Chapter 234: The Hidden Swan Prince

Chapter 234: The Honghu Hidden King

Hongya Mountain, Tile Tower.

In the pitch-black projection hall, a pale blue beam of light pierced through, projecting a bizarre, miniature, holographic xianxia world onto the stage at the front.

Sword lights crisscrossed, sword shadows howled, a lively melee.

Romantic entanglements, fine wine and beautiful women, tender feelings rippling.

Alas, in this cramped projection hall, only a sparse handful of spectators sat scattered about, leaving the place feeling vast and empty; even at the climactic moments, there were no gasps of wonder or sighs of lament from the audience.

In this age where the Yellow Millet Dream has penetrated every household, this kind of late-night movie relying on the naked eye as a medium has long since fallen into an extremely niche form of entertainment.

After all, sitting and watching others play immortals—how could it compare to the joy of being one yourself?

The sole advantage might be that the ticket price is even cheaper than the shoddiest pirated Yellow Millet Dream—ten baochao for a viewing.

If one were bold enough, one could even treat this place as an inn.

After all, many Yellow Millet Dreams set in the Empire's modern era have used this very trope, and sales were decent.

Below the stage, a boy just past the age of binding his hair held a girl of marriageable age in the corner, pointing at the sword immortal who had just flown overhead on his sword, speaking grandly of how, once he saved enough for an artificial Dao Foundation, he would be just like him—slaying demons, exterminating devils, settling grudges to his heart's content.

The girl, however, bashfully retorted that there were no demons in this world, and with the Great Ming Code in place, no one was permitted to settle grudges as they pleased.

The boy was instantly struck dumb, feeling he had lost all face; even the sneaking hand he had stretched downward withdrew in embarrassment.

Just then, the sword immortal who had been so high-spirited moments ago had barely stepped onto the stage before a suave scholar snatched him from mid-air with a single hand, smashing both man and sword into pieces.

Witnessing this, a sharp light flashed in the boy's eyes; he changed tack instantly, declaring the sword immortal was nothing special, and that he would diligently study the Six Arts of the Confucians, to become a master of both pen and sword who could break the lock and ascend sequences without a chip, managing state and family with equal skill!

With that, he could restrain his hands no longer; both mouth and hands moved to grab, insistent and hard.

"The Confucian Sequence has opened so many gene-cultivation Confucian Temples and still isn't satisfied; now they won't even let go of a worthless backwater like this. These pen-pushing scholars truly have an ugly appetite."

In another corner, a man of stunning beauty, with a face like crown jade, sneered with undisguised contempt.

If anyone from the Sichuan-Chongqing Gambling Assembly saw his face now, they would surely cry out in shock.

No other reason—this man was none other than Qi Huai, the 'Chief General' of the Sichuan-Chongqing Gambling Assembly, who had vanished in Chongqing Prefecture for a long time.

"An ugly appetite is still better than an ugly life later on."

The man beside him watched with relish, praising, "I actually admire the Confucian Sequence's method of 'better to kill a thousand by mistake than let one slip.' Wherever there are imperial citizens, there is their assimilation and infiltration. To achieve this step, it's no wonder they now sit firmly as the leaders of the Three Teachings."

Hearing this, Qi Huai hurriedly wiped the contempt from his lips, forcing a smile: "My lord is right; it is I who have shallow horizons."

To make the once-mighty 'Chief General' of the Gambling Assembly attend so cautiously—the speaker's identity was self-evident.

Ding Huan smiled: "It's not about shallow horizons or not. After all, Qi Huai, you are a true-born Ming subject from the Empire's heartland, and have long lived in a fine place like Chongqing Prefecture; naturally, you don't feel the Confucian Sequence's assimilation and infiltration deeply."

"If you get the chance, go look at the Empire's various Sinic Zones. There you will understand what 'all trades are low, only scholarship is high' means. Those who ascend as Confucian Dao Followers have become the only way out for the common folk in the Sinic Zones to change their fate."

"What about the other Sequences?"

