Eternal Night

Chapter 638 Homecoming
(PS: My wife took our child to the doctor today, and I also helped with some surveys at home, so the update is a bit late.)
Wu Pifu flew through the air and landed in front of a eunuch.

This eunuch was the one he vaguely sensed possessed extraordinary power. When he entered the palace, he was surprised to find that the eunuch had secretly escaped from the palace and left the capital after changing his clothes.

When Wu Pifu returned from the palace and settled Lin Daiyu, he followed the qi and arrived, only to find the eunuch's corpse, a body without any external or internal injuries, a corpse that had died for no reason.

However, it escaped some kind of essential nature.

Wu Pifu carefully examined the body and finally got this answer.

The eunuch's physical body was nothing special; what was truly extraordinary was some kind of core within him. Wu Pifu didn't know whether it was his consciousness or his soul, but in any case, it was the escape of this core that caused the eunuch's death.

According to the information Wu Pifu obtained about the Heavenly Court in the Lost Lands, the Heavenly Court, an ancient civilization, has an unknown path to transcendence. However, the extraordinary path it has demonstrated includes the physical body, mental consciousness, and the true spirit of the soul. It is an extremely rare all-around super civilization. In particular, the extraordinary path of the true spirit of the soul is something that other civilizations do not possess. The people of the Lost Lands describe it as... unfathomable!
Wu Pifu suspected that some aspect of the eunuch came from the Heavenly Court's methods, but he didn't know whether it was spiritual consciousness or a true soul. If it was the former, it would be easy to deal with, but if it was the latter... apart from the title of "commoner," he really had no way to do anything about it.

The key point is that his martial arts intuition, his ability to sense things before they happen, or any intuition, premonition, or sixth sense he possesses, is almost entirely ineffective in perceiving the true nature of the soul. Therefore, it would be difficult to find the true nature of this eunuch.

but……

"Is the emperor special? No, it's not the emperor who's special, but... the Son of Heaven?"

Wu Pifu happened to have this in all his 21st-century memories, so he truly knew that an emperor is an emperor and a Son of Heaven is a Son of Heaven. These two are actually completely different concepts. It's just that the Son of Heaven can only be inherited by an emperor, so people think that an emperor is the Son of Heaven.

In the Chinese system that Wu Pifu knew, emperors were actually those with "strong armies and powerful horses," or the strongest among them. In times of chaos, there were even multiple emperors at the same time.

However, the emperor is different. The emperor is a combination of god and man, a person who is in harmony with heaven and earth in the lineage of the Chinese Yanhuang, and also the patriarch of the Yanhuang race. There can only be one emperor in any era.

As for the previous emperors... with the great fire at Lutai, that possibility is now impossible.

Putting all that aside, Wu Pifu was well aware of the difference between an emperor and a Son of Heaven. In a world without demons, the difference between an emperor and a Son of Heaven was merely a matter of law and legitimacy, and could often be blurred. But in a world with demons, or even a world with a true Heavenly Court, then the Son of Heaven was truly the Son of Heaven. The so-called "receiving the mandate of Heaven" and "the divine right of kings" referred to the Son of Heaven. And to be precise, the only one in the entire world qualified to communicate with the Heavenly Court and with Heaven and Earth was the Son of Heaven!
Wu Pifu recalled the strangeness of the emperor he had seen. He not only vaguely sensed that his appearance was not right, but he also vaguely noticed the modification of his super brain's cognition.

This is not an ability that an ordinary person should have. Not to mention ordinary people, even those who have transcended can not do this. This alone made Wu Pifu realize that something was wrong.

"...So, we need to start by targeting the emperor's status?"

Wu Pifu picked up the eunuch's corpse from the ground, casually punched a large pit in the ground with his palm, buried the body on the spot, and then once again stepped into the air and headed towards the Rongguo Mansion.

When Wu Pifu returned to the Rongguo Mansion, the entire mansion was still brightly lit, but instead of the idyllic scene of women enjoying themselves, it was filled with fear and unease.

In the afternoon, someone from the palace summoned Lin Daiyu and her brother Wu Pifu. At that time, Lady Rongguo sensed something was wrong and felt uneasy. Naturally, she could not play or relax. Fortunately, Lin Daiyu returned soon, but her mischievous brother had disappeared again.

But before the entire household could feel at ease, the palace, which had already been locked up, sent people to summon the Duke of Zhenguo, the Marquis of Baoling, and the Commander of the Beijing Garrison to the palace overnight. This immediately attracted the attention of all the officials and nobles in the capital.

All three are military nobles, but upon closer inspection, it can be found that they are all part of the Rong and Ning Dukes' influence, external support, and relatives.

Many people have made various connections to this, and the most prominent one is undoubtedly that the emperor may have to deal with the "legacy" issues of the Rong and Ning mansions, namely the aftermath of the deposed crown prince.

Although it was just a guess, it still caused panic in the Rong and Ning mansions. They both came to the old lady with worried faces. Even the old lady looked mortified and kept asking if she could go to the palace the next day to find out more.

Just as they were in a state of panic, another eunuch came from the palace with an imperial edict, but the meaning of the edict left everyone completely baffled.

"...Wu Pifu is granted the title of Third-Class Loyal and Brave Colonel, and Lin Daiyu is ordered to assume the position of...Instructor of the 800,000 Imperial Guards!?"

