I Possess a Scroll of Demon-Subduing Records

However, the emperor's mind was not to be changed. The imperial edict arrived in Xingsha City, Xiangzhou, early the next morning. It was at this time that Bao Sanniang hurriedly arrived.

She had been busy dealing with the snake infestation in Lingling until a few days ago when the snake demons somehow retreated and stopped bothering the people. Only then did Bao Sanniang have time to return. She received Xiao Se's letter and rushed over, just in time to meet the eunuch delivering the imperial edict.

Bao Sanniang naturally believed Xiao Se's statement, after all, who would kill ordinary villagers for fun?

Unfortunately, the one accusing Xiao Se was a prefectural governor, and the imperial edict only ordered Xiao Se to be detained and brought back to the capital for investigation, not to be beheaded. It was reasonable, legal, and in accordance with procedure, and with the supreme imperial power pressing down on it, no one could stop Lu Ningchuan from detaining Xiao Se, Niu Er, and Shang Chang'er in the capital for investigation.

Disobeying an imperial edict is a serious crime, on par with treason, and it will also implicate Xiao Se and others.

This case was supposed to be investigated, but if they resisted, there was no need to investigate; they could just be killed.

Lin Yi, who was secretly observing, was having a headache. Wang Jinxuan at home was still practicing kung fu with Xiao Cao, and Xiao Se outside was being targeted again.

So they're all destined to be protagonists; they can get into all sorts of trouble without doing anything.

Lin Yi certainly couldn't just stand by and watch Xiao Se be detained and taken back to the capital. As an observer, he actually saw things quite clearly.

This matter was directed at Xiao Se, but the real power struggle was between the Emperor and the Prince of Liang; Xiao Se was merely a sacrifice.

Coincidentally, both the King of Liang and the Emperor wanted Xiao Se dead.

The emperor may not have known that the Prince of Liang had other children. He thought that by killing his heir in a reasonable way, the troops who followed the Prince of Liang might become disloyal.

After all, there's no heir in the Xiao family anymore, so what's the point of playing games with you?

The current emperor is quite remarkable when it comes to having children. He has been emperor for more than ten years and has had nearly thirty or forty children. All I can say is, amazing!

Lin Yi didn't care who became emperor; after all, all crows are black, and neither of them was good. But they wanted to use Xiao Se's life as a bargaining chip in their power struggle, which Lin Yi naturally refused to accept.

Just as Xiao Se was about to accept the imperial edict, a cold arrow shot from afar, hitting the edict directly. Then, a fire broke out, and the edict was burned to ashes on the spot. Everyone present was shocked. Who was so bold as to dare to desecrate the imperial authority?

Lin Yi, standing some distance away, felt somewhat embarrassed.

This kind of archery is different from shooting a gun or sword strikes; it's not a straight line, but rather a parabola.

Lin Yi hid too far away. The arrow was originally meant for Lu Ningchuan, but it deviated slightly and hit the imperial edict instead, setting it on fire.

Surprisingly... the results were pretty good?

Chapter 192 That's right, King Liang is going to rebel.

The imperial messenger team naturally included skilled individuals. For this detention of the Prince of Liang's heir, the emperor also dispatched a top-tier imperial guard, Ao Guang, who was responsible for ensuring the main military force for the detention.

Ao Guang also possessed the strength of a second-rank official, demonstrating the emperor's high regard for the Prince of Liang. However, no one expected that even with a second-rank official in charge, someone would dare to take action in the city, even shooting at the imperial edict and burning it. This was tantamount to a provocation against imperial authority, and for Ao Guang, it was also a provocation against him.

He looked in the direction from which the arrow had come, and drew his own bow. A gust of wind gathered in his hand, and the ordinary arrow suddenly became different. With a whoosh, the arrow pierced the air and flew away. This was Ao Guang's response.

Lin Yi understood. A sniper duel at the middle gate, huh? Come on!

Lin Yi was not afraid at all, but the bow in his hand was not very strong. When he pulled hard, the bow broke.

This illustrates the importance of powerful weapons; for example, Ao Guang's bow and arrows are clearly superior to Lin Yi's.

Lin Yi used to break his weapons often; that's the problem with cold weapons. Firearms are much better.

The opponent wanted to snipe at the middle, but Lin Yi didn't have a sniper rifle, so he could only use his sword energy.

Lin Yi immediately unleashed the Five Elements Return to Origin, followed by the Qi Slaying Ghosts and Gods, and then the Yang Fire Ignition. The sword energy was released, igniting the air it passed through and leaving a long trail. In an instant, he arrived in front of Ao Guang.

Ao Guang hadn't expected his opponent to be so fierce; it seemed he was at least on the same level as him.

He certainly wouldn't think of them as first-grade experts; that's impossible. If the other party were truly a first-grade expert, they wouldn't need to hide like this. They could just show themselves and take them all down.

