Chapter 471 - 452: An Age of Demonic Chaos
「Day Seven: The Capital, Jinluan Hall of the Imperial Palace.」
「During the morning court session, a black-clothed secret agent holding a blood-written letter sent via an 800-li express courier forced his way through the Meridian Gate. He knelt in the great hall, presenting a death remonstrance accusing the Lin Family of Jinnan City of "plotting rebellion and causing Court Disorder."」
The old emperor had been enjoying the day’s peace and prosperity, a time of song and dance. He always believed that the common people of the realm lived lives of unparalleled happiness.
When the people were scorched under the blazing sun, they were merely sunbathing. When they were flogged by officials, it was just to loosen their muscles. Even if corpses of the starved littered the ground, they were simply experiencing the joys of ascetic fasting for their cultivation.
What suffering was there in this world? It was all just part of their journey to appreciate the scenery along the way.
And if there truly was suffering, then that suffering should be praised. For only by enduring the bitterest of hardships could one be blessed with even more hardships to endure.
And this sort of mentality, no matter how many years passed, stubbornly persisted.
For instance, why would someone become a food delivery driver? Why, to appreciate the scenery along the route, of course.
Why would someone haul bricks? Obviously, to get some exercise.
Forced by circumstances? ’That’s not a thing.’
Even if a delivery was about to be late, one could still stop to take a picture of a cute cat or dog spotted along the way.
As for actually getting your pay docked for a late delivery? Sorry, can’t see it. And if you can’t see it, it doesn’t exist. It’s not real.
Those in high places had been detached from the masses for far, far too long. As a result, this day of peace and prosperity was shattered by that single, blood-written letter.
Although the civil and military officials of the court all had their own interests at stake, this matter was so preposterous that none of them took a side.
The Lin Family were merely merchants, and Jinnan City was a remote, insignificant place. Even if they were fabulously wealthy, the worst they could be accused of was inciting a public disturbance. How could anyone speak of rebellion?
"Your Majesty! My Lords!"
The black-clothed man slammed his forehead against the golden bricks of the floor with a resounding THUD, and blood began to stream down his face. "If this were an ordinary popular uprising, this humble servant would not dare disturb Your Majesty even if I had ten times the courage! The Lin Family... they are not merchants at all, but wolves in merchants’ clothing!"
Trembling, he pulled a Memory Stone from his robes and cried out hoarsely, "I beseech Your Majesty to look! This is the evidence this humble servant brought back at the risk of my life!"
Light flowed from the stone, and an image unfolded in midair.
In the image, the gates of the Lin Mansion were wide open.
What merchant’s residence? It was clearly a formidable fortress!
On the left, a phalanx of burly men stood in formation like a mountain, clad in heavy armor and wielding long-bladed polearms.
"This..." The Minister of the Ministry of War’s beard trembled. "Plate armor? Polearms? This is equipment reserved for the Imperial Guard’s elite! To privately stockpile military-grade weaponry... this is a crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations of one’s clan!"
Before the ministers could process this shock, the scene shifted.
On top of the high wall to the right, hundreds of master archers stood with their bows drawn, ready to fire!
These were no mere household guards; they were clearly death warriors, their hands stained with blood!
"Hiss—" A collective gasp echoed through the hall.
Seeing this reaction, the black-clothed man shouted with sorrowful indignation, "My Lord Minister, this is just the tip of the iceberg! Look in the center!"
The image zoomed in.
A group of scholars in Confucian robes were pointing and gesturing at an enemy off-camera.
Though they held no swords, the oppressive aura formed by their combined righteous qi was even more intimidating than the armored soldiers on either side.
"Confucian cultivators?" the Prime Minister cried out in shock. "In a backwater place like Jinnan City, where did so many Confucian cultivators come from?"
The black-clothed man straightened up, his eyes wide with terror. "This is precisely what’s so terrifying about Lin! Not only does he secretly maintain death warriors, but he’s also raising an army of Confucian cultivators! What could his intentions be?"
