Chapter 108: Chapter 100: The Way of the Emperor

Night fell.

The Imperial City was a scene of song, dance, and peace.

Every household joyfully sat down for their reunion dinner. With elders seated in places of honor and children and grandchildren gathered around, the atmosphere was one of pure bliss.

「Deep within the palace, in the Imperial Study.」

Venerable Wei Yang stood with his hands clasped behind his back, his gaze fixed on the calligraphy on the wall: *Ruling the World with Benevolence*. He was motionless, as if lost in thought.

After an unknown amount of time,

Venerable Wei Yang lifted the *Ruling the World with Benevolence* scroll and pressed a hidden panel in the wall.

A section of the wall beside it rotated, revealing a secret door.

Venerable Wei Yang descended the stairs, one step at a time.

The spiral staircase wound endlessly downward, its depth and length unknown.

Oil lamps on either side flickered to life. The shifting light and shadows split Venerable Wei Yang’s face, revealing two distinct personas.

One side, majestic and benevolent. The other, sinister and cruel.

"Marquis Zhonglie, oh, Marquis Zhonglie... if you held a high position in the Court or had significant influence in the Divine Martial Army, then I would have no choice but to kill you."

"But as fate would have it, you are merely a wealthy merchant."

"To move against you would cause turmoil throughout the land. It would go against the will of the people and would not align with the path of ’Emperor Ren’!"

"Heheheh..."

A strange laugh escaped Venerable Wei Yang’s lips.

As the light and shadows shifted again, the sinister, cruel half of his face vanished as if it had been a mere illusion.

What no one knew was that beneath the thousand-step-high Celestial Ascension Ladder lay a hollow structure, concealing a world of its own.

Stepping off the spiral staircase, he was assaulted by the stench of blood and decay.

This was a vast, subterranean palace. Massive Coiled Dragon Pillars, each requiring five people to encircle, stood as supports for the cavernous space.

It was called a palace, but the underground space was largely empty. Along the circular periphery of this hellscape, cages hung suspended from chains. The cages were pitch-black, made of some unknown material, and faintly visible upon them were dark, dried bloodstains that, in the dim firelight, took the shape of handprints.

Countless cages hung in the air, and from them, the faint, weak moans of people could be heard.

Ravens perched on the cages. As the Great Emperor entered, their eyes snapped open in unison, lighting up like countless crimson stars that blanketed the vast ceiling.

A simple, narrow bridge stretched straight ahead, spanning a wide pool.

The pool was filled with corpses. Some were long since decayed, while others had died recently, their faces twisted in agony.

That pool was a mass grave!

Following the only bridge, the Great Emperor calmly crossed over the mass grave and arrived at the very center of the subterranean palace, in the middle of a square platform.

The center of the platform was completely empty.

No.

The Great Emperor came to a stop, his eyes locked on the seemingly empty space before him.

In the center of the platform, a gray, palm-sized "mirror surface" floated in midair.

The "mirror surface" was smooth. Strangely, though the Great Emperor stood before it, it cast no reflection. Instead, phantoms of red flowers would occasionally drift out from it, vanishing in an instant.

If Zheng Xiu or Feng Bei were here, they would have recognized it at a glance. This smooth, rootless, floating gray "object," like a "mirror surface," was identical to the entrance to the "Darkness."

The Great Emperor’s hollow voice echoed through the underground palace.

"In all the world, who besides me is fit to be the ’Emperor’?"

"If the ’Emperor’ cannot be found in this world, then there is only one possibility."

"The ’Emperor’ was left behind on the ’other side’!"

"It must be so!"

Venerable Wei Yang cautiously extended a finger toward the "Darkness," his hand trembling slightly. Just as he was about to touch it, he snapped back to his senses with a jolt, stumbling back several steps. He stared, shaken, at the hand he had uncontrollably reached out.

Finally, Venerable Wei Yang stared intently at the "entrance."

Majesty, benevolence, coldness, cruelty—all of it vanished from his face.

Of all the complex emotions in Venerable Wei Yang’s eyes, only one remained.

Pure, unadulterated desire.

...

...

「Zheng Residence.」

On the night of the New Year’s vigil, the atmosphere was jubilant.

Before dinner began, Zheng Xiu had already received replies from the three Princes. They sent messengers to thank Marquis Zhonglie for the invitation, but stated that due to pressing matters, they would have to decline the meal.

That was the gist of their replies.

"What a shame."

Zheng Xiu had said it was a shame. He had originally wanted to seat the three Princes at the same table as Feng Bei to let Feng Bei put some pressure on them.

As expected, the three Princes didn’t dare to come.

Before dinner started, Zheng Xiu saw Feng Bei sitting alone at a table. Remembering Feng Bei’s past, he felt a sudden pang of sympathy and, on his own initiative, transformed into the mischievous young lad and sat down beside them.

Feng Bei placed some food on the boy’s plate.

Zheng Xiu, unaware that he had inadvertently taken Feng Bei’s "first time," was burying his face in his bowl, about to devour a piece of braised pork belly.

"Master! Master! Someone is outside asking to see you!"

Zheng Xiu silently put down his bowl.

