The wind stilled and the clouds dispersed, and heaven and earth once again became a world of blue and yellow.
Blue sky, yellow earth.
Beneath the sunlight, the desert stretched as far as the eye could see, golden sand everywhere. Only near its southeastern reaches did a vast, imposing ancient city rise from the dunes.
Blackwater City, the former royal capital of the Great White Upper Kingdom!
After centuries of scouring wind and sand, the ancient city lay in ruins. Saber cuts and sword marks scarred its crumbling walls, and bleached bones could still be seen among them, buried with Blackwater City beneath the sand. Desolation filled the air.
Only the palace at the city's center remained relatively intact. A towering hall stood in the middle of the palace grounds, and the entire palace seemed to have been built of gold. Its slightly sloping golden roof reflected the sunlight in dazzling rays.
"Clatter-"
Before long, a rapid drumming of hooves broke the ancient city's silence.
More than a dozen figures emerged from the yellow sand and entered the city. Gazing at the glittering golden palace before them, they all cried out in excitement:
"The White-Shang Kingdom's palace!"
"This is it! This is the place!"
"So much gold! We're rich!"
"Hahahaha..."
They leaped down onto the sand and entered the palace. Glittering court furnishings lay everywhere along the path, and even the walls on either side seemed to have been cast from gold. The extravagance was staggering.
"Find a way to haul the gold out! Take as much as you can!"
The saber-wielding woman said excitedly, "Another sandstorm will arrive in two hours. Miss this chance, and you'll have to wait until your next life!"
Hearing that, everyone stopped wasting time. They began stuffing gold objects into their clothes, loading whatever they could not carry onto the horses behind them. Every one of them worked with boundless energy.
How many people in this world had ever seen gold gathered as casually as stones picked up by the roadside?
But before long, while they toiled with their heads down, another group of uninvited guests slipped into the imposing ancient city unnoticed. Armed with sabers and swords, their eyes sharp, they slowly approached the palace.
Only when the figure at their head, clad in a silver-white python robe, stepped into the palace and his crisp footsteps rang out did the others become aware of them.
"Who's there?!"
The saber-wielding woman spun around at once and picked up the mountain-cleaving saber from the ground, her expression wary.
"Tap, tap-"
The footsteps drew closer, followed by an indifferent voice that abruptly broke the silence:
"You used my hands to eliminate the experts of the martial sects while you hid in the Dragon Gate Inn, waiting for the ancient city to emerge so you could reap the fisherman's rewards. I must say, you laid your plans very well."
Sunlight shone through the palace entrance and reflected off the floor, bathing a noble figure in white python robes, an ancient sword at his waist. His bearing was composed and aloof, his face peerlessly handsome.
Behind him followed a black-clad swordsman, three martial artists, and a dense crowd of West Depot experts and Embroidered Uniform Guards.
"Yu Huatian?!"
The saber-wielding woman and her companions' expressions changed sharply. They had never imagined the West Depot's men would arrive so quickly!
With a calm expression, Yu Huatian led his followers into the palace.
At the sight of gold strewn everywhere inside, all of them stared in shock and drew a collective sharp breath.
"An ancient city's golden palace! Truly worthy of a royal palace from three hundred years ago. Its wealth really rivals a nation's. No wonder people everywhere flocked to it like ducks and went mad over it!"
Even Lu Xiaofeng, normally so worldly and experienced, could not hide the astonishment in his eyes as he sighed in wonder.
Yu Huatian glanced at him and said mildly, "Tempted? Since the three of you behaved yourselves along the way, go ahead. Take as much as you can carry."
Lu Xiaofeng paused, then shook his head with a wry smile. "Treasure stirs the heart, but unfortunately, I lack the fortune to enjoy it. Thank you for your kindness, Superintendent."
Yu Huatian gave him a searching look. "Miss this chance, and you may never get another like it. Think carefully."
Lu Xiaofeng replied solemnly, "I wouldn't dare claim I regard money as dung, but wealth is merely an external possession. I have only two hobbies in life: meddling in other people's affairs and drinking. With my abilities, earning a little wine money isn't difficult."
