Chapter 201 - Punishment
Chapter 201 Punishment
Great Zhou, within the royal palace. Su Wen met Emperor Zhou once again. “This time, you acted without permission and caused a Heaven Rank war. Three of the Great Zhou Heaven Ranks were heavily injured, so I have to answer to them,” Emperor Zhou said in a low voice.
“Tomorrow, I will issue a decree to throw you into the prison for three years!”
When Su Wen heard this, his heart tightened! Emperor Zhou said softly, “But don’t worry, this is only an excuse to the outside world. Since you’ve made a huge mistake, you have to make up for it! I have a few things for you to do here!”
“Please enlighten me, Your Majesty.” Emperor Zhou’s eyes were sharp as he said, “Firstly, my Great Zhou’s intelligence network has been uprooted from the Yan Country. As the Secret Shadow Guard, I want to send you to the Yan Country to reestablish the intelligence network. You must let me regain control of the intelligence within the Yan Country.” “Secondly, from the looks of it now, the Yan Country is powerful and difficult to deal with. In the north of the Yan Country, there is the Chu Country, and they have always been at odds with the Yan Country. Originally, Lu Zhen should have been fighting on the front lines of the Chu Country, but for some reason, he actually came down their Southern Border this time. Moreover, the Yan Country actually dared to launch a Heaven Rank war without any hesitation, not caring about the Chu Country. This shows that there must be a reason behind this. Go and investigate clearly, you must not allow the Chu Country and the Yan Country to form an alliance.”
“Third! You haven’t reached the Heaven Rank yet, but your combat strength is already overwhelming. If you have the chance, think of a way to kill the Yan Country’s talents…”
Su Wen smiled bitterly when he heard the demands.
This was not some empty talk from the Zhou Emperor. All these three matters were difficult to handle. If he went to the Yan Country, he would no longer have his father to protect him. He would have to establish a force, sow discord between Yan and Chu Countries, and even think of a way to kill the Yan Country’s geniuses. This Emperor really thought highly of him.
Emperor Zhou said coldly, “You don’t have to feel wronged! The trouble you caused this time, the Great Zhou has paid too much!” “Yes! This subject understands!” Su Wen knew that there was no way he could refuse.
“Who do you think is more suitable to be in charge of the intelligence network? Choose a deputy and go together. After all, you still have to come back.” Su Wen thought for a moment. “I think the Crown Prince is a reliable and cautious person. He’s quite suitable!” Emperor Zhou sneered. “Do you think that’s possible?”
“Then I feel that the Third Prince is extremely talented in martial arts and has superb skills. He can be relied on!” Emperor Zhou shook his head and said, “The third… can’t be involved either. How can my son be thrown into such a dangerous place?” Su Wen thought to himself that it was a pity. Seeing that the princes could not make it, Su Wen continued, “Why don’t we have Wu Qiuhan… Minister Wu is an old man who is able to control the country. With him around, I can be at ease!” Emperor Zhou said, “You’re quite filial, trying to get rid of a political enemy for your father. However, he can’t do the job either!” “Then Minister Wu’s son! This should be fine, right?” “Wu Qiuhan’s son is not worthy of a great responsibility!” Emperor Zhou said indifferently. “You brat, don’t think about revenge over there. You were wrong in this matter! It’s normal for others to interfere.”
Su Wen’s expression turned serious as he said, “Your Majesty, you’re wrongly accusing me. I’m not that kind of person. I just want to help Your Majesty settle the matter, so I definitely don’t have any other intentions!” “Do you have a candidate or not?! If there’s no one, I’ll appoint them.” Emperor Zhou couldn’t be bothered with him.
Su Wen said, “Yes! I think the son of the Grand Prince, Zhao Rui, is not bad!” Emperor Zhou narrowed his eyes and asked, “Why?”
