"Hurry up. Quickly get that nonsensical Mr. Yun, arrest him, and bring him to my residence!"
It was no wonder Jing Wubian had such an extreme reaction. The matter of his infertility was top secret. No more than four people knew about it besides himself.
The people that knew were his mother, Lady Torn Gust, his sister, Jing Zhongyue, the Blue Immortal of the residence of the castellan, and the head of Black Blood Hall, Lady Cold Jade.
If this matter was exposed, how would he, Jing Wubian, be able to go on living with the dignity of a man?
So, when he saw the words written in this silk pouch from Yun Zhonghe, Jing Wubian flew into a rage out of humiliation. He immediately felt the urge to beat on and kill people.
On Jing Wubian's order, several warriors immediately lunged forward and arrested Li Tian, who was on the ground.
"Kill, kill…" Jing Wubian yelled loudly, "Don't kill him in my room, kill him outside, in the courtyard."
Without a word, the warriors dragged Li Tian out.
Centurion Li Tian was appalled and asked in great horror, "This, what is this for? You can't kill me. I was even summoned by Her Lady, the castellan earlier in the afternoon."
Although Lady Cold Jade of Black Blood Hall was the one who had actually summoned him, she represented the castellan, Jing Zhongyue.
But no one paid any heed to Li Tian's miserable cries, and they dragged him outside like a dog.
Actually, Li Tian was quite well-versed in martial arts, but he did not dare to resist.
After being dragged out of the room, Li Tian shouted again, "Immortal Yun. Help me! Save me!"
As soon as he shouted these words, the eyes of an old man in the house, with white hair and a beard, narrowed slightly, revealing a murderous aura.
"Young Master, where are the people we are supposed to arrest?" the leader of the warriors asked.
Jing Wubian said, "How would I know? You guys go ask that bullsh*t Centurion Li."
The leader of the warriors said, "After we have captured that Mr. Yun, do we immediately kill him?"
Jing Wubian said, "Don't kill him. Be sure not to kill him. Bring him here. I want to tear him to pieces with my own hands. Tear him to pieces."
***
"Where is this Mr. Yun?" the leader of the warriors asked.
"He's at Yang Shu Hutong on the west side of the city. There are not many people there, and he's the only one who has set up a stall to read fortunes, so he's easily seen," Centurion Li said with a trembling voice.
The leader of the warriors said, "Alright, then put your heart at ease and go on your way."
Another warrior stepped forward, took out a rope, and formed a noose around Li Tian's neck. He was just about to hang Li Tian.
The killing of an official holding the post of a centurion by such a simple command, one given as easily as an order to kill a dog, would be simply unimaginable if it was placed in the context of the Southern Zhou Empire or the Great Ying Empire.
But this was the case in the Land of No King. The baronage here were all local despots who wielded absolute power over the people's lives and property.
Just a moment later, Centurion Li Tian had been choked to the point where his tongue was hanging out of his mouth, and he was exhaling more than inhaling. He looked as though he was going to die at any moment.
He was really very puzzled. He had been implicated by Li Tang in such a major scandal. That was such a major case, and he had not died. On the contrary, he had been blessed with fortune.
But just by delivering a silk pouch, he had enraged Jing Wubian and was going to be killed.
Could it be that offending this foppish, spoilt brat Jing Wubian was much more serious than a major embezzlement case that involved tens of thousands of sycees?
At that time, a woman who was as cold as frost walked in.
She did not even say anything to stop them, but simply shot them a single, sweeping glance.
The several warriors who were strangling Li Tian immediately let go.
Centurion Li Tian collapsed on the ground. It was quite some time later before he said in a hoarse voice, "Lady Cold, help me, help me…"
Lady Cold Jade still did not say anything. She briefly glanced at Li Tian with indifference, then headed towards Jing Wubian's room.
***
"Wubian, what's going on? Just this afternoon, I summoned and met with Li Tian on behalf of the castellan, and you are going to kill him the same night? Does this make sense?" Lady Cold Jade shouted.
