From bone collectors to the supreme ruler of humanity

Chapter 74 The Feast at Hongmen

The Second Prince's Mansion.

Li Zhengming kicked over the rosewood table in front of him, shattering teacups and teapots all over the floor.

"What do they want? Huh? A mere lackey of the Crown Prince dares to provoke my gang!"

The servants knelt on the ground, none of them daring to raise their heads.

The strategist Shen San stood aside and waited for Li Zhengming to catch his breath before speaking: "Your Highness, please reconsider."

"Think twice about what? Li Zhengxin's men smashed all my businesses in Nancheng! Now that Father has taken notice, the Golden Snake Gang can only hide in the alleys and can't show their faces. I can't swallow this!"

"That's precisely why we need to think twice." Shen San picked up an unbroken teacup from the ground and put it back on the coffee table. "The Crown Prince is currently in a strong position. The Eastern Palace has taken over Lin Yan's forces, and the veterans under Lin Yan's command have all crawled out of the piles of corpses at Zhenbei Pass. The gang thugs that His Highness keeps are no match for them."

Li Zhengming slumped back into his chair, pinching his brow with his fingers.

Shen San stepped closer: "In a head-on confrontation, Your Highness has no chance of winning."

"Then what do you suggest we do?"

"Let's take a different route," Shen San said in a low voice. "Let's not take the underworld, let's take the legitimate path."

Li Zhengming raised his eyelids.

"Lin Yan's current status is that of a proper sixth-rank military officer in the imperial court. As a member of the imperial court, he should be under its jurisdiction. It is only natural for the Ministry of War to transfer him."

Li Zhengming slowly sat up straight.

"Since Your Highness is in charge of the Ministry of War, all you need to do is issue a document and have Lin Yan report to the Ministry of War alone. The pretext of the capital's defense assessment is readily available, and reviewing the military merit records of the northern border is also routine."

Shen San paused, a sinister glint in his eyes, "Once we arrive at the Ministry of War, it will be His Highness's territory. We will test your martial arts skills according to the usual practice of the capital's defense assessment. Swords and spears have no eyes, so no one can find fault with where you are injured."

Li Zhengming smiled and clapped his hands in approval.

"Very good, take care of this matter immediately."

...

A side courtyard of the East Palace.

Lin Yan was practicing his swordplay on the training ground when Steward Feng strode in, holding a document in his hand, his expression not very pleasant.

"General Lin, the Ministry of War's transfer order."

Lin Yan took the document and glanced at it. The document stated that the defense assessment of the capital was imminent, and that General Lin Yan was to go to the Ministry of War immediately to report his military merits in the northern border and undergo a martial arts test.

"Who signed it?"

"Minister Zhao, the Vice Minister of War. Minister Zhao is a man of the Second Prince."

Hearing this from the side, Xiong Kuo stabbed his knife into the ground: "Isn't this a trap? General, we can't go."

Lin Yan folded the document and stuffed it into his pocket: "Not going is disobeying orders! If I disobey the Ministry of War's order, he'll have a perfect excuse to impeach me."

"Then let's take some people with us!"

"The transfer order says I must report alone." Lin Yan picked up his knife. "Bringing men is a violation of the rules."

Sun Dayong panicked: "You can't just go and die alone!"

The transfer order stated "Report to the Ministry of War immediately," but Lin Yan did not allow Steward Feng to inform the Crown Prince.

"General, are you really not going to tell His Highness?" Steward Feng stood at the entrance of the side courtyard, a rare look of worry on his face.

"I told you, the Crown Prince and the Second Prince have to fight in court first." Lin Yan tucked his knife into his waistband. "The transfer order came from the Ministry of War. If the Crown Prince tries to stop it, it means he's going against the Ministry of War. The Second Prince is just waiting for this."

Xiong Kuo pulled the thick-backed knife from the ground and then stuck it back in, doing this repeatedly several times, making the hole in the ground deeper and deeper.

Sun Dayong squatted on the threshold, his hand gripping the bow, his knuckles cracking.

"Chief, I'll go with you."

"The transfer order was written on a solo journey."

"I'll wait at the entrance of the military department. Not going in isn't considered a violation."

Lin Yan glanced at Sun Dayong and nodded.

In the capital, it gets dark early after autumn arrives. Just after 3 PM, the sun is already setting behind the western city wall.

The Ministry of War was located on the south side of the Imperial City, a three-courtyard complex with two rows of hitching posts in front of the gate, the iron rings on the posts rusted and worn. Four guards with swords stood at the gate, and when they saw Lin Yan approaching alone on horseback, they exchanged glances.

"General Lin Yan, the Loyal and Martial General?"

"Yes."

"Lord Zhao is waiting in the back hall. The horses will remain here, and the swords are not allowed inside."

Lin Yan unfastened the knife from his waist and handed it to the guard. The guard took the knife and casually placed it on the shelf in the gatehouse. There were several other swords and knives next to it, all of which looked like they were left behind by military officers who had come to report for duty.

Sun Dayong sat down at a tea stall across the street, ordered a bowl of tea, leaned against the table leg, and stared at the gate of the Ministry of War.

Lin Yan followed the guards through the front hall, down a long corridor, and into the back hall.

The back hall was much smaller than the front hall; it was a separate, enclosed courtyard. The courtyard gate was closed, and a guard stopped at the entrance. "General Lin, Lord Zhao is inside. Please come in."

After saying that, he turned and left.

Lin Yan pushed open the courtyard gate.

The courtyard was quite large, paved with blue bricks, with stone stools placed at the four corners.

There were four men in black with knives standing on the courtyard wall, but Lin Yan knew at a glance that they were not ordinary guards.

Everyone's posture was relaxed, but their center of gravity was always on the balls of their feet, and their breathing was much longer than that of ordinary people.