Su Wen smiled and said, “Firstly, the person in charge of the spies must be reliable. Zhao Rui is a relative of the emperor, so there’s no need to worry about whether he will change his ways, and he can be trusted with the spy network! Secondly, Zhao Rui is proficient in eating, drinking, womanizing, and gambling. He can be considered an opponent of mine. Only such profligates can survive in the circle. We are going to inquire about information, so the level of our cultivation is not important. How we can integrate into the circle of the Yan Country’s influential officials is the problem.” “As for the third point, so long as I choose someone else, His Majesty will always feel that I have ulterior motives. Since Zhao Rui is my closest brother, His Majesty won’t think that I, Su Wen, am someone who will let down my brothers, right?” Emperor Zhou nodded and said, “Then we can settle for him. As for the others…” Su Wen shook his head, “There’s no need, Your Majesty. We don’t need the rest of the men. The first thing we need to do is to infiltrate the Yan Country safely. If Your Majesty sends more men, it will arouse suspicion. As for the source of the information, I have my own ways.” Emperor Zhou waved his hand and said, “Alright, you may leave. Before you leave, go and bid farewell to Wanrou. Also go inform your family, but don’t leak any news to the outside world. Don’t let them worry about
you.”
“Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty.” Su Wen excused himself.
Seeing him leave, Emperor Zhou said coldly, “This brat deserves to be taught a lesson! He really dares to do anything!” The old eunuch said, “But I’m afraid it will be dangerous for him to enter alone.” Emperor Zhou said in a low voice, “This is punishment and also a form of tempering. In Great Zhou, he has too many experts by his side. It’s not a good thing to live in an overly comfortable environment! Go, summon Zhao Rui into the palace. I have something to tell him!”
“What about Yan Luoying? Didn’t His Majesty always hope that the two of them would have children? If he goes over for three years, I’m afraid…”
Emperor Zhou closed his eyes and said, “I don’t have a choice. Many things don’t go as I wish in this world. The two of them have been married for a long time, yet I see that Su Wen has never had any children. I’m afraid there might be some problems. I can’t wait for him forever! Yan Luoying needs to be tempered, and so does he. I can only let nature take its course.”
In the palace, Su Wen and Zhao Wanrou sat together.
“I’m leaving!” Su Wen smiled. “I’m leaving tomorrow and will be declared to be imprisoned.” He did not tell Zhao Wanrou where he was going or what he was doing. Zhao Wanrou leaned against him and asked gently, “Will you miss me?” “I will!”
Su Wen moved Zhao Wanrou’s body over and said in a low voice, “I have a secret technique here. You can use it to practice and see how it works. Remember, don’t spread it and don’t tell anyone!”
What Su Wen wanted to give Zhao Wanrou was the secret technique, Dragon Qi Infusion! (TL Note: Dragon Qi Infusion was the secret technique he drew that only affects rulers. See chapter 187.)
He was leaving, but he was not sure if anything would happen during this period of time. If Zhao Wanrou’s could become stronger, he would be more at ease.
Zhao Wanrou nodded and said, “Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone.” The secret technique was passed over, and the two of them cuddled for a while more before Su Wen stood up and left.
As he walked out, he happened to meet Zhao Rui, who had just finished his conversation with Emperor Zhou! He looked at Su Wen with a conflicted expression. “Yo, Brother Zhao, what a coincidence!” Su Wen greeted him with a smile. Zhao Rui gritted his teeth. “There’s no enmity between us, so why did you harm me?” Su Wen exclaimed, “Brother Zhao, what are you saying?” “You’re making me…. go there?” Zhao Rui hesitated for a moment, but didn’t say where he would be sent to. Instead, he said in a low voice, “That’s a place with a high chance of death. Why are you dragging me there?” Su Wen smiled. “Brother Zhao, do you want to be a useless person for the rest of your life, or a national hero?”
“A useless piece of trash!” Zhao Rui said without hesitation, “I just want to find an official position that can allow me to laze and eat and wait for death. I just want to hug my Second Brother’s thigh!” The Second Brother he was referring to was the Second Prince. Su Wen sneered. “Then you’ve picked the wrong person. If you want to rely on someone, you have to suck up to the Crown Prince.” “The Crown Prince looks down on me…” Zhao Rui said helplessly. Looking at Zhao Rui, who was determined to become a good-for-nothing and wait for death, Su Wen smiled and said, “Actually, it’s not as dangerous as you think. Think about it, if we go out and establish a spy network, His Majesty will have to give us money. He can’t let us go empty-handed, right? Wouldn’t he have to give us a large sum of money? Then think about it, after we set off, who in Yan Country knows who we are? If we take a large sum of money and go to Yan Country, His Majesty won’t be by our side. We can just gather some information and send it back. After dealing with the matter, we can directly go on an all expenses paid trip and spend money in Yan Country. Wouldn’t it be nice? Do you have such treatment in the capital if you just eat and wait for death?” Zhao Rui’s eyes lit up upon hearing this! That’s right. With the different viewpoint that Su Wen was providing, wasn’t it practically a free vacation?
