Chapter 185: The Old Fox and the Young Fox

The Evil Monarch had his left hand clasped behind his back while his right hand brushed his robe: “Of course. Otherwise, where else would this old ghost find the relics of the Sage Emperor?”

He spoke slowly: “In ancient times, the Sage Emperor shaved his head and became a monk, and had a young novice who served him. After he entered Nirvana following the formation of that unique crystal, the novice happened to befriend someone from the grasslands and told him about this strange occurrence.”

No wonder the young master of the Jang Clan knew the whereabouts of the Devil Monarch… Meng Qi suddenly understood, silently staring at the Evil Monarch.

The Evil Monarch still spoke at his leisurely pace, as if he were not in the perilous palace but comfortably at home: “The old ghost’s coma was only temporary, unable to withstand the sudden influx of massive essence. However, after awakening, he thought it was better to pretend to remain unconscious. First, he wanted to observe the behavior of his four sons, to see their true natures, and to lure several Grand Masters into the capital through the struggle for the throne. Second, he could spread the news of the Sage Emperor’s relics, enticing the Grand Masters to fall into the trap.”

“So that night when Batu was pursued, it was actually the young master of the Jang Clan who revealed his location?” Meng Qi asked thoughtfully upon hearing this plan.

If anything in this world could drive several Grand Masters to fight to the death, the relics of the Devil Monarch would certainly be at the top of the list. Compared to that, the imperial throne was of little importance to them. After all, they had been stuck at their current cultivation stage for a long time, just a thin veil away from breaking through, yet unable to make that final leap, desperately needing external references and assistance.

The Evil Monarch gazed at Meng Qi with a faint smirk: “Indeed. Had you not intervened—driving away the Blade of Fury, frightening off Ruyi Monk and the Ghost King, and rescuing Batu and Changsun Jing—the Grand Masters, apart from Wang Derang and Bamur, would have already assembled at Yuanjue Temple, vying for the Sage Emperor’s relics.”

“According to my investigation, Yuanjue Temple is buried with countless pounds of gunpowder. As soon as the Grand Masters entered, hidden assassins would ignite the fuses, blowing them all to dust.”

Meng Qi nodded calmly: “No wonder the young master of the Jang Clan left his hiding place just before the Right Chancellor arrived.”

Whoosh, the sound of wind blowing through the branches became very clear, vividly conveying the strength, intensity, and ferocity of the wind.

“Wang Derang did not expect Batu to be ‘kidnapped’ by you, nor did he anticipate that Lu Guan would choose to become a loyal minister, bringing Batu directly to him instead of aligning with any of the princes. Therefore, he deliberately delayed for a while, sending someone to notify the young master of the Jang Clan. Otherwise, with his strength as a Grand Master, for such a critical matter, why wouldn’t he rush there immediately, confront and subdue them on the spot? Instead, he leisurely took Lu Guan and Batu with him on a slow journey?” The Evil Monarch said with a hint of mockery.

Exactly. If the Right Chancellor himself “found” the young master of the Jang Clan, he would be in an awkward position. If he didn’t go to Yuanjue Temple, the other Grand Masters, with their vast experience, would immediately suspect something was wrong and likely send their subordinates to investigate. But if he himself went to Yuanjue Temple, the hidden assassins outside would have no choice but to ignite the fuses.

Meng Qi remained vigilant with his blade and sword, sighing: “Never would I have thought the emperor would be so wary of the Grand Masters, wishing to kill them at every opportunity.”

“As the ruler of the realm, who would want powerful Grand Masters, nearly as strong as gods and demons, existing outside his control? If they decided to risk their lives, they might kill the emperor even under heavy protection.”

The Evil Monarch still kept his left hand behind his back, his right hand across his chest: “Therefore, as soon as an opportunity arose, the old ghost would not let it slip away, even if he had not yet finished absorbing the Sage Emperor’s relics. He would use them as bait anyway. After all, his physical body has already aged, and even if his power increased, the amount of essence he could contain and absorb was limited. Hmph, if it weren’t for the fact that Wang Derang wasn’t there to maintain order, it could have easily gone wrong. The old ghost would have preferred to keep even him in the dark, sending him to Yuanjue Temple to die as well.”

“He is a qualified emperor.” Meng Qi sighed.

“Indeed, cold-blooded, ruthless, loving the throne and power more than concubines or even his own children.” The Evil Monarch unusually showed agreement.

The wind grew stronger, the air became damp, and the atmosphere grew oppressive.

Meng Qi deliberately asked: “Even while feigning unconsciousness, he still had the Right Chancellor for civil affairs, the Western Expedition General for military matters, and the Chief Eunuch within the palace. His control over the court and the palace remained strong. How could he suddenly die? Did he secretly send the Western Expedition General to contact Lu Huasheng, determined to negotiate peace?”

