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

Fu Qing, mounted on his horse, looked at Jun Tianxiao, took out a gold medal from his robes, and held it high above his shoulder.

"Master Jun, I am here on imperial orders to investigate a case and suspect that stolen royal treasures are hidden in the Jun family's treasury. Please cooperate with the search."

Before Jun Tianxiao could say anything more, Jun Tianhao slowly walked out of the main hall, leaning on his dragon-headed cane.

He glanced at the dark mass of soldiers outside the door, raised his hand to stop his son, and said, "Let him search. If you haven't done anything wrong, you have nothing to fear."

Fu Qing dismounted, followed by fifty elite soldiers and Yang Xu, the deputy general of the Quzhou garrison—an old general in his fifties.

He's called a veteran, but he looks just as young as he does.

As a martial artist's cultivation level increases, their lifespan will also increase. Fu Qing is currently at the sixth level of the Meridian Opening stage, and it's no problem for him to live to be over two hundred years old.

Yang Xu had been wiping away sweat constantly since he entered the Jun family mansion, muttering to himself as he did so.

"My dear General Fu, the Jun family is His Majesty's in-laws. If we can't find anything, this matter will be impossible to resolve."

Fu Qing ignored him and went straight into the basement under the artificial hill in the backyard.

The rest of the Jun family followed behind, with Jun Tianxiao's face grim and Jun Tianhao walking at the very back, leaning on his cane.

Fifty elite soldiers dispersed to search the basement, opening and inspecting each wooden crate one by one.

Gold and silver utensils, calligraphy and paintings, weapons—everything was taken out and displayed on the open ground.

The Jun family members stood at the entrance to the basement, their expressions growing increasingly impatient.

A young man from a collateral branch of the Jun family couldn't help but shout loudly.

"We've searched every box, but there's no imperial seal. The Jun family is also related to the imperial family. They can't be insulted and framed so easily. We must report this to the court and make General Fu pay the price!"

Yang Xu's forehead was covered in even more sweat. He leaned closer and whispered...

"Sir, how about we stop here for today? Continuing the search will really make things difficult to handle. You are a rising star in the court, so don't worry. I still have eight wives and concubines to support!"

"General Yang has good kidneys."

Fu Qing chuckled and walked unhurriedly to the entrance of the basement, his foot landing precisely on the tile of the hidden compartment.

He turned around and looked at Jun Tianhao, who was standing at the entrance to the underground parking garage. Their eyes met for a moment in the dim light of the garage.

Jun Tianhao's eyes were calm and still, revealing no emotion whatsoever.

Fu Qing withdrew his gaze and sighed, "It seems I was reckless and offended Old Master Jun."

As he spoke, he slammed the scabbard down onto the floor tile. With a crack, the tile shattered, and the fragments fell into the hidden compartment below.

Yang Xu paused for a moment, then pricked up his ears suspiciously.

Fu Qing looked down at the broken bricks at her feet, then suddenly her eyes widened as she stared at the ground.

"Oh dear! Why is this brick hollow? The craftsman must have cut corners!"

He crouched down and shoved aside the broken bricks with his hands, deliberately peering into the hidden compartment, then let out an even more exaggerated exclamation.

"Huh? Why is there a box here?"

Jun Tianhao's grip on his cane tightened suddenly, and Jun Tianxiao's face turned ashen.

The member of the Jun family's collateral branch who was still shouting next to Fu Qing stared wide-eyed as Fu Qing took out a mahogany box from a hidden compartment, and then fell silent.

Ling Moxie stood at the back of the crowd, watching Fu Qing's exaggerated performance, and her lips twitched.

Qingluan muttered to herself from the side.

"General Fu's acting was too fake."

Ling Moxie placed the teacup on the tea tray held by Qingluan and said something completely insincere, her face expressionless.

"I think he acted quite well."

Fu Qing opened the brocade box, held the seal up to the light at the entrance to the underground vault, and the coiled dragon pattern on the seal knob and the nine ancient seal characters on the seal face were clearly visible in the morning light.

He took a deep breath and announced loudly, "The seal knob features a coiled dragon, and the seal face bears nine characters, perfectly matching the rubbing His Majesty gave to me! This precious seal is indeed the royal treasure stolen from Jingjing last year!"

He turned the seal towards Jun Tianhao, "Grandpa Jun, this seal was found in a hidden compartment in the Jun family's basement. May I ask how you explain this, Grandpa?"

Jun Tianhao remained silent for a long time, then stepped forward, leaning on his cane. He glanced at the seal first, then looked up at Fu Qing.

"This precious seal was given to me by Qu Zhengyang. At the end of last year, he sent me a batch of birthday gifts, and this seal was one of them."

"When Qu Zhengyang brought it over, he said it was an ancient seal and asked me to help him appraise it. I don't know anything about it, so I put it in the basement and haven't touched it since."

Fu Qing narrowed his eyes slightly. "Grandpa, are you saying that Qu Zhengyang gave this seal to the Jun family as a congratulatory gift? Does Grandpa know that this seal is a stolen treasure from the royal family?"