Except for Zheng Erniang, who was in on the secret, everyone looked toward the latrine. Pingping immediately raised her hand, volunteering to go find the Master. She offered to play her instrument outside to "liven things up" and encourage him to hurry. Seeing Zheng Xiu frantically signaling her with his eyes, Zheng Erniang didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. She could only put on her authoritative "big sister" air to quiet down the restless family members and ask who was asking for the Master.

"It’s a young man. He says the Master owes him money for a knife and has come tonight specifically to collect."

Upon hearing this, Chef He clutched the Bone-Cutting Saber at his waist, which he had found quite comfortable to use. "I almost forgot about that!"

So that was it. Zheng Erniang sent someone to fetch the money to pay him back.

But just as the family members were settling back down, the young woman who had taken the money out returned. "Second Lady, Second Lady, the man refused it! He said Master Zheng is the one who owes the debt, and he insists that Master Zheng pay him back personally."

BANG!

The Zheng Clan members were just thinking how strange it was, what an obstinate knife seller. Just then, a loud noise came from one of the tables. Everyone turned to see the young master had slammed his palm on the table, his expression a mixture of shock and anger.

"Ahem, I’ll go get my dad."

Zheng Xiu didn’t explain, just rushed into the main house to switch accounts and log back in.

Ever since Jiang Gaoyi had inexplicably leeched off him to glimpse the [Official]’s Path, and he, in turn, had leeched off Feng Bei to glimpse the [Painter]’s Path, he had vaguely surmised that there was indeed a shortcut to crossing into a Path—find a ready-made experience pack and farm it. Zheng Xiu treated Feng Bei as an experience pack, the entire Zheng Family treated Zheng Xiu as an experience pack, and Jiang Gaoyi had treated Zheng Xiu as an experience pack.

All of that was understandable, but who was this Knife Seller, just passing by and thinking he could leech off of him, Tycoon Zheng?

No way!

After switching accounts and logging back in, a hurried-looking Zheng Xiu pulled Qing Shisan aside to speak in hushed tones.

"What’s the deal with that guy?"

Qing Shisan was also clicking his tongue in wonder. He first recounted the incident of the man selling a knife in front of the Fragrant Pavilion. Zheng Xiu carefully checked the timeline and realized this seemed to have happened in the previous cycle.

"A Knife Seller?"

Qing Shisan blew a smoke ring. "Legend speaks of a trade known as the ’Knife Seller.’ But that trade was lost twenty years ago. To put it plainly, there’s nothing mysterious about Knife Sellers. They’re in the business of ’Divination Sales’—selling schemes, ideas, a bit of cleverness, but they’re a far cry from being able to predict the future. Whether that man is a genuine ’Knife Seller’ is hard to say."

Seeing Zheng Xiu’s reluctant expression, Qing Shisan tapped the ash from his cigarette on a nearby railing and chuckled. "Even if he is a real Knife Seller, Master, you needn’t worry. A Knife Seller may seem to be selling a knife on credit, but what they’re really ’lending’ is a kind of ’luck.’ It’s commonly known as borrowing luck. Perhaps when you got out of prison this time, if you felt you were short on luck, it might’ve been because he lent some to you. By paying for the knife today, you are, in a sense, returning the luck, and only then is the transaction complete. There’s no loss for you, Master."

According to Qing Shisan, even if the [Knife Seller] profession truly existed, they could only engage in mystifying theatrics, like divining fortunes. It wasn’t considered a dangerous trade.

After a moment’s thought, Zheng Xiu had the man invited in. He’d worry about paying later; first, the man should have a meal.

’Who’s leeching off whom remains to be seen.’

The visitor was the same young man. He had a sticky black dog-skin plaster on his face, and his features were so plain that he hardly left an impression.

As the saying goes, you don’t slap a smiling face. The young man was invited into the Zheng Family home, and when he came face to face with Zheng Xiu, he looked completely overwhelmed, as if he had never experienced such a lively scene before.

He introduced himself as "Sun Erming." Old He immediately pulled him to sit at his table, saying repeatedly that the knife was indeed excellent, no worse than the craftsmanship of the Zheng Clan’s Skillful Hands, and that it possessed a hidden spiritual charm, and so on.

After Old He had occupied Xiaosun the knife seller, Zheng Xiu said a few opening words, ate a few bites, and then glanced back. Seeing that Feng Bei seemed about to get up to look for him, he was so startled that he quickly returned to his "cell" to switch accounts.

Having switched to his side account, Zheng Er, Zheng Xiu found the braised pork belly in his bowl had cooled a little. Feng Bei silently picked it out and replaced it with another, warmer piece, whispering, "That one got cold. It won’t taste good. Eat this one."

Zheng Xiu hadn’t managed to take the first one, but Feng Bei was insistent, offering a second time.

Zheng Erniang watched, dumbfounded, as Zheng Xiu switched from "Master" one moment to "Young Master" the next, deploying both his main and side accounts. ’The Master’s hobbies are truly beyond the comprehension of ordinary people,’ she thought. Helpless, she could only go sit at the table with Zheng Xiu and Feng Bei. Zizi and the other three sharp-eyed girls soon joined them, adding a bit of lively, familial warmth to Feng Bei’s table.