Volume 5, Chapter 288 – How About We Go Kill Qi Huang?

As soon as the words fell, Immortal Huo and his group barged into the room, dragging along an innocent servant. Their faces were, as usual, concealed behind masks.

The two maidservants were so terrified that their delicate faces turned pale, and they shrank back into a corner in panic. The official wife, however, showed some courage, quickly stepping forward to stand beside Governor Niu, clearly ready to face whatever came together.

“Who are you? How dare you barge into the Governor’s residence?” Governor Niu was both shocked and furious. His plump feet, still wet, stomped onto the floor without even being wiped dry.

“Governor Niu, don’t be agitated. We mean you no harm. We merely wish to discuss a business collaboration with you,” Immortal Huo soothed. To show his sincerity, he released the servant they had been restraining.

“Business? What kind of business?” Governor Niu steadied himself and asked. He was a clever man and knew his life hung by a thread, he needed to keep these people calm first.

“It’s actually a business you’ve engaged in before. Do you remember Duan Feng, the deputy manager of the Golden Fortune Auction House?” Immortal Huo reminded him.

“You mean—” Governor Niu’s expression flickered with alarm, but he quickly corrected himself, “What deputy manager of the Golden Fortune Auction House? This official knows no such person!”

“Governor Niu, why feign ignorance? Constable Peng has already told me everything, how you conspired with Duan Feng to murder a client of the auction house and embezzle their belongings!” Immortal Huo smirked, his tone teasing.

“What do you want?” Prefect Niu suppressed his rage.

“My goal is the same as his, to collaborate with you in killing a few more of the Golden Fortune Auction House’s clients,” Immortal Huo stated bluntly.

Qi Huang, watching this unfold, tensed slightly. If this Niu fellow agreed to cooperate, this recorded scene would serve as damning evidence in court later.

“You’re after money too?” Prefect Niu instinctively asked.

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“No, no. My goal is to disrupt the Golden Fortune Auction House’s operations. As for the deceased’s belongings, they’ll all be yours. Simply put, we’ll handle the killings, and you’ll handle stirring up trouble. Ideally, we’d shut the auction house down entirely,” Immortal Huo laid out his plan.

“If you want the Golden Fortune Auction House gone, why not just target that female manager directly? Kill her, kidnap her—why involve me?” Governor Niu questioned, puzzled.

“A high-ranking prefect actually advising criminals, this alone is enough to have him beheaded!” Qi Huang gritted her teeth silently.

“Obviously, if we could deal with her directly, we wouldn’t need you!” Immortal Huo retorted impatiently.

“No. I refuse to engage in such acts again!” Prefect Niu shook his head firmly.

“Huh? Has this man truly turned over a new leaf?” Qi Huang was taken aback. If he had genuinely reformed, she wasn’t sure if she should still take action against him.

“Why? Surely Governor Niu doesn’t think repentance can wash away past sins? The evidence of your conspiracy with Duan Feng is solid, Constable Peng has plenty of it!” Immortal Huo threatened.

“What do you know? That female manager has a friend—someone close to Qi Huang, the Qi Huang of the Honghua Sect! Last time, I merely sent Constable Peng to retrieve some belongings, and I nearly lost my life in the process. Do you think he lost his position for no reason?” Prefect Niu revealed the truth, clearly terrified of Qi Huang’s “tyrannical influence”.

“Qi Huang? You mean that imperial consort personally selected by His Majesty? Why would someone close to her get involved?” Immortal Huo was baffled.

“How should I know? But if you value your life, stay away from the Golden Fortune Auction House!” Prefect Niu warned.

“Tch. A governor, afraid of a mere imperial consort?” Immortal Huo sneered.

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“What do you know? Any woman personally chosen by the Emperor is likely to become the Empress!” Governor Niu snapped, exasperated.

“But I also know that nine out of ten never make it to the palace alive. The current Emperor has been on the throne for thirty or forty years, he’s selected at least four or five by now. How many have survived to enter the palace?” Immortal Huo countered, clearly well-informed.

“I still won’t take the risk!” Governor Niu remained unmoved.

