From the fake emperor to the concubine

"...That's all?"

That's all.

"No one left the city alone?"

"No."

"Not a single one?"

"No, really."

Mo Ku's face was frighteningly grim.

The round-faced disciple cautiously added, "Elder, perhaps... we should wait a little longer?"

"Do you need to tell me?"

Mo Ku flicked his sleeves, stood up, walked to the temple gate, and looked up at the faint light on the city wall in the distance.

The night wind is colder than the daytime wind, seeping into your bones.

He stared for a long time, then suddenly let out a cold laugh.

"The city is built like a tortoise shell, and the people are huddled up like tortoises. I'd like to see how long they can keep hiding."

Meanwhile, on the city wall of Hongyun City, Guo Tianyou, wrapped in a thick cloak, squatted behind the crenellations, munching on a roasted sweet potato, hissing from the heat.

Zhao Sanhuai crept out from the shadows and squatted down next to him.

"There are fires over in the northeast."

How many people?

“Three.” Zhao Sanhuai grinned. “One of them had the deepest aura; he’s most likely the old man in the red robe. The other two were taking turns watching the city gate. They tried to get closer in the middle of the night, but our sentries deliberately made some noise and scared them back.”

Guo Tianyou laughed so hard his shoulders shook: "What a coward."

“It’s not exactly cowardice,” Zhao Sanhuai said, tucking his hands into his sleeves. “It’s caution. The more cautious they are, the better, because it shows they’re unsure of themselves.”

"What did the gentleman say?"

"The master said to keep it hanging." Zhao Sanhuai gestured towards the city with his chin. "He's still in the study looking at accounts with Fatty Han, acting like nothing's wrong."

Guo Tianyou took a bite of sweet potato, the heat making his eyebrows and eyes relax a little.

"To be honest, I'm not afraid to go to war, but it's still a bit unsettling to have these immortals wandering around outside every day."

Zhao Sanhuai nodded and said, "I'll go too."

"But seeing that they can't do anything to us makes me feel better."

"It's the same if I go too."

The two looked at each other and laughed.

As the night deepened, the wind dispersed some of the clouds, and moonlight leaked through the gaps, falling on the black rock city wall like a layer of cold silver.

Near the ruined temple, the round-faced disciple huddled beside the fire, hugging his knees, shivering from the cold.

"This place is alright during the day, but why is it so cold at night..."

The tall, thin disciple returned from outside, his shoulders damp with frost. He sat down by the fire and said, "I've circled around outside the city. There are quite a few more sentries within thirty miles."

"A sentry?" The round-faced disciple exclaimed in surprise, "A mortal?"

"They're mortals, yet their hands and feet are nimble." The tall, thin disciple placed his sword beside his leg and said in a low voice, "I almost bumped into two of them. Those two were extremely well hidden; if they hadn't deliberately retreated, even I might not have noticed them immediately."

The round-faced disciple felt a chill run down his spine: "Who are they guarding against? Us?"

"Who else can we guard against?" The tall, thin disciple smiled bitterly. "This Hongyun City probably never treated us like guests from the very beginning."

The wind outside the temple blew even louder.

Mo Ku sat before the shrine, unable to sleep all night.

The same thing happened on the second and third days.

Hongyun City Gate opened and closed as usual. Caravans came and went, patrols were constant, and the guards on the city walls were rotated in waves, yet they never showed the slightest sign of fatigue. Three miles outside the north gate, two more shallow ditches were dug, and newly sharpened stakes were driven in, as if they were justifiably guarding against thieves.

The round-faced disciple's face turned green when he saw the new stakes.

"They're... mistaking us for bandits?"

The tall, thin disciple rubbed his temples: "It seems so."

Mo Ku only makes me more and more annoyed.

He had considered sneaking closer at night. But every midnight, several faint lights would simultaneously illuminate the city walls and the city itself, merging together as if some kind of array was slowly flowing. The light wasn't dazzling, but it instinctively made people want to stay away.

On the third night, he secretly probed the city with his divine sense, and as soon as he touched the faint aura outside the city wall, a clear and melodious sword cry came from the city wall.

It was just a very soft sound.

A cold sweat instantly broke out on Moku's back.

After that night, he never tried again.

On the fourth day at dusk, the round-faced disciple could no longer wait and cautiously asked, "Elder, should we... continue waiting?"

Mo Ku remained silent with a sullen face.

The tall, thin disciple glanced at his face and said in a low voice, "Elder, I think this matter cannot continue like this. If Hongyun City is prepared, it will be difficult for the three of us to gain anything from outside. It would be better to... return to the sect first and make another plan."

Mo Ku suddenly looked up, his gaze as cold as a knife.

The round-faced disciple immediately shrank back.

The tall, thin disciple also shut his mouth.

