Chapter 132
Chapter 132
In this era, a human sacrifice meant entombing a living person as an offering to please the immortals.
The rite had been abolished ages ago. But as the number of Daoists grew, competition among them intensified, and they began reviving ancient ceremonies to distinguish themselves.
Wushenzi was the one who proposed restoring human sacrifice.
The empress had been disgusted when she first heard of it. She could not imagine anyone devising something so vile.
She had never imagined that her own husband would offer their daughter.
“Your Majesty, Qiqi does not belong to the present day. Lord Liu once told us he would leave after one month. I therefore believe Qiqi may be the Seventh Princess from some point in the future.”
The empress’s head buzzed. She clenched her robes and struggled to contain her grief.
“How could he? How dare he do such a thing? She is his daughter!”
She looked at Qiqi. Qiqi looked back, then toddled over and raised her arms.
“Hug!”
The empress immediately lifted her.
“Qiqi, you…”
“Mother, Father told Qiqi to stay there. He said if Qiqi went to sleep like a good girl, he would come back for her. But after Qiqi woke up, she waited and waited. None of you ever came.”
The empress broke down completely.
Only after a long while did she set Qiqi down, wipe her tears, and ask, “What happened afterward? How did you meet Immortal Master Liu?”
Fear instantly appeared on Qiqi’s face.
“Boss is terrifying. He blew up the bad people’s cesspit on the mountain and flooded Qiqi’s home. Qiqi barely escaped.”
The empress and Physician Zhou stared at her.
Did “cesspit” mean what they thought it meant?
The story had been tragic a moment ago. How had it suddenly become horrifying?
Then again, Liu Ye was involved. That made perfect sense.
The empress put Qiqi down to play with the other girl. The warmth vanished from her face, replaced by icy resolve.
“Immortal Master Zhou, I understand your meaning. Rest assured, I will begin making preparations.”
Physician Zhou bowed deeply.
He had not revealed the truth solely out of pity for Qiqi. He wanted the empress to place the crown prince on the throne ahead of schedule.
Only by learning what the emperor intended could she lose all hope in her husband and begin laying plans. Physician Zhou had no desire to let that emperor create any more disasters. It would be better for him to step down.
The empress was clever. She immediately grasped the implication.
And a perfect opportunity was approaching: the contest for the title of Imperial Preceptor in three days.
Meanwhile, three Daoists gathered at the Imperial Preceptor’s residence.
“Eldest Brother, that brat escaped from Nine Worlds County. He must possess some ability,” Wushenzi said to the man in the center.
“It doesn’t matter. His Majesty has already promised that we may choose the events for the contest.”
The third Daoist laughed. “His Majesty still trusts us.”
“Then we will compete in the arts we know best. Three days from now, Liu Ye will die without a grave!” Wushenzi snarled.
He hated Liu Ye most of all. Because of that man, his son had become neither male nor female. A few days ago, the boy had even confessed that he had fallen in love with his senior brother.
Now the senior brother tried to hang himself every other day.
It was all Liu Ye’s fault. Wushenzi was determined to kill him.
Within three days, news of the contest had spread across the capital and captured everyone’s attention.
The empress proposed allowing ordinary people to watch so that ruler and subjects could share in the festivities. The emperor loved a spectacle and immediately agreed.
On the day of the contest, the three Daoists emerged in magnificent robes. Gems covered the fabric, which had been woven from heavenly silkworm silk and embroidered with golden thread. Under the sunlight, the garments seemed to radiate gold.
Liu Ye, by contrast, still wore the same official robe. More than ten days of travel had left it tattered, though it had been washed scrupulously clean.
The empress had wanted to provide him with clothing worthy of his status, but Eunuch Wu advised against it. The contrast would allow the common people to judge the two sides for themselves.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
A drum sounded from the raised platform. The emperor and his officials sat above a vast arena. Liu Ye stood on one side, the three Daoists on the other, while a crowd of spectators gathered below.
Eunuch Sun stepped forward and came straight to the point.
“In the first contest, Imperial Preceptor Wushenzi will face Immortal Master Liu Ye!”
“No Kidneys? Why does everyone here have such strange names?” Liu Ye muttered as he climbed onto the stage.
Wushenzi nearly died of rage. “Wushenzi! The ‘shen’ means divine!”
“Yes, yes, No Kidneys. What’s the first contest?”
Wushenzi silently reminded himself that he was an Imperial Preceptor and an immortal master. He could not lower himself by arguing with a mortal.
Eunuch Sun unrolled an imperial edict and announced, “The first contest: entering a cauldron of boiling oil!”
Attendants carried a huge cauldron onto the stage and lit firewood beneath it. Before long, bubbles rolled across the surface of the oil.
Wushenzi sneered. The brat must be paralyzed with fear.
Then he looked up and found Liu Ye practically trembling with excitement.
“You have this custom too? I thought only our village did it.”
“Custom?” Physician Zhou looked at him in alarm.
“Yes. In our village, every child enters boiling oil at the age of three. It’s supposed to burn away their bad luck from before.”
The three Daoists fell silent.
These people were even more ruthless than they were.
Far away in Black Cow Village, Guiwa looked at the rows of memorial tablets inside his house and sighed. Once, he had not been the village’s only Resentful Infant. The others had devised that particular custom in an attempt to kill him, only to perish in it themselves.
Back in the Fiendish World, Liu Ye jumped straight into the oil. Gasps erupted from the crowd, and some spectators shut their eyes rather than witness the gruesome result.
No scream came.
Instead, they heard Liu Ye complain, “The heat’s too low! And bring me some chopped scallions, ginger, and garlic.”
Everyone stared at him.
Had he come here to make soup?
Liu Ye reclined blissfully in the cauldron as though taking an ordinary bath.
Even Wushenzi began to feel uneasy. The brat truly had some ability.
“Hey, it’s your turn. Come on in. The temperature is perfect.”
Wushenzi snorted. He was no ordinary man. The Fiend Dragon of the Nine Worlds River protected him, allowing him to borrow the Fiend’s yin energy for his spells. That was also how he had controlled the little Fiends.
He chanted under his breath, then roared, “Immortal, lend me your power!”
Wushenzi leaped into the cauldron.
“Aaaah!”