Chapter 972 – All Alone, a Stranger in a Strange Land (2/2)
He had intended on stating his identity today anyway, so although having it exposed had caused a little turmoil, it could not affect the greater situation.
……
……
”This guy is really a demon? How did he sneak into the city?”
”I always thought it was weird that he always kept that bamboo hat on. It looked sneaky, but it turns out it was to hide his identity.”
”There are two big holes in that hat, but I don't see any demon horns.”
”What if this guy is a descendant of the Demon Imperial clan?”
The plaza in front of the Imperial City was raucous, the crowd surrounding the young man growing more and more astonished as they talked.
Ever since the alliance with the humans was established a thousand years ago, excepting an extremely small number of spies, a demon had not been seen in White Emperor City for many years.
And this young man in the bamboo hat was highly likely to be a descendant of the Demon Imperial clan!
The high official supervising the Heavenly Selection ceremony had an incredibly cold expression as he sternly ordered, ”Seize him!”
Several hundred elite members of the powerful Red River Beast Guard slowly pushed their way to the center of the plaza.
The young man glanced at Xuanyuan Po.
Xuanyuan Po was covered in blood with many bones broken. It was no longer possible for him to move.
It would be perfectly fine if he captured Xuanyuan Po and used his life to threaten the demi-humans.
Xuanyuan Po was the future of the Bear tribe, Princess Luoluo's student, and most importantly, he had represented the Orthodox Academy in his matches.
The demi-humans needed to consider the Li Palace's stance.
Yet the young man did not do this.
He just stood and watched, allowing several priests and two southern cultivators to venture through the crowd and take Xuanyuan Po away.
At this sight, some of the crowd couldn't help but grow uncertain, thinking, if he really is one of those monstrously evil demons, would he really be willing to be captured?
The young man asked, ”Why do you want to seize me?”
The high official of the Demi-human Court replied, ”We must confirm that you are not a demon spy.”
The young man fell quiet for a while, then replied, ”This does not need confirmation, because I have never denied it.”
Since he did not deny it, he admitted to it.
The crowd was in an uproar.
Several shrill cries could be heard in the sky as black silhouettes flashed past.
The gray vultures had left the city walls and were prepared to fight.
One could see several demi-human supervisors running down the steps leading to the Imperial City.
The gates of the cavalry barracks behind Heavensguard Pavilion began to slowly open, the sound of hooves coming from within.
The young man's identity had caused all of White Emperor City to grow nervous.
He was very calm, not feeling the slightest bit nervous.
Although he was a demon, he was no spy.
A calm and lofty voice came down from the Imperial City.
”One who has come from afar is a guest. I invite you.”
These words instantly silenced the crowd.
The populace was both shocked and perplexed.
The high official was even more astonished, thinking that he had misheard.
The Red River Beast Guard felt the same.
The Archbishop of the Western Wastes and the Great Zhou ambassador wore extremely unsightly expressions.
It was like they had heard news that the demons had won a battle.
The young man faintly smiled and began to walk toward the Imperial City.
Yes, he was not a spy.
He was a guest.
A guest invited by White Emperor City.
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1. While this chapter title brings to mind the Robert Heinlein novel 'Stranger in a Strange Land', it is actually a line from the poem 'Thinking of My Brothers in Shandong on the Double Ninth' by the Tang Dynasty poet Wang Wei.