In the Capital, at the State Preceptor's Manor.
Luo Daoqing reclined lazily amidst a pile of silk brocade on a soft couch in the rear hall. One hand supported his forehead, while the other carelessly toyed with a glass cup.
The Yong Dynasty did not have glass. This glass cup was something he had produced after countless experiments since he transmigrated.
In the eyes of the ancients, glass was a work of divine craftsmanship.
Therefore, when he produced glass and claimed to be a reincarnated immortal from the heavens, the Emperor of Great Yong believed him without a shadow of a doubt.
A graceful beauty knelt halfway beside him, her lily-white fingers peeling a grape before diligently offering it to his lips.
“Lord State Preceptor, please have a taste,” the beauty said, her voice so soft it could practically melt into water, her eyes shimmering with flirtatious charm.
Luo Daoqing lowered his gaze to look at her, opened his mouth to take the grape, and let the corners of his mouth curl slightly, though there was no real warmth in the smile.
When he first arrived in this world, he was still able to view those around him as equals.
But as the power in his hands grew, his mindset underwent a world-shaking transformation.
For example...
In the beginning, he had viewed Guo Xuan’er as the ideal woman of his dreams.
Now, she was nothing more than an insignificant concubine in his inner courtyard.
Most women of this era possessed nothing but their physical shells; they lacked any original thought and were completely unable to resonate with him on an intellectual level.
Suddenly, he thought of the transmigrated woman in Xindu City again.
If Zhang Zhi had already used the locust eradication methods he taught to win over the hearts of the people and take control of Xindu City, he could send a message to have him bring that transmigrated woman back to the Capital.
He just didn't know...
How that old man Zhang Zhi was handling things.
Sigh, ancient communication was truly abysmal.
So much time had passed, yet there wasn't a single shred of news. He was starting to suspect if Zhang Zhi had died on the road. After all, with those old limbs, it was entirely possible to drop dead halfway there.
Sensing that Luo Daoqing was clearly distracted, the charming smile on Guo Xuan’er’s face stiffened for a moment.
Then, as if nothing were wrong, she peeled another grape and spoke with a hint of tentative reproach.
“What is my Lord thinking about? Could it be you are thinking of some other beauty, such that you can't even see Xuan’er right in front of you?”
Luo Daoqing didn't respond.
He was currently pondering how to win over the transmigrated woman so she wouldn't become an asset to Shen Jue.
Guo Xuan’er lightly bit her lower lip, the sour and stinging jealousy in her heart surging once again.
She knew who Luo Daoqing was thinking about.
Lately, she often heard him mention some Divine Lady. When he was drunk, he would even clamor about how he must have her.
She didn't know how beautiful that Divine Lady was to make him so obsessed, longing for her day and night.
“My Lord.” She put down the grapes, her eyes reddening as a mist of grievance filled them. “What is so good about that Divine Lady? Is she truly worth my Lord’s constant preoccupation?”
Luo Daoqing finally spared her a glance.
That look was indifferent, revealing neither joy nor anger.
Guo Xuan’er thought he was moved. Her courage grew, and she leaned closer, her voice sounding as if it were laced with honey. “My Lord, a Divine Lady in the heavens wouldn't know how to care for your well-being. Xuan’er has given her whole heart to you. Won't you look at Xuan’er more?”
As she spoke, her eyes filled with tears. Her fragile, tearful appearance was enough to make any man’s heart soften.
Luo Daoqing, however, remained unmoved. “Guo Xuan’er, didn't I tell you to stay in your place?”
Guo Xuan’er panicked instantly.
She quickly knelt at Luo Daoqing’s feet, and this time, the tears really fell. “My Lord, I was wrong...”
Luo Daoqing ignored her and prepared to get up and leave.
Just then...
The sound of hurried footsteps came from outside the door.
A black-clad secret guard knelt outside, his voice low and urgent. “Reporting to the State Preceptor, an urgent report from Xindu!”
“Speak.”
