Huo Yuhao lifted the carriage curtain and looked at the ring upon ring of people, his gaze profound. He transmitted his voice through Soul Power:
"Uncle Snake Lance, tell me, why does Xue Beng deliberately abduct commoner girls right in front of me, time and again?"
Snake Lance Douluo's expression tightened. "Young master, you mean Xue Beng is putting on an act to make us lower our guard against him?"
Huo Yuhao spoke in an unreadable tone. "Perhaps the act is real, but so is the debauchery?"
Whether or not Xue Beng was putting on an act, there was no denying that he harmed ordinary people.
In the end, he succeeded, and the mere claim that he had been pretending could cover up all the blood and tears behind it. Instead, everyone praised his forbearance and wisdom, and he turned defeat into victory.
But now that Huo Yuhao was here, that day would never come for Xue Beng.
Snake Lance Douluo did not quite understand Huo Yuhao's words, but they sounded formidable. He lowered his voice and said viciously, "Young master, should we-"
He did not finish, but his meaning was clear.
Huo Yuhao neither agreed nor refused. He merely said, "Uncle Snake Lance, sorry for the trouble, but please return to Spirit City and summon Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo here. Ask my grandfather for a few more people, too. Tell him it's time to draw in the net here in the Heaven Dou Empire."
Snake Lance Douluo hesitated. "Young master, the plan has yet to begin. I'm afraid His Holiness the Pope won't agree. Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo are the only two people His Holiness has available. She probably won't agree to send them here either."
Huo Yuhao said leisurely, "Tell that woman that if she refuses, I'll quit and return straight to Spirit City. Also, tell my grandfather that if he doesn't send enough people, I'll return to Spirit Hall and kneel before the statue of the Angel God ancestor until he does."
Of course, quitting was out of the question. Qian Renxue had already been undercover in the Heaven Dou Empire for ten years; he could hardly let all that effort go to waste.
But he could not keep waiting another nine years as in the original story, either. By then, the daylilies would have gone cold.
So he decided to fight a quick battle and end it swiftly.
On the one hand, he could take the opportunity to clip some of Tang San's future wings. On the other, he could use Xue Beng and Dai Mubai to probe Tang San and see whether the Asura God was really behind him.
He had already planned it all out.
Snake Lance Douluo smiled bitterly.
The young master had truly given him a thankless task. He could already imagine how furious Bibi Dong would be when she heard the young master's threat.
Still, the young master had called him Uncle Snake Lance. Even if mountains of blades and seas of fire lay ahead, he would make the trip.
Huo Yuhao still felt that was not enough, so he added, "By the way, I heard there's a woman named Liu Erlong in Heaven Dou City looking for Yu Xiaogang. Tell that woman that if she refuses, I'll tell Liu Erlong where Yu Xiaogang is."
Snake Lance Douluo was too preoccupied to wonder in astonishment how Huo Yuhao knew about the Pope and Yu Xiaogang. Cold sweat broke out on his forehead.
If he really said that to the Pope, wouldn't she go mad?
This time, Snake Lance Douluo truly felt that Qian Renxue had changed. She had become swift and decisive, as well as a bit of a rascal.
Of course, she had also become warmer.
The old Qian Renxue had always kept a layer of distance between herself and them, treating them as household servants. The current Qian Renxue truly regarded them as her own people.
It was just that the young master seemed to regard them a little too much as her own people. She made no attempt to hide her conflict with the Pope from them!
In the open space at the center of the crowd, a young woman sat sprawled on the ground, terror on her face and tear tracks covering her fair cheeks.
Before her stood five young noblemen of about eighteen or nineteen. Their leader wore a lecherous expression, his eyes roaming up and down the young woman's graceful figure.
"Little beauty, that damned father of yours owes Ge Hu a thousand Gold Soul Coins. Why don't you give yourself to us? Do that, and you'll have plenty of happy days ahead. We can even let your father go, heh heh!"
