Xu Qi'an Got His Wish

"The truth?"

Lin'an clutched her handkerchief, sobbing as she wiped away her tears, giving Huaiqing a pitiful look.

Huaiqing took a leisurely sip of tea and said:

"After the death of Duke Wei, Xu Qi'an decided to assassinate the emperor, and he had a detailed plan for it. Behind this matter, Duke Wei was even plotting and guiding, including the supervisor."

"Xu Qi'an's killing of His Majesty was not an impulsive act; it was orchestrated by multiple forces. The matter is far more complex than you think."

Various forces were fueling the flames, including Wei Yuan and the Supervisor. Lin'an said sadly:

"Everyone wants to harm Father Emperor; everyone wants Father Emperor dead."

"I know that my father has been cultivating Daoism for twenty years and has done many wrong things. Many people in the court are dissatisfied with him. But Huaiqing, he is our father. He dotes on me. Everyone wants him to die, but I don't want him to die."

"The one who didn't want to kill the Emperor even more was Xu Qi'an."

She believed that Huaiqing said these things to prove to her that her father was wrong, and that Xu Qi'an's killing of her father and his killing of the Duke were of the same nature, both being for the benefit of the people.

But when it comes to family ties, is there right or wrong?

Her father was still her father, and Xu Qi'an was still her father's killer.

Huaiqing's explanation did not put Lin'an at ease.

"Yesterday, did you know that Xu Qi'an and His Majesty fought outside the city, and the city walls even collapsed?"

Huaiqing suddenly said.

Lin'an paused for a moment, then recalled carefully. Her elder brother, the Crown Prince, seemed to have mentioned it, but only briefly. At the time, she was in a state of extreme emotional distress and had overlooked these details.

Before she could ask, Huaiqing said calmly, "When did Father become so powerful?"

Lin'an opened his mouth, but then stopped himself from speaking.

She didn't know much about cultivation, but she was still smart enough to realize something was wrong when she heard Huaiqing say that.

Yes, when did Father become so powerful?

"Father, have you been hiding your true strength all this time?"

Lin'an sobbed, her eyes reddening, and said uncertainly.

Huaiqing said solemnly, "To be precise, he is not our father at all."

Lin'an stared blankly at her sister Huaiqing, her mind still reeling, not understanding what she was talking about.

After a moment, she asked, as if seeking confirmation, "What did you say?"

Huaiqing, his expression unchanged, repeated what he had just said, "He is not our father at all."

Lin'an's eyes widened immediately, and he raised his voice. "You heard me right!"

"You, don't think you can fool me with some nonsense. I never expected you to be like this, Huaiqing. If he's not the Emperor, then who is he?"

Huaiqing said in a deep voice, "It was the late Emperor Zhende, who was also our imperial grandfather."

Lin'an fell into an eerie silence, staring at Huaiqing as if he were a monster.

Huaiqing nodded, indicating that it was indeed the case, and that he could understand his sister's shock. Putting himself in her shoes, if he had suddenly learned of this without any prior knowledge, even if he appeared much calmer than Lin'an, his inner shock and disbelief would not have been any less.

"I understand how you feel, but please let me finish."

Huaiqing recounted the whole story in detail, speaking clearly and logically, like an excellent teacher instructing a foolish student.

Even someone like Lin'an, who didn't have a proper understanding of the path of cultivation, could comprehend and understand the context and logic of the matter.

More than forty years ago, the late Emperor Zhende was corrupted by the leader of the Earth Sect and turned into a flamboyant and evil "madman". With the help of the leader of the Earth Sect, he possessed his own son, Prince Huai, and "parasitized" another of his own sons, Yuan Jing. Then he faked his death, avoided the eyes and ears of the supervisor, and hid in the dragon vein to cultivate.

When Wei Yuan first went to conquer the northern border, he took the opportunity to possess Yuan Jing's body. For the next twenty-one years, he openly indulged in cultivation. In order to cover his tracks, he deliberately portrayed Yuan Jing's clone as someone with mediocre cultivation and no talent.

