"Good boy, Yulang. Yulang is very sensible." Su Fuliu reached out and patted Bai Yulang's head.
Bai Yulang looked at him and said, "I don't know if it's because I've gotten used to calling you Brother Liu every day, but I feel like you're my own brother, and I'm getting closer and closer to you."
Su Fuliu smiled slightly: "Then you can treat me as your own brother."
"Okay, sure." Bai Yulang smiled as well.
Inside the palace.
Feng Muting was helping the Emperor with state affairs in the Imperial Study, and it was rare to find the Emperor there as well.
"Father, shouldn't you go and keep Aunt Xu company?"
"I would like to, but she kicked me out, saying that I was always hanging around her and people would talk about me."
"Is Father afraid of what people say?"
"You little brat, how dare you speak to me like that?"
After that, the two got back to their main topic.
"Now that I see you handling state affairs with increasing skill, I am thinking, should I entrust everything to you?" The Emperor looked at his outstanding son, who was now very mature and composed.
"Father, are you planning to skip the step of appointing a crown prince?" Feng Muting asked rhetorically.
"Isn't this the easiest way? I'm getting old and my strength is failing me. Can I wait for you to slowly become the crown prince and then proceed slowly?" the emperor said.
Feng Muting couldn't help but raise an eyebrow: "Your Majesty seems to be in good spirits. Are you sure it's not because of someone that you're neglecting state affairs?"
The Emperor coughed lightly, then reached out and patted his head: "What nonsense are you talking about? Of course I care about the people and the state. I just wanted to give you a chance. What's wrong with you, child? Isn't this exactly what you want?"
Feng Muting scratched the back of his head where he had been patted and replied, "Is Father really at ease?"
"What do I have to worry about? Don't think I don't know. Many of those memorials last time were helped by that little Su. He's no less capable than you. You've found a good treasure. With him assisting you, I feel much more at ease."
The moment Su Fuliu was mentioned, Feng Muting couldn't help but smile: "Aliu is naturally the best."
The Emperor gave him a disdainful look: "Look at how smug you are. By the way, I have news that the Imperial Advisor's family is returning. If we can get the Imperial Advisor's help, I will feel more at ease entrusting everything to you."
Feng Muting frowned slightly: "Does Father really think that Imperial Advisor has any real ability?"
After hearing this, the Emperor sighed softly: "How should I put it? The Imperial Advisor of more than ten years ago was indeed very talented. Perhaps he has aged and his talent has diminished."
Feng Muting laughed and said, "Talent can't be diminished, can it? Shouldn't it become more profound with age?"
"There's nothing we can do about it. We can only pin our hopes on his son. However, his extraordinary talent back then was enough to establish his prestige among the people. Now that he's back, even if he does nothing, as long as he expresses his support for you, it will be enough to stabilize your position."
Feng Muting recalled the Imperial Advisor he had seen when he was a child. He was indeed a very talented and strategic person. However, when he got to know him again after growing up, he found that he was not as profound as before.
He met the Grand Preceptor's son once more, and he was even worse than the Grand Preceptor. How could one place any hope in such a person?
However, what the Emperor said is not wrong. With the Imperial Advisor's reputation in Feng Kingdom, he can gain people's faith even if he does nothing. This will only be beneficial to him after he ascends to the throne.
"Over the years, the Imperial Preceptor and his family suddenly disappeared and could not be found. Why have they returned now?" Feng Muting asked again, puzzled.
Chapter 406 Blood congealed into streams
The Emperor shook his head: "Back then, the Imperial Advisor hurriedly asked for leave, saying he had something to do and had to leave for a while. As a result, he was gone for several years. Now that he has returned, perhaps he knows that the imperial power is about to be transferred and has come back to help you."
Feng Muting scoffed, "If he can foresee this, that's quite an achievement."
"Alright, once you've finished with these matters, go out of the city and meet the Imperial Preceptor," the Emperor said.
Feng Muting frowned, not very willing, but he knew he had to go: "Yes."
Just then, a rumble of thunder sounded outside.
Feng Muting glanced at it and couldn't help but sigh. It was thundering. He wondered if his precious child at home would be scared. It was a pity that he couldn't go back to be with his precious child.
After a clap of thunder, a torrential downpour began.
"It's raining, Father."
"Well, there's nothing we can do then. Wait until the rain stops before you go to pick up the Imperial Preceptor. They're probably looking for shelter from the rain, so they won't get to the city gate so quickly."
The area inside and outside the imperial city was quickly washed away by the rain.
Outside the city, a group of people were halted by a sudden downpour.
Before they could find shelter from the rain, a man holding a long sword and wearing a half-black mask stood in the rain, blocking their way.
Everyone exclaimed in alarm, "Protect the Imperial Advisor!"
"Imperial Preceptor, there are assassins! Don't come out, we will protect you!"
The Imperial Advisor, sitting in the carriage, frowned deeply. His son, sitting beside him, said fearfully, "Father, I'm so scared! How could there be assassins?!"
The Imperial Advisor raised his hand and slapped him across the face: "How could I have such a cowardly son? If you continue like this, don't come to the palace with me, lest you be disliked by the Emperor and Prince Ting!"
Outside the carriage, the sounds of clashing swords, slashing flesh, and screams could be heard.
The clear rainwater fell to the ground and turned into blood, congealing into streams.
