian = Between, Yue = Moon