On the night of the 17th day of the 2nd month, in the 39th year of the Taikang era, Emperor Taikang passed away.
That very night, Chancellor Lu staged a coup. Using the pretense that traitors had infiltrated the palace, he mobilized troops and stormed the imperial compound. By the third quarter of the Yin hour (around 3:45 a.m.), he had taken the Hall of Mental Cultivation and seized full control of the palace, carrying out a brutal massacre.
At dawn on the 18th, Chancellor Lu held court. He slandered Crown Prince Wu, claiming the rebellion had been orchestrated by him. Chancellor Lu further declared that the prince was not of imperial blood, but the illegitimate child of Empress Qi and a palace guard. According to Chancellor Lu, the prince had discovered the truth about his lineage and plotted treason in response.
Right then and there, Chancellor Lu announced a forged imperial decree: Crown Prince Wu was to be deposed, and the emperor's second son named the new heir.
The court immediately split into factions. Most officials voiced their support, while a few stayed silent. One elder Grand Tutor, however, erupted in fury, shouting, "Traitor! Scoundrel! Rebel! Monster!"
Fortunately, the late emperor had left behind a secret contingency plan. Just as Chancellor Lu was declaring the second prince the new heir, the second prince suddenly sprang into action and drove his right hand straight through Chancellor Lu's heart. He died on the spot.
What happened next stunned the court. The second prince peeled off a human-skin mask, revealing the face of Wei Nu. the crown prince's close guard.
Holding Chancellor Lu's still-beating heart aloft, he shouted, "By the late emperor's secret edict, the traitor Chancellor Ly is executed!"
...
News of the incident reached Li Qing as he was burning incense before an unmarked grave on Mount Luobai, paying respects to Wei Yang.
"What a risky move by His Majesty," sighed Zhang Yong. "If Wei Nu's identity had been exposed before the fake decree was read, the crown prince would've lost his claim. He'd never have taken the throne."
"The emperor isn't worried, but the eunuchs are losing their minds," Li Qing said with a light laugh.
Zhang Yong was at a loss for words.
On the 22nd day of the 2nd month, in the 39th year of Taikang Era, Crown Prince Wu returned to the capital at the head of a great army. He ascended the throne that very day, taking up the Mandate of Heaven and declaring a new era: Jianwu.
Upon his coronation, the new emperor granted a general amnesty to all under heaven.
Afterward....
For his role in executing the traitor Chancellor Lu, Wei Nu was granted the title "King of the Northern Garrison" and stationed in Suzhou to defend the border against the steppe Khanates.
The Imperial Guard was renamed the Feathered Forest Corps. The Embroidered Guard was disbanded. A new intelligence bureau, the Western Depot, was established to fully investigate Chancellor Lu's conspiracy.
Heads rolled in the capital. Seven out of every ten court officials were purged.
Countless amounts of silver were seized, refilling the national treasury.
In the early part of the fifth month, Emperor Jianwu declared that in three years, he would personally lead a campaign against the Khanate.
The people cried out in praise: "Emperor Jianwu has the mighty presence of the Great Ancestor!"
.....
Year Three of the Jianwu Era.
The capital.
A quiet, tucked-away courtyard.
Afternoon.
A shadowy figure dropped silently into the courtyard from over the wall. Light as a ghost.
He wore a gray robe, held a white fan, and had characters tattooed across his face.
He pressed his left ear to the ground, listening closely for movement. Confident, he started striding straight toward the main bedroom.
But...
Just as he reached the doorway, fwip fwip! Two pebbles shot through the paper window, fast as lightning.
Someone powerful was inside.
His heart skipped. Without hesitation, he tried to flee, unleashing supreme lightness technique. But the moment he moved, his legs gave out. Strength drained from his body.
The courtyard was poisoned.
Two more pebbles struck, shattering both his knees in an instant. Blood sprayed, and he collapsed flat on the ground.
The door creaked open.
Out stepped Li Qing, hair now pure white, muttering as he walked: "Goddamn. Broad daylight, in the clear sky, and thieves still dare to pull this crap. The world's gone to hell. People have no shame anymore.
"What the hell's going on lately? I've heard of night thieves, sure, but now we've got broad-day robbers too?"
"Good thing I prepared plenty of Driftcloud Powder. Made it just for you high-flying thieves."
With a shovel in one hand, he grabbed the gray-robed man by the topknot and started dragging him toward a pit he'd dug in advance.
"Spare me, elder!" the man cried in panic. "I didn't know you were here. I swear I didn't know this was your home! I was wrong, I admit it! Please, spare my life!"
As he dragged him along, Li Qing asked, "Your lightness skill's not bad. Got a manual?"
