Calamity, Calamity

"They left an hour ago?"

The new emperor's visit to Dong Zhongshu was remarkably swift.

However, the Zhang residence was too far from the palace. Even though he had a skilled driver and chose a route with few pedestrians, he still didn't see Dong Zhongshu when he arrived at the Zhang residence.

This was something that even Zhang Xuezhou found unexpected.

"Did Master Dong leave behind this ingot of silver? Did he say anything else?" Zhang Xuezhou asked.

"He said he had bothered us these past two days, then tried to stuff silver into our hands. We weren't as strong as him, so we couldn't push it back, and ended up accepting the large ingot of silver!"

Zhang Zhong's communication skills were average, so Lady Yourong relayed Dong Zhongshu's message.

But Dong Zhongshu clearly didn't say anything special when he left.

Dong Zhongshu arrived following the trail, and seemed to leave with a premonition.

Zhang Xuezhou belatedly realized that he understood some things, but Dong Zhongshu's departure without saying goodbye clearly embarrassed him.

"Should I go out of the city and give chase?" Zhang Xuezhou asked.

"In this vast sea of people, how can I possibly catch up with him!"

The new emperor shook his head, finding it difficult to track down these wandering, lecturing, and traveling monks.

Even if Zhang Xuezhou were to investigate, it might not be possible to find out, even if dozens or hundreds of imperial guards were mobilized.

Dong Zhongshu was not a wanted person by the court, making it difficult to use arrest methods to investigate him. Moreover, he was not a court official confined to one place, so it was impossible to summon him to Chang'an City.

The new emperor felt he had heard a wonderful method, but the fact that he had succeeded yet still lacked something left him with great regret.

If you're just a little bit short of everything, then you'll inevitably find it difficult to achieve anything.

He took a deep breath, burying his slight frustration.

"If Dong Zhongshu comes to your house again, you must invite him to the Marquis's residence as a guest," the new emperor instructed.

"Good!"

Zhang Xuezhou nodded in agreement.

Despite his embarrassment, the new emperor did not display the frustration often associated with young people failing in their tasks. Instead, he displayed great magnanimity and did not pursue the matter further.

"Your home should be a little closer to that place," the new emperor said. "It's really not easy for you to come all this way!"

"I don't have the money to buy a big house," Zhang Xuezhou said dejectedly. "There aren't any houses for sale over there either!"

"There will be houses for sale later!"

The new emperor murmured something under his breath.

It took an hour by carriage for a mere "censor" who could enter and leave the palace to travel outside, even with the help of a marquis's carriage and a skilled driver.

For an ordinary driver traveling on such a road, it is common to take an hour and a half, and it is normal to take two hours if there is a traffic jam.

The round trip would take three or four hours, and no official would spend most of their daytime in a carriage.

He genuinely wanted Zhang Xuezhou to move closer, and what he had been thinking about would inevitably happen in the future.

A new emperor brings a new court; in his court, the new emperor doesn't need too many old ministers with outdated ideas.

"Master Dong is not to be pursued. You previously mentioned a strange matter that you did not recount. What was that strange matter?"

After reconsidering his thoughts, the new emperor couldn't help but ask some related questions, pressing Zhang Xuezhou about things he hadn't finished recounting earlier.

"I mentioned my martial uncle Jin Chang before; he actually came to visit me these past few days," Zhang Xuezhou said.

"Jin Chang again?"

The new emperor frowned slightly.

As someone Emperor Jing wanted to eliminate from his list, the new emperor, though not as ruthless as Emperor Jing, clearly did not have a good impression of Jin Chang.

"My Uncle Jin Chang was knocked down by the door when he came to my house," Zhang Xuezhou said.

"This is strange," the new emperor said in surprise. "It's not uncommon for people to be hit by doors... Wait, was it Jin Chang who was hit by a door?"

The new emperor may look down on Jin Chang, but he must acknowledge Jin Chang's strength.

The cultivators listed on Emperor Jing's list are not just pretty faces; they possess genuinely formidable strength.

Most people have experienced being hit by a door at some point in their lives, but it shouldn't happen to someone as skilled as this.