“Daoist Master Xuan He was killed in Xindu City three days ago. Along with him, Governor Zhao Qian and Deputy Commandant Guo Pan have both mysteriously disappeared. They have not been found alive, nor have their bodies been recovered.”
Luo Daoqing: “...”
Could it be that Zhang Zhi was just cursed to death by his thoughts a moment ago?
No, he was killed three days ago.
It had nothing to do with him.
“Do we know who did it?” he asked.
The guard replied, “Reporting to the State Preceptor, it is said to be General Shen and that Divine Lady in Xindu City.”
Luo Daoqing’s heart burned with resentment.
This Shen Jue was truly hard to kill!
“My Lord! My Lord, you must seek justice for me! I only have this one brother, and he died such a senseless death. You must make those two villains pay the price!” Guo Xuan’er gripped Luo Daoqing’s hem tightly, her tears gushing out.
Luo Daoqing was already feeling irritable. Seeing the weeping Guo Xuan’er only made him more annoyed.
Without a second thought, he kicked her away.
“Prepare a carriage. I must go to the palace to see His Majesty,” he commanded the guard outside in a heavy voice.
Daoist Master Xuan He, Zhang Zhi, was his senior brother. By killing Zhang Zhi, Shen Jue and that transmigrated woman were effectively declaring war on him.
Since that was the case, he couldn't just sit and wait for death.
Striking first was the only way to gain the upper hand.
As for the gunpowder that the transmigrated woman relied on—it just so happened that he had also produced some a few days ago. He had no reason to fear her at all.
...
On this day, Xindu City was far from peaceful.
“Have you heard? News has come from the Capital!”
“What news? Tell us quickly!”
“His Majesty has sent the State Preceptor with an army to Xindu City, claiming they are here to capture the rebellious General Shen.” The man swallowed hard. “And the Divine Lady who distributed porridge without permission...”
As soon as these words were spoken, the expressions of everyone around changed.
“The Divine Lady is a truly benevolent deity. How can the Emperor and the State Preceptor fail to distinguish right from wrong?!”
A woman selling vegetables stamped her feet in anxiety.
Someone nearby quickly tugged at her sleeve.
“You should say less. I heard that State Preceptor is also a reincarnated immortal. We can't afford to offend him!”
Under a tea shed at the mouth of an alley, a thin middle-aged man huddled in a corner, holding a bowl of barley rice.
His name was Meng Da, an ordinary citizen of Xindu City with no great ambitions, only wishing to live a stable life.
“It’s over, it’s all over...” he muttered to himself. “Once the State Preceptor arrives, there will surely be another war.”
“If you ask me, if there’s no other way, we should just hand General Shen and the Divine Lady over to the State Preceptor...”
Before he could finish, a rough, large hand suddenly reached out and snatched the barley rice from his grasp.
Meng Da looked up sharply.
In the next second...
He met a pair of eyes filled with utter contempt.
It was a tall, burly man with dark skin and a wood-cutting knife tucked into his waist.
“You... what are you doing?” Meng Da stammered.
The man sneered. “You eat the grain bestowed by the Divine Lady, yet you speak of handing her over? Get the hell out of Xindu City right now before I cut you! Xindu City has no room for ungrateful scum like you!”
“Exactly, kick him out!”
“An ungrateful white-eyed wolf, get lost!”
The crowd was filled with righteous indignation.
What was happening in the city appeared clearly on the system panel under the system's monitoring.
Yun Shu stared at the system panel, lost in thought.
“System, what is going on with this State Preceptor? I remember him being just a minor cannon fodder in the book. How did he break away from the plot and suddenly lead an army to Xindu City?”
“And that group of assassins from last time was also suspicious.”
The system thought for a moment.
“I know! It must be the butterfly effect caused by you, Host, transmigrating into this world!”
Hearing this, Yun Shu furrowed her brow.
She always felt that something was not quite right. Her intuition as a police officer told her that this was definitely not just the butterfly effect.
Rate on N.U.
