BXBX NOVEL Chapter 427: So It Was Me?
Chapter 427: So It Was Me?
Who would have thought that a large number of Mount Shu cultivators would descend from the sky?
For reasons unknown, the Mount Shu Sect had deployed such a powerful force to assist with the capture, and by mid-morning, all the escapees had been rounded up. Aside from Wu Qingfeng and Chu Liang, who had gone to the Flying-Dragon Fortress, everyone else was present. If the Discipline Master continued the investigation, it wouldn’t take long to trace the remaining two to the Flying-Dragon Fortress. The Discipline Master resembled the judge of the dead, her expression as cold as steel. She spoke with a casual tone that sent chills down the spine. "As escapees, your crimes are undeniably severe. If you cannot provide us with any useful information, I might as well help you start a new life through reincarnation."
The prisoners below were once fierce bandits and local bullies. However, people only turned evil because they had never encountered someone even more terrifying than them. In the presence of the Discipline Master, they now wept like children who had lost their parents.
No one believed the Discipline Master\'s words were mere bluffs; after all, even the City Lord had been executed at her command. What chance did these escapees have?
But aside from mentioning that Chu Liang had been taken by a giant, none of them could offer any useful information.
Fortunately, at that moment, Chu Liang emerged from the crowd, shouting, "Discipline Master! I am here!"
"Hmm?" The Discipline Master finally raised her eyes.
Jiang Yuebai, standing behind the Discipline Master, had her eyes light up.
"I left the prison earlier. Something happened, and I got delayed. I only just managed to make it back now. My apologies for worrying you!" said Chu Liang.
He truly hadn\'t expected such a large-scale operation.
The imperial court was particularly wary of immortal sects rallying their disciples to storm a city. The repercussions of this incident would not be easily resolved. Wait. Isn\'t that City Supervisor Ma kneeling over there? His eyes then drifted to the two bodies casually tossed in the corner. Wait a minute... They look just like Su Shengyan and his son Su Wei!
He looked up at the Discipline Master in surprise. "This..."
The Discipline Master\'s expression softened slightly, "It\'s good that you\'re back. Everything here has been taken care of. You don\'t need to worry."
Chu Liang looked at the prisoners crying tears of joy and the bloodstained scene, momentarily at a loss for words.
You call this taken care of?
Isn\'t this just killing those who needed to be killed and tying up those who needed to be tied up, leaving all the trouble for later? I couldn\'t tell that, at your age, you handle things just like my esteemed teacher. Ohhhhh!At that moment, Chu Liang suddenly realized from whom his esteemed teacher had adopted that way of doing things.
She had grown up under the Discipline Master\'s guidance, who had clearly influenced her in every way. This was a perfect example of how crucial a parent\'s influence was on a child\'s upbringing.
Of course, these weren’t matters he needed to concern himself with. The Discipline Master, appearing untroubled, ordered the release of City Supervisor Ma and the remaining escapees once Chu Liang had returned.
She was ready to return to Mount Shu.
City Supervisor Ma surveyed the mess on the ground and the crowd of onlookers, feeling utterly helpless. These fierce gods from Mount Shu had come and gone as they pleased, causing such a commotion, but now that it was over, what was he supposed to do? Just as he was pondering, he heard the whistling of the wind, and a majestic, luxurious White-Feathered Golden Luan descended from the clouds, landing gracefully outside the City Supervisory Division, drawing gasps of amazement from the crowd.
Immediately after, a young palace attendant dressed in fine robes entered with an air of elegance.
City Supervisor Ma\'s face immediately lit up when he saw this. After all this commotion, someone from the palace had finally arrived! It must be that the chancellor had already reported this to the emperor; the matter had surely caught the emperor\'s attention, and now, someone was here to back me up!
He glared at the Discipline Master, thinking, No matter how fierce you are, you wouldn\'t dare be fierce in front of an imperial envoy, right?
The palace attendant led a team of imperial guards into the scene, expressionless, and announced in a sharp voice, "The Emperor has a decree——"
"Read it!" the Discipline Master shouted coldly, cutting off his long announcement.
The palace attendant immediately fell silent.
How could she even dare to do that... City Supervisor Ma muttered inwardly as he quickly lowered his head. Be reckless! When the emperor\'s wrath descends on you, we\'ll see how long you can last. Just you wait!
The palace attendant then unfolded a yellow decree and read aloud, "Su Shengyan, the chief official of Wu\'an City, was found to be corrupt, lawless, and guilty of heinous crimes. Although he is dead, his family assets will be confiscated, and his accomplices will be questioned. City Supervisor Ma Ben of Wu\'an City was found to have colluded with him, causing harm to the local area. He is to be brought back to the Imperial Supervisory Bureau for trial. This case is of high priority and must be executed with no room for error. The disciples of Mount Shu who assisted the chancellor in eliminating the traitors will be greatly rewarded. This is His Majesty the Emperor\'s decree!"
