Chapter 1422: Angry to the Point of Exploding

He still had some plans, and the Heavenly King Scale might prove useful.

"No problem," Weng Xing said without hesitation, summoning the Heavenly King Scale and handing it over. "You're our brother's savior; you can have anything you want!"

"I'll return it once I'm done," He Lingchuan said, examining the Heavenly King Scale in his hand. Although called a "scale," it looked more like a dry pipe. Its main body was a long silver rod carved into the shape of a python. The open snake's mouth served as a loading port, and the snake's tail at the other end had a small, upturned hole.

The python's body also featured knobs and markings for precise measurement and timing—it could be set to detonate up to six hours later.

Once ready, the explosive pellets would be pushed out from the snake's tail; they were not much larger than a pill that could choke someone.

Such explosives were small, portable, and easily concealed, which explained how Weng Xing had used it to terrify Peach Blossom Manor.

"I heard this is an ancient treasure, a unique piece," Weng Xing began, then explained how to use the Heavenly King Scale.

Like all high-grade magical artifacts, it had endless uses, yet its operation was simple and straightforward.

He Lingchuan would master it after just two attempts.

He put away the Heavenly King Scale and then asked the two, "When you abducted Qian Yu, didn't you ask for any information about Xue Zongwu?"

He had sent his Nightmare to interrogate Qian Yu, focusing on Xue Zongwu's habits. The squatting beast on Xue's armor was a gift from a foreign minor kingdom; though its demonic spirit was still young, the flames it spewed were enough to incinerate two grown men in an instant.

"How did you know...?" Weng Xing asked, greatly surprised, while Weng Su looked somewhat embarrassed. "We didn't ask for such detailed information. We only inquired about Xue Zongwu's upcoming itinerary."

Reflecting now, his plan was riddled with flaws. Their ability to successfully exact revenge and escape Peach Blossom Manor alive was pure luck.

He Lingchuan stood up.

His questions answered, it was time for him to leave.

Weng Xing, seeing his intention to depart, urgently pleaded, "Benefactor, we genuinely can be useful! Please take us in!"

He Lingchuan walked from the rockery to the wall in two steps, then looked down and said, "Go and do whatever you wish. In three months, if you still want to follow me, or if you're still alive, come to Julu Port."

Weng Su's eyes lit up. "The 'Plank' at Julu Port?"

"You know about it?"

"Everyone on the path knows about it," Weng Xing grinned. "It's a great place to exchange information."

He Lingchuan gave a slight smile. "In three months, I'll return your Heavenly King Scale."

He stepped back, vanishing from the top of the wall.

Weng Su leaped over to look, but the area behind the wall was empty, without a single shadow.

"The benefactor is gone." As expected, Emperor Jiuyou came and went without a trace.

Weng Xing's smile was so wide his mouth wouldn't close. "Brother, I'm not dreaming, am I?"

*Slap*, Weng Su slapped him on the back of his neck. "Does it hurt?"

"It hurts! So it's real, we can join in three months..."

Weng Su, mimicking Emperor Jiuyou, put a finger to his lips and shushed him.

With Emperor Jiuyou gone, the barrier had naturally disappeared, and they still needed to be wary of eavesdroppers.

He then cast another barrier before picking up the wine gourd from the ground and shaking it.

Thankfully, there was still wine. "Come on, let's keep celebrating and drinking!"

For a celebration, shouldn't it last three days and three nights? Moreover, they had met Emperor Jiuyou and seen the dawn of joining the Black Armored Army.

"To Emperor Jiuyou!"

"To joining the Black Armored Army in three months!"

Weng Xing chuckled a few times before asking, "So what should we do these next few months?"

"Didn't Emperor Jiuyou say to do whatever we want?"

"But what exactly should we do?"

"Kill more bad people, save more good people."

Weng Xing scratched his head. "Can we still use Emperor Jiuyou's name?"

His question was met with an awkward silence.

They had only impersonated Emperor Jiuyou once or twice, and it had somehow brought the real one to them, who then saved them.

How embarrassing.

"Why didn't you ask Emperor Jiuyou himself earlier?!"

"I forgot."

"I reckon the Emperor won't object! Otherwise, why would he plan to recruit us?" Weng Su took a deep swig. "Do you know why Emperor Jiuyou isn't taking us now but wants us to wait another three months?"

"Why?"

"He still needs to observe us," Weng Su said solemnly. "So, whether we use the Emperor's banner or not doesn't matter, but for the next three months, we brothers must perform well."

While the Weng brothers were celebrating in a drunken stupor, and the Yangshan merchant caravan slowly made its way toward Yao Kingdom's capital, the news of Xue Zongwu and Qi Yunsheng's deaths exploded in all directions, striking like a thunderbolt in the heartland of Yao Kingdom.

Late that night, in the royal study of the Tianshui City palace, after the messenger bird had delivered its news.

A crashing sound echoed from inside, something smashed into a corner of the room with a particularly sharp crack, causing the palace servants outside the door to tremble.

Could it be the King's beloved jade-carved lychee?

*Thump*, another item. This time, it must have been the bronze paperweight. The custom green jade floor tiles of the royal study likely now had an additional dent.

"Guards, come here!" the Yao King's gloomy voice boomed. "Who is on duty in the palace tonight?"

According to Yao court regulations, ministers rotated night duty in the palace to respond to emergencies.

The palace servants responded, trembling, "It's... it's Lord You Rongzhi."

"Summon You Rongzhi at once!"

Overwhelmed by the royal wrath, the servants scrambled away. Less than fifteen minutes later, You Rongzhi arrived in haste.

