We finally reached the imperial capital. It was midday when the heavenly carriages dropped down. I was able to catch up with the royal heavenly carriages earlier and have my wife returned to me. It seemed that Lan Bei Er was able to catch some sleep and she was now fully rejuvenated.
"We're finally here!" The chauffeur announced from the front, much to our relief. I couldn't wait to alight the carriage and stretched my sore limbs. Being cooped up in a transport the whole day simpy wasn't healthy.
The carriages touched down and we jumped out, following them as we proceeded toward the massive gate that led to the imperial capital. Some people might wonder why we didn't just fly over the walls. This being the imperial capital, it was heavily guarded. So array masters had set up a formation that generated an immense barrier, a blue-tinted transparent dome that served as a forcefield to keep intruders out.
Apparently it could withstand bombardments from Saint Realm cultivators if any enemies had the great idea to siege us. Given its sheer size, I believed that.
So the only safe way in was through the gates.
The guards were checking each visitor to the capital, looking through their papers or other identification documents. They also made use of spirit artifacts to measure the visitors' qi and determine if they were dangerous or not. I wasn't sure how they judged the threat level – the quantity of one's qi? Quality? Or were they simply confirming the visitors' identities through reading their qi signatures? Each cultivator had a unique qi signature, after all. It was the most authentic way to validiate one's identity.
We waited our turn. As for Huang Wan Hai, she had priority, so she was allowed to the front of the queue, escorted by the royal guard. Once the sentries at the gate confirmed that she was the seventh princess, they bowed deeply and quickly allowed her in.
The other visitors to the imperial capital didn't complain. The princess was the princess, after all. It was only natural that she received favorable treatment.
As for me and my wife, we had to wait out turn along with our entourage. The chauffeur brought the Kirin along, and he and his steeds would have a much needed break over the next few days while my wife and I settled things with the royal court. After several days of flying almost nonstop, they deserved a vacation.
Finally it was our turn and we stepped toward the gate, producing our identity documents and allowing the sentries to scan us with the artifacts to test our qi signature or something. Once they had confirmed that we were who we claimed to be, they took a step back, nodded, and allowed us to enter.
Before we could enter, however, a strong and firm voice shouted to us.
"Halt!"
We froze and stared at the old man standing beyond the gates. He was dressed in white and blue robes with a yellow trim, looking all sagely and shit. I raised an eyebrow when I realized that he was from the Inspired Mind Sect.
Lan Bei Er confirmed that fact a few moments later, her eyes wide. "Ling Nao, the patriarch of the Inspired Mind Sect, and the state preceptor!"
"Oh, okay." I turned to Ling Nao. "Can we help you, sir?"
"Coming to the imperial capital at his majesty's invitation, surely you wouldn't be rude enough to come without a gift?"
"Oh, we do have a gift," I replied with a smile. Like all nobles and major families taught, we were expected to bring a tribute to the emperor or castellan whenever we visited them. It was an Asian custom or something, a polite way of repaying the hosts for hosting you (or repaying them for their hospitality). There was no such thing as a free lunch, after all. If you were going to stay at their place and eat their food, the least you could do is bring them a present.
However, this Ling Nao appeared to be stirring up trouble for no reason, and I refused to let him walk over us. So when he raised an eyebrow and held out a hand, I didn't respond, even when he impatiently prompted us.
"So whre's the gift? Show it to me."
"Surely you jest, sir," I said with a shake of my head, smiling in amusement. "The tribute is for his majesty the Emperor, not you. We will present it directly to his majesty himself. What right do you have to take his majesty's gift on his majesty's behalf? What if his majesty asks us later? Are we supposed to tell his majesty that we already handed the gift over to you?"
There was a tightening of Ling Nao's fists, but he didn't refute my words. He knew as well as I did that the state preceptor had no right to accept the emperor's gifts on his behalf. However, the sly old fox had a trick of his own.
"Yes, it is my duty. I need to assess the presents to ensure that they are safe…that you're not offering up a gift that may prove to be dangerous to his majesty. I have to protect his majesty the Emperor, after all."
"Wouldn't the palace guards be in charge of that, and not you, Sir State Preceptor?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "I believe you should leave this job to them when I arrive at the royal palace. It makes no sense for you to personally come all the way here to conduct a check on me specifically, especially when you don't do it to other visitors. It almost seems like you're targeting me."
"You dare?!" Ling Nao stormed, but he caught sight of the other visitors whispering among themselves. Even the sentries appeared confused, knowing this to be highly irregular. This was the first time they had seen the state preceptor personally come out to welcome a guest…and insist on trying to check his gift to the Emperor.
If he continued to make a fuss here, he would only continue to embarrass himself. Indeed, a familiar voice called out to him.
"What do you think you are doing to my father-emperor's guest?"
"Y…your highness!" Ling Nao stepped back in surprise, spinning around and catching sight of her. He immediately bowed. "I…I meant no offense…"
"Then stop hindering him and let him and his wife in. You're delaying the entry of other people and holding up the line."
"B…but…" Ling Nao was stubborn. "If I don't check what gifts he has brought, then what will happen if it turns out to be something dangerous to his majesty?"
