Chapter 127
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Gu Yuanbai had a dream while unconscious.
It was a dream that seemed almost real. In a daze, he felt like he had returned to modern times.
He sat in a helicopter, the loud roar of the engine close by. His hair danced in the wind, and the cold wind at high altitude mixed with the dazzling light, chilling like snow and ice.
With just a glance, Gu Yuanbai knew he was about to skydive from high altitude.
In this skydiving moment, he passed through the clouds and woke up in the body of the Little Emperor.
The pilot turned back, shouting loudly, “We’re almost there.”
The wind blew against his face, and the flesh on the pilot’s face trembled when he shouted, details so real that it didn’t seem like a dream. If it weren’t a dream, had he really come back?
Gu Yuanbai raised his hand to feel the invisible wind, fingers wrapped in black leather gloves, long and strong, joints distinct and healthy.
He curled his fingers, hands that were completely different from the Little Emperor’s.
Could he still jump?
Gu Yuanbai adjusted his equipment, an experienced hand not needing assistance for skydiving. He moved to the cabin door, made an “OK” sign as he remembered, then stepped forward and leaped out.
The whole world became calm.
Mountains, rivers, the layered and beautiful Earth unfolded beyond the clouds. His mind went blank, and as he was about to pass through the clouds, Gu Yuanbai closed his eyes.
When he regained consciousness, a warm hand was on his eyes.
Xue Yuan’s voice sounded nearby, low and hoarse. “Still not awake, Gu Lian?”
Listening to his voice and feeling the softness of the bed, Gu Yuanbai thought to himself, I’m back.
Unable to move his body, he slowly blinked.
Long eyelashes swept across Xue Yuan’s palm, causing him to freeze. He stood motionless for a moment, then hurriedly lowered his head, pressing his forehead against Gu Yuanbai’s hand, and cautiously asked, “Are you awake?”
His voice trembled with nervousness.
Gu Yuanbai slowly blinked his eyes.
Awake.
***
The Emperor’s face was pale, his coughs intermittent. He lowered his hand and looked down at the frightened courtiers below, smiling faintly, “What’s this? Are you struck silent in my presence?”
Wang Taiwei and several courtiers around him turned pale, their knees buckling as they knelt to the ground.
The Emperor softly called out, “Wang Taiwei.”
Despair already clouded Wang Taiwei’s face as he replied, “Here.”
“You still haven’t answered me,” the Emperor took a step forward, the jade crown on his head finally entering the sunlight, casting a deep, shifting shadow on the ground. “I am not dead? Is that reason enough?”
The Emperor descended the steps slowly, approaching Wang Taiwei. His steps felt like the executioner’s blade, causing the civil and military officials to kneel and retreat, clearing a path beneath his feet.
At the end of this path stood Wang Taiwei and his allies.
Wang Taiwei’s mind went blank; his legs weakened, and even the strength to straighten his back had abandoned him. Inside, regret and fear screamed incessantly. The Emperor had been unconscious for days, causing Wang Taiwei to forget his authority and terror. Now, as the Emperor stood before him once more, Wang remembered every terrible act the Emperor had once committed.
Gu Yuanbai, the same Gu Yuanbai who once bloodied the Qi Wang Mansion and slaughtered rebel troops.
Wang Taiwei’s hands trembled involuntarily. He heard the sound of teeth chattering beside him and turned to see several officials who were his allies.
They were now trembling with fear.
Gu Yuanbai finally reached Wang Taiwei and his accomplices.
The fierce golden dragon on his bright yellow dragon boots stared coldly, its eyes icy. This dragon reflected in the eyes of those kneeling on the ground, and beads of sweat rolled down their foreheads, dripping onto the dragon’s path.
“Your Majesty,” someone couldn’t help but kowtow, a muffled sound echoing, “This official was wrong!”
Gu Yuanbai’s face was a little pale, and the smell of medicine on his body was strong. He coughed lightly and asked softly, “I can’t bear your mistakes.”
Heavy footsteps sounded in unison, and a team of Forbidden Army clad in black armor rushed in from outside. They wielded shields and broadblades, each one strong and tall, glaring at the civil and military officials scattered on the ground.
Gu Yuanbai said, “Arrest them.”
The Forbidden Army rushed forward, capturing and subduing the few confidants secretly contacted by Wang Taiwei. Gu Yuanbai watched as those officials who kept pleading guilty were arrested, his expression calm and undisturbed.
A courtier who risked his life to remonstrate trembled as he spoke, “Your Majesty, the actions proposed by Lord Wang and his companions are also for the stability of the court and the peace of the people.”
“I understand,” Gu Yuanbai suddenly smiled, “Tian Fusheng.”
Tian Fusheng immediately stepped forward with a decree and read aloud the crimes committed by these individuals.
Meanwhile, the Emperor turned and walked into the hall amid the solemn reading of the decree.
