Roaring Dragon-Chapter 129: The Empress Dowager’s Secret Lover?

Not long after dawn, several fast horses galloped out from the Li Residence’s side alley, braving the rain as they sped toward the outer city. The riders moved with urgency.

From a quiet side street nearby, County Deputy Fei Ji was eating breakfast at his usual bun shop, watching the three riders disappear into the distance with a thoughtful look.

“Those are Chiwu horses from Fengzhou,” he murmured. “Not the fastest, but top-tier endurance. Looks like they’re heading beyond Jingzhao Prefecture. Riding through the rain, carrying horse feed, rations, water skins, and bedrolls... they’re clearly planning to go out and back with no stops. That lead rider—Du Mushan, Li Gong’s right-hand man...”

Across the table, Yang Dabiao—disguised as a burly, scruffy man—was tearing through his food. Three baskets of buns already lay empty beside him. At the sound of Fei Ji’s muttering, he glanced over.

“Compassionate Ji, what’re you watching Li Gongpu’s place for so early in the morning?”

“Catching the Thief Saint! Any criminal who commits a major case always returns to the scene. Not to brag, but with my eyes of fire and golden pupils, if that bastard dares show his face around me, I’ll nab him on the spot.”

“Oh? I thought you were watching to see if one of Li Gong’s wives was sneaking off for a tryst...”

...

Fei Ji was watching to see if someone was sneaking out—but not for a woman. He was watching to see whether anyone was quietly cozying up to the Crown Prince.

Not the sort of thing he could say out loud. His eyes stayed fixed on Du Mushan and company’s disappearing figures, and he reached into the bun basket—

Empty.

?

He turned around. All the baskets had been cleaned out. Not a crumb left.

“Hey?! You little shit—just because I looked out the window, you didn’t even leave me a bite?!”

“Uhh... I figured you weren’t hungry, so I didn’t want it to go to waste... Shopkeep! Two more baskets!”

“You’re paying this time!”

“Then I’ll spit ‘em back up for you...”

“Get lost!”

...

As the two were bickering, a constable ran into the shop, holding a letter with an odd look on his face.

“Sir Fei, take a look at this.”

Fei Ji took the letter with a puzzled frown, but quickly his expression turned strange as well.

Yang Dabiao used the moment to snatch up another big bun and asked curiously:

“What is it?”

“Someone anonymously accused Xie Jinhuan of being the secret lover of Empress Dowager Guo of Northern Zhou. Claims he spent the past three years in the Northern Zhou palace secretly honing his, uh, skills, and returned to Daqian to win favor and sabotage us from the inside...”

“...Hah?!”

Yang Dabiao grabbed the letter to read for himself.

“This is real?! My brother slept with the Empress Dowager of Northern Zhou? Who the hell came up with this masterpiece?!”

“Probably the bastards from the Dark God Cult. Jinhuan beat them too hard—they’re trying to redirect the court’s focus.”

“But why drag Empress Dowager Guo into it?”

“Likely because someone noticed Jinhuan used a divine technique from the Ritualist Lineage at Linde Hall yesterday. This kind of framing is called ‘reverse causality’—they take the result and invent a backstory. Makes the lie sound plausible. Toss in a bit of scandal, and it spreads like wildfire. Northern Zhou’s side might even play along.”

Yang Dabiao squinted. “Why would they?”

Fei Ji explained with rare gravity:

“If Jinhuan’s not a spy, then this is a wedge tactic—to make Daqian doubt and isolate its own talents. Given how «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» shrewd Empress Dowager Guo is, she would claim him.

“If Jinhuan is a spy and now exposed, she’d definitely try to protect him—so either way, Northern Zhou ends up acknowledging the story. That uncertainty alone is enough to throw the court into confusion.

“The goal here is to make Jinhuan stink with scandal, force him to distance himself, and delay the pursuit of the Dark God Cult.”

“But the court’s not that dumb, right?”

Fei Ji grinned. “When Magistrate Chen saw the letter, he laughed. Sent it straight to the county office—to let Jinhuan have a laugh too.”

