The Human Emperor

Translated by: Hypersheep325

Edited by: Michyrr

Upon arriving at the Eastern Palace, the elder had asked for a detailed account from the First Prince of everything that had happened.

He had also looked through all the information regarding the First Prince’s greatest foe, the King of Foreign Lands.

When he mentioned that Wang Chong was about to send his men into the palace to search for clues, and that men should be sent to wipe away any evidence within half a day, the other advisors had thought that he was jumping at shadows.

But right after the Eastern Palace’s men had finished the cleaning, people appeared in those areas to search them. The smallest delay might have resulted in an entirely different situation. At this point, all the advisors sincerely trusted in this man.

This was the first time in their battle with Wang Chong that they had the initiative.

“Hmph, I was just wiping your butt! There’s nothing worth celebrating here!”

The elder showed no courtesy or grace. All the voices died away, everyone’s faces turning red with embarrassment.

While some admired, others were discontent, and a soft grumble could immediately be heard in the hall.

“Hmph, what’s so great about him? Just a blind cat catching a dead mouse, purely coincidence. It’s not like he did anything great.”

Bang!

The elder suddenly raised his head, his tiger eyes flashing with sharp and cold light.

Before anyone could react, there was a massive boom. That grumbling Eastern Palace advisor was immediately slammed into the wall with such force that the wall cracked in an explosion of blood and debris.

The Eastern Palace advisor’s chest had completely caved in, almost all his bones shattered. One could see that he would be dead soon.

“Ah!”

Cries of alarm resounded through the hall. The advisors were all frightened by this display, their faces paling as they backed away.

This was the Eastern Palace of the Crown Prince. None of them had imagined that there would be someone so bold as to attack another right in front of the First Prince.

Li Ying’s eyes twitched once or twice, a grimace on his face. It was clear that he had not expected this reaction from the elder.

“Come! Carry him out!”

The First Prince placed his hands on his desk and slowly rose to his feet.

“In addition, all of you, listen up! In the future, no one in the Eastern Palace is allowed to disrespect Senior. I will now grant him my token. In the Eastern Palace, Senior’s order is my order. You should treat Senior with as much courtesy as you normally treat me. Right, Senior, everyone still doesn’t know your name. What should we call Senior?”

“Hmph!”

The elder sneered as he scanned the room. His eyes were as bright as lightning, and all the advisors in the room could only lower their heads and avoid his gaze.

“You juniors don’t have the right to know this old man’s name. But as we will be colleagues in the future and I will need your help, you may call me ‘Ghost King’! This old man shouldn’t have existed in this world, but even if this old man is a ghost, he is still the lord of all ghosts!”

The old man spoke in a domineering tone.

“Haha, good! With Senior Ghost King, this prince can accomplish anything! All of you, pay respects to the Ghost King!”

The First Prince had clearly found the name ‘Ghost King’ to be strange, but he quickly reacted and heartily laughed. Led by the First Prince, the others also began to express their respect.

“Paying respects to Senior!”

In a flash, all of them lowered their heads and acknowledged that the elder occupied the same status as the First Prince.

“Senior, Wang Chong definitely won’t be stopping here. If he continues the investigation, there might be even more problems. In addition, Asura was just rescued, and investigations might begin soon. What should we do next?” the First Prince asked. While he was trying to maintain his calm when talking about Wang Chong, his reaction betrayed him.

The First Prince felt great dread when it came to Wang Chong. In truth, if not for him, the Fifth Prince would never have been able to threaten him or have warranted such action.

Hearing the First Prince’s words, the Ghost King’s expression relaxed.

“This old man said before that if you gave me all authority, this old man would naturally help you take care of everything. As for that King of Foreign Lands, there is no need for Your Highness to worry. He’s merely an immature brat. Your Highness lost to him before merely because you did not find the right method to give him the crucial blow. If Your Highness kills this person, then your situation will be much better for the next few months. At the very least, there won’t be a need to be so passive!” the Ghost King said.

