The Emperor Reigns Them All

Chapter 161 Don’t Go Out

Sharp fragments sliced across Wang Hanshan’s face and blood started oozing out. His big eyeballs were fixed at the corner of his eyes, filled with despair and fear.

The pit next to his face was as deep as an abyss that seemed to lead straight to hell. Wang Hanshan felt as if he was summoned by Yama, as if his soul had already left his body and fallen into that pit.

Wang Hanshan started breathing heavily as soon as Li Ye loosened his grip. Staring at that pit by the side, he still couldn’t believe Li Ye’s punch didn’t kill him. He knew that if Li Ye wished, he could easily have killed him.

As for Wang Lingyu, he’d already passed out when Li Ye’s fist hit the ground.

Li Ye squatted in front of Wang Hanshan and said with a smile, “To deal with ordinary people, violence only comes after courtesy. In order to make a soldier trust my capabilities, I must instead show my strength through violence first. I wonder if my qualification meets with your expectation, General Wang.”

Wang Hanshan couldn’t utter a word.

Li Ye stood up and let Liu Dazheng carry Wang Hanshan inside. Feeling a little thirsty, he walked out into the yard alone to get some water.

As soon as he reached the door, he saw a little maid in green coat walking in his direction carrying some tea, so he waved to her and asked politely, “Who are you delivering the tea to?”

The maid appeared to be not older than sixteen. Her face looked delicate and pretty, and was pink like a small apple about to ripen. “The master asked for it.” answered the maid. She looked a little puzzled at Li Ye’s question.

At this moment, all cultivators in this villa had pretty much lost mobility, yet this maid could still walk around freely. Li Ye wondered where she could’ve been all this while that she didn’t even notice anything unusual. Li Ye found it interesting that she was still delivering tea, so he took over her tray and said, “The master doesn’t want it any more.”

“Huh?” The maid was bewildered. She looked up at Li Ye a few times, then put her head down shyly, the rosy red cheeks on her small face became redder. She said in a thin voice, “Childe, are you my master’s guest? If you would like some tea, I can make some for you right away, but my master really asked for these two bowls of tea, I can’t just give them away.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’m your master’s... good friend, so he wouldn’t mind me taking it. If he knows you gave me the tea, he would even praise you.” Li Ye said as his smile grew even brighter, “What’s your name?”

“Really?” asked the little maid doubtfully. She had a pair of clear, big eyes, which made her look exceptionally delicate and cute, yet when her eyes met this handsome childe, she immediately lowered her small red face and answered shyly, “My name is Xiao Yu.”

“Xiao Yu... Your name has the meaning of jade, which suggests that you’re beautiful like a jade and outstanding among the crowd, it indeed suits you.” Li Ye said as he took out a piece of jade and stuffed it in the shy maid’s hands, “Treat it as a thank-you gift from me. Please accept it, or I will be really upset. Now go back to your room and don’t go out unless someone calls you. Rest assured, you won’t be waiting for too long.”

Li Ye smiled gently to that big-eyed little maid again, then went inside, bringing the tray along.

The little maid was filled with confusion as she held the ice-cold jade and watched Li Ye disappear inside. She wasn’t quick enough to answer Li Ye until he was out of sight, then walked back mechanically with her cheeks as red as ripened apples.

When Li Ye returned indoors, Wang Hanshan was already sitting in his chair. Liu Dazheng stood next to him with his arms crossed in front of his chest, he was simply resting with his eyes closed, and apparently he didn’t see Wang Hanshan as a threat at all.

Li Ye sat down in a chair as well, and tasted the tea he’d just brought in. “This is surprisingly good!” He said.

He looked at Wang Hanshan who was sitting upright in the chair, not daring to nor capable of moving, then put the bowl of tea down and asked with a smile, “Have you heard about the Black Office lately, General Wang?”

Wang Hanshan’s expression changed completely as he realized that the worst-case scenario was being played out. Being on par with Junior Priestess in terms of strength, this young man wasn’t any nameless fighter, but someone backed with a strong power that shouldn’t be underestimated.