"My lords, please look! The Confucian cultivators he’s raised first stand before the battle lines and shout curses. They cite the classics to seize the moral high ground, berating our soldiers until they are overcome with shame and their morale wavers. These are no ordinary Confucian cultivators! What is that traitor planning?"
"This is a clear attack on their hearts and minds!"
The black-clothed man pointed at the Confucian cultivators in the image, his voice filled with anguish. "Without the ambition to contend for the throne and overthrow the dynasty, who would spend a fortune to keep so many Confucian cultivators and private soldiers at their side?"
"If the City Lord of Jinnan City hadn’t been so loyal and discovered this traitor’s plot to raise a private army and rebel, then by the time the Lin Family grew powerful enough to vie for control of the Central Plains, it would have been too late for regrets! The whole realm might have fallen under a new name!"
As soon as he said this, a chill ran down the spines of all the officials in the court.
Besides, there was a saying: to raise soldiers is to be a warlord, but to raise scholars is to be a sovereign.
This Lin Qingfeng’s ambitions were immense!
The jade prayer beads in the old emperor’s hand fell to the floor. His once-dull, aged eyes suddenly turned sinister.
Seeing that the time was right, the black-clothed man dropped his bombshell.
"Your Majesty, not only is Lin building his own army, but he has also colluded with Demon and Evil Cultivators! His methods are utterly cruel! This is the second piece of evidence!"
A Memory Stone that had undergone some "special artistic processing" slowly rose into the air.
[A second Memory Stone, having undergone "special artistic processing," slowly rose into the air.]
This time, the image was dark and eerie, resembling a hellish battlefield.
To solidify the charge that the Lin Family was "colluding with the demon path," the secret agent had gone to great lengths. He had privately spent a small fortune hiring several disillusioned, down-on-their-luck Confucian cultivators and low-level Illusion Technique masters to meticulously "refine" the original footage.
Originally, Su Ling’er’s battle in front of the Lin Mansion, though a one-sided slaughter, had been fought with graceful, fluid movements. Her posture was as aloof and ethereal as a celestial’s, and even her killing blows possessed a certain clean efficiency.
While she might have looked like a blood-soaked devil with a touch of psychosis, there was no overt evil, savagery, or depravity in her actions.
This didn’t fit the public’s image of a Demon or Evil Cultivator, nor did it deepen the impression that the enemy was utterly villainous. More importantly, it failed to reflect the "winning" philosophy that "our side is righteous, their side is a wicked band of thieves."
Admittedly, it might have been more effective to directly frame Lin Qingfeng as an Evil Cultivator. However, due to the effect of Su Ling’er’s title, [Rhythmic Executioner], everyone felt that Su Ling’er was the most suitable candidate for the role. No matter how you looked at her, Su Ling’er exuded the crazed energy of a psychopath.
Thus, with the "special effects" applied by these people, the image was transformed by an underworld filter.
The once-clear sky was dyed a crimson red. The background audio was filled with shrill, piercing wails of ghosts and howls of wolves, and even the dull thumping of a heartbeat.
In the center of the image, Su Ling’er, dressed in red, was now shrouded in a thick black aura applied by the Confucian cultivators and Illusion Technique masters.
The most absurd part was her eyes.
The Illusion Technique masters had added two cheap-looking red glows to her eyes, which flickered erratically. They also forced a depraved, savage, and evil grin onto the corners of her mouth.
"Your Majesty, look!" the secret agent pointed at the screen, his voice cracking. "Before this demoness kills, she first performs a bizarre ritual sacrifice!"
In the image, thanks to the agent’s malicious editing, this sequence of movements was sped up and dubbed with the "CRACKLE CRACKLE" of grinding bones.
The woman, shrouded in black qi with red-glowing eyes, was seen rapidly shrugging her shoulders, thrusting her neck back and forth, and twitching her body to a bizarre rhythm.
