Chapter 664: Dismiss
Li Huowang was wrapped in a dense murderous aura as he slowly walked into Shangjing with his horse. His red robes were now even redder. No one dared to get close to him.
His appearance naturally attracted the informants inside the city but they were already used to it.
The informants knew that Li Huowang was close to the Emperor. There was no reason to dig into Li Huowang’s identity unless they wanted trouble.
Li Sui was currently wearing the skin of Princess Anping. She sat sideways on the horse as her head nodded in sync with the gait of the horse. She seemed tired.
Cowheart Village was quite far from Shangjing, but Li Huowang had gone back to clear out the bases of the Dharma Sect surrounding the village. Li Sui used this opportunity to take Princess Anping’s skin. She also let them know she and Li Huowang were safe, and told them about the Lu family’s tragedy.
Li Huowang went straight to the Surveillance Bureau, taking no detours.
“Where else are the Dharma Sect hiding? In which places are they instigating rebellions?” Li Huowang questioned the man behind the counter.
“Eeek... Dear Sir, please wait a moment.” Nangong Yun was sweating as he checked his record.
Nangong Yun was a careful person. He knew that Li Huowang was now related to the Emperor and had a different position now.
“Dear Sir, most of the larger bases have been cleared out, all thanks to you. Also, let me calculate your rewards for all the missions you’ve completed.”
Li Huowang waved his hand in dismissal. “No need.”
He didn’t accept the missions for the rewards—he did it because he really wanted to destroy the Dharma Sect. He needed to stop their expansion and prevent the Liang Kingdom from ending up like the Qi Kingdom.
Li Huowang exited the Surveillance Bureau and decided to go find Gao Zhijian. After working in the Surveillance Bureau for so long, he knew that the information disseminated by them was often incomplete.
Li Huowang would not rest until the Dharma Sect was completely eradicated.
He had just exited the Surveillance Bureau when he saw someone he didn’t expect. Lu Xiucai was standing in front of Li Huowang with a bronze coin sword behind his back. Lu Xiucai had stubble and his eyes were bloodshot as he held onto the reins of two horses. Both horses were foaming at their mouth and looked like they could collapse at any moment.
“Master, where is my father?” Lu Xiucai’s voice was hoarse, as if he already knew the answer.
Li Huowansg stood still and didn’t react.
After he cursed Li Huowang and Gao Zhijian, Lu XIucai crumpled to the ground while he cried. He kept slapping his own mouth out of frustration. He slapped again and again until his hands were swollen. Blood dribbled from his mouth without any signs of stopping.
It wasn't until Lu Xiucai’s cheeks were swelling due to his own slaps that Xiu’er jumped down from Li Sui’s embrace and hugged him. Lu Xiucai stopped slapping himself and hugged his niece. Both of them cried together.
Li Huowang turned and made his way towards the palace when he saw them hugging. He wasn’t cold-blooded. It was just that he had seen the same scene too many times. If he didn’t deal with the Dharma Sect, these kinds of tragedies would happen again.
Li Huowang entered the palace without anyone stopping him, though he still felt a lot of people gazing at him from the dark.
However, Li Huowang was used to it.
Li Huowang entered the main palace and saw that Gao Zhijian was having his morning assembly. Li Huowang projected his body image into the ground and turned invisible as he waited for the morning assembly to be over.
“My Lord, Qing Shang is still having a drought without a single drop of water.”
“My Lord, He Dong’s granaries were burnt in a fire. The people don’t have anything to eat.”
Gao Zhijian was massaging his temple when he heard the reports. “These were already reported by someone else. Is there anything new?”
No sooner had he said that, a martial officer[1] looked at Li Huowang before he reported, “My Lord, Hou Shu’s envoy committed suicide yesterday by swallowing gold.[2] Before he died, he had written a letter with his own blood and tears. My Lord, please dispatch the troops to save Hou Shu.”
He had just said that when another martial officer stepped forward. “My Lord, the envoy from Qing Qiu brought the Khan’s personal enamel gold blade to request for an audience.”
Gao Zhijian sighed and waved his hands. “Dismissed.”
1. An official who’s in charge of the military ☜
2. The gold here refers to unrefined gold ore which may contain arsenic ☜