Chapter 373 - 364: Second Uncle

Chapter 373: Chapter 364: Second Uncle

The man continued cursing, "The old man isn’t even dead yet, and those bastards are already starting to make their moves.

I’ve been in Feng’an for less than a year, and I don’t have any connections within the major Northern warlord factions.

If I don’t come up with something, I’m afraid I’ll be the first one kicked out of the game..."

He paused, then asked the Deputy Officer beside him, "Any word from Pozhou recently?"

The Deputy Officer shook his head. "Young Master Wu is following your orders, pretending to have been bought out by that Han fellow. Perhaps the time isn’t right yet, so there’s been no movement on that front..."

"Hmph!"

The man sneered and said flatly, "Send a few more men to keep an eye on him.

That kid is a born traitor. He might just turn this act into reality and look for a chance to poison my soup..."

The Deputy Officer’s expression turned grim, and he quickly nodded in agreement.

The troop of men swaggered forward. They didn’t stop at checkpoints, simply aiming their guns and pushing their way straight into the inner city.

They finally stopped on a brightly lit main street, in front of a magnificent, glittering tower.

The fully armed men drew the attention of the Nine Banners nobles in front of the Moon Embracing Tower, but it didn’t cause a major stir.

The Nine Banners and the Northern Army Group had always been on good terms. The major warlord factions from the North were frequent visitors to Yingjing. It was just that this newcomer looked unfamiliar, and no one knew which bigshot marshal he was.

The man dismounted, ignoring the curious and probing gazes around him. He glanced up at the Moon Embracing Tower’s sign, smiled, and strode inside.

...

Moon Embracing Tower, eighth floor.

Fu Juemin watched the girl in the black dress bustling about in front of him, deliberately revealing the pale white skin of her chest and arms. He spoke flatly,

"So, the Prince means that the Royal Banner and the relics now plan to open the Qianming Armory, retrieve the remaining Heirloom Magical Artifacts, and conduct a second Magic Sacrifice?"

Helu sat in the main seat of honor, attended by two girls. He closed his eyes, sniffing the Soul Fragrance before him, a look of rapture on his face. "The Lushan Martial Arts Library was commissioned by Emperor Qianming during his reign.

After Emperor Qianming ascended, this Armory became the Mausoleum of Emperor Wu.

The mausoleum contains a vast collection of rare treasures, Alchemy Dao Scriptures, and Martial Arts Secret Manuals gathered by Emperor Qianming during his reign... This time, they claim they’re opening the mausoleum to retrieve the Heirloom Magical Artifacts and restart the second Magic Sacrifice, but the way I see it..."

Helu slowly opened his eyes and sneered. "It’s just those undying old fools coveting what’s inside and looking for an excuse to take it."

"After all these years of continuous Magic Sacrifices to restore the National Fortune, the Wuhuan Jin Clan’s coffers must be nearly empty.

If they don’t open the Mausoleum of Emperor Wu and find a way to borrow from their ancestors, I’m afraid their position as the Royal Banner will be at risk..."

Helu spoke with disdain, as if his Profound Banner Helers weren’t part of the Nine Banners at all.

Through his many dealings with Helu, Fu Juemin had faintly discerned that Helu didn’t seem to hold much hope for a restoration. His greatest obsession was simply the "imperial throne" itself, and the matter of the Profound Banner replacing the Golden Rice Yellow Banner to become the Top Royal Banner.

’But it made sense when you thought about it.’ With war raging everywhere, foreign powers encroaching, and new factions popping up one after another.

’Anyone with a bit of insight could see that no matter who ended up ruling the world, it would never be their turn—a bunch of remnants from a fallen dynasty.’

’Carving out his own territory and acting as a "Venerable Emperor" within the small confines of Yingjing... that ambition didn’t seem so wrong.’

"Does the Prince know which Heirloom Magical Artifacts are hidden within the Lushan Martial Arts Library?"

Fu Juemin asked after a moment of thought.

Helu’s expression was neutral as he spoke. "Back then, Emperor Qianming gathered twelve Heirloom Magical Artifacts and, on Jiwei Mountain, used their power for his Ascension by Raising the Clouds.

The descendants of the Wuhuan Jin Clan established the Mausoleum of Emperor Wu as a cenotaph for Qianming. They claim that nine of the twelve artifacts were interred with him, but in reality, half of the twelve were lost on the way back from Jiwei Mountain. After arriving in the capital, we, the Upper Three Banners, each kept one. I’d guess... there are only one or two left in the mausoleum.

As for which two they are, I am not sure..."

’Emperor Qianming used the power of twelve magical artifacts on Jiwei Mountain for his Ascension by Raising the Clouds...’

Fu Juemin was stunned when he heard this.

He remembered the commonly circulated version of the story: Emperor Qianming had gone missing on Jiwei Mountain while seeking the path of the immortals!

But in Helu’s telling, it became an Ascension by Raising the Clouds. How could the two versions be so different?

Helu’s attitude toward the Golden Rice King Banner had always been to denigrate it whenever possible. From his expression, it seemed the latter version was already some kind of indisputable fact.

’Could it be that Emperor Qianming really succeeded in his quest for immortality?!’

For a moment, Fu Juemin’s mind reeled with doubt.

Just then, Helu turned his gaze to him and said slowly, "This matter is of great importance. The Royal Banner and the Upper Three Banners will all be sending representatives.

Ghost Dragon cannot leave my side, so I can only send you this time.