The temple was so quiet that only the occasional crackling of the fire could be heard. After a long silence, Mo Ku finally spoke in a somber tone: "Go back? How? Tell everyone I was blocked outside the gates of a border town and couldn't even get through?"

No one dared to answer.

Mo Ku stared at the fire, his face turning red and then pale. After a long while, he suddenly exhaled slowly.

"Wait two more days."

The round-faced disciple opened his mouth, then immediately closed it again.

"If there is still no opportunity after two days..." Mo Ku's voice was very low, "then let's go back first."

When he said this, his jaw was clenched so tightly that it was as if every word had to be squeezed out from between his teeth.

After listening, the tall, thin disciple secretly exchanged a glance with the round-faced disciple.

They both saw the same message in each other's eyes.

This time, they really couldn't do anything about Hongyun City.

The fire in the abandoned temple had extinguished into a few pieces of blackened charcoal, and the air was filled with the damp smell of earth and rotting wood. The sky was turning a pale gray, and the morning mist, like a thick layer of cotton, completely obscured the dilapidated temple gate.

Mo Ku slowly opened his eyes, his sleeves and beard covered with a layer of fine frost. He had been sitting there all night, and his sinister eyes were filled with fine blood vessels, making him appear even more chilling.

"Elder, the frost is heavy this morning, please have some hot water." The round-faced disciple carefully handed over a bowl of freshly boiled water, the rim of which was chipped.

Mo Ku didn't answer, but stared intently at the direction of Hongyun City in the distance. In the morning mist, the dark outline of the city wall was faintly visible, like a giant beast crouching on the wasteland, exuding an unyielding and stubborn aura.

"Has the city gate opened?" Mo Ku asked in a hoarse voice.

The tall, thin disciple retreated from the temple gate, patted the dew off his shoulders, and shook his head, saying, "Not yet. But judging from the smoke rising from the city wall, the cooks should already be busy. Elder, we've been here for several days now, and Zheng Yi doesn't take us seriously at all. He hasn't even sent a single soldier to talk to us."

"He's testing my patience." Mo Ku sneered, suddenly standing up, the frost clinging to his body scattering in all directions. "A mere mortal town dares to leave the inner elder of the Qingyun Sect hanging like this. Does Zheng Yi really think he can rule this desolate land with just that mysterious crossbow formation and the hidden array?"

The round-faced disciple tentatively asked, "So, Elder, do you mean... we should go and fight our way through again?"

"Charge? With what?" Mo Ku turned and glared at him. "I haven't figured out what's buried under his city walls yet. If we really start fighting, the two of you might not be able to protect your lives. If I lose face there, I'll be doomed when I get back to the sect."

He walked to the temple gate, looking at the endless wasteland, his eyes so gloomy they could drip water. "Huang Yifei is right, there must be a big secret in this city. Just that faint array fluctuation alone is not something that can be supported by ordinary spirit stones. Tens of thousands of mid-grade spirit stones... and maybe even more."

"So we're just going to go back empty-handed?" The tall, thin disciple was somewhat unwilling. "If the other disciples from the other peaks in the sect find out, they'll probably laugh at us behind our backs for not even being able to enter a mortal city."

"Who said I'm going back empty-handed?" Mo Ku gritted his teeth, each word seemingly squeezed out from between his teeth. "If I'm going back, I'll ask the Sword-Holding Elder of 'Crimson Cloud Peak' to personally come and tell him that Hongyun City not only colluded with demonic cultivators but also secretly kept the key to the ancient demon cave. I don't believe those old guys in the sect can sit idly by."

He turned to his two disciples and said in a low voice, "Let's go back to the mountain! Don't linger for a moment longer. When we come back next time, there won't be three of us. I will turn the black walls of Hongyun City into dust!"

Three streaks of light shot into the sky through the morning mist, emitting a piercing whistling sound that startled a flock of crows around the ruined temple.

Meanwhile, inside Hongyun City, Zheng Yi was standing by the window of his study. He was wearing a faded gray cotton robe and holding a watering can, carefully spraying water on a slender wild orchid on the windowsill.

"Sir, those three beams of light went northeast. They were running quite fast, like they were being chased by wolves." Guo Tianyou strode in, his nail polish rattling loudly.

Zheng Yi didn't look up, but just watched the water droplets roll off the orchid leaves. "Good riddance, it's peaceful now."

"Hey, sir, do you think this old man can really bring back some powerful figures?" Guo Tianyou scratched his head, pulled up a chair and sat down. "This morning, Fatty Han was calculating, saying that he had lost a lot of spirit stones in the city these past few days because he was trying to guard against these three immortals, and he was heartbroken."