"Since you came by imperial decree, everything here naturally belongs to the court. I only hope the court will put it to proper use, so the people of Ming no longer have to live such difficult lives."
Yu Huatian neither agreed nor disagreed. "You're a clever man. Since you don't want gold, I can make you a promise. If you ever stand against me, I'll give you one chance to live. But only one."
Lu Xiaofeng smiled freely and cupped his hands. "Then I can only hope that day never comes."
"Let's hope so."
Yu Huatian said no more. He turned toward the petty thieves ahead, their clothes stuffed with gold after they had waited to reap the fisherman's rewards.
"So many martial experts coveted this treasure without ever getting to see it, yet a few lowly vermin managed to skulk their way to the end and enter first. What a surprise."
"But excessive greed isn't always a good thing. If you'd taken a little gold and left, you might really have enjoyed yourselves for a while. Unfortunately, not everyone is Lu Xiaofeng."
The saber-wielding woman and her companions looked grim. Glancing at the horses laden with gold beside them, they silently regretted their actions.
Yu Huatian was right. Greed had brought all this upon them.
Had they not been so greedy, they might truly have left before the West Depot arrived. The gold they carried would have been enough to keep them fed and clothed for the rest of their lives.
Unfortunately, the world did not allow so many ifs...
The saber-wielding woman frowned deeply. As she watched the dignified, resplendent Yu Huatian, a sudden gleam flashed through her eyes. "There's enough gold here to make you the ruler of a state. It could provide for your old age and spare you the open struggles and hidden scheming of officialdom. The second sandstorm will arrive in two hours. Why waste time fighting us over this little bit of treasure instead of hurrying to carry out the gold?"
"A fair point."
Yu Huatian nodded slightly, then gave a soft smile. "Unfortunately, killing you is as easy as crushing a few vermin. It won't take much effort. The only reason I've wasted a few words on you is to see whether someone in this world truly has a face identical to mine."
As he spoke, Yu Huatian glanced at the white-clad man hiding behind the saber-wielding woman, who had been covering his face with his sleeve.
"How much longer do you intend to hide?"
At his words, everyone from the West Depot looked toward the white-clad man in puzzlement.
The saber-wielding woman's companions, however, all paled slightly. They naturally knew why Yu Huatian was looking at Feng Lidao: Feng Lidao bore an extraordinary resemblance to him.
But they had never shown themselves since Yu Huatian arrived at the Dragon Gate Inn. How had he learned of it?
Facing countless staring eyes, Feng Lidao knew he had been exposed. He stopped hiding and lowered his sleeve, revealing a face almost identical to Yu Huatian's, though a certain cunning and sleaziness always lingered between his brows.
"This..."
Everyone from the West Depot was stunned.
Zhao Tong and Ding Xiu were especially shocked. When they first entered the Dragon Gate Inn, Yu Huatian had instructed them to watch for someone who resembled him. They had thought little of it then, never expecting there truly to be someone in the world with an identical face.
No wonder the Superintendent had taken it so seriously.
With such a resemblance, if this man impersonated the Superintendent and did something that affected Ming's affairs, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Looking at that face identical to his own, Yu Huatian felt a touch of emotion. He remembered that in the original story, after his predecessor died, Feng Lidao had impersonated him, infiltrated the imperial palace, and become the new Superintendent of the West Depot.
One could say this man had been the greatest winner in the entire story!
But Yu Huatian was no longer his predecessor. Whether Feng Lidao would pose a threat in the future or not, he had to die!
Yu Huatian would never tolerate someone in this world having a face identical to his own...
"Resembling me is both your honor and your misfortune. That buck-headed, rat-eyed, neither-fish-nor-fowl look of yours makes me deeply uncomfortable."
Yu Huatian spoke indifferently, then raised an eyebrow. An invisible streak of sword qi suddenly shot through the air.