Su Wen patted his shoulder and said with a smile, “Brother, it’s only because it was you. If it was someone else, I definitely wouldn’t let him go. Look at Wu Lie, that burly fool. Can he
go?”
Zhao Rui immediately thanked him profusely. After exiting the palace, Su Wen headed straight for the Wu Residence. Wu Muyu, this little girl, he had to tell her as well. Otherwise, she would also be sad. After speaking to Wu Muyu, Su Wen returned to the residence.
He gathered the women in the house and explained the situation. Yan Luoying felt guilty. After all, Su Wen did this to save Yan Ze. At this moment, Yan Ze had already been transferred out of the capital and was guarding the Huai River with Wu Kunhu. They stood facing the Yan Country’s army. Su Wen could tell that they were worried, so he smiled and said, “I’m just going out to lie low. I’ll be back in a few years.” After saying that, Su Wen turned to look at Ning Shuang. “Guard the house well.”
“Yes!”
Ning Shuang nodded firmly. Soon, news spread that Su Wen had triggered a Heaven Rank war and was sentenced by His Majesty to three years in prison! At the same time, a caravan set off from the capital of Great Zhou.
Su Wen laid in the car with Xue Qianxun kneeling beside him as she fed him fruits. Zhao Jin and Chu He followed outside the carriage. As for Zhao Rui, he was positioned in front of the team.
Although with Su Wen’s current strength, it was useless to bring his guards along…. Su Wen was long used to being extravagant. He would probably feel uncomfortable the moment he did not have any guards by his side.
To put it bluntly, it was tiring to beat up someone without a handy subordinate. However, their goal was not the Yan Country, but to detour from the Yan Country’s Eastern Region to the Chu Country. Because at present, the relationship between the Yan Country and the Zhou Country was extremely tense. At this time, if you send a caravan to them… They would probably cut you down and have your goods confiscated as soon as you entered the country.
However, Su Wen did not notice….
Behind their caravan, a little girl was walking in the distance far away from them.
It was Su Su!
Su Wen also went to bid farewell to Ni Hongxiao. Ni Hongxiao took it lightly, but when Su Su heard that Su Wen might be leaving for a long time, she felt extremely reluctant.
After some thought, Little Su Su decided to follow Su Wen.
Because her spiritual perception was even sharper than Su Wen’s, she could clearly sense his location.
Wherever Su Wen walked, she followed behind.
However, Su Wen did not expect that he would receive so many Emotional Value points when the news spread out. To put it bluntly, this could be said to be an unprecedented battle of shame for Great Zhou. Every person involved in this farce had become a sinner in the hearts of the commoners. Let alone the only Su Wen who was punished? In an instant, all sorts of curses and swearing were thrown at Su Wen, increasing his Emotional Value by 350,000 points. Although it was not comparable to writing books, it was still a lot. This time, Su Wen spent 50,000 Emotional Value points to exchange for a Phantom Mask from the System Exchange Shop. It did not have any special effects, but as long as one wore it, they would be able to change their appearance freely. There were still people in Yan Country who knew him. It was better to be careful. The remaining Emotional Value was completely insufficient to upgrade the Great Solar Supreme Skill. After he comprehended two levels of the Great Solar Supreme Skill, if he wanted to upgrade it to Lv5, he would need 2 million Emotional Value points. It was simply terrifying. However, Su Wen was not in a hurry. He used the remaining Emotional Value to upgrade Stellar Transposition instead. The exchange of Stellar Transposition was much cheaper. Upgrading from Lv3 to Lv4 only cost Su Wen 140,000 points.
After that, he condensed his Star Points once more. This time, a change occurred in the Stellar Transposition skill.
The original Stage 2 Enhancement had now become Stage 3.
All of his original Star types that he had chosen had unlocked a third level of strengthening!
For example, he could now stack the effect of Extreme Yang Star three times instead of the original two times limitation. It would allow him to double the temperature of the fire elemental energy! At the same time, the number of points he could condense increased.
