Stranger Danger

Chapter 989: Ye Qing’s Counterattack

“What happened?” Chu Xunxian asked.

Zheng Xuanjun slowly calmed down to Chu Xunxian’s voice, but his face remained as white as a sheet.

“Your Highness...” Zheng Xuanjun swallowed visibly before stammering, “Y-Young master Chu’s death... has already been spread.”

“What? How? What happened?”

Guo Ximian shot to his feet. There was a chill in his eyes, but even more confusion. He knew that there was no hiding Chu Wangsun’s death, which was why they weren’t planning on hiding it in the first place. But how did the outsiders know before they even began to spread the word?

Right now, only a handful of people were aware of Chu Wangsun’s death. They were the Chief Libationist, Su Bancheng, the North Duke Office, and them. No one here had a motive to leak this, so who could have done this?

Could it be...

Suddenly, Guo Ximian had a bad feeling about this.

“Tell me about the rumors. Now!” Chu Xunxian too realized that something had gone horribly wrong and asked in an urgent voice.

“They’re all saying that Chu Wangsun had died in the hands of a young man named Ye Qing.”

Zheng Xuanjun wiped the beads of sweat rolling down his forehead. “Ye Qing’s identity has already been spread as well. They say that Ye Qing used to be a member of the Pacification Bureau of Chu and a genius, but he was framed for murder and forced to escape after offended Chu Wangsun and Fang Muyun. The reason he killed Chu Wangsun is for revenge.”

“They’re even saying... that...”

“Stop stammering and just give it to us already! What else are they saying?” Guo Ximian asked urgently.

“There are rumors claiming that Fang Muyun was killed by Ye Qing as well. They say that he was the one who lent the Four Seas Dragon Palace a knife to kill Fang Muyun.”

The more Zheng Xuanjun spoke, the quieter he sounded, and the sweatier he became. “They’re even saying that Fang Muyun wasn’t the first person who discovered the Four Seas Dragon Palace’s conspiracy at all. It was all Ye Qing. Fang Muyun was just his pawn.”

“Dammit!”

A terrible shockwave suddenly erupted from Guo Ximian. All the furniture, utensils and other objects inside the hall instantly disintegrated to powder. Zheng Xuanjun’s head was bowed from the sheer pressure pressing down on him.

Chu Xunxian waved his sleeve, and the pressure suffocating Zheng Xuanjun disappeared in an instant. As the general panted, Chu Xunxian asked, “Answer me. Who are the ones spreading these rumors, and how many people have heard about this? On that note, how widespread are these rumors? Is it just within the Four Seas, or has it spread to other corners of the world?”

Zheng Xuanjun answered in a hurry, “I don’t know, Your Highness. Third prince and I were walking on the streets when we heard the rumors. He immediately ordered me to report back to you while he left to investigate further. He should be back any moment now.”

As if on cue, Chu Mingfeng rushed back into the hall with a stern expression on his face.

“What did you find, Mingfeng?” Chu Xunxian asked.

“The rumors have spread throughout the Four Seas. Nearly everyone in every nook and cranny is talking about it,” answered Chu Mingfeng with an ugly expression.

“Ye Qing must have done this! He must have planned it all from the start! Damn it all!”

Guo Ximian’s eyes were bloodshot like that of a beast. “If the Chief Libationist just killed that bastard outright, then all this farce would not have happened! What the hell was he thinking?”

“Control yourself!” Chu Xunxian rebuked him immediately. “How can we understand the thoughts and actions of a Sage, much less question them?”

“What should we do then?” Guo Ximian asked in a dark voice.

They were going to seize the initiative and spread the word that Chu Wangsun had been slain by heretics of the Dark Ways. they were going to make it so that the entire world would hear their lie.

Generally speaking, most people tended to believe the first thing they heard. Moreover, if enough people were spreading the lie, then Ye Qing could shout the truth into the world, and no one would believe him.

But it was the opposite now. Their enemy had seized the initiative and revealed the truth first. At this rate, it wouldn’t be long before the entire world had heard of this. Instead of Ye Qing, they were the ones on the back foot now.

The worst part wasn’t even Chu Wangsun’s death. It was the fact that Fang Muyun had been dragged into this incident. If managed poorly, Chu would become the laughingstock of the year.

“The core of our plan remains the same.”

Chu Xunxian made a snap decision. “One, we must mobilize all the power of Chu and make an official statement claiming that Chu Wangsun was murdered by heretics in the shortest amount of time possible.”

