Chapter 167 - 98: Stealing from My Home? Lao Mo, I’m Craving Fish

Chapter 167: Chapter 98: Stealing from My Home? Lao Mo, I’m Craving Fish

After parting ways with Zhao Yong and the guards, Zhao Ci dismounted and, leading his horse by the reins, slowly strolled toward the Tenth Prince’s Mansion.

Although his body had fully recovered, he had been through too much these past few days. The constant tension on his nerves was finally taking its toll.

After riding for a day and a night, he really needed to clear his head.

The sudden sight of Lingge’s bustling streets felt truly healing.

But when he recalled the desolation of the Northern Three Prefectures, a sense of sorrow couldn’t help but well up inside him.

’Perhaps... this is why Kan Luotang goes back to the Northern Three Prefectures to practice medicine every year.’

After a long walk, he finally reached the street where the Tenth Prince’s Mansion was located, and most of his weariness finally dissipated.

He was just about to head home for a good, long sleep.

But he found his front door was unusually lively.

At some point, a seven-foot-square stone tablet had appeared at the entrance to the Tenth Prince’s Mansion, densely carved with names.

Beside the tablet, a long line had formed.

They were all clad in the tight-fitting attire of Martial Artists, and judging by the quality of their clothes, they came from wealthy families.

A quick glance revealed that most of them were familiar faces—all from the great clans of Lingge.

The main gates of the Tenth Prince’s Mansion, however, were shut tight.

Damn it!

’Are they fucking lining up to challenge us?’ Zhao Ci was stunned.

The crowd heard the sound of a horse and turned to look. The moment they saw it was Zhao Ci, their eyes lit up with a predatory green light.

"Your Highness!"

"Your Highness!"

"You’re finally back!"

"Can you get your Mansion Official to open the gate? We’re eager to spar!"

Zhao Ci: "???"

He felt that the way these people were crowding the gate didn’t look like challengers waiting for a Prince.

It was more like regular patrons of a brothel spotting the madam, waiting for the doors to open.

’This is just too humiliating!’

’No wonder Zhu Li’s letter was so urgent.’

But with the Imperial Clan Court’s rules in place, he couldn’t say much. He just waved his hand. "Everyone, be patient. I’ll go hurry them along. If they’re not home, I’ll be happy to entertain you all myself!"

With that, he pushed open the main gates of the Tenth Prince’s Mansion.

But as soon as he pushed the gate open, he heard a wary voice.

"Who’s there?"

Zhao Ci turned and saw a nervous-looking Cuiyun.

The moment Cuiyun saw it was Zhao Ci, her eyes reddened. "Your Highness, you’re finally back!"

Zhao Ci’s mouth twitched. "I know the Mansion Contest is intense, but we can’t just shut our doors to guests. The Prince’s Mansion is completely blocked by people. Don’t I have a reputation to uphold?"

From the moment the Mansion Contest started, each Prince’s Mansion served as the office for its Mansion Officials.

During his absence, Zhu Li and the others would work here during the day whenever they were free. Even though there wasn’t much official business to conduct, this was their base of operations.

Having your workplace besieged like this was indeed a bit of a disgrace.

"Well..."

Cuiyun hesitated, then sighed. "You’ll understand when you see for yourself."

Zhao Ci grimaced and walked straight into the main hall.

CREAK!

"Who’s there!"

"Who’s there!"

"Who’s there!"

Three people as jumpy as startled birds.

Feng Kucha was covered in filth, lying half-propped up on a bed with a dazed expression, looking like a young girl who’d been bullied during a team-building exercise.

Yang Mo was wrapped in bandages, his face a mask of pain.

Zhu Li’s small face was deathly pale, as if she’d been completely drained of energy.

All three of them looked absolutely miserable.

Zhao Ci: "..."

The tiny bit of irritation he had felt was instantly replaced by shame.

’I’m such an idiot!’

’My people are in such a wretched state, and I was actually complaining?’

"Old Zhao! Old Zhao!"