Yang Dabiao nodded slowly. “The person who thought this up is a real genius. Even if Jinhuan clears his name, he’ll still end up in the Twelve Volumes of Forbidden Gossip, mentioned in every one. If he ever raises a sword against Northern Zhou, he’ll be called a heartless scumbag for centuries to come. Brilliant move, really...”

“Exactly. If Jinhuan catches that bastard, he’ll turn him into bun stuffing.”

As the two bantered, Fei Ji reached into the bun basket again—only to find...?

“You little son of a bitch! Utterly lawless! You have no shame!”

“Hey hey! No violence! We’re officers of the law—watch your image in public... Shopkeep! Two more baskets...”

...

——

Eastern side of the Imperial City, Astronomical Bureau.

The Tower of Omnidirectional Light stood tall outside the palace walls. Beneath it lay the Astronomical Bureau offices, home to celestial officials and astrologers of various sects. Lu Wuzhen, head of the Taiyin Hall, frequently worked here.

Storm clouds loomed overhead, and the vast plaza below was stained deep blue by the rain.

Nangong Ye stood alone beneath a paper umbrella in front of the six-zhang-tall Kirin statue, gazing up at the mythical beast said to guard Daqian’s fate.

For this official appearance, she wore a black-and-white Danding Sect robe, her hair bound with a white jade crown, and a tan sword case strapped to her back. She exuded a celestial presence.

Alone beneath the heavens, in front of the sacred beast, her sharp phoenix eyes gave her the air of a lone swordswoman ready to storm the White Jade Capital itself. Like a glacial sword saint, untouched by worldly emotions.

But appearances were just that. After last night’s chaos, her heart was a mess of ripples.

After pushing Xie Jinhuan out of the guest hall, she’d focused entirely on suppressing the yang poison in her body... only to realize she’d undressed before bathing.

In the living room, no less.

And Xie Jinhuan had seen it—caught off guard, sure, but he saw it!

A girl raised like a disciple and daughter falling for a righteous hero, only for the hero to see her master like that?

If this were some demonic cult, it'd already be a legendary scandal. Let alone in the strict Danding Sect...

Even now, Nangong Ye felt a cold blade at her back. Her Dao heart had definitely taken a hit. This was a tribulation in its own right.

Tap, tap...

Her thoughts were interrupted as a man emerged from the tower behind the Kirin statue.

He wore Danding Sect robes as well. His temples were frosted, though he looked no older than his mid-forties. He walked with effortless grace, holding a black lacquered box.

Nangong Ye pulled herself together and stepped forward with a salute.

“Many thanks, Senior Brother Lu.”

“It was nothing.”

Lu Wuzhen handed her the box, adding a reminder:

“There’s not much Cycle Lotus left in the treasury. It takes sixty years to cultivate. You’ll need to repay it as soon as possible—or if the court demands it, Zihui Mountain may be forced to surrender a live root. That would be a great loss.”

Lu Wuzhen had once studied during the Demon Cult Rebellion. Though his disciple’s disciple was the same age as Nangong Ye, she was still of equal rank due to lineage. She addressed him as senior out of courtesy.

She considered for a moment, then asked:

“Lately the Dark God Cult’s been acting up. Are they searching for the Tomb of the Corpse Ancestor?”

Lu Wuzhen folded his hands behind his back and looked up at the Kirin.

“No matter how mighty the Corpse Ancestor was, he’s still a relic. With time, new talents rise. From their recent movements, it seems the Cult has nurtured another monster—one who plans to finish what the Ancestor started.”

Nangong Ye, too young to have lived through the rebellion, frowned. “What was the Corpse Ancestor trying to do?”

“Like all cultivators—seek eternal life and ascension.”

Lu Wuzhen raised his eyes to the blackened sky.

“But the heavens today are too low. You can’t reach that realm through cultivation alone. The only way is to plunder the world, gather all fortune unto oneself. And to plunder the world, you have to throw it into chaos. As long as the great sects are united, no demon path can succeed.”

Nangong Ye nodded slowly. “So the Cult wants to incite civil war between north and south?”