“Second, we must identify the sources of the rumors and command them to cease and desist immediately. Kill anyone who resists.” n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

“Third, we must announce to the public that the rumors are malicious rumors aimed at slandering our righteous hero immediately.”

“Fourth, we must announce a worldwide bounty. Anyone who can provide clues in regards to Chu Wangsun’s murderer will be rewarded ten thousand gold and an Ancient-class Strange Artifact. Anyone who can kill him and bring us his head will receive the same reward, A Sage-stage martial art, an official ranking and a corresponding piece of land.”

“Will it work?” Guo Ximian frowned.

“Not really,” Chu Xunxian replied, “but we must do it anyway. It’s expected of us to take such measures.”

“Okay. But do you have an actual solution?” Guo Ximian asked.

“In fact, I do. What is the best way to draw one’s attention elsewhere? By creating something even more conspicuous.”

Chu Xunxian said slowly, “Duke, inform the emperor that it is time to implement the plan.”

“The plan? You mean...”

Guo Ximian was speechless at first. Then, pure delight flashed through his eyes as his brain processed the words. It quickly morphed into puzzlement, however. “But why now?”

“Because now is the best time.”

Chu Xunxian answered, “Everyone is looking at the Four Seas and waiting for us to humiliate ourselves. In that case, why not treat them to a good show?”

“Besides, it seems that the world had forgotten about the might of Chu just because we were silent for too long.”

“It’s time we remind them who we really are.”

“Hahaha... good! Good!”

Guo Ximian was overjoyed. “I had been waiting for this for too long. Hahaha! Hahahahahaha!”

......

“Did you hear? Chu Wangsun was murdered.”

“You don’t say? Everyone and their mothers have heard about it! They say that Fang Muyun was murdered by that Ye Qing as well!”

“Huh? I thought that Chu Wangsun was murdered by heretics? Who is this Ye Qing?”

“Hah! And you believe that obvious lie? It’s clear that Chu made that up to save face! You don’t know this, but Ye Qing used to be a member of the Pacification Bureau. No one knows what he did to offend Chu Wangsun and Fang Muyun, but the end result was the duo setting him up and trying to kill him. However, not only did Ye Qing manage to escape, he returned and claimed vengeance against his foes! Truly, karma may be late, but never absent!”

“But Chu Wangsun is the disciple of the Chief Libationist, and Fang Muyun is famed for his wisdom and benevolence. Surely they wouldn’t commit such treachery?”

“Hahaha! Wisdom? Benevolence? Is this the first day you enter the jianghu? The one thing this jianghu doesn’t lack are whores who call themselves maidens, and thieves who call themselves philanthropists!”

“He’s right. Chu Wangsun and Fang Muyun are shameless enough, but Chu is even more shameless. Didn’t Chu want to raise a statue for Fang Muyun so that he may be worshiped in the Four Seas Pavilion as a hero of humanity a while ago? Spit! The chicken has flown the coop, and the eggs are broken[1]. Whatever dignity Chu had is all gone!”

“Hehehe, I know right? Chu have always styled themselves the state of literature and etiquette. In reality, they’re just a bunch of two-faced hypocrites. They deserve to be exposed!”

“Ultimately, Chu Wangsun and Fang Muyun were nowhere as good as they were made out to be. They can’t even snuff out a small fry. They deserve to be killed.”

“Tsk tsk, did you just call the Mad Lord a small fry? Don’t be surprised if the Mad Lord suddenly shows up and takes your life, dog!”

“Ah, fuck! That’s not what I meant! It’s just a slip of the tongue. The Mad Lord did seriously good work though. I, Zhao Liang, have never been impressed by anyone, but today, the Mad Lord has earned that honor.”

“Does that mean you won’t be hunting for him?”

“Why the fuck wouldn’t I hunt for him? Just because he’s my hero doesn’t mean I won’t kill him!”

“Bullshit. I think you just can't let go of Chu’s bounty.”

“Oh yeah? Are you going to allow this opportunity to slip through your grasp then?”

“Of course not. The other stuff is whatever, but an Ancient-class Strange Artifact? A Sage-stage martial art? Who could possibly ignore that?”

“Speaking of which, time is short, so let us begin our search already. If we’re late, we won’t even get the soup.”

“Yeah, let’s go...”

1. A dead loss. ☜