Chapter 377 - Change in the Imperial City (1/2)
The joyous atmosphere enveloping the entire city, which was brought about by the grand marriage of Yun Che and Cang Yue, had yet to be completely dispersed when astonishing news arrived from within the Imperial Palace...
Two days after the grand marriage of Yun Che and Cang Yue, Cang Wanhe suddenly issued the order to arrest the crown prince and the third prince, locking them within the maximum security prison. Later, he personally enumerated dozens of crimes, which actually included the shocking crimes of ”rebellion” and ”patricide.” Then, after three days, Crown Prince Cang Lin, and Third Prince Cang Shuo were publicly beheaded, and all the other members of their camps were also arrested and eliminated without exception.
Cang Wanhe had acted in an unparalleled calm manner till now after recovering a few months ago, and seized back the authority of an emperor under Yun Che's influence. However, as soon as Yun Che and Cang Yue got married, he suddenly took drastic actions. He didn't hesitate to use all the means at his disposal to show the determination and mercilessness of an emperor. It seemed as if he had already decided on doing so and was just waiting for the right opportunity. Seeing such an attitude from Cang Wanhe, all the other princes, as well as the influential factions and officials that had originally preferred to side with the crown prince and third prince, felt themselves in danger as their hearts trembled in fear. Now that Cang Wanhe had Yun Che's support, the deterrent force of his authority was absolutely no less than that of the Three Major Sects. They didn't have any guts at all to defy or disobey Cang Wanhe at this point. Fortunately, after beheading the crown prince and third prince, as well as their group members, Cang Wanhe didn't show any signs of taking action against them. It greatly relieved them to know that they were not in imminent danger, and they didn't lose any time to express their loyalty towards Cang Wanhe by making use of all kinds of ways. They behaved so desperately, as though they wanted to dig open their chests and take out their hearts in order to present them to Cang Wanhe and have him see their devotion towards him filled in them so as to prove their loyalty.
The power in Cang Wanhe's grasp had reached to the highest point since his reign as the emperor of the Blue Wind Empire... It was a height that he had never even dared to think about before. His position as the emperor had also extremely stabilized compared to the past. Now, even the Three Major Sects would no longer dare to look down on his dignity as the emperor.
Cang Wanhe was very clear that it was only because of Yun Che's favor that he was able to enjoy all these things. He was extremely grateful to Yun Che, and extremely respectful to Xiao Lie. In Xiao Lie's presence he would act without showing any majesty of an emperor, and treated him like a brother on an equal footing.
As for the newlyweds, Yun Che and Cang Yue, they had no interest in what was going on in the Imperial Palace, and spent their every day with their bodies glued to each other. Days passed by without anyone realizing it, and the one month period within which Yun Che had agreed to go to the Frozen Cloud Asgard, was very quickly approaching its end.
Before leaving for Frozen Cloud Asgard, Yun Che hadn't forgotten to deal with a certain matter of significance... This matter was indeed the very reason due to which he was actually seen as a ”fiend” who kills others with total disregard for human life by ordinary people.
Blue Wind Imperial City, Medical Saint Hall.
As the Medicine Hall opened by the generally acknowledged first genius doctor of the Blue Wind Empire, countless people from all parts of the Blue Wind Empire would come every day to seek medical treatment, and numerous people among them would bring great amounts of profound coins and treasures with them to request Gu Qiuhong to open the profound veins of the genius disciples of their sects and families. Due to his medical skill and influence, Gu Qiuhong had amassed so much property that it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that his wealth could rival that of an empire.
However, during the last few days, the entrance of the Medical Saint Hall had remained closed and it never opened even once.
In the past, the reason behind the Medical Saint Hall remaining closed for a long duration was perhaps because of Gu Qiuhong leaving the place for some time to wander about somewhere else, but this time the reason was not the same as before. These days Gu Qiuhong had stayed inside the medical hall the whole time. Ever since he heard the news about the sudden arrest, then beheading of the crown prince and third prince, his mind had been in a greatly disordered state. His mind was completely occupied by fear, as he spent every day in worry and anxiousness... A couple of months ago, he had vaguely realized that Yun Che's treatment had cured Cang Wanhe's illness. He was obviously very clear about the illness Cang Wanhe was suffering from. Since Yun Che was able to successfully treat Cang Wanhe, he must have naturally understood the reason behind the illness... In that case, he would certainly be the first person to be suspected... No, wrong! He would be the one and only suspect!
