Chapter 131: Warning
Translator: StackThatCoin Editor: Hitesh
The moon now rode high and clear. Countless fireflies were flying and dancing in the air within Mo Forest. Under the gentle moonlight pouring down like water, tiny specks glowed and twinkled everywhere, making the entire place seem to be a dream-like world. Faint water vapor rose from the earth, floating and hovering between trees. Except for the rustling of leaves due to the caressing of the night breeze, there weren't any other sounds that could be heard. Contrary to when Wu Qi came to this place earlier today, when those wild animals and giant serpents were blocking his way and trying to give him trouble, as he was on his way back to the city accompanied by Jing Ke, these big fellows immediately spun and scurried away upon seeing the burly man.
A few of them were slightly slower in running away, and were grabbed up in midair by Jing Ke from afar, before being thrown several hundred feet away, slamming into great trees. Their heads swam as they struggled to get back up on their feet for a long time. Suddenly Wu Qi realized that no matter these wild animals or those few giant serpents who almost transformed into real dragons, each and every single one of them was miserable wretched, as though Jing Ke had treated them violently. Yet, they still bowed their heads and bent their bodies, showing off a flattering manner towards him.
With one grab, Jing Ke picked up a giant wild boar nearly thirty feet in its body length, waved his hand and threw it over one thousand feet away. Then, wearing the same expression, he said with an indifferent voice, "Teacher has overly spoiled these bunch of animals. That's why they only know how to put up mischiefs in the woods every day. Do you feel strange as to why I specifically asked you to be here?"
Wu Qi pondered for a while, shook his head and said nothing.
Jing Ke raised his head and looked at the bright moon in the sky. With a low voice, he said, "The knowledge that Teacher attained is vast, and his achievement in the path of Dao is pure and profound, which has even reached to the realm of divinity. Teacher is different from us. He is an open and poised man, his heart is as clear as the brightest mirror, not stained by any speck of dust. As a result, he had formed his Nascent Soul1500 years ago. Currently, his cultivation in Dao has reached the acme of perfection. Perhaps, in just a few more years, he would be able to transform his Nascent Soul into Nascent Divinity, attaining true immortality and living a leisurely life."
He sighed softly, nodded and said, "Teacher can see through one's heart and understands one's emotions. Whether the man has a rightful or evil heart, he can tell with just one glance. Since he said that you are a good kid, then a good kid you are. If today, Teacher had said that your heart was filled with evil thoughts and you wrongfully conducted yourself, then you would not have been able to leave Mo Forest alive."
Wu Qi was surprised as he threw a glance over at Jing Ke, frowned and asked, "Chief General, I, Wu Qi, have never done anything that is against reason and nature. Is there really a necessity to do that?"
Jing Ke twitched his lips, sneered and said, "Against reason and nature? Why should I care about that? Whether you've killed someone or set fire to someone's houses, even if you've slaughtered every single people in an entire street of Ji City… these are merely petty matters, and I don't care at all. In fact, I used to do such deeds when I was still a ranger many years ago. So, I never put those so-called ‘against reason and nature’ to my heart."
He shook his head, rested his eyes on Wu Qi's face, laughed coldly and said, "You shouldn't have flirted with that little girl Zhang Le! You're different from Taba Qingye, Taba Haofeng, and those young masters and offspring of the nobility. Although in the past, they were rather intimate with Zhang Le, in essence, Zhang Le is a phoenix soaring up high in the ninth heaven, and those kids are merely maggots crawling on the floor. They thought they had the opportunity, but Zhang Le will never have her eyes on these profligate sons. Therefore, it doesn't make someone worry."
"Ugh?" With a baffled look, Wu Qi stared at Jing Ke. It seemed there was a different meaning hiding in his words.
Jing Ke twitched his lips again, then not knowing from where, he pulled out a three feet tall, yellow wine gourd, uncorked it and gulped down two mouthfuls of fine wine. Then, he burped, let out a soft laugh into the sky and said, "Crown Prince Dan, ugh, I mean His Majesty, he knew that Zhang Le is in rather intimate terms with you recently, and it is different from how she maintained her intimacy with those offsprings of the nobility in the past. Therefore, by finding an excuse, His Majesty bestowed the title of Marquis Tianyun to you."
