Qing Province Disaster Relief Funds

The Emperor's decree was issued swiftly.

"Imperial Edict!"

Li Chen Zhou, still plotting his next move, was caught off guard by the sudden announcement. The eunuch delivering the decree was all smiles. "Commander Li, this is the official uniform and seal for your promotion to Commander." The Brocade Guard Commander's uniform and token, hastily made overnight, were all present. Even more surprising, the court officials had pooled their money to prepare a Crimson Flame Steed worth a thousand gold pieces for him.

"May I ask, Eunuch, if I can bring some men with me?"

"His Majesty only ordered you to take office immediately." The eunuch smiled meaningfully. "Commander Li, you may consider other matters yourself."

Li Chen Zhou immediately summoned the Earthly Fiends Four, Black Dog, White Cat, Bookworm, and others.

"I am going to Jiangnan to take office. Are you willing to come with me?"

Black Dog and White Cat hesitated, but Bookworm knelt on one knee without hesitation. "This subordinate is willing to follow you to the death, my lord!" The Earthly Fiends Four also said in unison, "We came for you, my lord, and we will naturally follow you through life and death!"

Seeing Black Dog and White Cat about to speak, Li Chen Zhou waved his hand. "You two stay." He turned to the eunuch and said, "Allow me to return to my residence to bid farewell to my parents."

"Commander Li only needs to leave the capital before dark."

Li Chen Zhou whispered to Bookworm, "Go to Nangong Manor and tell her that I will be waiting for her at Five Mile Slope outside the city at dusk."

Duke Zhen's Estate had already received the news. When Li Chen Zhou returned, the entire household was waiting in the main hall. Concubine Nie Wushuang stepped forward with red eyes and placed a safety charm in his hand. "Zhou'er, this journey to Jiangnan..." She choked up before she could finish speaking.

Li Wanqing tugged at her brother's sleeve. "Brother, you must come back safely."

"Don't worry, I still have to drink your wedding wine." Li Chen Zhou rubbed his sister's head.

Li Qing Shan stepped forward last and took out a yellowed secret manual. "The Three Abyssal Slashes are too violent. This is the Nie family's secret technique, 'Frost Heaven Six Annihilations'." Father and son looked at each other for a moment, and the old general patted his son's shoulder heavily. "A fledgling eagle must eventually soar high."

Leaving the Duke's Estate, Li Chen Zhou went straight to the Pingxuan Hall of the Imperial Palace. The guards retreated when they saw him. Princess Xuan Yi was playing the zither when she was suddenly hugged tightly from behind.

"Chen Zhou?" Princess Xuan Yi was surprised and delighted, but she froze when she heard the words "I'm leaving."

"I'll go ask Father Emperor!" She struggled to get up, but was held in place by arms like iron hoops.

"Don't go." Li Chen Zhou buried his face in her fragrant hair. "Let me hold you a little longer."

The last light kiss on her hair was so gentle, as if afraid of breaking some treasure.

The twilight of dusk enveloped Five Mile Slope, the setting sun like blood, stretching Nangong Yue's cold figure tall and slender. She had been waiting here for a long time, her plain white clothes fluttering gently in the evening breeze.

"What did you call me here for?" Seeing Li Chen Zhou riding the Crimson Flame Steed through the dust, Nangong Yue's voice was still as cold as frost.

Li Chen Zhou reined in his horse, the Blood Demon Blade gleaming coldly in the twilight. "The Qing Province disaster relief funds." These five short words made Nangong Yue's pupils contract sharply.

"I don't know what you're talking about." She tried to calm herself, but her fingertips unconsciously dug into her palm.

"The Skinner, Zheng Ren, said it." Li Chen Zhou's voice was devoid of warmth.

Nangong Yue's heart trembled. She knew better than anyone how tough Zheng Ren was. What means did this man use?

"I have plenty of ways to make him talk." The Blood Demon Blade suddenly hummed, and a biting killing intent surrounded Nangong Yue like a tide. "Give me an explanation, or I don't mind killing one more person before leaving the capital."

Faced with this blatant threat, Nangong Yue raised her chin instead. "I don't believe you would kill me, and I don't believe you can kill me." She knew Li Chen Zhou too well. The boy who had once been infatuated with her still had old feelings hidden deep in his eyes, even though the blade was now facing her.

"If you really want to rob this disaster relief fund," Li Chen Zhou's hand slowly tightened on the hilt of the sword, and a cold light burst out in his eyes, "for the sake of hundreds of thousands of disaster victims in Qing Province, I don't mind trying."

