At Chen Lin's summons, the Qing Emperor appeared out of thin air.
He was still using Old Zhou's body, however, and looked so weak that Chen Lin could not tell whether he was the Qing Emperor or the Hidden King.
"Your Majesty, I have slain the Grand General as commanded. Please inspect his body!"
With that, he placed the Grand General's corpse before him.
"There is no need."
The Qing Emperor glanced at it and spoke indifferently.
"I will now give you two choices."
"The first is to receive one reward, as previously agreed. You may choose an earl's peerage, one Merit Coin, a Third-Rank Official Post, or a three-color Road Guide."
"The second."
"Do one more thing for me, and I will give you all the rewards, as well as grant you one wish."
Chen Lin did not hesitate in the slightest.
He answered solemnly, "Thank you for your appreciation, Your Majesty, but I have urgent matters to attend to in the Reality Realm and cannot continue serving you. One Merit Coin will suffice."
The Qing Emperor frowned.
He did not insist, however. After a brief pause, he said, "When you killed Shu Shu, did you obtain a green ring? If you did, I can give you another reward."
Chen Lin's heart stirred.
He vaguely began to connect the dots.
Logically, trading a ring with only one trial use remaining for an earl's peerage was a fine bargain, but an inexplicable feeling told him it would do him no good.
He immediately shook his head.
"I found quite a few rings, but none were green. Could Your Majesty describe it in more detail so I can go back and look?"
"No need."
The Qing Emperor looked at Chen Lin.
Unable to discern anything, he took out another Imperial Edict.