Demon Emperor

Chapter 60: The Detective Agency and the Flying Guillotine?

News of the Huan Shou Man rebellion reached the capital, and the court officials discussed it extensively.

This news came a step behind the Detective Agency, and the Detective Agency's information was far less accurate than the news brought back by the Flying Head Ghost.

The court officials were also unaware of the specific situation on the ground. What they spoke of were either reports from below, news they had received themselves, or simply rumors.

However, in front of the emperor, he presents a completely different face.

Before dawn, the eunuchs were already kneeling on the offering carpet outside the inner palace, urging Ruan Hu to hurry up.

Ruan Hu: "We have to go to court again!"

Ruan Hu aimed to be a pleasure-seeking "tyrant," so naturally he disliked attending court.

The saying goes that small meetings are held when there's something to discuss, and large meetings are held when there's nothing to discuss. Most of the time, these morning meetings are just a bunch of arguments and bickering, and nothing gets decided.

Ruan Hu preferred to practice swordsmanship rather than watch these people putting on airs.

However, this does not mean that the morning assembly is meaningless.

Ruan Hu was carried away and, in a daze, sat high on the Mingtang Hall. In a daze, he saw a commotion breaking out below.

“These lowly barbarians dare to commit such rebellious acts, encroaching upon the tombs of the late emperor and cursing his holy body. If these barbarians are not punished, how can the laws of Heaven be upheld?”

“These barbarians first invaded the imperial tombs, and then used witchcraft to seduce the emperor. If we cannot kill them, where is the imperial authority?”

"Your Majesty, the Liao barbarians are so rampant now. Please quickly establish the Western Barbarian Righteous Army Office to hunt down the barbarian tribes."

"When the ruler is distressed, the minister is disgraced; when the ruler is disgraced, the minister dies. I beg to take up my spear and lead the charge to wipe out these vile people for Your Majesty."

The crowd seemed to be filled with righteous indignation, and everyone hated and wanted to kill that barbarian with the ring head.

However, with a quick glance, Ruan Hu could vaguely discern the true thoughts in these people's hearts.

These people are all stirring up trouble, while others are gloating and hoping the matter will escalate.

The bigger the commotion, the more humiliated the emperor will be.

Some felt that the opportunity had come, and the bigger the commotion, the more the emperor would rely on them.

In a daze, the voice seemed to have transformed into something else when it reached Ruan Hu's ears.

"You, the emperor, didn't you listen to us? Well, how about that? You've made a fool of yourself!"

"Didn't you say you'd depose the prime minister? Would that work?"

"You still want to train some new army? Without us, you can't even pacify the Huan Shou Barbarians."

He looked at the people below, and their expressions, appearances, and bone structure seemed to be changing all the time.

If he is strong, everyone will be a loyal subject.

If he were to reveal his incompetence, the entire court would be filled with treacherous officials.

Ruan Hu found it uninteresting and turned his gaze to his surroundings.

The eunuchs on either side wore dark blue round-necked, narrow-sleeved robes, with fish-shaped pouches hanging from their waists, and stood with their heads bowed, holding gilded whisks.

Then look at the palace maid.

She wore her hair in a nine-bun hairstyle reminiscent of the Immortal Wangxian style, and her pomegranate-red ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress) was embroidered with silver lotus flower patterns, which trailed gently on the ground.

Two rows of palace maids held peacock feather fans with jade handles.

All of this seemed more interesting than the officials below.

After the court meeting.

Ruan Hu discussed the matter again with his senior officials in the government hall, but still came to no conclusion.

Grand Chancellor Li Hongdao said, "Your Majesty, I recommend someone who can serve as the Commander of the Righteous Cavalry."

Huang Hui, the gatekeeper, said, "Your Majesty, I also know someone..."

These people don't care at all about how to solve the problem; they only care about who will get the newly established Western Barbarian Righteousness Prefecture.

A real man cannot be without power.

Military power is an extremely important right.
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Neither the large meeting nor the small meeting could achieve the desired results.

However, this troublesome matter for Ruan Hu soon found a solution.

The detective agency's office appeared to be nothing more than a larger mansion, with very strict access control.

Ruan Hu, wearing a cloak, quietly arrived at this place.

Those locals and outsiders can be useful sometimes, but they are unreliable in crucial moments.

In truly crucial moments, those who can make a difference are the people Ruan Hu himself employs and promotes.

Zhou Kaigu led the crowd to kneel down and greet them.

In fact, Zhou Kaigu had not seen the emperor for many days since receiving Ruan Hu's secret decree. Ruan Hu came today to inquire about the progress.

