Big Boss

By the time Li Huowang reached the entrance of the imposing palace, a guard who looked at least three meters tall blocked his way. “No weapons may enter the palace!”

The tall guard had an oversized upper body and short legs, giving him an oddly disproportionate and uncanny appearance. A bronze faceplate covered his features, making it impossible for Li Huowang to tell whether a man or something else lurked beneath.

When the guard’s broad palm seized his Purple-Tasseled Sword and copper coin sword, the man retreated back into the shadows, standing as still as a carved statue.

Li Huowang stepped inside the hall. The spacious chamber was supported by numerous red pillars, each intricately carved with a spiraling, lifelike golden dragon—a spectacular sight.

Such ornate décor hardly seemed fit for a bedchamber.

Before he could observe further, an excited voice from across the hall drew his attention. “Come here, come here!”

The speaker was the young Emperor of Great Liang. Dressed in a black-and-red imperial robe, he kept waving at Li Huowang. Had the eunuchs beside him not held him back, he would have already rushed over.

Li Huowang stopped three zhang away from the emperor and offered a Daoist salute. “Ear-Nine pays respects to Your Majesty.”

Ji Lin could no longer be bothered with the eunuchs’ restraint. He dashed straight up to Li Huowang, his face urgent. “Ear-Nine! You have to help me!”

Startled by the emperor’s outburst, Li Huowang found himself baffled. He stood in silence, waiting for the other to continue.

“Father was right—those brothers of mine! They’re making their move! They want to steal my throne!”

A deep fear flickered in Ji Lin’s eyes. “I—I could give up being emperor, you know. I’d be perfectly happy as a carefree prince. But they don’t just want the throne—they want to kill me too!”

No shit. Did you really think they’d leave you alive out of brotherly love? Li Huowang thought to himself.

Since this mess wasn’t his problem, he felt not a shred of urgency—just the detached amusement of a bystander.

“Your Majesty, Ear-Nine is a member of the Supervisory Heavenly Office. Our ancestral mandate forbids any involvement in court politics.”

“You’re lying! My third brother has people from the Supervisory Heavenly Office on his side!” the young emperor shot back, his voice rising.

Then his tone dropped. “I’ve heard the eunuchs talk about you. You’re supposed to be very capable, aren’t you? You’re the one who brought in that Ling Nie. That means you have some sway in the Supervisory Heavenly Office, right?”

“Do you have any idea? Right now, aside from these eunuchs, I don’t know who I can trust in the court. They all have their own agendas. I can’t even tell if some of them have secretly pledged allegiance to someone else!” The young emperor’s voice began to tremble.

“Back at the Shangsi Festival, you were the one who warned me about that trap. That means your heart can’t be evil, can it? I’m begging you—help me. I really have no one else!”

“And about the Supervisory Heavenly Office—do you know anyone there? If you can bring them to my side, I can grant them official titles and noble ranks!”

Li Huowang’s brow furrowed. Even someone as clueless about imperial strategy as himself could see how amateurish this young emperor was.

He was trying to recruit an outsider like Li Huowang. The boy didn’t even have a think-tank around him. In this brutal struggle for succession, he seemed destined to be eliminated first. “Your Majesty, please forgive Ear-Nine’s incompetence. I am unworthy of such a heavy responsibility.”

The moment he heard the refusal, Ji Lin’s face twisted with anger. “I am the emperor! You must obey me! Or I’ll have your head cut off!”

A surge of irritation rose in Li Huowang’s chest. Should I defect to one of his brothers and find a chance to kill this brat?

Just as the thought crossed his mind, Ji Lin’s tone suddenly softened. He grabbed Li Huowang’s hands, his voice almost pleading. “Ear-Nine, help me. Just this once! I truly have no other way out. I really don’t want to die!”

Seeing the young man wipe his tears, Li Huowang felt a flicker of pity. But taking sides in a succession struggle was dangerous—one wrong step and you’d be crushed to dust. Besides, his own background was far from clean. If his identity as a Heart-Element were exposed in the process, everything would be over.

“Your Majesty, this matter carries great weight. Please allow me to return home and think it over carefully.”

Hearing Li Huowang’s stance shift from refusal to hesitation, Ji Lin let out a relieved breath. “Good, good! Take your time! I won’t rush you. As long as you help me this time, once my throne is secure, I’ll give you as much wealth and honor as you desire!”

As Li Huowang slowly walked out of the magnificent bedchamber, he caught a glimpse from the corner of his eye: while the young emperor spoke, the old eunuch beside him nodded subtly, took out a brush, and circled a name written on his palm.

He’s probably not just trying to recruit me tonight. This kid is truly grasping at straws.

Li Huowang had no intention of getting involved. His earlier reply was merely to pacify the emperor and make a clean escape.

As for whether the young emperor would cause him trouble later—well, the brat would have to survive this bloodbath first.

In Li Huowang’s estimation, Ji Lin’s chances weren’t good. He doubted he was the only one to turn down the recruitment.

By the time Li Huowang arrived home in an eight-carrier palanquin, the sky was already bright.

He casually found a beggar, attached his own face to the man, and left him at home to pose as “Li Huowang.” With a different face now, he led Miao-Miao and Li Sui toward the city gate.

As a Red Center of the Zuowandao, Li Huowang was confident his disguise could fool any watchers.

As expected, everything remained calm as they neared the gate. Nothing happened.

“You two sit here. I’ll buy some breakfast for the road,” Li Huowang said, heading toward a nearby stall.

A long strand of pale yellow dough was stretched out and dropped into a sizzling wok of hot oil. It quickly swelled and tumbled, its color deepening from light to dark until it became a golden fried dough stick.

Freshly pounded, steaming glutinous rice cakes were squeezed out from the grip of a plump, prosperous-looking man, then tossed into black sesame seeds and coarse sugar.

The crispy fried dough stick was folded in half, sandwiching the sesame-and-sugar-coated rice cake. He grabbed it with both hands and took a big bite—the crunchy exterior wrapped around the soft, chewy rice cake, the rich fragrance of sesame blending with the savory fried dough, flooding his entire mouth.

“Six of them.” Li Huowang tossed a few copper coins into the bamboo basket on the stall.

Seeing the coins, the plump, middle-aged stall owner smiled, his mung-bean-sized eyes almost buried in his fat, disappearing from sight.

“Ah—right away! Six fried dough sticks with rice cake! Here you go, sir. Careful, it’s hot.”

Li Huowang took the food and bit into it. After chewing a couple of times, he stopped mid-step.

He walked back to the stall, spat out a die from his mouth, and asked the enthusiastically greeting vendor in a low voice: “Big Boss, something on your mind?”

The plump stall owner wiped the thin sweat from his forehead with the towel around his neck, nodding and bowing as he greeted customers, and replied cheerfully: “Ah, nothing much. Just wanted to ask you for a little favor.”