Chapter Sixty: The Chief Inspector of the Western Bureau!
The dragon-shaped stone sculpture, towering over twenty zhang tall, now seemed to have come alive, coiling above the martial stage and blotting out the sky.
A dragon soaring through the heavens!?
Was this martial arts?
No, this was nothing short of the means of immortals!
The martial experts standing atop the stage were rooted in place, dumbstruck. Only when the stone dragon swooped down did they snap out of their daze…
Even if the dragon wasn’t being controlled, just falling from the sky would be enough to crush a man to death!
There was no time to think about the contest now. One after another, faces flushed and necks bulging with effort, they used their lightness skill to flee off the stage. Some of the craftier ones even shouted as they ran, “Have mercy, Eunuch!”
Li Zhengxin was even more shaken than the others, for he himself had sent Xu Boqing into the palace. He could not comprehend how, in just a single year, the young man he once toyed with at will had grown to such heights!
His mind was heavy with turmoil—so heavy, in fact, that his reaction was a beat too slow.
As he watched the dragon sculpture dive straight toward him, he cursed under his breath and gathered his lightness skill to flee.
With an earth-shattering crash, half of the martial stage was demolished beneath the falling stone dragon. Shards of rubble flew in every direction, and dust billowed into the sky.
Li Zhengxin barely escaped the dragon’s strike. With a sweep of his sleeve, he deflected the flying debris.
He had no time even to catch his breath before a massive dragon’s tail swept through the thick dust, heading straight for him!
His pupils contracted in terror as he tried to flee, only to find himself rooted in place, his body pressed down by an invisible force—he couldn’t move at all!
The dragon’s tail loomed ever larger in his vision.
“No—!”
A shrill scream was cut short.
Li Zhengxin, his flesh and blood mangled, flew from the stage like a severed kite.
When he crashed to the ground, he was already unconscious, his inner strength completely depleted…
A gentle breeze swept through.
The swirling dust on the martial stage drifted away, revealing the figure of a young eunuch clad in a gold-embroidered python robe, standing beside the dragon-shaped stone sculpture.
“Why have all of you jumped off the stage?” Xu Boqing looked around. Seeing no one reply, he cupped his hands toward Commander Song, who was overseeing the proceedings below.
“I have not studied martial arts for long and am not well-versed in martial combat. Unintentionally, I have damaged the stage. I hope Commander Song can forgive me.”
“…”
“Chief Eunuch Xu, you are too polite.” Commander Song swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing, and returned the gesture. “Damage to the stage is normal in a martial contest. I will have it repaired afterward.”
“Thank you for your trouble, Commander Song…”
Having spoken, Xu Boqing glanced at the martial experts who had fled the stage, and asked, with pointed meaning, “Does anyone still object to my appointment as Director of the Western Depot?”
The martial experts, now regaining their senses, glanced at the unconscious Li Zhengxin, then at the ruined stage with the stone dragon embedded in it…
Who dared voice a single objection now?
All of them shook their heads, hearts still pounding with fear.
“Very well.” Xu Boqing nodded slightly, and with a casual gesture, the dragon-shaped stone sculpture soared into the air once more.
Those below the stage, as well as the assembled ministers watching, instinctively wanted to flee as the dragon sculpture flew up again…
Even Governor Liu Yuan stepped before the Yonghe Emperor to shield him.
But when they saw the dragon sculpture did not attack, but instead flew back to rest outside Anding Gate, resuming its place as a symbol of imperial majesty, they finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Were it not for the bloodstains still on the dragon’s tail, and the fact that half the stage lay in ruins, they might have thought the whole thing a hallucination.
With a few swift steps, Xu Boqing returned to the Empress Dowager’s side, cupped his hands to the Yonghe Emperor and smiled. “I have fulfilled your command.”
“Excellent! Excellent! Excellent!” The Yonghe Emperor clapped and laughed, exclaiming three times before saying, “That martial arts could reach such heights—Xu, you have truly opened my eyes today!”
