Chapter 76: The Difference

After the Sixth Prince departed, Su Tang had anticipated that she would eventually be summoned to the palace to pay her respects to the Empress Dowager, but she had not expected the summons to arrive a mere day later.

Unlike her previous audience with the Emperor, Su Tang brought along handmade pastries this time. One portion was for the Empress Dowager, and one for the Emperor. No one else was to receive any; she simply did not have the capacity to prepare more.

During her first visit, Su Tang had only reached the outer court, where the grand halls stood solemn and cool, leading into a sprawling expanse of inner palaces.

Ke Qingqing was also filled with anxiety. With so many formidable enemies surrounding them, even someone as skilled in martial arts as Ke Qingshen was bound to face risks. At this thought, she could not help but feel heartbroken, and tears began to fall silently.

At night, after He Yuhan lulled the child to sleep, Han Yixian pulled her back into bed. He was unusually passionate that night, as if he wished to merge her into his very own being, leaving He Yuhan utterly exhausted by the end.

Although He Zhixian was facing the enemy with only one hand, the "Ghostly Steps of the Lost Trail" was a peerless martial art, and he did not fall into defeat immediately.

"Master Liu is truly perceptive. I found this in the room of the nun Chengxin... Based on my interrogation, she borrowed it from outside... intending to lend it out to farmers in need of money after the New Year... all under the name of the Xu family!" Wu Hua had no intention of letting the Xu family off easily.

"Isn't that just exhausting yourself to death!" Zhu Di, incensed, raised his hand to strike, but Liu Chun quickly stepped in, placing himself between father and son.

Inside the shop, the howling continued—coming, of course, from Brother Shrimp’s side. The waitstaff had long since retreated to avoid unnecessary trouble. Some had already called the police; though they feared such scenes, they were more concerned about the aftermath, such as the damage to the property.

The Master of Duhong Temple turned a sickly shade of grey-blue, his entire body stiff. His vitality had waned significantly, and he lay in his tent as if already dead. A figure gradually emerged before him, a pair of gloomy eyes fixed upon the Master of Duhong Temple.

The group was hungry after the journey, so they took out the dry rations and water from their packs. Once they had eaten and felt settled, they huddled together to rest.

Feng Juecheng leaped forward, striking the ground and drawing closer to the golden light. The others followed, vaulting over the rooftops of the city. Li Zhichen followed behind, observing the golden radiance that lingered long in the sky, shimmering with brilliant hues.

Shangguan Yun had vivid, haunting memories of the bloody scene at the Drunken Immortal Pavilion that day. Now, encountering these two demons, he could not help but feel deeply unsettled.

Seeing that the misunderstanding was only growing deeper, Funakoshi Wujing found it impossible to explain—nor was he given any chance to do so.

He was someone Su Fei had handpicked for Jiang Tian. As a descendant of Su Pan's former subordinates, his family status had fallen due to his involvement in their troubles, yet he had relied on his own genuine talent and hard work to distinguish himself in the military, earning a fifth-rank commission. He was a rare talent, and would surely be a great asset to Jiang Tian in the future.

Ten minutes later, Su Qianqian walked into the front hall of the Chen family mansion. Su Yue and Chen Fan were discussing official business; Su Yue had just returned from Lingnan, and on the table before them lay the cooperation contracts just signed with the thirty-three clans of the Kuaiyi tribe.

From the moment her foundation was destroyed, she had prepared herself to live as a mere mortal.

Though both paths were fraught with difficulty, compared to the predicament Bai Moyou faced at this moment, they seemed like trivial concerns.

"The entire Iwami Province has been conquered?" Wang Ze asked immediately, his voice filled with delight. Once Iwami was taken, they could begin large-scale extraction of the silver mine, which boasted both high reserves and exceptional ore quality.

Stepping onto the first stair, his body trembled violently. He tried to press forward, but it felt as though he were crushed under the weight of a ten-thousand-ton mountain, forcing his back to bow.

The Destiny Talisman, which could only be used once in a lifetime, was a shamanic charm crafted by the six high priests using mysterious methods passed down from their ancestors. Within a day of its activation, one could use the altar to view the scenery within ten feet of the person wearing the talisman and detect any signs of life within a ten-kilometer radius.