Immortal God of War

"What?"

The Commander of the Kylin Army was startled and turned to Elder Qin, saying, "Do you know the whereabouts of His Majesty?"

Elder Qin smiled bitterly and shook his head, "I do not know."

"Elder Qin, don't treat us like fools, okay? You helped the emperor plot against my little cousin, and you claim not to know?"

Luk Zheng sneered.

"Plot against Qin Feiyang?"

"What's going on here?"

The Commander's mind was in turmoil.

How much were they still hiding from him?

Elder Qin said, "I admit, it was my mistake in this matter, but before His Majesty left, he didn't reveal to me where he was going."

"Really?"

Luk Zheng asked.

Once a person loses credibility, it's difficult to make others believe them again.

Elder Qin said, "I swear, if there is a single false word, may my spirit and form be destroyed!"

Luk Zheng frowned deeply.

To dare to make such a vicious oath, it seemed Elder Qin truly didn't know.

Luk Zheng said, "Then why did the emperor fake death and leave the Imperial Capital? Don't tell me, you don't know this either."

"Fake death?"

The Commander looked at Elder Qin in surprise and doubt.

Elder Qin's heart was full of bitterness, he looked at Luk Zheng and said, "If I say I don't know, will you believe me?"

"What do you think?"

Luk Zheng retorted.

Elder Qin sighed deeply and said, "Back then, I told Qin Feiyang that the present emperor is completely inscrutable, although I can see he harbors many secrets in his heart, he has never mentioned them to anyone."

The Commander said, "I can attest to that, because I have also noticed, but as a subject, I dare not ask more since His Majesty doesn't speak."

"And I also found that he no longer trusts anyone, including me."

The Commander added.

Upon hearing this, Luk Zheng couldn't help but feel restless, what exactly does this person intend to do?

Elder Qin said, "Bring Qin Feiyang here, I have something very important to tell him."

Luk Zheng calmed his emotions and said, "My little cousin can hear you from inside the ancient castle, feel free to speak."

Elder Qin said in a deep voice, "Have you ever heard of the person Emperor Hong?"

"Emperor Hong!"

Luk Zheng's eyes twitched.

The Commander's face was instantly filled with an inextinguishable fear.

Swoosh!

Just as Elder Qin finished speaking, Qin Feiyang appeared out of nowhere, his face also full of shock.

Seeing Qin Feiyang finally appear, Elder Qin and the Commander were overjoyed.

Even their eyes were a bit misty.

Qin Feiyang said, "Get up, your kneeling will shorten my lifespan."

Only then did the two rise.

Qin Feiyang looked at Elder Qin and asked, "Why did you mention Emperor Hong?"

Elder Qin said, "The conduct of the State Preceptor in the Golden Throne Hall, I believe you would have received news of it?"

Qin Feiyang nodded.

Elder Qin asked, "Then do you know who is impersonating His Majesty?"

"Who?"

Qin Feiyang frowned.

"Zhuge Nanhua!"

Elder Qin enunciated clearly, eyes gleaming with cold light.

"What?"

"His Majesty was impersonated by Zhuge Nanhua?"

The Commander was once again dumbfounded, looking at the three and shouting, "How much more are you keeping from me?"

"Don't rush, you will know everything in a moment."

Elder Qin said to the Commander, then turned to Qin Feiyang, "At that time I was very angry and wanted to kill Zhuge Nanhua, but do you know? All the State Preceptor's actions were actually sanctioned by Emperor Hong!"

"Emperor Hong isn't dead?"

Luk Zheng was surprised and skeptical.

Qin Feiyang was also shocked.

Elder Qin said, "Yes, Emperor Hong isn't dead. He's been secluded in the back mountains, just hasn't shown himself for a long time and doesn't care about worldly affairs, so everyone mistakenly thought he had passed away."

Qin Feiyang's heart was immediately filled with fierce waves.

He knew better than anyone the identity of Emperor Hong.

Moreover.

Not only was his identity noble, but his power was also extremely strong, a legendary peerless figure.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that an order from Emperor Hong must be obeyed even by the current emperor.

Indeed, as Elder Qin said, many people thought Emperor Hong had already died.

But unexpectedly, he was alive and well.

The Commander asked, "Why would Emperor Hong approve of the State Preceptor's absurd actions?"

"Because of this matter, I personally went to see Emperor Hong."

"Emperor Hong said, a family cannot be without a head for a day, and a nation cannot be without a monarch for a day, now with the emperor's whereabouts unknown, the worst must be prepared for."

"If the emperor never returns, or dies outside, someone must take over the throne."

Elder Qin said.

The Commander frowned and said, "If that's the case, then you could have let the young Prince directly succeed the throne, but why let the State Preceptor manage the affairs first?"

"On the one hand, the State Preceptor is highly esteemed and extraordinarily capable, no one is more suitable."

"On the other hand, Emperor Hong also had some reservations."

Elder Qin said.

"What reservations?"

Luk Zheng asked.

"Civil unrest!"

"Allowing the young Prince to directly inherit the throne would undoubtedly cause a sensation and might even shake the foundation of the Great Qin Empire."

"After all, the inheritance of the throne is no small matter and would involve many things."

"Moreover, if the young Prince inherits the throne now, what happens when the emperor returns alive later?"

