Volume One: The Sword of the Son of Heaven Chapter 68: Gossip Comes Home

A living person, in an instant, was burst open from within. The gruesomeness of the scene would make anyone’s scalp tingle. Zhou Yuanliang staggered back, retching, while Luo Xiaoyu ran straight to the corner to vomit; not a bit of the candy she had just eaten was spared. Lan Yu stood at the doorway, his face dark and unreadable, silent. It was clear the Duke of Yu was seething, a volcano on the verge of eruption.

Yun Que frowned slightly. He had expected Zhou Yuanliang to bring the Duke, thinking it would be best for Lan Yu to learn the truth firsthand. Yet he had not anticipated that the imposter masquerading as Lan Yusheng would self-destruct. Now, all clues were severed. Apart from confirming that the one disguised as Lan Yusheng was a barbarian, nothing else remained. As for the mastermind behind it all, there was not a single trace.

“He was fed some kind of worm,” Yun Que recalled the thin legs he had glimpsed protruding from the imposter’s mouth, surmising that some strange insect had been in his belly.

“That was a Gu worm. I know now who is targeting me,” Lan Yu said, his voice low and grave.

Yun Que was quite surprised. The clue that had seemed broken had, in fact, allowed the old Duke to discern the true culprit.

“Grandfather Lan, who is the mastermind behind all this?” Yun Que pressed.

Lan Yu sighed deeply, a hint of fear in his tone. “Uda—the barbarian prophet and Hesa. Among the barbarians, his status is extremely high. He excels at divination and is a master of Gu sorcery. He’s an old adversary of both your father and me.”

Yun Que had never heard his father mention Uda, but he was aware of the existence of a prophet Hesa among the barbarians, who was akin to their spiritual leader. Five years ago, at the Battle of Han River, it was the Duke of Yu and the Marquis of Yanmen who commanded the Yan army, the highest commanders and thorns in the barbarians’ side. That year, the Marquis of Yanmen fell in battle at Han River City, while Lan Yu, unable to withstand the enemy, was forced to retreat south of the Han River, helplessly watching the barbarians trample the northern banks.

These years, the Duke of Yu had not sat idly by. He often dispatched border troops to raid the barbarians across the river, and skirmishes were frequent, with many enemies slain. For this reason, the barbarians hated him to the bone, wishing nothing more than to see him dead.

Having learned all this, Yun Que trusted the old Duke’s judgment. Even if the barbarian disguised as Lan Yusheng had not been sent directly by the prophet Hesa, he was certainly connected to Uda.

“That villainous Uda remains far to the north, rarely appearing on the battlefield. I wish I could grind his bones to dust!” Lan Yu cursed, then, remembering something, his voice grew mournful: “With the barbarians’ methods, they never leave survivors. My poor grandson is surely lost to the underworld! This debt will be avenged upon the barbarians!”

Since a barbarian had impersonated Lan Yusheng, Lan Yu was convinced his real grandson had met his end and could not possibly be alive. The old general, after a lifetime of war, now stood with tears in his eyes, utterly desolate.

“Grandfather Lan, Brother Yusheng isn’t dead—he’s still alive.”

To the Duke of Yu, Yun Que’s words were like celestial music. Lan Yu’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“Is it true? Yun, you’re not lying to me?”

“I could lie to anyone, but never to you, Grandfather Lan.” Yun Que briefly recounted how he had found Lan Yusheng, omitting the mention of the Golden Flood Python, instead saying it was an unknown monstrous serpent he happened to slay, and there discovered Lan Yusheng, who had been poisoned.

“Good! Yun, you truly are my lucky star!” Lan Yu was overjoyed, finally able to let go of his worries. He asked eagerly, “Is the snake venom serious? Is his life in danger?”

“He’s out of immediate peril, though not yet awake. With careful care he’ll recover—don’t worry, Grandfather Lan.” Yun Que said nothing of the detoxifying pill; there was no need. With the friendship between the Yun and Lan families, even the rarest treasures could be spared. If the roles were reversed and Yun Que had been poisoned, the Duke would certainly spare no expense to save him.

By now Luo Xiaoyu had finished vomiting and, weakly, added, “Senior Brother Yun used a mid-grade detoxification pill—no poison can withstand it.”

At the mention of a mid-grade pill, Lan Yu’s expression changed. He knew the value—at least several hundred spirit stones to purchase.

