Druid Fairy

Chapter 196 Looking at you

Ye Liuli gave Li Mengjin a deep look, her eyes filled with apprehension and resentment.

She bit her tongue hard, spitting out a mouthful of blood onto the ground. The blood transformed into a strange black rune that instantly swallowed her.

"Want to go?"

A cold glint flashed in Li Mengjin's eyes, and he was about to give chase when a clear, jade-like voice drifted from a rooftop not far away.

"Don't chase poor bandits."

Zhuge Qingcheng, dressed in a light blue dress, stood gracefully on the rooftop. Bathed in moonlight, she resembled a fairy from the moon palace, her beauty unparalleled.

"If you chase after them, you'll fall into their trap. A prestigious delegation from the Great Qian Dynasty has died in the residence of a newly powerful figure from the Great Yu Dynasty. Guess how Qian Tianyi will use this as an excuse to make a scene at tomorrow's morning court session?"

Li Mengjin stopped and looked at her, frowning as she asked, "You've been here the whole time?"

"I suppose so." Zhuge Qingcheng gracefully descended, glancing at the still-wet bloodstains on the ground, a strange light flashing in her beautiful eyes. "Shadow Escape Technique, a closely guarded secret of assassins. It seems the Third Prince of Daqian is truly desperate."

She walked up to Li Mengjin and handed him a small white jade bottle.

"This is the 'Clear Dew Pill.' Her weapon is poisoned. Although it is not fatal, it can disturb the mind. This pill can cure it."

Li Mengjin didn't take it, but just looked at her and asked, "Who exactly are you? Why have you helped me time and time again?"

Upon hearing this, Zhuge Qingcheng suddenly smiled.

That smile, like a hundred flowers in full bloom, made even the cool moonlight pale in comparison.

"As I said, I am just an examiner who cherishes talent."

She placed the jade bottle into Li Mengjin's hand, turned to leave, but then, as if remembering something, turned back and added:
"Oh, by the way. Let me remind you, be careful of the emperor. What he bestows upon you is glory, but also a... death warrant."

As soon as she finished speaking, her figure vanished into the night like a wisp of smoke, leaving only a faint fragrance.

…………

The night was deep, in the imperial palace.

Inside the brightly lit hall, the atmosphere was even colder than the chilly night outside.

The Emperor of Dayu, dressed in ordinary clothes, sat on the dragon throne with a somber expression, toying with a warm and smooth jade pendant in his hand.

Your Highness, a middle-aged man dressed in a flying fish robe, with a profound and imposing aura, knelt on one knee. He was Lin Mang, the commander of the Imperial Guards and one of the emperor's most trusted confidants.

"...That's how it happened. The assassin was named Ye Liuli, a close bodyguard of the Third Prince of Daqian, skilled in the rare art of shadow escape. By the time I arrived, the assassin had already escaped using a blood escape technique. Young Master Li only suffered some poisoning to his arm and was otherwise unharmed. Judging from the traces at the scene, Ye Liuli... suffered a considerable loss at Young Master Li's hands."

Lin Mang's voice was steady, but he couldn't hide the surprise in his words.

The Imperial Study was deathly silent, with only the occasional soft popping of candlelight.

After a long while, the emperor slowly put down the jade pendant in his hand. He did not get angry, nor did he roar. Instead, he spoke in a calm tone that was chillingly so:
"What a sly Qian Tianyi! To assassinate a meritorious official personally appointed by me in the capital of my Great Yu Dynasty—he's slapping me in the face!"

An invisible imperial pressure suddenly spread out, causing Lin Mang, the commander of the Imperial Guard who was used to life and death, to feel his breath catch in his throat and cold sweat instantly seep out from his forehead.

"Issue a decree: tomorrow's morning court session is cancelled." The emperor stood up, walked to the window, and looked at the moon obscured by dark clouds. "Also, after dawn, summon Li Mengjin to the Imperial Study to see me."

The following morning, when Li Mengjin stepped into the imperial study under the guidance of a eunuch, he saw an emperor with a weary face but eyes full of concern.

"Meng Jin has arrived. Quickly, offer him a seat." The emperor's tone was gentle, like that of a kind elder who cares for a younger generation. "I have heard about what happened last night. It was my oversight. I did not expect that Qian Tianyi would be so heartless and ruthless. I have frightened you."

"I am unharmed, Your Majesty, thank you for your concern." Li Mengjin bowed.

"Ah, there's no need for such formality between us." The emperor descended the imperial steps and personally helped Li Mengjin up. He patted Li Mengjin's shoulder, and a pure imperial dragon aura flowed over him, instantly dispelling the trace of poisonous energy remaining on Li Mengjin's arm.

"As for the Great Qian Dynasty, I will give you an explanation!"