To feign a coma, the Chief Eunuch could not be deceived, after all, the emperor was no immortal; he still needed to eat, drink, and relieve himself, so there must be trusted aides to handle these matters.

“If the price doesn’t exceed the bottom line, the old ghost would certainly agree to peace talks. After killing the Grand Masters and eliminating his unruly sons, he would reorganize the army and stabilize the northwest. If negotiations truly failed, he had already summoned Lu Guan to the capital as a backup, which could stabilize the military forces in the northwest.” The Evil Monarch spoke fluently, as if reading the late emperor’s thoughts like the lines on his palm.

Meng Qi nodded slightly. If the old emperor had not died, completing his main mission would require him to find a way to sabotage the peace talks—since the old emperor had the young master of the Jang Clan as a pawn, knowing the secrets of the western barbarians, he would certainly have many ways to turn their fake peace talks into real ones.

The Evil Monarch chuckled lightly: “He thought he had everything under control, but he underestimated the hearts of men. As the emperor, most people thought he was in a coma, which was equivalent to death, so he truly ‘died.'”

“To feign a coma, there would inevitably be various clues, such as appetite and the state of excrement. The young eunuchs and guards thought the emperor had suffered a stroke and was unconscious, believing a new emperor would soon take the throne. Naturally, they hurried to pledge allegiance, sending all kinds of information to the Crown Prince and the Seventh Prince, allowing them to determine that the old ghost was faking his ‘death’ and setting up a trap.”

If the emperor hadn’t suddenly fallen into a coma, giving the Third and Fourth Princes hope, normally, others would have seen the Crown Prince or the Seventh Prince as the new emperor.

“No wonder when I visited the Crown Prince, he refused to see me, strictly maintaining his decorum.” Meng Qi suddenly understood, then frowned: “But if the Seventh Prince also knew, why did he agree to meet me? Why did he speak of the struggle for the throne and say he could not retreat?”

The Evil Monarch, tall and elegant with a hint of sinister charm, stood there with an indescribable ease: “By then, the old ghost had already died.”

“So the Seventh Prince acted recklessly, while the Crown Prince, unaware, remained secluded?” Meng Qi felt something was off.

The Evil Monarch smiled: “The Crown Prince was pretending not to know the old ghost had died, while the Seventh Prince was pretending not to know the old ghost was only feigning unconsciousness.”

They were both such great actors… Meng Qi inwardly muttered, suddenly realizing the meaning behind the Evil Monarch’s words: “So the one who killed the emperor was the Crown Prince?”

“One could say it was his command. Hmph, only a few people knew this matter, even Wang Derang believed the old ghost had died from greedily absorbing too much essence. Therefore, he kept the emperor’s death a secret, giving the Crown Prince time to court the Western Expedition General and others, preparing thoroughly. When the time came, he would strike with thunderous force, leaving the other three princes no chance to resist, avoiding chaos in the capital and the realm.” The Evil Monarch spoke as if he had personally witnessed the events.

Meng Qi had no doubts about this. The Right Chancellor Wang Derang was a great Confucian scholar of the age, with the threat of western barbarians at the Pei River, and certainly wished for a smooth transition of the throne. Under normal circumstances, a great scholar choosing the orthodox heir required no explanation. However, the Crown Prince, having long been suppressed, lacked the civil and military officials’ strength to overpower the other princes. On the matter of Grand Masters, the Fourth Prince had the Sword Emperor, and the Third Prince had the Demoness, neither of whom were inferior.

If the Crown Prince’s succession were suddenly announced, the other princes might well rebel, sparking division and causing chaos in the capital and the realm, giving the western barbarians an opportunity.

Therefore, the Right Chancellor concealed the emperor’s death, informing only the Crown Prince, allowing him time to prepare and rally neutral forces, swiftly subduing the other three princes with thunderous force, quickly resolving the struggle for the throne.

“Command? Then who actually killed the emperor?” Meng Qi asked again.

The weather outside seemed increasingly oppressive, the sounds of combat from the Diligent Governance Hall mingling with the howling wind.

The Evil Monarch spoke leisurely: “The Left Chancellor, Lü Ling.”

“The treacherous chancellor?” The one who had kept Lu Guan in exile for years.

“As the head of the Council of State and one of the de facto chancellors, he held the privilege to stay overnight within the palace and the authority to visit the old ghost.” The Evil Monarch spoke without concealment: “Lü Ling was adept at discerning the emperor’s intentions and enjoyed his deep trust. With Lu Guan’s return to the capital, he keenly sensed the possibility of falling out of favor.”

