Chapter 26: Regiments

Within the City Lord’s residence.

“From this day onwards, the Origin Bureau will go under the name of ‘An’…… Hahahaha, well said!” An Siyuan laughed as he rubbed his bald head.

Then, he stood up vigorously and said, “The Origin Bureau’s Liu Wuya colluded with the ten Bloodline Nobility Clans, turning a perfectly good Origin Bureau into a lawless place. Now that Su Chen has killed Liu Wuya and cleaned the place up, the Origin Bureau belongs to us now. He took care of that matter brilliantly.”

The scholar behind An Siyuan spoke. “City Lord is right. Su Chen took care of that matter brilliantly. However, this whole ordeal isn’t over quite yet.”

“Mm, you mean to say……”

“As the Knowledge Executor, Su Chen is currently the acting commander of the Origin Bureau. This is fine for the short-term, but the situation might change in the long run. As such, we still need to quickly get him a formal title.”

“Yes, Yiyang, you’re absolutely right. I will inform the higher-ups and propose to them the idea of promoting Su Chen.”

“Now that he’s offended the Long Clan, they definitely won’t let him go. Su Chen can scheme the Long Clan once, but he can’t do it forever, and he definitely won’t be able to wipe them out just by scheming alone.”

An Siyuan nodded. “I know. He only said that the Origin Bureau will go under the name ‘An’ to get me involved. Hehe, he made such a big contribution and also demonstrated that he was firmly on my side. If I don’t help him, who will want to follow me in the future? Okay, give him two regiments of Blood-Robed Guards.”

“Yes!”

Blood-Robed Guards were a group of elite guards that An Siyuan had trained himself. They were few in number, but each soldier was a high-layer Qi Drawing Realm cultivator, and each regiment leader was a Blood Boiling Realm cultivator. Even though their strength was average, their teamwork was impeccable, and they had special skills and medicines that could activate their hidden potential. If they used these all at once, ten Blood-Robed Guards could fight a Yang Opening Realm expert to a standstill. They were excellent bodyguards.

An Siyuan giving Su Chen two regiments of Blood-Robed Guards was a clear demonstration of how much importance he placed on Su Chen. He wanted to protect Su Chen completely. At the same time, he ensured his control over the Origin Bureau; this would take care of two birds with one stone.

“Also, the funds previously docked from the Origin Bureau can be returned,” An Siyuan said.

As the City Lord, An Siyuan had a considerable amount of authority, even over finances.

Because the former Origin Bureau wasn’t aligned with An Siyuan, An Siyuan had docked funds from the Origin Bureau. In the past few years, the Origin Bureau had been completely funded by the ten Great Bloodline Nobility Clans. Even though this put Liu Wuya in a hard position, it made it so that many of the people working at the Origin Bureau weren’t willing to listen to An Siyuan’s orders – if you weren’t helping them put food on the table, why should they listen to you?

Now that Su Chen had forcefully taken control of the Origin Bureau, An Siyuan immediately released those funds. They would be a help to Su Chen personally, and they could also help sway public opinion. After all, relying on force to control the Origin Bureau would only last for a time; long-term control required conciliatory tactics.

Of course, they wouldn’t be able to share in the benefits given by the ten Great Bloodline Nobility Clans anymore.

“Finally, let Officer Zhu know that we will have a feast tomorrow. I need to congratulate Su Chen!”

“Yes, City Lord!”

————————————————

“You’er, You’er!” Long Qingjing howled pitifully as he gazed at his son, lying on the bed.

Long Shaoyou lay on the bed, unconscious, his face tainted with black Qi. Most frightening of all, that black Qi gathered on Long Shaoyou’s face and would sometimes even assume different forms. Sometimes, it was a vicious monster, while other times it took the form of a blood-soaked battlefield. It was as if someone was staging a play on his body that could only be seen, not touched.

He had been like this ever since he had been rescued out from the black smoke. No matter what Long Qingjiang thought of, he had no way of purging the strange black Qi from Long Shaoyou’s body, and Long Shaoyou never regained consciousness.

The doctor beside him took a look and shook his head. “I can only blame my incapability. I have never seen this kind of illness before.”

“Doctor Jiang, you’re the best doctor in all of Clear River City. Please, think of something!” Long Qingjiang said anxiously.

