I Just Wanted To Live but I Somehow Became Better Than the Protagonist

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73 Who Could It Be

Mr. Peng retracted the floating pagoda that served as a deterrent outside, for he did not believe a word of Zhou Suren’s ghostly tales. He had a vague understanding of the affairs of the human dynasty; if such a powerful artifact for seeking demons truly existed, why, after discovering the corpse of a demonic cultivator, did they only raise the city’s protective array and take no further action? Why wait a while before coming to his door? It was simply because they had no leads, and only after receiving some external assistance did the situation turn in their favor. After all, in these past few days, a multitude of royal relatives and foreign envoys had flooded into the imperial city, as if preparing for some grand banquet.

“You’ve caused this young master a significant loss of spirit stones! Don’t let me find out who’s responsible!” With a stomp of his foot, the floor instantly opened a gaping hole, the overwhelming force penetrating several levels below.

Yet, spending spirit stones to avoid exposing his identity, to turn misfortune into fortune, was a stroke of luck amidst the calamity.

After a while, the formation enveloping the Drunken Immortal Tower dissipated, along with the city’s protective array, and Mr. Peng’s ashen face eased slightly as he awaited the return of that foolish demon’s subordinates.

As for why he had come to Zhouyang City, the reason was quite simple.

Not long ago, the battle of transformation that Night Qingwu had waged with the elders of the Blood Flame Sect on the outskirts of Lingyou Mountain had already spread across the Eastern Continent. Although the vast majority of people were unaware of the identities of the combatants, Mr. Peng belonged to the very small number who did know.

One of his subordinates happened to be on an errand at Lingyou Mountain, and when the battle broke out, out of curiosity, he watched from a distance, only to discover Night Qingwu.

Night Qingwu was the daughter of the Qingluan Night family, the woman Mr. Peng had set his sights on! Even from afar, her face veiled, the use of the Purple Lotus Lantern made it impossible for his subordinate to mistake her identity, and he promptly reported the matter.

Upon receiving the news, Mr. Peng immediately emerged from the secret realm he governed, but even at full speed, it took him a day to reach Lingyou Mountain; after all, the Eastern Continent was truly vast.

His subordinate’s cultivation was too low to dare participate in the fight, merely observing the entire event, and when he recounted the details, upon learning that the woman he had chosen was injured, Mr. Peng struck that subordinate, leaving him gravely wounded.

In his eyes, low cultivation was no excuse; to watch his woman get hurt without offering help was a sin.

However, with punishment comes reward. Mr. Peng later provided some healing elixirs and two high-quality fifth-grade demon cores to his subordinate, and then he began gathering information on the human who had clashed with Night Qingwu.

Based on the blood and corpses left at the scene, it took considerable time for Mr. Peng to finally ascertain who had harmed his woman.

A demonic sect he had never heard of, one that could not even be called first-rate.

After spending a significant amount of resources and connections, Mr. Peng located the Blood Flame Sect’s stronghold, but there were hardly any people present—only a few Nascent Soul elders managing the sect’s formations. When questioned, these elders were clueless, merely stating that the sect leader was out, and all the disciples had been summoned to gather information on a young human named “Ye Yong.”

Mr. Peng had no interest in such an inconsequential and weak human, and he crushed those Nascent Souls without hesitation. He then lay in ambush with his subordinates at the Blood Flame Sect’s stronghold for several days, hoping for a stroke of luck. However, just yesterday morning, his subordinate, who had gone out to gather information, received word that a human named Ye Wen had captured the Blood Flame Sect’s Fifth Elder and brought him to the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Thus, Mr. Peng hurriedly brought his subordinates to the Great Zhou Dynasty and, under the cover of night, sent the highly stealthy Liu Xu into the secret prison to assassinate. And now, here we are.

“Mr. Peng, we truly apologize; we don’t know what happened. We were just fine on the street when those humans suddenly set up formations and captured us.” The tiger demon and the others returned, kneeling on both knees, pleading for forgiveness and explanation. “We were honest; we didn’t lay a hand on those humans, it was impossible for us to expose anything. We didn’t reveal a single piece of your information! They must have used some method to discover you and us!”

