Chapter 215 - Returning to Lan City
Chapter 215: Returning to Lan City
Translator: TYZ Editor: Book_Hoarder
After staying in Ping City for one day and two nights, everyone prepared to set off the next afternoon.
Yesterday, Ren Baqian had given the solar energy battery charger, the remaining binoculars and walkie-talkies, and the drone to the Protector General of the North.
Before leaving the city, Ren Baqian turned around and waved to a bearded man with a swollen face who was among the commanders that were seeing them off. His face was brimming with satisfaction and joy.
That bearded man actually tried to use a beautiful maidservant to exchange for his drone. That man was truly a genius. He even dared to find Ren Baqian in private to offer him the deal. Ren Baqian admired his boldness very much.
Yes, not only did that bearded man dare to think about it, he even dared to speak out his thoughts. Ren Baqian could tell that he was a “straightforward” person.
There was a reason why the population of aboriginals did not increase much.
One could definitely imagine the outcome. While the bearded man was offering the deal to Ren Baqian, the empress suddenly appeared out of nowhere and punched the bearded man. He flew straight into a wall and became embedded in it. He couldn’t even pull himself out of the wall.
However, since last night, everyone had become much friendlier towards Ren Baqian.
After all, the gadgets that Ren Baqian had taken out dazzled them.
Once again, they were back on the road. The number of winged cavalry troops had increased to approximately one thousand and three hundred. One of the winged cavalry units had more than half of their men killed in Great Xia after encountering an interception. There were also two units that had some casualties.
Hong Wu somehow found a carriage for the empress. However, it wasn’t really luxurious. It followed closely behind the main body. The empress could rest and sleep inside it at night as well.
During the day, however, the carriage was very bumpy. Sitting in it was much more uncomfortable than sitting on Qi Shui.
During the daytime, they would hasten on with their journey. During the night-time, they would rest in cities or towns. By now, everyone felt at ease. Since Ren Baqian was free, he continued the story of Investiture of the Gods for the empress. He finished the story in a few days’ time. Then, he started on the story of Journey to the West.
When Ren Baqian talked about the Monkey King Sun Wukong wreaking havoc in Heaven, the empress looked at him with a slanted gaze. She plainly asked, “Do you want to learn from that monkey?”
“Actually, Protector of the Horses is a good job. He can earn money without doing anything. His salary is high as well. He even has the luxury of time to sit down and suntan. Therefore, isn’t it a good job?” Ren Baqian argued. Then, he concluded, “A monkey is wild and unruly. I’m different from him. A high salary is good enough for me. It will be the best if I can earn money without working at all.”
“If you think that Protector of the Horses is a good job, you will take care of Qi Shui from today onwards,” the empress casually said.
“That’s fine.” Ren Baqian was quite interested in Qi Shui. If he had the opportunity, he wanted to draw a vial of blood from Qi Shui and bring it back to Earth to test it.
Ren Baqian also wondered if there were dragons in this world or not.
He still did not know that there was one in the imperial palace of Great Xia.
Half a month had passed. Everyone could finally see a black-colored wall appearing above the distant horizon. That was Lan City.
Since three days ago, mounted scouts from Lan City had been calling on the empress’s entourage one after another. All the officials in the city were waiting for the empress to arrive.
They took a step closer and saw a mass of people standing outside the city gate. Except those who were on duty, every official came out of the city to welcome the empress.
Ren Baqian jumped down from Qi Shui’s back and climbed onto another mount.
Sitting together with the empress on the same mount in front of all the officials and citizens was far too ostentatious.
This time, the empress did not stop him.
Actually, at that point in time, the empress just wanted to make her stance clear to Hong Wu and the rest.
“Greetings, Your Majesty!” approximately three hundred officials standing at the city gate yelled in unison. Behind them, the citizens watched the scene with enthusiasm. They wanted to take a look at the empress but were pushed away by the soldiers.
The empress nodded her head and replied plainly, “It has been very tough on all of you when I’m was not around. Let’s return to the imperial palace now.”
