Chapter 265 - 260: Thank the Emperor for Me, I’ll Remember This Favor

After a moment of thought, Du Youqian, confident he could handle any emergency and unafraid of the government, went and opened the door.

The waiter who had been calling at the door first smiled at Du Youqian. Then, he abruptly noticed the bloodstains inside the room. His eyes shifted, landed on the corpse, and he was just about to scream.

Beside him was a man with a full, bushy beard and a large potbelly, about forty years old. He held a Yanling Saber and was dressed like a typical rough and burly man of the Jianghu.

However, the Jinyiwei waist token he let dangle ’casually’ from his waist betrayed his identity.

With quick eyes and even quicker hands, he jabbed the waiter under the ribs with the hilt of his Yanling Saber. The waiter gasped, sucking in a sharp breath and swallowing his scream.

"Keep your voice down," the bearded Jinyiwei whispered.

The man behind him, presumably his superior, had a fair complexion. He possessed a lean, athletic build—trim but not bulky.

He looked quite young, sported a well-groomed mustache, and was sizing up Du Youqian with great interest.

The bearded Jinyiwei cupped his fist at Du Youqian. "You must be Prince Baili, I presume?"

Du Youqian was taken aback for a moment. He hadn’t expected anyone to address him that way. He paused before replying, "You’re not wrong, but my family has always considered ourselves people of the Jianghu. Few ever refer to us by the title of ’Count’. What can I do for you gentlemen?"

The bearded Jinyiwei gave a few rough laughs and introduced the man behind him. "Prince Baili, this is our commander, Hundred Households Hao. I am a Xiaoqi. My surname is Luo, and my given name is Yong."

Du Youqian offered a greeting. ’Prince... since when can a Count’s son be called a Prince? Such a complete disregard for protocol. Well, whatever. I won’t fuss over it.’ "Hundred Households Hao, Luo Xiaoqi, what brings you to me?"

’This guy... is he really this ungrateful? We’re calling you Prince to show you respect.’

’If we weren’t, I wouldn’t even bother with an heir like you whose family has been annihilated and whose fief has been burned to a crisp!’

Hundred Households Hao looked awkward for a moment, then smiled. "His Majesty the Emperor has decreed that the Jinyiwei are to escort Prince Baili back to the Capital City to inherit his title."

He paused, his smile vanishing. "Prince Baili, please accept our condolences. We learned of the matter at Xianlai Castle far too late. By the time we arrived, Xianlai Castle had already been burned to the ground. It was only much later that we realized you had managed to escape."

Du Youqian could recall his days and nights spent with the people of Xianlai Castle.

For the first eighteen years of this life, they had been the most important and closest people to him.

So, how could he not feel sorrow?

It was just that his mastery over his emotions had reached a transcendent state, allowing him to regulate them perfectly.

Moreover, the accumulated experiences of his several lifetimes—a span of hundreds of years filled with countless joys and sorrows—were enough to dilute the emotions from those eighteen years, enough to dilute that grief.

As for the suggestion of going to the Capital City to inherit the title, it did open up a new line of thinking for him.

Since he still wanted to salvage this life, if he were to succeed, he would need a great deal of Human Dao Fortune to aid his cultivation.

Therefore, finding a suitable way to break into the official circles of the Wu Kingdom was rather necessary.

Of course, the act of inheriting the title itself wasn’t so necessary.

The status of a mere Count wouldn’t grant him much Human Dao Fortune.

As for the specifics of how to logically seize the largest slice of the cake, that still required some thought.

But at this moment, there was no way he would go with these two Jinyiwei.

’You want me to go inherit my title, so I just go? How could I keep any face?’

’Of course, the real reason is that I, Du Youqian, cannot possibly let others lead me by the nose.’

’I might consider going to the Capital City, but it will only be when I deem the time is right.’

’Besides, inheriting the title would certainly require me to kneel before the Emperor.’

’And are you, this fledgling Emperor, even worthy of my bow?’

He said nonchalantly, "The Capital City... yes, I’ll go. Thank the Emperor for me; I’ll remember this favor. As for inheriting the title, we can discuss that once I’m in the Capital City. You may go back now. Once I’ve taken care of some personal business, I’ll make my way to the Capital City to see the Emperor."

Hundred Households Hao and Luo Xiaoqi looked at each other, not sure where to even begin picking his words apart.

The main issue was that there were just too many outrageous things in what Du Youqian had said.

’ "Thank the Emperor for me; I’ll remember this favor"—is that something a normal person would say?’

’ "Once I’ve taken care of some personal business, I’ll make my way to the Capital City to see the Emperor"—Do you think you can just see the Emperor whenever you please? Is the Emperor someone you can just leave hanging while he waits for you?’

’Did this heir of Elder Zhongyong suffer such a terrible tragedy in the human world, then flee for three months, only for it to mess with his mind?’

The atmosphere instantly turned cold.

Du Youqian said, "If there’s nothing else, please see yourselves out. I still have a body to dispose of, so I won’t entertain you with idle chatter."

With that, he moved to shut the door.

"Wait!" Luo Yong, with his quick eyes and feet, stuck his foot out to block the door from closing.

"Luo Xiaoqi, is there something else?"

Luo Yong’s bushy beard twitched. He gave a smile that didn’t reach his eyes and said, "Prince Baili, there is a dead body in your room. As an officer of the law, I have a duty to investigate, so naturally, I must inquire about this."

He had even resorted to calling himself ’an officer of the law’, showing he was so furious he was just short of pointing at Du Youqian’s nose and saying, ’Don’t do this the hard way, kid.’

Du Youqian said coolly, "Fine. If you want to look, go ahead. When you’re done, you can dispose of it for me."

