Firmament Sword

The next morning, just as Xu Luo and his companions had finished breakfast and were preparing to bid farewell to City Lord Wang Chao, he arrived alone and unannounced at their residence.

Seeing Wang Chao, Xu Luo and the others almost didn’t recognize him at first. It was hard to believe that the beggar before them was the same debonair young City Lord from the day before.

”City Lord Wang... why are you dressed like this?” Little Fatty asked, looking at Wang Chao in astonishment.

Just then, Wang Chao suddenly dropped to his knees before Xu Luo and the others. ”Young Master, please save me!” he said in a grave voice.

”City Lord Wang, please get up. What is the meaning of this?” Xu Luo said, moving to help him up.

But Wang Chao remained kneeling. ”I dare not rise unless you agree, Young Master,” he said solemnly.

Xu Luo raised an eyebrow. ”City Lord Wang,” he said seriously, ”you should first tell me what this is about. Aren’t you afraid someone will see you like this?”

”It’s better than dying without a corpse to bury in the future!” Wang Chao said, his voice low, then stood up.

”You may not be aware, Young Master, but your fief is already surrounded by peril. Not only has Prime Minister Wei deployed a large number of men, but there is also a group of vicious bandits from the Southern regions... No, my impression is that they’re an army!” Wang Chao said with a grave expression. ”They are highly disciplined, orderly in their advances and retreats, and they move like the wind. It seems... they intend to disrupt the war in the North.”

Although Xu Luo already knew some of this, he clearly lacked City Lord Wang’s detailed understanding. His expression turned serious. He looked at the City Lord, who was disguised as a beggar, and asked lightly, ”Why would you suddenly dress like this and come running to me with this information? Offending Prime Minister Wei... doesn’t seem like a very good decision for you.”

Wang Chao gave a bitter smile. ”But if I were to offend you, Young Master, I’m afraid I would die without a place to be buried.”

”Am I that terrifying?” Xu Luo scratched his head, a look of innocence on his face.

Looking at Xu Luo, Wang Chao said with a pained expression, ”Young Master, you are brilliant and formidable. With just a single Martial Soul Squad, you turned the tide of the entire war in the South, casually annihilating the armies of the Great Yan Empire. There is no need for such modesty. Though I may be slow, I understand the principle of a mantis trying to stop a chariot.”

”You flatter me, City Lord Wang. It wasn’t as miraculous as you make it sound, merely a stroke of luck,” Xu Luo said, looking at him. ”Do you have any advice?”

”I... I am just a humble City Lord with few soldiers under my command, and I am being watched. Slipping away to bring you this message has already taken all my effort,” Wang Chao said bitterly. ”I wanted to come last night, but I was being monitored too closely. Even now, I must hurry back. If I arouse their suspicion, I fear disaster will follow.”

”Afraid of them for what? Isn’t it just that piece of shit Master of yours? If he pisses me off, I’ll go over there and gut him myself!” Little Fatty said domineeringly from the side.

”Don’t talk nonsense. It’s not that simple. Do you really think everyone is an idiot?” Xu Jie shot Little Fatty a glare, then turned to Wang Chao. ”Regardless, we are very grateful for your warning, City Lord Wang.”

Wang Chao smiled bitterly. ”I’m only doing this to protect myself. I started as a Junior Official and clawed my way to where I am today. I tried to remain neutral, but ever since I became the City Lord, the various powers have never stopped trying to win me over. At first, I was rather pleased with myself, but gradually... that turned to fear.”

”It’s just a matter of picking a side. What’s so scary about that?” Little Fatty piped up again.

Wang Chao shook his head. ”If only it were that simple. The imperial court is a sea of undercurrents right now. The Civil-Military Group factions are at each other’s throats. The slightest misstep could lead to a fall from which there is no recovery.”

Xu Luo smiled. ”As a City Lord, it would seem that siding with Prime Minister Wei would be the better choice. After all, given your position, no one could easily move against you.”

Wang Chao glanced at Xu Luo, thinking, ’If anyone else had said that, I might have believed it. But coming from you, how could I possibly trust those words?’

Wang Chao had barely slept the previous night, hesitating, unable to make up his mind.

Two paths lay before him. The first was to follow Prime Minister Wei Feng with unwavering devotion. True, recent rumors about the Wei Family had been quite unfavorable. But anyone who understood the political situation in the Cangqiong Kingdom knew that as long as the Emperor was on the throne, Wei Feng... would be in no danger whatsoever.

From that perspective, following Wei Feng was still a good choice. Moreover, if he completed the task Wei Feng had given him, he would be handsomely rewarded with a promotion.

For a man with some ambition, this was a temptation that was difficult to resist.

The problem was... was the Xu Family really so easy to provoke?

The fact that Wang Chao had been able to climb from a Junior Official to the position of City Lord in just over a decade clearly meant he was no ordinary man.

He understood one principle very clearly: The wolf from the east might be a man-eater, but the wolf from the west was no vegetarian either.

That left him with only one other path.

To side with Xu Luo.

To many, this would have seemed like a profoundly unwise decision.

How could a seventeen-year-old boy possibly be a match for an old fox like Wei Feng, whose power overshadowed the court and whose proteges were scattered across the land?

And yet, it was this very same seventeen-year-old, relying on almost none of his family’s power, who had thrown the entire Wei Family into chaos and beaten them so thoroughly on several occasions that they were left utterly powerless to retaliate.

