The Human Emperor c1-2382

by Huangfu Qi (皇甫奇)

  “Wang Chong, you’re finally awake…”

  The voice was practically weeping with joy, and its owner embraced Wang Chong’s body and cried.

  “Qi-Qiqin?!”

  Finally, his vision completely cleared, allowing him to see that familiar and weeping face, a sight that struck Wang Chong dumb. What was going on? Hadn’t he just awoken from cultivation? Hadn’t he only just stabilized his disorderly Stellar Energy?

  Why was he now seeing Xu Qiqin here?

  Looking around, he saw even more familiar figures at his side: King Song, the old butler, his big uncle, his mother, Huang Qian-er, Zhao Yatong, Bai Siling, and also his master and the village chief. They were all in the room, surrounding his bed with grief-stricken faces.

  Wait, his master and the village chief… An illusion—this had to be an illusion!

  He was clearly in the northwest, seventeen thousand meters beneath the earth, searching for the Origin Immortal Art. How could he have appeared here?

  Wang Chong prepared to stand up so that he could break free of the illusion.

  But before he could sit up, he felt an intense ache all across his body. At the same time, a broad palm pressed against his shoulder.

  “Chong-er, your injuries aren’t healed. Don’t move around recklessly. Let your master treat your wounds so you can recover as quickly as possible.”

  “Master?”

  Wang Chong looked up and saw that the Demonic Emperor Old Man had appeared at his side and had pressed a hand on his shoulder. His face was immediately stricken with confusion.

  “Mm, we’ve done our best to treat you, but the cultivation defect of the Great Yinyang Heaven Creation Art is not that easy to cure.”

  The familiar voice of the Wushang Village Chief rang out as he solemnly walked forward.

  The sight of these two familiar people threw Wang Chong’s mind into disarray. For a moment, he found it hard to distinguish between the real and the illusion.

  “Master, weren’t we adventuring in the northwest to search for the Origin Immortal Art? Why are we here? Is that matter already finished?”

  Wang Chong was stunned. Had he fallen unconscious underground and been brought back by his master and the Wushang Village Chief?

  “The northwest? The Origin Immortal Art?”

  The Demonic Emperor Old Man and the Wushang Village Chief exchanged a glance, deep worry in their eyes.

  With a long sigh, Academic Lu Ting came forward and looked sadly at the bedridden Wang Chong. “King of Foreign Lands, I know that you are still worried about the matters of the court, but you’ve done your best in the militarist-Confucian conflict. No one will blame you.”

  “The militarist-Confucian conflict?”

  Wang Chong was struck dumb. What was going on? Wasn’t that conflict already over?

  “Chong-er, you still don’t understand? Ever since you collapsed from your cultivation defect in your study and we discovered you, seven days and nights have passed! You’ve been unconscious for seven days and nights!”

  Madam Wang stepped forward, and as she caressed his face, she could no longer hold back her tears.

  “What?”

  Wang Chong froze.

  Study? Cultivation defect?

  He clearly remembered that after he fell unconscious in his study, he had woken up in the carriage, already on the way to the northwest with his master. How had he remained in the estate? Had all of that been an illusion?

  No, impossible!

  “Mother, Academic Lu, you’re joking with me, right?”

  Wang Chong smiled as he leaned back, his face remaining calm and composed.

  Everyone stared silently at Wang Chong.

  But the heaviest blow came from the Demonic Emperor Old Man and the Wushang Village Chief.

  “Chong-er, you don’t know what you’re saying. Your master and the Village Chief never went to the northwest, nor did we go looking for the Origin Immortal Art.”

  “Although we truly planned to go to the northwest, the Origin Immortal Art has been missing for several hundred years. How could it be that easy to obtain?” the Wushang Village Chief added.

  The Wushang Village Chief had a close relationship with Wang Chong, and he had always treated him the same as one of the youths from his village. However, he felt that perhaps the blow from the Confucian Sect had destabilized Wang Chong’s mind.

  Buzz!

