Shock!Straight Man Long Aotian Secretly Hides The Villain’S Skirt Chapter 19
byIn normal times, these Shadow Guards from the Shadow Guard Battalion would be no match for Lu Yi.
But how can a brave lone wolf, stripped of its claws and fangs, win against overwhelming odds?
Lu Yi’s blade had been tossed into the lake to feed the fish the day he was captured and brought to Miedie Valley.
[Protagonist Suffering Value +3]
Xie Rong lowered his eyes and gently stroked the little green snake’s head. The system prompt ringing in his mind did not make him turn to look at Lu Yi.
He heard the man being surrounded and attacked by the group, heard the sound of sharp blades slicing through flesh, and heard the man being forcibly pressed down, his knees hitting the ground with a dull thud.
“Lord Lu, among the entire Swift Plume Directorate, you are the person the Empress Dowager values most. Do you know why?” The head eunuch flicked his horsetail whisk and sneered, “Because you are honest, you don’t cause trouble, and you are a useful, dutiful official. The opportunity to succeed as Commandant is right before you now; don’t displease Her Majesty and let someone else benefit for nothing!”
Lu Yi gritted his teeth, panting, his eyes fixed on the detached figure inside the prisoner cart, slowly turning red.
To prevent Lu Yi from causing further trouble, he was bound and thrown onto a horse.
The head eunuch rode beside the prisoner cart, personally escorting it, accompanied by several young eunuchs from the Empress Dowager’s palace.
“This time, Godfather has completed another major task. The Empress Dowager will surely reward you handsomely, won’t she?” A young eunuch flattered him with a smile.
The head eunuch lifted his chin slightly, wrinkles crinkling at the corners of his eyes, feigning humility. “I don’t ask for any rewards. I only hope that when the Empress Dowager meets the South Xinjiang Saint Child in the future, if she truly obtains the method for eternal life, she can spare me a little medicinal dregs to drink.”
“If we capture this wicked Gu Master, can we really expect the South Xinjiang Saint Child to show up?”
The head eunuch snorted, “The people of South Xinjiang hate defectors the most. I heard that two years ago, a Gu Master from South Xinjiang fled to the Central Plains and secretly leaked South Xinjiang’s Gu techniques to others. The Empress Dowager received news three months ago that the South Xinjiang Saint Child also left South Xinjiang and came to the Central Plains, likely to capture that runaway Gu Master.”
“Coincidentally, just as the Empress Dowager received the news, this Gu Master appeared and harmed people right under the Emperor’s nose. It’s as if Heaven itself is helping us!”
The prisoner cart was sent back to the capital overnight. The person inside was temporarily locked in the Imperial Prison, awaiting judgment.
The nobles and powerful families in the capital were all delighted, as everyone who had been taken to Miedie Valley was rescued, without a single loss. They were physically sound, except for being darker and stronger, and having a few more whip marks on their bodies—no incurable injuries were sustained.
“But Father, we still have Gu poison planted inside us. If it comes to it, shouldn’t we release him first? Maybe if we treat him well and coax him, he’ll detoxify us,” the son of the Zhao family whined, refusing to leave the entrance of the Imperial Prison.
Minister Zhao slapped him angrily on the forehead. “Idiot! Did serving as a slave to that Gu Master in Miedie Valley turn you into a fool? The reason you were able to come out unharmed is naturally that someone has already removed the Gu from your bodies!”
“Who was it?” Young Master Zhao rubbed his head.
A young man wearing a Flying Fish Robe dismounted and walked toward the Imperial Prison. Minister Zhao turned to greet him, chuckling, “Vice Envoy Liu, we owe you so much for detoxifying them this time.”
Vice Envoy Liu was a tall, handsome man with an unapproachable cold aura. Hearing this, he merely nodded indifferently, walking straight past Minister Zhao and striding into the Imperial Prison, seemingly in a hurry to see someone.
The Imperial Prison was perpetually dark, and even the echoing footsteps seemed like geckos clinging to the walls, damp and cold.