Immortal Huo pondered briefly before proposing, “How about this? The selected consorts are set to depart for the capital on the first of next month. If she actually steps into the palace gates, I won’t press you further. But if she dies before then, we proceed with our collaboration. As a bonus, I’ll even throw in a life-extending pill from the immortal sects, it can give you an extra year or two when your time comes. Even in the cultivation world, this is a priceless treasure. What do you say?”

Prefect Niu’s beady eyes shifted. He made his decision quickly. “Fine. I agree!”

“A dog can’t stop eating trash. I shouldn’t have held any hope for you!” Qi Huang cursed inwardly, her teeth clenched.

“Excellent! Then it’s settled.” Immortal Huo was pleased. He turned to leave, but his gaze lingered on the three women in the room.

“Governor Niu, they’ve overheard our conversation. Can they be trusted? Should I help you… deal with them?” he offered kindly.

“This is my wife, of course she’s trustworthy. As for them, they’re my personal maidservants. They’re reliable too!” Governor Niu hurriedly explained.

“Governor Niu, such a romantic. Very well, I won’t interfere.” Immortal Huo chuckled meaningfully before leaving the government office with his lackeys.

Qi Huang withdrew her qi, ending the recording. A satisfied smile curled her lips. This footage alone would be enough to have Governor Niu executed ten times over.

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Truthfully, with Qi Huang’s strength, she could easily eliminate Prefect Niu without a trace. But that would defeat the purpose of setting an example. She wanted to eradicate all corrupt officials, not just Governor Niu. Only by letting the law deliver justice could she truly “kill the chicken to scare the monkeys”.

After leaving the government office, Immortal Huo and his group made their way down the deserted streets toward their inn.

“Immortal Huo, do you really think Prefect Niu will cooperate with us?” one of his companions asked uneasily.

“Haven’t you heard the saying? ‘A dog can’t stop eating trash.’ Once Qi Huang is dead and he no longer has anything to fear, he’d probably go after the Golden Fortune Auction House even without us!” Immortal Huo declared confidently. Then he added, “Besides, we have leverage over him. He wouldn’t dare refuse.”

“What leverage? You mean his past crimes? But we don’t actually have evidence…” the lackey said, confused.

“We don’t. But he doesn’t know that,” Immortal Huo replied coldly.

“Immortal Huo is right. All we need to do is wait for Qi Huang to die, and everything will fall into place!” another lackey chimed in.

“But will Qi Huang die? She’s not like the previous imperial consorts, she’s a cultivator, and her main body is the infamous Fairy Hongling.”

“‘Long nights invite many dreams.’ Why don’t we just kill Qi Huang ourselves?”

“Yeah! Leaving it to chance means leaving our fate in someone else’s hands. Who knows if anyone will actually go after her?”

The rest of the group grew restless, eager to act.

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“The problem is Cheng Hongling is at the Incarnation Realm. How do we kill her? We might end up losing the rice while trying to steal the chicken!” Immortal Huo spread his hands helplessly.

“Cheng Hongling is an Incarnation Realm cultivator, but Qi Huang might not be. I heard Elder Zhou from the Huxiao Sect tested her, she’s only at the Spirit Gathering Realm!”

“Spirit Gathering Realm? Then crushing her would be easier than squashing an ant!”

“Then let’s move fast. The sooner we kill Qi Huang, the sooner we get paid. I still need to return to the capital and buy Xiao Mei’s freedom from the Hundred Flowers Pavilion. If someone else gets to Qi Huang first, what then?”

The group grew excited. Having traveled thousands of miles to Yongning Province, it was understandable they didn’t know Qi Huang’s true strength. After all, most who had seen her “perform” had paid for it with their lives.

“If that’s the case, then we can give it a try. The main body and the doppelgänger can’t stay together all the time. We’ll find an opportunity!” Immortal Huo stroked his chin, muttering to himself.

“No need for you to trouble yourselves!”

Just then, a hoarse voice cut through the night.

“Who’s there?!”

The group paled, immediately drawing their weapons in alarm.