When the Crown Prince secretly informed him that the old fox was only feigning unconsciousness, it confirmed his suspicions. As a trusted confidant, even such matters were kept from him—there could be no other explanation than the old fox intending to discard him as a pawn. Heh, if the peace negotiations succeeded, the cession of territory would humiliate the nation, and the Crown Prince and he would become the scapegoats. If the negotiations failed and Lu Guan was reinstated as a general, someone would still have to take responsibility for the chaos in the northwest and Lu Guan’s previous demotion. Clearly, the fault couldn’t lie with the wise and mighty Emperor—it had to be the treacherous prime minister deceiving the ruler.

The Evil Lord had a gaunt yet refined countenance, clearly a handsome man in his youth. With an air of profound wisdom, he said, “Once he grasped this truth, Lü Ling swiftly aligned himself with the Crown Prince. Having served as chancellor for many years, with frequent access to the imperial palace, he inevitably cultivated connections among the inner court eunuchs and guards. These eunuchs and guards, believing the new emperor’s ascension was imminent, naturally pledged their allegiance to him without reservation—helping him spy on the affairs of the Purple Pole Pavilion and monitoring intelligence from the Imperial City Bureau.”

When they realized that the old emperor was only feigning unconsciousness, they were already in too deep and had no choice but to follow Lü Ling’s lead down a path of no return. After piecing together various clues to deduce the old emperor’s condition, Lü Ling procured a pill that accelerated the absorption of true essence—beneficial and harmless to the body, completely non-toxic—and had a eunuch add it to the old man’s meal. As a result, the old man absorbed the vital essence too rapidly and died suddenly.

Meng Qi pondered thoughtfully and asked, “Why do you speak of such confidential matters as if you had personally experienced them?”

“Because Lü Ling told me, and he was the one who helped me infiltrate this place,” the Evil Lord sighed with a smile. “If there were no external enemies, the Crown Prince would surely silence him in the future. Even if he spread the word, Wang Derang would assume he was desperate and making wild accusations. By then, there would likely be no other princes left, so Wang Derang would have no choice but to believe the Crown Prince, whether he wanted to or not. That’s why Lü Ling confided in me—to secure a way to save himself.”

Meng Qi said regretfully, “What’s the use of telling you?”

“At this very moment, the Seventh Prince should have already left the capital, heading southeast to mobilize the court and military forces he has accumulated over the years, carving out territory and launching a rebellion,” the Evil Lord said, as if discussing something rather trivial.

Meng Qi immediately grasped the true meaning behind the Seventh Prince’s words. In the capital, with the Right Prime Minister siding with the Crown Prince, he had no chance—his path to survival and his hope lay beyond the capital. “So it was you behind the Seventh Prince all along.”

The evil lord nodded with a smile, “It was me. But I didn’t tell him that the old ghost was killed by the crown prince through Lü Ling’s instigation. I merely instructed him to find an excuse to suppress the rebellion.”

“Do you want to plunge the world into chaos?” Meng Qi instantly grasped the true intentions of the Evil Lord.

The arrogant Evil Lord declared, “If one ascends through rebellion, the foundation is unstable, and the Sacred Sect will forever be suppressed by Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism. Only by rising with a righteous army and sweeping across the land can the Sacred Sect become orthodox. I have already prepared ‘seeds of fire’ in the southeast for the Seventh Prince to use.”

“Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun…” Meng Qi found himself inexplicably recalling this phrase. The Evil Monarch indeed harbored heroic ambitions in his heart.

He sighed, “But countless lives will be plunged into misery because of this.”

“To die a worthy death is to leave behind a lingering fragrance,” the ruthless Lord Xie Jun said coldly.

He suddenly smiled and said, “Do you know why I’m talking so much and telling you so many things?”

Before Meng Qi could answer, he brought his left hand out from behind his back, holding a deep yellow crystal. Inside it, there seemed to be a formless, gelatinous substance, but only a small portion remained.

He let out a grunt, his expression turning cold again.

“Because someone wants to stall for time.”

He put away the crystal, and his aura surged continuously, even giving off a faint impression reminiscent of the Demon Queen.

“Although it hasn’t been fully absorbed yet, it’s more than enough to kill you!”

Boom!

Lightning split the sky outside, followed by the rumble of thunder.

Although he didn’t know why the Evil Monarch had obtained the Devil Monarch’s relics or why he was in such a hurry to absorb the essence, Meng Qi remained calm: “Do you know why I’ve listened to your nonsense for so long?”

Before the Evil Monarch could answer, Meng Qi grinned, revealing a row of white teeth:

“Because I also need to buy time!”