This time, there were twelve of them! After the construction was completed, Su Wen’s Emotional Value was almost drained.
Su Wen walked out of the tent and saw everyone cooking at the bonfire. Immediately after, they saw Su Wen’s appearance morph and change into someone
else.
Although he was still young, his looks had completely changed. Su Wen smiled and said, “From today onwards, my name is Su Daqiang.” Everyone agreed. Suddenly, Su Wen looked behind him.
At this moment, Su Su had already followed Su Wen for three days. She was afraid that Su Wen would send her back, so she followed behind the team from afar every day. When she was hungry, she would eat the rations and water she brought with her. It was also thanks to the Spiritual Master Residence that there was no lack of spirit tools to store things, and Ni Hongxiao had even more than the usual person. At this moment, in front of Su Su, a huge purple tiger was staring at Su Su with its red eyes. 4th Grade Earth Rank vicious beast, Purple Flame Tiger. However, it did not attack rashly!
The aura released by Su Su made it feel apprehensive.
Roar!
The tiger suddenly roared out as a huge fireball condensed in its mouth. Seeing that it was about to spit fire, Su Su laughed loudly. “Stupid tiger, go to hell.”
Bang!
Just as Su Su finished speaking, the fireball in the tiger’s mouth exploded! In terms of controlling flames, Su Su was even superior to Su Wen.
She could actually implode flames that were in the activation process!
This time, the Purple Flame Tiger’s mouth was not lightly blown up. Several wounds appeared, and blood flowed out.
But this move also triggered the Purple Flame Tiger’s ferocity. It no longer condensed a fireball and pounced towards Su Su.
Fear flashed across Su Su’s eyes as she activated the flames with all her might! Within the flames, a golden light flashed, transforming into the Holy Vermilion Flame that flew towards the Purple Flame Tiger. Just as Su Su’s Holy Flames appeared, Su Wen sensed that Su Su’s aura had become clearer. He frowned and stood up, running towards that direction!
When the Purple Flame Tiger saw the Holy Vermilion Flame, a trace of fear flashed across its eyes. However, this did not affect its speed at all. In an instant, its four limbs stomped on the ground as it dodged Su Su’s holy flames. Bang! The holy flames exploded, and a huge flame rose bloomed! Su Su’s strength had clearly increased a lot compared to before. The previous time, she had been tired only after activating a little bit of the Holy Flames. However now, even after activating the holy flames as an attack, she did not seem tired at all.
However, Su Su knew that she could only use such an attack twice!
However, she was not worried. Instead, she smiled and said, “Big tiger, you’re dead. My father is here!” That’s right! Just as the tiger was hesitating, Su Wen had already arrived! Bang! Su Wen smashed down from the sky and punched the tiger’s head! Just one punch! Su Wen’s fist ruthlessly stabbed into the Purple Flame Tiger’s skull! He had unleashed his full strength! Su Wen, who did not hold back at all, pierced through this beast’s head! His eyes flashed with ruthlessness.
“Daddy!”
Su Su had already run and plunged into Su Wen’s arms!
Even though Su Wen had changed his appearance, Su Su could easily differentiate him from his aura.
Su Wen turned to look at Su Su and frowned. “Why are you here?”
“I miss you… I don’t want to not see Daddy for a long time,” Su Su whispered. “Then why didn’t you come to the team?” “I’m afraid you’ll send me back.” The little girl hugged Su Wen and said, “Daddy, can you bring Su Su along? Su Su will definitely be obedient.”
Su Wen said helplessly, “Won’t you miss your mother?”
Su Su smiled slyly. “Mother will come after me when she realizes. Ever since the last time, she has placed a tracking bug on me…”
Fine!