He saw two palace servants kneeling on the floor, picking up fragments of porcelain and jade. The Yao King sat behind his desk, glaring with icy fury, his facial wrinkles seemingly deepened by the glow of the fluorescent spores.

"Your Majesty?" You Rongzhi, having served the King for twenty years, instantly recognized that the Yao King was barely suppressing his rage.

"An urgent report from Mangzhou," the Yao King cut straight to the point. "Xue Zongwu and his master Qi Yunsheng were both assassinated at Peach Blossom Manor. The culprit is the leader of the Black Armored Army, who has recently been active in the central and western parts of the Blazing Gold Plains!"

You Rongzhi's eyes widened.

No matter how composed he usually was, this news stunned him speechless for a long time.

Xue Zongwu was dead?

That arrogant, murderous tyrant had actually fallen by someone else's blade?

He, too, had met his end?

And Qi Yunsheng, the head of the Qi family, was no pushover either. For this master and disciple duo, You Rongzhi could hardly imagine anyone being able to eliminate them both unless an army was deployed.

Now, such a person had appeared.

He noted that the Yao King described the killer as the "leader of the Black Armored Army," rather than the "Emperor Jiuyou" as rumored by the public.

The Yao King spoke through clenched teeth, "A cowardly murderer hiding his true identity dares to call himself 'Emperor'!"

You Rongzhi quickly interjected, "Your Majesty, this news needs further verification. It's truly suspicious that the leader of the Black Armored Army, who previously only operated abroad, would commit murder in General Xue's father-in-law's home!"

"There were over a hundred witnesses, including the Qi family's guards and the elite soldiers Xue Zongwu brought with him!" The Yao King pointed at the desk, and a palace servant passed the intelligence report to You Rongzhi. "One or two might be mistaken, but can over a hundred people all be wrong?"

You Rongzhi took the report with both hands, quickly scanned it, and grew increasingly alarmed with each line.

After the incident, Mangzhou dared not delay, achieving unprecedented administrative efficiency. They dispatched people to pursue the culprit, initiated an investigation, and compiled dozens of testimonies before reporting to Tianshui City.

These testimonies contained many details, with several prominent commonalities:

Only three members of the Black Armored Army were present. Two of them lured General Xue northward, after which the leader wearing a dragon-head mask appeared.

General Xue engaged in a fierce battle with the dragon-masked figure inside the burning hall for a moment but was defeated and beheaded on the spot before his subordinates.

Xue Zongwu was one of Yao Kingdom's rare formidable war commanders, having survived multiple attacks and often turning the tables to kill his assailants, a feat he personally relished. That Emperor Jiuyou could defeat and kill Xue Zongwu in a direct confrontation was truly astonishing.

As for Qi Yunsheng's death, there was no testimony, as all witnesses were dead. Peach Blossom Manor had already recovered the thirty-odd bodies from beneath the mountain cliff, and Mangzhou was arranging for coroners to perform autopsies.

Where did such a powerful individual come from?

Turning two more pages, he saw the section in the case statement regarding the Jiao-head carving. This was almost Emperor Jiuyou's exclusive "strike mark," a detail You Rongzhi had also heard about.

Mangzhou was closely monitoring the Jiao-head carving. If it disappeared three days after the incident, it would essentially confirm the killer was the leader of the Black Armored Army.

This group, operating under the banner of "acting on behalf of Heaven," had killed many wicked people. However, in You Rongzhi's view, their previous activities were mere skirmishes occurring outside Yao Kingdom, something local people would just gossip about and laugh off.

Who would have thought that when the Black Armored Army finally made a move within Yao Kingdom, they would eliminate Xue Zongwu!

Although it was a planned attack against an unsuspecting target, Xue Zongwu was by no means an easy mark. He possessed formidable martial power, a meticulous mind, abundant primal energy, and commanded tens of thousands of elite soldiers.

Yet, they deliberately chose Xue Zongwu as their target and selected a location within Yao Kingdom. This was clearly a message to Yao Kingdom:

"I can!"

"I can kill anyone I wish, even a Yao Kingdom martial commander!"

Realizing this, the Yao King trembled with fury. "With so many officials, big and small, in Yao Kingdom, why did he choose Xue Zongwu?!"

They didn't kill those who were easy targets, nor the useless ones; instead, they chose to break his sharpest blade!

And they specifically chose to do it right before his fifty-ninth birthday celebration.

To say the other party wasn't targeting him would be something no one, not even a ghost, would believe.

You Rongzhi could foresee a multitude of negative consequences stemming from Xue Zongwu's death.

First, every spring and summer, the northern Luodian Kingdom would begin to cause trouble. Xue Zongwu had long guarded the northern border, deterring Luodian cavalry with his iron fist and formidable reputation, saving Yao Kingdom much trouble.

With Xue Zongwu dead, who would guard the northern front?

Second, the military power in Xue Zongwu's hands was a crucial leverage for the Yao King in his confrontation with Supervising Regent Qingyang. Now that this position was vacant, Qingyang's pressure would be greatly reduced, and he wouldn't stand idly by.

Third, the Xue and Qi families were deeply entrenched in Yao Kingdom. Their sudden collapse would trigger countless chain reactions. You Rongzhi didn't even dare to imagine the full extent.

Over the years, the Xue family had offended far too many factions. With the sudden disappearance of Xue Zongwu, the "Sea-Stabilizing Needle," and Qi Yunsheng, how many people would line up to settle scores with the Xue and Qi families, and their network of associates?

The Yao Royal Court would not be peaceful going forward.

And all of these were excellent opportunities for Supervising Regent Qingyang to exploit.