The emperor's voice regained its majesty, "But before that, your safety is of utmost importance. I have ordered an additional squad of imperial guards to protect Tingtao Pavilion day and night. Also, wear this 'Nine Dragons Heart-Protecting Pendant.' This jade pendant was personally refined by the Imperial Advisor at the founding of the dynasty and can withstand three fatal attacks."

The bestowal of rewards and the appeasement were executed seamlessly, revealing the emperor's cunning and political acumen.

Having done all this, the emperor changed the subject, seemingly casually smiling, "However, such a tense atmosphere is not the way to treat guests. Although the Great Qian is a wolf, the Jinsha Ancient Kingdom and the Baiyue tribes have come from afar, so we cannot neglect them."

He looked at Li Mengjin and said gently, "How about this, three days from now, I will hold a banquet of a hundred flowers in the Imperial Garden. There will be no martial arts competition or alchemy contest, just some elegant and interesting games, so that the envoys from various countries can also experience the customs and culture of my Great Yu. You and your elder brother have been tired these days, so this is a good opportunity for you to relax."

"Your subject obeys the decree." Li Mengjin bowed his head in response, but in his heart he had a deeper understanding of Zhuge Qingcheng's warning of the "death warrant."

This emperor, seemingly trying to appease, was actually binding himself firmly to the royal family with every move he made.

…………

Three days later, in the Imperial Garden.

The atmosphere at today's banquet was indeed much more relaxed than the previous two times.

Gone was the somber atmosphere of the Life and Death Arena and the tension of the Pill-Fighting Arena; in their place came celestial music and the fragrance of flowers.

Everyone in the Great Qian delegation remained silent. The Third Prince, Qian Tianyi, even claimed to be ill and did not attend, clearly ashamed to face anyone.

This made the envoys from other small countries quite interested.

"Master Li Dan, Young Hero Li, I have long admired your name. I am Sha Qianli from the ancient Jinsha Kingdom. I am honored to meet you."

As soon as the banquet began, the "Smiling Buddha" Sha Qianli was the first to approach, his face beaming with a sincere smile. The successive defeats of the Great Qian Dynasty had made him fully aware of the situation, leading him to decisively change his investment strategy.

He opened a white jade box, inside which was a piece of strange, withered wood with nine orifices.

"This item is called 'Nine-Aperture Thunder Sound Wood,' a rare treasure of my Golden Sand Kingdom. Everyone knows it's extraordinary, but no one can discern its true purpose. Today, I'd like to take this opportunity to present it to Master Li Dan for his appraisal. It would be a fun little game to liven things up, wouldn't you say?"

This is a polite way of putting it, but it's actually a way of probing the truth.

Li Mengze closed his eyes and sensed for a moment before smiling and saying, "Your Highness is too modest. This item is a remnant branch of an ancient thunderwood, containing thunder power and vitality, making it a treasure for body-refining cultivators. However, the heartwood is withered and the foundation is lost. If used forcibly, it will turn into ordinary wood within three uses."

Sha Qianli was deeply shaken, and his smile became extremely warm: "Master Li is truly a divine being! I will give this to Master Li as a token of our friendship! If you ever need my help in the future, please don't hesitate to ask!" His attitude clearly indicated his intention to be close to him.

Just then, a clear and slightly wild voice rang out.

"The games played by people from the Central Plains are so slow and boring!"

Aman, a girl from the Baiyue tribe, stood in the center of the field, her wild eyes fixed on Li Mengjin, filled with fierce fighting spirit.

"Hey! You swordsman! I'm not going to fight you to the death, I'm going to test your skills!"

Ah Man's lips curled into a smile as she released a small, entirely emerald-green snake from a leather pouch at her waist. The snake instantly transformed into a green light upon landing and darted into the nearby artificial hill and flowerbeds.

"This is my 'Azure Shadow,' highly poisonous and incredibly fast. We'll see who can catch it first without harming it in the slightest! Do you dare?"

Li Mengjin slowly rose, walked to the artificial hill, and closed his eyes. A wisp of sword intent, infused with the essence of nature, spread out like a spring breeze.

To everyone's astonishment, the highly venomous snake slithered out of the crevice in the rock and came to Li Mengjin's feet, affectionately rubbing against his boots.

Aman was stunned. Her proud companion had betrayed her so easily.

Li Mengjin squatted down, let the little snake crawl onto his palm, walked back to Aman and handed it over.

Aman took her companion and looked at the indifferent-looking boy before her. For the first time, a blush appeared on her wheat-colored face: "You are strong! I lost! You are a true warrior!"

In a corner of the banquet, the Baiyue elder priest, who had been silent all along, leaned on his snake-headed staff and slowly walked up to Li Mengyue, handing her a talisman woven from colorful silk threads.