As expected, Zhou Kaigu quickly reported his recent achievements, which could also be considered as reporting his own merits. "The person I sent was guided by the Flying Head God and has accomplished the task."

"Gong Xiu of the Huan Shou Barbarian Tribe has agreed to be a spy and has joined our Detective Agency, promising to pass on messages for us."

Ruan Hu: "How did he agree to that?"

Zhou Kaigu: "Your Majesty, I haven't used any special methods yet. I just scared him a little, and he went soft. He's spineless."

“If I were to offer him even greater benefits, he would become greedy and forget righteousness, and would be willing to sell anything for his own wealth and status.”

"After all, whatever the Huan Shou Barbarians gained, it all belonged to the Barbarian Chief Gong Tian; Gong Xiu couldn't get it either."

"He already harbored resentment towards Gong Tian, ​​so taking him down was really not difficult."

What any power fears most is not external problems, but internal ones.

Ruan Hu obtained the key to breaking through the enemy's internal defenses, which immediately gave him much more confidence.

There is a person who constantly passes messages out from within, and can make the existence of the loop in critical moments.

Ruan Hu suddenly realized...

The Huan Shou Man itself is no longer a problem, but an important opportunity to deal with and solve other problems.

Pei Yuanxiao, the various barbarians of Wuxi, the Yi Cong Prefecture of the Western Barbarians, and so on—one after another, these names kept flashing through Ruan Hu's mind.

Some things have far-reaching consequences; everything in this world is interconnected.

However, Zhou Kaigu interrupted Ruan Hu's thoughts and brought up another matter.

"At the same time, Gong Xiu also presented the sacrificial vessel that had been passed down from generation to generation by the Huan Shou Barbarians since ancient times."

Ruan Hu had been listening quietly, but finally asked a question when he heard this.

"What ancient sacrificial artifact?"

Zhou Kaigu: "This object is extremely sinister and strange; I fear it may offend Your Majesty's eyes."

Ruan Hu: "It's alright, take it out and let me see."

Then Zhou Kaigu ordered the person outside to come out. The person held a pair of gold rings in his hands, which looked nothing special.

And another person came out from the opposite side, this person was leading a sheep.

Zhou Kaigu said, "This is the head-snatching flying ring of the Huan Shou Man, one of the sacrificial artifacts held by the great shamans of the Huan Shou Man throughout the ages."

The gold rings worn around the neck by the Huan Shou Man were mostly just for decoration.

However, some of them are not.

Ruan Hu: "What's it for?"

Zhou Kaigu gave a signal with his eyes, and the man immediately threw the gold ring away.

"Clatter!"

With a spinning sound, the flying ring landed on the neck of the sheep opposite.

Zhou Kaigu: "This object is specifically designed to snag around a person's neck. The angle is tricky, and it is difficult to defend against when it strikes suddenly."

Ruan Hu: "And then?"

The man raised his hand, and there was a gold ring on his wrist. He turned it, and the gold ring around the sheep's neck also turned.

In an instant, the sheep's head fell to the ground, and the sheep didn't even have time to bleat.

Blood gushed out onto the floor, the dripping sound accompanied by a strong, pungent smell of blood.

Zhou Kaigu said: "According to him, this head-grabbing flying ring was made of magnetic copper from Changyang Mountain. It came in a set of two rings, one large and one small. The large one was worn around the neck, while the small one was worn on the hand by great shamans throughout history."

"The large and small rings are magnetically attracted to each other. By rotating the magnetic ring, one can take a person's life and decapitate them."

"It's a pity that the method of refining it is only known to the great shamans of the Huan Shou Barbarians throughout the ages. If more of these could be made, they would surely be invincible in controlling people to do their jobs."

Zhou Kaigu was a shady and secretive man, and he seemed to really like this kind of thing.
This is a surprise weapon; it's not needed on the battlefield, but it can be surprisingly useful for controlling others at crucial moments.

Ruan Hu: "You seem to really like this item."

Zhou Kaigu: "I only think this item is very suitable for my Detective Agency, but the name is a bit too straightforward, lacks artistic conception, and is not intimidating enough."

Ruan Hu looked at him: "What are you going to call it?"

Zhou Kaigu heard the sound of blood dripping: "I would like to call it the Blood Droplet!"

Ruan Hu looked at Zhou Kaigu, whose temperament was somewhat gloomy, and the hawks and hounds kneeling in the courtyard, each holding a "blood-dripping guillotine".

Turning back, the main hall behind us enshrines a so-called "Flying Head God" with only one head.

If word gets out about the eerie atmosphere surrounding this detective agency, it might just stop children from crying at night.

As for Emperor Ruan Hu, who was in charge of these hounds, he was rapidly heading towards becoming a tyrant.

(End of this chapter)