Liu Zhanyi stopped outside the only cell lit by candlelight.
Following his gaze, he saw that the straw pile usually provided for prisoners had been replaced with a soft couch inside the cell. Xie Rong sat on the couch, holding the snake, while another man stood beside him, combing his hair and carefully pinning silver ornaments into his temples.
After styling his hair, the man brought a basin of hot water and silently wiped the grime from Xie Rong’s face, hands, and legs. Then, he changed the water, placed the basin on the ground, lowered his head, and held those delicate jade feet, placing them into the wooden basin for washing.
Liu Zhanyi’s hands clenched and unclenched at his sides. He walked into the cell with an expressionless face.
“Junior Brother, are you well?”
Xie Rong kneaded the tip of the green snake’s tail. “I heard you detoxified those fools?”
As he spoke, he suddenly smiled. “You are still as unsophisticated as before. It’s fine to deceive others, but don’t deceive yourself.”
“In your eyes, am I always so worthless?” Liu Zhanyi said coldly.
“Wrong,” Xie Rong tilted his head and smiled. “I have never put you in my eyes.”
“When have you ever put anyone in your eyes?” Liu Zhanyi muttered to himself. “Forget it. You will understand some things eventually. I never intended to betray South Xinjiang, and I never intended to betray…”
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Staying here would only make him more humiliated, so he had no choice but to turn and leave for the time being, all the words he had prepared left unsaid.
Lu Yi was still serving Xie Rong by washing his feet, just as he had done in Miedie Valley.
Host! Wuwu, what should we do? We haven’t accumulated enough Suffering Value, and the plot is wrong, completely wrong! We should have been killed by the protagonist for revenge and beautifully completed the mission to move on to the next world—why is the protagonist still washing your feet! So annoying!
Xie Rong’s eyelids drooped. He only treasured the little green snake, hiding it deeper in his embrace.
This snake was already his only child, and he would protect it at all costs.
Lu Yi was splashed in the face by Xie Rong’s restless foot. He silently wiped Xie Rong’s feet clean, then pulled two tangerines from his sleeve and said in a hoarse voice, “I have transplanted those two tangerine trees to a safe place.”
Xie Rong acted as if he hadn’t heard him, still ignoring him.
“Lord Lu, the Empress Dowager summons you. Please enter the palace immediately.”
“Xie Rong, what do you want me to do before you will acknowledge me?”
Xie Rong slapped him across the face, rubbing his tingling palm, and asked softly, “Is this how I acknowledge you, Commandant Lu?”
Lu Yi glanced at him, silently carrying the basin of fragrant hot water out of the cell.
Xie Rong curled up on the soft couch, holding the snake, gently humming a lullaby to coax the snake to sleep. He accidentally fell asleep halfway through the tune.
…
Three days later, a celebratory banquet was held.
To congratulate the capture of the demonic figure, the Empress Dowager granted this banquet, firstly to reward the meritorious officials and secondly to appease the startled aristocratic young masters.
“Empress Dowager, Eunuch Liu, who escorted him back to the capital, said that the Gu Master is a very young man?”
The Empress Dowager, dressed in a phoenix robe, sat beside the Emperor. Although she was nearing sixty, there was only a faint wrinkle at the corner of her eye. She smiled faintly at the question. “He is merely a prisoner. If the esteemed officials wish to see him, just order him to be brought up.”
About an hour passed.
Several guards carried a square iron cage into the main hall.
The iron cage was covered with a red cloth, obscuring the person inside.
The hall fell silent for a moment, and people gradually grew anxious, until the red cloth was lifted.
The iron cage was empty.
The Empress Dowager abruptly stood up, scanning the seats on the left side. Not seeing the person she sought, she demanded angrily, “Lu Yi, where is the person I asked for?!”
“Empress Dowager, Lord Lu is indisposed today and did not attend the palace banquet.”
The Empress Dowager immediately looked toward the seats on the other side.
“Reporting to the Empress Dowager, Old Madam Jin is gravely ill today, and Young General Jin took leave early. He also did not attend the palace banquet.”