Nanyang Commandery had rebelled.
It happened in the last month of the First Year of Jianwu.
Zhang Gui had also vanished without a trace, disappearing in Nanyang Commandery, within the territory of the Xuanyang Sect—one of the Three Great Sects of the Martial World.
"Master Su, could Godfather be..."
Xu Xiaohan was terrified.
Inside the Imperial Palace,
the Eunuch Faction was roughly divided into three cliques.
There was the Purple-robed First Supervisor's clique, the Eastern Depot and Martial Arts Bureau's clique, and the third was comprised of the Shrimp Soldiers and Crab Generals under the other Red Robe Chief Stewards.
In recent years, the Martial Arts Bureau had basked in Zhang Gui's glory, its power reaching its zenith.
Its backbone was Zhang Gui, a Second Grade expert at the young age of twenty-four.
If Zhang Gui died,
the resulting factional strife would lead to countless deaths, and as Zhang Gui's godson, Xu Xiaohan would have no chance of escape.
Over the years,
the Eastern Depot had offended far too many Civil and Military Officials, not to mention the other Red Robe Chief Stewards.
"No. He's a Second Grade. He won't die so easily."
But despite those words,
another week passed.
Inside the palace, someone started spreading rumors of Zhang Gui's death. Panic gripped the Martial Arts Bureau, and the other Red Robe Chief Stewards lunged like starving wolves, extending their claws into the Bureau's affairs.
Nanyang Commandery had rebelled!
Zhang Gui had disappeared in Nanyang Commandery.
It was hard not to let one's imagination run wild.
"Several of Godfather's other godsons have already defected, turning to serve other Red Robe Chief Stewards."
"Master Su, what should I do?!"
"Several of my brothers have been killed under some flimsy pretext. The rest who refuse to submit are suffering a fate worse than death in the Water Prison. At this rate... it'll be my turn soon, won't it?"
Xu Xiaohan had arrived looking completely crestfallen.
As a mere Fourth Grade, he was no different from an ant before a Chief Steward of the Imperial Palace. He could be crushed at any moment.
The next day, Xu Xiaohan did not appear.
The person who brought Su Chen's meals was now an ordinary Little Black-robed Eunuch.
"Eunuch Su, time to eat."
The Little Black-robed Eunuch offered a smile that didn't reach his eyes. He opened the food box, revealing its contents: a bowl of white rice, a side of salted vegetables, and a bowl of congee.
Everyone believed Zhang Gui had died in Nanyang Commandery. They were eagerly carving up the "cake" he had left behind in the Imperial Palace and purging dissenters.
Su Chen, the cripple of the Library Pavilion and Zhang Gui's sworn brother, was naturally among those to be purged.
"Where is Xu Xiaohan?"
Su Chen set the book in his hand aside, his cold eyes fixed on the Little Black-robed Eunuch.
He didn't want to kill.
But that didn't mean he wouldn't.
White rice, salted vegetables, and a bowl of congee. This was a deliberate insult!
"Heh heh!"
"The food is here."
"This humble one will take his leave now."
The Black-robed Eunuch showed no regard for Su Chen. After a cold sneer, he ignored him and prepared to leave.
"Stop!"
"I'll ask one more time."
"Never mind."
"I won't ask. Just go die."
Su Chen rose and plucked a leaf.
"Hah, a cripple..."
The Black-robed Eunuch sneered, about to say something more.
Who in the Imperial Palace didn't know that this Red Robe Chief Steward of the Library Pavilion was a cripple whose meridians couldn't be unblocked for cultivation, even with the help of the Purple-robed First Supervisor himself?
However, the leaf, like the sharpest of blades, sliced off his head.
'I'll find him myself!'
For the first time in two years, Su Chen acted.
On the seventh day of the twelfth month in the First Year of Jianwu, snow drifted from the sky.
Just as the entire Imperial Palace was thrown into chaos by the Nanyang Commandery rebellion,
Su Chen stepped out of the Library Pavilion, his heart filled with killing intent, and headed straight for the Martial Arts Bureau.
The sky was clear, the moon bright.
Under the pristine moonlight,
Su Chen changed into the red robe bestowed upon him by Emperor Jianwu, the one signifying his status as the Chief Steward of the Library Pavilion, and knocked on the door of a room in the Martial Arts Bureau.
"Who is it?!"
Inside, five Vice Chief Stewards were in the middle of discussing how to carve up the hundreds of Cultivating Eunuchs in the Martial Arts Bureau. Their expressions changed instantly.
They were all Third Grade masters.
That someone could approach them so silently, that they only noticed when the person knocked on the door—it was utterly unbelievable.
Could the visitor be a Second Grade?
"Where is Xu Xiaohan?"