The courtiers looked up at the Emperor’s back, gradually calming their unease and panic. After Tian Fusheng finished reading the decree and cheerfully said, “Please return to your respective offices,” the courtiers didn’t even offer any objections. They calmly walked away in groups, heading towards their respective offices.
Once the Emperor woke up, he was like a towering mountain. As long as this mountain stood, it could awe the courtiers and stabilize the hearts of the people.
In the hall, Mr. Wang and his friend from Fusang were kneeling in the center.
The fingers of the Fusang man had been severed, blood streaming onto the floor. Two fierce wolves were restrained by guards nearby, saliva dripping from their fangs as they licked the blood from the Fusang man’s severed fingers.
Gu Yuanbai was supported by Xue Yuan as he slowly walked to the table and sat down.
The fainting spell, coupled with the harm caused by inhaling the incense of the Xixia country for several days, had left Gu Yuanbai extremely weak. He leaned back in his chair, taking breaks between each sentence, panting for breath.
“Fusang man,” Gu Yuanbai said softly, handing over an unlit stick of incense, “Incense from Fusang.”
Mr. Wang, who had always faced death calmly, finally showed a hint of unease.
Gu Yuanbai chuckled softly, handing the incense to Xue Yuan. “Take it and show them.”
Xue Yuan took the incense and flicked it in front of Mr. Wang’s eyes.
Mr. Wang stared at the incense for a while, then closed his eyes and remained silent.
Xue Yuan clicked his tongue and stood aside.
Gu Yuanbai took a few deep breaths before continuing, “While I was unconscious, the Second Prince of Xixia had already returned to Xixia with his men.”
He spoke slowly, “The intelligence returned by our spies in Xixia reveals that those useful talents in Xixia have either been imprisoned or are hiding to escape calamity.”
“Those individuals in Xixia who indulged in your incense were political enemies of the Second Prince of Xixia and a cancer to the country,” Gu Yuanbai coughed several times before saying, “He used the incense to secretly persecute loyal officials. Then, he would secretly rescue them, and those imprisoned talents and loyal officials have now pledged allegiance to the Second Prince of Xixia.”
Gu Yuanbai smiled bitterly, “Even generals with military power have become his followers.”
“He eloquently told me that Fusang was the perpetrator and Xixia was the victim,” Gu Yuanbai’s smile deepened as he pointed at Mr. Wang and the Fusang man who was half-fainting beside him, “But clearly, he used you, Fusang.”
The Second Prince of Xixia had thoroughly cleansed the upper echelons of Xixia with the fragrance of Fusang. Therefore, in the original work, he didn’t care about Kong Yilin’s background and still valued him, because he had no one else to use.
The talents in the dungeons and the loyal officials he subdued were few and far between.
Now the Second Prince of Xixia felt that the fragrance of Fusang was no longer useful, and he felt that Fusang was becoming troublesome. So he wanted to start with Great Heng, provoking a war between Great Heng and Fusang.
In this way, Xixia could benefit from their conflicts.
Probably because Gu Yuanbai had been in a coma for a long time, and because the Second Prince of Xixia was on his way back to his country, their vigilance had decreased. The shocking news discovered by the Supervision Bureau was revealed, and when Gu Yuanbai woke up, he received a big gift.
Mr. Wang’s breathing had become heavy.
He had prepared himself to die today, but when he heard these words from the Emperor of Great Heng, he still felt unwilling. If he could transmit this information back to his country, if he could inform his country of the awakening of the Emperor of Great Heng, how good would that be!
But I refuse to be treated as expendable, and others as mere tools for manipulation or sacrifice, Mr. Wang was simply unable to do what he wanted.
Gu Yuanbai seemed to know what he was thinking, smiled faintly, and said lightly, “I have already sent word to your Fusang allies that I have passed away.”
He stood up slowly and walked to Xue Yuan’s side, pulling out the large blade from Xue Yuan’s waist.
“The Emperor of Great Heng is dead, and Fusang will soon send its navy to occupy the coastal areas,” Gu Yuanbai’s lips curled up, matching his pale complexion, like a demon from h*ll, “I will prepare thousands of troops and set up a trap to ensure they have no way back, burying them on the land of our Great Heng!”
Mr. Wang’s neck veins bulged, and he shouted fiercely, “Gu Lian, you tyrant! I curse you to die without a whole corpse, to never be reincarnated!”
“I will make you suffer endless torment!” Gu Yuanbai’s chest heaved violently, a fierce determination in his eyes. “I will show you how your country is overturned in my hands, and I will make them lose everything! I want them to think they are people of Great Heng, speaking Great Heng’s words. I want you to see how you become a criminal in your own country!”
He suddenly raised his hand, the cold blade placed against Mr. Wang’s neck. “This is the price you pay for killing Wan Taifei.”
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