Chaotic Times and Disasters: I Hunt Down Martial Arts Masters and Become a God

The two children have grown up. The son looks more like Song Yawei, with gentle features and fair skin. He doesn't cry or fuss when held in someone's arms.

Song Yawei said he was so well-behaved that it broke her heart. He could play by himself for half a day in the cradle, and when he was hungry he would hum a little, and when he was full he would fall asleep again.

The daughter, on the other hand, was the complete opposite—she inherited Song Nini's personality, being lively and active. At just a few months old, she was already rolling around in her cradle, kicking her little hands and feet constantly, sometimes grabbing her sister's hair, sometimes kicking the blanket to the ground.

Every time Song Nini took her out of the cradle, she was exhausted and her back ached. She complained to Fu Qing that this girl would definitely be a troublemaker when she grew up.

Fu Qing picked up his daughter and lifted her above his head. The little girl giggled in mid-air, scratching at his face with her tiny hands.

When Fu Qing put her down, she was unhappy and pouted as if she was about to cry, so he had to lift her up again.

Looking at her sleeping son in the cradle, Song Yawei suddenly sighed softly, "This boy is too well-behaved, he's nothing like his father. But your daughter is just like you, fearless and reckless."

"Girls don't necessarily have to be quiet."

Fu Qing placed his daughter on his lap, and the little girl immediately began tugging at the safety rope on his wrist. "It's good to be lively; it'll make it less likely for people to bully you when you grow up."

Song Nini, who was shelling peanuts nearby, nodded vigorously upon hearing this, "Yes, yes, yes! Brother-in-law is right! Sister, you always say our daughter is too naughty, so what? Naughty children are smart! I was naughty when I was little, and look how smart I am now!"

"Where are you smart?" Song Yawei glared at her with a smile.

"If I weren't smart, would I have married my brother-in-law?"

Song Nini puffed out her chest confidently, only to be hit on the forehead by Song Ya's only peanut shell.

But at that moment, the door was pushed open.

The eunuch pushed open the courtyard gate and shouted in a shrill voice, "His Majesty's decree—General Fu Qing is summoned to the palace for an audience immediately!"

Fu Qing was stunned for a moment. His son was woken up and pouted as if he was about to cry. Fu Qing gently handed him to Song Yawei, changed into his official robes, and followed the eunuch into the palace.

...

In the Imperial Study, Ling Yushu stood before a huge map of the territory, holding a vermilion pen in his hand.

Hearing footsteps, he turned around and said without a word, "In Quzhou, the martial arts practitioners are causing a ruckus. Last year, a royal treasure was stolen during its transport, and the robbers have not yet been caught."

"The military has found clues pointing to the Jun family in Quzhou. The Jun family is the largest martial arts family in Quzhou. The patriarch, Jun Tianhao, is a Golden Body Realm expert. The Jun family is also related to me by marriage. I cannot ignore some of my reputation."

"I want you to go to Quzhou to find out the secret, locate the imperial seal, and also deal with the unruly martial arts forces."

He pushed a secret edict and a gold medal in front of Fu Qing.

"The secret edict is your identity certificate, and the gold token is a troop mobilization order. Seeing the gold token is like seeing the Emperor. I'm giving you three months."

Fu Qing accepted the secret decree and the gold medal. The gold medal was extremely heavy, with the words "As if the Emperor were personally present" engraved on the front and the golden dragon pattern of the Jing Kingdom's royal family on the back.

"Your Majesty, what does the imperial seal look like?"

Ling Yushu took a rubbing from the desk and handed it over.

The rubbing is printed with the pattern of a square seal. The seal knob is a coiled dragon, whose body is coiled into the shape of an exquisite pagoda. The seal face is engraved with nine ancient seal characters with complex strokes.

Fu Qing looked at the seal knob pattern on the rubbing and his heart skipped a beat—he felt like he'd seen this pattern somewhere before!

The copper piece found in Liu Heizi's secret room in Black Wind Village seemed to have a similar coiled dragon pattern, but the pattern on the copper piece was incomplete, while the pattern on the rubbing was complete.

He remained calm, carefully put away the rubbing, accepted the imperial decree, and took his leave.

...

"Strange, the thing the bandits have is actually related to royal treasures, that's very strange..."

As Fu Qing left the imperial study and was pondering something, he walked through the palace path to leave the palace when a maid stopped him at the entrance of the Royal Academy. "General Fu, the Third Princess requests your presence."

Fu Qing was taken aback. "The Third Princess?"

He had never met this third princess before; he had only seen her once from afar at a palace banquet. How could she have found him?

...

Following the maid into the second floor of the academy, Ling Moxie was standing by the window, holding a bright yellow imperial edict in his hand.

She turned around, and her first words surprised Fu Qing: "General Fu, I want to go to Quzhou with you."

Fu Qing raised an eyebrow slightly, looking at her, waiting for her to continue.

Ling Moxie unfolded the imperial edict in her hand onto the table.

"The Jun family is my mother's family. Jun Tianhao's 200th birthday is in a month, and I have been ordered to go and offer my congratulations."

"It just so happens that Father has sent you to Quzhou to investigate a case and to escort me along the way. This is Father's decree—your new mission."

She pushed the imperial edict to Fu Qing.

After Fu Qing finished reading the imperial edict and confirmed its authenticity, he looked up at her, somewhat puzzled.

"Third Princess, since your maternal family is the Jun family, why doesn't His Majesty allow you to go directly to the Jun family?"

Ling Moxie's answer was brief.

"My mother was forced into the palace by the Jun family. She later died in despair. General Fu, what do you think of my relationship with the Jun family?"

Fu Qing was taken aback again, looking at Ling Moxie with a strange expression.

Ling Moxie didn't explain much, only telling him that his mother didn't have a good life in the palace. Her health was poor after giving birth to her, and she passed away when she was very young.

The Jun family has been abusing their power in Quzhou for years, relying on their status as maternal relatives. She is happy to cooperate with Fu Qing to find out whether the Jun family is clean or not.

Fu Qing put away the imperial edict. "Your subject obeys. When shall we depart?"

"Go back and prepare in three days."

...

Fu Qing went home and carefully put away the secret decree, the gold medal, and the rubbings. He then told Song Yawei and Song Nini about his trip to Quzhou.

Song Yawei didn't ask any more questions. She just stood up and started packing her luggage—dry food, water bag, and a change of cloth socks, folding them neatly one by one and putting them into her bundle.

Song Nini, holding her daughter, asked, "Is Quzhou far? Are the pickled plums there as good as those in Jingjing?"

"All you ever think about is eating," Song Yawei said without even looking up.

"I'm asking for my brother-in-law! He needs to bring some snacks on the way!"

Song Nini spoke with self-righteousness, then looked down at her daughter in her arms.

"Daughter, don't be like your dad, always away from home. When your dad comes back, you'll already be calling him 'Dad'—no, you can already call him that now. Come on, call him 'Dad' for your dad to hear."

The daughter made two soft, babyish "ah ah" sounds, then reached out to grab Song Nini's hair.

Song Nini cried out "Ouch!" and tilted her head. Fu Qing took his daughter, and the little girl hugged his neck tightly, refusing to let go.

Fu Qing gently pinched her cheek and put her back in Song Nini's arms.

He then told Suwen about his plan to go to Quzhou, and Suwen immediately made a decision.

"I'll go with you. I feel my new drug is almost ready. Let me have ten more vials of blood!"

Fu Qing's lips twitched, and he nodded.