A huge question mark hung over everyone's forehead. No, it really isn't...

You might say that bestowing upon Wu Pifu the title of Third-Class Loyal and Brave Colonel is acceptable, but no, actually, that's not acceptable at all.

It sounds like a captain, but it's actually a title, not a real position. To put it simply, it's a title given only to those who have achieved military merit, and it can only be obtained on the battlefield. Unless it's a title that has been downgraded and inherited, like the current titles of the Rong and Ning families, which were downgraded and inherited from the descendants of the Duke of Rong and the Duke of Ning.

You, Wu Pifu, have no official position, no merit, and no great achievements on the battlefield. What merit or ability do you have to receive this honor and title?

Is it because your dad is Li... or Lin Ruhai?

Even if your father is Lin Ruhai, and even if he really fought his way out of the mountains of corpses and seas of blood of the salt merchants in Jiangnan, at most your father would enter the court and become a prime minister. Why should you, the son of a civil official, be able to obtain a military title?
But even if that were the case, what the hell is this about Lin Daiyu leading 800,000 Imperial Guards as instructors?!

To outsiders who don't know the situation, they might mistake a fierce man for Daiyu. While this is extremely rare, it's not unheard of throughout history. For example, during the Five Barbarian Invasions, there was a legendary Xianbei general with unparalleled beauty. As a result, he had to wear a bronze ghost mask to intimidate the enemy whenever he went into battle. So, it's somewhat plausible that a fierce man would be named Daiyu.

But those who knew the truth were all utterly shocked. Daiyu, Lin Daiyu, that sickly and delicate beauty, a little girl of eleven or twelve years old, she was the head instructor of 800,000 Imperial Guards?

Are you kidding me?!

Or is the position of instructor of the 800,000 Imperial Guards a metaphor? Perhaps it represents a particular role-playing fetish of the emperor? Did he take a liking to Lin Daiyu? Or is it some other political metaphor?
For a time, everyone in the Rong and Ning mansions was completely baffled and kept guessing. However, the imperial edict was so strange that none of their guesses could stand up to scrutiny. Although they wanted to call Lin Daiyu to ask her about it, a bear head and a tiger head were standing in the courtyard. After receiving the imperial edict, Lin Daiyu had a gloomy expression of despair and complete resignation. She then went into her own room, and no one dared to enter the courtyard at will.

When Wu Pifu returned, the entire Rongning Mansion was in this state, but he didn't care and went straight to Lin Daiyu's boudoir. He thought that Lin Daiyu would give up on herself because of the appointment as the instructor of the 800,000 Imperial Guards, but when he entered the room, he saw Lin Daiyu standing in a stance, practicing silently without any distraction.

This pleased Wu Pifu greatly. He didn't disturb her, but simply stood aside and watched silently. When he noticed that Lin Daiyu's movements and aura were not right, he would use his own aura to correct them.

After nearly an hour, Lin Daiyu slowly put down her boxing stance and opened her eyes to see Wu Pifu. The expression in her eyes was so complex that it was hard to describe in words.

Wu Pifu didn't use his emotional perception at this moment. He looked at the sky and said, "It's late today. Let's get some rest. The second battle will begin tomorrow."

After saying this, he was about to leave the boudoir when Lin Daiyu immediately spoke up: "Brother Wu... let me ask you, what would have happened to me if you hadn't appeared?"

Wu Pifu frowned, turned to look at Lin Daiyu, and remained silent for a moment.

Seeing Wu Pifu remain silent, Lin Daiyu spoke up, "Actually, even without you saying it, brother, I have some feelings and deep thoughts... As you said, brother, my father's life is hanging by a thread because he offended too many people while inspecting the salt administration in Jiangnan, cutting off their money. As the book says, it's like killing one's parents. Those people wish they could devour my father alive. And once my father dies, given how the people in the Jia family are, they're used to taking advantage of the powerful and bullying the weak. I, an orphan, might just disappear without a trace. Even if the old lady loves me, it's still a big family... Brother, let me ask you, isn't the Rongguo Mansion already in a state of extreme corruption?"

Wu Pifu nodded silently, and Lin Daiyu immediately sneered, "Although I live a secluded life, I have heard rumors that the Rongguo Mansion lends money at exorbitant interest rates, which is quite unethical. But if they weren't so heavily indebted, why would they resort to such practices? If that's the case, once my father is gone, I probably won't get a single penny of what my mother or the wealth he left me. And that's not all; if they take my money, they'll probably take my life. If my brother hadn't appeared, I would probably end up like the plum blossoms in this courtyard, rotting into a pile of mud by spring..."

Wu Pifu remained silent, but turned around and said, "Don't overthink it. The second battle begins tomorrow."

Having said that, she turned and walked out, but Lin Daiyu stood behind her with her fists clasped and her feet slightly apart, and said solemnly, "Brother, although you are not my biological brother, I thank you for this life-saving grace. I will repay you in the future!"

Wu Pifu paused for a moment, then continued walking forward.

After Wu Pifu had completely left, Lin Daiyu lowered her hands, her face flushed red, and she turned away, burying her face in the bed, lost in thought.

But at this moment, the frown that had been weighing on his face for so long truly began to dissipate.

(End of this chapter)