Chapter 23: Half of My Close Friends Have Drifted Away

A month and a half later.

The capital welcomed the first snow of winter. It also ushered in the first year of the Longxuan era.

While news of uprisings by secret societies continued to arrive from the south, the power struggle within the capital between Prince Gong and Wei Ting reached a fever pitch.

In the early morning, Little A-Qiao’s shop was bustling with customers. Qin Yuan sat at a table with two steaming baskets of soup dumplings, a bowl of oil tea, and a bowl of hot and sour soup. Having eaten too much bean curd lately, he decided to change things up. He took a sip of the hot and sour soup; it was truly robust.

Suddenly, a conversation from a nearby table drifted over:

"It’s been a month and a half now. They haven't found Wang Wu; I reckon they never will."

"Wang Wu was a ninth-rank bladesman ten years ago. Even if he isn't a Grandmaster now, he’s not far off. If he wants to run, no one can find him."

"Wang Wu is something else. If you're going to run, just run—why kill Wang Ji-xin, whom Prince Gong values so much? Now he’s gone and offended Prince Gong, too."

"Didn’t Wang Wu’s sworn brother, Grandmaster Huo, return? Do you think he’ll settle the score with Governor-General Wei?"

"Grandmaster Huo is dead."

Qin Yuan stopped eating.

"What? How did he die?"

"Yesterday, during a duel with a Grandmaster from the Haidong Kingdom who came to challenge him, he was poisoned and then beaten to death."

"People from the Haidong Kingdom are truly despicable."

"Enough of that. Let’s talk about something else."

"Like what?"

"The new monarch has ascended the throne, and there’s a general amnesty across the land."

Upon hearing the words "general amnesty," Qin Yuan’s heart stirred. Could Shao Gui-lin, who was exiled a thousand miles away, return now?

"Ouch!"

Someone had been knocked over. Soon after, Lu Yun-fei walked in, sweating profusely, and grabbed Qin Yuan, pulling him toward the door.

"Hey, I haven't finished eating yet!"

"Old Shao is dead."

Shao Gui-lin was dead. Qin Yuan instantly lost his appetite.

By the time they arrived at Shao Gui-lin’s home in Shi Family Alley, the mourning hall had already been set up. The Shao family, dressed in coarse mourning clothes, were burning spirit paper in a brazier.

Another acquaintance gone. Perhaps because he had experienced so much, Qin Yuan did not feel particularly distressed.

"My condolences," Qin Yuan said, bowing toward the coffin with cupped hands. The Shao family returned the gesture.

Seeing that the Shao family seemed somewhat destitute, Qin Yuan presented a banknote for two hundred taels of silver.

"Uncle Qin, the funeral offering doesn't need to be this much," Shao Ping-ping, Shao Gui-lin’s son, declined.

"This isn't a funeral offering. This is money I borrowed from your father." Since Shao Gui-lin was dead, Qin Yuan could say whatever he pleased.

"Bor... borrowed?" Shao Ping-ping looked disbelieving. He knew his father too well—the man was a total miser. He wouldn't part with two taels of silver, let alone two hundred.

Qin Yuan used internal energy to transmit his voice: "This is money I embezzled in partnership with Old Shao. Don't tell anyone."

Shao Ping-ping suddenly understood, then retorted angrily, "I certainly can't accept dirty money!"

Qin Yuan was stunned. It was hard to believe the old rascal Shao Gui-lin had such an upright son.

Lu Yun-fei tried to persuade him: "Ping-ping, listen to your Uncle Lu. Just take it."

"Say no more." Shao Ping-ping turned away.

Fine, keep it then. Qin Yuan took the banknote back. He walked up to the open coffin, where Shao Gui-lin lay quietly, his face devoid of any color.

Lu Yun-fei, who had followed him, whispered, "I heard Old Shao died of a stroke."

A stroke—a cerebral infarction. The most common ailment for those with the "three highs." Qin Yuan wasn't surprised at all that the pig-like, rotund Shao Gui-lin had suffered such a fate.

"Let’s talk outside." Lu Yun-fei leaned in close, looking like he had something important to say.

*Don't tell me he wants to borrow money from me,* Qin Yuan thought, instinctively considering cutting ties with him.

Once they reached the wall, Lu Yun-fei lowered his voice: "Who do you think will win, Prince Gong or Governor-General Wei?"

The man was obsessed with officialdom. Qin Yuan had no intention of lecturing him; Lu Yun-fei was not the type to listen to advice.

