Chapter 898 Terms of the deal (3)

?Almost everyone involved in the court was burdened with their thoughts. Whether it was Lin Duyi and his parents who did not know what fate had in store for them, or the previous emperor, Duan Hu, or the Gong clan elder, or their founder, Deng Wei, they may not show it, but each one was plagued with the thoughts of what next.

Whether it was them, or the aggrieved. When the testimonies were done, they would all have to face whatever future today’s deliberations had on them. The good, the bad, and the complicated

…

Wu Mingli, without pause, continued with his testimony.

“With almost everyone having already turned on us, turning our home into a ghost town, after the notification of his death, we left. We didn’t even get to see his body or give him a proper burial.

Like bandits, we left in the dead of the night, and after two days we were already at the village where my father was born.

I half expected us to be attacked on our way there by either those from the store or some ‘do-gooders’ but thankfully we were not.

In haste, my mother took me to the spot where my father had met the riverstone serpent. Whatever wasteland it had been, it was not that, when we went there. It was brimming with life, whether it be lush vegetation, with even a few sky-grade herbs growing in the midst, or the crystal clear river that flowed with vigor.

My father had hidden the serpent’s wisdom pearl in that river. I still don’t understand why he never used it himself..” said Wu Mingli.

“From the moment it was given to him, he had already decided it would be yours before you were even conceived…” his mother softly answered from the side with a gentle loving smile on her face.

“Old man..” Wu Mingli muttered with a smile as he recalled the face of the simple-faced man with a resolute air about him, which alternated with clumsy where snakes were involved.

Wu Mingli took a second to regulate his emotions, before continuing with the tale.

“With the wisdom pearl in hand, we left for parts unknown, leaving the borders of Red Maple Empire to go start a new somewhere.

I only came back about thirty years ago, when I was at the peak of the core formation realm, to an empire that had grown far worse than it had been when we left.

I don’t know, maybe out of nostalgia, or out of hope that maybe my father’s death may have sparked a positive change in the empire, I decided to sneak back and take a look.

What greeted me was just ….. sorrow..” Wu Mingli said with a despondent sigh.

“The cities were filled with people, and they had grown far beyond how I had left them. But even with all that going for it, they were devoid of the flavor of life. All that hung there was a cloud of bitterness, pain, and endless sorrow born out of an empire that left its weak and helpless to the vicious wolves around them.

I should have expected it..” Wu Mingli said as he shook his head sideways.

“Unwilling to linger anymore in such an environment I decided to pay a visit to our home, one last time. Everything was as we left it, the only difference being it now had different occupants.

As I was lost in the memories of that place, some unknown figure appeared and threw a jade slip toward me, as he left the following words before leaving.

‘If you want to know what happened to your father, the truth is in that slip..’

I couldn’t sense his appearance or disappearance from start to finish. He was like a phantom.

I had thought with my peak stage core formation cultivation base I could roam around freely around the empire without fear, even against the owner of the Green Dragon General Store, but that figure upended that confidence with just a few milliseconds.

I couldn’t tell the slightest thing about them. Had they wanted to kill me, I have no doubt they would have been able to do it with extreme ease. I do not doubt that figure was more than likely a palace realm expert..”

Duan Hu’s eyes flickered with a mysterious glow at the remark.

“Upon realizing the disparity in our strengths, whatever reservations I had about the slip being a trap, were gone. Though even if it were, I would have gladly fallen for it if it involved my father.

But luckily or unluckily, what was in the slip turned out to be true..” said Wu Mingli as he took out a grey jade slip. Without a waste of movement and time, Wu Mingli immediately poured his spiritual qi into it, playing its contents.

The recording showed a short middle-aged man whose facial features resembled Wu Mingli walking alongside another man who looked to be in his early forties and had a regal bearing on him. The color of his hair matched that of the Duan Hu. It was an almost dusk orange color, similar to that of autumn maple leaves.

The duo were inside a quaint courtyard. They were seated quietly beneath a cherry blossom tree before another person joined them. The person in question looked to be in his early thirties, with long flowing black hair, a thin build, and a face and an aura that was of a banished immortal walking the mortal realm.

It wasn’t long before those wondering as to his identity, were made aware of it when the middle-aged man with the regal bearing addressed him as store owner Shao Ren. Even in the manner he talked, he talked gently but there was an ethereal power to it.

..

“So this is him?” asked Shao Ren as he casually pointed at the simple-looking middle-aged man.

“It is,” answered the regal-looking middle-aged man.

Shao Ren gently sighed as his gaze fell on the simple man before going back to the regal-looking man.

“Xiaoli may have been a good for nothing, but he was my nephew. If it had happened to any other person that wasn’t him, I would have gladly let the matter go and let you handle it as you saw fit, but since it was him… We are both in a difficult spot…

I am sorry Commander He for putting you in a position where you have to deliver one of your own, but certain things though distasteful have to be done..” Shao Ren said with a sympathetic sigh, as the duo sat across from him stewed in silence.

“Thank the Emperor for accommodating my selfishness. I, Shao Ren will not forget it..” he added.

“What do you plan to do with him?” the regal man, thus named Commander He, asked, as he pointed toward the simple man. One could sense the hesitation in his tone.

“Don’t worry Commander, I am not a thankless brute. I am not my nephew, I have some propriety. If I wasn’t, I would not have settled for just him. But to set your mind at ease, I will deal it here, in your presence..” Shao Ren lightly said as his attention drifted to the simple middle-aged man.

“Your name is Wu Fang?”

“It is,” the simple middle-aged man calmly answered.

Shao Ren’s eyes shone with interest as he asked,” You don’t seem afraid. Many would be in your position. I wonder why is that. Or you just don’t feel fear, or you have already resolved yourself to what will happen. Did Commander He, tell you?”

“I didn’t, but there was no need for me to. He could already guess. He is one of our best-performing city guards for a reason..” Commander He said as he cast a sympathetic look toward Wu Fang.

Wu Fang on detecting the gaze, smiled.

“You shouldn’t feel guilty, Commander. From the moment I decided to act, I was prepared for this eventuality. I would still do it again,” Wu Fang said with a peaceful smile on his face, which had the opposite effect on the commander, who ended up averting his gaze.

“To answer your question, store owner Shao Ren, It is not that I am not afraid. There are a lot of things I am afraid of,disappointing my son and wife is at the top of that list, closely followed by regrets, and then snakes..” Wu Fang said as he chortled slightly before he turned calm once again.

“Unlike those brave warriors, I won’t say that I am not afraid of death either. I am afraid of dying but for me, the life that leads to it is what affects the degree to which I will be afraid when the moment comes. If I am swarmed by regrets to the moment of my death, then I would be frightened, but now…I have lived a full life, store owner Shao Ren.

It’s why I can face my end with a thankful heart, and a peaceful spirit..”

“I admire your spirit, City Guard, Wu Fang. I wish you a fair turn, in your next life..” Shao Ren gently said as he waved his sleeves producing a mirage-like light that gently swept up Wu Fang instantly disintegrating him both body and soul.

“Have a pleasant night, Commander He, I am sorry I will not be seeing you out. Please tell the Emperor, I will visit him tomorrow, to personally give my thanks for him accommodating my selfishness…” Shao Ren said as he got up to leave.

“Also I will talk to the rest of my workers. They will behave better..” he added as his body disappeared and the recording ended.