Combined with the hidden effect of her [Rhythmic Executioner] title, the Su Ling’er in the image looked exactly like a psychopathic serial killer, convulsing with excitement as she hunted her prey.
Paired with that vile, painted-on smile, she was no longer an aloof swordswoman, but clearly a psychologically twisted, cannibalistic demon.
That strange, gut-wrenching sense of unease radiated from the Memory Stone, striking directly into the minds of everyone present.
Then came the killing.
The original scene of a single, throat-slitting strike was edited into a spastic loop of repeated stabbings.
STAB! STAB! STAB!
Each thrust was accompanied by an exaggerated special effect of black blood splattering everywhere.
Finally, the image froze on the walls of Jinnan City.
The heads of the City Lord, the fat steward, and Mr. Wang were shown in a magnified close-up, while Su Ling’er’s small, sneering face took up half the screen.
They might as well have written "Su Ling’er is a man-eating banshee" across the screen.
Furthermore, thanks to the special effect of Su Ling’er’s "Rhythmic Executioner" title, everyone subconsciously concluded that this red-robed woman was a psychopathic Demon and Evil Cultivator.
"Bleargh—"
In the great hall, a civil official with a weak stomach actually retched out loud.
Even the Minister of the Ministry of War, a man who had seen his share of turmoil, turned ashen under the influence of Su Ling’er’s title. "This... this... This is an affront to decency! It’s madness! How is that a person? That’s clearly a monster in human skin!"
Seeing the outstanding effect, the secret agent twisted the knife. "Your Majesty! This woman is named Su Ling’er, Lin’s so-called personal maid. According to our spies, not only does she kill without batting an eye, but she also delights in eating human flesh raw and refining their vital blood!"
"The Lin Mansion appears to be a place of business, but it’s actually a breeding ground for these fiends! The people can’t even live; they can’t appreciate the scenery or till their fields in peace as they used to! They need you, Your Majesty! For the sake of all life under heaven, I beg you to launch a crusade against these villains!"
Silence fell in Jinluan Hall. The other civil and military officials who saw through the charade said nothing, either because of their own entangled interests or because they were plotting something themselves.
On the Dragon Throne, the old emperor, now over sixty, narrowed his eyes and stared at the red-robed female cultivator in the Memory Stone.
He had seen countless women in his life. His harem held three thousand beauties of every shape and size. With a flick of his finger, what kind of peerless beauty could he not possess?
But this one... he’d truly never seen anything like her.
In the image, the woman named Su Ling’er was flashing a twisted, evil grin at the camera, a smile so wide it reached her ears, exuding an air of pure madness.
Although this maid was quite beautiful.
Ordinarily, he would have issued an imperial edict to summon her to the palace and make her an Imperial Consort for his amusement. But right now, not a single lecherous thought entered his mind.
After all, what proper young lady would perform such a spastic dance before killing someone?
What kind of twisted psyche would it take to maintain such a bizarre rhythm amidst all that blood and gore?
Furthermore, her expression and features convinced the old emperor that she was a complete and utter psychopath, a born Demon Cultivator! He even had the feeling that this Demon Cultivator would come after him specifically!
"Annihilate them! They must be annihilated! Pass Our decree! Mobilize the Imperial Guard! No, mobilize the Sacrificial Hall! Take that Lin Family, and that madwoman, and chop them into a thousand pieces for Us! She must not be allowed to enter the capital! She must not!"
...
[System Notification: Due to the unique flair your maid, Su Ling’er, displayed in battle, which was then disseminated by the black-clothed secret agent, you have successfully inflicted a massive psychological shock upon the old emperor.]
[Emperor’s Evaluation: This woman’s viciousness and depravity are unlike anything We have ever seen. If she is allowed to enter the capital, We will know no peace.]
[Current Situation Update: The Imperial Court’s designation for the Lin Mansion has been upgraded from "Regional Insurrection" to "Demonic Apocalypse."]
Lin Qingfeng: "???"
’How did the situation just upgrade itself?!’