"Hear this," Huang Wan Hai snapped, surrounded by her royal guard. "This is the man who not only helped my brother, the fourteenth prince, he also saved my life and the lives of my royal guard by fighting againt a Saint Realm assassin sent after my life. If he really harbored any ill will toward my father the Emperor, do you really think he would save me from assassins? He had plenty of chances to kill me, but he didn't. Instead, he saved my life and those of my royal guard."
"Begging your pardon, your highness, but it could be a trick. What if he only saved you so that he could get close to his majesty your emperor-father so that he could assassinate him?"
"HOW DARE YOU!?" Huang Wan Hai stormed. "I owe this man my life! He is my savior! Yet knowing this, you continue to be so rude to him? Who the hell do you think you are?"
"No…no, I meant no offense…"
"Besides, even if what you say is true, it is not your job or place to investigate his gift. That is the duty of the palace guards. And they will do a better job of assessing the risks of guests' gifts. Why are you usurping their function? I believe that you, as the State Preceptor, should be busy with tasks more appropriate to your function."
"My…my apologies. You are right, of course, your highness. I have gone over the line."
Ling Nao finally lowered his head. He glared at me. I shook my head in bewilderment and exasperation. What did he have against me? What was his problem? What was he trying to do? Why did he hold a grudge against me? Because I was the protagonist and therefore every villain hated me for no reason other than to contrive some sort of conflict so that I would be justified in killing him later? That made no sense whatsoever.
I just didn't understand the nonsensical logic of people hating me for no reason, other than to distinguish themselves as an antagonist.
"However…" Ling Nao raised a hand, still refusing to back down. "The reason why I'm so concerned is because I highly suspect that this person is from the Heaven and Earth Sect. He might be a demonic cultivator."
"How did you even come to this conclusion?!" Huang Wan Hai demanded, throwing her hands up into the air. For my part, I couldn't refute the dude (though I had no qualms lying). It was true that I was from the Heaven and Earth Sect, after all.
"Remember that over a week ago, there was some disturbance in Azure Cloud City?" Ling Nao asked. "We detected the presence of a demonic cultivator there…someone using the techniques of Heaven and Earth Sect. At the same time, the Yun family was destroyed. We later heard that it was this person, Hei Ye, who annihilated the Yun family single-handedly."
"So you assume that I used Heaven and Earth techniques to wipe out the Yun family?" I asked.
"That's right!" Ling Nao pointed at me dramatically. "Tell us the truth, demonic cultivator, and come with me quietly! Otherwise I'll kill you if you resist!"
"…so where's the evidence that I used Heaven and Earth techniques to kill the Yun family?" I asked, shrugging. "Did you actually witness me executing a Heaven and Earth technique to destroy the Yun family? Were you there in person to see everything? Did you check the qi in the Yun manor and confirm that it was qi produced from using…I don't know, a Heaven and Earth technique?"
"I…" Ling Nao was at a loss for words.
"So you want to arrest my savior without any evidence or without carrying out any investigation?" Huang Wan Hai yelled. "You threatened my savior right in front of me? The very same person my father the Emperor invited to the royal palace? You intend to lock away before my father the Emperor can speak to him? How very bold of you, State Preceptor! Are you the new emperor now? Has the Huang Kingdom fallen under your rule?"
"N…no…" Ling Nao stammered.
"Know your place, you old geezer!" Huang Wan Hai bellowed. "You overstep your boundaries! My father the Emperor will know of this! If this person turns out to be any threat to my father the Emperor, the royal guards and palace guards will decide it for themselves. Until then, nobody is to touch or arrest him. Is that understood?"
"Y…yes, your highness." Ling Nao hung his head in shame, suitably chastised. The other visitors and even the city residents near the gate were whispering among themselves in hushed whispers, not understanding what the hell was going on. They shook their heads and sighed heavily, staring and pointing at the humiliated state preceptor, no doubt gossiping and laughing at him.
Ling Nao glared at me, his eyes murderous. I honestly didn't understand his logic. The dude was the one who sought trouble with me first. He had no reason to believe that I was a demonic cultivator from the Heaven and Earth Sect, even though it was true. I didn't understand how he arrived at that conclusion. Was it the qi I radiated? But nobody else had any trouble with my qi or aura. The artifact they used to analyze my qi at the gate proved that.
"Why do you insist that I'm a demonic cultivator?" I asked with a frown, sighing in exasperation. "What is your reason for singling me out?"
"T…that…" Ling Nao stammered.
"Intuition?" I suggested. "Gut feeling?"
"Y…yes! That's right! It's my intuition!"
"So if my intuition tells me that you're plotting a conspiracy to overthrow his majesty the Emperor, should I have you apprehended?"
"How are you slander me?!" Ling Nao roared. "Don't just throw accusations without evidence! Or I'll sue you for slander!"
"Yet it's fine if YOU do it?" Huang Wan Hai sneered, her words dripping with scorn. "How very fair and just of you, state preceptor."
"N…no…!" Ling Nao turned pale. "That's…that's…!"
He whirled away and stomped off, gritting his teeth so hard that I could hear his molars grinding and cracking. He might have thought I couldn't hear him as he whispered under his breath, but I heard him loud and clear.
"This isn't over yet, brat! I'll definitely unearth the truth, even if it's the last thing I do! You'll pay for humiliating me this much!"
Then he was gone, leaving a trail of spite in his wake.