Chapter 137 - 136: Evil Thoughts Stirring Chaos, The Hand Rises, The Blade Falls
After finishing work for the day, Su Bai immediately headed to the Imperial City’s East Gate, intending to see just who this Fortune Teller was.
But after arriving at the East Gate, he checked with several fortune tellers and couldn’t find a match.
He only found out the truth after asking a nearby street vendor.
The Fortune Teller had left three days prior.
He had vanished without a trace.
He never returned to the East Gate, no one saw him again, and no one knew where the Fortune Teller had gone.
"What a pity..."
Su Bai sighed to himself.
’That old fox is certainly crafty!’
The trail went cold here.
On his way back, Su Bai passed through Cyan Dragon Avenue, only to find that the Daoist Study was also closed.
A notice hung on the study’s main door, stating that the shop would be closed for a month for a family visit.
Su Bai didn’t believe this excuse for a second.
’That sneaky bastard, who knows where he’s hiding now!’
’He’s damn good at lying low!’
At dusk, the setting sun cast its glow as evening bells tolled.
On his way back to the prison, Su Bai happened to pass Peach Blossom Lane and glanced inside out of curiosity.
He found that even now, at five or six in the evening, a line was still formed in front of the famous tofu shop on Peach Blossom Lane.
There was still a line!
Unlike in the morning, most of the men buying tofu at this hour were young.
Every last one of them was perfumed and dressed in lavish clothes.
As the saying goes, a fair maiden is a fine prize for a gentleman.
These men made no attempt to hide their intentions; they were clearly there for the tofu shop owner’s daughter.
Su Bai only spared it a brief glance before continuing on his way back to the prison.
Along the way, from streets and alleys, he could already hear the loud arguments of countless men and women!
It was utter pandemonium!
He even saw one house with a backyard piled high with tofu!
"This is just unbelievable..."
Su Bai smiled and shook his head, finding the situation rather amusing.
...
「Five hundred li outside the Imperial City. Black Water Marsh.」
Three figures stood by the marsh, silently gazing at the shimmering surface of the water.
The young man in the golden Dragon Robe looked serene as he whispered, "So, she tossed those three vials of Azure True Water in here. Not a bad move, I suppose..."
Beside him, a Beautiful Lady clung to his arm and spoke through gritted teeth, "Your Majesty, that Qitian Demon Lord was far too insolent!"
"Not only did he slay my sister right in front of you, but he also broke Your Majesty’s Dragon Horn!"
"You must avenge this!"
"You said it yourself. He broke one of my Dragon Horns."
"How am I supposed to avenge you?"
The youth in the Golden Robe looked at her, his expression impassive. "Besides, with your sister dead, shouldn’t you be the happiest of all?"
"This servant has misspoken! I beg Your Majesty’s forgiveness!"
The Beautiful Lady was clearly terrified. She immediately dropped to her knees, her eyes filling with tears as she spoke in a soft, fragile voice.
The youth in the Golden Robe ignored the Beautiful Lady.
"The True Dragon Blood Bead..."
He gazed at the distant silhouette of the Imperial City and sighed softly.
After a long moment, the youth in the Golden Robe spoke slowly.
"Ghost Aspect."
"This old servant is here."
The white-browed old man behind them, who carried a black turtle shell on his back, immediately stepped forward and bowed, ready to listen.
"How are things progressing?"
"Per Your Majesty’s orders, I have disposed of those pests."
"Furthermore, this old servant has already brought the Minister of the Ministry of Water for Great Xia under control."
At this, the white-browed old man couldn’t help but sigh. "Powerful officials throughout history have always had two fatal weaknesses: their power and their lives."
"What these people value most is their own life and the authority they clutch in their hands."
"Grasp those, and controlling them becomes child’s play."
"With no interference from the Ministry of Water Affairs officials, this old servant’s plans have proceeded without a hitch."
"Now, no one can stop Your Majesty’s plan!"
"On the ninth day of the ninth month, the aquifers beneath Xia Imperial City will swell to their absolute peak!"
