Return of the Immortal Emperor Daddy-Chapter 174 Liu Clan Orthodox?
Wu Tian walked up to the stone coffin and peered inside, where he saw a skeleton and a wooden box.
The skeleton was perfectly intact, presumably that of Guo Jia. The fact that the Corpse Turtles hadn’t consumed his bones suggested that Guo Jia must have employed some special method. After all, Zhuge Liang could borrow life from the seven stars. It wasn’t impossible that Guo Jia, a master of Qimen Esoteric Arts, had a few extraordinary techniques of his own.
This wooden box, then, had to be the object that both the Zhao Family and the foreigners were after. Wu Tian reached out, took the wooden box, and opened it. Inside was blood. The blood hadn’t coagulated; its color was unchanged, a vibrant, deep red. It was truly peculiar.
"Is this the treasure? Hahaha, everyone who sees it gets a share," the Xieling Leader laughed as he and his followers approached, his eyes fixed on Wu Tian. "This blood is definitely no ordinary item. One drop for each of us would be a substantial gain."
The followers behind the Xieling Leader nodded eagerly. "Yeah, I don’t know what kind of blood this is, but with one drop each, we might..."
"That’s right, we’ve all struck gold this time!"
Having followed the Xieling Leader on countless tomb raids over the years, they could easily recognize the value of this blood.
"What do you think you’re doing?" Zhao Zetian demanded, her face flushed with rage. Her beautiful eyes blazed with fury as she pointed at the Xieling Leader. "That’s not what you said when you joined me! You said you only wanted to witness an extraordinary tomb, that you were pursuing the thrill and a chance to surpass your limits, not the treasures within! I even made you swear an oath. Have you forgotten it already?"
Zhao Zetian was furious. That blood was crucial to the prosperity of the Zhao Family; how could she possibly let the Xieling Leader have it?
"Heh heh, you actually took an oath seriously? Miss Zhao Zetian, everyone says you’re intelligent, but in my opinion, that’s an exaggeration. We’re tomb raiders. We plunder the graves of the dead. Do you think we’re afraid of divine retribution?" the Xieling Leader scoffed.
"Indeed," the Mount Mover Daoist chimed in as he stepped forward. "This humble Daoist deserves a share of this treasure as well. Otherwise, did you really think your Zhao Family was powerful enough to simultaneously hire the Mount Movers, the Xieling, and the Faqiu from the world of tomb raiding? To be blunt, most of us came because of this treasure."
Zhao Zetian’s face turned red with anger. These people of the Jianghu are truly unreliable. So despicable and shameless.
She turned to Zhao Mulan. "Sister, can you handle this many people?"
With the Green Light Sword in hand, Zhao Mulan was about seventy percent confident she could handle the Xieling Leader and the Mount Mover Daoist. However, she was afraid that if a fight broke out, someone might seize the opportunity to grab Zhao Zetian and use her as a hostage.
Zhao Zetian had obviously thought of this as well, and she immediately turned to Wu Tian. "If you and your daughter help me, we’ll split this treasure evenly. What do you say?"
The Xieling Leader, the Mount Mover Daoist, and their men tensed up and stared at Wu Tian, waiting anxiously for his decision.
But Wu Tian just chuckled and said calmly, "Have you all forgotten what you said? Bao Bao, tell them what they said."
"Okay." The little one nodded, her big, adorable eyes fixed on Zhao Zetian and her people. "I remember you said that just making it out of here safely would be enough, and that you were no longer concerned with any treasures. Yes, those were your exact words."
Hearing this, the faces of Zhao Zetian and the others stiffened. They had indeed said that. They felt lucky just to have escaped the vampire with their lives. At that moment, they truly hadn’t cared about any treasure. But now that the threat was gone, of course they wanted the treasure.
Wu Tian chuckled. Such is the human heart.
Zhao Zetian thought for a moment, then gritted her teeth and said, "Mr. Wu Tian, we are all people of the Great Han. Do you understand what ’Han’ symbolizes?"
"When Liu Bang founded the Great Han Dynasty, the ages that followed saw the enlightened Rule of Wen and Jing and the glorious martial exploits of Emperor Wu. Even after Wang Mang’s usurpation, the dynasty was restored by Emperor Guangwu. Later, at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, when warlords vied for power, there was still Liu Bei, who rose up by his own strength..."
"Enough," Wu Tian interrupted. "That’s ancient history," he said lazily. "You need to understand that the world belongs to everyone in it. Even if you call it the ’world of the Han,’ that ’Han’ certainly doesn’t refer exclusively to the so-called Liu Clan!"
Hearing this, both Zhao Zetian and Zhao Mulan flushed with anger. As descendants of the Zhao Family, they hadn’t attended regular schools as children but were educated in their family’s private academy. The history they learned was different from what others were taught. Their lessons were filled with the glorious chronicles of the Liu Clan; other histories were only touched upon briefly. The Zhao ancestors had done this to ensure their descendants understood one thing: the name Liu was paramount.
"Mr. Wu Tian," Zhao Zetian began, still trying to reason with him.
Zhao Zetian didn’t know how powerful Wu Tian himself was, but she knew the little girl listened to him, which was why she remained so polite. She wanted to persuade him, but just as she opened her mouth to speak, Wu Tian cut her off again: "Leave or die."
The emperor’s throne changes hands; next year, it could be my family’s turn. Where is there any true legitimacy in this world? The Liu Clan claims to be the legitimate line, but what about the Ying Clan? What about the Ji Clan? Or the Yin Clan? At the end of the Eastern Han, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei revered Liu Bei simply for being part of the Liu Clan. How laughable.
The killing intent radiating from his thoughts seemed to congeal into a palpable chill, causing the entire tomb to freeze over.
Zhao Zetian and Zhao Mulan had no doubt that he would kill them. His eyes now held a distinct trace of killing intent.
Zhao Zetian sighed and left with Zhao Mulan.
"And you lot? Still not leaving?" the little girl asked, looking at the Xieling Leader, the Mount Mover Daoist, and their men with dissatisfaction.
Their curiosity about the mysterious blood was immense. The Xieling Leader and the Mount Mover Daoist truly wanted it.
"Just one drop! I only want one drop!" the Xieling Leader begged.
"Boss, you can’t just think about yourself!"
"Yeah, Boss! We’ve followed you for so many years. Even if we have no great merits, we have our hard work!"
Now that the Xieling Leader was trying to claim just one drop for himself, his followers were indignant.
"Heh heh. The Xieling faction is large. If everyone gets one drop, what will be left?" The Mount Mover Daoist, who had originally been on the same side as the Xieling Leader, now turned against him. "I, on the other hand, am truly alone. Please, give me one drop."
Wu Tian couldn’t be bothered to deal with them.
The little girl understood Wu Tian’s intentions. With a giggle, she started walking toward the Xieling Leader, the Mount Mover Daoist, and the others. A smiling, adorable little girl—what a heartwarming sight it should have been.
But when the Xieling Leader, the Mount Mover Daoist, and the others saw that smile, all they felt was pure terror.
"I was wrong."
"Yes, we’re leaving right now."
Without another word, they fled. But the moment they exited the tomb chamber, they saw Zhao Zetian and Zhao Mulan standing nearby, trembling uncontrollably. Confused, the Xieling Leader and his men turned to see what was wrong, only to freeze in terror themselves. The vampire hadn’t left. It was waiting for them.