"That's why we need a transitional period here."

Elder Qin said.

"So that's how it is."

"To avoid causing panic, Emperor Hong allowed the State Preceptor to have Zhuge Nanhua impersonate His Majesty and publicly announce in the Golden Throne Hall that he's closing himself off to reach the realm of the Pseudo God."

"And with this fake imperial edict, no one would object to the State Preceptor managing the court affairs."

Luk Zheng realized.

"Exactly."

Elder Qin nodded, then angrily stated, "But Emperor Hong doesn't know the State Preceptor's true intentions. The State Preceptor is merely using Emperor Hong to achieve his ambitious goals."

Qin Feiyang said indifferently, "You can tell Emperor Hong that the Emperor isn't dead!"

"If I could say that, would I still be here begging you?"

"His Majesty explicitly instructed me upon arriving at Butterfly Valley not to reveal to anyone that he is not dead."

Elder Qin sighed powerlessly.

"This is your own doing; don't expect us to sympathize with you."

Luk Zheng snorted coldly.

Elder Qin's heart was filled with bitterness.

Qin Feiyang inquired, "What you mentioned earlier should be just the first step of the State Preceptor's plan. What is his second step?"

"Wait."

Elder Qin replied.

"Wait?"

The Commander of the Kylin Army and Luk Zheng exchanged glances, eyes filled with doubt.

"He's waiting for an opportunity!"

Qin Feiyang thought for a moment and said.

"Yes."

"After some time, if His Majesty still doesn't return, he will continue to have someone impersonate His Majesty and falsely convey imperial decrees."

"He'll claim that His Majesty has successfully broken through to the realm of the Pseudo God."

"However, after reaching the Pseudo God realm, His Majesty has grown weary of worldly matters and chooses to remain secluded, passing the throne to the young Prince."

"By then, the young Prince can legitimately inherit the throne."

Elder Qin lamented.

"Did Emperor Hong also agree to this?"

Qin Feiyang asked.

"This was personally told to me by Emperor Hong, so of course, he agreed."

"Moreover, Emperor Hong also said that in a few days, he would bring the young Prince to the back mountain to personally nurture him."

Elder Qin was deeply worried, his expression extremely haggard.

"The young Prince..."

Qin Feiyang murmured, smiling, "I have no objections to the young Prince inheriting the throne."

Elder Qin's expression stiffened with anger, "You know His Majesty isn't dead, and yet you say that, isn't that going too far?"

"And do you really think the State Preceptor will support the young Prince?"

"He's simply using the young Prince."

"That means the young Prince is nothing but a puppet and will surely end up in the hands of the State Preceptor!"

Elder Qin was furious.

Who would have thought Qin Feiyang would agree to the young Prince taking the throne?

"Of course, I know."

"But I'd rather see what expression the Emperor will have when he returns to find his own son has replaced him and sits on the regal throne."

Qin Feiyang mocked.

"Little cousin, don't forget the Imperial Jade Seal."

"The Imperial Jade Seal is surely with the Emperor, and as long as it's there, no one can take his throne."

Luk Zheng said.

"I originally thought the same, but when I learned that Emperor Hong isn't dead, I changed my mind."

"Do you know why?"

"Because, as Elder Qin said, the inheritance of the throne concerns the foundation of the nation."

"If the young Prince really ascends to the throne, Emperor Hong won't allow the Emperor to reclaim it because that would be a farce."

"Although the Emperor holds the Imperial Jade Seal, it doesn't mean much, as one word from Emperor Hong would make him meekly hand it over."

"Unless he can return to the Imperial Capital before the young Prince takes the throne, no matter how he struggles, he will lose everything forever."

Qin Feiyang sneered.

Elder Qin's gaze trembled slightly upon hearing this.

Was this something he hadn't considered?

Luk Zheng furrowed his brow, "But the young Prince needs the Imperial Jade Seal to inherit the throne, right?"

"Isn't that simple?"

"If they dare to impersonate the Emperor, what difficulty is there in forging an Imperial Jade Seal?"

Qin Feiyang said indifferently.

Elder Qin's gaze trembled as he hurriedly said, "Qin Feiyang, you can't treat your father this way. Although he indeed did many things to betray you, as his child, can't you be more magnanimous?"

"Magnanimous?"

"Have you ever tasted the feeling of being abandoned, wishing for death rather than living?"

"Have you ever experienced despair, falling from paradise to hell overnight?"

"Have you ever felt the pain of being hurt by your most respected and depended-upon father?"

"Have you ever felt the torment of not being able to acknowledge your mother even when she's right in front of you?"

"You haven't."

"So tell me, what right do you have to preach to me?"

Qin Feiyang roared, his eyes bloodshot.

Elder Qin fell silent.

"Actually, back then, when I first returned to the Imperial Capital, if he had been willing to tell me the reason, no matter how wrong he was, I would have forgiven him."

"But he didn't."

"Not only did he not, but he continued to hurt me."

"The most unforgivable thing is, he even hurt my mother!"

"Do you know?"

"Every time I think of my mother's suffering over the years, it's like there's a knife in my heart, bleeding and hurting at the same time."

"How I wished that the one suffering in the imperial palace was me, not my mother..."

Qin Feiyang clutched his chest, his face filled with pain, tears blurring his vision.