Divine Emperor of Heavenly Destiny

Lu Hanyan snorted coldly and continued on her way...

Without her command, the father-daughter pair of Wu Wei and Wu Xin could only remain kneeling, not daring to move an inch.

After a long while, Lu Hanyan’s voice finally came from up ahead. ”Next time, you die... Get up. Lead the way.”

Wu Wei and his daughter let out another long sigh of relief, wiping the cold sweat from their faces.

They scrambled after Lu Hanyan, clambered back onto their warhorses, and offered a stream of apologies and pleas for mercy as their voices faded into the distance.

The procession from the City Lord’s Mansion, including Lu Hanyan’s Personal Guards, gradually departed from the main street in front of the Cheng Mansion.

Inside the Cheng Mansion, by the wall...

Lu Chao and Cheng Yunsu slowly rose to their feet. Cheng Yunsu asked in a low voice, ”Why would Lu Hanyan suddenly come to a small place like Yangzhou City?”

In response, Lu Chao’s gaze became as deep as the ocean, and the corners of his mouth curled into a chilling smile...

”The War of the Hundred Countries isn’t over yet.”

”Lu Dingtian thought he had already secured a great victory over a month ago, that the situation was set in stone.”

”But how could kingdoms like Tiger Flame just give up? Lu Dingtian will slowly discover that after killing me, he can no longer contain the war.”

”He will soon see that the power of the various kingdoms is being rekindled.”

Lu Chao’s voice was filled with unparalleled confidence.

Gazing at her husband, Cheng Yunsu was captivated. Rumor had it that during the War of the Hundred Countries, Emperor Star Lu Chao had been a pillar of strength, single-handedly holding up half the sky. The one the Hundred Countries truly feared wasn’t Lu Dingtian, the Grand Marshal of Great Wu.

It was Lu Chao!

Cheng Yunsu hadn’t known if these rumors were true, but Lu Chao’s words now proved they were anything but baseless...

Lu Dingtian thought the war against the Hundred Countries was already won, so he saw no more use for Lu Chao and killed him to steal his bone.

But that wasn’t the reality of the situation.

The counterattacks from Tiger Flame Kingdom and others were restarting, triggered by Lu Chao’s death.

After more than a month of peace, the backlash was beginning to emerge. That must be why Lu Hanyan had been dispatched to the area around the border city of Yangzhou City, probably to inspect the various surrounding cities.

And she had even been ambushed just outside the city...

With a soft sigh, Lu Chao refocused. ”For now, none of that concerns us. Let’s handle our family affairs first.”

Lu Chao started walking back toward Cheng Yunsu’s room...

Cheng Yunsu followed closely, her eyes still fixed on Lu Chao.

The sight of her husband’s back seemed to make him grow taller. For an instant, she felt as if she were seeing that invincible figure from the battlefield.

Her husband, it seemed, missed the battlefield a great deal.

’No matter what, Lu Chao is suppressing his hatred for now.’

’Perhaps one day, he’ll be able to behead his enemy on the battlefield with his own hands and reclaim the Heavenly Destiny Saint Bone that is rightfully his.’

Cheng Yunsu felt a secret sense of anticipation. Soon, they were back at the door to the room...

Just then, they saw a graceful figure standing before them: Wu Caicai.

Lu Chao, walking ahead, stopped and asked softly, ”Miss Wu, I trust you slept well last night? Is there something you need from me this early?”

When they had returned last night, only Uncle Leng was watching over Cheng Weishan; Wu Caicai, of course, had already gone to rest.

Wu Caicai smiled and nodded lightly...

”Hero Lu, Master Fan received an urgent message by carrier pigeon last night and suddenly left Yangzhou City.”

”He said the City Lord’s Mansion wouldn’t have time for the Cheng Mansion’s affairs today and that once you’ve handled your family business, you are to leave Yangzhou City with me.”

At Wu Caicai’s words, Lu Chao and Cheng Yunsu exchanged a look of surprise. Fan Jinhua had left Yangzhou City so suddenly.

Lu Chao didn’t dwell on it, though. He figured Master Fan must have had some urgent business come up. He said to Wu Caicai, ”I understand. The City Lord’s Mansion certainly has no time for our affairs right now...”

After all, Wu Wei and his daughter were busy entertaining Lu Hanyan.