  As he stared at these strange yet familiar faces, Wang Chong was rendered speechless.

  “Fake, it must be fake. I have to be dreaming…” Wang Chong muttered to himself. He looked down at the base of the bed. The greatest discrepancy between a dream and reality was that in a dream, he would never be able to cast a shadow. Dreams could not possibly be that real.

  But a moment later, he saw his shadow and was struck dumb.

  Chapter 1454 - Li Junxian’s Gift!

  Chapter 1454: Li Junxian’s Gift!

  Translated by: Hypersheep325

  Edited by: Michyrr

  “It’s not right!”

  Wang Chong shook his head and looked at his hands. His own hands were fair and slender, and he could clearly make out each of the creases. Through his fingertips, Wang Chong could also feel the slight chill in the room and the air blowing across his hand.

  It was simply too real, too detailed. These were not things a dream could possess.

  And as he looked over his fingernails, he saw that they were reflecting the dim light in the room, just as real and detailed as everything else.

  “How could this be?”

  Wang Chong’s mind was completely blank.

  There was no sense of touch in dreams, much less details as meticulous as a sense of warmth. Wang Chong’s mind was in disarray.

  Truth and fiction, the past and present, were all mixed together. He had originally firmly believed in his experiences in the northwest.

  But this conviction had been given a severe shock.

  Wang Chong suddenly no longer dared to be so certain.

  What also made him rather uneasy was that his aching body and the chaotic state of his meridians were symptoms extremely similar to those his body had exhibited after he had fallen unconscious in his study. Did that mean that his entire journey to the northwest had actually just been an illusion he had experienced after his flare-up? That after falling unconscious in his study, his master had not forcibly taken him to the northwest?

  That it had all been an illusion, a dream?

  As these thoughts flitted through his mind, Wang Chong was at a complete loss.

  Everything he had just experienced made it impossible for him to distinguish the true from the false.

  “You just woke up, so you should just rest. Aunt, Your Highness, let us withdraw so he can relax,” Xu Qiqin said in an understanding tone.

  The crowd quickly left the room.

  The room was soon quiet, and Wang Chong was left alone to sit on his bed with his restless thoughts.

  Just what is going on here? Wang Chong inwardly muttered to himself.

  He could feel the sensation of black sandalwood under him and could smell its fragrance. If this was a dream, none of this should have been possible.

  “Could I really have been unconscious for seven days and seven nights?”

  Wang Chong walked up to the window, where the rays of sunlight poured in. The warmth he felt as they struck his body left him speechless.

  Opening the door, Wang Chong walked out into the familiar gardens and buildings of the Wang Family Residence.

  Wang Chong could even see the designs on the ceramic tiles and a chirping bird on one of the eaves.

  As Wang Chong thought back to his experiences in the northwest, he discovered that the clear memories had suddenly begun to blur like those of a dream.

  “Maybe it really was a dream!”

  With this thought, Wang Chong slowly began to accept his circumstances.

  Bangbangbang!

  As he was thinking, there was a sud
den and intense knocking, and Wang Chong soon heard the furious voices of Xu Keyi and the others.

  “Bastard! Who told you to come!? Leave at once!”

  Another voice, brimming with derision, came from outside. “Heh, a visitor is a guest. After hearing that the King of Foreign Lands had fallen ill and had not awoken, our Young Master decided to come and deliver a gift. The mighty King of Foreign Lands would not be so petty, I presume!”

  The tone made one feel that the owner of the voice did not harbor good intentions.

  “Scram! Don’t think that just because your Confucian Sect has the upper hand, you can act however you want! If not for His Highness, do you think your Confucian Sect would have even had a chance to show itself?

  “Our Highness does not welcome your people!”

  The furious voice this time had belonged to Chen Bin.

  The servants and maids also began to join, and a great clamor took place at the gate to the estate.

  “Stop!”

  A voice suddenly cut through the noise.

  Xu Keyi, Chen Bin, and the many Wang Clan guards had gathered at the entrance, their eyes fixed on a figure outside and burning with righteous indignation.