These words had the attention of everyone in the hall, and even the First Prince was rather curious.

“The right method? What does Senior mean?”

The Ghost King simply handed over a prepared slip of paper.

……

In a restaurant in the western part of the city, Old Eagle was wearing a veiled bamboo hat, disguised as a traveling martial artist. His hands clutched the railing of the balcony, his eyes twitching.

He had already heard everything about the Asura incident. In truth, he was the one who had sent the reports to Wang Chong.

“Something is wrong!”

Old Eagle’s eyes twitched. He had followed Wang Chong for a long time and had never seen him fail before, whether it was on the court or on the battlefield. But recently, Old Eagle had begun to sense something strange.

I hope that it’s just my misperception,

Old Eagle quietly said to himself as he slowly scanned the crowd below.

Unlike others, while Old Eagle had an established residence, he never stayed in one place for long. As he spent more and more time at Wang Chong’s side, he had come to understand more and more that the intelligence officer could not stay in one place. Even the most secretive of residences would leave behind traces of evidence that would allow it to be noticed.

Even a rabbit had three burrows, so why not humans?

“Still no news?”

Old Eagle turned to a member of his spy team. Wang Chong had picked out the name for this organization, and only elites were allowed to join it.

“Milord, I also find it very strange. The members of the spy team have always been prompt, and Little Cui was one of the best in the batch of new recruits. Given how the last few operations have gone, he shouldn’t have made a mistake. His Highness is still waiting for news from the Imperial Clan Court, and all he’s doing is delivering the report. That report should have arrived a long time ago, but he’s late by five minutes!” he middle-aged man sternly said, his brow furrowed in concern.

This delay was rather abnormal, but it was still acceptable according to the rules of the spy team.

After a few moments of thought, Old Eagle made his decision. “Something isn’t right! Immediately send a carrier pigeon. If we don’t receive any news then, I’ll go myself. In addition, inspect our surroundings. I can’t shake off this strange feeling. Get ready and settle the bill. We’re leaving now!”

The spy team member grunted and immediately turned around.

“Soup dumplings! Two strings of cash for a bowl!”

“Fresh pork! Your money back if it’s not fresh!”

“Iced tanghulu! Sweet and sour! Come and take a look!”

Old Eagle looked down at the street and saw that the capital was just as bustling as ever.

No! I must go and see His Highness!

With this thought, Old Eagle prepared to leave.

Whoosh!

Suddenly, he heard the flapping of wings.

Old Eagle looked up and saw a white carrier pigeon flying toward him. On its left leg was an azure hoop.

“It’s Little Cui’s carrier pigeon!”

Old Eagle immediately recognized it. In the end, Little Cui’s pigeon had managed to come within the time limit. Old Eagle’s spy team had a rule that once the time had passed, it would mean that a mishap had occurred and everyone needed to leave.

Old Eagle’s heart relaxed as he extended his right hand to receive the bird. He proficiently removed the letter and looked down.

As Old Eagle focused…

“Not good!”

His pupils instantly constricted and his eyes flew open.

“Everyone, hear my order! Immediately—”

Before the word ‘withdraw’ could leave his mouth, a large ruckus came from the door of the restaurant. Old Eagle looked down and saw that a white-robed scholar, perhaps dejected from some event in life, had become intoxicated and charged inside.

As he charged in, he knocked aside a waiter and then spat a mouthful of alcohol and saliva at the person trying to block his path.

“Young Master Zhao, you can’t come in!”

“You’re already this drunk! You’re going to disturb the other patrons! Please, leave immediately!”

“What are you standing around for? Hurry and stop him!”

Chaos ensued in the entrance to the restaurant.

But this sight only made Old Eagle more uneasy.

Swoosh!

Old Eagle immediately jumped on the railing and flew off.

“Tang barbarian, hand over your life!”

Suddenly, the exquisitely crafted screen on the balcony exploded in blade energy. Five or six Tibetans had been behind the screen, and all of them were now lunging toward Old Eagle at incredible speed.