“And more—sectarian war as well.”

Lu Wuzhen sighed.

“The bald donkeys of the Buddhist sect have been pushing this new ‘Golden Sutra Reform’ nonsense, chipping away at our Daoist roots.

“That old bastard Sikong Tianyuan took the rabble of the Gu poison faction and united them into the so-called ‘Wumeng Alliance’. They’ve even infiltrated the capital’s underworld.

“Wei Wuyi has proposed more than once that leadership of the Astronomical Bureau should rotate between sects, rather than being monopolized by the Danding Sect.

“Over a century, the grudges between sects have piled up. The reason there’s still peace is because the world itself is at peace—no one wants to be the first to stir chaos.

“But the moment someone makes the first move, every sect will fall into disarray. Then the demons will rise.”

Nangong Ye had long sensed the growing friction—like her own situation with the cult witch. That witch had stripped naked and ruined her composure...

“So Senior Brother believes all this infighting is the Cult’s doing?”

Lu Wuzhen shook his head and gestured. A sword flew from the tower, inscribed with: Wuzhen.

“Wuzhen, Wuxin, Wuyi, Wuyuan... our master named us thus to remind us: Don’t let sectarian greed tear us apart again. But now it feels more like a prophecy.

“Wuxin, the monk, dreams of turning the world into a Buddhist Pure Land. Wuyuan broke from the orthodox path and now rules his own little corner under the name Tianyuan.

“There are many ways to sainthood. But if I, Lu Wuzhen, don’t stand for the Dao and embrace pluralism, the bald donkeys will turn Daqian into a Buddhist state. If you were sect leader, what would you do?”

Nangong Ye wanted nothing more than to tear down Fancloud Temple right now. She thought Lu Wuzhen too soft, if anything.

“We’re all still mortals—far from the ancient sages. I’ll keep digging into the Dark God Cult. If I find anything, I’ll inform you immediately.”

Lu Wuzhen considered for a moment and added:

“Your disciple seems close to Xie Jinhuan. If it’s convenient... test his background a bit.”

Test him?

He’s already tested me all over...

Nangong Ye calmly took a breath. “You suspect his origins?”

Lu Wuzhen shook his head. “Just curious what kind of master raised such a student. He goes to a palace banquet and still finds time to slay demons. Even if he were some old flame of Empress Dowager Guo—let him root out evil first, then we’ll worry.”

...?

Nangong Ye hadn’t heard about the ridiculous anonymous letter yet, so she looked bewildered.

“Xie Jinhuan, entangled with Empress Dowager Guo? Do you know what kind of person she is? If a barbarian from the steppe stole one sheep from her people, she’d mobilize the entire army to get it back—on her knees if she had to. You think she’d just hand Daqian her weakness like that?”

Lu Wuzhen chuckled. “Exactly. So the rumor isn’t worth taking seriously. But still—if you get a chance, ask him about his master.

“The Hidden Immortal Sect loves playing ‘Great Chess’. Ninety percent of their moves are crap. We can block a brilliant demonic schemer, but not a silent, idiotic loyalist from our own path.”

Nangong Ye knew exactly who he meant—Sikong Shitang, father of Sikong Tianyuan.

He once took in a promising youth. People warned his heart wasn’t right, but Sikong raised him like a son. When he committed crimes, Sikong covered for him in secret.

Then one night... all the grandmasters in the south woke up in a cold sweat—

The Corpse Ancestor had returned.

Though Sikong nearly died sealing him away, and earned a top-three rank among the sects' heroes, none of that could erase the blame. That failure triggered the decline of the entire Wumeng Sect—now only the Ritualist Lineage survives in the open.

To Nangong Ye, Xie Jinhuan had a good heart—maybe a bit too fond of beauty.

But he’d never throw the world into chaos for a woman. No matter how strange his background, he wasn’t someone to fear. Lu Wuzhen’s worry seemed a bit... overcautious.

Still, she didn’t say that. She just agreed politely, exchanged a few more pleasantries, and left with the Cycle Lotus.