Fear

The moment the spirit dragon shook off Emperor Yuanjing, several high-ranking experts on the lakeside reacted, darting out like arrows, their feet creating explosive eddies on the water's surface.

Emperor Yuanjing steadied himself in mid-air, lightly touched the water's surface with his toes, and floated like a feather towards the shore.

Although he had children at a young age due to royal reasons and had to give up Martial Dao, he has made great achievements in the Daoist School system over the years by following the Imperial Preceptor's path of cultivation; otherwise, his white hair would not have turned black.

Emperor Yuanjing was both angry and surprised, never expecting that the spirit dragon would treat him this way.

"Roar!"

After shaking off Emperor Yuanjing, the spirit dragon's anger did not subside. It rammed into a high-level martial artist who was coming towards it, sending him flying. The energy exploded in mid-air, causing the entire lake to ripple.

The guards quickly intervened and subdued the dragon that had gone berserk for no apparent reason.

"Don't hurt it!" Emperor Yuanjing shouted.

Boom! Boom! Boom! More than ten water columns shot up from the surface of the water, accurately hitting the guards who were flying or walking on the lake. They had already reached the Bronze Skin and Iron Bones Realm and were immune to the damage. However, they were still in a sorry state from the water columns and could not form an encirclement around the spirit dragon.

The dragon is skilled at controlling water and is extremely ferocious in the lake.

No one expected that the spirit beast would raise its head high, roar, and actually leave the lake and rush towards the shore.

What's going on? The spirit dragon seemed to have been stimulated in some way. Emperor Yuanjing realized something was wrong and said in a deep voice, "Stop it!"

Click click click click

The dragon's massive body surged ashore, smashing through cedar and cypress trees. It rampaged wildly, its sharp claws easily tearing apart the paving stones.

Where is it going?

"Father."

"His Majesty."

The Crown Prince and Wei Yuan rushed over.

Emperor Yuanjing waved his hand, indicating that he was unharmed.

"Father, what's wrong with Linglong?" The Crown Prince was somewhat panicked. He had never seen Linglong so out of control since he was a child.

It was supposed to be gentle in nature, and it was very kind to its royal siblings, never showing any violence.

"It's trying to escape!" Emperor Yuanjing replied with a stern face and a firm tone.

Is the spirit dragon running away? Why did the Emperor use the word "run away" to describe it? What is it afraid of? What is it terrified of?

But what place is safer than the imperial city?

His Highness the Crown Prince was puzzled by this, but Emperor Yuanjing did not give him a chance to ask. He ordered the guards to prepare horses and chase after the dragon in the direction it had fled.

As a symbol of royal legitimacy, the spirit dragon, a magical beast that cultivates by breathing purple qi, is absolutely not to be lost.

Emperor Yuanjing followed the claw marks, with his guards closely flanking him, fearing he might make a mistake.

Before long, Emperor Yuanjing saw a dragon on an arrow tower. Its sharp and hard claws clung to the tower and were deeply embedded in the stone.

Its neck muscles bulged, emitting a shrill roar as it tried to scare away the court guards who were standing in its way, while lashing out with its tail.

The two sides were locked in a stalemate. The spirit dragon's scales were hard and impervious to swords and blades, and its power was not to be underestimated when it went berserk. The guards were worried about hurting it, and they could not subdue it with their bare hands. They could only fight it while waiting for their colleagues to bring back a magical Law Artifact that could restrain the spirit dragon.

Bang! Bang! Bang! The arrow tower cracked repeatedly under the lashes of the dragon's tail, finally collapsing.

A dozen guards rushed forward.

Emperor Yuanjing breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing this and was about to speak up to warn the royal beast not to be harmed.

Before he could speak, Linglong fought back fiercely, overturning the guards on his body and charging headlong in a certain direction with a clear objective.

Looking in that direction, Emperor Yuanjing's pupils contracted sharply.

He saw a woman in red, and his bright and lovely daughter, his most beloved Princess Lin'an.

At this moment, Lin'an was accompanied only by two palace maids and a gong-wielding guard dressed as a Nightwatchers.

"Protect Lin'an!" Emperor Yuanjing shouted.

What kind of docile personality is this?

Xu Qi'an hadn't expected to encounter such a thing. He and the Second Princess walked and talked. Relying on his conversation skills and tactful nature accumulated in his previous life, Xu Qi'an amused the Second Princess with his humorous and interesting language, which enhanced their friendship.

He planned to take her to the small lake where Linglong lived, play with her for a while, and then go back to handling the case.

And that's how this happened.

