Volume 9, Chapter 606 – Massacre Unleashed (Part 2)

In the Imperial Palace’s Royal Garden, Lin Tu was leisurely admiring the flowers. Just the thought that, once this plan succeeded, his longstanding troubles would finally be resolved put him in a particularly good mood.

Chief Steward Zhong, however, followed beside him with a somewhat absent-minded expression.

“You all stay here and wait!”

Lin Tu suddenly ordered the guards behind him.

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

The guards obediently remained where they were.

Lin Tu walked forward with Chief Steward Zhong at his side. After a short while, he couldn’t help but impatiently ask, “Chief Steward Zhong, several days have passed now. What’s the situation in Huangtian County? Didn’t you send people to investigate? By now, it should already be a living hell, shouldn’t it?”

“This…”

Chief Steward Zhong’s expression darkened, and he nearly burst into tears.

“What’s wrong?”

Lin Tu stopped in his tracks, his brows furrowing unhappily.

“Your Majesty,” Chief Steward Zhong carefully reported, “our men replied that Honghua Sect has spread word claiming they’ve resolved the source of the yin energy at Pingshan Mass Burial Ground.”

“They ‘claim’ to have resolved it and that’s supposed to be enough?! Are the men you sent a bunch of useless drunkards? Couldn’t they verify it themselves?”

Lin Tu’s face grew darker by the second.

“Y-Your Majesty… over the past few days, the yin energy in Huangtian County has… gradually decreased. Each day has been bright and sunny, almost like the imperial capital itself… This humble servant fears our plan has failed!”

Chief Steward Zhong forced the words out, his voice trembling.

“What? Say that again!”

Lin Tu’s voice suddenly rose sharply, his anger flaring.

Rеαd on KαtReаⅾinɡСafе

“Forgive me, Your Majesty! Forgive me! It is this old servant’s incompetence!”

Terrified, Chief Steward Zhong fell to his knees with a thud.

“You are incompetent! We take back everything We said before!”

Lin Tu cursed and demanded, “Didn’t you say the Source of Yin Miasma was extremely powerful? How did Honghua Sect resolve it?”

“Our scouts reported that Cheng Hongling and her doppelgänger handled it… as for the specifics, this old servant doesn’t know.”

“Useless!”

The more Lin Tu thought about it, the angrier he became. He kicked Chief Steward Zhong hard, sending him sprawling to the ground.

“Spare me, Your Majesty! Spare me!”

Chief Steward Zhong scrambled up, knocking his head repeatedly against the ground in desperation.

“How did Cheng Hongling even manage it? Could she really defeat the Source of Yin Miasma?”

Lin Tu ignored the old eunuch’s pleas, muttering to himself, “Forget it… since this plan failed, We will just have to come up with another.”

“Yes, yes, Your Majesty is wise! Huangtian County is such a small place. If you wish it wiped off the map, there are many ways to do it. We can try again!”

Chief Steward Zhong quickly flattered him.

“Unfortunately for you, I’m afraid you won’t get the chance.”

At that moment, a crisp, familiar female voice drifted over.

“Who’s there?”

Chief Steward Zhong instantly leapt to his feet, placing himself protectively in front of Lin Tu.

“It’s only been a year or two since we last met, and you’ve already forgotten me? My, how quickly you people forget!”

Rеаԁ oո КαtRеaԁіոɡСаfе

Before her words had even fully landed, Qi Huang appeared ghostlike beside them.

Chief Steward Zhong’s face drained of color. He tried to strike first, but found himself completely immobilized, her Divine Sense had already locked onto him, leaving him unable to move a muscle.

Lin Tu fared even worse. His legs gave out, and he collapsed heavily to the ground, his knees hitting the floor with a crack, the sound of bones fracturing. His vision went black, and though he tried to cry out for help, he found he couldn’t even open his mouth.

‘Why… why didn’t I tell the guards to stay behind?’

Regret flooded Lin Tu’s heart. Even though he knew those guards would’ve been slaughtered instantly, at least they could’ve bought him a little time, even the smallest delay would have helped.

“Lin Tu, oh Lin Tu… I was already tempted to kill you over the matter of appointing Imperial Consorts. But later, for the Sixth Princess’s sake, I spared your worthless life. And yet you’ve learned nothing! You’ve gone so far as to try using evil spirits to wipe out all of Huangtian County, and worse still, you’re exploiting war to persecute countless innocent men. If I let you stay on the throne, the entire Western Radiance Dynasty will never see peace!”

Qi Huang’s tone was heavy with disappointment, but her expression suddenly hardened. “Since that’s the case, let’s find ourselves a new emperor.”

The moment she finished speaking, the Cicada Wing Sword in her hand flashed like lightning and vanished, soaring skyward the next instant.

