Dual Cultivation God Returns

Wu Long didn’t make the offer to Chen Hui lightly, and it wasn’t all that charitable of him either, even if he did take helping the Imperial Guard into consideration.

From the reports he received a bit earlier, he confirmed that the ages of the older two princes were both at 19, the same as the 5th prince. The difference was only in months they were born in.

He also got at least some of an understanding of each of the 3 other princes vying for throne, not only from reports, but from his interaction with the 9th prince who threw out valuable information like it was pebbles.

And the situation did not look too good.

Of course, he could not be certain, and even the vague estimations could be off since he did not meet the other three in person, but it did seem like there was no suitable person to have dealings with among the princes.

But he wasn’t too discouraged about the prospects of working with someone in the Imperial Family who could lay claim for throne, as yesterday, he learned another piece of information from the 9th prince.

There was a princess who showed some promise as a potential ruler. The problem was her lack of any backing, or perhaps, it was that which made her a promising candidate in Wu Long’s eyes. Since she didn’t stand a chance whatsoever, she didn’t have anyone latch onto her to steer her or inflate her ego.

Her mother was a powerless concubine, without any major political backing. She was also favored by the Emperor for her beauty, which initially put her in a precarious position. However, to her luck, she did not give birth to a son, so she was spared from most of the political turmoil.

Thus, as long as her daughter kept her head down, quietly biding her time until she would be eventually married off, this concubine could lead a peaceful, lavish and indulgent lifestyle.

Unlike the Empress and other concubines who were busy with the battle of succession, as well as have been kept at a distance since giving birth to heirs from the Emperor’s side as well, as he, at least officially, took an impartial stance in the succession as per tradition, this concubine was regularly visiting the Emperor’s chambers, thus receiving gifts and various favors from him.

It wasn’t all peaceful and quiet in the palace of the concubine, however, as her daughter showed interest in policy making and was making waves in the concubine’s perfect world, causing clashes between the two.

In this Wu Long saw an opportunity.

The princess obviously had ambition. She was also claimed to have qualities that Wu Long saw as promising for a ruler.

However, she lacked power and opportunity.

If Wu Long were to give her at least the latter, and perhaps some of the former, she would be much more open to cooperate with him than any of the four princes that mattered.

And he would be in a much better position to negotiate, unlike with the four princes who did so from the position of strength.

Her mother, while seeming adamant about wishing to not participate in the battle of succession, was simply afraid and did not see a chance. If she saw a real opportunity to become the Queen Dowager, however, she would quickly change tune.

The only question, was the issue of the marriage partner for the princess. She did not have legal standing to fight for the throne without one.

It had to be someone carefully chosen in order to not introduce separate political influence into the equation, as well as someone who would not compete with the princess for power in case they won the throne, a trustworthy partner to her without hidden ambition.

Chen Hui was an obvious choice, since he wasn’t affiliated with any political faction, and was someone who could be trusted. He also did not have any ambition to rule, or for power in general.

Not to mention, it wasn’t like the princess was someone who couldn’t find a husband if she wanted to, she was rumored to be quite popular among the city’s young noblemen. Her problem was in getting the permission to marry, and finding someone trustworthy, with the right qualifications who would also not be afraid to step into such a precarious position.

So Wu Long was in a way looking out for both the captain and the princess at the same time. One received a beautiful bride and higher status that shielded him from his current troubles, another received a dependable partner she could trust, that allowed her to compete for the throne, and an ally in Wu Long, who could help her with the permission and a few other things.

It was obviously meant to start as a contract marriage of sorts, but for some reason Wu Long had a good hunch about this match without even meeting the woman. And his hunch was rarely wrong.

Wu Long’s name across the Seven Boundless Worlds was often infamous for the number of green hats he gave out. Although he knew that he never touched loving couples and only gave those hats to certain people who didn’t appreciate what they had, no one mentioned this because the most vocal people on this issue were the offended.