"I don't know! This old man doesn't recognize what this seal is. If I did, I would never have accepted it. Although the Jun family is in the Jianghu, we are loyal to the imperial court and would never dare to do something like confiscating property and exterminating an entire family."

"it is good."

Fu Qing grinned, put the treasure seal into his robes, and turned to leave.

"Let's go ask Qu Zhengyang."

Watching Fu Qingyuan leave, Jun Tianhao's expression was complicated.

Regret?

There are some.

But this seal holds a tremendous secret, worth risking the lives of the entire Jun family for. Unfortunately, he was given too little time. If he had another three years, he wouldn't even be afraid of the emperor!

...

Fu Qing led his troops straight to the Qu family mansion. Five hundred elite soldiers divided into four groups and surrounded the Qu family mansion. Archers occupied the rooftops, and swordsmen and shieldmen blocked every way out.

Qu Zhengyang stood at the doorway and trembled when he saw the gold medal in Fu Qing's hand and the dense mass of soldiers behind him. "General Fu, what is the meaning of this?"

Fu Qing held the seal up to him. "Master Qu, Jun Tianhao said this seal was a congratulatory gift from you. This seal is a stolen royal treasure. Where did you get it? And how did you transport it from Jingjing to Quzhou? Who gave you the post station permit? Who escorted it for you? Speak up."

Qu Zhengyang opened his mouth, but couldn't say anything.

The Qu family members behind him were already in a panic. Some were whispering, "Father, let's run!" while others drew their knives but didn't know where to point them.

Qu Zhengyang glanced back at his family behind him, then turned back to look at the gold medal in Fu Qing's hand, his face ashen.

Fu Qing waved his hand, "Seal off the Qu family's property, and escort Qu Zhengyang to Jingjing for trial."

Qu Ming rushed out from the crowd.

He was Qu Zhengyang's only son, and he was used to bullying men and women in Quzhou. He never thought that one day someone would lead troops to block his door.

He drew his knife and glared at Fu Qing with bloodshot eyes.

"You bastard surnamed Fu, you're framing an innocent person! The Qu family isn't made of dough either."

Then he raised his knife and charged at Fu Qing, but before he could reach Fu Qing, the archers on the roof simultaneously released their bowstrings.

Dozens of arrows shot in from all directions, pinning him to the ground like a hedgehog. Qu Ming lay in a pool of blood, twitched twice, and then remained still.

Qu Zhengyang let out a mournful wail upon seeing his son's corpse. He broke free from the soldiers' restraints and struck Fu Qing with a full-force blow, unleashing his full power.

Fu Qing was also startled. He drew his cold iron knife to meet the blow head-on. With a muffled thud, he was knocked back several steps by the palm strike and his back slammed into the stone lion at the entrance of the Qu family mansion. He coughed up a mouthful of blood.

Yang Xu, the deputy general of Quzhou standing to the side, changed his expression drastically and blurted out,

"Protect the imperial envoy!"

He strode up to Fu Qing and slapped Qu Zhengyang in the chest!

Yang Xu was at the third level of the Gang Qi realm and had fought on the border for several years. His skills were far more solid than those of Qu Zhengyang, the head of the family who rose to power through resources. He defeated Qu Zhengyang in just a few moves, leaving him powerless to resist.

Two commanders stepped forward, twisted Zheng Yang's arms behind his back, and pressed him to the ground, pressing his back with their knees so that he could not move.

Fu Qing, using the stone lion as a support, stood up, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and gave a cold laugh.

"Very well, very well, you dare to act even with the Emperor's decree in hand? Does Patriarch Qu have nine heads? What does the Great Jing Code say?"

"To harm the imperial envoy is tantamount to treason!"

Having said that, he picked up the cold iron sword and walked over step by step, but Yang Xu stopped him.

"General Fu, you are the imperial envoy; I can do this menial work for you..."

"I want to kill him with my own hands."

Fu Qing interrupted him, grinning, "First, I need to test whether the knife can cut through Qi. Second, the heads of people at the Qi Realm are too valuable."

Yang Xu scratched the back of his head.

He fought on the border for several years and had seen at least eight or ten imperial envoys. Some of them could only give orders from the rear, while others would cramp up in their legs once they got to the battlefield.

But this guy in front of him was covered in blood and was about to personally behead his enemy. He took a step back, clasped his hands in a fist salute to Fu Qing,

"Then please, sir."

Qu Zhengyang was pinned to the ground by two commanders, his face pressed against the bluestone slab.

He was surrounded by a thin layer of golden light, a protective aura, a sign of the Qi Refining Realm.

Qu Zhengyang turned his head to look at Fu Qing walking over with a knife, and sneered.

"You, a mere cultivator at the Meridian Opening Realm, can't even break through my protective aura? You're dreaming!"

Fu Qing stopped, looked down at the faint golden light on Qu Zhengyang's neck, and then raised his cold iron sword and slashed down.

With a crisp "clang," the blade struck the protective energy, sending sparks flying. The blade bounced off, while the protective energy remained completely still.

Qu Zhengyang gave a mocking smile. "I told you you can't break through it. A Meridian Opening Realm sword wants to cut through a Qi Condensation Realm cultivator? Dream on."