Transfer to Herald

Three days later, Chang'an City, Duke of Jin Manor, Broken Blade Hall.

Broken Blade Hall was where Yaoshi Mo Ke practiced martial arts. Its name meant "only stop after breaking the blade." Dozens, even hundreds, of broken blades were stuck inside, a testament to how tirelessly Yaoshi Mo Ke had trained with the blade in his younger years. However, ever since he had taken regency and become busy with state affairs, he had not set foot in Broken Blade Hall for many years. It was not until three years ago, when Yaoshi Yuan asked for the place to establish the Embroidered Uniform Guard, that the howling wind of blades sounded there once more.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard was not an official institution of Great Zhou. In fact, hardly anyone in Chang'an City knew of it. Even Yaoshi Mo Ke did not take it seriously; Yaoshi Yuan merely wanted to secretly raise a force of death warriors, so he let her do as she pleased.

But with her father's money and resources, Yaoshi Yuan quickly turned the Embroidered Uniform Guard into a thriving organization. Great Zhou did not lack swift horses; it merely lacked those who could recognize them. As long as Yaoshi Yuan provided a ladder for people to climb across the social hierarchy, countless people would scramble up it. To this day, there were two hundred and twenty lowest-rank "Iron Embroidery" members, sixteen first-tier "Bronze Embroidery" members, and three second-tier "Silver Embroidery" members in the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Around Chang'an, they already counted as a considerable force.

The three Silver Embroidery members were currently kneeling in Broken Blade Hall, their faces full of shame as they had no face to meet the lord who had promoted them.

"Three days ago, you said you would definitely find the spy in Anguo Temple within three days." Yaoshi Yuan spoke calmly. "Three days have passed, and you don't even have a clue?"

"Commander," one of the Silver Embroidery members said, "we investigated Anguo Temple's roster of monks for the past year. Apart from a forty-year-old mage transferred from the county three months ago, and three mages who passed away this year, Anguo Temple has undergone no other changes. There are no suspicious newcomers."

"Then did you find anything suspicious?"

The Silver Embroidery members exchanged glances. "There is one thing, but we don't know..."

"Speak!"

"We discovered that, at intervals, several nobles would visit Anguo Temple in the dead of night and spend the night there, leaving only the next day. Prince of Qin went most often, followed by Prince of Thousand Gold, Count of HuaiRen, and others."

"Do you have a list?"

The Silver Embroidery member hurriedly handed over a list. Yaoshi Yuan glanced at it. It recorded the names and the number of times each person had visited Anguo Temple in the middle of the night. The most frequent visitor was Prince of Qin Yaoshi Zhi, who had visited Anguo Temple ten times in the past six months.

She knew Yaoshi Zhi as well. He was greedy, vicious, shameless, frivolous, treacherous, and wicked. Unfortunately, he had been born into a good family: he was the emperor's younger brother by the same mother. If Yaoshi Zhi alone was not enough to make the list significant, then the names Yuwen Xuan, Li Bao, HeLan Ken, and others on it were even more important figures. Every one of them was notorious for violence and ruthlessness. There could be no good reason for them to gather together.

Yet at the very bottom of the list was a name she knew better than any other—

"Duke of Jin, once."

At that moment, Yaoshi Yuan suddenly recalled a conversation from a year ago. The Embroidered Uniform Guard had heard rumors that Anguo Temple was trafficking people. Yaoshi Yuan had thought this was an opportunity to strike at Buddhism, and had excitedly gone to discuss it with her father. In the end, her father had sternly warned her to abandon all investigations into Anguo Temple, or he would withdraw his support for the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

After a brief silence, Yaoshi Yuan placed the list atop an Eternal Candle on the table. Only after the list had burned to ash did she say calmly, "You may leave."

The Silver Embroidery members felt as if they had been granted a pardon and hurriedly left.

Yaoshi Yuan turned and looked at the war blade enshrined at the highest point of Broken Blade Hall.

It was the only unbroken blade in Broken Blade Hall. It had been Yaoshi Mo Ke's weapon during his first battle. The blade was mottled with rust and covered in scars, while its edge bore countless chips, revealing how brutal Yaoshi Mo Ke's first battle had been.