The saber-wielding woman's expression changed. Though she could not see the sword qi, she heard it slicing through the wind. Alarm surged through her, and she shouted, "Watch out!"
As she spoke, she darted in front of Feng Lidao and raised her mountain-cleaving saber, attempting to cleave the sword qi apart.
But in the next instant-
Bang!
The mountain-cleaving saber shattered. The invisible sword qi pierced the woman's chest, then continued unabated and pierced Feng Lidao behind her as well.
Clang-
The saber's hilt fell to the ground. The saber-wielding woman stared blankly at Yu Huatian in bewilderment, then toppled backward, bringing Feng Lidao down with her as he clutched his heart, his face filled with resentment.
[Destiny from Gu Shaotang +888.] [Destiny from Bu Cangzhou +8888.]
Hearing the system notifications, Yu Huatian paused slightly.
Bu Cangzhou was Feng Lidao's real name.
The destiny provided by the saber-wielding woman, Gu Shaotang, did not surprise him. But he had never expected Feng Lidao's contribution to rival that of some Children of Destiny.
Sure enough, the special attention he had paid this man had not been wasted.
Compared with his predecessor and Zhao Huaian, it seemed Feng Lidao was the one truly favored by heaven!
Shaking his head, Yu Huatian gathered his thoughts and looked at the remaining Tatars, old Chai, the owner of the Dragon Gate Inn, and the others. "Kill them all."
Apart from Feng Lidao, none of these people warranted his attention. He even considered killing them himself a waste that would dirty his hands.
At his command, the West Depot men held back no longer. They swarmed forward, and screams instantly rang out.
Lu Xiaofeng frowned slightly, finding Yu Huatian's actions hard to stomach. Killing someone simply because they resembled him was far too overbearing.
But seeing Yu Huatian's indifferent expression and authoritative bearing, which brooked no argument, he ultimately suppressed his displeasure and did not try to dissuade him. Still, a trace of wariness toward Yu Huatian had taken root in his heart, and he sighed inwardly.
He did not know whether having such a man in the court was a blessing or a calamity for Ming as a whole...
Old Chai and the others from the Dragon Gate Inn, along with the Tatars, were hardly weak, but they still fell short of the West Depot experts and Embroidered Uniform Guards.
Before long, the sounds of battle ceased, leaving more than a dozen corpses on the ground.
"Get to work. Take everything you can carry."
Yu Huatian waved a hand and paid the others no further attention. Without a change in expression, he stepped over the corpses and entered the palace interior, only to discover even more treasure piled inside than outside.
Even the palace's main hall itself seemed to have been cast from gold.
That glimpse through the bamboo tube was enough to reveal just how extravagant the Great White Upper Kingdom's royal family had been three hundred years ago!
A dragon throne stood atop the steps at the rear of the hall. Before it sat a dragon desk, with what appeared to be something resting on it.
Without hesitation, Yu Huatian walked straight toward the dragon throne...
Clap, clap, clap...
Just then, applause suddenly rang out, followed by a clear voice from outside the hall:
"They say the chief of Ming's West Depot is meticulous in his thinking and ruthless in his methods. You certainly live up to your reputation. You won't spare even a few insignificant nobodies."
Yu Huatian stopped, narrowed his eyes slightly, and turned to look.
A handsome young gentleman slowly entered through the palace doorway. He wore white clothes beneath flexible gold-thread armor, with a gold-sheathed sword hanging at his waist. His bearing was extraordinary.
Beside him walked a burly man in heavy armor, a golden curved saber hanging at his waist.
Behind them followed a group of martial artists in various clothes. Some were from the Central Plains, while others wore the garb of the northern peoples.
At the sight, Yu Huatian frowned slightly, his gaze settling on the handsome gentleman and the armored man at the front.
"Great Yuan, Western Xia..."
I'm pushing for better stats on Monday, so here's a chapter early. The second chapter will still be out at six this evening.
Please invest, send recommendation votes and monthly votes, and leave comments. Tips are up to you. I wonder if any generous patron would sponsor me...
(End of chapter)
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