Most recently, right in the Golden Hall, he had angered Wei Feng so much that the man spat blood right then and there.

Who else in the entire Empire could accomplish such a feat?

Who else could anger Wei Feng to the point of vomiting blood and walk away completely unscathed?

Only this boy right here.

’Ambush and kill Xu Luo?’ Wang Chao found the idea laughable. ’This is a boy who returned alive from the Southern battlefields, where flesh flew and corpses littered the ground. Is he some easy mark? Can he really be killed in a simple ambush?’

Not to mention, Xu Luo’s father and brother were currently in the North. It was said that soldiers do not meddle in politics, but if anything happened to Xu Luo, Wang Chao could perfectly imagine how Xu Ji and Xu Su would react.

’Soldiers don’t meddle in politics—what bullshit. That’s just something you tell the common folk. If you don’t believe it, just try it and see what happens!’

’In any case, I, Wang Chao, would never do something so foolish.’

And so, he had made his choice that morning.

”However, since you were willing to trust me and make this choice, then I, Xu Luo, will certainly not treat you unfairly. You may continue as City Lord with peace of mind,” Xu Luo said, looking at Wang Chao with a serious expression before breaking into a smile. ”I will not forget this kindness you’ve shown me, City Lord Wang.”

This was precisely what Wang Chao had been waiting to hear from Xu Luo. He gave Xu Luo a deep bow and said in a grave tone, ”Since I have sided with you, Young Master, then of course all my actions will be based on your interests. As for that Master by my side...”

”Why do anything to him? As long as your cover isn’t blown, just leave him. You can even feed him some juicy information every now and then...” Little Fatty chuckled from the side. ”He’s a ready-made asset. Why wouldn’t we use him?”

Wang Chao’s eyes lit up at the suggestion. He looked at Little Fatty and gave him an admiring thumbs-up. ”Brilliant!”

Xu Luo’s group departed quietly from Snow City. Having managed Snow City for many years, Wang Chao naturally had his own ways of getting around. It wasn’t difficult for him to slip away for a short time without being discovered.

”I’d never have guessed. They say a wise man adapts to the times, and that Wang Chao... he really is an adaptable man!” Little Fatty remarked, leaning back in the carriage as they traveled.

”He’s a clever man,” Xu Jie said.

Huangfu Chongzhi glanced at Xu Luo. ”He was probably frightened by your notorious reputation.”

Xu Luo looked aggrieved. ”What notorious reputation? I’ve always kept a very low profile.”

PFFT...

The others all stared at Xu Luo, speechless, thinking to themselves, ’You, low profile? If you call that a low profile, then what are we?’

”The place where we plan to build our city is a wide-open area, with its back to a large mountain and a river flowing in front. I’ve had people survey it, and it’s perfect for building a huge castle,” Xu Luo said, changing the subject.

Huangfu Chongzhi frowned slightly. ”Building a castle is an enormous expense. Are you planning to turn your fief into an independent kingdom?”

”Since it’s my fief, it’s only natural that I build it up properly. I wouldn’t go so far as to call it an independent kingdom, but at the very least... it must become a sanctuary,” Xu Luo said softly, his eyes glinting. ”I have a feeling that one day, this place may become the Xu Family’s final refuge.”

Huangfu Chongzhi fell silent. As the Eldest Prince, he naturally understood the internal affairs of the Empire better than most. He knew all too well how his exalted father, the Emperor, skillfully employed the Emperor’s Heart Skill to keep all his capable officials firmly in the palm of his hand.

It was one thing to deal with straightforward, loyal generals like Xu Ji and Xu Su, but he knew Xu Luo’s temperament all too well.

He was not the type to let himself be manipulated.

The current situation was manageable, but once the war in the North was over and the Xu Family returned to the Imperial Capital bearing earth-shattering military honors, how could the Emperor tolerate a subject whose achievements threatened to overshadow the throne?

He would surely do something about it.

And how could Xu Luo possibly tolerate that?

’Perhaps... leaving will be the Xu Family’s only choice in the end,’ Huangfu Chongzhi thought, a wave of sadness washing over him.

”If you could take the throne, Big Bro, everything would be simple,” Little Fatty piped up.

Huangfu Chongzhi shook his head with a bitter smile. ”Never mention this matter again!”

Xu Jie shot Little Fatty a harsh glare for his recklessness. No matter what, the blood of the Royal Family flowed through Huangfu Chongzhi’s veins. Though they were as close as brothers, Little Fatty’s comment served only to place an immense pressure on the prince, offering no benefit.

Xu Luo smiled. ”We’ll worry about the future when it gets here.”

At that moment, a sudden commotion erupted far in the distance ahead, and everyone looked up to see.

”Someone’s fighting!” Little Fatty seemed to have already forgotten the previous tense moment. ”Holy crap... that woman is a beast!” he exclaimed.

From a distance, through the cloud of dust ahead, they could just make out a figure in white. Her robes fluttered, and she moved like a Fairy, felling a large group of people in the blink of an eye.

”Third Bro, that little vixen dares to cause trouble in your territory!” Little Fatty, ever the one to stir the pot, said with gleaming eyes as he watched the woman in white. ”Let’s take her down and give her a good interrogation. We might even find ourselves a spy!”