"Prince Gong has a higher chance of winning." Qin Yuan remembered Wang Wu saying that the Empress Dowager was in the Mountain and Sea Realm. No matter how many troops Wei Ting had, he couldn't stop an assassination attempt by someone of that caliber.

"I think so, too," Lu Yun-fei nodded in agreement.

Qin Yuan suddenly thought of something and looked at Lu Yun-fei as if he were an idiot: "You don't want to replace Superintendent Wei, do you?"

"I’ve only just become the Chief Compiler. Unless I have a massive background, I won't get a turn for ten or eight years." Lu Yun-fei glanced back at the mourners and lowered his voice even further: "When I was drinking yesterday, I met the nephew of the cousin of the brother-in-law of Prince Gong’s butler."

*That’s quite a stretch,* Qin Yuan thought, his mouth twitching.

"Don't look at the distance; making a connection with the Prince Gong’s heir is no problem at all," Lu Yun-fei said with conviction.

The next day, the Haidong Kingdom Grandmaster who had poisoned Grandmaster Huo vanished mysteriously. The capital was filled with speculation: some said he fled back to Haidong out of fear of the imperial court’s wrath, others said he was killed by Grandmaster Huo’s disciples...

Only Qin Yuan knew the Grandmaster was buried alive under his own peach tree.

Over the next few days, the atmosphere in the capital grew increasingly tense. Rumors flew that Prince Gong and Wei Ting were about to start a war within the city. Some claimed to have seen Wei Ting leading troops to force his way into the palace; others said cavalry from beyond the Great Wall had entered the pass, an endless sea of soldiers. Many high-ranking officials, wealthy merchants, and aristocrats were so terrified that they packed their valuables and fled the capital with their families.

Qin Yuan, who always prioritized safety, bought three more fast horses, ready to run at a moment’s notice.

On the night of the fifth day of the first lunar month, the sky was as thick and dark as ink.

Coal Hill, a mountain with many stories. The Hall of Longevity.

Inside sat the priceless golden nanmu coffin containing the Empress Dowager. Because of the draft, shadows flickered inside, creating a chilling and terrifying atmosphere. Anyone with even a hint of cowardice would have been trembling in their boots, if not wetting themselves.

According to the rules of the Hun Dynasty, the Empress Dowager’s coffin was to remain in the sleeping quarters for twenty-seven days before being buried in the Imperial Tomb, which had already been constructed. When the Empress Dowager was still "alive," she had deemed the specifications insufficient, ordered it demolished, and then had it rebuilt; since it wasn't finished yet, the coffin had to be kept here.

Eunuch Li, whose hair had turned white after serving the Empress Dowager for decades, shoved someone in from outside. He threw the person to the ground and hurriedly retreated, as if some demon were about to emerge.

Immediately, the coffin lid cracked open, emitting a terrifying suction force that pulled the person whole into the coffin.

"Ah!" A miserable shriek echoed from within.

Eunuch Li, standing outside the hall, couldn't help but shiver. What was the difference between this martial art of the Empress Dowager and cannibalism?

"Little Li," a sharp, aged voice drifted from the coffin.

Eunuch Li hurried in, knelt on the ground, and said with utmost respect, "What are your orders, Empress Dowager?"

"Has Wei Ting made any unusual moves?"

"Wei Ting is as he has always been," Eunuch Li replied.

"Has anyone broken into the palace?"

"None discovered."

"It seems that apart from Wei Ting, there are no peak Grandmasters in the capital. Unless they are reincarnated tortoise spirits, they wouldn't miss such a good opportunity." The Empress Dowager sighed. "You may go."

"Yes." Eunuch Li retreated as if granted a reprieve. He didn't want to stay there a moment longer.

A moment later, a figure of average height appeared in the main hall.

"Wei Ting."

"Empress Dowager, you truly are still alive."

"After resting for a few days, I feel I am capable once more."

A terrifying suction force emanated from the coffin.

"Since you are still here, Empress Dowager, I concede. I will submit my resignation tomorrow," Wei Ting said, stepping back hastily.

The suction vanished instantly.

The Empress Dowager was silent for a moment, then sneered, "You were waiting for me to die before starting your rebellion."

"Precisely," Wei Ting admitted candidly.

"It is not yet certain who will die first," the Empress Dowager scoffed.

She was currently in a period of metamorphosis. Once completed, she would enter the next realm and live for several hundred years without a problem.

"Indeed, it is not yet certain who will die first," Wei Ting thought to himself.

After leaving the capital, he would head south to the birthplace of the Strength Gu, the Gu Tribe. When he returned, his power would reach a whole new level.