34 A Guest From The Capital Riled Up The Gathering

In front of the gate of Anping County, Magistrate Liu stood there quietly in his casual robes and with his hands at ease.

In front of the magistrate was Luo Feng in his black and red mantle. His sword was tied at his waist and he appeared serious.

Xin Wei and Fang Zheng were behind their superior, gazing into the farthest point of the horizon blankly.

"My lord, who are we welcoming?" Xin Wei was confused about why they were waiting at the county gate like some welcoming party instead of investigating the village massacres.

Luo Feng put his hand covered in calluses on the hilt of his sword and said solemnly, "Someone important is coming from the capital. Just take this as a normal business envoy."

Xin Wei and Fang Zheng gulped nervously. It seemed like this guest was someone with a high rank or was extremely important. Otherwise, Luo Feng would not have been this serious.

"An important guest from the capital? My lord, we are from the Court of Judicial Review and we are here for an investigation. Why are we here as a welcoming party?" asked Fang Zheng with furrowed brows.

Magistrate Liu glanced at them and chuckled.

Luo Feng gazed at the empty road and shook his head. "The capital is changing. All the officials are in deep danger. While I might not be the strongest, I'm still a Fifth Grade martial cultivator. Do you think we are here in Anping County just to investigate the village massacre case?"

Luo Feng's thick hand softly caressed the hilt of his sword, his gaze looked as deep as the abyss.

Xin Wei and Fang Zheng were once again shocked.

Magistrate Liu opened his mouth haltingly but did not utter a word.

"Something huge has happened recently, shaking the imperial court. The almighty emperor of Great Xia is taking in a concubine," said Luo Feng in a heavy tone.

"His Majesty is the supreme emperor and ruler of the kingdom. Isn't taking in a concubine something common? Why would it shake the imperial court?" Xin Wei asked out of confusion.

Luo Feng shook his head. "If His Majesty is just taking a common girl as his concubine, that would be great. However, His Majesty is taking the Third Prince, Prince Ning's consort, as his own…"

Luo Feng's words silenced everyone around him.

Xin Wei and Fang Zheng widened their eyes in shock.

This was against common ethics!

Luo Feng glanced at his subordinates with a complicated gaze. "That isn't even the worst. The consort of the third price is a Hu woman."

"Impossible!" both Xin Wei and Fang Zheng said out loud at the same time while their eyes were filled with disbelief.

"The war at the Northern Border called for many veterans soldiers to rejoin the battlefield. They fought the Hus with the best artillery, the sharpest spears, and armored horses. Blood was spilled and lives were lost, yet the war against the aliens never stopped!

"If the Hus aren't one of us, they won't share the same beliefs as us! How could His Majesty take a Hu woman as his concubine?! It will only mess up the soldiers' morale and disappoint millions!" Fang Zheng lamented emotionally. 

Luo Feng glanced at them. "If the two of you are already this shaken, you can imagine what the officials, censors, and scholars are feeling right now.

"His Majesty kept himself behind the thickest walls of the palace and did not provide an answer. Prince Ning also locked himself up without giving any response.

"The shocking thing is more than half of the imperial court supported His Majesty to take the woman as his new concubine. Even the crown prince of the Eastern Palace showed his strong support for the decision, and there are many forces that you can't even imagine who supported the crown prince.

"The Directorate of Astronomy and Calendar, the alliance of different sects who were stationed in the capital, the Buddhism and Taoism sects...everyone sided with the crown prince."

Xin Wei and Fang Zheng gasped in shock. 

What had happened to the world?!

"Now, the only force that objects to the decision is being led by the King of the North Garrison," said Luo Feng.

It was then a group of men appeared at the far end of the road.

"The guest from the capital might be related to the Eastern Palace, and…the name of the King of the Northern Garrison is…Luo."

Both Xin Wei and Fang Zheng were shaken to their core when Luo Feng's words subsided.

Even Magistrate Liu, who was there just for appearances, was deeply shaken.

…

At the Qinghua Theatre, while Hu Zhishui might have looked at Luo Hong with a kind smile, there were a million thoughts running through his mind.

'Luo Hong from the Luo Residence. Judging from the bold yang energy, he must be a Ruism cultivator.'

A cold gleam flashed over Hu Zhishui's eyes. He knew and had heard of Luo Hong because both of them were well-known individuals in Anping County.

The elegant, easy-going and courageous 'Long Hoe' was here at the literature gathering.

If Hu Zhishui remembered correctly, he had not sent an invitation over to the Luo Residence. 'Did he come uninvited? Interesting. Is he on to me now?'

Hu Zhishui's smile grew wider, but underneath that bright smile of his was dense killing intent. "Great. This young boy stole Lady's credits and lied to the world. He used Lady's slaughter of the bandits to boost his own name. I'll kill this boy on behalf of her!"