By the time Qi Huang flew off into the distance, Lin Tu’s and Chief Steward Zhong’s heads tumbled from their necks. Though both were martial artists, their souls were pitifully weak. In the imperial capital, where yang energy was abundant, their spirits were instantly crushed by the Heavenly Dao.

“I… Lin Tu… an emperor of a mighty dynasty… dying at the hands of some wretched woman… I refuse… to accept this…!”

Even as his soul scattered into nothingness, Lin Tu’s bitter roar echoed faintly.

“Sixth Princess, I’m sorry. For the sake of the people, your father… had to die.”

Qi Huang sighed inwardly. She had some personal ties with Lin Ran, but she understood the greater good came first.

Descending into a remote alley, Qi Huang entered a small tailor shop. Now that the killing was done, it was time to focus on more pressing matters, like planting her crops.

She bought a roughly fitting set of men’s clothes, then headed to an inn to disguise herself. Before long, she stepped back out wearing a wide-brimmed bamboo hat and a mask, dousing herself with cheap, overpowering perfume to mask the faint fragrance of the Golden Fate Blossoms on her body.

Qi Huang made her way to the Immortal Alliance’s branch headquarters and told the disciples guarding the gate that she wished to meet Elder Zuo.

“Get lost! Elder Zuo is far too important for just anyone to meet.”

Rеaⅾ oո КatRеаdіnɡСаfe

Unexpectedly, the disciple at the gate rejected her outright.

Qi Huang didn’t argue. She sent her Divine Sense carrying two Ghost Tomato seeds straight into the Immortal Alliance branch.

At that moment, Elder Zuo was inside a greenhouse weeding when, out of nowhere, two Ghost Tomato seeds floated into view. While he was still puzzled, the seeds suddenly drifted away again.

After a moment’s thought, Elder Zuo removed his outer robe and quietly followed. Soon, he met Qi Huang in a secluded alley.

“Who are you? Why lure me here?”

Elder Zuo’s face was guarded as he questioned her.

“Trade.”

Qi Huang shook the Ghost Tomato seeds in her hand and rasped in a hoarse voice, “I’ve got plenty more where these came from. Elder Zuo, I think you’d be… very interested.”

“Nonsense! Those are forbidden by the Immortal Alliance. How could I possibly be interested in such poison?”

Elder Zuo immediately denied it.

“Come now, Elder Zuo, no need to pretend. There are thousands of Ghost Tomato plants growing inside the Immortal Alliance’s main headquarters. If you weren’t interested, why plant so many?”

Qi Huang teased lightly.

“How do you know about that?”

Elder Zuo’s expression shifted instantly, his eyes flashing with killing intent as he lunged forward. His sharp right hand sliced through the air, reaching straight for Qi Huang’s slender neck.

But Qi Huang vanished like a ghost and reappeared behind him, her voice cool and mocking: “So quick to attack, is Elder Zuo trying to silence me? Or perhaps… kill me and take the goods?”

Elder Zuo’s fury exploded. His Divine Sense, at the second level of the Divine Realm, surged out, pressing down on Qi Huang like a tidal wave. The ground sank by nearly a foot, spreading cracks in every direction as the abandoned houses lining the alley crumbled under the pressure.

Qi Huang, however, stood calmly amidst the chaos, her voice dripping with scorn: “With that level of power, you think you can rob me?”

Elder Zuo’s face turned pale with shock. In the entire Western Radiance Dynasty, only Ye Donglai’s cultivation surpassed his own slightly. Yet this mysterious person before him clearly wasn’t Ye Donglai. Just who was ‘he’?

Rеаⅾ оո ΚαtReαⅾіոgCαfe

“What exactly do you want?”

After a long silence, Elder Zuo finally asked cautiously.

“Didn’t I say already? I want to make a deal. I have a large stock of Ghost Tomato seeds. Elder Zuo, surely you’re interested.”

Qi Huang repeated patiently. If this old man weren’t still useful, she would’ve killed him with a single finger by now.

Elder Zuo drew a deep breath, steadying himself before asking, “And what price are you asking?”

“Twenty-five taels of silver per seed.”

Qi Huang named her price without hesitation.

“What?! Are you joking? Even a fully matured Ghost Tomato only sells for thirty taels! Go ask the Golden Fortune Auction House in Yongning Prefecture if you don’t believe me.”

Elder Zuo’s voice rose in disbelief, feeling like she was making a fool of him.

“Then there’s still a five-tael profit on each one, isn’t there?”

Qi Huang replied indifferently.

“Five taels of silver?”

Elder Zuo let out a cold laugh. “First of all, there’s no guarantee these will grow successfully. Second, this stuff is classified as poison. The costs of cultivation, storage, and transport are all outrageous. After deducting those, how much do you think I’d actually earn?”

“What if I told you I have… hundreds of thousands of seeds?”

Qi Huang revealed calmly.

“What? Say that again… how many?!”

Elder Zuo stood frozen, utterly stunned.