”Our family business will be concluded shortly. We can set out in four hours.”

Now that his father-in-law was essentially free of his ties to the Cheng Mansion, all that was left was to reveal two truths, and then they could leave Yangzhou City.

With that, Wu Caicai departed...

Lu Chao and Cheng Yunsu walked slowly toward the room. Doctor Liu had said Cheng Chuming would wake at dawn, but they didn’t know if he had yet.

Just as Lu Chao stepped into the room, a slight tremor ran through him.

”Lu Chao, what’s wrong?” Cheng Yunsu asked, puzzled.

His eyes flashed. Lu Chao said suddenly, ”Master Fan’s sudden departure after receiving an urgent message, and the assassination attempt on Lu Hanyan outside the city last night... Could it be that Master Fan was one of the assassins?”

Hearing this, Cheng Yunsu’s eyes widened. The more she thought about it, the more plausible it seemed.

”Master Fan also knew that the City Lord’s Mansion would have no time for our affairs today,” Lu Chao added in a low voice. ”That means he knew in advance that Lu Hanyan was coming.”

She said nervously, ”If Master Fan was one of the assassins, then he failed... and he’s very likely...”

Lu Chao nodded. He had very likely been killed by Lu Hanyan.

They had heard Lu Hanyan’s words clearly from their spot beneath the wall. She had dealt with the assassins outside the city with ease.

”Yunsu... Yunsu...”

Just as they were speculating, Cheng Chuming’s hoarse voice called out from inside the room.

A look of joyful surprise lit up Cheng Yunsu’s face. Her father was finally awake.

At this, Lu Chao also breathed a long sigh of relief.

”Yunsu, I’m going to the Lu Mansion now to grab Lu Mi and Cheng Yunxiang. We’ll leave the city immediately after everything is settled.”

”As for Master Fan, perhaps I’m just being paranoid. We’ll talk about it after we’ve left the city.”

With that, Lu Chao flashed away from the Cheng Mansion.

Cheng Yunsu, meanwhile, ran to Cheng Chuming’s side. She had to start figuring out how to get her father to accept the cruel truth of his background.

...

Meanwhile, Lu Hanyan’s entourage made its way toward the City Lord’s Mansion.

A Female Personal Guard, who looked to be around thirty, suddenly approached Lu Hanyan.

”Miss, are you sure it’s nothing? Was something really staring at you just now?”

The Female Personal Guard glanced at the trembling father-daughter pair up ahead. ”Those two may have been trying to use you, but the matter of the Tiger Flame Tutor is real. Should we deal with him?”

Upon hearing this, Lu Hanyan gave her Female Personal Guard an indifferent glance...

”That was an illusion. It’s just the Heavenly Destiny Water Chant Saint Bone, still yearning for its former master.”

”As for the Tiger Flame Tutor, let’s use him as bait for now.”

”The situation is chaotic right now, and the various kingdoms are getting restless. My father, the Marshal, said we shouldn’t give them an excuse to mobilize their armies again.”

The Female Personal Guard understood. If the Tiger Flame Tutor died at their hands, the Tiger Flame Kingdom would have the perfect excuse to mobilize its army.

For the time being, stability was the top priority on the Great Wu Border.

A moment later, the Female Personal Guard asked again, ”Could this Fan Jinhua have been one of last night’s assassins?”

Lu Hanyan raised an eyebrow...

”Possibly. If so, he’ll be dead very soon.”

”All the assassins were struck by my Water Chant Palm. Their bodies will be found soon enough... If a tutor from Tiger Flame Academy tried to assassinate me, well, that would be interesting. It would give the Great Wu Empire the perfect excuse to crush Tiger Flame.”

The Female Personal Guard gave a savage grin. Outside the city, the troops they had brought with them were already searching for the assassins who had escaped the night before.

Miss Hanyan’s Water Chant Palm was terrifying. It was the power that had originally belonged to Lu Chao’s Heavenly Destiny Water Chant Saint Bone. Those struck by the palm didn’t die immediately; instead, its power would slowly make them suffer a fate worse than death.

The victim’s own Destiny Bone would be slowly eroded, and death within twenty-four hours was a certainty.

If they found the assassins’ bodies and Fan Jinhua was among them, they could blow the incident wide open.