“Calling reinforcements is a given.” Zheng Yi put down the watering can, turned around, and spoke in a calm tone as if he were talking about what to have for breakfast. “Mo Ku is the kind of person who is greedy and extremely concerned about his image. He suffered a loss in silence and saw the strength of our city, so he will never give up. However, it will be some time before he comes with a large force next time.”

"So we're just going to wait and wait?"

“No need to wait.” Zheng Yi walked behind the desk, where a gold-embossed invitation was placed, signed with an antique-style bronze seal. “Tianyou, go and make preparations. Han Wuhen is taking the account books and a few 'trinkets' that we recently found at the Huang family's place to accompany me on a long trip.”

Guo Tianyou was taken aback: "Go far away? At this critical juncture, where to go?"

"Dingzhou, the Domain Lord's Mansion." Zheng Yi smiled slightly.

Dingzhou, the residence of the lord of the region.

This place is completely different from the celestial mountains floating in the clouds like the Qingyun Sect, and also different from the luxurious mansions of Baishi City that exude the air of nouveau riche. The Domain Lord's Mansion is located in the heart of Dingzhou City, covering a vast area. The tall courtyard walls are built of blue basalt, and each stone is engraved with ancient defensive patterns.

The guards standing before the mansion gate were not private soldiers dressed in fine silks, but rather a uniform cavalry in black armor. The warhorses beneath these cavalrymen all exuded the blood of demonic beasts, their eyes fierce, and their bodies covered in fine horse armor.

"Zheng Yi of Hongyun City requests an audience with the Domain Lord."

Zheng Yi stood in front of the mansion gate and handed over the invitation. Han Wuhen followed behind him. The fat man was wearing a rare formal brocade robe today, which was so tight that his belly fat was almost overflowing. His forehead was covered with fine sweat, and it was hard to tell whether it was from the heat or nervousness.

"Sir, can the Domain Lord see us?" Han Wuhen asked in a low voice, his hands gripping the thick mahogany box tightly.

“Since the invitation was issued by the manor, there’s no reason for it not to be accepted.” Zheng Yi stood with his hands behind his back, calmly surveying the manor.

A short while later, a hearty laugh came from inside the mansion.

"Hahaha, Mr. Zheng, what an honor to have you here! I am so sorry for not welcoming you properly!"

A middle-aged man dressed in a dark purple robe with a rhinoceros horn belt around his waist stepped forward. He was extremely robust, with thick eyebrows and large eyes. Although he was not wearing armor, his gait exuded an overwhelming, battlefield aura. This man was the supreme ruler of this vast territory—the Lord of Dingzhou, Tuoba Hong.

Zheng Yi bowed slightly and said, "Greetings, Domain Lord."

"Hey, let's skip those formalities!" Tuoba Hong strode forward and grabbed Zheng Yi's arm. His hands were surprisingly large, with calluses all over the base of his thumbs. "I've heard that the old stubborn man from the Huang family in Baishi City was killed by a young man named Zheng Yi with a single finger. I was drinking at the time and was so shocked that I almost crushed my cup."

As he spoke, he pulled Zheng Yi inside, without even glancing at Han Wuhen behind them.

"The Huang family colluded with evil cultivators and wreaked havoc in the region. I, Zheng, was merely cleaning up their house on the side," Zheng Yi replied neither humbly nor arrogantly.

"Just cleaning up as a matter of course? That old man Huang Zhenyuan is in the late Foundation Establishment stage, just one step away from the Golden Core stage, and you call that 'just a matter of course'?" Tuoba Hong turned his head, gave Zheng Yi a deep look, and then laughed loudly, "What a 'just a matter of course'! Come on, let's talk inside. I have some good wine here, and I also have some important matters to discuss with you."

Inside the main hall of the mansion, the air was filled with the fragrance of sandalwood.

Tuoba Hong sat imposingly in the main seat, while Zheng Yi sat to the side. Although Han Wuhen was offered a seat, he only dared to sit on the edge, carefully placing the wooden box at his feet.

“Mr. Zheng, I’m a rough man, so let’s not beat around the bush.” Tuoba Hong picked up his teacup and took a big gulp, his eyes sweeping over Zheng Yi. “The Qingyun Sect has been making quite a few moves lately. An elder named Mo Ku seemed to have brought people back to the sect yesterday, supposedly to file a complaint?”

Zheng Yi smiled and said, "The Domain Lord is well-informed. Elder Mo did stay outside Hongyun City for a few days. He probably found the sandstorms there too bad and left without saying goodbye."

"He didn't greet them because he didn't dare!" Tuoba Hong sneered. "The Qingyun Sect has overstepped its bounds these past few years. The iron mines in Baishi City are submitting increasingly lower quality iron to the Domain Lord's Mansion every year, but they're secretly sending it all to the Qingyun Sect's weapon-refining workshop. The Huang family's demise doesn't bother me at all; in fact, I find the air in Dingzhou much fresher." (End of Chapter)