That Doctor Jiang still shook his head. “I’m sorry. I’ve never seen a disease like this, so how could I think of anything? Long Clan Patriarch, you’re better off asking someone more talented.”

As he spoke, he began to pack up his things.

Long Qingjiang grew agitated. “Doctor Jiang, you’re the best doctor in all of Clear River City! If you can’t do it, who else can?”

That Doctor jiang said somewhat impatiently, “There’s no point in telling me this. You saw it yourself; this isn’t an illness, but the effect of some strange Origin Skill. There are many strange Origin Skills of all kinds out there, and a majority of them can’t be treated with medicine. Most likely, this is some kind of strange curse. There’s nothing more I can do for you. You’re better off looking for the person who set this curse in the first place.”

As he spoke, he picked up his medicinal case and left.

Long Qingjiang was helpless. All he could do was leave the room and go to the main courtyard. “Servants!”

“Patriarch!” Sang Maoyuan hurried over.

“Gather all of the guards, guests, and servants, and head to the Su Residence. I must wipe Su Chen out today!” Long Qingjiang said, his expression thick with killing intent.

“I’m afraid that’s not possible anymore.” SangMaoyuan lowered his head.

“What did you say?”

Sang Maoyuan replied, “I just received word that Su Chen didn’t go to the Su Residence after leaving, but to the Origin Bureau.”

“The Origin Bureau?” Long Qingjiang froze as he realized something and yelled, “Not good! Could he be……”

“Yes, he gathered all of the Origin Qi Scholars and martial artists under pretense of using Liu Wuya’s authority. By dividing and conquering, he killed Jiang Huali, Liu Tong, and the others. Then, he used some unknown method to stun Yuan Lieyang into submission, and Yuan Lieyang even publicly announced that he wouldn’t oppose Su Chen taking control of the Origin Bureau. Finally, he……”

“He what?”

“He sent people to inform An Siyuan that the Origin Bureau was now under his name.”

“BASTARD!” Long Qingjiang struck out violently. A hundred-year old tree nearby toppled to the ground.

“I’LL KILL HIM!!!!” Long Qingjiang yelled furiously.

Sang Maoyuan knew that anything else he said would only further stimulate Long Qingjiang, but he could only harden his forehead and forge on. “An Siyuan immediately sent him two regiments of Blood-Robed Guards from his residence as soon as he found out.”

“Bang!” Long Qingjiang struck out again. Sang Maoyuan flew into the air. Two of his bones had been broken, and he collapsed to the ground in a heap.

Long Qingjiang seethed with hatred, a bloody aura beginning to whip around his entire body.

“So you’re telling me that even if I want to kill him now, I won’t be able to, right?”

Blood-Robed Guards not only represented strength; they represented the government’s prestige. It wasn’t that Long Qingjiang couldn’t kill Su Chen along with the Blood-Robed Guards; however, doing that would result in open war!

The consequences of that would be extremely severe.

Sang Maoyuan lowered his head silently.

He had said all that needed to be said. The decision was still Long Qingjiang’s to make.

Even though he desperately wanted to capture Su Chen and get revenge for his son, Long Qingjiang was very clear just how difficult that would be.

He remained deep in thought for some time. Finally, he could only say, “Send the order to focus our efforts on finding Wei Liancheng. We’ll need to capture this person first. The responsibility for this matter with You’er might land on his shoulders instead.”

Sang Maoyuan replied. “We looked for him already, but this Wei Liancheng is of the Yang Opening Realm. If he wanted to, he could even be escaping from Clear River City at this very moment. It’s too hard to look for him.”

Killing intent began to surge in Long Qingjiang’s eyes again. “So you’re telling me that you can’t find Wei Liancheng either, right?”

Sang Maoyuan replied hurriedly, “That’s not it. From what happened earlier, it seems that Wei Liancheng helped Su Chen because Su Chen has something that he wants. Before he gets that, he doesn’t want Su Chen to die.”

Long Qingjiang paused. “You mean……”

“Wei Liancheng will definitely go and find Su Chen to ask for that item. As long as we keep an eye on Su Chen, we’ll be able to find Wei Liancheng.

“Very good. Go and take care of it. Don’t disappoint me this time.”