Countless corpses lay on the ground, and the man was covered in wounds, yet he still held his sword, his eyes fixed on the carriage, and charged towards it with all his might.
But too many people were blocking him.
He had no way of getting close to the carriage.
At this moment, the Imperial Advisor emerged from the carriage. Looking at the assassins who couldn't approach him, his fear vanished, replaced by arrogance: "Kill him! Whoever can kill him, I'll give ten thousand taels of gold!"
Upon hearing that there was a fortune in gold, everyone worked even harder.
The Grand Preceptor stood on the carriage, the rain unable to wash away the ferocity on his face and the filth in his heart. He laughed triumphantly: "I thought you were so powerful, coming here all alone, but it turns out you're nothing special. You can't kill me. As long as you die here today, this secret will never be known to anyone!"
The assassin roared and charged at the Imperial Preceptor with his sword drawn, his eyes bloodshot and filled with boundless hatred.
The Imperial Advisor patted his chest and laughed, "Come on, stab here, just like when I killed your whole family back then. You, the fish that escaped the net, I let you live for more than ten years. You should be satisfied. Today, you can obediently go down and join your family!"
"Ah—" The assassin let out a long howl, and the pain that had been suppressed for many years erupted at this moment. He saw his enemy right in front of him, but he couldn't get close at all.
He knew he shouldn't act impulsively; he knew he had better ways to deal with his enemy. But when he learned that his enemy had returned, he couldn't control himself.
He only wanted to go on a killing spree to appease the souls of his entire family of seventeen.
Despite killing so many people, he still couldn't get close to his enemy, and instead ended up dying here.
He was unwilling to accept it, he was truly unwilling to accept it...
Chapter 407 Where are you, Senior Brother?
The heavy rain was still pouring down. Bai Yulang, who had been chatting with Su Fuliu, suddenly lost his mood. He stared blankly at the door, thinking about his senior brother.
He rested his chin on his hand and murmured, "Where did my senior brother go? It's raining, why hasn't he come back yet..."
“Once the matter is settled, Doctor Lu will be back, so Yu Lang doesn’t need to worry,” Su Fuliu comforted him.
Bai Yulang rubbed his chest: "I don't know why, but I always feel a tightness in my chest, and it's very uncomfortable."
He recalled Lu Chimo's extremely cold expression before he left. He had never seen Lu Chimo show such an expression before; his senior brother was always very gentle.
For a moment, he almost didn't recognize his senior brother. He felt uneasy and wanted to follow him, but his senior brother found out and scolded him.
That was the first time his senior brother had ever been so fierce to him.
He felt wronged, but he was also afraid.
His senior brother hadn't returned yet, and he felt increasingly uneasy, as if he were about to lose something.
Finally, he stood up and said, "I'm going out to find my senior brother!"
"With such heavy rain, where are you going to look for him?" Su Fuliu asked.
"I don't know, but I'm going to find my senior brother!" With that, Bai Yulang prepared to run out.
Su Fuliu quickly reached out and grabbed him: "Yulang, I'll go with you to find him!"
He was a little worried when he saw Bai Yulang like this.
"Okay, thank you, Brother Liu."
Afterwards, the two brothers went out to find Lu Chimo, holding up their umbrellas.
When they reached the city gate, they saw a carriage slowly driving in. Su Fuliu pulled Bai Yulang aside and let the carriage pass.
After the carriage passed, Su Fuliu frowned. Why did the carriage have such a strong smell of blood?
Bai Yulang stared straight at the city gate.
When Feng Muting threw him out of the city, Lu Chimo followed his intuition and found Bai Yulang outside the city.
At this moment, Bai Yulang felt something pulling him towards the outside of the city.
At that moment, he was terrified, threw down his umbrella, and shouted, "Senior brother!"
"Yulang!" Su Fuliu turned her head and saw Bai Yulang throw away his umbrella and rush into the rain, heading straight out of the city.
"Senior brother, senior brother, where are you? Yulang is looking for you. Answer Yulang!" Bai Yulang shouted as he ran.
Su Fuliu caught up with Bai Yulang, and before he could speak, he smelled an even stronger stench of blood than before. It had rained; if it hadn't rained, the smell of blood would have been unbearably strong.
Seeing Bai Yulang so uneasy, he feared that something had really happened to Lu Chimo.
"Yulang, come with me." Su Fuliu took Bai Yulang's hand and led him along the scent of blood.
They discovered that the rainwater beneath their feet had somehow turned into blood, and they could hear the sounds of clashing swords ahead.
"Ye Wanxiu, I'm going to kill you, kill you, ah—"
This roar made Bai Yulang's face turn deathly pale. How could he not recognize it as Lu Chimo's voice?
"Senior brother—" He immediately ran towards the source of the voice.
Su Fuliu quickly followed.
Finally, they arrived at the scene of the fight. The man wearing a half-black mask was still fighting with someone, but there were not many people left, and the ground was littered with corpses.
"Senior brother—!!!" Although he was wearing a mask, Bai Yulang still recognized Lu Chimo at a glance.
Lu Chimo heard Bai Yulang's voice and turned around, only to be stabbed in the abdomen because of that momentary distraction, and blood was flowing freely.
Bai Yulang's eyes widened in fury: "Senior brother!"
He ran towards Lu Chimo like a madman.