Just as Xu Qi'an was about to say, "Princess, this place is dangerous. I will escort you back," the spirit dragon rammed into him with perfect timing.

This spirit beast was very powerful, its strength was definitely no less than that of a sixth-rank martial artist. Xu Qi'an subconsciously wanted to run away, but when he turned his head to look at the second princess, he found that the girl was terrified.

Her once round and charming oval face was now deathly pale, her eyes frozen, and she was so frightened that she lost the ability to think.

Xu Qi'an glanced around and saw the palace experts rushing towards him, Emperor Yuanjing galloping towards him on horseback, and the dazzling brilliance shining in Linglong's black button-like eyes.

The feeling was like a frightened child seeing their parent and excitedly rushing into their father's arms.

Um?

Did this thing sense my arrival and rush out to find me on purpose?

In that instant, Xu Qi'an understood the spirit dragon's eyes; it was a spirit beast possessing intelligence.

Aside from joy, fear lingered in Linglong's eyes, and time did not allow him to think further.

The ground trembled slightly, and the spirit dragon was about to pounce.

Xu Qi'an immediately made a judgment. Without hesitation, he stepped forward and stood in front of Princess Lin'an, presenting her with his upright back.

Xu Qi'an pressed one hand on the hilt of the knife, bent his knees slightly, calmed all his emotions, and after a brief moment of gathering strength, flicked his thumb lightly.

With a crisp clang, a thin line of dark gold flashed, slashing a deep, three-zhang-long, two-finger-wide blade mark a zhang in front of him.

A shocking scene unfolded: the berserk dragon abruptly stopped, its four claws bending and its toenails carving furrows into the ground, actually halting before the knife marks.

They dare not cross the line?

This scene was deeply imprinted in Princess Lin'an's heart, and it also caught the attention of Emperor Yuanjing, Wei Yuan, and the Crown Prince.

"Hold head high"

The spirit dragon lay on the ground and let out a slightly anxious cry.

Xu Qi'an easily understood its emotions; the spirit dragon was telling him to escape, or more accurately, to escape together.

It was very anxious and scared, as if it had been threatened. But in front of me, it became much calmer and more composed, though its fear had not diminished. It wanted me to run with it, or perhaps it wanted me to run with it. Xu Qi'an gradually began to have a guess.

"Don't be afraid, I'm here," Xu Qi'an said.

The second princess thought that Xu Qi'an's words were directed at her, and she immediately felt a great sense of security.

Upon hearing Xu Qi'an's words, the spirit dragon indeed stopped being anxious and let out a listless cry.

At this moment, a group of guards finally arrived and together dragged a large, dark gold net.

Brush!

The large net was cast out, covering the three-meter-long beast.

Clatter, clatter, clatter. Emperor Yuanjing rode over and carefully examined Princess Lin'an. Seeing that the second princess was indeed unharmed, he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Father." Princess Lin'an pouted and ran to the horse's side, grabbing Emperor Yuanjing's sleeve.

Emperor Yuanjing was most susceptible to this kind of treatment and offered her a few gentle words of comfort.

Then, the emperor, who was over fifty years old and had jet-black hair, scrutinized Xu Qi'an from head to toe.

"Your humble servant greets Your Majesty." Xu Qi'an bowed and clasped his hands in greeting.

One advantage of the Great Feng Dynasty was that, except for some special occasions, one only needed to bow to the emperor when meeting him, without having to kneel.

Emperor Yuanjing nodded slightly. "Well done. What's your name?"

"Your Majesty, this humble Xu Qi'an."

Emperor Yuanjing paused for a moment, then looked at him again, somewhat surprised. "You are Xu Qi'an?"

"Yes!" Xu Qi'an replied, then, seeing the Emperor's puzzled expression, explained, "I encountered some difficulties while investigating the case, so I came into the city specifically to consult Her Highness the Princess."

Emperor Yuanjing did not press further, but simply nodded, his gaze falling on the knife in Xu Qi'an's hand. "Let me see the knife."

Xu Qi'an presented the black and gold longsword with both hands.

The guard stepped forward, took the sword, and handed it to Emperor Yuanjing, who examined it carefully and exclaimed, "What a fine sword!"

Wei Yuan walked over and replied with a smile, "It was a gift from the Supervisor."

The Imperial Censor? Emperor Yuanjing raised an eyebrow, probably wondering why the Imperial Censor would give a precious sword to a small bronze gong.

"Your Majesty, Xu Qi'an is proficient in Alchemy and has a good relationship with the Warlock of the Bureau of Astronomy. I even saw him lecturing to Alchemist once," Wei Yuan said casually.