“Don’t hide the truth from me, Yun. However many spirit stones you spent, I’ll repay you double!” Lan Yu declared, waving a broad hand in generosity.

“It really wasn’t much,” Yun Que replied, a little embarrassed. In truth, he had spent nothing—just a bit of earth.

Seeing Lan Yu’s insistence on repayment, Yun Que said, “If you must give me something, Grandfather Lan, how about those insects in the corner?”

He pointed to the corpse-eating bugs in the room’s corner. Though repulsive, they were actually quite useful for erasing bodies without a trace.

Lan Yu, seeing he could not persuade Yun Que, let it go. There was no need for formality between their families; if Yun ever needed money or silver, he could always come and ask.

Thus, what had begun as a lively wedding feast ended in haste. The Duke of Yu sent men to Sword Palace to fetch Lan Yusheng back to the Duke’s manor, where he would spare no expense for his recovery.

At the same time, many of Yan’s military officials began, upon returning home, to mobilize troops and reinforce security inside and outside the imperial city, launching covert and overt investigations into how barbarians had infiltrated the capital.

The imperial city of Yan, which had seemed tranquil, now seethed with hidden currents.

During the wedding feast, there was a small incident. Most of the guests had no idea what had happened at the Duke’s manor, but Zhou Shibo, the Grand Minister, was well aware. Lan Yu himself had fetched him from the main hall and brought him to the bloodstained wooden hut.

Seeing the floor strewn with flesh, Zhou Shibo said not a word, but his face darkened considerably. As the head of the military, should anything befall the Duke of Yu, Zhou Shibo knew exactly what that would mean: the military leadership would be thrown into chaos, and the barbarians would become even more brazen.

The barbarians had long coveted the lands south of Han River. If they ever crossed it, they would be met with open plains all the way to the capital, with no natural defenses—Yan’s imperial city would be the first to fall.

After leaving the Duke’s manor, Zhou Shibo immediately sought an audience with the emperor, proposing to station more troops at the border, to repair the forts along the Han River, and to allocate funds to improve the border soldiers’ rations and pay.

Yet the emperor, distracted, merely mumbled and brushed him off. His mind was wholly occupied by the Sword of Heaven; he had no time for the frontier troops. Besides, the treasury was already empty—there was no money to be had!

On the way back to Sword Palace, Luo Xiaoyu, her pockets stuffed with candy, grinned foolishly. “Lord Yun’s performance today was truly magnificent! What a show! Next time there’s such excitement, don’t forget to invite me!” Zhou Yuanliang chattered away about all he had witnessed that day, clearly thrilled.

Yun Que, however, remained thoughtful. According to Lan Yu, Lan Yusheng had indeed gone hunting outside the city the previous day, but none of his guards had noticed the switch. Such a meticulous plan, executed with flawless precision, seemed beyond the capabilities of the rough and wild barbarians.

The assassin was dead, and the mastermind exposed; the matter seemed settled. Yet Yun Que could not shake the sense that another, unseen hand remained. This hidden hand was deeply embedded, serving as a bridge between the capital and the barbarians—a channel, a shelter.

Otherwise, the mere imposter could never have deceived even the Duke of Yu so perfectly.

There was another crucial point: the Golden Flood Python. At first, Yun Que had thought it a wild beast, but now it seemed most likely raised by someone. Regrettably, it had ended up in the belly of the blind serpent, leaving not a trace of evidence.

For now, Yun Que could not uncover the true identity of the hidden hand—but he was certain it was within the imperial city itself.

In high spirits, Luo Xiaoyu chewed her candy and mumbled indistinctly, “I discovered a secret—someone was poisoned at the wedding feast.”

Her words pulled Yun Que from his reverie. “Someone poisoned the food?” he asked.

“No, the food and drink were clean. The person was already poisoned when they arrived,” Luo Xiaoyu replied.

“Coming to a wedding already poisoned—how unlucky. Who was it?” Zhou Yuanliang asked, intrigued.

“It was an old man, very thin, with prominent cheekbones and bright eyes. He sat at the same table as the Duke of Yu,” Luo Xiaoyu recalled.

She had barely finished when Zhou Yuanliang froze, his gaze vacant. “The old man you’re talking about… that’s my father!”

Zhou Yuanliang had never imagined that, in the end, the excitement he had been enjoying involved his own family.