Stranger Danger

Chapter 400: Hidden Dragon Meet

Chapter 400: Hidden Dragon Meet

“He was, but no longer,” Ye Qing replied.

“Cut the bullshit and just give it to me straight!”

Hong Jianglong’s voice grew harsh. “Are you aware that anyone who colluded with the Thirteen Brigands will be sentenced to death? The Pacification Bureau may be open to drastic measures from time to time, but we will never tolerate a monstrous, vile criminal like him in our ranks. If you cannot give me a proper explanation, then I will have to mete out the appropriate punishment as our law dictates!”

“Don’t worry, my lord. I know what is right and what is wrong. I will never collude with a criminal who is heinous beyond any redemption.” Ye Qing turned serious and began telling his story. “It’s like this...”

Ye Qing told Hong Jianglong about the Yin Market, the Ghost Tower, and Chen Ah Sheng. He even told him how he offended Chu Wangsun because he trusted Hong Jianglong to keep a secret.

But of course, he didn’t tell Hong Jianglong about the Dark Overlord Token because that would kill him.

“You’re... quite the troublemaker, aren’t you?” Hong Jianglong remarked with a complicated expression after Ye Qing had finally reached the end of the story. In half a month’s time, the young man had punched the Eight Legions in the eye, kicked the Ghost Tower in the butt, pissed on Mister Nine’s dignity, and shat on the Thirteen Brigands’ face. Oh, and let’s not forget that he had offended the Intelligence Department as well.

If he added the Nether Lord[1] and the Way of Taiping into the mix as well, then that was almost half of Chu’s jianghu.

It was one thing if the factions he offended were inferior and insignificant, but no, each one was scarier than the last.

Even scarier was the fact that Ye Qing was still alive. No one could chalk it up as luck at this point.

“It’s really just a series of unfortunate accidents.” Ye Qing rubbed his nose with a sigh of frustration. He wanted to lead a quiet life killing Strangers, training martial arts, and discussing the intricacies of life with a pretty girl as well, but trouble just wouldn’t stop barging through his doors, windows, and even mice holes. What could he do? Give up and wait for death to claim him?

“Hmph! Most people wouldn’t encounter so many ‘accidents’ their whole lives even if they tried, you know that?” Hong Jianglong snorted. “What are you going to do now? By killing Chen Ah Sheng, you’ve eliminated the Chaos Heaven Brigands as well. If you report your achievement, you should be able to rise at least two or three ranks.”

“Forget it. All I ask is that you keep this a secret.”Ye Qing shook his head.

“Heh. Good to see that you haven’t let fame and glory blind you.” Hong Jianglong nodded in approval. “Fame and glory are like houses suspended in the air. They will fall and crush you if not supported by an unbreakable amount of strength. Be it in the court or the jianghu, there are countless people who lost their lives and future for fame and glory.”

“If it was me, forget killing Chen Ah Sheng, I could annihilate the Way of Taiping itself, and no one would dare to say a thing about it. But not you. Right now, such an achievement would only earn you death, and the knife might even not come from the front.”

“Nothing is more important than strength, understand?”

“I understand, my lord. Thank you for your guidance,” Ye Qing thanked Hong Jianglong, though his expression was a little strange. It was because he felt like the Pacification Commissioner was boasting even though he was telling the truth. Annihilate the Way of Taiping? Why not say you’re going to dominate the Nine Heavens as well?

“Good.” Hong Jianglong smiled. “That said, the Pacification Bureau isn’t a place that doesn’t reward hard work. I may not be able to grant you a higher rank, but I can reward you with Strange Artifacts, pills, martial arts, magics and more. Just tell me what you want.”

“Thank you, my lord!” Ye Qing exclaimed in pleasant surprise. “In that case... Can I enter the Martial Tower again?”

Ye Qing considered what he wanted carefully. He had an abundant number of martial arts and Strange Artifacts. He also didn’t need pills thanks to the Water of Life. The only thing he really needed was time.

Technically, Nanke was all the time he needed, but the Martial Tower was obviously the safer and more convenient solution.

“You wish to enter the Martial Tower?” Hong Jianglong shot Ye Qing a meaningful look before smiling. “It looks like you have plenty of good stuff on your person. That’s good though. Strange Artifacts are ultimately external power. It will never be as reliable as your own strength and power.”