Wang Hanshan had received news on Li Ye’s deeds in Qi Prefecture, so he naturally knew about the Black Office. He heard they were an organization that aimed to unite the entire Jianghu of Qi Prefecture. Everyone there had the same level of cultivation as a practitioner of Qi techniques. There were also a few big shots there who were masters at high levels of Qi-refining!

Wang Hanshan at first refused to believe what he heard. As there were so few cultivators at high levels of Qi-refining in the whole of Jianghu, it would be unlikely for all of them to appear as one giant group! The Black Office was not even among the five greatest Taoist sects! Although the new commissioner was Prince An of Tang Empire, how many masters could he gather within a mere four years? Even the previous Prince An, Li Xian, who held great power in the imperial court, had only a couple of Qi-refining masters!

However, having witnessed Li Ye and Liu Dazheng’s strength, Wang Hanshan had no reason not to believe the rumors. Two masters at high levels of Qi-refining were standing right in front of him, and that dark-skinned, sturdy man must have reached Level 8 of Qi-refining!

Wang Hanshan heard that the Black Office was currently settling some issues within the Jianghu of Qi Prefecture, so they won’t be able to send all their masters away. However, they managed to send two of them here so casually, so there must be many more masters like them in the Black Office!

The power of the Black Office was indeed terrifying. Although he hadn’t met Prince An, he heard that the prince was only in his twenties. Being able to gather such a huge group of masters under him, Prince An immediately became much more mysterious and unfathomable to Wang Hanshan...

He knew he would meet this new commissioner of Pinglu sooner or later, but today he only wished that day would come later. In the past, he never considered this Grand Prince of the Emperor as much of a threat to him, because Pinglu army had been the one holding real power in Pinglu, and Wang Hanshan would usually have a quarter to half of the deciding power on important matters, to say the least. Naturally, he wouldn’t worry about that kid taking away his power. In fact, he used to believe that Li Ye would have to watch his temper if he would like to stay long in his position.

Wang Hanshan had also heard about the legendary stories of Li Ye taking down Wei Baoheng, Liu Xingshen and Han Wenyue. He never believed those stories to be as brilliant as they were told, because rumors were never accurate. After all, in his opinion, how can a young man suddenly become famous overnight, especially when he had been nameless for twenty years?

Now, however, Wang Hanshan no longer dared look down on this new commissioner. On the contrary, he already had an image of the latter’s back formed in his mind which was mysterious, deep and malevolent.

Across the entire Jianghu of Pinglu, perhaps the Penglai sect would be the only one capable of going against him!

“Are you with the Black Office?” Wang Hanshan asked.

That question was a little tricky for Li Ye to answer. It would be wrong to say yes, since the Black Office was technically established by him. If he said no, it would seem like they were completely unrelated, which would be even more inappropriate.

Seeing that Li Ye smiled without saying anything, Wang Hanshan knew for sure that he was with the Black Office. He actually shouldn’t have asked that question, since there was no reason for Li Ye to ask about the Black Office if they were unrelated.

With that thought, Wang Hanshan sighed heavily and said, “I truly can’t match you in terms of cultivation and strength. Why don’t you state your intention to me clearly? I will definitely try my best to fulfil your needs as long as they are within my capabilities.”

Since he could not win Li Ye in a fight, there was no point trying to act tough, so he planned to wait and see what he was up to first until he was out of this dangerous situation.

Li Ye signalled to Liu Dazheng to take out an invitation card with a gold stamp. With a flick of his fingers, the invitation flew straight into Wang Hanshan’s hands.

“This is an invitation to our upcoming Kung Fu Championship. Since the Wang family is always a power that we recognize, and General Wang is always a hero that we value, we hope you will accept our invitation. When the day comes, we wish to see you at the championship with other outstanding men in your family. Please don’t disappoint us.” said Li Ye with a smile.

Wang Hanshan opened the invitation, and what he read in there stunned him. He looked up in disbelief and said, “The Black Office is going against Penglai sect’s gathering?”

“Of course not, General Wang.” Li Ye denied and said, “The Black Office is simply following the new commissioner’s order of uniting the Jianghu of Pinglu, so that everyone can live in a peaceful world with less conflict, and work together towards a more prosperous Pinglu. This is beneficial for both the nation and its people. How is Penglai’s gathering of the same purpose and significance?”