If it was some other person he was confronting, Gu Qiuhong was well aware that with his influence, he didn't have to fear any sort of retaliation. But Yun Che was a madman who didn't hesitate to directly exterminate the Burning Heaven Clan and cruelly beat up a prince of the Divine Phoenix Sect. So long as Yun Che felt like killing a doctor like him, he would definitely do so without any scruples.
These days, he stayed inside the Medicine Hall, spending his days praying for his well-being and doing his utmost to ponder some way to survive through the current predicament. He had even thought of running away to another empire. However, before he could get the chance to act on it, the grim reaper had already descended behind him.
”Great Genius Doctor Gu, the area outside the entrance of the Medicine Hall is as crowded as a marketplace, but here you are, leisurely and comfortably, passing your time. The legendary number one genius doctor of the Blue Wind Empire is spending his days as pleasurably as an immortal.”
Gu Qiuhong startled when a voice suddenly rang out from behind him, and he turned around as fast as lightning. When he saw Yun Che, his whole body shivered as his heart contorted. He said stammeringly: ”You... You... So it's... So it's Yun... Lord Yun. I'm truly moved... and extremely... honored... to have Lord Yun personally visit my humble... abode.”
There were four personal disciples at Gu Qiuhong's side, and none of them detected Yun Che arrival at this place. Looking at Yun Che who had suddenly appeared like a ghost, all of them were trembling with fear. They stooped and didn't even dare to let out a breath... As his successor disciples, they knew what Gu Qiuhong had done to Cang Wanhe very clearly. They also spent the past days in the same manner as Gu Qiuhong, in a constant state of anxiety.
Yun Che approached them with a sneer on his face: ”Moved? Honored? Then why do I see nothing but fear written all over your face? Are you by chance afraid of me? Man, that's really strange. We didn't have any sort of connection between us till now, and have hardly seen each other's faces, so just why would you be afraid of me?”
”No, no...” Gu Qiuhong uttered in fear. Within this extremely short time of several breaths, his body was already perspiring profusely, and even beads of sweat were dripping from his fingertips: “Lord Yun is the only son-in-law of the emperor of Blue Wind Empire, and is also publicly known as Blue Wind’s number one. It is naturally a matter of utmost glory for a mere doctor like me to be able to meet Lord Yun.
”Oh? Doctor? You say that you're a doctor? I just happen to have a question regarding medical treatment. I don't know whether I could consult about it with you?” Yun Che said as he narrowed his eyes. There was cold light lurking in the depths of his eyes. Gu Qiuhong used to call himself a ”Medical Saint.” He naturally had no idea that this self-proclaimed title made Yun Che feel extremely unpleasant, because his master who had taught him the art of healing was called the ”Medical Saint” of the Azure Cloud Continent. For this trash of a doctor with a malicious heart to have the same title as his most respected master, was completely sullying the two words, ”Medical Saint.”
Gu Qiuhong was already out of his wits, and could only nod his head in response: ”It's... It's too much of an honor to me that you want to seek my consultation. Lord Yun, please tell me what you want to know. This lowly one will certainly do his best to give a satisfactory answer.”
”You don't need to be so nervous. I just have a very small problem that I wish to consult about. I believe that a doctor of your level can easily come up with the solution.” Yun Che moved a corner of his mouth upwards, his eyes nefarious and strange: ”There's someone close to me who has a venomous parasite called the ”Soul Devouring Life Binding Parasite” within his body. I don't know whether Great Genius Doctor Gu is aware of some way to save him?”
To Gu Qiuhong, the five words ”Soul Devouring Life Binding Parasite” sounded like a grim reaper pressuring him to die, and caused his whole body to quiver violently. His legs went limp and he almost kneeled on the floor. He said in an extremely trembling voice: ”No... I... don't know. This lowly one... only possess insignificant medical skill, and... has... never heard of anything like Soul Devouring Life Binding Parasite... I... ask Lord Yun... to pardon my ignorance.”
”Oh? You don't know?” Yun Che laughed grimly: ”After wasting over hundred years, you don't even know about something as small as the Soul Devouring Life Binding Parasite, yet you still dare to call yourself Blue Wind’s number one genius doctor? So you're just another one of those people who gained fame by deceiving the public, huh! If it was someone else doing such a thing, I wouldn't have cared about it. However, if a doctor who's supposed to do good to society by saving people's lives doesn't possess decent medical skill, the will to treat people, and medical ethics, let alone saving people, he would instead do harm to them! Furthermore, it won't be just one or two persons, but a large number of people who would be harmed by such deception. Since you're already trash that can do nothing but harm people... there's no need for you to stay in this world any longer!!”