Chapter 695, (1): Chess Pieces and the Player Who Moves Them
King Qi’s heir opened his mouth to say something. He wanted to hug his dad and cry for him to get revenge, but he suddenly remembered the vow he made with Zu An. He couldn’t ask his father to help. As such, he endured this urge.
Furthermore, he knew that with his father’s nature, complaining tearfully might just achieve the opposite effect.
When Han Fengqiu saw him become quiet, he spoke up out of consideration. “It was that Zu An brat.”
“Zu An?” King Qi frowned. “Are you kidding me? He only has around six to seven ranks of cultivation. How was he able to hurt you this badly?”
The young heir’s face went entirely red. This was also what left him incredibly puzzled. He wanted to understand why his powerful eight ranks of cultivation would lose to that brat, moreover so badly.
Han Fengqiu explained, “That fella’s movement technique is quite bizarre, and not even I could catch him. It was to be expected that the heir was at a disadvantage here.”
“Not even you could catch him?” King Qi’s heir was surprised. Even if he didn’t trust his son’s strength, he understood Han Fengqiu’s strength well. Regardless of whether it was cultivation or combat experience, neither was lacking. If even he couldn’t catch Zu An, then how shocking was that brat?
Han Fengqiu’s face heated up. He quickly added, “The main reason is because the capital restricts flight. Otherwise, I could’ve caught him no matter how fast he is. Even so, I still almost took him down, but Madam Yu’s subordinate Uncle Fu interfered. That was why I could only bring the young heir back.”
“Madam Yu?” King Qi’s breathing became rushed. “You are talking about Yu Yanluo?”
“Yes, it was precisely her.” Han Fengqiu replied.
When King Qi’s heir saw his father lose his composure for a moment, he should’ve been outraged because of his mother. However, back then, Yu Yanluo left the entire capital shaken. As a man, he actually sympathized with his father.
“She actually returned to the capital?” King Qi was a bit excited. He began to pace about a few times in the room. In the end, he stood by the window and looked towards a certain direction. The light in his eyes gradually calmed. “It’s a pity, unfortunately. If this was ten years ago, I would’ve rushed over to meet with her regardless of everything, but I am no longer in the mood.”
Han Fengqiu said fawningly, “It is a blessing for us subjects if the king cares more about the greater situation.”
King Qi turned around. “Why would Yu Yanluo save Zu An?”
Han Fengqiu shook his head. He didn’t know why either.
The young heir spoke up with a weak voice, “It might be because Zu An saved them before…”
Then, he told his father about the story of the startled horse.
King Qi nodded. “This plan of yours wasn’t bad, and you used the law to your advantage in every move. You didn’t let my teachings go to waste.”
Zhao Zhi was happy to hear this. “Thank you, father!”
He wasn’t King Qi’s only son, so he faced quite the pressure himself. He obviously wanted to further the gap between himself and the others to prevent them from having any thoughts they shouldn’t have.
And where did this advantage come from? It obviously came from his father’s doting.
But suddenly, King Qi harrumphed coldly. “Unfortunately, this plan wasn’t perfect. Since it was a trap to begin with, why didn’t you arrange for a carriage yourself?”
Zhao Zhi explained, “I was worried that it would be too obvious. The court’s Liu clan, Meng clan, and Bi clan, they will definitely make a fuss over it, so I decided to find a passing carriage. We carefully observed it beforehand. That carriage was completely ordinary. How could we have expected that it would be Yu Yanluo’s carriage?”
“Hmph, this is why a slight bit of negligence can ruin everything.” King Qi reprimanded. “Even if the court’s people suspect you, so what? Once there is irrefutable evidence, they will only bark a few times at most. But because of your hesitation, the entire situation ended in ruins. You’re saving a little only to lose a lot! Remember, you need to make sure to understand clearly what kind of risks you can shoulder and which risks you cannot afford to take.”
“Thank you father for your advice!” Zhao Zhi quickly got up to bow down. Unfortunately, the pain from his knees immediately made sweat trickle down his face.
“Your knees are crushed?” Only now did King Qi begin to examine his injuries. His expression sunk.
“This child is incompetent. I’ve let father down.” Zhao Zhi knew that his father hated excuses the most. It was better to just humble himself and admit his inadequacy.
Sure enough, King Qi’s expression eased a bit when he heard this. He reached out his hand and gently caressed his kneecaps. Two white lights appeared in his palms.
Pain appeared on Zhao Zhi’s face. A while later, his brows gradually eased. “Thank you, father!”
Han Fengqiu sighed in admiration. His master’s cultivation was deep and profound as expected. He could actually heal this level of injury so easily! I even took a look at it earlier, yet couldn’t do anything.