Just like with the last Grand Sacrifice, you should know what to do?"

Fu Juemin nodded slightly.

’The Qianming Armory might contain the last of the Four Great Marvels of Celestial Blessing, the Bodhi Golden Body Formula.’ Even if Helu hadn’t said anything, he would have gone anyway.

And now that he had a legitimate excuse to cause trouble for the Nine Banners, he certainly wouldn’t miss it.

Perhaps seeing Fu Juemin’s compliant attitude, Helu was quite satisfied and continued speaking with him in a gentle tone for a while.

He mentioned a few important figures who might be going to the Lushan Martial Arts Library and whom Fu Juemin should watch out for. The main one was Wei Jie, who came from the Purple Banner and was highly regarded by the Royal Banner.

This Wei Jie was very likely to be the leader of the Nine Banners’ expedition to the Armory. Originally, there was supposed to be Tu Kedi from the Red Banner as well, but that fellow was already dead...

The relationships between the Nine Banners were currently quite complex. Any discerning person could see that the Profound Banner was wildly ambitious and sought to replace the Yellow Banner.

The Golden Rice King Banner was naturally aware of this, but unfortunately, the current generation of the Wuhuan Jin Clan was dwindling. They knew of Helu’s wolfish ambition but were powerless to suppress it. Publicly, they were unable—and did not dare—to have a complete falling-out with the Profound Banner.

The Lower Five Banners were mostly fence-sitters, wavering indecisively. The Red Banner, meanwhile, maintained an ambiguous, wait-and-see attitude.

As for those absolutely loyal to the Royal Banner, aside from a bunch of undying old relics from the former dynasty who had nothing but seniority and big talk, the only faction that could truly stand up and challenge the Profound Banner on behalf of the Royal Banner was the Purple Banner.

"National Preceptor Sang Luo is a bit more troublesome..."

As Helu said this, a hint of fear unconsciously entered his eyes, but he continued in a flat tone, "However, that man is a Royal Banner Tributor. All he seeks is the legendary Celestial Human Dao. His mind is filled with nothing but attaining the Dao and ascending, just like Emperor Qianming...

It doesn’t matter to him who sits in the position of the Royal Banner. The last time he sent people after you, it was probably just because you aren’t one of the Nine Banners."

Fu Juemin’s eyes flickered upon hearing this, but he said nothing.

As the two were talking, a subordinate hurried in to report.

"Prince, the person has arrived."

Hearing this, Helu’s eyes instantly lit up.

"In a moment, I will introduce you to a friend. He’s the big shot from the Northern Army I mentioned before."

Helu said to Fu Juemin with a smile, "His surname is Zhang, and his given name is Guoping.

He is the adopted son of Zhang Wanqiao, the grand marshal of the Northern Feng’an Army, and one of the famous Young Marshals of Feng’an..."

"Zhang Guoping?"

Hearing the name, Fu Juemin’s expression shifted slightly, and he couldn’t help but blink.

Before they could finish, the sound of military boots stomping on the floor came from behind the curtain outside the hall, accompanied by a booming laugh.

"Prince Lv, it’s been a while!"

Hearing this voice, Fu Juemin’s hand, which was resting lightly on his chair, trembled slightly.

He looked toward the screen with an indescribably peculiar feeling.

A few seconds later, a figure that was familiar yet somehow strange finally appeared before his eyes.

.....

「Ten minutes later.」

BANG!

A crisp gunshot echoed from the eighth floor of the Moon Embracing Tower.

The gunshot momentarily silenced the noise from the floors below.

A moment later, a handsome young master in a cloud-patterned white shirt emerged from the Moon Embracing Tower with a blank expression. He got into a conspicuous platinum-colored Western car at the entrance and sped away.

Not long after, a coarse-featured middle-aged man in a blue marshal’s uniform also came out, cursing under his breath. He shoved the pistol in his hand into his waistband, mounted his horse, and galloped away.

The scene of the two parting on bad terms immediately sparked a great deal of suspicion and speculation among the Nine Banners nobles inside the Moon Embracing Tower.

On the eighth floor, Helu and Ghost Dragon stood at the window, watching the two parties depart in different directions.

"Prince, those two truly have clashing personalities. They are fundamentally incompatible.

I saw that Fu Lingjun wanted to strike several times just now. He only held back out of respect for you, Prince..."

Ghost Dragon said in a raspy voice.

Helu, however, laughed instead of showing concern. "It’s good that they don’t get along," he said softly.

Their incompatibility is what puts my mind at ease.

Neither of them are Manchus. If they had hit it off like old friends, then I would be the one losing sleep at night."

With that, Helu turned around with a smile and sat back down at the table, his expression once again calm and unconcerned.

What a pity that Helu didn’t know.

「Just half an hour later.」

In an inconspicuous little inn in the Yingjing Outer City.

In a room on the second floor, the middle-aged warlord, his gun belt unfastened and his military uniform open, was gleefully pouring wine into two bowls, a full table of hot dishes spread before him.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK—

A knock came at the door.

The man strode forward and pulled the door open with both hands.

Standing outside was a handsome young man with a smile in his eyes. The moment he saw the man, he called out affectionately, "Second Uncle!"

"Ayyy~"

The man drew out the sound, overjoyed as he quickly pulled the young man inside.

In the entire world, the only ones who could understand each other with a single glance, without needing to speak, and who could cooperate to stage such a convincing play of animosity in front of Helu, were this very uncle and nephew from the Luan River Fu Family.