The true body was accumulating power within the dragon vein. In his quest for immortality, the late emperor had gone completely mad. He colluded with the Witch God Cult, killed Wei Yuan, and murdered 100,000 soldiers.

What he really wanted to do was something even more insane and absurd—to hand over the ancestral land to others!

My real father died twenty-one years ago, and I was only two years old then. By the end, Lin'an was trembling with fear and grief.

She felt a moment of fear, then stared unblinkingly at Huaiqing and said:

Therefore, therefore Xu Qi'an

Huaiqing hummed in agreement. "Perhaps there was a personal grudge involved, but I believe that he did this primarily because he didn't want the ancestral legacy to be destroyed. Therefore, in my eyes, killing His Majesty is the same as killing the Duke."

"A tyrannical ruler who nearly destroyed his ancestors' legacy, a tyrannical ruler who cultivated Daoism for twenty years without regard for the lives of his people, a beast who slaughtered his own son—I only feel that Xu Qi'an did a good job killing him, he killed him with great satisfaction."

After saying that, she glanced at Lin'an:

"I've already told you the truth. Whether you believe it or not is your business, and whether you're ruthless towards Xu Qi'an or not is still your business. After all, the late emperor always loved you very much, and regardless of whether it was intentional or not, that much is certain."

The last half of the sentence was laced with sarcasm.

Huaiqing, this woman, appears dignified, noble, and sensible on the surface, but she is actually most adept at hiding her true intentions and harming people in secret.

Lin'an stared intently at her, biting her lip. "How do you know all this?"

Huaiqing sighed, "Xu Qi'an found out all of this. He's done far more than you realize, without you even knowing it."

"But he didn't tell me anything, he didn't tell me anything at all!"

Lin'an clenched his fists and said stubbornly.

Huaiqing scoffed, "Can I tell you if you can handle these things? Can you guarantee you won't reveal the slightest flaw in front of the late emperor?"

The eldest princess whispered, "He did it to protect you."

Lin'an opened her mouth, her eyes seemingly glistening with tears.

"Yes, I understand. I will send someone to summon him immediately. I am no longer angry with him."

She spoke of being reserved, but her actions were hurried and hasty. She lifted her skirt, stood up, and was about to run out of the inner hall and out of Dexin Garden.

You've lost your chance!

Huaiqing sighed.

Lin'an, who had just taken two steps, suddenly froze, turned around, and with a pale face, faced Huaiqing, saying in a trembling voice:

"What, what do you mean?"

"I haven't told you the specifics of that battle yet. Although the late emperor's conspiracy failed, the spirit of the dragon vein dissipated and scattered across various places. If the dragon energy cannot be gathered together, the Central Plains will surely be in chaos."

"Furthermore, his cultivation has been destroyed and his physical condition is extremely poor. The supervisor is also helpless. In order to survive, he will leave the capital. Whether he can return alive is still unknown."

He came to see you not long ago; he actually wanted to say goodbye.

That last sentence was like a needle piercing Lin'an's heart, causing her such pain that she could hardly breathe.

It turned out that he had come to say goodbye, despite his serious injuries.

But I turned him away. Tears welled up instantly, like a flood bursting its banks, unstoppable, and Biao Biao sobbed uncontrollably.

"I want to find him and bring him back. I still have so much to say to him."

Overwhelmed by regret, she regretted not seeing him one last time, and she hated herself for rejecting the man who had dragged his severely injured body just to say goodbye to her.

Now that man is gone, his fate is uncertain, and their reunion may be far off.

Tears blurred my vision; when people are at their saddest, they cry until they can't open their eyes.

In a hazy state, she saw a figure approaching, reaching out to press her head down, and smiling gently:

"Your Highness, you look ugly when you cry."

Biao Biao stared at him, her beautiful eyes wide open.

A few seconds later, she wiped away her tears and stared blankly at Huaiqing.