However, a much less known fact about the God of Pleasure, because he never publicized it, was that he actually helped set up much more very successful marriages across the Seven Boundless Worlds than he broke failed ones. Some of those marriages laid the foundation for powerful alliances and forces, and many of Wu Long’s most ardent supporters and allies were connected to him in this exact way. And his most successful matches were preceded with exactly this kind of hunch, so he was in a good mood.

Of course, this was all just a plan drawn in large brush strokes, and it could all fall apart very easily. For example, if the circumstantial evidence was erroneous and the princess turned out to be as unreasonable as her brothers, and thus not worth investing time and effort in.

The situation was fluid, and could change at any moment.

But Wu Long was used to operating in such unstable circumstances, or rather, he thrived in them. Because stability implied little opportunity to wedge influence, while in chaos there was never a shortage of ways.

As he was walking back, he suddenly made a look toward the horizon.

“Hm? Heh, look who finally decided to show up”, Wu Long chuckled, thinking the pirate leader was perhaps too cautious as he felt the Spiritual Qi Mark he discreetly left on the latter through the wound enter this world.

Though for a moment, he inwardly debated if it really mattered at this point, since Wu Long’s relationship with the 5th prince already soured.

But he still decided to follow through in case it might come in handy later, and his figure disappeared from the spot without attracting much attention.

—

In a small town near a fortress built around the World Stone, as all the World Stones on this continent were strategic locations for the Wei Dynasty and thus were controlled with fortresses, a man entered a small inn’s restaurant and then through the kitchen arrived in a small discreet establishment for private meetings.

The anti-spying formations in this place rivaled that of similar establishment in the Emerald Falls City itself, but it also meant that the prices matched.

The man went to sit down in a room he was shown into, slightly nervously waiting.

About an hour later, another guest arrived in a bamboo hat, sitting across without taking off the hat or the cloak.

“You’re late”, the man in the bamboo hat started in a raspy low voice as soon as the door closed behind the employee and he felt the concealing formations activate.

“I-I was injured, and weakened… plus I had to be careful-…”, the pirate leader instantly began explaining away the apparent delay in his arrival.

“Weakened? Did you use the pill… and still lost?”

“T-that’s what I was going to tell you-….”

“What techniques did the man who fought you used, what styles of combat? Did you recognize any?”

“Ehm… no… there wasn’t any I know-…”

“What of his affiliation? Did he say something?”

“Y-you’re asking all these questions too damn quick! L-let me thi-…”

“Yes or no, did he say something you could link to his affiliation?”

“L-listen here! I screwed up, okay? It happens! B-but let alone knowing about you, they didn’t even see my face. I can still gather a new team and-…!”

“Answer the question”

Wu Long and Old Yen sat on the ceiling boards above the two, atop a number of talismans. The former’s eyes narrowed at this development, ‘He’s going to be disposed of’

This was the more likely reason the pirate leader was so late in arriving. He also feared there could be this chance.

Wu Long then had to make a decision in this moment, whether to save the pirate leader and try to get something useful out of him, if he knew anything at all, or to have Old Yen follow this man, who was obviously not the mastermind but more likely a low-level enforcer, also not completely aware of the whole picture or even who exactly was hiring him.

The second choice was far more likely to bring something useful, but could take days to get results. Days of discreetly following this man that Old Yen could be using for digging for other useful information.

Old Yen’s concealment and spying techniques were already formidable enough, and he was smart to know where he shouldn’t go or who he shouldn’t mess with, so Wu Long had no worries in leaving this to him. He also provided him with enough useful talismans that would help him dealing with these kinds of privacy formations.

But Old Yen was also too useful of an asset to spend days following up on clues for something Wu Long only marginally considered interesting. After all, it mattered little who tried to sabotage the 5th prince at this point. He just came here ‘in case’ this meeting could lead somewhere interesting.

Seeing Old Yen’s gaze, however, he decided to pay this price. It also was somewhat of a test for Old Yen’s skills on a much higher level.

He nodded to Old Yen, and disappeared from the spot, leaving this to him, without staying to witness the pirate leader’s demise.