With each sentence the palace attendant read, City Supervisor Ma\'s smile grew stiffer until it completely vanished.
Ah...
So, it\'s me who\'s meeting my end?
...
The group of former disciples who came to help quickly scattered, leaving only the Discipline Master and the two juniors to head back to Mount Shu. Chu Liang couldn’t hold back his curiosity any longer.
"Elder, what’s really happening here? How could killing an imperial official result in this instead..." he asked. "I don’t know the details either." the Discipline Master shook her head. "But I’m certain it has something to do with your esteemed teacher. Since she’s in the imperial city right now, it makes even more sense."
"My esteemed teacher?"
"Indeed," the Discipline Master said, "The relationship between Mount Shu and the imperial court has never been great, but we haven’t had to worry about it for decades, all because of her."
Shouldn’t having a rogue outlaw around make us more concerned?
Chu Liang was even more puzzled. "Does my esteemed teacher really have that much influence?"
The Discipline Master thought for a moment before saying, "It’s alright to tell you this, but it’s a secret that has to do with the imperial family. You mustn’t spread it around."
Seeing her serious expression, Chu Liang also became serious.
"In fact, your esteemed teacher\'s parents were Crown Prince Mingde and Princess Luoyu of the Yu Dynasty eighty years ago," the Discipline Master said slowly.
Eighty years felt like a long time to Chu Liang, but for her, it wasn’t as significant, so she spoke of it rather casually.
Although Chu Liang hadn’t heard these names before, he felt that something was off... A prince and a princess?
Could it be that my esteemed teacher was born from a close-relative marriage?
No wonder her intelligence... um, no wonder she’s of such a powerful bloodline.
The Discipline Master explained, "Back then, the demonic followers of the Celestial Charm Sect caused chaos in the Yu Dynasty\'s court. They targeted the Crown Prince and Princess, who had long harbored feelings for each other, and forced the union of the half-siblings. They then used this incident to blackmail Crown Prince Mingde, forcing him to assassinate the emperor at the time..."
Good grief, a family drama.
Chu Liang\'s ears perked up.
The Discipline Master continued, "No one knows exactly what happened that night. However, Crown Prince Mingde failed to assassinate the emperor, and all the evil members of the Celestial Charm Sect in the imperial court and palace were exterminated. As for Princess Luoyu, she was sent off to the Western Regions as a diplomatic bride.
"But after Princess Luoyu was sent to the Western Region, she realized that she was pregnant. She didn\'t dare to tell people about it as she was worried that someone might harm the child. She only told the leader of the wedding escort team at the time, which was her tutor Sun Shouyu."
Chu Liang had indeed heard of this name. It was the full name of Scholar Sun, one of the Wanderers of the North and South.
During the Mount Shu Summit, these two old men had also appeared, and he had met them a few times with his esteemed teacher.
"If this news had reached the imperial court back then, the emperor would have ordered for the baby to be killed. If the wedding escort team had reached the Western Regions, it would be too difficult to hide the baby," the Discipline Master said.
She paused, showing a disgusted expression before continuing, "And Sun Shouyu then sought help from his scoundrel friend, someone with the surname Huang..."
Chu Liang struggled to keep a straight face.
It went without saying that this person with the surname Huang was, of course, Old Huang.
The Discipline Master continued, "Old Huang went to that small kingdom in the Western Regions to perform divination and predict the kingdom\'s fortune. Everything he said was spot on. He then told the king that his fate clashed with that of Princess Luoyu and suggested building a separate palace at the kingdom\'s border so they would never have to meet. This way, they managed to keep Princess Luoyu out of the Palace of the Western Regions and watched over her until Ah Feng was born... This could be considered one of the few decent things they did together."
"But what followed was far from decent..." the Discipline Master’s tone shifted. "Princess Luoyu couldn’t keep the child with her, and those two old men, not knowing how to raise a child, ended up coming to me. If they didn’t know, how could they expect me to know?"
Chu Liang nodded in response.
I believe it when you said you didn\'t know how to raise a child. With the way that my teacher turned out, it seems it would be hard to raise her any worse.
The Discipline Master said, "I reluctantly helped them when they said they were worried that the imperial family might become suspicious of the baby’s identity. I took her in and raised her. From a young age, she was mischievous and stubborn. I can’t even begin to count how much effort it cost me...
"Twenty years later, Ah Feng, along with Jiang Tiankuo, Daoist Yan, and their cohort, defeated many at the Assembly of Immortal Sects.[1] They impressed the capital of Yu and became famous. The imperial family naturally took notice of her pure Divine Fire Spirit. They asked me where she came from, and I simply said she was a kid that I picked up somewhere."
Hearing this, Chu Liang smiled and thought, That answer is truly your style...
"Then, someone came to Mount Shu..." The Discipline Master gradually lowered her voice. "It was Crown Prince Mingde."
1. Mentioned in 124. Link to the line in chapter. ☜