The Empress’s Gigolo

“They have finally left!”

In a hotel in the city, a man laughed soon after the empress and her team departed.

This man was about 40 years old, looked ordinary, and was the anonymous type.

When he stretched out his hand in the air, a mirror appeared. The surface of the mirror rippled like water as the wind blew.

He took a step forward, and his whole body went through the mirror.

However, anyone would be shocked if they were at this scene. The thin man, who was about 1.74 meters tall and ordinary looking, went through the mirror and came out as a physically strong and bald-headed man who was 1.9 meters tall, had a short beard, and looked valiant.

Furthermore, very few people in Lan City didn’t know of this man.

This person was Zhuo Yan, the minister of the Ministry of Justice.

This “Zhuo Yan” waved his hand, and the mirror changed from a simmering mirror to a mercury mirror that reflected his image.

“After observing him for ten days, he unexpectedly went off with Qi Zixiao, but this is fine as it will be convenient for me to do my work. It will be easy to explain the reason for coming back so soon, and I will walk around with this face for a few days first.

Qi Zixiao has been in the limelight these past two years for killing many experts, but if I take her true dragon blood, she will lose face.”

This Zhuo Yan gave a strange smile in front of the mirror, opened the window to look in all directions, and then transformed into a shadow.

Half a day later, “Zhuo Yan” entered through the west gate with an “imperial edict” and immediately headed to the Ministry of Justice.

…

There were many trees and barren hills with weeds, but the soil wasn’t good. Therefore, the land wasn’t suitable to use as a pasture. Since it was also close to Dayao, it was an unpopular option.

A young beggar of about 13 or 14 jumped onto a rock and said, “Teacher, there are so many people!”

On his dirty face, his eyes were a contrast of black and white, and every one of his movements was weird.

There was clearly nobody around within 50 kilometers, not even a human shadow could be seen, and yet, this young beggar was saying this.

An old beggar with white hair and a white beard was lying on a rock and said, “Quite a lot indeed!”

“Ma Hongyu, Xu Gongsou, Lin Dong, Du Qian, Xiao Linyue, Blood River Demon, Priest Bai Yun, Gao Yi, Sui Yanzheng, Fire Snake who is also known as Tao Qian…” The little beggar counted with his fingers.

“With dozens of people within 50 kilometers, these mountains are considered barren.”

“If these people are here, then it will be a little crowded.”

“It isn’t only crowded, but bustling as they aren’t alone.”

“Yesterday, a few of them battled against one another…”

“Teacher, are you going to rob these people? Aren’t you nervous? If you get defeated, I can’t carry you!”

“My doting all these years has been in vain!” The old beggar rolled his eyes.

“My butt hurts!” The little beggar rubbed his buttocks.

“Who asked you to peep when Blood River Demon was fighting against Fire Snake Tao Qian? If there were any repercussions, I would need to find another disciple!” the old beggar complained.

He added, “This old beggar is here to see the action. As for the treasure, whoever wants to rob, let them rob. There are still three days left, and the barbarians should be here already. It’s in their territory, so how can they not come? I’m afraid the battle will be disorderly. If the situation isn’t right, be smart and run as fast as you can.”

“Teacher, don’t you worry. With my camouflage skill, they can’t see me if they don’t look carefully!” the little beggar said. Then, he dropped below the stone and twisted his body. After a moment, there was a withered tree. He was nowhere to be seen.

“Don’t boast about your camouflage skill. Others just need to send some waves over and even your grandfather will be helpless, let alone you!” the old beggar grumbled before turning to look at a nearby mountain. This was the only mountain within 50 kilometers, and although it wasn’t very tall, it provided a very good view of the surroundings.

However, no one was currently at this vantage point.

This was because everyone knew that this position was reserved for Li Fu.

People would only go there after Li Fu appeared.

Based on what the old beggar knew, Ma Hongyu, Xu Gongsou, and Lin Dong had received letters. The rest, including him, were here to watch the show.

Of course, if there was an opportunity, these spectators would seize it.

One day later, the old beggar, who hadn’t moved for three days, suddenly turned his body to look in a certain direction.

“Teacher?”

“People are coming, quite a few of them. Should be the barbarians,” the old beggar said.

After an hour, a few black dots were seen in the distance. Two hours later, these black dots were getting closer and numbered in the thousands. A dozen powerful auras could be felt coming from among their masses.

“What an imposing force!” The old beggar snorted. He didn’t retreat, but generated a wild wind around him as his aura soared into the sky.

Wave after wave of auras, more than 20 of them, soared into the sky to counter the incoming auras.

These were the top Spirit Wheel experts. Besides the big sects like Zhengtian Sect, which had slightly more people and had two or three Spirit Wheel experts together, the rest just stayed in their own positions.

However, the auras from both sides collided to produce wild gyrating winds in the sky that even dispersed the clouds.

The little beggar was standing at the side and being pushed back continuously by the aura coming from the old beggar.

His eyes shone excitedly as he shouted, “So many masters are fighting a remote battle in the air. This is really a dramatic show!”

Ren Baqian stood on the carriage and scanned the horizon. Even he could sense the powerful auras and their silent collisions in the sky.

“Your Majesty?” Ren Baqian turned to look at the empress.

“It’s enough to let them know I’m here!” the empress said without much interest. “I just want to know what happened to those flags.”

“Which one?” Ren Baqian’s eyes drifted to the flags among the group.

“A lifetime!”

“Rule the world!”

“The sun rises in the east!”

“I’m invincible!”

The empress glared at him and asked, “Do you think I do not know who Dongfang Bubai[1.Dongfang Bubai: Literally “Invincible East,”a fictional character from the wuxia novel The Smiling, Proud Wanderer by Jin Yong] is?”

“Other than the fact that he’s a man, don’t you think Your Majesty is somewhat similar to Dongfang Bubai? He has the same qualities as you, such as wanting to control the world. Furthermore, the flags are just for fun.”

“I do admire that guy and will not argue with you,” the empress said.

“Nobody can match the Ren family’s [72-way Golden Spear],” Ren Baqian boasted.

“Oh?” The empress snorted.

“Not until I met Your Majesty!” Ren Baqian changed his tune.

The empress drawled, “Tell me, who are your adversaries?”

“In fact, after sharpening the spear for 20 years, it has never left its sheath. Ordinary people don’t deserve to see my [72-way Golden Spear],” Ren Baqian said bashfully.

“Humph!” The empress snorted and commanded, “This is an order. Go up the mountain.”

Following this order, more than 2,000 people went up the mountain and pitched their tents. Qin Chuan, Tong Zhenye, and the other aboriginals withdrew their auras.

However, Tong Zhenye and his people had done enough to dissatisfy many of the masters that were further away. They knew that the aboriginals were overbearing, but those people hadn’t arrived yet. Even so, the aboriginals were already up on the mountain.

More than 20 auras were emanating from the mountain.

The eyes of the empress glittered coldly as she said, “They are so daring!”

An aura that seemed to be able to pierce the air traveled up the mountain.

“Your Majesty, calm down!” Following this soft voice, another aura, which was as vast as the sea, inserted itself between the colliding auras of the empress and the rest.

“Li Yuanzhu!” the empress exclaimed.

“Li Yuanzhu?” Many masters in the distance were shocked.

“When did she arrive? That’s not right—she’s with the barbarians! How is this possible?”