He then stepped aside, clearing a path.

Luo Yong and Hundred Households Hao instantly looked as if they had been forced to swallow a fly.

Hundred Households Hao managed to keep his composure, his expression unreadable. But Luo Yong, as a low-ranking Xiaoqi on the front lines, had few opportunities for promotion at his age and thus had fewer inhibitions.

He wore his displeasure openly on his face, practically screaming, ’I’m looking for an excuse to teach you a lesson.’

Fuming, Luo Yong stormed into the room, crouched by the body, and flipped it over. "The deceased was pierced through the throat by a sword," he said excitedly. "It’s clearly not a suicide, but a murder. Besides the deceased, there are only two other people in this room: a young woman bathing in the tub..."

Hearing this, Qing He shrank further into the bathtub.

"...and the other is the heir to the title of First Class Elder Zhongyong, Baili Jianxin."

He felt Guo Fenghuan’s corpse again. "The body is still warm, so he clearly just died. From the looks of the scene, Baili Jianxin is the prime suspect. Prince Baili, it looks like you’ll have to take a trip with us to the Jinyiwei’s Hundred Households Office!"

Hearing this, Hundred Households Hao walked over and patted Luo Yong’s shoulder, motioning for him to step aside.

Luo Yong quickly stood up and moved out of the way.

Hundred Households Hao was careful to avoid stepping in the slowly spreading pool of blood. He stared at Guo Fenghuan’s face, studying it for a long moment, before turning to give Du Youqian a deep look. "So the destruction of Xianlai Castle was related to the Guo Family after all. Your Excellency, are you sure you won’t come with us? You cannot withstand the Guo Family’s retaliation. If you want to live, your only option is for us, the Jinyiwei, to take action."

Luo Yong first looked confused, then shocked. He too lowered his head to carefully examine the corpse’s face.

But no matter how he looked, he couldn’t connect the face to any of the major clans with the "Guo" surname within the Wu Kingdom.

It came down to his rank being too low. For core members of Innate Grandmaster families from other kingdoms, Jinyiwei of the Hundred Households rank and above had generally seen their portraits.

Well, not for the purpose of making arrests, but to prevent them from provoking someone they shouldn’t and bringing disaster upon the Jinyiwei.

After all, no one wanted to offend an Innate Grandmaster.

You could even get away with offending the Emperor. In the Wu Kingdom, the monarch’s power was currently limited. Offending the Emperor wouldn’t get you killed; at worst, you’d just lose your official post.

But if you provoked an Innate Grandmaster... Have you written your will? Bought your coffin? Picked out your burial plot?

If escorting Baili Jianxin hadn’t been a direct decree from His Majesty, the Emperor of the Wu Kingdom, Hundred Households Hao wouldn’t have wanted to wade into these muddy waters at all. He would have just taken Luo Yong and left, watching the drama unfold from a safe distance. Wouldn’t that be much more pleasant?

Du Youqian didn’t know much about the mundane world, and he certainly didn’t care about the inner workings of the Wu Kingdom’s Jinyiwei. So, upon hearing that Hundred Households Hao actually knew a thing or two about the Guo Family, his estimation of the man rose.

However, he naturally wouldn’t change his mind so easily. His tone was so faintly, yet infuriatingly, arrogant that it made Hundred Households Hao and Luo Yong want to roll their eyes. "I never planned on withstanding the Guo Family’s revenge. I just want to cut down that so-called Guo Family Ancestor and avenge everyone from Xianlai Castle. By the way, I assume you wouldn’t dare hang this corpse on the city walls. So how about this: use your Jinyiwei channels to spread the news that I killed Guo Fenghuan. I’d like to see the Guo Family Ancestor as soon as possible and get this whole matter settled."

Hundred Households Hao forced a laugh. "Prince Baili is truly a hero in the making. In that case, we won’t disturb you any further. Please take care of your personal matters as soon as possible and proceed to the Capital City for your audience with His Majesty."

As he spoke, he shot Luo Yong a look. ’Let’s go, now!’

’Don’t linger!’

’If we don’t leave, and the Guo Family finds us Jinyiwei at a murder scene, we’ll be dragged into this mess whether we’re involved or not.’

He didn’t even dare to complain about Du Youqian.

’In his eyes, even though this Prince Baili seems to have a screw loose, his Martial Arts are the real deal.’

’He knew Guo Fenghuan’s level of strength; he himself was no match for him whatsoever.’

’Since Du Youqian was able to kill Guo Fenghuan—regardless of the method, even if it was a despicable one—it proved he had more than enough power.’

’So... best not to provoke him. Definitely don’t provoke him. Better get far away, lest they get splattered with blood when the Guo Family decides to go on a rampage.’

From start to finish, he never once glanced at Qing He, who was cowering in the tub.

But Du Youqian stopped him. "Oh, by the way, Hundred Households Hao. This woman was bought by the Guo Family. I’ll have to trouble you to take her back and interrogate her harshly."

Qing He buried her head even lower, trembling all over, but she didn’t dare beg for mercy.

Hundred Households Hao was puzzled. "Oh? Prince Baili, why not question her yourself?"

Du Youqian smiled. "A kingdom has its laws. It’s best if you handle this."

’Although in this world, the Jinyiwei might not have the same kinds of gruesome tortures as they did on Earth, an intelligence agency like this would certainly have plenty of ways to make someone suffer.’

’In truth, Du Youqian had nothing to ask her... After all, now that he had killed Guo Fenghuan, the Guo Family Ancestor would come to him to be killed.’

’He had no interest in killing an unarmed woman, but he didn’t want Qing He to get away with it either. Handing her over to the Jinyiwei, he trusted, would ensure she received the ending she deserved.’