  The crowd turned their heads and were struck dumb by the sight of a familiar figure.

  “Milord!”

  Everyone lowered their heads. They had failed to notice Wang Chong coming up behind them.

  “All of you, withdraw!” Wang Chong ordered. His face was slightly pale, giving him a rather weak appearance.

  Everyone bowed and complied with Wang Chong’s order, opening a path for him.

  “Heh, Your Highness, long time no see!”

  That mocking and ill-intentioned voice spoke once more.

  “Everyone says that Your Highness has been unconscious for seven days and nights, your mind stricken with deep depression, but it seems like the rumors were false. Your Highness is already awake!”

  “It’s you!”

  Wang Chong followed the voice and saw several figures standing outside. Their leader was a man dressed in a black robe, his hair worn loose. This man was staring at Wang Chong like some untamed beast, his eyes burning with challenge.

  Wang Chong had no impression of this man, but he clearly remembered this man’s aura as belonging to the sword-dancing ‘Sword Ghost’ from Drunken Moon Pavilion.

  Behind him were a man and woman, two experts of the Confucian Sect. They held a silk box between them, clearly the present that had been spoken of.

  “Impudent! Don’t go too far!”

  Xu Keyi and Chen Bin fumed at Sword Ghost’s words and were on the verge of resorting to arms.

  What present? They were just trying to find out the real situation and intentionally provoking Wang Chong. And if not for them, how could Wang Chong have ever vomited blood?

  “Enough!” Wang Chong suddenly said, waving a hand to stop his subordinates as he turned to Sword Ghost.

  “Tell your young master that this king accepts his gift and that this king thanks him for his kind intentions!”

  Wang Chong was calm and apparently unmoved. Sword Ghost and his companions were dumbfounded by these words.

  Wang Chong’s reaction was clearly completely at odds with their expectations, but Sword Ghost soon composed himself.

  “Heh, Your Highness is truly graceful. It seems that Your Highness has truly accepted the matter regarding the prefectural armies. Since that is the case, this one bids farewell!”

  Sword Ghost gave a slight bow.

  “The prefectural armies?”

  Wang Chong raised an eyebrow at these words.

  “What? Your Highness does not know?”

  Sword Ghost had already prepared to turn and leave, but when he heard this, he stopped and shot a glance at Xu Keyi.

  “What? They still haven’t told Your Highness?”

  Wang Chong understood and turned to look at Xu Keyi and his other subordinates. All of them paled and lowered their heads.

  Upon seeing this, Sword Ghost understood what was going on.

  “It seems like they were hiding the matter from Your Highness. As this is the case, it is not appropriate for this one to speak any more. Farewell!”

  With a bizarre smile on his lips, Sword Ghost and his colleagues left.

  ……

  Just what is going on here?

  In the study, Wang Chong looked at his subordinates.

  “……”

  “This…”

  Xu Keyi and Chen Bin glanced at each other in hesitation, but Wang Chong’s pressure compelled them to speak.

  “In truth, many things happened while Your Highness was unconscious. Without Your Highness to resist them, the Confucian Sect and the First Prince took complete control over the Imperial Court. Moreover, as Your Highness had vomited blood and was unconscious for so long, King Song and the others became extremely worried over Your Highness’s condition.

  “Without Your Highness’s plans, the Confucian Sect succeeded in colluding with the First Prince to finally pass the decree to dissolve the prefectural armies. Just a few days ago, the Imperial Court finished dissolving all the prefectural armies and destroying the registers. In the future, even calling back the disbanded soldiers will be impossible.

  “In addition, the Confucian Sect, the First Prince, the Prime Minister, and King Qi joined together to strip King Song of his military authority and his power over the Bureau of Military Personnel.

  “In addition, the Confucian Sect has also dispatched many supervisors to inspect the armies. The entire military is at its weakest point, with almost everyone under the Confucian Sect’s control.”

  ……

  Wang Chong slowly came to learn what had happened while he was unconscious.