Seeing this, Su Wen did not say anything else and immediately carried Su Su back to the team. As expected, when Ni Hongxiao realized that Su Su was not at home, she immediately left the city. A few days later, she caught up with the team. Upon seeing Su Su, Ni Hongxiao said coldly, “Come back with me!”
n
n
“No! Mother, please, come with us,” Su Su begged. Ni Hongxiao looked at Su Wen. “Is this your idea? And you look so strange!” Su Wen smiled. “I have no choice. Being careful is the way to go! Let’s go together!” Since Su Su was following them, it was good to just bring Ni Hongxiao along. This woman was not a weak person who would drag them down. She possessed many methods that might be effective at any time! Seeing that Su Wen wanted her to stay, Ni Hongxiao hesitated for a moment before agreeing The two of them entered the carriage. Su Wen glanced at Xue Qianxun. “Get out!” Xue Qianxun left obediently. Ni Hongxiao sneered: “You sure know how to enjoy yourself.” “There are other uses for bringing her along!” Su Wen said solemnly. The curtain was lowered and the team set off again. Su Su sat on the roof of the carriage happily. Ni Hongxiao’s voice came from the carriage again: “Watch your hands!” Su Wen: “It moved by itself, it’s none of my business.” “Turn your face back, it looks disgusting!” “Alright!” Two months later, in a certain Yuanfeng City of the Great Chu Empire. The stage was surrounded by people watching. Xue Qianxun stood on the stage and sang softly using her internal energy… (The waves silently drown the night/ /In the corner that overflows the ends of the sky/ /The big fish swam through the gaps in the dream/ /Gazing at the silhouette of your slumber…/ That’s right, the song that was being sung was “Big fish!”
(TL Note: Search Big Fish by Zhou Shen. Quite a nice song.)
The song was taught by Su Wen, of course. How could the commoners have ever heard such a song? In this world, it was difficult to even get such tunes. During this period of time, a band had suddenly appeared in Chu. They sang everywhere they went, and the songs they sang were all unheard of.
However, all their songs were especially moving In a short period of time, their reputation soared.
At this moment, the citizens around the stage were intoxicated. As for Xue Qianxun, she was dressed in a snow-white dress, looking extremely alluring Su Wen sat backstage with Su Su in his arms. “Father, this song is so nice…” “Of course, look who wrote it!” Su Wen was extremely boastful in front of his daughter. “Father is great!”
By the side, Ni Hongxiao rolled her eyes and said, “That’s about it, right? Right now, our reputation has already spread.”
When Su Wen heard Ni Hongxiao’s words, he said, “It’s indeed about time. Now that I have a reputation, if I go to Yan Country along the way, I won’t be suspected anymore.”
At this point, he frowned and said, “What disappointed me was that I couldn’t find out the reason for the war between Yan Country and Chu Country.”
That’s right, the Yan Country and Chu Country had indeed stopped fighting. The two countries were originally enemies, but ever since a year ago, the borders of the two countries had become peaceful and there were no more wars.
In Su Wen’s opinion, this was extremely abnormal.
In reality, he had also heard some rumors from some of the commoners. However, they were mainly just rumors that the Yan Country had lost and didn’t dare to invade anymore, or it was that Emperor Chu was magnanimous and didn’t want to see too many of the people in the border die.
However, in Su Wen’s eyes, these reasons were not valid. If the Chu Country did not attack the Yan Country, he could understand why the Yan Country wanted to attack the Great Zhou, since they did not need to fight on two fronts
However, from what he knew, not only had the Chu Country not attacked the Yan Country in the past year, they had also not engaged in any major battles with the other countries. This was very unusual for an empire. At the very least, when the Yan Country attacked the Zhou Country, especially after triggering the battle between Heaven Ranks, the entire continent knew about it. As a feud that involved the world, there must be something fishy if they did not send troops to attack.
However, Su Wen also knew he was completely foreign to how the Chu Country functioned, it was normal for him not to obtain accurate information.
Just as he was thinking, someone walked into the backstage arrogantly with his nose in the air. “Who’s the boss?”
Su Wen stood up and said, “It’s me.”
The corners of that person’s mouth suffused a disdainful smile as he said, “My lord asked me to inform you that in three days, you will be going to County Governor Manor to perform for the Lords. Practice well these two days and don’t screw up!” Su Wen narrowed his eyes slightly. County Governor Manor? This was a good opportunity to get close to the upper echelons of Great Chu. He smiled and said, “Got it.”
When the person saw Su Wen agree, he rubbed his fingers at Su Wen. His intention to ask for money was obvious.
All crows in the world were the same.
Su Wen took out a silver ingot and handed it to that person. That person weighed it in his hand and smiled. “At least you know your place.”
With that, he turned to leave!
After he left, Ni Hongxiao said, “I thought you would kill him.”
Su Wen smiled. “Kill him? There’s no hurry. There’s still time after I get what I want to ask.”