Without exception, they were all at the True Qi Realm.

In the center of the courtyard stood a middle-aged man in a scarlet official robe. He was not tall, had a round face, and three short tufts of beard. He was holding a folding book in his hand.

"General Lin, I've long admired you."

The middle-aged man cupped his hands in greeting. "I am Zhao Wenhan, Vice Minister of War. I have invited you here today for two reasons: first, to verify the military merit records of the northern border, and second, to conduct a routine test of your martial arts skills. It's all just a formality, so please don't be nervous, General."

Lin Yan returned the greeting with clasped hands: "You're too kind, Lord Zhao."

Zhao Wenhan flipped through the folded book and read a few entries, all of which were records of Lin Yan's military achievements at Zhenbeiguan: defending Tieguanya for fifteen days, capturing Gu Li alive, and achieving a great victory at Zhenbeiguan.

After reading it, he closed the folded book and smiled.

"The records are fine. Now, let's test your martial arts skills. According to the Ministry of War's regulations, all military officers transferred to the capital must undergo a martial arts test at the yamen to verify their abilities. General, please proceed."

He stepped back, and the side gate of the courtyard opened.

Three people came out from inside.

The first one was a bald, burly man, eight feet tall, broad-shouldered and thick-waisted, carrying a pair of bronze maces, each as thick as a forearm. He walked with heavy steps, and with each step, the ash from the cracks in the blue bricks seemed to jump up.

The second one was a thin man, around forty years old, very skinny. He wasn't carrying any weapons, but his ten fingers were thin and long, and his nails were trimmed very short.

The calluses on his hands were not located between his thumb and index finger, but on the pads of his fingers, indicating that this person practiced grappling techniques, specifically targeting the joints.

The third person walking at the very back was a gaunt old man in his fifties, dressed in a black cloth outfit, with a narrow, straight knife at his waist, the scabbard worn white from age.

He didn't look at Lin Yan. He came in and squatted down on a stone stool in the corner of the courtyard, squinting as if he were dozing off.

Lin Yan glanced at the three people's gait and breathing, and understood what was going on.

The bald man had reached the Great Perfection of True Qi, and his pair of bronze maces weighed no less than forty pounds, following a powerful and forceful path.

The skinny man was at the Lesser Completion of True Qi Realm, but the skill with those claws had probably been honed for over twenty years.

The old man squatting in the corner was breathing almost inaudibly; he was a third-grade body cultivator at the Unceasing Realm.

"General Lin, these three are instructors appointed by the Ministry of War."

Zhao Wenhan walked a few steps down the corridor and sat down on a chair. "The examination rules are very simple: one-on-one, taking turns. If a general can withstand thirty moves, he passes."

Lin Yan glanced at the old man squatting in the corner: "Is he going up too?"

Zhao Wenhan smiled and said, "We'll see."

The bald man was the first to step forward, tapping his bronze mace in his hand, producing a dull metallic sound. "General Lin, please forgive me."

The copper mace came crashing down.

Lin Yan turned to the side, the mace whistling past his ear before hitting the blue brick floor, shattering several bricks.

This time, Lin Yan did not fight back and chose to continue to dodge.

The second strike was a horizontal sweep, followed by a low stance.

The third strike is a downward slash, followed by a sliding step.

The bald man swung his mace more than a dozen times, but each time he missed. Lin Yan slid around the courtyard with his graceful movements, not even letting the bald man touch the hem of his clothes.

The bald man panicked and swung his double maces, filling them with true energy, each strike accompanied by the sound of wind being cut.

When the eighteenth mace came down, Lin Yan did not dodge.

He reached out, his five fingers gripping the bald man's wrist holding the mace, and pulled him outwards.

The bald man's center of gravity shifted, and he staggered forward.

Lin Yan placed his other hand on his back and pushed him with the force of the impact. The bald man crashed into the courtyard wall, his forehead hitting the brick surface. The copper mace slipped from his hand and fell to the ground with a clatter.

Lin Yan stopped and took two steps back.

The old man squatting in the corner opened one eye, then closed it again.

Before the bald man could even get up, the skinny man pounced on him.

Its claws moved up and down, one grabbing the throat and the other the groin.

This is the most ruthless technique in grappling; one move can kill.

Lin Yan leaned back to dodge the upper claw and raised his knee to block the lower claw.

The skinny man's claws gripped his knee, his five fingers digging into the tendons behind the knee. Lin Yan's knee shuddered, and his inner energy shot out from his kneecap, knocking the skinny man's fingers away.

The skinny man's expression changed, and he transformed his claws into palms, striking three times in quick succession, each palm aimed at Lin Yan's joints: elbows, shoulders, and wrists.

Lin Yan used military grappling techniques to block the attack.

The two exchanged more than a dozen moves in close combat. The skinny man's grappling skills were indeed shrewd, targeting joints and tendons with each move being particularly tricky.

But Lin Yan had fought countless tough battles with Fang Dahai, Xiong Kuo and others at Zhenbeiguan, and his defense against joint locks was already ingrained in his bones.

The skinny man grabbed Lin Yan's left wrist with his right hand and reached for his elbow with his left, trying to break the entire arm.

Lin Yan didn't struggle. Instead, she turned around in the direction the skinny man was twisting, freeing her arm from his control. At the same time, her right elbow struck the skinny man's chin from below.

The elbow wasn't delivered with full force, but the skinny man still broke his teeth, his mouth filled with blood. He staggered back several steps, clutching his chin as he crouched down.

Zhao Wenhan placed the teacup on the table.

The old man who was squatting in the corner stood up, without even moving his body, and walked over to stand opposite Lin Yan.

The narrow-bladed straight knife was tucked into his waist.