Chapter 178 One Woman and Two Men, One Nun and Two Laywomen
Imperial ambitions and conquests were ultimately just a dream!
Actually, this statement varies from person to person.
For Zhu Wushi, this statement was absolutely correct.
Because he was unlucky and met Li Yao.
However, for Li Yao, this statement was completely wrong.
However, Li Yao had already been emperor twice and had long lost interest in imperial ambitions.
His greatest interest is still constantly improving his skills and pursuing a higher realm of martial arts.
Cao Zhengchun is dead.
Zhu Wushi also died.
Emperor Zhengde pardoned the ten generals and the civil and military officials of the court.
After all, they were coerced by Zhu Wushi and forced to submit to him.
However, Zhengde still punished them slightly, ordering them to have their salaries reduced for a year as a warning.
Originally, Emperor Zhengde wanted to reward Li Yao, but Li Yao refused.
For Li Yao, wealth was like dirt, and fame was like fleeting clouds.
What he truly cares about is the highest realm of martial arts.
The capital city has finally settled down.
×××
On the official road leading to Henan, two people on two horses sped past like lightning.
These two are Li Yao and Shangguan Haitang.
After Zhu Wushi rebelled and was executed by Li Yao, Shangguan Haitang found Li Yao the next day and asked him to help save Guihai Yidao.
Since Guihai Yidao learned the technique of "Dominating the World," especially its final move: "Three Slashes of Avici Road," he has been a master of the technique.
He was then controlled by the negative emotions emanating from his sword, turning him into a murderous maniac.
Guihai Yidao, possessed by demonic possession, went berserk and killed many martial arts practitioners.
Of course, most of them were actually killed by Yagyu Tajima-no-kami, and then the blame was placed on Kikai Itto.
Yagyu Tajima-no-kami was acting under the orders of Zhu Wushi.
Zhu Wushi did this for two reasons.
Firstly, it was to lure Cao Zhengchun's men to capture Guihai Yidao, thereby weakening Cao Zhengchun's power in the capital and lulling him into a false sense of security, so that Cao Zhengchun could be killed in the process.
As expected, Cao Zhengchun fell for the trap and sent a large number of elites to capture Guihai Yidao.
As a result, Cao Zhengchun was caught off guard and was killed by him.
Secondly, it was to distract Duan Tianya and Shangguan Haitang.
These two men had been instilled with the idea of loyalty to the emperor and patriotism since childhood, and now that he was going to rebel, they would definitely oppose him.
Fearing that the two would leak his secrets, he used the matter of Guihai Yidao to transfer them away from the capital.
Originally, Shangguan Haitang and Duan Tianya had already left the capital to search for Guihai Yidao's whereabouts.
As a result, on their way, Shangguan Haitang received a secret letter from Wan Sanqian.
In the secret letter, Wan Sanqian tells Shangguan Haitang that her godfather is preparing to rebel.
Shangguan Haitang and Duan Tianya were taken aback.
However, they did not believe that their adoptive father would rebel.
However, they also knew Wan Sanqian and believed that he wouldn't joke about such a thing.
At the time, they were unsure what exactly happened.
So they discussed and decided to split into two groups.
Duan Tianya continued his search for Guihai Yidao.
Shangguan Haitang then returned to the capital to find out what had happened.
As a result, Shangguan Haitang was disappointed.
Their adoptive father did indeed rebel.
She was taught from a young age to be loyal to the emperor and to love her country.
Therefore, she could not accept her adoptive father's rebellion.
So she assisted Li Yao in rebelling against her adoptive father.
Now that her adoptive father has been executed, the Emperor has handed over the position of head of the Dragon Guard Manor to her.
At the same time, she received the latest intelligence from the Dragon Guard Manor.
They learned that Guihai Yidao had been poisoned and captured by the Witch Gang.
Moreover, members of the righteous martial arts sects such as Shaolin and Emei formed a "Great Alliance of Butchers" to demand that the Witch Clan hand over the Guihai Blade.
After receiving this information, Shangguan Haitang was worried about Guihai Yidao's safety and wanted to rescue him.
However, she worried that the manpower of the Dragon Guard Manor alone would not be enough to rescue Guihai Yidao.
Then she thought of Li Yao.
With Li Yao's skills, he can definitely rescue Gui Haiyidao if he's willing to take action.
So, she found Li Yao.
In fact, Li Yao had long planned to go south to see just how strong Guihai Yidao was in his dominant state.
Even if Shangguan Haitang didn't come looking for him, he still planned to go find Guihai Yidao.
So the two hit it off and headed south together.
During their journey south, they received intelligence that the Shaolin, Emei, and other righteous martial arts sects had obtained the Guihai Yidao from the Wubang.
Because people from all the major sects have died at the hands of Guihai Yidao.
Guihai Yidao is also a secret agent of the Dragon Guard Manor.
They originally planned to escort Guihai Yidao to the capital to seek justice from Tiedan Shenhou.
As a result, the Iron-Blooded Marquis rebelled and was executed.
Left with no other option, they decided to hold a "Butcher's Crackdown" at Shaolin Temple, gathering all the major martial arts sects to publicly try Guihai Yidao.
Nowadays, all the major sects are sending people to Shaolin Temple to participate in the 'Butcher's Cudgel Tournament'.
Upon learning this news, Li Yao and Shangguan Haitang quickened their pace and rushed to Shaolin Temple.
"Hoo..."
Shangguan Haitang reined in her horse, pointed to a market town ahead, and said:
"Lord Li, ahead is Zhulin Town. We will reach Shaolin Temple in another hour."
"However, it is getting late now. Why don't we find an inn in Zhulin Town to rest for the night and head to Shaolin Temple early tomorrow morning?"
Li Yao nodded and said, "Okay!"
So the two rode into the market town.
This market town is very prosperous due to its convenient transportation, and it is even more lively than some county towns.
The two found an inn, handed over the two horses to the innkeeper for safekeeping, and asked the innkeeper for two superior rooms.
Afterwards, the two of them found a seat by the window in the inn, ordered some stir-fried dishes, and began to eat.
Li Yao discovered that there were quite a few martial arts practitioners in the inn.
It seems that all these people have come for the 'Butcher's Party'.
Suddenly, two unusual people entered the inn.
One was a rather handsome man, dressed in white, with a long sword at his waist.
The other was a rather pretty young nun, dressed in monk's robes, with red eyes, looking unwilling.
As soon as the two entered the inn, they attracted the attention of many martial arts practitioners.
The man in white ordered a lot of wine and meat.
While eating meat and drinking alcohol, he kept urging the young nun to eat meat and drink alcohol as well.
The young nun naturally tried her best to refuse, and kept silently chanting "Amitabha" and "forgive me, forgive me."
The man in white grew increasingly excited, seemingly finding it quite amusing to break the young nun's vows.
Just then, another person entered the inn.
This man had sword-like eyebrows and thin lips, and was tall. He was dressed in a blue robe, but it was stained with a lot of blood.
The man approached the white-clad man's table, and without waiting for the man's consent, picked up his wine glass and drank it all in one gulp.
Then, the man in blue poured himself a bowl of wine, raised the bowl to the man in white, and said, "Please!"
Upon seeing this, Li Yao frowned slightly.
This scene looks so familiar, but is the location wrong?
Chapter 179 Castrate Tian Boguang (Bonus chapter for the helmsman 'Like the First Glimpse of the Sun')
One woman and two men, one nun and two laywomen, appeared one after another at the inn.
The mannerisms, actions, and conversations of these three people quickly reminded Li Yao of them.