“Penglai sect is now planning to hold some gathering for seeking the Immortal’s path because they are the ones going against the Black Office, against the new commissioner and even the imperial court. You are a general in our national army, I’m sure you must be able to tell who’s doing the right thing for the nation.” said Li Ye. He appeared to be smiling, yet his voice had already turned cold.

Wang Hanshan let out an awkward laugh. Right now, the invitation felt like burning coal in his hand, making him uneasy and indecisive. He said, “But... if I accept your invitation today, I will be putting my entire family in danger! When Penglai sect comes to seek revenge, how can we bear the consequences?”

“So you intend to go against the Black Office and the new commissioner, is that it?” said Li Ye.

“I would never do that!” said Wang Hanshan quickly, his expression quickly changing.

Li Ye laughed a little and said, “I bet you wouldn’t dare. Since you are willing to accept our invitation, I should just be frank with you. This invitation isn’t only for the Wang family, but for all powers in the Jianghu regardless of size. Black Office wants every cultivator in the Jianghu of Pinglu to accept their invitation, there shall be no exceptions, and do you understand me?”

Wang Hanshan trembled upon hearing this. “But...”

“If you are worried that the Penglai sect will come after the Wang family because of this, rest assured that it won’t happen. If Penglai is really going to punish those who turn down their invitation, they will have to punish all powers in the Jianghu of Pinglu instead.” said Li Ye as he waved his hand.

Wang Hanshan was stunned.

Li Ye took another sip of the tea and continued, “In fact, the Cui family has already accepted our invitation. As the second person to receive our invitation, you should feel honored, because only those who go on stage early will be qualified for the best rewards. As for your concern for the family... I am an understanding person who never makes rash decisions. Ask your family to stay at Qingshui Villa for the next three days. If nobody from Penglai shows up during this period, you must return to Qing Prefecture with your men without a moment’s delay.”

Putting his bowl down, Li Ye then held up the other bowl of tea and came to Wang Hanshan, he said, “Now, General Wang, I need an answer from you. Are you going to drink this bowl of tea or not?”

After much struggle and consideration, Wang Hanshan finally made up his mind. He accepted the bowl of tea with both hands and said, “I will drink it!”

Li Ye gave a smile of satisfaction.

He knew from the start that Wang Hanshan would accept his invitation.

If, after Wang Hanshan received the invitation, the Penglai sect didn’t come to trouble them within the next three days, it would simply be because they couldn’t reach the Wang family.

Why couldn’t they?

Because they would be blocked by Black Office.

If Black Office could block the Penglai sect, it meant they had the strength to fight against them as well.

If that was going to happen, the Penglai sect would not blame Wang Hanshan for turning them down. It would not make any sense for the sect to blame him for the people they could not even handle themselves.

If the two parties were on par with each other in strength, why would Wang Hanshan still choose to go against the Black Office and sacrifice himself for Penglai’s plan?

Therefore, Wang Hanshan chose to protect himself first while observing the Black Office and Penglai to see who would win in the end.

When the result of their conflict became clearer, it still would not be too late for him to choose his side. Regardless of who the winner is, nobody could do anything to the Wang family so easily, anyway.

As of now... they must survive first.

Li Ye and Liu Dazheng finally left Qingshui Villa.

At the gate, Li Ye looked up to the sky in the east as well.

He knew he should not kill Wang Hanshan, because such a vicious act would push other powers in the Jianghu of Pinglu away from the Black Office, towards Penglai.

The situation in Qing Prefecture was much more complex than that in Qi Prefecture.

Li Ye also never intended to wipe out the entire Jianghu of Pinglu.

The corner of his mouth curved upwards gently.

Now that both the Cui family and the Wang family have accepted the invitation, there would only be more to come.

Li Ye strode out of the villa with Liu Dazheng.

Those in the villa gained back their mobility only when the two of them were quite some distance away. All of them massaged their sore legs while looking in the direction from where Li Ye and Liu Dazheng left. Everyone was still engulfed by fear.

In a room deep within the villa, a little maidservant wearing a green coat was carefully holding a piece of jade in her hands. She sat on a small stool in a daze as she felt a burning sensation on her cheeks. No one knew what she was fantasizing about.

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