Chapter 221
Chapter 221
Jiang Yunsui ate as she watched the adults in the room talk with wide eyes.
Hm? Was there news about the silver mine?
The situation outside was worsening too as the Human Gu ran rampant.
Was there news about that masked villain as well?
Jiang Yunsui immediately pricked up her ears and listened closely.
“You’re saying the masked man is a descendant of the hostage Prince of Pingyang-the one from the Pingyang Marquis household?”
Song Jin nodded. “The hostage Prince of Pingyang had three children in all. They later faded into obscurity in the capital, but while the Late Emperor still lived, they became embroiled in the Second Prince’s rebellion and were arrested. I heard a great fire broke out at their residence. He must have escaped in the chaos. His name is Wen Chong.”
Something flickered in Ji Yan’an’s eyes. “So it’s him.”
Ji Yan’an knew of the man because of his father.
Wen Chong’s father had been a celebrated beauty in the capital. Years ago, the hostage Prince of Pingyang had taken part in the second emperor’s battle for succession-and backed the right man.
He had thus leaped from hostage prince into the ranks of the capital’s nobility, becoming the Marquis of Pingyang.
Wen Chong’s father had been the last heir to the Marquis of Pingyang.
Wen Chong should have become the next heir, but the Pingyang Marquis household had not been so lucky the second time. After backing the losing side in another battle for the throne, their fate was easy to imagine.
“Wen Chong wasn’t very old back then, was he? It has been thirteen years now, I think.”
Thirteen years ago, Wen Chong had been twelve. Now he was twenty-five.
Jiang Yunsui raised her little hand. “Half his face has lots of ugly scars, but the other half is very handsome.”
“They were probably left by that fire,” Song Jin said. “His father was said to be one of the most handsome men in the capital, so Wen Chong couldn’t have been plain. But half his face was destroyed while the other half remained beautiful. Anyone would have trouble accepting that.”
Men cared about their looks too. Why else would the imperial examinations require candidates to be presentable?
A face half handsome and half hideous as a demon was even harder to endure than complete disfigurement.
“Capture him as soon as possible,” Ji Yan’an ordered. “The Human Gu cannot be allowed to spread any farther. As for those driven out of the cities, have our people guide them to the estate and send Shen Qingzhu more help.”
“Yes.”
Jiang Yunsui toyed with a luminous pearl in her hand.
She liked it. She wanted to go back and fish out a few more.
She secretly decided that when Ji Yan’an sent men to rob the tomb, she would go too.
She was the only one who knew the route. Of course she had to go!
Before they could rob the tomb, however, Wen Chong was captured.
Hundreds of years had passed, and few people still wanted to restore Nanzhao. Worse, Ji Yan’an had inadvertently wiped out Wen Chong’s greatest support-the people of Wushan Cavern.
As Wen Chong caused ever more trouble, Ji Yan’an’s men finally tracked him down and brought him in.
Wen Chong controlled many Human Gu, however, and Ji Yan’an lost quite a few men in the effort to capture him.
Jiang Yunsui saw Wen Chong again. She had not forgotten that he had fed her poison. While no one was watching, she walked to his side and suddenly bit him.
Ji Yan’an’s face darkened as he yanked her back.
“You’ll be the death of your own foolish self! Who knows how much filth is on him, and you put your mouth on him?”
Jiang Yunsui obediently tilted her little face up while he wiped her mouth.
“He’s bad. He made me eat poison and threw me into a pile of Human Gu.”
Wen Chong might have been in a sorry state, but her words made him laugh in exasperation.
“Why don’t you mention that your Snake Gu bit me?”
“But your poison was cured,” Jiang Yunsui said.
“And nothing happened to you either.”
Jiang Yunsui covered her ears. “I’m not listening. I remember what you did, and that’s that.”
Little Mushroom held grudges.
Wen Chong stopped struggling and slumped to the floor, giving up entirely.
“Ha… Who would have guessed that Young Master Ji, rumored to be in Mobei, would turn up here? If that dog of an emperor found out, I doubt he’d be able to sit comfortably on his throne.”
He looked at Ji Yan’an with a mocking half smile.
Ji Yan’an remained perfectly calm. “Even without me, he cannot sit securely on that throne now.”
“Wen Chong, you should never have worked with the people of Wushan Cavern to create Human Gu.”
Wen Chong sneered. “You say that as though you’re any more noble than I am. Aren’t you trying to take control of Dali? If I hadn’t caused such a commotion, would you have had this chance to rebel here?”
“What a pity. In the end, I did all the work for your benefit.”
His mask had fallen away. With that dark expression, his face resembled an evil spirit crawled straight out of hell.
Ji Yan’an did not deny that he had benefited.
But…
“Even without the Human Gu uprising, I could still take Dali for myself.”
Wen Chong laughed, the sound slightly deranged.
Perhaps he had gone mad long ago.
“Ji Yan’an, Ji Yan’an. Everyone underestimated you.”
“That dog emperor thinks you’re dying and no longer a threat. Yet here you are, alive and kicking.”
Abruptly, he leaned forward with enthusiasm. “How about we work together? We can refine all those people into ugly Human Gu. Then we’d never have to worry about betrayal. They’re obedient and useful-what could be better? Once we overthrow Great Liang, I’ll make you emperor!”
Jiang Yunsui scrunched up her little face. “No.”
“Human Gu are ugly. I don’t like them.”
She refused to face such frightening creatures every day.
Wen Chong’s expression twisted, then settled into a tranquil sort of madness.
“Are they ugly? I think they’re fine.”
He stroked his own face.
“If they’re even uglier than me, all the better.”
Jiang Yunsui glanced at him. This man was a little twisted.
Song Jin rolled his eyes. He had known the man must have gone mad over his appearance.
“I have no need for that,” Ji Yan’an said.
Wen Chong sneered. “Ji Yan’an, you’re every bit as foolish as your grandfather and father. You sympathize with the common people and serve the emperor faithfully, but what did you get in return?
“It can’t feel good to go from the guardian of Great Liang to a traitor. And those stupid commoners believe whatever the emperor tells them.
“They forgot everything the Ji family did for them in the blink of an eye. They’re all ungrateful ingrates who repay kindness with treachery. Why keep creatures like that alive?”
Ji Yan’an gave him a sidelong glance. “I intend to rebel.”
Wen Chong frowned. “I can see that. So what?”
“Without people, there is no nation,” Ji Yan’an said. “If you turn the common folk into Human Gu, will you bear children and grow the population yourself? Will you govern an entire country alone? Farm its fields, conduct its trade, control its waters, treat its sick…”
“So tell me: other than howl and kill people, what can your Human Gu do?”
Wen Chong fell silent.
Song Jin couldn’t help laughing. “Young Master Wen, your Human Gu may be obedient, but that is their only virtue. If you truly turned every commoner into one, they would be nothing more than mindless, easily controlled weapons. They can’t reproduce, either. Give it enough time and there would be no need for another country to invade. Your nation and people would die out all on their own.”
“I could keep some people human,” Wen Chong said.
“Think about it. What decent person would willingly remain in a place overrun with Human Gu? Who wouldn’t despise it?”