"Princess, please wear this 'soul-soothing talisman' close to your body."

The old priest gave Li Mengyue a deep look and said in a hoarse voice that only the two of them could hear, "This land... has many... watching you."

Her voice was hoarse and low, which inexplicably sent a chill down Li Mengyue's spine.

After hesitating for a long time, and sensing no malice, he finally accepted the talisman.

……

Inside Tingtao Xiaozhu, the night was deep, but the study lights were still as bright as day.

"This land... has many... watching you."

Li Mengyue's small face carried a solemnity beyond her years, and she tightly clutched the "soul-soothing talisman" that emitted a faint fragrance of herbs in her hand.

"Watching us?" Li Yuanhu frowned, his brows furrowed with crisscrossing scars, and asked, puzzled, "What do you mean? Are you referring to the spies of the Great Qian Dynasty, or the emperor's informants?"

“No.” Li Mengyue slowly shook her head, her gaze deep, as if she could see through the room to something deeper. “The old priest is probably not referring to a person.”

As a half-druid inheritor, she understood the meaning of those words better than anyone else present. When she consciously sensed it, she could vaguely perceive a vast, almost imperceptible aura lingering deep beneath the bustling capital.

“It’s the ‘resentment’ of this land.” Li Mengze’s voice lowered. “For countless years, the wronged souls who were sacrificed as ‘fertilizer’ have not completely dissipated their resentment. Instead, they are bound by some force and accumulated beneath this land. We have recently risen to fame and are enjoying great fortune. Like a torch in the dark night, we will naturally attract the attention of these ‘things’.”

Upon hearing this, even the usually bold Li Yuanhu felt a chill run down his spine.

"Then what should we do?"

“It’s alright.” A cold glint flashed in Li Mengze’s eyes. “Right now, they are just passively ‘watching.’ But this has pointed us in the right direction. The ‘Health Record’ that I’m investigating, and the ‘Golden Scale Guard’ defense zone that my second brother is investigating, are probably both related to suppressing these ‘resentments’.”

He looked at Li Mengjin: "Second brother, you will be starting your new job tomorrow. Be careful in everything you do. The higher the emperor elevates you, the harder you will fall."

Li Mengjin stroked the cold blade of "Shadow Fang," nodded, and said sparingly, "I understand."

…………

The next day, Mao Shi.

Before dawn, the Golden Scale Guards' training ground was already bustling with noise and filled with a murderous aura.

Thousands of elite guards, dressed in crimson flying fish robes and carrying standard-issue long swords at their waists, are undergoing rigorous morning training.

They were the sharpest blade in the emperor's hand, each one an elite chosen from mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

When Li Mengjin, dressed in his brand-new silver flying fish robe symbolizing his status as deputy commander, entered the training ground led by an eunuch, all the sounds of training abruptly ceased.

Thousands of sharp, knife-like gazes focused on the somewhat frail-looking boy.

In those gazes, there was curiosity, scrutiny, but even more so, defiance and contempt.

The Golden Scale Guard is a place where strength speaks volumes. They admire the strong, but will never submit to a mere child who rose to power through nepotism and the emperor's favor.

"Oh, so this is the youngest deputy commander in the history of our Golden Scale Guard? He looks like he'd be blown over by a gust of wind."

A rough voice rang out, and a burly captain with a full beard and a fierce aura, carrying a broadsword as big as a door, strode over.

This man, named Chen Tianxiong, was a renowned and fierce general in the Golden Scale Guard. He possessed exceptional martial arts skills, making him difficult to harm with ordinary magical weapons. He had accumulated numerous military achievements and was originally the strongest contender for the next deputy commander.

"Captain Chen!" the eunuch snapped, "You mustn't be disrespectful to Vice Commander Li!"

"Hey, in our Golden Scale Guard, there's no need for all that formality." Chen Tianxiong grinned, revealing a set of white teeth. He looked Li Mengjin up and down and said without any politeness, "Vice Commander Li, we're just a bunch of roughnecks. We don't know anything about the 'way' of using softness to overcome hardness. We only know that whoever has the strongest fist is the boss! I wonder if Vice Commander Li dares to exchange a few blows with me, Old Chen?"

This is a blatant show of force!
All the Golden Scale Guards looked on with amusement, wanting to see if this legendary young genius who defeated Tuoba with a single sword strike truly possessed real skill or had risen to power through luck.

Li Mengjin's expression remained unchanged. He looked at the burly man who was two heads taller than him and calmly said, "Okay."

He paused, then added, "But not here."

He looked around, his gaze sweeping over the faces of every Golden Scale Guard.

"His Majesty appointed me to command the Golden Scale Guard, not to have me compete with you all. My sword is only for killing enemies, not for harming my comrades."

(End of this chapter)