Xu Qi'an saw a flash of surprise in Emperor Yuanjing's eyes, but he quickly concealed it. The old emperor smiled and said, "I remember now, you demonstrated your Alchemy skills in the tax silver case."

Emperor Yuanjing handed the knife to a guard, who then returned it to Xu Qi'an.

Wei Yuan is helping me cultivate the image of a capable minister and increase my personal standing. What Wei Yuan? He's Father Wei! Xu Qi'an felt a slight surge of emotion.

Princess Lin'an shook the emperor's sleeve and said sweetly, "Father, Xu Qi'an saved me, you must reward him."

"He deserves a reward." Emperor Yuanjing nodded, gazing intently at Xu Qi'an, and announced loudly, "Xu Qi'an, the Nightwatchers, has rendered meritorious service in saving Princess Lin'an. He is hereby rewarded with a thousand taels of gold and five hundred bolts of silk and satin."

"Father!" Princess Lin'an protested, pointing at Xu Qi'an, "He just saved my life, and I must repay him with my own. I beg you to spare his life."

Emperor Yuanjing immediately turned his sharp gaze to Xu Qi'an. Seeing his submissive and obedient demeanor, Emperor Yuanjing softened the sharpness in his eyes and shook his head, saying, "I have already granted him permission to atone for his crimes by solving the Sangbo case. Naturally, I will spare his life. My word is law; how can I change it halfway?"

Lin'an was Qi Ingestion and shouted, "If he hadn't solved the case, wouldn't he have been doomed anyway? What good would a thousand taels of gold do him?"

Emperor Yuanjing said helplessly, "I will handle it accordingly when the time comes."

He didn't want to say these things in front of Xu Qi'an, lest Xu Qi'an become emboldened and delay the investigation.

He then added, "The deadline remains half a month. If you can solve the case, I will naturally spare your life. If you fail, even if someone in Lin'an pleads for your life, I will exile you to the frontier, if not kill you. Do you understand?"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Xu Qi'an exclaimed. He saw Princess Lin'an wink at him playfully, her smile as radiant as a flower.

This investment has been incredibly profitable. Even if we fail to uncover the mastermind behind the Sangbo case, I won't die. At most, I'll be exiled. Heh, exile is a minor matter. With Wei Yuan, Lin'an, and Huaiqing, I, a slave of three families, have no worries at all.

Emperor Yuanjing glanced at the obedient and fearless dragon, and was furious. He roared, "Drag this beast back to the lake!"

The dragon glanced at Emperor Yuanjing, then propped itself up with its claws and snorted hard at him.

"Fine, go back yourself," Emperor Yuanjing scolded.

The guards removed the large net, and the spirit dragon indeed leisurely returned on its own.

After Emperor Yuanjing comforted the second princess, he spurred his horse and followed behind Linglong.

Xu Qi'an silently watched Emperor Yuanjing's retreating figure.

When Princess Lin'an pleaded for me just now, he gave me a sharp look. Did he think I was inciting or manipulating Lin'an?

The rumors are true; Emperor Yuanjing was indeed a person with a strong desire for control. And indeed, emperors who crave immortality often have a strong thirst for power.

It's exhausting. In front of such a master of power, I dare not make any small moves. A single glance, a change in expression, could reveal my true thoughts. Well, my acting is still pretty good; I managed to pull off a convincingly apprehensive expression.

Lakeside, high platform.

Emperor Yuanjing stood on the shore, speaking in a low voice, while the spirit dragon poked its head out of the water and rested it on the edge of the high platform.

The man and the beast talked for a long time before Emperor Yuanjing angrily turned and left.

Wei Yuan greeted Emperor Yuanjing and, seeing his gloomy expression, comforted him, saying, "Your Majesty, why must you vent your anger on a beast?"

"Hmph, this bastard is increasingly disrespectful to me." Emperor Yuanjing's anger hadn't subsided. "When I speak to it, it barely responds."

Naturally, they didn't get the reason why the spirit dragon suddenly went berserk.

"The spirit dragon wouldn't go berserk for no reason. Wei Yuan, convey my decree to strengthen the defenses of the imperial city. After curfew, no one is allowed to enter or leave the imperial city."

Wei Yuan nodded and accepted the order.

Emperor Yuanjing walked in silence for a long time, then suddenly said, "Why did that beast suddenly stop firing?"

Wei Yuan shook his head. "Perhaps he's finished venting his anger."

He had a vague guess in his mind, but it was too absurd.