Mr. Peng waved his hand. With Liu Xu as a cautionary tale, he believed these subordinates would not dare

—

“Forget it.” Young Master Peng held little hope for his foolish subordinates; after all, he would send another face in later to gather intelligence.

Donning his mask and employing a concealment talisman, a few demons trailed behind him as Young Master Peng discreetly departed from the imperial city.

——

Shen Ao followed closely behind, remaining until he confirmed that all the demons had left, and the demon-seeking plate in his hand showed no further reactions. Only then did he return to the palace to report to Zhou Suren.

“Your Majesty, according to the ‘Peace Agreement’ signed a millennium ago between the human sages and the demon sages, the noble demon clans are forbidden from wreaking havoc in human cities. I still believe we should capture them all and let the noble families come forward to retrieve them. As long as we do not harm them, the demon clans will have no grounds to protest. Allowing them to leave unchecked will only make the demons think we humans are too easy to bully, and they will grow increasingly brazen.”

“While that may indeed establish a temporary authority for the humans, it would also offend a descendant of a demon clan. Everyone saw the Void Talisman; a young demon capable of wielding such a treasure must hold a high status in their family. Moreover, they presented a thousand and a spirit plant worth about six hundred high-grade spirit stones, indicating their clan possesses substantial resources. There is no need to offend them for the sake of so-called authority.”

The ministers divided into three factions: the radicals, the neutrals, and the peacekeepers.

The neutrals, in essence, were fence-sitters, waiting to see who would emerge victorious before choosing sides. The contention lay between the radicals and the peacekeepers.

“How do we know they won’t engage in underhanded tactics? What if they start ambushing merchant caravans around the imperial city, causing losses?”

“Since they refuse to reveal their identities and are willing to spend wealth to suppress the matter, it indicates they fear being discovered by their family and do not dare to stir trouble lightly.”

It must be said, both sides had valid points in their arguments.

Zhou Suren, seated upon the dragon throne, slammed his armrest, and the grand hall fell silent in an instant.

“Now that it has come to this, further debate is meaningless.” Had Zhou Suren not wrestled with these very issues? But time was of the essence, and he could only make the choice he deemed safest.

The demons had left; continuing to bicker now was undoubtedly vexing.

“Actually, there’s no need to worry too much. The one who killed the imperial offenders is in the wrong,” Ye Wen, though not an official, was a powerful figure at the sixth level of Transformation and a friend of the emperor, thus holding a certain sway. He smiled and said, “Your Majesty has also stated that they are exceedingly arrogant, yet such arrogance confines them to the Drunken Immortal Tower to negotiate with you… This shows they do not wish to escalate matters. Moreover, they made a critical mistake by revealing their Void Talisman to intimidate us.

If we spread the word that a young man, suspected to be of the demon clan and possessing a Void-level treasure, had once lingered in Zhouyang City… Perhaps this rumor may not reach his noble family, but should he and his subordinates return and hear it, they will surely think twice before acting recklessly. Since nothing significant has occurred this time, public sentiment hasn’t reached the point of denouncing him; at most, people are merely curious about his identity. However, if a serious incident were to happen, the news would spread far and wide, and it would be inevitable that it would reach the ears of the noble families. Tell me, if you were in their shoes, would you dare to engage in underhanded schemes?”

—

74 National Banquet

Ye Wen’s method garnered immense support, and with Zhou Suren’s endorsement, soon a minister discreetly spread the news throughout the city through special channels. Of course, it could not be an official proclamation; rather, it took the form of a folk rumor.

Such unverified information was the safest and most secure, ambiguous in nature. Should Young Master Peng offend again, the authorities would immediately acknowledge it, and public opinion would swell. If nothing occurred, the officials could feign ignorance, for without confirmation, rumors remained mere whispers.

As for Ye Yong, he cared little for the court’s deliberations, wandering the Imperial Garden with Qin Shidream.

Though he had not seen it with his own eyes, from Zhou Suren’s later descriptions of the man’s appearance and demeanor, combined with the self-referential titles of the young master, and the possible enmity with the Blood Flame Sect, Ye Yong had roughly deduced the man’s identity.