The King

After packing up, Gu Qingfeng prepared to set off, but the moment he took his first step, he suddenly froze.

"Where the hell is this? And which way should I go?"

Clearly, he was lost again.

Gu Qingfeng scratched his head, though he wasn’t panicked—he’d dealt with this situation before.

Activating his soul scan, he instantly enveloped the surrounding area.

"Hmm? There's a demon to the left, not too far away. Alright, it’ll do."

Muttering to himself, Gu Qingfeng vanished on the spot.

A moment later, an elderly, frail-looking grandmother came into view.

Gu Qingfeng swaggered toward her with an unmistakably arrogant gait. The old woman noticed him and immediately flashed a kindly smile.

"Young man, this old woman twisted her ankle while gathering firewood in the mountains. Would you be so kind as to carry me down? My home isn’t far, just—"

Smack!

A resounding slap landed right on the kindly grandmother’s face.

She crumpled to the ground, instantly revealing her true form—her once-gentle face twisted into that of a cat, though her body remained hunched and aged.

The cat-faced old woman glared at Gu Qingfeng with a snarl. "How dare you hit—"

Smack! Smack! Smack! Smack!

A flurry of slaps—front and back—rained down on her face, leaving it mangled and bloody, patches of fur torn away.

She was left utterly dazed and terrified.

Who was this guy? Not only did he lack basic respect for the elderly, but he didn’t even say a word before slapping her!

"Help! Stop! Please, no more!" The cat-faced woman tried to flee, but she was pinned down, completely immobilized, forced to endure the beating.

"Are you leading the way or not?!" Gu Qingfeng demanded between slaps.

"Lead where?!" she shrieked in agony.

"Oh, still playing dumb, huh?"

Smack! Smack! Smack!

"Stop! I’ll lead! I’ll lead!"

Gu Qingfeng finally relented, satisfied. "That’s more like it. Could’ve saved yourself the trouble by agreeing earlier."

The cat-faced woman was on the verge of tears. "S-Sir... you never even asked! You just started hitting me right away—"

Smack!

Another slap silenced her.

"Do I need to ask? Can’t you use some initiative? Ever heard of reading the room? Think for a second—here I am, wandering alone in the middle of nowhere. Any idiot could tell I’m lost.

But no, instead of offering to guide me, you had the nerve to ask me to carry you? Absolutely zero situational awareness. Tell me, don’t you deserve these slaps?"

The cat-faced woman was utterly broken. What kind of monster was this? Since when did humans bully demons like this?!

"Y-Yes, yes! This lowly demon was blind! Where does the great sir wish to go? This one will lead the way at once!"

"Take me to Wutong Prefecture in Donglin Prefecture. Actually, scratch that—first, bring me to the nearest demon den. My worksite is short on laborers. Time to recruit some demon workers."

......

Three days later.

Gu Qingfeng rode back into Wutong Prefecture atop a majestic black-feathered eagle.

The moment he entered the city, he sensed something was off. The entire prefecture seemed to be under lockdown—streets were emptier than usual, with armored soldiers patrolling and posting notices everywhere.

Gu Qingfeng casually approached one of the notice boards, already crowded with people pointing and murmuring.

Unable to squeeze through, he turned to a bystander. "Hey, friend, what’s going on here?"

The man, clearly a gossip, lit up with excitement. "You haven’t heard? Huge news! A few days ago, a man named Gu Qingfeng obtained the legacy of the Ageless Pill—and guess what?

He was kidnapped on the spot! The Emperor’s been waiting for that pill to extend his life, so naturally, he flew into a rage. Ordered the entire nation to hunt for Gu Qingfeng. See these notices? They’ve got his portrait up there. Anyone who finds him or provides leads gets ten thousand taels of gold.

Ten. Thousand. Taels. Who wouldn’t be tempted? That’s why everyone’s cramming here, memorizing his face, hoping to get lucky one day."

Gu Qingfeng’s eye twitched. "Friend, I’ve studied medicine since childhood. Specialized in diagnostics. The moment I saw you, I could tell—you’ve got an eye condition."

The man gasped. "A miracle doctor! You could tell just like that? I—I admit, as a child, my family was poor, but I loved studying. Often read by moonlight. That’s how I ruined my eyes."

"Let’s put that aside for now. Hypothetically, if someone did find Gu Qingfeng, where would they claim the reward?"

"The local yamen, of course. Any yamen will do."

"Thanks for the tip." Gu Qingfeng immediately dashed off toward the yamen.

"Wait, miracle doctor! You didn’t tell me how to cure my eyes!"

Gu Qingfeng didn’t look back, already lost in thought. If I turn myself in, do I still get the ten thousand taels?

Probably, right?

Come to think of it, if wanted criminals surrendered, could they collect their own bounties?

......

Half an hour later.

Gu Qingfeng lounged in the yamen’s main hall, sipping tea personally served by County Magistrate Zhang. He reclined in the magistrate’s seat, utterly at ease.

County Magistrate Zhang, however, looked deeply troubled. "Lord Gu... in all of history, there’s never been a case of someone claiming their own bounty. Besides, you’re destined to become a Prince of the Realm soon. Why fuss over mere ten thousand taels? Once you’re a prince, forget ten thousand—even a million taels would be within reach."

Gu Qingfeng took a leisurely sip. "Old Zhang, let me ask you this: If I take these ten thousand taels now, does that mean I won’t get the million later?"

"W-Well... no, of course not," the magistrate stammered.

"Exactly. So if it doesn’t affect my future millions, why shouldn’t I take the ten thousand now?"

"But—but how am I supposed to report this?!"

"Use your head! Just say you found me, claim the reward, then hand the money to me. Simple."

"Wh—No! Absolutely not! That’s deceiving the Emperor—a capital offense!"

BAM!

Gu Qingfeng slammed the table. "Old Zhang! Do you even understand what a Prince of the Realm is? It means I’ll be sitting shoulder-to-shoulder with the Emperor on the damn throne! Half the Great Yan Dynasty will be mine! What ‘capital offense’? That’ll be my call to make!

Now, unless you want to personally experience the ‘consequences,’ you’ll get this done."

County Magistrate Zhang nearly wet himself at the treasonous words. This man genuinely intended to stand equal to the Emperor!

But regardless, Gu Qingfeng was far beyond a petty magistrate’s reach. He had no choice but to comply.

"This... this lowly official will obey the prince’s command." Magistrate Zhang didn’t even bother correcting the title—better to humor the man than provoke him.

"Good. Old Zhang, you’re a man who knows what’s what." Smiling, Gu Qingfeng raised his teacup for another sip.

At that very moment, an overwhelming aura of power suddenly emanated from the sky not far away.