In the past, Yaoshi Yuan had felt great respect whenever she saw the blade, because it symbolized her father's valor. But now, when she looked at it, all she could see was its wear, ruin, and degradation.

"Father, I will not allow the Yaoshi clan to be disgraced."

She spoke each word distinctly. "Never."

After returning to her own courtyard, Yaoshi Yuan summoned two maids to apply her makeup and bind her chest. Once she had finished, she looked completely different from her original appearance. With layers of underclothes and armor concealing her body, she looked at a glance like a young man who had been battered by a long journey.

A theft operation inevitably required showing one's face. Therefore, as long as she could conceal her identity, she would have an excellent information advantage. If she could determine the true identities of the other three people, then Thieves' Den would be hers for the taking!

First Thieves' Den, then Chang'an, Great Zhou, and ultimately the entire world... clasped in her palm!

And the first step was inheriting Emperor Zhou's blade, Bingzi Jiaolin!

As she silently repeated "Thieves' Den," Yaoshi Yuan vanished from the room.

City of Evernight.

Ying Ru Shi sat in a carriage bound for the imperial palace, but it stopped before it had gone very far. The coachman said, "County Princess, there is a carriage blocking the road ahead of us."

"Go around it."

"I tried, but whenever I went around, the other carriage followed. It keeps blocking us."

Ying Ru Shi lifted the curtain. As luck would have it, the person in the carriage ahead also lifted the curtain and looked back. The two met each other's gaze from a distance, and the man revealed a false smile. "Le City County Princess, what a coincidence. Are you also going to see His Majesty? Shall this commoner make way for you?"

"Yes, Master Yu." Ying Ru Shi said calmly, "If Master Yu is in a hurry, please go ahead."

The person blocking the carriage of a county princess of the imperial clan was an actor named Yu Sun. Yet whether in carriage or pageantry, Yu Sun appeared far more honored than she did. He even dared to block her path, while Ying Ru Shi could say nothing.

This was all because Yu Sun was the actor the emperor always summoned to sing for him while playing the pipa. He was deeply favored. Let alone Ying Ru Shi, an ordinary member of the imperial clan—even the current prime minister or a prince with real power would hardly dare offend Yu Sun.

Unfortunately, Yu Sun's nephew had run rampant in Ping City and forcibly taken a commoner's daughter. Ying Ru Shi had witnessed it and killed him. From then on, Yu Sun had borne a grudge against her. He had even spoken ill of her to the emperor many times, leaving Ying Ru Shi as merely a county princess to this day.

Ying Ru Shi could only yield to Yu Sun at every turn. Even though he had humiliated her like this, she felt no anger and took the initiative to give way.

However, Yu Sun could only vent his anger in such a petty fashion. He shouted at the coachman to hurry up, as he had to reach the Palace City and await His Majesty's summons.

Just then, the earth of the City of Evernight trembled faintly. The official road rang with the thunder of hooves, and billowing dust rolled toward Yu Sun and Ying Ru Shi.

A War Chariot came charging recklessly down the official road, followed closely by dozens of Evil Spirit Knights in full heavy armor. Even their horses wore linked heavy armor. Though there were only dozens of riders, they swept past like a storm, making the earth tremble.

A wild-haired woman sat atop the foremost War Chariot. Her hair streamed in the wind, and the tips were actually burning, resembling countless fire snakes dancing in the air.

The War Chariot did not slow when it saw the carriages on the road. It crashed straight into them. Ying Ru Shi, behind them, still had time to dodge, but Yu Sun's carriage was smashed apart. Yu Sun and the coachman were sent flying, though neither suffered the slightest injury—in the main city, they were almost completely immune to this sort of physical damage. Before Yu Sun could get back to his feet, a pair of slender, graceful hands seized his head.

Yu Sun let out a scream.

His face was making a sizzling sound, as though a piece of raw meat had been thrown onto a scorching iron plate. Yet he did not dare struggle, and could only cry out repeatedly, "Your Majesty! Your Majesty, I am Yu Sun, Your Majesty! Your Majesty!"

The person driving the War Chariot through the City of Evernight at full speed was none other than Qi Kingdom Ruler Ying Le.

She stared at Yu Sun. "Do you know what you did wrong?"