“What I did was merely prevent any irrecoverable damage. You still need some physicians to treat you. It will take a few months for you to make a full recovery.” King Qi said coldly, “There’s no harm in this. You can ponder over your mistakes and not disgrace yourself further.”
Unwillingness flashed past Zhao Zhi’s eyes, but he still didn’t dare to retort in the end. “Understood!”
His hatred of Zu An was already at its absolute limit. He thought to himself that once he recovered, he was going to chop his corpse into ten thousand pieces!
You have successfully trolled Zhao Zhi for +999 +999 +999…
“Alright, tell me the details of your battle against Zu An now.” King Qi patted the sides of his clothes, and then he sat down with perfect posture.
His greatest confusion right now was Zu An’s extraordinary fighting strength. Was it because of the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra? If it really was so incredible, then doesn’t that mean what his majesty cultivated is…
Zhao Zhi endured the pain and did his best to sit up. Then, he told his father about the battle.
King Qi listened while analyzing what happened. “Zu An’s strange movement technique should be Eunuch Mi’s Sunflower Phantasm. He most likely passed it onto Zu An as his inheritor in the time he spent in Brightmoon City. However, even though the Sunflower Phantasm has some points of merit, it shouldn’t be at this level.”
Han Fengqiu added, “My king, now that you mention it, I do feel that the youngster’s movement skill is like the rumored Sunflower Phantasm. However, there is something that is a bit different. As for how it is different, it is hard for even me to say.”
King Qi nodded. His tone became a bit unhappy when he looked at his son again. “Even if that movement technique is strange, you have eight ranks of cultivation. How did you get beaten so miserably?”
Zhao Zhi’s face heated up. He quickly said, “I held the advantage throughout the entire fight. However, because of his strange movement technique, I didn’t want to play hide-and-seek anymore, so I used Holy Lightning of the Hegemon. I wanted to trap him within a sea of lightning.”
Han Fengqiu nodded. The reason he filled the sky with swords was because he had similar thoughts. This type of area of effect attack was needed to deal with this type of strange movement technique.
“And then?” King Qi was instead indifferent. He knew that this move was the wrong choice just by looking at his son’s current wretched state.
Zhao Zhi said with grief and indignation, “There was a giant ball of water that suddenly appeared. It soaked me, so all of the thunder clouds attacked me instead! Once I was completely paralyzed, then, that bastard Zu An… he…”
He became incredibly dejected when he thought about how he was stepped on, and then had his knees crushed. His eyes couldn’t help but become moist.
King Qi gave him a look. When he saw that he didn’t really cry, he nodded in satisfaction. “Your life has been too easy these years. This is a good lesson for you.”
Zhao Zhi didn’t dare retort. He only replied, “Yes!”
Han Fengqiu quickly spoke out for the heir, “This means that there should’ve been a water element expert hiding nearby and plotting against the young heir at that crucial moment. Otherwise, the young heir would’ve already defeated Zu An.”
“Water element user?” King Qi accepted this conclusion after thinking for a moment. The element Zu An revealed seemed to be the ice element, so he couldn’t use the water element as well. There should’ve been a water element user. However, who could this be?
He began to filter through all of the water element experts in the capital. Those who could scheme against Zhao Zhi needed to be above Han Fengqiu’s level. A few candidates appeared, but he subconsciously felt that it wasn’t too likely to be them. Yet after thinking again, he felt like every single one of them had the motive. His brows furrowed deeply.
Zhao Zhi said hatefully, “Once I recover, I will definitely skin Zu An alive! Only then can I vent out this hatred.”
After listening to their analysis, he also realized that no matter how formidable Zu An was, only a water element user could have helped him in that situation. Zu An himself only relied on his strange movement technique. If they really fought, then he wasn’t his match.
King Qi harrumphed fiercely. “Have you not brought enough shame to yourself? You should focus on recovering. Once you recover, you are not allowed to go anywhere! Do not forget that your idiotic self made that absurd vow!”
Zhao Zhi began to panic. “Won’t it be okay as long as I do not use our clan’s power? I’ll be more prepared next time! I can easily take down that Zu An by myself.”
King Qi gave him a disappointed look. “Do you think you yourself is the only thing you represent? Your father has reached a critical period, and the entire court’s eyes are on me. Your father has always maintained a clean reputation, so they could not use anything against me. If you jump out and start something now, then wouldn’t we be handing them the weapon with our own hands?”
Zhao Zhi finally understood his father’s misgivings, but even so, he was still unsatisfied inside. “But are we really going to just leave this matter at that? He broke both of my legs! If he doesn’t pay the price, then everyone will think that our King Qi Manor isn’t a big deal at all. Won’t that bring us more trouble? Shaming me isn’t a big deal, but father, humiliating you is!”
King Qi sneered. “Don’t try to use your shrewdness with me. Did I say I was going to let him go?”