Ouchi Taming the Cat, starting with the Ten Tiger Forms!

Chapter 617: Self-pity

Li Xuan continued to nod in response to Zhao Feng's second question.

"Oh? You know about the man-eating locust plague?"

Zhao Feng showed a surprised expression.

Li Xuan immediately repeated what Deng Weixian had said to Yu'er.

But Zhao Feng said, "Deng Wei first lied to Yu'er, it's not like that."

But at this time, they had already arrived at the door of Ganlu Temple, and it was obviously not the time to continue talking.

Zhao Feng shook his head gently at Li Xuan with a heavy expression, making him hold back the questions he wanted to ask.

They arrived at the gate, reported, and were soon received by Emperor Yongyuan.

Emperor Yongyuan got up very early and seemed to have finished washing up and his morning exercises.

It was the first time that Li Xuan saw Emperor Yongyuan wearing training clothes.

I have to say, this man has a great body.

He had a sturdy build, which filled up his loose training suit so much that the outline of his muscles could be clearly seen.

Before, Emperor Yongyuan always wore a loose red dragon robe, and I never realized that he had such a good figure.

"Emperor Yongyuan's figure is very similar to Monk Chengche's. Could it be that he also follows the path of fierce external skills?"

Li Xuan guessed secretly in his heart.

Emperor Yongyuan first asked them to wait aside, then with the help of Wang Xi, he wiped the sweat off his face and put on the red dragon robe with black dragon pattern that he usually wore.

Once the dragon robe was put on, Emperor Yongyuan's eye-catching figure was completely covered, and he looked like just an ordinary tall man.

Li Xuan looked at the sky outside and said with some surprise:

"This guy is quite diligent. He gets up before dawn to practice."

"On weekdays, he wears a large dragon robe to cover his body. He is a good at hiding his shortcomings."

Li Xuan still cannot tell the strength of Emperor Yongyuan to this day, which shows how well he disguised himself.

"What's up so early?"

After Emperor Yongyuan sat down at the dragon table, he wiped his hands and asked them.

"Your Majesty, yesterday Ah Xuan discovered unusual movements outside the city and sensed the aura of the Western Region Fire Demon."

"Master Ye, Ah Xuan, and this old slave went to investigate. Zhao Feng stayed in the palace. On the way, they notified Master Shanliao of Chongfu Temple and Master Chenghai of Ci'en Temple to go together. They happened to encounter the Western Region Fire Demon and the former Saint of the Holy Fire Sect, Sharon, fighting each other."

"With Master Ye and Master Shanluo as the main force, and Master Chenghai assisting from the side, we were able to successfully kill the Western Region Fire Demon in one fell swoop."

"In addition, the old slave cooperated with Ah Xuan to control the dying Sharon. Ah Xuan hoped to use this person to contact the Holy Fire Cult and establish a good cooperative relationship."

"Afterwards, the Five Elements Reincarnation of the Western Region Fire Demon after his death was absorbed by Xuan. Apart from the people who participated in the battle, no one else knew about the death of the Western Region Fire Demon."

"As for whether the Zheng Palace has other means to find out the life or death of the Western Region Fire Demon, it is still unknown."

Chief Steward Shang stepped forward and briefly reported to Emperor Yongyuan what had happened last night.

Originally, Zhao Feng should have been the one to deal with this kind of thing, but he did not participate in the battle last night and only heard about the process later.

Now, when it comes to reporting, only Chief Steward Shang, who knows the situation better, can come forward.

"The Western Region Fire Demon is dead..."

Emperor Yongyuan said this with a hint of a smile on his face.

The matter of the Fire Demon in the Western Regions had been reported before by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Unexpectedly, just a few days later, Emperor Yongyuan received the good news that the Fire Demon in the Western Regions had been killed.

Thinking of this, Emperor Yongyuan couldn't help but look at Li Xuan in a good mood.

Li Xuan was confused by the look on his face. He blinked and looked at Emperor Yongyuan without avoiding any hesitation.

"Shang Zongguan is reporting to you. Why is the old emperor looking at me?"

Emperor Yongyuan withdrew his gaze with amusement and continued talking about business.

"There are problems within Buddhism. It will take time for Floating Cloud Temple to intervene. The Holy Fire Sect is indeed worth contacting."

"Let Xuan handle this matter. If necessary, the Ministry of Internal Affairs must provide all reasonable support."

Emperor Yongyuan's words made it clear that he supported Li Xuan.

He didn't even ask Li Xuan about his plans for more details.

After being together for so long, Emperor Yongyuan has already understood Li Xuan's temperament.

Although Li Xuan is a cat, he is always reliable in doing things. He knows what he is doing even if he doesn't say it. He will never keep silent when he has difficulties. In many cases, he will even create difficulties for people who don't have any difficulties to please him.

As soon as Emperor Yongyuan finished speaking, Li Xuan's baby voice rang out:
"Your wise and mighty majesty, how exactly do you support meow?"

"Ah Xuan, as long as I think it is reasonable, I will support it." Emperor Yongyuan said firmly.