“I must warn you though. You’ll only get a few days in the Martial Tower since the Hidden Dragon Meet is soon to begin. Is that okay with you?”

“It is. Please,” Ye Qing replied without any hesitation.

“Good. I will make the arrangements as soon as we return to the headquarters.” Hong Jianglong nodded.

“Oh right, do you know why Lord Lei didn’t expose Chen Ah Sheng even though he recognized him, my lord?” Ye Qing suddenly recalled what happened earlier and asked curiously.

“Lei Xiaodan is a man of his name, you see. Careful to the point of cowardice, he does not act unless he’s one hundred percent certain about his chances. Although he recognized Chen Ah Sheng, he didn’t know why the guy was with you. That is why he decided to hold back.”

Hong Jianglong added, “You must be careful of him though. He might look harmless and even obsequious on the outside, but in reality he is a cunning and ruthless bastard. If he doesn’t act, then all is well. If he does act, then you most likely wouldn’t live to see tomorrow’s sun.”

“Would he try and start something with Chen Ah Sheng in the future?” Ye Qing asked worriedly.

Hong Jianglong shook his head. “You don’t need to worry about that. Lei Xiaodan may be devious, but he’s surprisingly good at keeping promises. Since he promised that this is the end of the incident, he won’t bring up Chen Ah Sheng again.”

“But of course, this isn’t an excuse not to prepare against betrayal. I will prepare Chen Ah Sheng a proper identity when we get back.”

Pleasantly surprised, Chen Wuxin hurriedly bowed in Hong Jianglong’s direction and thanked him profusely, “Thank you, my lord! I won’t forget what you did for me!”

Hong Jianglong looked at Chen Wuxin and said, “You are a ghost, and we are humans. Normally, I would kill you as soon as I lay my eyes on you. But since you helped Joyless, I can let you live.”

“But now that you’re a human, you best act like one. If you dare to flout the law, commit crimes, and conspire against humanity, then I will ensure that you will never get a second chance in anything.”

“I understand, my lord! I swear I will become a law-abiding and helpful citizen of humanity!” Chen Wuxin declared while patting his chest.

Hong Jianglong knew better than to take Chen Wuxin’s promise seriously, of course. He simply said, “Protect Joyless well.”

Chen Wuxin guffawed. “Brother Ye and I have been like brothers from the moment we first met. Of course I will protect him to the best of my abilities!”

Brothers my ass. More like fake brothers! Ye Qing rolled his eyes mentally.

“Oh right, I almost forgot. You should watch out for Chu Renhe and Tong Zhen, that midget as well, Joyless.” Hong Jianglong looked at Ye Qing and said seriously, “Its easy to stand before the King of Hell, but not so easy to handle the smaller demons. Lei Xiaodan wouldn’t lower himself to attack you, but neither Chu Renhe nor Tong Zhen are broad-minded, tolerant people. Beware of them.”

“I will.”

Ye Qing nodded. Hong Jianglong’s warning was really unnecessary because he was already on guard against them. In fact, he wasn’t really worried about them because both of them seemed to have shit for brains. No, the one he was really worried about was Chu Wangsun.

First Chu Wangsun, now Chu Renhe. How troublesome.

Oh well. I hope I’ll overcome this just like I overcome my past tribulations.

......

June sixth, the Tiankuang Festival.

Every sixth of June, the people celebrated the Tiankuang Festival. During the reign of Emperor Zhen Zong, he dreamed of receiving nine scriptures from heaven which showed "a wise ruler, an enlightened emperor could govern the country and bring peace to everyone". The emperor then set the day he received this sacred revelation to be a holiday and built the Tiankuang Hall to commemorate it.

Over time, the Tiankuang Festival became a longtime tradition that everyone in the realm celebrated. Every sixth of June, they would eat food made from wheat flour and syrup believing that it would bless them with good health and well-being. Some places would even organize all kinds of celebratory events. It was quite wonderful.

The Tiankuang Festival wasn’t celebrated this year, however. Or rather, it was celebrated less because the triennial Hidden Dragon Meet would take place on the same day.

The Hidden Dragon Meet would be held at Flying Dragon Mount, and it was already jam-packed with people first thing in the morning.

The meet wasn’t held in the city of Tian Yong as a matter of course. More famous than even the triennial prefectural exam, countless people traveled from all across the world to witness the next rising stars and possible entrants of the Jixia Academy. It couldn’t be held in the city because the city couldn’t accommodate this many people.

