Chapter 159 - 96: Kill Them All, Then Shove the Great Yu Human Emperor Seal in My Mouth

Chapter 159: Chapter 96: Kill Them All, Then Shove the Great Yu Human Emperor Seal in My Mouth

After circulating the Emperor’s Extreme Body Refining Technique for another three cycles, Zhao Ci finally felt his strength and spirit fully restored.

He then stopped cultivating and quickly washed up.

He glanced out the window. Day had fully broken.

He stretched and pushed the door open, stepping outside.

’So much happened last night,’ he thought. ’Qingyang County must be in an uproar. I’d like to see how this whole farce plays out.’

"Huh?"

Zhao Ci glanced down and found a figure curled up at his doorway.

’She looks a little familiar.’

He crouched down and poked Kan Luotang’s shoulder. "Miss Luotang?"

"Mmm~"

Kan Luotang whimpered, then startled awake as if from a nightmare. Her eyes flew open and she cried out anxiously, "Your Highness! Your Highness!"

Her eyes were red and swollen, and she looked completely devastated.

Zhao Ci grinned. "I’m right here!"

Kan Luotang was speechless.

She stared blankly for a long moment, her gaze fixed on Zhao Ci’s bright, lively eyes. In disbelief, she rubbed her own.

She looked him over again and again.

She opened her mouth. "You..."

Zhao Ci smiled, spreading his hands. "All better!"

Kan Luotang couldn’t hold it in any longer. She buried her face in the crook of her arm, half crying, half laughing, her delicate shoulders shaking uncontrollably.

No one knew what she had been through that night.

She was the one who should have faced that tribulation for Zhao Ci, but she had returned unscathed while he had nearly died.

’How could I ever atone for this?’

A single thought had consumed her all of yesterday: if Zhao Ci managed to survive, she would return and immediately petition the Emperor to let them marry. Even if he were paralyzed and bedridden for life, she would dedicate herself to his care without a single word of complaint.

Seeing him alive—and not just alive, but truly, fully recovered...

She couldn’t even begin to describe how she felt.

Overwhelmed by this sudden shift from sorrow to joy, her eyes, which she thought had long run dry, began to stream with tears once more.

Thankfully, the long night had left her emotionally drained, and she quickly managed to compose herself.

Wiping the corners of her eyes, she looked up and said, "Oh, right, Your Highness! The roster! The roster was on my horse, but I don’t know where it ran off to..."

"There’s no hurry!"

Zhao Ci chuckled. "If Zhang Delv isn’t an idiot, you can be sure he’s desperately trying to find that roster for you."

Kan Luotang was speechless.

’He has a point!’

’I must have cried myself stupid, not even thinking of something so simple.’

’I don’t know the full details of the attack, but it was certainly unrelated to the prefectural competition. The Court will undoubtedly send investigators—that’s a given. For such a heinous incident to happen in Zhang Delv’s jurisdiction, he’s bound to be implicated, especially since he’d just had a run-in with Zhao Ci.’

’Right now, Zhang Delv must be on his absolute best behavior.’

’Last night, wasn’t Zhang Delv with Zhao Qing? He couldn’t possibly fail to recognize my horse.’

’The roster should be safe.’

"By the way, Your Highness, who on earth did this to you?"

"Who knows? We’ll just have to wait for the investigation."

Zhao Ci shrugged. He truly had no idea who wanted him dead. His best guess was that they were after his memories of the Alchemy of Wine.

’After all, it’s the only thing of value I really possess.’

’Nothing else is worth such a great risk.’

’I have a few suspects in mind, but they all seem unlikely. I don’t think any of them have the guts for something like this.’

’I’ll just wait for the Court to handle it.’

As he was thinking this, he suddenly felt a soft, warm hand close around his wrist.

He glanced down and saw Kan Luotang taking his pulse.

[System Notification]: Wish fulfilled. Reward: Comprehension Value +100, Art of Undressing Manual x1.

[System Notification]: Wish fulfilled. Reward: Comprehension Value +100, Healing Talisman x1.

[Art of Undressing Manual]: Grants mastery in the methods for removing all types of clothing.

[Healing Talisman]: When used on a target, reduces their recovery time by a hundredfold.

Zhao Ci was speechless.

’The first wish was Kan Luotang’s.’

’The second wish was Gu Xiangzhu’s. Speaking of which, how was that well-endowed "auntie" so sure I wouldn’t suffer any lasting injuries?’

"Huuuh..."

Kan Luotang finally let out a long, deep sigh of relief.

Zhao Ci glanced at her. Her eyes were red and swollen, her face was pale, her clothes were torn in several places, and she still carried the smell of smoke from the forest fire.

’There’s a tragic beauty to her disheveled state.’

He couldn’t help but smile. "How about... you get some rest first? I’ll have someone prepare a change of clothes for you."

"No!"

Kan Luotang shook her head emphatically. "I’m staying with you!"

Zhao Ci gave a small smile. "Don’t worry, I’m really fully healed."

Kan Luotang bit her lip. "It’s not about whether you’ve healed. The people from the surrounding towns will be arriving soon. I want to go with you to distribute the medicinal pills."

Zhao Ci was taken aback. "Aren’t you exhausted?"

Kan Luotang shook her head. "I’m not tired!"

Zhao Ci was speechless.

’I’m suddenly realizing all the women I know are incredibly career-driven.’

Resigned.

He could only nod.

The two of them left the courtyard side by side.

As they walked.

Kan Luotang found herself repeatedly glancing at Zhao Ci’s profile.

To say she wasn’t tired.

That would have been a lie.

Last night, she had cast one lightning spell after another, and her emotions had been in turmoil. She was utterly exhausted, both physically and mentally.

She wanted nothing more than to find a place to lie down and sleep for days on end.

But she was afraid.

She was afraid that if she fell asleep, she would wake up to find this was all a dream—that Zhao Ci had actually died from his grievous wounds.

She was even more terrified that another accident would befall Zhao Ci while she was asleep.

’How could I allow that to happen?’

Last night, she had been consumed with worry.

The events of the past few days replayed in her mind, every moment dominated by the image of Zhao Ci.

His compassion in agreeing to gift the medicinal pills to the people of the Northern Three Prefectures.

His shrewdness in seeing through and foiling Zhang Delv’s insidious schemes, and his courage in refusing to feign ignorance, even when he knew it would make his own path in the prefectural competition that much harder.