The study was filled with the mixed scent of old parchment and magic crystal incense. The dark brown oak desk was large and heavy, with several maps of the Hill Empire's territory spread across its surface.
The locations of the royal capital and various territories were marked in red ink on the map, its edges weighed down by a paperweight inlaid with a blue magic crystal.
And Ye Chuan appeared here.
"I'm here."
Kaiaolen sat in the carved chair behind the desk, seemingly lost in thought. Seeing Ye Chuan casually plop down, he said,
"How is Elara's studying going?"
His tone carried genuine concern.
"The Imperial Academy's entrance exam is no ordinary test. Not only must the written portion be passed, but the practical combat assessment also demands a high score. She'll also have to deal with the sabotage from the children of other noble families. Ever since Elara's magic stopped progressing, she's lacked self-confidence. I must trouble you to take good care of her."
Ye Chuan leaned back in his chair, took a sip of the juice on the table, and replied lazily,
"Don't worry, her progress isn't slow, and she even had some practical combat today."
"That's good..."
Ye Chuan continued, "We did practical combat in the labyrinth today. Even after taking an arrow, she managed to counter-kill a goblin. She's not stupid; she knew to switch to low-power, quick-cast magic."
"As long as she practices combat a few more times, it'll be more than enough to handle the Academy's exam."
Ye Chuan wasn't entirely clear on the Imperial Academy's requirements either, but since Aurora could become the number one mage of the new generation, Elara definitely could too.
After all, once Elara's curse was resolved, her rate of progress had been very fast.
"Elara was shot by an arrow?!" Kaiaolen immediately stood up. "Is she alright?!"
"How could you let my precious granddaughter get hurt!"
Ye Chuan: "..."
"Tsk, doting grandfather much? If you're so afraid of her getting hurt, just lock her up and hide her at home. I guarantee no one will be able to hurt her."
"This..."
"Alright... I wasn't thinking straight."
Kaiaolen sat back down and sighed. "With you around, I can rest easy."
"If she manages to enroll, regarding your compensation, I've already had people prepare the gold coins."
"Whatever you say." Ye Chuan waved his hand. Gold coins that weren't yet in his hands were just empty promises anyway, so he lacked much interest in the compensation.
"So then, did you call me over just to talk about this?"
The relaxed expression on Kaiaolen's face instantly faded. His brows furrowed, and he let out a heavy sigh.
"You guessed it... I wanted to see you regarding the matter of Count Leon."
"Who?"
"You don't know him—" Kaiaolen explained.
"Count Leon is one of the most powerful lords in the Hill Empire. I had hoped to persuade him to join forces against the disguised monsters in the royal capital, but the envoy he sent... was simply impervious to reason."
Kaiaolen's tone carried a hint of helplessness.
"That envoy stubbornly insisted that the abnormal activity in the royal capital was a lie I fabricated."
"No matter how I explained it, or even brought out the things Torres brought back, he just thought it was all a staged act by us."
"He doesn't believe there are monsters capable of disguising themselves as humans?" Ye Chuan raised an eyebrow.
"Exactly." Kaiaolen nodded. "Furthermore, Count Leon has always been cautious and paranoid. He's far away and has never encountered the anomalies around the royal capital. The envoy, even more so, only believes what he sees with his own eyes."
"So they think the so-called disguised monsters are nothing but an excuse we made up to rope in allies. They even suspect that I'm trying to seize the empire."
Ye Chuan thought for a moment, then smiled and said, "It's simple. Just let him see it with his own eyes."
"See it with his own eyes?" Kaiaolen paused, startled.
"You mean go to the royal capital? But the royal capital is currently controlled by those monsters; venturing deep into it rashly is too dangerous. Besides, that envoy is as timid as a mouse; he might not be willing to risk his life with us."
"There's no need to go to the royal capital," Ye Chuan said. "There are quite a few disguised monsters even in Miral. Do you think there would be any less in that Count Leon's territory?"
"Just catch a few and show them to the Count face to face."
Realization dawned in Kaiaolen's eyes, and he slapped the desk.
"Great idea! Since the disguised monsters could infiltrate Miral, there's no reason they would spare Valoran. That old geezer Leon's territory is rich in resources, and its slums and commercial ports are a mixed bag of people—it's the perfect hunting ground for these monsters to hide and prey!"