"Not only did Uncle Jin Chang get bumped into by the door when he came to my house, he also got a stiff neck a couple of days ago, and his neck hurts whenever he turns his head," Zhang Xuezhou said.

"Strange!" the new emperor echoed.

"Before he twisted his neck, he was hit by a slowly moving carriage in Chang'an City," Zhang Xuezhou said.

"Hit again?"

"In the month prior, he had tripped and fallen while walking, and nearly choked to death while eating!"

Zhang Xuezhou's description of Jin Chang being hit by a door is strange, while Jin Chang's stiff neck is unusual yet not entirely uncommon.

When Jin Chang was hit by the carriage, the new emperor's expression turned somewhat serious. The fact that Jin Chang had slipped and nearly choked to death made him solemn.

"Jin Chang happened to run into Master Dong, who was visiting Chang'an City. Master Dong said that Jin Chang had been bitten by a kind of insect called 'Huo Zai Huo Zai,' which led to all sorts of misfortunes." Zhang Xuezhou said, "Isn't that strange? I've never heard of any insect called 'Huo Zai Huo Zai' before!"

"Strange!"

The new emperor pursed his lips and nodded.

Zhang Xuezhou has explained it in such detail; if the new emperor still doesn't understand, then he has no right to claim he has mastered cultivation techniques.

"Misfortune" means to suffer bad luck, Jin Chang was being tormented by the incantation at this time.

There are very few people who can torment a master like Jin Chang, and the opponent's skill level must also be extremely high.

Of the answers Emperor Jing left him, only the King of Huainan met the relevant requirements.

"Huainan is thousands of miles from Chang'an City. How could Liu An possibly use magic to incantations from such a distance? If he wanted to kill me, wouldn't it be as simple as a thought? In the past, he has been making preparations all over Chang'an City, and he even presented me with the 'Honglie,' which records magic techniques, to threaten me. His desire to take over Chang'an City is written all over his face. Could it be because of the Chixiao Sword? He must be afraid of the Chixiao Sword..."

The new emperor kept thinking about it.

He had previously tried to use the incident involving the real and fake Crimson Cloud Swords to remove Anle Palace from its control, and his plan succeeded.

The new emperor thought everything was over, but he didn't expect things to continue.

This fake Crimson Sky Sword had been protecting him, allowing him to evade the attacks of the King of Huainan's magic.

As long as the King of Huainan cannot distinguish between the genuine and fake Crimson Sky Sword, the other party will not dare to act rashly.

But everything in Jin Chang clearly agitated the new emperor, even making his scalp tingle.

"His skill in manipulating energy is extraordinary, making him a master in the field. Even when I encounter obstacles in my cultivation of manipulating energy, I have to refer to his compilation, 'Honglie.' Even when I was in charge of the government, it was difficult for me to surpass him in the art of manipulating energy!"

As a replacement for Emperor Jing in his use of magic to counter the King of Liang, the King of Huainan's skill in using magic was second only to the King of Liang, who had controlled the Great Han Dynasty for more than twenty years.

Even if the new emperor has exceptional talent and receives assistance from the "Honglie" technique, his cultivation could not possibly surpass that of the Liang King by several times or even ten times.

In other words, it may take him more than ten or even twenty years to reach the level of skill that the King of Liang once possessed, so that he could suppress the King of Huainan. During these years, the King of Huainan's skill level would need to stagnate.

However, such requirements are too high, and there are too many variables involved in such a long period of time, making it almost impossible to achieve.

Once the King of Huainan learned the truth, the new emperor felt he would inevitably become the second Jin Chang, and then either succumb to or lose his life amidst a series of misfortunes.

"My confidence comes from the Crimson Sky Sword. Now that I have determined that the King of Huainan fears the Crimson Sky Sword, I must not show the slightest weakness towards King of Huainan in the future. Only by keeping him confined to the corner of Huainan will Liu An dare not act rashly!"

He reached out and touched the fake Crimson Sky Sword hidden at his waist, feeling as if his life was entirely tied to this fake sword.