"Yes! Yes, I do!" The man fumbled into his robes and threw out an old, yellowed book.
Li Qing caught it and flipped through a few pages. "Steps Among the Clouds of the Flower Sea? Looks a bit more advanced than what I use. Not bad. Worth your life, I suppose."
He paused. "What's your name?"
The man trembled. "I won't hide it from you, elder. In the martial world, they call me... Deathhand Thief."
Deathhand Thief?
Li Qing's expression darkened. Without a word, he brought his palm down and shattered the man's skull. He stripped the body clean, tossed it into the pit, and shoveled in the blood-soaked dirt until there wasn't a trace left.
No blood, no scent, nothing remained in the quiet courtyard.
"Well, isn't that something," he muttered to himself. "Fate has its way after all. Old Brother Wang Li. Looks like I've finally avenged you."
Wang Li had been the first to leave the Cold Palace all those years ago. And he had been murdered by a thief known as the Deathhand. It must've been this man.
Exactly which year that happened, Li Qing couldn't remember.
His memory had only grown worse with age. If not for his deep cultivation, even walking would be hard by now.
It had been three years since Chancellor Lu's rebellion.
He was now fifty-three years old. And technically, that was still young.
But three years ago, Li Qing had already used the Twelve Golden Needles Meridian technique twice, each time costing him twenty years of lifespan. In truth, his body now carried the age of a ninety-three-year-old.
Like Wei Yang in his final years, Li Qing's hair was completely white, his face deeply lined with wrinkles.
Getting old, huh…
When he first crossed into this world, his lifespan had been capped at sixty-two. But after decades of practicing the Seven Forms of Flowing Water, his limit had extended to ninety-three.
That thirty-one-year gain came mainly from the health-preserving effects of the Seven Forms.
The highest virtue is like water; for water inherently nurtures life.
Not all martial arts prolong life. Some, in fact, shorten it.
Now, subtracting the forty years he'd burned through with the Twelve Golden Needles Meridian technique, his effective lifespan stood at fifty-three. Exactly his current age.
In short, Li Qing's time in this life was nearly up.
He could drop dead any day now.
His eyes fell on the Monument of a Hundred Lifetimes.
[Monument of a Hundred Lifetimes]
[Monument Holder: Li Qing]
[Life 1: 53 / 53]
The monument only recorded years, not months; so he had no way of knowing the exact day he would die.
The Twelve Golden Needles Meridian technique was an absurdly powerful secret art. After using it to upgrade his physique twice, Li Qing's innate aptitude had reached the Supreme-Tier Constitution.
With that level of talent, he could refine three strands of water-type internal energy per day.
Over the past three years, he'd broken through three more vessels and was now a five-vessels peak master.
But this rapid progress raised a nagging doubt.
If the Twelve Golden Needles Meridian technique was really this powerful… Why did the White Lotus Sect still have so few Xiantian-level experts?
In the entire White Lotus Sect, only the current sect leader had reached the Xiantian realm.
A regular disciple of the sect who cultivated the Great Lotus Marrow Cleansing Sutra and used the Twelve Golden Needles Meridian technique three times, while not guaranteed to reach the Xiantian realm, should at the very least make some progress toward it before death.
After all, some people are born gifted, with lifespans of eighty or ninety years. Even after burning through sixty, they'd still have thirty or so left to train.
And yet, among the White Lotus death warriors, there wasn't a single Xiantian grandmaster.
Clearly, there was some hidden truth behind the Xiantian realm that even Li Qing hadn't uncovered.
He let the thought go.
He'd find out eventually. In his next life, once he used the Twelve Golden Needles Meridian again to upgrade his physique, he'd be just a step away from unlocking all eight vessels. At that point, the secrets of the Xiantian realm would reveal themselves naturally.
He found a bamboo chair and lay down, flipping through the manual he'd just acquired: Steps Among the Clouds of the Flower Sea. With his current level of cultivation, a supreme-tier constitution, and decades of experience, he could master just about anything with ease.
"Not bad. Worth the trouble for this old man to go through all that."
"Still… the martial world's security is a disaster. Nothing like the palace."
In the past three years, Li Qing had already moved house five times.
Every single courtyard had corpses buried beneath it.
Martial world scum. They came like pests. Impossible to guard against.
And this was in the capital, right under the emperor's nose.
Still, Li Qing had gained plenty from them.
He'd collected all sorts of martial arts manuals. His mastery of thievery and lightness skills had reached an entirely new level.
"I hope this life ends soon," he sighed. "I miss the Cold Palace."
With how he looked now, returning to the palace wasn't an option.
....
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