Seeing no response to his knock, Su Chen pushed the door open and walked in.
"Greetings, Lord Chief Steward..."
Upon seeing the red robe, the five Vice Chief Stewards instinctively moved to bow. After all, that robe was completely different from their own attire; it was the uniform only a Red Robe Chief Steward could wear.
However, when they saw who it was, they straightened up, their eyes filled with disdain.
They had almost forgotten that besides their own five masters—the five Chief Stewards—there was a sixth person in the Imperial Palace who wore a red robe...
"The cripple from the Library Pavilion!"
One of them sneered, his eyes mocking.
"What are you doing here?"
"This is no place for you."
"Zhang Gui is dead. You'd best not leave the Library Pavilion again. It would be unseemly if a fist were to land on that red robe of yours."
The five Vice Chief Stewards couldn't stop smirking.
"Where is Xu Xiaohan?"
Su Chen asked again.
'Xu Xiaohan? Who's that?'
The five Vice Chief Stewards frowned, not bothering to answer Su Chen.
What good was a red robe if you couldn't cultivate? No one would pay any mind to this Eunuch Su.
"Do you really think people still respect and fear you like they did when Zhang Gui was around? That no one dares to cross you?"
"Today, I'll teach you a lesson."
"You cultivation cripple!"
One of the Vice Chief Stewards strode forward, his body moving like lightning. He intended to slap Su Chen to the ground with a single palm strike, then grind his filthy shoe sole into the face of this "Sixth Red Robe."
'This Sixth Red Robe is nothing but dogshit.'
A twisted smile had just appeared on the Vice Chief Steward's face.
"Let's continue our discussion on how to divide the Martial Arts Bureau."
The other four Vice Chief Stewards averted their gaze.
In the next instant,
Su Chen faced the attacking Third Grade Marrow Cleansing Realm expert and flicked his finger.
BOOM!
A terrifying sonic boom erupted.
Blood splattered everywhere!
The remaining four Vice Chief Stewards, looking as if they'd seen a ghost in broad daylight, whipped their heads around to stare at the unbelievable scene, their eyes nearly popping out of their sockets.
'What just happened?'
That was a Third Grade Marrow Cleansing Realm expert!
A Third Grade Marrow Cleansing Realm expert! Outside the Imperial City, a master of that caliber could stir up storms and clouds wherever he went!
Dead?
Just like that, he was dead!
"First, let me correct you on one point. I never relied on Zhang Gui to make people respect or fear me. I am enough on my own."
"Second, where is Xu Xiaohan?"
Su Chen spoke coolly, his indifferent gaze sweeping over the four remaining Vice Chief Stewards of the Imperial Palace.
"You can actually cultivate? And you're this strong!"
"Damn it!"
"You dare kill a Vice Chief Steward of the Imperial Palace? You're insane!"
The remaining four Vice Chief Stewards of the Imperial Palace felt their scalps tingle with fear. They attacked in unison, intending to suppress Su Chen.
However, they were sent flying back even faster than they charged, slamming one after another into the wall and leaving bloody streaks behind.
"It's not like I haven't killed a Vice Chief Steward of the Imperial Palace before."
In the blink of an eye,
of the five Vice Chief Stewards who had been holding their meeting, only one remained—a man with salt-and-pepper hair who looked somewhat familiar. He cowered in the corner like a startled bird, scared out of his wits.
"Where is Xu Xiaohan?"
Hearing Su Chen's question, the Vice Chief Steward from the Martial Pavilion wanted to cry but had no tears left.
'Who the hell is Xu Xiaohan?!'
As high-ranking Vice Chief Stewards, why would they remember a minor character like some Fourth Grade Blue-robed Steward?
CREAK.
The door opened.
Xu Xiaohan, looking travel-worn and not in his Eunuch's Attire but in common clothes, pushed the door open timidly. He was carrying a beautifully wrapped gift box.
"Master Su..."
"What's going on?!"
"I... I've been out of the palace these past few days gathering intelligence. I even brought you a gift. I just got back..."
The frigid expression on Su Chen's face froze.
He had thought Xu Xiaohan had fallen victim to the vicious factional struggles. He had stormed out of the Library Pavilion in a rage, ready to go on a killing spree to avenge him, but it turned out...
"AHH!"
"Su Chen!"
"You killed four Vice Chief Stewards of the Imperial Palace for *this*? Do you have any regard for His Majesty? For the Lord First Supervisor? I will report this! I'll make you suffer a fate worse than death!"
The last Vice Chief Steward from the Martial Pavilion roared like a madman, his voice full of resentful poison.
The next instant,
BAM!
His head exploded. He collapsed to the ground, lifeless.
"Not four. Five."
"Also."
"I've never had regard for anyone."
Su Chen withdrew his hand.