When the citizens standing on both of sides of the street saw the empress sitting on Qi Shui, they cheered loudly for her.
The empress was well-received in Dayao. Twenty days had passed since the day the empress pulverized Hua Sanliu and destroyed the Nine Pavilions. This news had been spread throughout Dayao and Lan City.
Ordinary commoners did not know why the empress went to the Nine Pavilions. They were cheering for her bravery.
Qi Shui was walked forward at a very slow pace. With thunderous cheers roaring in the background, the empress looked exceptionally magnificent.
All of these citizens were here to look at the empress. However, some also wanted to take a look at Rem Baqian, whose face was glowing with radiance.
After returning to the imperial palace, the empress headed to the throne room for court session while Ren Baqian returned to Pingle Park. Pingle Park could be considered his home in this world. Other than the beast park, he has stayed here the longest. After returning to Pingle Park, he immediately felt relaxed.
He threw himself onto the bed. After rolling about on the bed, sleepiness kicked in, and he fell asleep straight away.
Inside the throne room, everyone discussed the matter of the empress throwing everything aside to go to Great Xia. Almost everyone was rising in revolt.
The empress’s face darkened. “Are you trying to revolt against me?”
“We don’t dare to do that. However, as the ruler of Dayao, it’s inappropriate to leave everyone behind and put yourself in such a dangerous position.”
“If I can’t even save a person, how am I fit to be ruler of Dayao?” the empress asked coldly.
“But we are worried about Your Majesty’s safety.”
“What’s there to be worried about? Do you think anyone can stop me?” the empress sneered.
“Then why did Your Majesty leave such words ‘if I were to die, invite that man back’?” Shi Qing reminded.
The empress was speechless for a moment. Of course, she knew of how dangerous it was for her to go to Great Xia. It was irresponsible for her to say such words. However, when Shi Qing exposed her like this, she felt utterly embarrassed. For a moment, she was speechless. The next moment, she flew into a rage out of humiliation. An earth-shattering aura exploded from her body and surged towards everyone in the room like a tsunami, causing everyone to fly backward.
“Your Majesty!” everyone cried in unison.
With a darkened face, the empress withdrew her aura. After a while, she spoke again, “I won’t take any unnecessary risks in the future anymore.”
However, these words meant nothing to her. If such a situation arose in the future, she would still do the same time. She said these words merely to give both parties a way out of this awkward situation.
Actually, everyone already knew the empress did not mean her words. It was impossible for her to admit her mistakes.
However, they still had to make their stance clear. What if Her Majesty did something even rasher than this in the future? This time around, her action almost scared everyone to death.
“Where’s Tie Yan?” The empress immediately called for someone when she saw that everyone had calmed down.
“I’m here.” Immediately, a short but muscular man stepped forward.
This man was the supervisor of the Public Security Bureau, Tie Yan. He was the one who investigated the scene where Ren Baqian was ambushed.
“Have you found anything?” the empress asked coldly.
Needless to say, Tie Yan knew what the empress was talking about. Quickly, he replied, “Your Majesty, those four men were sacrificial warriors, I couldn’t find out anything about them. The weapons and crossbows they used as well as the clothes they wore are from the Yun Nation. During this period of time, I did not dare to slack off on the investigation. Finally, I found out that they travelled from Great Xia to the Yun Nation, and then from the Yun Nation they travelled to Dayao. In Dayao, they stayed in a place that was arranged by a shopkeeper from a family with the surname Xu. That family is from the Yun Nation as well. I have already thrown everyone in the Xu family into the prison. However, after interrogating them, I realized they did not know anything. The shopkeeper arranged lodgings for the four sacrificial warriors after receiving a sum of money from them.”
“That means, other than finding out they are from Great Xia, you have found nothing?” the empress asked coldly.
“I have not done a good job, please forgive me,” Tie Yan replied.
“Continue the investigation, I will give you another three more months. I want to know who is so audacious to such a thing.”
After thinking deeply about something, the empress continued, “And remember to kill everyone that you have thrown into the prison.”