Wu Qi nodded. Now he knew what Jing Ke was trying to tell him, "His Majesty thought that if Wu Qi kept messing around with Princess with the status of the hanger-on of Duke Yan Le, it would not be something nice in the eyes of the public? And that is the reason why His Majesty bestowed Wu Qi with the title of Marquis?"
Weirdly Jing Ke looked at Wu Qi, nodded and said, "You've pointed out the biggest obstacle in our mind, allowing us to make the breakthrough from our existing realm within just a few days. If this was done according to my temper, your credit was worthy of being bestowed at least three to five vassal kingdoms as your fief. However, His Majesty has a different idea. He always thinks way more than I can ever think of. He cannot tell all the ministers and princes of Great Yan Dynasty that just because of your guidance, he has to bestow you many rewards."
He took a deep breath, shook his head and said, "Therefore, by bestowing you the title of Marquis Tianyun, it serves two purposes: firstly, it is a token of appreciation for you waking us up, and secondly, it is for Princess Zhang Le. No matter what, she can't be together with a hanger-on who doesn't have a proper status. Although we think nothing of status or which clan you come from, that is our thinking, and we can't force all those people in Great Yan Dynasty to have the same thought as us."
Wu Qi finally understood what Jing Ke was trying to tell him. "The thinking of those who hold the higher position is always different from ordinary civilians. I can understand your decision."
Jing Ke snorted lightly, then continued, "And that is also the reason why we gave you Xiong Qing and his eleven brothers. Heh, Zhang Le can influence too many things. Although she doesn't know that herself, but could that mean we also don't know anything about that? With your status and your background, you don't have a strong support. The more intimate you and Zhang Le become, the more the string looping around your neck will be tightened. If we don't take any precautionary measures, you won't live longer than three months in Ji City."
Wu Qi didn't say anything but frowned. No wonder Yan Dan was so generous by giving him Xiong Qing and his brothers. However, even without the protection from this group of bear brothers, was Wu Qi someone that was easy to be killed? Not to mention that he had now formed his Gold Cores, even before he did that, as long as the attacker was not an Earth Immortal of Nascent Soul realm, and as long as Wu Qi burned his blood essence and made his desperate escape, no one could stop him from fleeing.
He pondered for a brief moment, nodded his head and said, " I've understood His Majesty's kindness clearly. But there is one thing Wu Qi still doesn't understand. Why does His Majesty want to treat me like that?" Wu Qi did not believe that he was everyone's darling, so how could Yan Dan, the mighty emperor of Great Yan Dynasty, suddenly take a fancy to him? Was it merely because of Princess Zhang Le? For an emperor, even though his princess had fallen in love with someone, but that alone was not enough to explain why Yan Dan gave Wu Qi so many demon bears of Gold Core realm as his personal guards.
A strange expression emerged on Jing Ke's face. He remained silent for a while and then began to speak slowly, "All of us have learned what you and Yan Chengfeng did in Little Meng City. You've done well. Although the approach was rather green, inexperienced and not vicious enough, the ending could be considered satisfactory. I've compiled the technique of training army in the new recruit camp of Little Meng City into scrolls, and I've planned to try it out in a few newly founded armies."
Wu Qi nodded his head and did not feel surprised. As Jing Ke was in charge of Scouting Office of Great Yan Dynasty, when Lu Chengfeng suddenly inherited the title of Duke Yan Le and the official post of West Supervisor, if he did not perform a thorough investigation of both Wu Qi and Lu Chengfeng's background, then he would be rather unfit for his job. The measures they took in Little Meng City might be able to stay hidden from many secret agents of Lu Kingdom, but they could never be concealed from the people of Scouting Office. So, it was natural that Jing Ke and his brothers learned the technique of training soldiers in Little Meng City.
A prolonged silence lingered. At last, Jing Ke spoke again, "Your technique of training army is very unique, and very ingenious. It is better than the method we currently employ in Great Yan Dynasty, many times better. I suppose, your teacher must be a genius hermit from the society. It is just too bad..." said Jing Ke while shaking his head. "You know how to train an army, and the technique is ingenious; this alone is enough to let us take a good care of you. Those princes and offspring of the nobility in Great Yan Dynasty today only know how to enjoy themselves with feasting and other kinds of entertainment, murdering and indulging in dallying with prostitutes. But when they are requested to carry out proper businesses, heh, we have no hope for them… They simply can't be counted on. Two thousand years, Great Yan Dynasty has been founded for over two thousand years!"