“Your Majesty overpraises me,” Xu Boqing replied modestly. “Chief Eunuch Huang studied the ‘Dragon-Taming Crane Control Technique’ for decades; only age and failing vitality kept him from maintaining his power. I merely inherited his legacy by chance… As for skill, if Director Liu were twenty years younger, he could surely do the same.”
“I…” Liu Yuan opened his mouth, wanting to retort, but thought better of it and said nothing.
“Hahaha… Unfazed by praise or blame—very good!” The Yonghe Emperor laughed heartily, then turned serious as if remembering something. “Attend me!”
At his call, a procession of palace eunuchs came forth, each bearing a tray.
The trays held various treasures: rows of gold ingots, sumptuous silks and brocades, a gold-embellished whip, and an imperial gold token.
“Xu Boqing, I hereby appoint you Director of the Western Depot!” The emperor’s face flushed with an unnatural red as he declared solemnly, “With this gold whip, you may punish corrupt officials and traitors; with this gold token, you act as my personal envoy, empowered to execute first and report later.”
He paused, then added, “In short, you are to oversee all matters within the Eastern Depot’s scope, and those beyond it as well. Execute first, report after—imperial authority granted!”
“Thank you, Your Majesty, for your boundless grace.” Xu Boqing performed a formal bow, though his expression was somewhat peculiar.
He could see that the Dog Emperor’s complexion was off, his breath unsteady, as if something was amiss with his health…
Having just secured such a capable subordinate, the Yonghe Emperor was in high spirits and was about to speak further from the heart—
—but before the words left his lips, a wave of dizziness hit him, his legs grew weak, and he staggered, clutching his head.
“Your Majesty!” Liu Yuan cried out and rushed to support him, barking at the stunned eunuchs nearby, “Why are you just standing there? Send for the imperial physician!”
“Yes, yes, this wretch deserves death!” Several junior eunuchs, panic-stricken, slapped themselves and rushed off to summon the doctor.
Empress Zhang and the Empress Dowager Chen, alarmed by the sudden episode, quickly approached to check on the emperor’s condition.
“I am not seriously unwell…” The Yonghe Emperor steadied himself, waved his hand, and massaged his temples, taking a deep breath. “Just an old headache, nothing serious.”
“Please do not worry, Your Majesty…” Liu Yuan quickly helped him to sit and said, “I have already sent for the physician. Please rest for a moment.”
“It’s nothing…” The emperor seemed to recover, and, looking at the ministers kneeling below, took a deep breath and said, “The post of Western Depot Director is settled. The martial demonstration is over.”
He paused, then addressed Xu Boqing: “Xu, I entrust you with the grave task of ridding the court of its enemies—do not let me down.”
“Rest assured, Your Majesty…” Xu Boqing smiled. “Even if they hide in the deep mountains, I will drag them out and throw them into prison to await execution.”
“Just don’t disrupt my Water and Land Assembly…” The emperor rubbed his temples, no longer in the mood for conversation. Remembering his meditation was still unfinished and his ‘elixir’ still untaken, he rose and said to the eunuchs at his side, “Take me back to the Palace of Heavenly Purity.”
“Yes, yes…” Liu Yuan hurried to assist him.
Empress Zhang, having who knows what thoughts, gave Xu Boqing a deep look before stepping forward to support the emperor’s other arm.
Watching the Yonghe Emperor leave, surrounded by his attendants, Xu Boqing could not help but sneer inwardly.
In the histories of his previous life, there were many emperors like the Yonghe Emperor, obsessed with immortality and the Dao.
They all shared a common trait: years of consuming ‘elixirs’ concocted by alchemists!
What kind of immortal medicine could common men produce? At best, they were pills laced with lead and mercury, heavy metals in excess, with hallucinogenic and addictive properties!
His own father, Emperor Shengyuan, died suddenly at forty-three—most likely from these very pills…
Now, the Yonghe Emperor had been taking them for over a decade…
He probably didn’t have many years left.