He moved his gaze away from Luo Hong as he softly tapped his walking stick on the ground. While he looked at the other scholars who were chatting on the floor, the smile on his face showed a hint of disgust.

Luo Hong also kept his gaze away. He reached out to the amulet in his sleeve. It seemed like he had stumbled upon a big secret again.

The buzzing amulet could only mean one thing: another evil cultivator with the same amulet was within proximity.

There were only three evil cultivators in Anping County who possessed the Black Iron Amulet: Lady Blood, TuSantos, and TheOldMoonIsNotDripping.

Since Luo Hong had gotten Lady Blood's Black Iron Amulet, one of the two must be hiding in the literature gathering.

"Who will it be? TuSantos? Or that OldMoon? Huh? Wait a minute…" Luo Hong's mouth twitched helplessly as a bolt of realization struck his head.

"Hu Zhishui, TheOldMoonIsNotDripping…Are you f*cking kidding me? Are you some Shakespeare reincarnate? Who gave you the idea to name yourself in such a unique way?!"

Luo Hong looked at Hu Zhishui. 

"Is this a coincidence? Is he really that Old Moon guy?"

He remembered that the avatar of Old Moon in the mysterious space was a well-mannered scholar, yet Hu Zhishui looked like an honest or dumb, old man.

"Your Photoshop level is off the charts here, you catfishing old man! Online chats are always dangerous! If I really was Lady Blood, I wouldn't even talk to you!"

Luo Hong held the buzzing amulet tightly, trying to stop it from moving while feigning a calm face. "If this Hu Zhishui is an evil cultivator, then this literature gathering might not be as simple as it seems. It might be a gathering event for evil beings."

He curled his lips into a bitter smile.

"These evil beings are really poisonous! Did I step on your tail or something? Why am I running into all these b*stards wherever I go?!"

Nevertheless, Hu Zhishui was not bothered by Luo Hong's suspicious gaze because he had already listed Luo Hong on his sure-kill list.

Even though he knew that the Luo Residence in Anping County was a force to be reckoned with, after this job, he would be able to ascend to the Bronze Amulet, then he could leave Anping County.

The Qinghua Theatre was located in the deepest part of a rather secluded alley, thus it would take some time for others to find him, and it would be more than enough for him to escape.

Hu Zhishui's plan was perfect, at least, to himself.

He smiled and chatted with a few scholars before he clapped to silence the theatre.

Almost a hundred scholars looked at the man.

Hu Zhishui glanced at everyone with his 'honest' expression and said, "Everyone here is a famous scholar in Anping County. I organized this gathering because I want to create an opportunity for everyone to communicate and exchange ideas so that I can learn from everyone.

"On top of that, there's another reason for this particular gathering. I've gotten my hands on a painting of beautiful women, drawn by the master painter of the previous empire. I don't know whether it's real or not, so I want everyone here to lend me an eye."

Hu Zhishui looked sincere as he smiled at everyone.

Then, he clapped his hands. On the second floor of the theatre, the strings that tied the painting together were cut, unveiling the painting in front of everyone.

Cheers, praises, and awe rang out ceaselessly as the painting rolled open.

However, Luo Hong was restless when he saw that painting. He had a human skin manual himself, and after spending some time with the manual, he was able to tell that the painting was actually drawn on human skin.

Hu Zhishui was, in fact, TheOldMoonIsNotDripping, the evil cultivator from the Heavenly Earth Demons who was fond of collecting human skins.

Luo Hong believed that he should find a chance to escape, but Hu Zhishui had his eyes on him.

'Is my cover blown? Did he find out I'm pretending to be Lady Blood?'

Hu Zhishui's stare made Luo Hong anxious, and his imagination started to go out of control.

It was then that the scholars who were looking at the painting fell limp. Their eyes turned white and they collapsed to the ground.

The painting was poisonous!

Luo Hong was frightened. He also fell dizzy after a glance at the painting, but the sword qi that circulated his meridians accelerated, and the pain that it caused kept him conscious.

Hu Zhishui kept his honest smile away as he slowly walked down the stairs. He swung the walking stick at one of the scholars, and the sharper end perforated the unconscious scholar's head.

The walking stick started to move as if it was alive, and the scholar was sucked dry immediately.

Hu Zhishui glanced at Luo Hong, who was surprisingly still conscious.

However, without caring, he continued poking his walking stick into a courtesan's chest.

Swoosh!

A sharp blade popped out at the end of the walking stick and ripped the courtesan's skin away from the body.

As a result, the bloody body was then mercilessly sliced into pieces.

Hu Zhishui smiled as he walked closer to Luo Hong with intense killing intent.