Because he felt that he was evenly matched with his opponent, Ao Guang was very confident. When he saw the sword energy coming, he slashed forward with his sword and finally succeeded in splitting the sword energy in two. This time, it was still considered that there was no winner.

He was unaware that Lin Yi's Qi cultivation level was only at the third rank.

The second rank only has one more flower, but the requirements for Daoist essence increase exponentially. Lin Yi also remembered that Xiao Se had once said that one should not absorb too much Daoist essence, so he slowed down his cultivation speed.

However, the sword energy unleashed by someone with only a third-grade cultivation level was in no way inferior to Ao Guang's saber energy. This Five Elements Return to Origin technique was indeed powerful.

Ao Guang cut off Lin Yi's sword energy, and after estimating Lin Yi's strength, he shouted in the direction of Lin Yi: "Disrespecting the imperial edict is a capital offense. I advise you to surrender, and I may be able to beg the emperor to spare your life."

Xiao Se was also worried. She was concerned that it was Lin Yi who was making the move. If it really was him, he shouldn't be a match for Ao Guang. If this stalemate continued, it would probably be disadvantageous for Lin Yi.

But at this moment, she dared not reveal Lin Yi's identity, and could only feel anxious, feeling even more indebted to Lin Yi.

When they became sworn brothers, she thought she should help Lin Yi as much as possible. Now it seems that what she helped Lin Yi with were all small things. Most of the time, it was Lin Yi who helped her, and she had nothing to repay him with.

Lin Yi was a seasoned cunning fellow, so of course he wouldn't go out and surrender. Instead, he shouted from afar, "By order of the Prince, I am here to protect the young master. No one is to be allowed to harm a single hair on his head."

Isn't this because King Liang is hesitant to rebel?

Look, I've seen the first shot for you.

Ao Guang and a group of eunuchs all changed their expressions drastically, and Lu Ningchuan also turned pale.

No one expected that King Liang would have placed such a skilled person by Xiao Se's side, and that this person would go to such lengths, even burning the imperial edict to save Xiao Se.

This is going to be a big problem!

"You audacious traitor! Do you only know the Prince and not the Emperor? What are Prince Liang's intentions? Does he really intend to rebel?"

Ao Guang's reprimand was the last attempt to save face for the court. It's likely that no matter how arrogant the Prince of Liang's men were, they wouldn't dare to openly declare their intention to rebel!

Lin Yi certainly wouldn't openly say he wanted to rebel, as that would be too suspicious of an insider. But he said sarcastically, "I only know Your Highness, not His Majesty. To say I'm plotting a rebellion is nonsense. It's just that His Majesty seems to be somewhat muddleheaded, actually listening to the slander of petty people and wanting to harm my heir. I will write to Your Highness to purge the court of corrupt officials as soon as possible. I'm afraid none of you petty people will escape."

"Purge the court of corrupt officials" has always been an excuse for rebels.

These words were not much different from openly declaring a rebellion. Ao Guang and the others turned pale and hesitated. If the King of Liang's men were so arrogant, they might start an uprising in the next few days. If he really fought to the death with this man and captured Xiao Se, wouldn't he also be unable to escape death when the King of Liang's army came to the city?

Ao Guang immediately felt a sense of retreat. At his level, he still had plenty of carefree days ahead. If this emperor was capable of being cultivated, he would be willing to follow him for a while. However, the emperor was a lazy emperor who did nothing of importance and spent his days either cultivating or having sex.

After so many years of cultivation, he's still just a piece of trash who hasn't even reached the highest level. He's neither good at literature nor martial arts. Is it worth risking his life to serve such an emperor?

Having understood all this, Ao Guang still shouted sternly, "Traitorous subject, I will kill you today!"

Having said that, he drew his sword and ran towards Lin Yi. Lin Yi had already disguised himself. When Ao Guang swung his sword at him, Lin Yi dodged and immediately swung his sword to counterattack. He decisively unleashed the three deadly sword strikes taught by Bao San Niang. Ao Guang caught the first two strikes, but Lin Yi knocked the sword away with the last one and kicked it away. After several somersaults, he landed on the ground and staggered back more than ten steps.

He had only intended to put on a final show, but he hadn't expected Lin Yi to be so fierce that he was no match for him at all.

In this situation, Ao Guang could only shout, "I am inferior to you today, but I will learn from you again another day!"

As he spoke, he looked at the eunuch who was delivering the imperial decree and said, "Eunuch, let's go back first and report everything that happened here to His Majesty."

The head eunuch also wanted to leave, but seeing that Ao Guang had said so, he naturally had no reason to stay. Without saying anything polite, he hurriedly left.

Only on the road did he anxiously exclaim, "Disaster is imminent!"

No one knew that this loyal subordinate to King Liang was actually a traitor.