  Although the guidance from his seniors in that underground stone chamber had made him much more open-minded, Wang Chong still felt a stabbing pain with each piece of news.

  Although he had already let go, how could he not feel unwilling after seeing everything he had worked for, what all the soldiers had sacrificed their lives for, being destroyed in a single night?

  Moreover, the conflict between the militarists and the Confucians was linked to the longevity of the Central Plains and the survival of all the people of the realm.

  “All of you, leave! I need to think.”

  Wang Chong suddenly waved his hand.

  “Yes! Milord!”

  A hint of reluctance appeared in the eyes of his subordinates, but they quickly withdrew.

  Wang Chong stood motionless in his study for a long, long time. Finally, Wang Chong heaved a sigh.

  Leaving his study, he strolled through the garden and out the front gate. Even though the servants and maids spotted him, no one dared to stop him.

  In this confused state where he was thinking of both everything and nothing, he walked into the capital. By the time Wang Chong returned to his senses, he was already in the middle of the thronging crowd.

  He could see peddlers selling cosmetic powder and perfume, merchants calling out to and embracing each other, and butchers loudly hawking their wares.

  But amidst the crowd, Wang Chong also saw many rather unique silhouettes. They had thick beards, wore long cloth robes, had hawkish noses and deep-set eyes, and spoke with thick accents.

  The Hu!

  These imposing Hu with their awkward grasp of the Tang language were going in and out of various places, and many of them radiated savage and fierce auras.

  Chapter 1455 - Gao Xianzhi’s Situation!

  Chapter 1455: Gao Xianzhi’s Situation!

  Translated by: Hypersheep325

  Edited by: Michyrr

  Wang Chong had grown up in the capital, and for there to be so many Hu in this place was usually not worth causing a ruckus. But as he looked around, Wang Chong realized that there were even more Hu in the capital now.

  Goguryeons, Tibetans, Turks, Arabs… they could all be spotted in the crowd.

  Wang Chong had spotted
ten-some Hu spies in the crowd, but the ordinary people around them all had kind faces and seemed completely unaware.

  “Haha, the world is in harmony, so there’s no need to be strangers! Take it!”

  Nearby, the owner of a store smiled as he placed a bolt of cloth in the hands of a Hu who had clearly undergone martial arts training.

  “Heh, we’re all family, so why so distant? I know that you don’t have much money, so I’ll give this to you at half price!” a nearby store owner said.

  “Take care, and remember to come back! Just like the Secretariat Advisor says, everyone in the world is part of the same family. You don’t have to be polite around me.”

  Enthusiastic voices were ringing in Wang Chong’s ears, and everywhere he looked, he saw genial faces completely oblivious to the danger around them.

  Wang Chong felt the stabbing pain in his heart only get worse, and he hastened his pace as he pressed forward.

  Everywhere he looked, the capital had undergone a thorough transformation in mood. The capital of the Great Tang was like an unguarded city, everyone completely opening themselves up.

  As he pressed forward, he suddenly heard a familiar voice. “Eh? Isn’t that the King of Foreign Lands?”

  Wang Chong still pressed on for a few moments, but a moment later, he remembered the voice and trembled in shock.

  “Cheng Qianli?!”

  He had fought alongside Cheng Qianli in the Battle of Talas and could not possibly mistake his voice.

  But Wang Chong remembered that Cheng Qianli and the Anxi Protectorate army were standing guard in the Western Regions. They couldn’t leave their post without a military decree, so why had he appeared in the faraway capital?

  Wang Chong suddenly raised his head, and sure enough, Wang Chong spotted that familiar figure in the crowd.

  His posture was straight and his head held high. His body exuded a fierce flame that had been tempered through thousands of battles. It was none other than Vice Protector-General Cheng Qianli of the Anxi Protectorate. And in front of him was yet another unexpected figure.

  Gao Xianzhi!

  “How?!”

  Wang Chong’s body trembled in shock, and his mind was in utter disarray.