coobybook Chapter 148 Blood Splattered Throughout the Courtyard
Chapter 148 Blood Splattered Throughout the Courtyard
The main hall of the palace banquet was in complete disarray.
All the expensive utensils used for the banquet fell to the ground, and a middle-aged man was pinned down at Xie Xiao's feet by the imperial guards.
The middle-aged man's black clothes were stained with vegetable soup, and his hair was disheveled, making him look quite pathetic.
Xie Xiao held an exquisite silver hair crown in his hand. The crown looked as if it had been forcibly torn off a person's hair, with a few strands of hair still attached to it.
"Minister Liu, you are truly a good official!" The young man's voice was somewhat deep. He raised the hair ornament in his hand, and Eunuch Lai Shun immediately stepped forward, took out a pair of scissors, and cut it open. After the silver hair ornament was cut open, a golden color was revealed inside.
"Your Majesty...please let me explain..." The middle-aged man, who was being held down on the ground, tried to get up, but the Imperial Guards held him firmly down, preventing him from moving an inch.
Xie Xiao slowly rose from his dragon throne and walked to the middle-aged man.
The young emperor slowly squatted down and touched the middle-aged man's slightly fuzzy sleeve: "My dear Minister Liu, you are a veteran of two dynasties. Your elder brother died in battle with the Imperial Uncle at Luoxia Mountain. You served as a censor in the Censorate, living in poverty and with nothing but the wind in your sleeves!"
Xie Xiao threw the golden crown in his hand to the ground, and it made a loud thud when it hit the ground.
The sound of orderly footsteps came from outside the door, and two rows of imperial guards carried in many large boxes and opened them.
"Wow!"
The box was opened, and piles of gold and silver were poured out by the Imperial Guards in front of the middle-aged man.
"This is the bare walls of Minister Liu's house! I bet even the courtyard walls are made of gold and silver!"
The middle-aged man on the ground panicked completely, tears streaming down his face and into his nostrils, and a strange smell wafted from the hall.
The middle-aged man was so scared he wet himself!
Seeing his expression, Xie Xiao suddenly lost interest. The young man gave Eunuch Lai a wink, and the old man immediately handed over the two precious swords he always carried to Xie Xiao.
"Minister Liu probably doesn't know this yet! My name was given to me by my Imperial Uncle. It means 'Xiao Zhe,' which means 'a fine steed, good at fighting.'"
With a "whoosh," the longsword was drawn, and the two imperial guards holding the middle-aged man up by his head.
In an instant, a line of blood splattered onto Xie Xiao's bright dragon robe.
The young man didn't mind. He lifted his robe and wiped the longsword in his hand clean. He then looked up at the remaining officials again.
Many of those who were caught were paralyzed with fear, while the rest, who suffered undeserved misfortune, were ashen-faced and trembling like leaves.
With a warm smile on his face, Xie Xiao said softly, "Kill them all!"
At a command, the Imperial Guards marched out in unison, and in an instant, blood splattered all over the courtyard, even on the pots of blood orchids blooming by the window.
"My dear ministers," Xie Xiao said, glancing at the ministers who were not among those to be eliminated. He then pointed to the blood orchids and said, "Take a pot of each of you back with you. These orchids were grown with the blood of the soldiers on the frontier. Do not wipe the blood off when you get back. Take good care of them."
The ministers immediately scrambled out, each carrying a pot of flowers as they left.
The palace was deserted in an instant, and it was at this moment that Xue Lan and her companion arrived at the palace.
The two stood on the rooftop opposite the main hall. Xue Tong glanced down into the hall and thought: "It's truly bloody."
Having witnessed the horrific scene at Luoxia Mountain, she is now quite accepting of such situations.
Xue Tong watched as the young man in the yellow robe chased away all the imperial guards and eunuchs, then left alone with the headless corpses.
"Do you want to go down and talk to him? There's no one around right now," Xue Tong suggested.
Xue Lan shook her head: "I didn't come here to see him."
Xue Tong was a little confused by her thought process: "Then what are you here for? To look at the corpses scattered everywhere? My goodness, didn't you get enough of looking at them at Luoxia Mountain?"
Xue Lan raised a finger to her lips: "Shh."
Xue Tong suddenly felt as if someone had grabbed her by the neck.
The sound of chains being dragged gradually filled the air, and the surrounding temperature dropped. A cold wind blew by, and the lanterns under the eaves began to sway.
Xie Xiao heard Eunuch Lai Shun's voice: "Your Majesty, the wind is picking up."
Xie Xiao did not reply, but remained quietly seated on his dragon throne, looking at the wreckage before him.
The man seemed not to hear the approaching sound of chains. Xue Tong grabbed Xue Lan's sleeve in fear and saw a white mist appear at a stone archway outside the main hall. Two groups of people dressed as officials emerged from behind the mist.
The little girl whispered, "Is it a ghost messenger?"
Before Xue Lan could reply, one of the leading underworld officials spotted the two of them. Xue Lan didn't intend to escape; she simply stood openly in front of the underworld official and bowed to the human—or rather, the ghost.
The underworld messenger returned the greeting and walked straight into the main hall.
After an incense stick had burned, two teams of underworld officials emerged, each carrying chains binding the souls of the officials who had just been beheaded.
Xue Lan led Xue Tong to the archway. The leading underworld official came over, and Xue Lan cupped his hands in greeting: "Xue Lan, the eldest disciple of Jiyuan Peak of Xuanhuang Sect, greets this official."
The official, who had been solemn, immediately returned the greeting upon hearing Xue Lan's name: "I have long admired your reputation, Immortal Master. You are too kind."
Xue Tong tugged at Xue Lan's sleeve: "You're quite famous now."
Xue Lan smiled smugly: "As expected."
Ordinary people had no idea what had happened that night within the demonic rift in Yingwu Mountain. But the officials of the underworld knew everything.
"I didn't know you were here, Immortal Master. Do you have any orders?" The leading ghost messenger's eyes lit up when he saw Xue Lan. If he weren't a ghost without a heartbeat, Xue Tong suspected that his heart would jump out of his chest.
It's normal that Xue Tong doesn't understand this ghost messenger. Ghost messengers in the mortal realm and underworld are all transformed from virtuous souls with profound merit; they are all kind and innocent. The Yuanming Realm's lower realm underworld is there to investigate demonic spies. There are also many connections between the various underworlds.
He had heard the judge say that in Miss Xue's hometown, her merits had long been recorded, enough for her to live peacefully and enjoy all the riches and honors of the world for three lifetimes.
"Xue Lan does indeed have a request. Please inform the City God that Xue Lan will visit him tomorrow at noon."
It was just a small matter, and the ghost messenger readily agreed. He then bid farewell to Xue Lan and disappeared into the smoke.
Xue Lan breathed a sigh of relief: "Alright, let's go back now."
Xue Tong was somewhat confused: "Just to let you know in advance, you're going out in the middle of the night? I thought you were here to see that princess."
Xue Lan patted her head: "The earth gods are worshipped by countless families. On the first day of the Lunar New Year, many people will come to them for help. If you don't tell them in advance, they won't even see you or me."
The girl's voice was gentle yet firm as she earnestly explained to Xue Tong, "Besides that, it's about respecting the gods."
Cultivators may have selfish motives and sometimes act in their own self-interest, but these City Gods, Judges, and Ghost Messengers do good deeds throughout their lives and continue to care for mortals even after death, remaining impartial, fair, and selfless.
Such a deity should be given sufficient respect unless absolutely necessary or urgent.
"Let's go, let's go back."
Xue Tong nodded, and the two disappeared into the night.