Even Xiao Se had some doubts about whether the person protecting him was really arranged by her father.

After all, it's something her father loves to do most. Maybe the person protecting her doesn't even know that her father wants to kill her. This kind of secret can't be known by everyone; only the executor would know. Like the assassins the night before last, they probably didn't even know who they were killing; they only knew they were going to kill someone.

Ao Guang left with his men. Lu Ningchuan was trembling all over, feeling like the boat was about to capsize. Thinking of what Gui Shan had said about his impending death, he was so scared that his fat trembled. He didn't dare to stay there any longer, fearing that he would be killed by the hidden master. He hurriedly ran back to the prefect's mansion.

In front of the Jingye Division, everyone looked at Xiao Se with complicated expressions.

Only Chen Huaiyuan and the others knew that Xiao Se was the heir of a prince, but they did not know that Xiao Se was also the heir of the Prince of Liang.

The most powerful second-generation official in the country, even the crown prince has to step aside. Such a big shot is actually hiding right next to everyone!

If I had known this beforehand, I would have tried to get close to Xiao Se, and wouldn't I have been guaranteed a bright future?

That Lin Yi is still as cunning as ever!

However, that was in the past.

Now that Xiao Se's identity has been exposed, and it seems her father is about to rebel, if she goes over to Xiao Se now, wouldn't she be considered an accomplice of the rebels?

For a moment, everyone looked at Xiao Se with very complicated expressions.

I wanted to go and join in the fun, but I was afraid something terrible might happen.

Ultimately, most people wanted to live, so few dared to stand up for themselves. Only Shang Chang'er said, "Your family is too fierce! Impressive, Chief Constable Xiao!"

She never had any respect for the imperial court, unlike those who had been working in the government for a long time. In other words, Shang Chang'er was originally a lawless outlaw who had only been recruited by Lin Yi.

She had no concept of imperial power; she just felt that Xiao Se's family was powerful.

Xiao Se felt uncomfortable being stared at by these people with strange looks, so he could only sigh, shake his head, and say to Shang Chang'er, "This time, I've caused you trouble."

After saying that, she looked at Bao Sanniang and said, "Steward Bao, I'm probably not suitable to stay in Jingye Division right now. I'll leave the rest to you."

"Of course, I will investigate this matter thoroughly and find out the truth."

Bao Sanniang originally came to handle this case, which involved the governor and was no ordinary matter. However, she misunderstood Xiao Se's intentions. Xiao Se had asked her to look after the Jingye Division. As for the truth of this case, it was not so important.

From the moment that mysterious expert appeared and burned the imperial edict, things began to spiral out of control. No one cared what the truth was.

In any case, it's certain that there will be turmoil in the government and among the people before long.

Xiao Se didn't explain much. After saying goodbye to everyone, he returned to his residence.

Meanwhile, Lin Yi sent a secret letter to Prince Liang first. This letter should arrive in the capital faster than Ao Guang and the others, so it will probably be quite interesting!

Is this the joy of being an inside man?

I do the bad stuff, you take the blame—that's the real thrill...

However, since the King of Liang had given him the order to kill Xiao Se, he should find an opportunity to try his hand at it, or at least put on an act...

At the prefectural governor's mansion, Lu Ningchuan, looking terrified, dismissed everyone before shouting in the open space, "Come out! Come out now!"

As he shouted, the soil in the courtyard slowly sank, and a skeleton gradually emerged from the earth. The flickering fire in its eye sockets terrified Lu Ningchuan every time he saw it, but now that he was about to die, he couldn't care less about his fear and questioned, "I did everything you said, how could it have turned out like this?"

"You're hopeless, you're a perfect example!"

Flames flickered in the skull's eye sockets, and piercing sounds reached Lu Ningchuan's ears.

Lu Ningchuan was furious. He was completely helpless. Did he have any room to maneuver at all?

"What else can I do! From the very beginning, this setup was full of holes. At least two people who knew the truth should have been killed. But who could have imagined that a man in black would suddenly appear? That man is most likely Xiao Se's bodyguard. From the start, we were doomed to fail. Can you blame me for that?"

"You're too stupid. You still haven't figured it out. The framing is just a pretext. Whether it's true or false doesn't matter. What matters is what the Prince of Liang will do, and what His Majesty will do?"

Following this clue, Lu Ningchuan quickly came to a conclusion.

In fact, it all happened.

The emperor actually took action to punish Xiao Se, and the Prince of Liang even directly rebelled, which brought to light the long-hidden contradictions.

“That’s not what you said at the beginning. You said the Emperor would be lenient and give the Prince of Liang a little punishment to force him to back down and buy some more time. But in the current situation, it’s not good for His Majesty at all. You lied to me.”

"You are not the Emperor's man, you are the Prince of Liang's man!"