The air seemed to freeze at this moment. After a long time, Nangong Yue finally abandoned her arrogant posture, and a mocking smile appeared on the corner of her mouth. "Would the dignified Nangong Manor be short of this mere eight hundred thousand taels?"

"Then why target this kind of money?" Li Chen Zhou pressed closer.

"Heh..." Nangong Yue suddenly sneered. "In your eyes, am I so worthless?"

"The notorious Skinner is your subordinate."

"The people Zheng Ren killed deserved to die!" Nangong Yue's voice suddenly rose. "Gu Wen clung to those in power after passing the imperial exam at the top rank, and hired someone to kill his wife in order to marry the daughter of a wealthy merchant. Shouldn't he be killed? The Zhao family woman colluded with her lover to murder her husband. Shouldn't she be killed?" She threw out a dozen names in a row, each with bloody evidence.

Li Chen Zhou was speechless for a moment. Nangong Yue pressed her advantage. "You think Zheng Ren is a pervert? Do you know that he was originally a benevolent doctor who helped the world, but was pushed off a cliff by his wife and lover! He is just acting on behalf of Heaven!"

"What about the disaster relief funds?" Li Chen Zhou asked in a deep voice.

Nangong Yue's sneer deepened. "Isn't Commander Li the clearest about this question?" Seeing Li Chen Zhou frown, she mocked, "The Great Qian has been plagued for a long time. How much of this eight hundred thousand taels do you think will actually reach the disaster victims?" She suddenly leaned closer, her red lips almost touching Li Chen Zhou's ear. "Not a single tael will arrive."

The evening wind suddenly rose, blowing away her last words, but deeply imprinting a shocking secret in Li Chen Zhou's heart.

Li Chen Zhou's knuckles turned white, and the Blood Demon Blade let out a mournful cry in its sheath. Killing intent spread like substance in the twilight, pressing the surrounding grass and trees low.

"Angry?" Nangong Yue took a step forward to meet the murderous aura. "I was even angrier than you when I saw the starving people in Xuzhou." Her voice suddenly choked. "But what's the use of anger? The people who deserve to die are still living it up, and the people who deserve to live are still falling in droves!"

Li Chen Zhou's killing intent suddenly stagnated. He saw tears rolling down Nangong Yue's eyes, reflecting a bloody light in the setting sun, a grief that had been deposited for too long.

"Commander Li thinks killing a few corrupt officials," she poked her chest with a trembling finger, "and having the living shout a few times for justice, can comfort the four hundred thousand wronged souls?" Tears washed away her exquisite makeup. "They just want to live... Why should the lives of the people be used to exchange for the lives of those scumbags!"

When the eternally proud Nangong Yue suddenly collapsed, Li Chen Zhou's body reacted before his reason. He took the sobbing woman into his arms, feeling her thin body trembling violently. The usually cold fragrance of orchids mixed with tears was even more painful than the taste of blood.

When the evening breeze blew, Nangong Yue suddenly woke up. In the moment of her flustered struggle, flying strands of hair brushed past Li Chen Zhou's lips. The rosy glow tinted her tear-streaked face with rouge, and even the tips of her ears were red and transparent.

"So..." Li Chen Zhou forced himself to look away, his Adam's apple bobbing as he suppressed the strange throbbing. "What exactly are you going to do?"

Nangong Yue took a deep breath. "I will rob the official silver and exchange it for grain through the Heavenly Desire Palace's trade routes." Her eyes still contained tears, but her tone had returned to its sharp edge. "Not a single grain of rice will enter the granaries of corrupt officials."

A system light screen suddenly unfolded in the void:

[Ding —— Task Completed]

[Reward: Hundred-Hit Heart-Piercing Dragon Claw]

[Fusion Progress...100%]

Li Chen Zhou flipped onto his horse, the breath exhaled by the Crimson Flame Steed turning into white mist in the twilight. "Today, I believe you." He tightened the reins and took a deep look at Nangong Yue. "But if the people of Qing Province do not receive life-saving food..." The Blood Demon Blade was suddenly drawn half an inch, the cold light reflecting his sharply defined profile, "Even if separated by thousands of mountains and rivers, I will take your head."

As the sound of hooves thundered away, Nangong Yue looked at the figure gradually merging into the night and suddenly chuckled. She raised her hand to wipe away the remaining tears from the corner of her eyes, but her fingertips couldn't help but stroke the shoulder that had just been touched. There was still a trace of the warmth of that embrace, so hot that it almost burned through her disguise.

"What a fool..." She murmured to the empty official road, her voice so soft that only the evening breeze could hear. "The people I, Nangong Yue, want to kill have always been those who deserve to die."