"So if you want to get more support, you have to make me feel it's reasonable enough."

"As long as it's reasonable, it's not a problem!"

Li Xuan understood that Emperor Yongyuan could not be too blunt in saying some things.

Emperor Yongyuan’s meaning was very clear. This reasonable degree required Li Xuan’s efforts.

As long as Emperor Yongyuan thinks it is beneficial to Daxing, he can invest.

With the support of Emperor Yongyuan, Li Xuan felt more confident when negotiating with the Holy Fire Sect.

Otherwise, it would be difficult for him to control other members of the Holy Fire Sect just by using his illusory identity as a holy beast.

After all, it’s impossible that other people are as easy to deceive as Aimu and Xie Qingmo, right?
After saying this, Manager Shang then reported on matters related to Jiangnan Road.

"Your Majesty, Jiangnan suffered a great disaster last year, and there was also a plague of man-eating locusts. Now there is the incident at Fuhu Temple, which has led to internal disputes within the Buddhist community."

"Considering the contents of the previous four grain transport accounts, I'm afraid that King Zheng had already anticipated this and had made sufficient preparations in Jiangnan Road."

"Your Majesty, regarding next year's southern tour..."

Chief Steward Shang looked nervous and looked at Emperor Yongyuan worriedly.

Emperor Yongyuan shook his head slightly without changing his expression.

“This is a necessary move.”

"It's the same for us and the emperor's uncle."

Hearing Emperor Yongyuan's reply, Ye Lao, Shang Zongguan and Zhao Feng all stepped forward and bowed, and responded loudly:

"I will obey the emperor's order!"

Li Xuan was confused, but seeing that the atmosphere had reached this point, he also stood on Zhao Feng's shoulder and lowered his head.

But he couldn't help wondering in his heart: "Why do you say it as if there is going to be a decisive battle?"

"What's so special about this Jiangnan Road?"

Li Xuan had a lot of questions in his mind, but it was obviously not the time to ask questions in this atmosphere.

After everyone calmed down, Li Xuan took the time to ask:
"What's going on with this Jiangnan Road, meow?"

Emperor Yongyuan then remembered that since Li Xuan had joined the group halfway, he needed some background information.

"Speaking of which, this matter is somewhat related to your Jingyang Palace." Emperor Yongyuan said with a smile.

At this time, Zhao Feng got the hint from Emperor Yongyuan's eyes and asked Li Xuan:
"Ah Xuan, what did Yu'er's brother Deng Weixian tell you?"

Li Xuan shook his head and explained, "When Deng Wei first came to find Yu'er, he mentioned meow once."

"I overheard it from the side, meow."

Li Xuan immediately repeated what happened that day. The content was exactly the same as what he had just said to Zhao Feng at the door. He didn't quite understand why Zhao Feng asked him to say it again in front of Emperor Yongyuan.

"Did Deng Weixian say that?" Upon hearing this, Emperor Yongyuan couldn't help but reveal an expression similar to Zhao Feng's before, with pity but also a bit of heaviness.

Li Xuan couldn't help but feel a little panicked. Zhao Feng just said that Deng Weixin lied, so what was the truth?

Moreover, Emperor Yongyuan actually knew the names of Deng Weixin and Yu'er, and did not show any unfamiliar look at all.

Li Xuan looked at everyone in confusion, not knowing what was going on.

"Zhao Feng, you tell me."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Zhao Feng immediately took the order and told Li Xuan the truth about Deng Weixian entering the palace.

"Last year, torrential rains continued for more than a month in the south, and floods occurred in various places. Millions of people were displaced and had no food to eat."

Li Xuan had just heard about this matter. The account book of the Siyun Grain Store recorded that after the flood, the imperial court opened the warehouse to provide disaster relief grain, but it was taken away by these bastards. They also took the opportunity to sell some of the grain to the capital at a high price.

Because of the floods in the south last year, and the opening of warehouses to provide disaster relief in various places, the overall grain prices in Daxing have risen to varying degrees, and some people took the opportunity to make a fortune from the national disaster.

This money is all stained with the resentful souls of the victims who died of starvation!

"After the flood, there were small-scale locust plagues in very few places."

"Locust plagues are more common in years of drought, but they are also possible after floods."

"But the appearance of these locusts is extremely strange, and they also have the property of eating people. Moreover, they come and go quickly."

"And Deng Weixian is the only surviving eyewitness who witnessed the birth of these locusts."

Zhao Feng's calm words dealt a heavy blow to Li Xuan's heart.

"Deng Weixian is the only surviving eyewitness?"

Li Xuan opened his mouth slightly, revealing a look of shock.

Deng Weixin had never mentioned these things to Yu'er.

"Last year, Zhao Bugao, who was then the deputy chief of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, led a team to investigate floods in the south. He unexpectedly received a tip-off about a plague of man-eating locusts in Jiangnan Road and went there to investigate."

"Zhao Bugao found Deng Weixian, who was bleeding to death, in Pingshan Village, Guanglin Prefecture. At that time, Pingshan Village was already on fire. He was too late to save Deng Weixian."