Flying Dragon Mount was a massive mountain about four hundred meters tall. It was quite dangerous not just because of its steep terrain, but also because it was shrouded by clouds all year long.

The reason Flying Dragon Mount was given its name was because it was a precipitous straight line from the bottom all the way to the top, giving it the appearance of a dragon that was about to soar to the heavens. Besides that, people used to imagine that its deep, seemingly bottomless ravines were the lair of dragons, and that they would one day emerge from their hideout and astound the world.

The first stage of the competition was very simple. The participants were requested to scale the mountains in twelve hours. Anyone who reached the peak during this time would advance to the next stage.

The second stage of the competition was even simpler. The surviving participants would duel each other in the Hidden Dragon Arena to decide a champion. The top three participants would receive a generous reward and be renowned throughout the world.

The peak of the Flying Dragon Mount was perfectly flat and smooth like someone had cut it off with a sword. At the center of the massive platform was a square-shaped hole surrounded by complex and mysterious runes.

A number of small kiosks surrounded the platform, and each kiosk were occupied by one or two people.

The spectators would quake in their boots if they could see the occupants. It was because everyone in the kiosk was a famous, influential person in Tian Yong. For example, there was Hong Jianglong, the Pacification Commissioner of the North; Lei Xiaodan, the Judicial Commissioner of the Tian Yong Intelligence Department, Mr. Nine, the ninth disciple of the Chief Libationist of the Jixia Academy, the Harmony King and his crown prince, an imperial envoy specifically dispatched to attend the Hidden Dragon Meet, Song Xilai of Purity Sword and more.

“It’s almost time. Shall we begin now?” A handsome, awe-inspiring man wearing long robes asked.

The man had an intimidating appearance, but he carried himself like iris and orchid, elegant and welcoming, and spoke in a gentle and refined manner that invoked a favorable impression instead of fear.

The speaker was the imperial envoy dispatched by the imperial court to attend the Hidden Dragon Meet. The original purpose of the Hidden Dragon Meet was to unearth and recruit hidden talents into the ranks of Chu after all. Even if the current court might think otherwise, they couldn’t possibly ignore it altogether.

The imperial envoy this time was the eldest son of the Grand Mentor. His name was Fang Muyun. One of the Three Dukes, the Grand Mentor, Fang Zhiyong was famed for his infinite wisdom. He had mentored the current emperor when he was young, eliminated the traitors, purged the relatives who would challenge his claim, and more or less carried him to the throne singlehandedly.

Emperor Jin Run[2] was still young when he took the throne, so he was beset by both internal strife and external conflict. The only reason he wasn’t dethroned prematurely was thanks to Fang Zhiyong somehow pulling off the herculean effort of uniting the realm and repelling the invading forces.

After Emperor Jin Run reached adulthood, Fang Zhiyong returned the power vested in him to the emperor without any reservation whatsoever. He knew the dangers of being more powerful and accomplished than your liege after all. He himself returned to his hometown to retire in peace—or at least he tried to, but was stopped by the emperor himself on account of everything he had done for him.

Fang Zhiyong had no choice but to obey, but he still excused himself from all court matters using his age as the excuse and opened a school instead. He would teach many students and nurture many talents for the imperial court.

Fang Muyun was somewhat famous for his age, but his ambitions lay not in becoming an official or entering the imperial court. Instead, he assisted his father in putting the school into order and teaching the students. Over time, he came to be known as Mister Farseeing.

This was why Fang Muyun was considered to be loftier and more important than most imperial officials despite not being one himself.

“What do you say, Lord Hong?” Fang Muyun looked to Hong Jianglong for approval.

“It is time. What do you say, Mister Nine?” Hong Jjianglong looked at Chu Wangsun, who was sitting next to Fang Muyun. Fang Muyun had studied under the Jixia Academy and the Chief Libationist before. Although he hadn’t become the Chief Libationist’s disciple, they treated each other as fellow disciples.

“Let’s begin,” Chu Wangsun replied indifferently, eyes firmly affixed to his books.

1. Evergreen Ivy’s boss if you guys forgot ?

2. Not to be confused with the other Emperor Jin Run, who... so happened to experience more or less the same problem as the first Emperor Jin Run. ?