She held a very high position in the residence of the castellan. She could shout at and berate anyone, even if it was Jing Wubian.
Lady Cold Jade was Castellan Jing E's hand-picked disciple. She was his foster daughter, a martial arts genius, and in a sense, another older sister to Jing Wubian.
Jiang Wubian's face twitched for a moment. Then instinctively, he cast a look at Lady Cold Jade's voluptuous and attractive figure. He could feel his heart beat faster.
Since his childhood time, Sister Cold, who stood right in front of him, had throttled him a fair bit…
"Sister Cold, take a look." After hesitating for a moment, Jing Wubian handed over the silk pouch that Yun Zhonghe had sent him.
It didn't matter as Lady Cold Jade also knew about him being infertile.
Lady Cold Jade took the silk pouch from him and took a look. Her cold, beautiful face suddenly changed.
The second sentence in there that mentioned Jing Wubian's infertility was not a big deal. He was already a good-for-nothing in that respect anyway, whether he could have his own children or not did not really matter.
The key was the first sentence that said that within one year, Jing Zhongyue would be destroyed, and Jing Wubian would receive help in assuming the place of castellan.
It might have seemed like pure boasting, but it was enough to infuriate Lady Cold Jade.
Jing Zhongyue was her monarch, the person whom she was most loyal to and would most willingly die for in her lifetime.
Now, there was actually someone who claimed that he wanted to destroy her?
Lady Cold Jade's face looked as though it was covered by a layer of frost. She looked at Jing Wubian coldly and said, "This person really is courting his own doom."
"I've already sent someone to catch him. Shortly, I will be ripping off his skin and pulling out his tendons. Then I will feed them to the hounds," Jing Wubian said.
At that time, the Blue Immortal with white hair and a beard said, "Lady Cold, may I speak with you for a moment?"
"Please speak your mind, Mr. Blue," Lady Cold Jade said.
The Blue Immortal continued, saying, "With the impending war between the Southern Zhou Empire and the Great Ying Empire, the struggle in the City of Torn Gust has become even more complicated. It's precisely for this reason that her Lady, the Castellan, has ordered to keep the gates of the residence of the castellan closed and to not allow any entry. So, any person who tries to get close to Master Jing Wubian at this point in time should also be seriously suspected."
"You suspect that this person may possibly be a spy from either the Great Ying Empire or the Southern Zhou Empire?" Lady Cold Jade asked.
"It's imperative to be on guard," Blue Immortal responded.
"I get what you mean," Lady Cold Jade said.
Then, she walked out and casually waved her hand.
Suddenly, two warriors of the Black Blood Hall swiftly sprang out, suddenly appearing out of nowhere. There was no knowing where they had been hiding prior to making their appearance.
Lady Cold Jade ordered, "The two of you will go with them to catch this person."
"Yes!" The two warriors of the Black Blood Hall both knelt on one knee.
Then, a group of eight warriors rushed out of the residence of the castellan at lightning speed without making a single sound. In the dark of the night, they sprinted toward Yang Shu Hutong, where Yun Zhonghe was. They had come to catch Yun Zhonghe!
Lady Cold Jade took the silk pouch that Yun Zhonghe had sent and headed to the middle mansion of the residence of the castellan. She wanted to show it to her Lady, Jing Zhongyue.
She wanted to show it to her not only because there were words that would offend Jing Zhongyue, but also because there were words that told of the unknown secret of Jing Wubian's infertility.
So, this matter appeared to be out of control.
What would be the reaction of the She-Devil, Jing Zhongyue, the castellan, if she saw that someone was claiming they could destroy her within one year?
***
It was still the middle of the night, so silence prevailed along Yang Shu Hutong.
Yun Zhonghe lay motionless on the ground, looking just like a dead dog.
I… I'm going to starve to death. I'm going to freeze to death.
By right, the residence of the castellan should have sent someone over by now. Someone should have come.
Then about the matter involving Li Tian, was Yun Zhonghe really so omnipotent and resourceful that he was able to divine the fates of Li Tang and Li Tian?