Ding Huan spoke eloquently: "Swindling, cheating, stealing; bandits; bandits, outlaws, thieves, prostitutes—plus the Legalist litigation tricksters who need some actual skill. Those still have a place for everyone."

Qi Huai disapproved in his heart, but his face showed righteous indignation: "Once this matter is done, I'll immediately head for the Sinic Zones. That is our Honghu's base; how can we let the Confucians treat it as a gene farm?!"

"No need to rush. The organization is establishing a branch in Chongqing Prefecture this time, and we still need you to preside over it."

Ding Huan patted his shoulder: "Heavy responsibilities rest on your shoulders; the overall situation comes first. The matter of fighting for freedom for the Sinic Zone populace can only wrong you by asking you to set it aside for now."

"Entirely as you arrange, my lord."

"There's an old saying in the Empire: 'He who knows the times is the outstanding man,'" Ding Huan smiled, "Qi Huai, you truly are a rare outstanding man!"

At this moment, the battle on stage was at its height.

The dashing scholar, after slaying the sword immortal, then annihilated the unforgivable demons, eliminated the monks who bewitched hearts, purged the tyrannical warriors, and punished the corrupt officials who treated lives as grass.

In the end, he embraced beauties on both sides, holding the mechanical maiden, flicking his sleeves and leaving, hiding his merit and fame deep away.

"The plot is a bit mindless, but it truly gets the blood pumping. If I weren't afraid that taking off this Western barbarian skin would make me forget my Sinic origins, I'd want to buy a blue scholar's robe and study to be a scholar myself."

Ding Huan stretched lazily, turning to Qi Huai: "Since the movie is over, we should get down to business. Otherwise, the hand King Qin is holding up waiting to smash his cup might just get sore from waiting."

Smash the cup!

Qi Huai, just about to rise, froze rigid at those words.

A bone-piercing chill coiled around his whole body; he moved his head inch by inch, turning to look at the smiling Ding Huan: "Lord Hidden King, is there some misunderstanding between us?"

"Wasn't it just having you play the bitter stratagem, trying to lure me, the Honghu Southwest Regional Officer, to my death in Chongqing Prefecture, and take my head to the New Donglin Party for merit?"

Ding Huan said blandly: "Such a simple, obvious matter—there is likely no misunderstanding."

Bang!

Qi Huai's arm, braced on the armrest, suddenly went limp, and his whole body involuntarily crashed back into the seat.

He shouldn't have been this disheveled.

As a genuine Sequence Seven expert, and the former Chief General who controlled half the Sichuan-Chongqing Gambling Assembly.

Qi Huai prided himself on his acting skills; even if not perfected, they shouldn't have failed him so that a single sentence from Ding Huan would make him lose his composure like this.

But the situation now was that he simply could not control the violently surging emotions in his heart, forced to bare his shock, fear, and unease nakedly on his face.

The School of Diplomacy Sequence!

Things having come to this, any more words were nonsense.

Qi Huai smiled bitterly in resignation: "How did you see through me? I shouldn't have shown any flaws, right?"

"I never believed in this scheme from the start; no matter how well you acted, what use was it?"

"Why? Was sacrificing my whole family not tragic enough, or were King Qin's terms not high enough?"

"It is the massive disparity between risk and reward."

Ding Huan said indifferently: "In the Empire's eyes, Honghu are rebels, traitors, street rats everyone shouts to beat, sources of calamity to be avoided! What is Zhu Youhong's status? Imperial relative, Imperial Prince. If he didn't have a screw loose, he would never be willing to collude with the likes of us."

Ding Huan smiled and countered: "He couldn't possibly be naive enough to hope that after Honghu overthrows the Great Ming Empire, they'd give him a Prince's title, could he? If that were true, then I really stumbled onto the truth by accident today."

Qi Huai said dully: "King Qin may be a Prince, but he is also a bird in a cage!"

"You mean he seeks freedom, so he's determined to rebel against his own family?"

Ding Huan burst out laughing: "What a pity. Honghu advocates freedom, but I have never believed in freedom."