Huaiqing had a shameless, self-righteous look on his face.

In the past, Biao Biao would have definitely jumped over and fought her to the death, but now she couldn't care less about Huai Qing. Her heart was filled with the joy of regaining what she had lost, and she threw herself into Xu Qi'an's arms, hooking her arms around his neck.

She buried her face in his neck and sobbed:

"You lackey, you lackey!"

She held on tightly, afraid that if she let go, she would lose this man.

Since they met, this is the boldest thing Lin'an has ever done. If her feelings for him before were hidden in her heart because of their different social statuses, then...

Now, she finally mustered the courage to throw herself into the arms of the lackey.

Snot and tears were all over my neck. Xu Qi'an gently embraced Lin An's slender waist. Just as he was about to say something, he suddenly felt a murderous aura behind his head.

He remained calm even as a mountain collapsed before him, and with a quick wit, he said, "Your Highness, please don't hold me so tightly, it hurts."

"Does it hurt?" Lin'an looked up at him, her eyes red and swollen from crying, as she washed her nose.

Xu Qi'an had absolutely no intention of taking credit; in front of Lin'an, he opened his shirt.

"Ah"

Biao Biao took a few steps back in shock, staring at the hideous wound on his chest and the nail embedded in his flesh. Her fingertips trembled as she pressed them against Xu Qi'an's chest, tears streaming down her face, her heart aching with heartache.

Having won Lin'an's sympathy and quelled Huaiqing's anger, Xu Qi'an achieved satisfactory results through his professional maneuvering as a playboy.

Your Highness.

Xu Qi'an turned around and said to Huaiqing, "I'll take Lin'an back first."

Huaiqing remained expressionless, revealing neither joy nor anger.

Upon arriving at Shaoyin Palace, Biao Biao clung to Xu Qi'an, demanding that the palace maids fetch the best pills and powders in an attempt to heal his injuries.

When she realized it wasn't working, she burst into tears again.

With Xu Qi'an's kind words of comfort, she finally stopped crying and started sobbing softly.

"No matter what, he still doted on you and cherished you for so many years, so you're still hurting inside, right?"

The pretty girl stiffened, shook her head, and sobbed:

"But I don't hate you anymore, I don't hate you anymore."

Sure enough, she had hated me before. Xu Qi'an raised his hand, his fingertips touching her cheek, soft and cool.

Your Highness.

"Um?"

"I want to eat the rouge on Your Highness's lips."

"Waaah."

Dusk.

Star-Gazing Tower, Eight Trigrams Platform.

Xu Qi'an returned, dragging his heavily injured body. His face was still pale, but there was a hint of excitement between his brows.

"Is everything settled?"

The supervising official, sitting at his desk, looked up.

Xu Qi'an nodded silently.

"Then let's begin to accommodate them."

The supervisor opened his palm, revealing the jade-colored, scorpion-shaped Seven Deadly Gu lying quietly, like a lifeless specimen.

How to accommodate it?

When Xu Qi'an asked that question, he was thinking about how to consume the Seven Deadly Gu.

"First, Blood-Drip Recognition."

As the supervisor spoke, he pressed down on Xu Qi'an's wrist and forced a bead of blood from his fingertip.

The blood droplets flew silently toward the Seven Deadly Gu. As they approached, the originally docile Gu worms suddenly became agitated, struggling violently and desperately craving blood.

It opened its ferocious mouth and swallowed the blood droplets.

Visibly, the jade-colored Seven Deadly Gu turned into a translucent crimson red. Then, it leaped out of the supervisor's palm and pounced on Xu Qi'an.

The Seven Deadly Gu, which embodies seven major Gu techniques, was calmly watched by Xu Qi'an neither dodged nor resisted.

P. S.: I went to play with Pipi Jia tonight, and we were laughing and joking in his room. Half an hour later, I remembered that I hadn't updated, so I quickly pulled up my pants and ran back to write.