Thoughtfully, Wu Qi nodded his head, "Yes, it has been over two thousand years, and what was supposed to be rotten has already rotten to the core."
Jing Ke's face suddenly darkened, rolled his eyes and cried at Wu Qi, "We have built this Great Yan Dynasty with one roof tile, one stalk of grass at a time. Don't say something so unpleasant to hear."
Wu Qi quickly shut his mouth. Then Jing Ke continued, "It is because we are paying close attention to you that led to so many things. Requesting Teacher to have a look at you today was just a precautionary measure. If you're a good person, we can set our mind to rest. If you secretly harbor evil intentions, we'll kill you before it is too late. Then, we can set our mind to rest as well. Just that the magnitude of the event you stirred up today is too great."
Wu Qi thought for some time. Except for what he did in Shi Martial Club, he did not create any other troubles today, did he?
Looking at the puzzled expression on Wu Qi's face, Jing Ke sneered and said, "By giving you Xiong Qing and his brothers, besides from protecting you, we actually feared that those people who assassinated Yan Buji would assault Yan Chengfeng again. As long as they dared to launch another assault, with Xiong Qing and his brothers around you, the culprits would fall into our trap. But, before any of our preventive measures could work, you've overthrown the entire Shi Martial Club, and to our surprise, you actually caught the culprit who murdered Yan Buji."
Breathing out a long sigh, Jing Ke let out a cold laugh and continued, "Who is the man that you captured personally? Do you know, there were several dozens of officers of Criminal and Justice Court and Scouting Office who initiated a sudden assault and killed all the suspects on the spot. We've carefully analyzed the situation, and found that their target was actually the man that you've captured!" Then, Jing Ke began telling Wu Qi what had happened back in Shi Martial Club. He emphasized that those men of sacrifice were all from Scouting Office and Criminal and Justice Court, and not some outsiders.
Wu Qi gasped and cried out, "That man is a personal guard of Wei Xiaoxiao from Wei Merchants. Could they have infiltrated their influence into both Criminal and Justice Court and Scouting Office? Could money really make the devils push the millstone for you?" Although Wu Qi wore a shocked expression on the outside, inwardly, he was letting out a wild and joyful laugh. 'So, you want to be arrogant and unbridled before me, Wei Xiaoxiao? I'll bring you a severe frame today, and even if you can manage to escape from the punishment of death, I'll have you suffer from a great loss!' thought Wu Qi in his mind.
"Wei Xiaoxiao?" Jing Ke's face suddenly fell. While sneering, he kept nodding his head and said, "That little girl? Heh, I don't like her."
He paused for a few seconds, then continued saying, "His Majesty is in the middle of solidifying his cultivation. Gao Jianli and the other men are also engaged in some important matters. As I know that you are the one who stirred up this event, and since they had ordered their men of sacrifice to kill all the suspects, and the suspect was personally captured by you, it is highly possible that someone will attack you as well. That's why I had sent someone to summon you to Mo Forest, to protect you from being killed, and to let Teacher have a look at your true nature."
Wu Qi quickly cupped his fist and offered his appreciation for Jing Ke's care and kindness. At the same time, he was amazed by how quickly Jing Ke was able to gain access to information. After he finished his business in Shi Martial Club, he had rushed back to West Supervisor Court and informed Lu Chengfeng at once, and he did not delay on his journey. However, after just having a few words with Lu Chengfeng, while something was happening at Shi Martial Club, the men sent by Jing Ke had arrived at West Supervisor Court. Such efficiency was simply incredible.
While Wu Qi's mind was filled with all kinds of thoughts, he heard Jing Ke speak again, "You've to be extra cautious for the next few days. Bring Xiong Qing and his brothers along wherever you go. You've seen the face of that guard, so be careful as someone might want to kill you to vent their anger."
Looking at Wu Qi nodding his head and answering him, Jing Ke then said, "We will not interrupt the relationship between you and Princess Zhang Le, and neither won’t His Majesty. But, you need to pay attention to the Crown Prince. For him, Princess Zhang Le is not merely a daughter."
Suddenly, Jing Ke cried out with a loud and stern voice, "Have you intentionally stirred up troubles in Shi Martial Club, or it is just a coincidence?"
When Jing Ke asked the question, a strange and devilish force that roused one's mind was bursting out together. Wu Qi felt his spirit was stirred, and he nearly told Jing Ke the truth.