Chapter 133
Chapter 133
Wushenzi knew something was wrong the instant he hit the oil.
The immortal had not lent him any power.
Worse, the cauldron was enormous. To make his entrance impressive, he had jumped straight into the center. Now his skin was being scalded from his body.
He endured the agony and tried to swim out. Victory no longer mattered. He only wanted to survive.
Yet the cauldron seemed as vast as an ocean. No matter how desperately he swam, the rim never drew closer.
Below the stage, Eunuch Wu wore gloves as he placed cucumber slices over Liu Ye’s face. He watched Wushenzi’s struggle with a cold smile.
The cauldron had been tampered with.
It was not an ordinary vessel, but the one Liu Ye had taken from his bundle to stew the ancient softshell turtle. That creature had also tried to escape, only to swim endlessly in the center until it was boiled alive.
The Daoists had believed themselves clever. They thought the emperor stood with them, never realizing that the empress supported Liu Ye’s party. She had revealed every event in advance so they could prepare.
Through careful, indirect questions, Eunuch Wu and Physician Zhou confirmed that Liu Ye had nothing to fear from the trials. But they also wanted Wushenzi to suffer. The murdered children of Nine Worlds County deserved vengeance, so they secretly switched the cauldron.
“Help! Save me!” Wushenzi screamed.
No one moved.
Wushenzi had performed this same feat before. That time, when people rushed to save him, he sprang from the oil and splattered them with droplets that caused terrible burns. They assumed this was another performance.
The other two Daoists thought so too. Perhaps Wushenzi was deliberately giving Liu Ye false hope, tempting him to climb out first and lose the contest.
From outside the cauldron, Wushenzi did not even appear badly hurt. His skin was only slightly red, which reassured them further.
His shrieks continued for an entire hour. The cauldron seemed conscious, deliberately keeping him alive. Only after his mind shattered did it finally burn him to death and devour his soul.
The only sound from Liu Ye’s side was his gentle snoring.
At last, the other two Daoists sensed something was wrong. Wushenzi’s cultivation was nowhere near strong enough to sustain him for so long.
“This is bad!”
They ordered someone to investigate.
A young eunuch leaned over the rim, took one look inside, and vomited.
“Imperial Preceptor Wushenzi is dead!” he cried in terror.
The crowd erupted in shock. They had expected Wushenzi to at least fight Liu Ye to a draw, or survive if nothing else. No one imagined he would be cooked alive.
Several young eunuchs used nets to pull him out. His flesh was gone, leaving only a crispy skeleton. The sight triggered a wave of vomiting through the audience.
“The… the winner of the first contest is Immortal Master Liu!” Eunuch Sun announced, fighting down his nausea.
Eunuch Wu hurried over and shook Liu Ye awake.
“Huh? It’s over? What were we competing in?” Liu Ye asked, bewildered. He had taken a nap and won. That had been far too easy.
Eunuch Wu led him away to wash off the oil and change clothes. Liu Ye soon returned looking refreshed and energetic.
“Let’s continue.”
Eunuch Sun now gazed at him with genuine reverence. He had only heard the stories before. Seeing Liu Ye today, he finally understood what a true master looked like.
“The second contest pits Imperial Preceptor Wujinzi against Immortal Master Liu-in the art of raising gu insects!”
Liu Ye stared at him.
“First No Brains, then Wushenzi-No Kidneys-and now a man with no little… something. Did all of you hate your master?”
He turned to Eunuch Wu. “Competition must be fierce in your profession.”
Eunuch Wu covered his nose with a handkerchief and looked at Wujinzi in disgust.
“Lord Liu, really. We don’t accept just anyone into our profession.”
Wujinzi’s face darkened. Liu Ye peered curiously at the final Daoist.
“And this gentleman is…?”
The Daoist fell silent. “Just call me Imperial Preceptor.”
He had never realized how terrible their names sounded. Xia Kingdom had countless characters. Why had their master chosen these few?
“So how does a gu-raising contest work?” Liu Ye asked.
“Simple. Each of us places gu insects inside the other’s chamber, then our opponent enters. Whoever cannot endure for the time it takes an incense stick to burn loses.”
Wujinzi was supremely confident. He had raised every gu with painstaking care. Specially selected children fed them, and his immortal energy nourished them. The slightest contact would reduce an ordinary person to ash.
He was nothing like that useless Wushenzi, who had spent years indulging himself without making any progress. To die performing his own specialty was utterly disgraceful.
“Lord Liu, you won the last round. Would you enter first this time?” Wujinzi asked with a sinister grin.
“Sure.”
Liu Ye agreed immediately. He genuinely wanted to see what the man could do.
Wujinzi clapped his hands. The arena split down the middle, revealing a hidden chamber beneath it. He gestured toward the opening, and Liu Ye jumped inside without hesitation.
The chamber sealed shut.
Wujinzi glanced at the young eunuchs operating the mechanism and smiled inwardly. An accident was unlikely, but caution never hurt. He had bribed them to close every vent in the chamber.
Even if the poisonous insects failed to kill Liu Ye, suffocation would. Victory was certain.
On the viewing platform, the empress watched the sealed entrance anxiously. Beside her, Qiqi wore a mask and ate with great enthusiasm.
“Don’t worry, Mother. Boss is really strong! He even dares blow up poop.”
The empress fell silent.
Admittedly, that did sound impressive.
As the others watched in concern, streams of black smoke began seeping through cracks in the floor.
Wujinzi sneered. Liu Ye had resorted to fire? There was hardly any air in the chamber. He would only die faster.
But an entire incense stick burned away, and the smoke never stopped.
“Impossible. There shouldn’t be that much air down there.”
The chamber opened. To Wujinzi’s astonishment, Liu Ye emerged with a belch. When their eyes met, Liu Ye’s gaze shifted away guiltily.
“Y-you’re unharmed?”
“Well… there is one problem.”
Wujinzi brightened. The gu had worked after all!
Liu Ye grimaced. “I added too much salt. They were a little too salty.”
Wujinzi stared at him.