"W-what?"

"Do you know what you did wrong?"

"I... I deserve death. I should not have accepted King Gao Yang's bribe and spoken on his behalf!"

"What else?"

"I... I should not have asked Prime Minister Yang to promote my son to an official position! Ah, Your Majesty—"

Yu Sun's cheek was almost charred by the heat, but Ying Le continued holding his face and asked expressionlessly, "What else?"

"I don't know. I shouldn't have killed anyone, shouldn't have committed adultery with my sister-in-law, shouldn't have... Aaaah!"

Yu Sun screamed and collapsed. The flesh on his cheeks had melted into meat juice, exposing his sinister teeth, and he was barely breathing. Ying Le held a bloody tongue in her hand. When Yu Sun had screamed just now, she had thrust her fingers into his mouth, causing his tongue to go through the stages of "scalding → charring → severing" in an instant, making it look as if she had forcibly cut it out.

The nearby commoners had long since hidden inside their houses. Those who had not managed to flee knelt on the ground, trembling. Even in the Evernight Sky main city, protected by deities, they still felt utterly unsafe before the emperor of Qi.

"What a fine tongue." Ying Le kissed the tongue and sighed. "What a pity it grew in a criminal's mouth. I will miss your voice."

"Le City County Princess."

She did not look at Ying Ru Shi, continuing to study the tongue in her hand as she asked casually, "Do you know what he did wrong?"

Although Ying Le's tone was relaxed, as if she were casually chatting with her niece, Ying Ru Shi did not dare raise her head. Heavy malice surged toward her from all directions, as if it were trying to invade her body through every pore. Ying Ru Shi left her carriage and knelt on the ground, answering without hesitation, "Those without official status are forbidden to ride in carriages!"

"Exactly. This is a law established by the late emperor. Although I like him very much, the law is the law. He was not an official, so he could not ride in a carriage."

Ying Le casually stuffed the tongue into her clothes, then pulled hard on the reins. The two-person-high black warhorse let out a roar and dragged the steel War Chariot toward the city gates.

As she passed Ying Ru Shi, Ying Le smiled warmly.

"Little Ru Shi, I am looking forward to Bingzi Jiaolin."

Ying Ru Shi remained kneeling on the ground until Ying Le's convoy disappeared into the distance. She looked at Yu Sun's corpse nearby. Although someone who had held a grudge against her had died before her eyes, Ying Ru Shi could not feel happy in the slightest.

All she could think about now was hurrying to Thieves' Den. Even a Thieves' Den full of strangers made it easier to breathe than the City of Evernight.

"Return to the manor."

Jiangnan City.

"Brother, do I look good?"

Shang Qia looked up, and his eyes lit up when he saw his younger sister. She was not dressed in the ladies' attire currently in fashion, but more like a female Martial Dao Herald. A short skirt paired with a long skirt made movement convenient while retaining a girl's charm. Her upper garment was matched with shoulder and wrist guards, while a lightweight breastplate that fit her figure perfectly covered it all. She looked capable, neat, and attractive. Two rings were strapped to her back—the Mandarin Duck Rings, her most skilled weapons.

"Beautiful!" Shang Qia praised her without reservation.

"Then I'm heading out!"

"Be careful!"

Shang Qia casually reminded her, only realizing several seconds later, "Wait! Where are you going dressed for battle!?"

By the time Shang Qia ran outside, naturally, he could no longer find any trace of his younger sister, Shang Xin Lei.

Thieves' Den.

Yan Qing watched the spirit jade in his hand turn to powder. Then he gripped the White Iron Straight Blade, drew a deep breath, and swung it at the training dummy in the room.

Clang!

A ring of moonlight swept past. The training dummy was cleaved by a deep slash, but the next moment, it recovered as good as new.

Yan Qing let out a long breath. Although this weak power did not offer him much help in his current situation,

"I've finally become a Herald."

At the final moment before the theft mission began, Yan Qing had finally broken through the limits of mortality and become a Herald capable of wielding a supernatural relic!

I recommend a book called The System of a Fatuous Emperor's Godly Tycoon.

It is a pure-love novel with multiple heroines. The author said so himself—it is very pure love, but those under eighteen should not read it.