"At that time, Your Majesty need only display your Divine Techniques..."
The white-browed old man, hunched over, spoke with a cheerful laugh, "...and the entirety of Xia Imperial City will become Your Majesty’s Dragon Palace!"
Upon hearing this, the Beautiful Lady’s eyes lit up. She stood up and exclaimed in delight.
"Your Majesty! If a great flood washes over Xia Imperial City, not only will the Dragon Qi within the city surge forth!"
"I fear the legendary True Dragon Blood Bead..."
"...will also be forced to reveal its True Body!"
The youth in the Golden Robe also wore a pleased expression, appearing as delighted as the other two.
But deep in his eyes, an icy resolve flowed.
...
The tofu shop in Peach Blossom Lane grew more popular by the day. The endless stream of customers became one of the lane’s main attractions.
Countless men in the neighborhood were utterly enchanted, so much so that they insisted on "eating tofu" for every meal.
Some furious wives, unable to tolerate it any longer, secretly banded together. They planned to march on the tofu shop, threatening to smash it to pieces.
But this Tofu Beauty was truly something else. No one knew what trick she pulled.
She somehow managed to talk every last one of those furious women down, and they never returned to cause trouble.
Not only that, but those same women even began to sing the praises of the mother and daughter to anyone who would listen.
It was truly bizarre.
Su Bai went to buy tofu once himself, to get a firsthand impression of the legendary Tofu Beauty.
The old woman was unremarkable—an ordinary-looking, honest person.
The Tofu Beauty herself, however, was captivating.
She spoke and acted with a gentle grace and was remarkably empathetic.
She knew how to listen to others, was never rushed or impatient, always wore a tender smile, and her movements were deft and considerate.
So much so that while Su Bai was impressed, he also felt a sense of unease.
’Can such a perfect person truly exist in this world?’
He felt that this Tofu Beauty was too ethereal, almost unreal.
’Something’s... off...’
As the eighth month began, the weather grew increasingly hot.
Pedestrians on the street wore thin clothing.
Children recited doggerel, while the young lamented the bitter drought.
During this period, two major events happened that involved Su Bai.
The first.
Concerned the Holy Robe Sect.
Not long ago, the Holy Robe Sect had been completely rounded up by the Prison Suppression Bureau. In total, about a hundred people were arrested.
Over the next month, they were sent to the execution grounds in batches.
Those sentenced to beheading were beheaded.
Only the last one remained: the Sect Leader of the Holy Robe Sect.
An Innate Realm Martial Artist!
Although his Cultivation wasn’t high, the man possessed not only a silver tongue but also a special Enchanting Divine Technique. It was no exaggeration to say his speech was mesmerizing.
Once all legal proceedings were concluded, he too was escorted to the execution grounds.
Unexpectedly, on the day of the execution...
The execution ground was packed with people. Over a thousand of them wore the magenta Saint Robes.
A vast, dense sea of them!
These brainwashed followers stood in silence, glaring viciously at everyone present with venomous eyes.
Like a pit of vipers!
When the lead official, steeling himself, finally gave the order for the beheading, the thousands of deluded commoners actually stormed the platform!
Faced with ordinary citizens, many of the soldiers couldn’t bring themselves to strike.
Even Ning Fengyun, who was overseeing the execution, gripped the hilt of his blade, his face grim!
In an instant, the entire execution ground descended into chaos.
SHOUTS! CURSES! ROARS! BELLOWS!
They rose and fell in waves.
The situation was escalating rapidly.
Su Bai’s expression darkened. He took the executioner’s blade, which the man was gripping so tightly but had failed to swing.
Its hilt was soaked with sweat.
Then, Su Bai lunged forward.
In a flash, he was behind the Sect Leader of the Holy Robe Sect.
Hand up, blade down.
A head, still fixed in a wicked grin, suddenly soared into the air!
It landed a moment later.
A great spray of blood arched through the sky.
Everyone present was stunned into silence.
They stared dumbly at the spreading pool of blood.
All they could register...
...was the piercing, bright red.