“Young Master, are you hurt?”
“Gu Young Master, is everything alright?”
Watching the group arrive late—just like in those crime dramas where everyone shows up after everything is over—Gu Wuchen put his hands on his hips and looked at them, momentarily at a loss for words.
“Young Master, your neck…”
Seeing the blood seeping from Gu Wuchen’s neck, A Liu spoke up with concern.
“Damn, it hurts like hell.”
Gu Wuchen grimaced, took out another bottle of Xuanling Restorative Pill from his robe, swallowed one, and the wound on his neck visibly faded and healed.
After confirming he was back to normal, he walked up to A Liu and said, “A Liu, didn’t I tell you not to come over? I was this close to convincing that person. Just a little more and I could’ve made friends with her!”
“But look at you all, stomping in here with a crowd and surrounding the place. She was already jumpy, and you startled her even more. Who wouldn’t panic after that?”
“Uh… panic?” A Liu didn’t quite understand the term.
“Oh, it means being startled and reacting to stress.” Gu Wuchen shrugged, accidentally letting slip a phrase from his previous life.
“Gu Young Master, Yuwan Cheng, Baihu of Jingtingwei, apologizes to you.” A well-built officer of Jingtingwei, dressed in a black Flying Fish Uniform and wearing a Yunlei Pattern Iron Helmet, stepped forward and spoke: “Our rescue was lacking, please forgive us.”
“Hmm…” Gu Wuchen looked the guy up and down, making sure he hadn’t seen him in the original plot, then rebuked him:
“Tell me, what were you thinking? I clearly instructed everyone—whether from the Gu Clan or Jingtingwei—to wait outside the alley and not come in. Who gave you permission to enter?”
Though he didn’t know Yuwan Cheng, he guessed this was the one who gave the order to barge in.
His original plan was going smoothly. Maybe he really could have turned that Demon Arts Successor, Mu Chanyi, from foe to friend, and even recruited her. But thanks to this guy, everything was ruined.
After being berated, Yuwan Cheng lowered his gaze and replied, neither arrogant nor servile, “Gu Young Master, we of Jingtingwei were also acting on orders. That demon cultivator is ranked eleventh on the Jingtingwei Arrest List. We had to do everything we could to capture her.”
“At the same time…” He paused and added, “At the same time, we had to ensure your safety, so we…”
Gu Wuchen sneered, “Heh, it was exactly your unnecessary actions that let her get away, understand?”
Yuwan Cheng frowned and responded, “I don’t understand. Please enlighten me, Gu Young Master.”
“You’ve got quite a backbone,” Gu Wuchen circled around him a few times, then scoffed,
“Like I said, if you hadn’t charged in with your men, I’d have already made friends with that demon cultivator. At that point… not only would my own safety have been assured to the greatest extent, but I might even have convinced her to turn herself in to you.”
“But she’s a notorious demon cultivator on the Arrest List! There’s absolutely no way—”
“That’s bullshit!”
Gu Wuchen cut him off, his gaze turning cold and his words chilling: “How do you know it’s impossible? I was getting along just fine with her. I say… it’s very possible!”
“And now, thanks to your blundering, not only did I get hurt, but she also vanished without a trace. Can you take responsibility for that?”
Faced with the overbearing Gu Wuchen, Yuwan Cheng fell silent.
He knew the temper of this Gu Young Master. Once he made up his mind, not even Her Majesty—let alone his own father—could change it. And Her Majesty hadn’t attended court for years.
Thinking of this, he decided not to go head-to-head with this stubborn troublemaker and bowed his head. “Apologies, Gu Young Master. We failed to consider things carefully. Not only did you get hurt, but the demon cultivator escaped.”
“Do you understand what you did wrong?”
“I understand.”
Gu Wuchen flicked his sleeve. “Good. Go write me a one-thousand-word reflection and leave it with me for the record.”
“This…”
Yuwan Cheng hesitated. Personally, he didn’t mind writing something to appease Gu Wuchen.
But as a Baihu of Jingtingwei, to write a reflection to the Prime Minister’s son—if certain people saw it, the implications…
He hadn’t witnessed it firsthand, but he could sense the political games in the Imperial Court.
He wasn’t sure whether the Empress Dowager had yielded something to the Imperial Daughter or the Right Minister, but just this year, their Pay had been cut twice.
He wasn’t even sure how solid his own backing still was.
Thinking of this, he tried to negotiate: “Gu Young Master, I do realize my mistake, but considering my position…”
He pointed at his badge. “May I write a two-thousand-word reflection to you in a personal capacity?”
“Personal capacity?”
Gu Wuchen’s face turned cold. “I was injured because of your actions as a Baihu of Jingtingwei, not because of you as Yuwan Cheng, understand?”
“…”
“If you don’t want to, that’s fine,” seeing Yuwan Cheng’s expression twisted like he was constipated, Gu Wuchen added casually, “Tomorrow I’ll go to Jingtingwei’s Town Demon Office and beat the Drum of Appeal.”
“Oh, I forgot—you don’t have a drum there,” Gu Wuchen turned and said, “A Liu, tomorrow we’ll bring our own drum and go to Jingtingwei’s Town Demon Office to file a grievance!”
“Yes, Young Master.”
With that, he turned to leave.
“Wait, Gu Young Master, I’ll write it,” Yuwan Cheng reached out and said.
“That’s more like it. Relax, I’m not some arrogant brat. I won’t take your reflection as Baihu Yuwan Cheng of Jingtingwei and show it off to the Queens of Flowers in Pingkang Ward.”
“Alright then… see you around, Baihu.”
Boarding the New Carriage, Gu Wuchen glanced at the Jingtingwei scouring the city, a cold laugh rising in his heart.
Most of these Jingtingwei from Town Demon Office were people on Xiao Wan, Empress Dowager Xiao’s side. In the original plot, the Taihou Faction started off suppressing the Tainü Faction, then suffered repeated setbacks in the middle, and by the end, the situation reversed completely and they lost all power.
Even Empress Dowager herself was forcibly sent to Wangshen Palace to “enjoy her twilight years” after the Imperial Daughter, Li Zhaoning, took the throne.
If Empress Dowager Xiao Wan weren’t a Ninth Realm powerhouse and a final Boss-level figure in the late story, she probably would’ve “died unexpectedly” long ago.
Thinking of Empress Dowager Xiao Wan, Gu Wuchen couldn’t help but laugh.
This person, in the late reign of the Emperor Emeritus, had been brought to the Court as State Guardian by joint request of the ministers, not only a genius at Cultivation, but also a master of politics.
The reason he didn’t let go of Yuwan Cheng wasn’t just to maintain his troublemaker persona, but also because of the Messenger in his possession—the Secret Letter that could shift the balance of power between the Taihou Faction and the Tainü Faction.
To be frank, he didn’t want the Empress Dowager to fall so quickly. Once the Imperial Daughter ascended, the Gu Clan would be purged and his own fate would become uncontrollable.
“So… I have to start with Empress Dowager Xiao Wan and see if I can get the upper hand over Imperial Daughter Li Zhaoning first.”
Gu Wuchen tapped his finger on the armrest, thinking, “Only by keeping the two factions balanced can I have more room to maneuver, and the Gu Clan can maintain its detached, arbiter-like position and provide me long-term protection.”
At this thought, he straightened, lifted the beaded curtain, and gazed at the majestic Imperial City at the heart of Chang’an City, and at the Taiji Palace, symbol of imperial authority.
“Mm, that’s the plan. Start with the Empress Dowager.”
“But before that, I need to go back and strengthen myself. With 131% Cultivation efficiency, maybe I’ll get a nice surprise?”