Feng Kucha’s eyes instantly reddened. Overcome with emotion, he rushed over and gave Zhao Ci a huge bear hug.

"Old Feng! I’m back, I’m sor—HURK! BLECH!"

Zhao Ci had been about to say something sentimental, but a foul stench assaulted his nostrils, making him gag uncontrollably.

He shoved Feng Kucha away and took a long moment to recover.

He couldn’t hold back anymore. "Did you fall into a latrine and ferment in there? What’s going on? Just how many people came to challenge us these past few days? I don’t remember the Mansion Contest ever being this intense!"

"It’s all the Imperial Clan Court’s fault!"

Zhu Li waved her small arms indignantly. "In previous years, the Mansion Contest warm-up was just for show, a chance for everyone to display their strength. But this time, they put up three rewards that only the top three performing Mansions can get. So now, everyone’s treating us like an easy target!"

"Hmm?"

A muscle in Zhao Ci’s brow twitched. "What rewards?"

Feng Kucha quickly pulled a piece of paper from his robes. "Here! These three."

Zhao Ci took it and unfolded it. His brows knitted into a knot. Among the three lines of text, he saw the words "Heaven-Suspended Spider Silk."

’Isn’t this the thing Old Deng was going to rig the system to give me?’

’The people in the Imperial Clan Court are no pushovers. They even managed to sanction Old Deng’s little scheme. But there’s nothing to be done. The Imperial Clan Court has to obey Old Deng in all other matters, but when it comes to the Mansion Contest, they have absolute authority.’

’They must have figured out Old Deng planned to rig it, so they just blew the whole thing up.’

’This move... it’s like they’re afraid the Mansion Contest *won’t* be chaotic enough. They really know how to put on a show.’

The three rewards were each priced at twenty contribution points—a workload that many Mansions would struggle to complete in a month. No wonder these people were rushing here like madmen to crash the party; there was a prize on the line.

He frowned and asked, "So what are the rules this time, and what’s the situation?"

Feng Kucha scratched his head. "Basically, everyone can challenge the Mansion Officials of other Mansions. The winner gets one point. You can only fight any given person once. If you lose five matches in a row, your points reset to zero and you’re out of this point battle. In the end, the three Mansions with the highest total points get the rewards."

Zhao Ci: "..."

’No wonder everyone’s so enthusiastic about the Tenth Prince’s Mansion. Aside from Zhu Li, who has above-average combat ability, the other two are a real pair of tactical geniuses.’

’A reliable source of free points and a guaranteed loss-streak breaker. Who wouldn’t love that?’

But he found one thing strange. "By the way, you and Lao Mo... no offense, but have you two not lost five matches in a row yet?"

Feng Kucha: "..."

He looked a little hurt, wanting to retort but at a loss for words.

Zhu Li’s face grew even paler. "Feng Kucha has a mop dipped in... in... in poop. As long as he can smear it on his opponent’s face, his win rate goes up by fifty percent. So he hasn’t lost too many."

Zhao Ci: "..."

’No wonder he stinks so bad. The kid’s a real fucking genius.’

He asked again, "And Lao Mo...?"

This time, Yang Mo, his expression grim, spoke up himself. "I’m durable, and I use poison. Sometimes I’m more durable, and other times, they’re more resistant to poison."

Zhao Ci: "..."

Looking at all the bandages, he felt his eyes start to burn.

He sighed and gave Yang Mo a bear hug. "Lao Mo! Trust me, you’re destined for great things!"

[Yang Mo’s Current Wish]: To overcome his fear and emerge from his cocoon. Wish Completion Reward: Insight +10,000, Stealable Talent: Divine Cocoon.

Yang Mo, still dejected, gave a muffled grunt in response.

Zhao Ci suddenly asked, "Lao Mo!"

Yang Mo: "Huh?"

Zhao Ci’s tone carried a hint of ferocity. "I’m craving fish!"

~~~~

I was with my wife for childbirth for seven days, and my backlog of Chapters is completely gone. Luckily, I didn’t break my streak of writing 10,000 characters a day.

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Time to write like crazy.

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