His lackeys joined in with lewd chuckles.
The fear on the young woman's face deepened. She curled up into a ball, trembling.
Xue Beng's reputation as a debauchee was known throughout the Heaven Dou Empire. Everyone knew that once Xue Beng took a girl into his residence, within a month she would either suffer a mental collapse and become a walking corpse, or become an actual corpse in a mass grave.
"Little beauty, if you won't drink a toast, you'll have to drink a forfeit. Then I'll have my good brothers line up!"
Xue Beng leered as he went forward and pawed at the young woman, taking liberties with her in full view of everyone. His lackeys jeered him on from the sidelines.
The crowd watched the scene in anger, but no one dared step forward.
These debauchees were either the Fourth Prince Xue Beng or the young masters of the grand general's and great nobles' families. No one dared provoke them.
Just then, the crowd parted, and Huo Yuhao walked in, his face expressionless.
"B-big brother!"
At the sight of him, Xue Beng became as timid as a mouse before a cat. He did not even dare raise his head, looking as though he had been scared out of his wits.
His lackeys looked just as fearful, their heads lowered and their eyes darting away.
Huo Yuhao raised his eyes to look at Xue Beng, glanced at his lackeys, and finally looked at the young woman curled up in a ball.
"See that this young lady is settled somewhere safe. If anyone dares trouble her again, report it directly to me."
Huo Yuhao gave the order to the attendant at his side.
The young woman hurriedly fell to her knees, thanking him profusely. "This humble girl kowtows in gratitude to Your Highness the Crown Prince!"
Huo Yuhao gave a slight nod before turning back to Xue Beng. His eyes held neither sorrow nor joy, only the calm of someone looking at a dead man.
Xue Beng's heart skipped a beat.
In the past, his big brother had never bothered to hide his disgust, coldness, and contempt when he looked at him, and Xue Beng had not been afraid. But this time, that calmness made his skin crawl.
"Big brother!"
With a start, Xue Beng dropped to his knees on the spot. He scrambled and crawled to Huo Yuhao's feet, crying, "I was wrong, big brother! Please don't let the daughter of a mere lowborn damage the bond between us brothers!"
Huo Yuhao said mildly, "Xue Beng, your punishment is fifty strokes of the rod and a month's confinement at home to reflect on your actions."
He glanced at Xue Beng's lackeys. "The same goes for you."
With that, he turned and climbed into the carriage to wait quietly.
Naturally, the accompanying guards did not dare disobey the crown prince's order. They soon seized Xue Beng and the other four and began carrying out the punishment.
Xue Beng breathed a sigh of relief. A barely perceptible flash of delight passed through his eyes, and then he began wailing like a ghost and howling like a wolf, just like his lackeys.
It looked like his performance today had been another great success!
He played the debauchee not merely to lull his good big brother into complacency.
There was a saying among the common folk that he thought was absolutely right.
Only those who had studied together, fought together, and snatched women together were true brothers.
Among the powerful and influential officials at court, whose family did not have one or two good-for-nothing debauchees?
He acted the debauchee to win these people over with wine, women, wealth, and pleasure. On top of that, he would occasionally drag them along to put on a show before his good big brother and suffer punishment together. That counted as sharing hardship.
These people were not to be underestimated. They might not seem to affect the situation on ordinary days, but when life and death were on the line, their families would not want to watch them die just like that.
And as it happened, a struggle for the throne meant either your death or my survival.
But when the rod landed on him, Xue Beng suddenly regretted it. Sharing hardship and winning people over be damned-the rod hurt when it struck his body.
If he had the chance to choose again, he swore he would never block the road today.
With Huo Yuhao watching, the guards were striking for real.
Soon, Xue Beng was bleeding heavily.
When the punishment ended, Huo Yuhao watched the guards carry the bloodied Xue Beng and the others home. His mood finally improved considerably.
"To the palace!"
He dropped the carriage curtain.