"Bleeding to death?" Li Xuan was stunned when he heard this word, and asked hurriedly:

"What on earth happened in Pingshan Village, meow?"

Zhao Feng continued, "According to what Deng Weixian said, a group of people suddenly broke into Pingshan Village and started killing people wantonly."

"The villagers originally thought they were robbers. After all, the entire south was hit by a disaster at that time, and many disaster victims turned to banditry."

“But even though they offered their remaining food and property, the other side did not stop their butchering knives. Those people did not even look at the food. They just harvested the lives of the villagers like cutting rice, and then handed them over to a mysterious man to bleed.”

"Bleeding?" Li Xuan became more and more confused the more he listened.

"After enough blood was released, Deng Wei first saw the mysterious man sprinkle something like rice grains into the blood, and then he saw worms hatching from the blood."

"Deng Weixian escaped the bloodletting and became the last survivor in the village, but he also became the first food for the locusts."

Li Xuan was shocked, he had guessed something.

"When Zhao Bugao found Deng Weixian, his body was covered with gnawed wounds and he had turned into a bloody man. If it weren't for the faint breath he still had, I'm afraid he would have missed him."

"Zhao Bugao realized Deng Weixian's value, so he used elixirs to keep him alive and escorted him back to the capital, where he was treated by Doctor Xue."

"Deng Weixian's other injuries have almost healed, but some of his broken limbs are gone, and even Doctor Xue can't help him, so Deng Weixian stayed in the palace."

After hearing this, Li Xuan's body shook and his nose felt sore.

Deng Weixian was only twelve years old last year, yet he experienced such a terrible thing.

"He, he knows who his enemy is?"

Zhao Feng nodded: "Deng Weixian knew that it was Prince Zheng who was behind this. The Ministry of Internal Affairs originally wanted to train him secretly, but what Zhao Bugao did later, you also know, Xuan."

"Are you sure it's King Zheng?" Li Xuan asked.

Li Xuan did not want the Ministry of Internal Affairs to push everything onto Prince Zheng just to get another loyal warrior like Deng Weixian, in exchange for Deng Weixian's absolute loyalty due to his blind hatred.

Zhao Feng sneered and shook his head.

"Ah Xuan, a month of heavy rain is not enough to collapse the entire southern dam, otherwise I would not have sent Zhao Bugao to investigate."

"Those with irrefutable evidence all claimed that they were trying to save the people and took the initiative to blow up the dike to release the floodwater to avoid greater losses."

“But who blew up the first dam before the flood?”

"All the officials in the southern provinces protect each other and guarantee each other, and they are as united as an iron wall."

"Ah Xuan, who do you think could be behind this?"

Zhao Feng stared at Li Xuan with burning eyes and questioned him.

Li Xuan lowered his head silently, knowing that there was only one answer left.

He knew that King Zheng wanted to be emperor, but he didn't expect him to be so cruel.

Floods in the south, man-eating locusts...

How many terrible crimes had King Zheng committed that Li Xuan didn't know about?

He couldn't even imagine it anymore.

Li Xuan found it increasingly difficult to understand King Zheng.

He has made the world a mess, what good can it do even if he seizes it?
"What does King Zheng want?"

Li Xuan couldn't help but ask in his heart.

But the answer to this question is probably only King Zheng in the world who can answer him.

Li Xuan suddenly felt bored and no longer had the heart to continue asking about the southern tour.

Now he just wanted to go see Deng Weixian, whom he hadn't seen for a long time, to see how he was doing.

"No wonder Deng Weixian is so hardworking, no wonder he has no expression on his face, and he can't smile much when he sees Yu'er..."

Li Xuan thought about everything that happened after he met Deng Weixian, and now he had a reasonable explanation for everything.

A thirteen-year-old child is constantly seeking a glimmer of hope for revenge in the deep palace.

No matter how dangerous and difficult the task Zhao Bugao gave him, Deng Weixian would concentrate on doing it, and practice martial arts like crazy, as if he didn't care about his life.

It turns out that he had died once.

But Deng Weixin never mentioned these words to Yu'er.

"Sure enough, it's not a good thing for a child to be too sensible."

Li Xuan couldn't help but think of this sentence.

Look at Princess Ankang and then look at Deng Weixian, this is indeed the case.

Only enough suffering can make a child "sensible in advance" and so sensible that it makes people feel distressed.

The innocent child is born with self-pity, and cannot bear to see himself squeezed into the ditches and ravines.

In the silent Ganlu Palace, Emperor Yongyuan suddenly spoke:
"Axuan, don't worry."

“This is going to end soon.”

“Perhaps next year’s southern tour will be able to draw a full stop.”

Emperor Yongyuan said this, walked down, reached out and gently touched Li Xuan's little head, revealing a gentle smile.

"If we delay any further, I'm afraid Daxing will be destroyed."

　Thanks to Jun Hansang and book friend 264***937 for their reward and support!
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(End of this chapter)