"Valoran?"
"Valoran is the territory where Count Leon resides. It's about half a month's journey from here. Located along the Golden Trade Route, it has a dense and highly mobile population. A place like that would definitely be easy for disguised monsters to exploit."
Kaiaolen said in a deep voice, "As long as we can catch a few live disguised monsters in Valoran and bring them before Leon, the evidence will be irrefutable. No matter how paranoid he is, he won't be able to deceive himself anymore!"
But the excitement didn't last long before Kaiaolen's face darkened again, his brows tightly knitted. "It's just... I can't leave for the time being."
He pointed to the territory map on the desk, where lines marked in red ink crisscrossed.
"I am currently communicating with Count Blaine, Count Oscar, and Countess Elena. They are already showing signs of wavering, and we are just about to finalize a time for a face-to-face meeting these next few days. If I rashly leave Miral, all the previous plans will be thrown into chaos."
He looked at Ye Chuan. "Xixi, I can only ask you to make the trip personally for this matter."
"Me?" Ye Chuan pointed at himself.
Kaiaolen nodded.
Ye Chuan held out his fingers and rubbed them together.
"You won't be short on money." Kaiaolen was speechless.
This guy... is he a mercenary?
No, even a mercenary wouldn't be as desperate for money as you, right?
"That works."
"Xixi, why are you so short on money?" However, Kaiaolen was also a bit curious about why Ye Chuan needed money so urgently.
From Kaiaolen's perspective, Xixi didn't seem to have any financial difficulties at all.
"..." Hearing Kaiaolen ask him this, Ye Chuan fell silent for a moment and let out a deep sigh.
"I don't make money for myself."
"You mean—"
"I need to buy a place to relieve many people... They are all waiting for me to spend money to save them... So I need money, a lot of money, enough to buy that place."
"As long as I buy it, there won't be so much suffering anymore."
Kaiaolen stared blankly at Ye Chuan. He had considered countless possibilities, but he absolutely never imagined Ye Chuan would give an answer like this.
So that was it...
To think that Xixi was such a philanthropic person!
Is it an orphanage?!
Xixi was making all this money just to buy an orphanage?!
It was to stop everyone from suffering?!
"I misunderstood you." Kaiaolen opened his mouth, ultimately unable to stop himself from shaking his head.
He had thought of many superficial reasons, but he never expected this.
"You are a good man. Elara definitely made no mistake following you. If possible in the future, I also hope to visit that place and have a look," Kaiaolen said.
"You want to go have a look? Experience it for yourself?" Ye Chuan cast a sidelong glance at Kaiaolen.
Seeing as you're a decent and righteous lord, how come you're just like that old pervert Si Daofu?
s the Eldest Princess, renowned for her cold and aloof detachment, became the most docile of lambs, obeying his every command without question. But when the final move was played on the chessboard, as Gu Chenghan seized everything and ascended on the verge of apotheosis, that very Princess suddenly embraced him from behind, her tone carrying a dependence never heard before: "Wait... you haven't yet... commanded me to love you forever." Gu Chenghan froze abruptly. She... hadn't been hypnotized?! ... [The Eldest Princess's Diary] [When my soul was extracted, becoming the sole spectator outside my own shell] [At first, there was overwhelming fury, until I saw] [How he used my sword to effortlessly shatter my inescapable doom] [How he wielded my authority to eradicate fatal conspiracies I had never even detected] [Like a deity, he rescued me from the deep mire I was trapped in] [If not for those annoying vixens, he and I would be a match made in heaven] [I think I am ill, gravely ill] [My deity should belong to me alone] ... "Hypnosis? Oh, it succeeded, my dear Master." "Only this time, it's my turn to hypnotize you."
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
to panic—he has a system. As long as an investment target dies, he can claim a reward. And since he is immortal, the one thing he has plenty of is time. ... Countless years later. “Immortal Emperor of Longevity? I invested in him.” “Supreme Celestial Venerable? I invested in him.” “Undying Empress? I invested in her.” “...” “Heh. Once they’ve all died, even the Heavenly Dao will have to kneel and call me Dad.”
ver to a world of cultivation and returned invincible. Modern medicine is child's play compared to elixirs; technological might crumbles before true cultivation. My name is Qin Ning, Earth's sole cultivator!
