Chapter 170: Chapter 149: Bloodbath in the Imperial Palace

"Hero, wait!"

Just as the deadly palm was about to strike down, Jia Wen decisively knelt on the ground.

"If the hero merely seeks a duel with a master, why seek me out? I have no martial skills at all!"

"...Hmm?"

The hand that was about to strike stopped in mid-air.

"You can’t fight?"

"I can’t fight, truly can’t fight."

Jia Wen nodded repeatedly.

"If you don’t believe me, look at me. Does it look like I have any signs of being able to fight?"

Saying this, Jia Wen simply took off the outer layer of his dragon robes, leaving only thin clothes.

Indeed, while Jia Wen was well-preserved for someone his age, his sturdy frame was ultimately only at a normal person’s level.

He truly had no martial skills.

"How did you become emperor if you can’t fight?"

The large-bodied man grumbled and withdrew his hand.

This also brought Jia Wen a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, his reaction was quick. Just from a few short sentences earlier, he had already guessed the reason this man had barged into the palace, which was why his life was spared.

And now that the two had started talking, the situation moved into the realm where he excelled.

With just a few casual words, Jia Wen already knew that the intruder was Du Chengfeng from Yizhou. Heaven knows why this rebel from faraway Yizhou would storm all the way to Jiankang, bypassing even the palace guards. But now, Jia Wen understood that this rebel’s motives were more straightforward than he had imagined.

"So, the hero has no intentions of rebellion, but simply wishes to duel with a master?"

Jia Wen stroked his beard and chuckled.

Although he had little skill himself, if a true master had desires, they wouldn’t seem that formidable anymore.

"That’s easy to arrange. I just need to say the word, and I’ll find a master for the hero..."

"No, what I want is to live in peace and happiness."

Du Chengfeng shook his head and explained.

"Like having a small courtyard—then I can raise a dog, or maybe two cats. I could also plant two trees there, one jujube tree, and the other also a jujube tree..."

"...???"

Jia Wen felt his brain was a bit foggy.

Weren’t they just talking about dueling with masters? How did the conversation switch to peace and happiness? And why say "one jujube tree, the other also a jujube tree"—why not simply say two jujube trees?

Is there something wrong with this man named Du Chengfeng?

"Phew..."

Exhaling deeply, Jia Wen tried to calm himself down.

Alright, this isn’t unusual. After all, people capable of emanating Evil Qi usually have brains that work a bit differently from normal—besides, this is actually a good thing, as the Du Chengfeng in front of him was exceedingly foolish. Jia Wen hadn’t said much, yet Du Chengfeng had already exposed his inner thoughts entirely.

Just needing a courtyard to be satisfied? Achieving the ability to emanate Evil Qi purely from such an obsession?

Others might find it unbelievable, but Jia Wen remembered that Du Chengfeng was originally from Jiabei. In other words, he had been living as a refugee for some time, which indeed would give him an obsession with having a home of his own.

For Jia Wen, fulfilling this desire was the simplest of tasks.

"Isn’t it just about a house? Whatever type the hero likes, you can simply say it, and I will surely..."

"But that’s just it, having just a house is not enough."

Before Jia Wen could finish, Du Chengfeng had already shaken his head.

"I once bought a courtyard, fixed it up quite nicely, but it was useless. When disaster struck, everything was lost... So, you understand, right? The house is secondary; truly important is the power to protect that way of life."

Sighing, Du Chengfeng continued.

"To seek power, one must spar with masters. At least that way, one can know what level they are at, and what degree of strength they have."

"Um..."

Jia Wen momentarily couldn’t find the words.

Although he didn’t really understand how the conversation had arrived here, what he found stranger still was how correct he thought Du Chengfeng was.

Indeed, to live a good life, one must have the power to protect it. Ascertaining whether that power is sufficient would indeed require duels with masters... But hadn’t he just mentioned he could find a master earlier? Why is that not acceptable either?

"Ah, I’m actually a peaceful person."

Du Chengfeng sighed.

"I don’t like fighting, do you understand? I’m not the aggressive type, I just want to live my life. That’s all I want."

"...???"

Jia Wen was increasingly bewildered.

So, what had they been talking about earlier?

"Alright, after talking so much about myself, tell me about you."

Du Chengfeng put his arm around Jia Wen’s shoulder.

"You must have a dream as well, right? What is it that you want?"

"I..."

Just as he was about to speak, Jia Wen immediately became alert.

Wasn’t he supposed to be the one probing? How did it suddenly become about him confessing? One’s obsession is a most intimate thing, how could he reveal it so easily?

Maybe he should make something up just to stabilize the situation...

"Ah, you actually have no dreams?"

Before Jia Wen could respond, Du Chengfeng sighed first.

"I suppose it’s understandable. After all, given your status, I can understand... Just the other day, I heard a story about a big tree."

With that, Du Chengfeng simply recounted the big tree story he had heard from Liu Bolun, for Jia Wen’s benefit.

"So, once you’re elevated, you become uncontrollable, and that’s the reality of it..."

"Yes, indeed."

Jia Wen forced a smile.

He was only able to follow Du Chengfeng’s erratic thoughts because of his talent for manipulating others—it was, after all, difficult for a normal person to understand someone as mentally unhinged as one who can emanate Evil Qi.

Fortunately, he found the flaw in Du Chengfeng’s words at last.

In this moment, Jia Wen realized that the tree in Du Chengfeng’s story was clearly a metaphor for Du Chengfeng himself.

A useful tree would naturally be coveted by many, and people always seek to partition its usefulness under various pretenses—perhaps that’s why Du Chengfeng, despite having achieved the ability to emanate Evil Qi, continued to pursue more power, simply because that sense of insecurity had never truly left his subconscious.

At this point, Jia Wen felt he had identified the crux of the issue.

Having identified the problem, the next steps would be easy. Given that he was dealing with someone who lacked a sense of security, he simply needed to provide that security—that might even earn him an enlistment, with Du Chengfeng becoming his strongest general and sharpest tool!

The first step in fostering security is building mutual trust.

This was a step he was very skilled at.

"Indeed, that big tree is truly pitiable, just like the two of us."

Jia Wen went so far as to not use the royal "I" here, deliberately creating a sense of commonality and closing the distance between them.

But at this moment, Du Chengfeng shook his head again.

"Who said I was the tree?"

"...Uh?"

Jia Wen was stunned.

"Then who are you...?" 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

"I’m the one who cuts the tree."

With that, Du Chengfeng drew the Bladeless Sword from his belt.

"Since you already think of yourself as the tree, you must understand, right? Only by killing you will those masters come looking for trouble with me..."

"Wait!"

Seeing Du Chengfeng intent on killing again, Jia Wen quickly gestured wildly.

"Hero! Please calm down! We have neither old nor recent grievances; we’ve even talked at length today, how can you..."

"I have no feud with you, but this sword does."

Du Chengfeng swung the Bladeless Sword.

"You couldn’t have imagined this day would come when you used an edict to drive my teacher away, could you?"

"Teacher? An edict?"

After a moment’s confusion, Jia Wen quickly recalled an event from over ten years ago, involving the sacking of a Minister by the young emperor.

But the problem is, that affair...

"It wasn’t me! Ruan Shantao’s matter wasn’t me! I only today..."

Bang!

The heavy sword fell, instantly shattering Jia Wen’s skull.

After dipping into the fresh blood, Du Chengfeng wrote "Killer: Du Chengfeng of Yizhou" on the ground, wiped the blood from his sword, then turned and left.

All that was left was Jia Wen’s corpse, lying alone in the empty hall.

Still maintaining the posture of reaching towards the Jade Seal.