It was actually not difficult at all. As the chamberlain of the residence of the castellan, Li Tang's eating habits were really an unbearable sight to behold. He had embezzled much too many sycees.
Before, Jing Zhongyue had just succeeded to the throne, so of course she could not take any actions against him. Now that she had stabilized her foothold, however, how could she accommodate such a pest?
So, Li Tang was arrested.
But Li Tang was an old man after all, and he had been her mother's confidant at that. He had even watched Jing Zhongyue grow up, so she couldn't really kill him.
Just pay him a sum of money, then strip him of his post and expel him back to his hometown. That would do.
And Li Tian was originally supposed to be unlucky. After all, he had risen to his post with Li Tang's help, so he was not very clean himself.
But no one had expected him to stay so steadfast and loyal, or that he would rather die than be willing to betray his uncle.
Someone possessing that quality was hard to come by. So, of course misfortune came to him as a blessing in disguise.
This was something that Yun Zhonghe, who was positioned on the sidelines, could see clearly. So, he could easily make a judgment. It was just that Li Tian was in the midst of the mountains and was facing a matter of life and death, so he had long fallen into a state of panic.
But now, none of that mattered. The critical thing was… that Yun Zhonghe was really going to collapse from hunger.
He had not eaten anything for four days and four nights straight. He had only been drinking water, and he was so hungry that he was having dizzy spells.
After Centurion Li had left, he had not had a single customer for two whole days.
The strangest thing was that, initially, there were still a dozen or so people who would pass by this road. But now, there was not even a single person to be seen. It was as though this place had become a dead zone.
Yun Zhonghe was so hungry that he was finding it somewhat unbearable. Of course, he could leave this place anytime to find food.
But if he did that, it would mean that all of his previous efforts would go to waste.
According to his prediction, the residence of the castellan should be sending someone to him soon. And it should be around the next one or two days.
So, he absolutely could not leave.
Now he did not dare to move at all, even if it would only require a little bit of strength. He just laid there motionless and drank a little water when he felt hungry.
Xu Anting and his sister, who maintained a good distance but kept a close eye on Yun Zhonghe to protect him, had completely changed their opinion of him. Previously, they had felt that this man was a lunatic and that he shunned labor but indulged in ease. They thought he was lustful and boastful. They did not expect him to actually be resilient enough to starve himself for several days and nights without moving as far as a single step, all for the sake of his plan to ensnare someone in his trap.
This little fair-faced man was really quite ruthless to himself.
And it seemed his plan had not worked.
He had successfully received two customers, but still, he had not made a name for himself. He was still completely unknown to the public there.
And the two people who had their fortunes told by him and received guidance from his divinatory advice seemed to have vanished into thin air. They did not even send him a single meal, let alone help him make a name for himself. So were they going to let him, Yun Zhonghe, die of starvation here?
"Brother, Yun Zhonghe's plan has failed. He has been without food for five days and four nights. If he goes on starving, he will die. Let's quickly abort the plan. We'll work out another way to send him into the residence of the castellan," Xu Antiing said.
"Wait a little while more, wait a little while more," Xu Anting replied.
Sister Xu Antiing said, "If we wait any longer, he's going to die. No way. Abort the plan immediately. I'm going to go and take him away."
Sister Xu Antiing was going to rush out immediately. She was overly concerned about Yun Zhonghe's safety.
However, at that moment, several figures appeared and surrounded Yun Zhonghe.
Xu Antiing hurriedly stopped moving and quietly hid herself.
Were things finally going to take a turn for the better?
The people who had come this time were all elite warriors, so they were most likely from the residence of the castellan.
Was Yun Zhonghe's plan finally going to work?
***
Yun Zhonghe opened his eyes slightly and found himself completely surrounded.
One of the tall, cold warriors was standing directly in front of him.
"You're that fortune teller? The fortune-teller who gave some advice to Centurion Li?" the warrior asked.
Yun Zhonghe said, "Yes, that's me."
The warrior said, "We're from the residence of the castellan."
Here you are, dear ones. You are here at last.