Wujiutai is the altar where the people of Shiqiang Town worship the Stone God. It is located in the north of Shiqiang Town.
In recent years, it has become a hub for official announcements. For example, today, officers and soldiers posted notices everywhere, announcing that the emperor had discovered the source of the scorpion monster's misfortunes.
The people loved to join in the fun, and they hated the scorpion monster disaster even more. Before long, half the city's people had gathered at Wujiu Terrace.
There was a constant stream of voices, all whispering about the scorpion monster.
"Gathering people to Wujiutai, does that mean this scorpion monster isn't a natural disaster, but a man-made one?"
"Who knows? Even His Majesty the Emperor has withdrawn from the capital..."
"Shut up! How dare you talk nonsense!"
"That's not true..."
"I heard that someone raised those scorpion monsters—"
"Is this true?"
The crowd was buzzing with discussion until someone called out, "The Emperor has arrived!" and then they quieted down.
Everyone knelt down and saluted the emperor, who was surrounded by a guard of honor. They all lowered their heads in unison, as if they were puppets without souls.
After the emperor took his seat, the people heard his order and stood up one after another.
The emperor looked to be in his fifties, with a tall and slender figure, and no signs of middle-aged weight gain. His skin was fair, and it was obvious that he had not been exposed to the sun for many years. Fine lines on his forehead had already appeared on his cheeks, but he did not look old, and there was a gentleness in his eyes.
Princess Showa stood on the left side of the emperor's throne, a sickly young man stood on the right side, and General Qi stood below Princess Showa.
"Who is that? His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin?" The discussions began again.
"The King of Jin is a brave warrior, how could he look so sickly—"
"It's rumored that His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin is a vicious and evil man, but when Your Majesty entered the city, I took a look and saw that His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin was truly handsome!"
"I heard that the man above is a marquis, who used to lead troops in battle. He was recently injured, which is why he looks like this..."
After waiting for a while, a cry of surprise came from the crowd. Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw soldiers surrounding a girl in a red cloak, slowly walking towards the platform.
The people of Stonewall Town all recognized the red cloak, but it was the first time they saw the face beneath the cloak.
Everyone looked around and vaguely saw the girl's shoulder-length hair, a little messy at the tips. She looked to be around twenty, maybe a little younger, and her face looked a little thinner, but not to the point of being bony.
"Is this Instructor Lu?" someone said in disbelief, "He doesn't look fierce at all—"
The story of Lu Cai tearing the scorpion monster apart with his bare hands had become a long-lasting topic of conversation on the streets. Compared to the obscure healing techniques and the aesthetically pleasing flower vines, Instructor Lu's fists were the most powerful.
Seeing Lu Cai already stepping onto the stone platform, the Marquis stepped out alone and knelt before the Emperor. "Your Majesty, I beg you to make a decision. The evil Lu Cai murdered my wife, raised monsters, and caused chaos throughout the country, resulting in the deaths of innocent people. His numerous crimes and evil deeds bring the wrath of heaven and man!"
Lu Cai just stood firm on the stage and was shocked by his string of accusations. When he figured out what he said, the emperor on the throne also spoke.
"My dear, are you saying that this person is the source of the scorpion monster's troubles?"
The people below were in an uproar.
Cai Lu raised his eyebrows. He had never seen anyone shirk responsibility like this.
"You said that I harmed your first wife?" She only looked at the marquis who was kneeling before the emperor.
The eunuch beside the emperor scolded in a low voice: "You bold and untouchable! When you see the emperor..." A thin red net opened and flew towards the eunuch's face, like a spider web, sticking to his face, and his mouth was covered tightly.
The eunuch was frightened by the sudden appearance of the fine net. He was so frightened that he screamed "wuwu" and tripped and fell to the ground.
The emperor's face suddenly changed, and someone on the side shouted, "Protect the emperor!" The soldiers present were clearly from different camps, and some pretended to be ignorant. The soldiers who had previously escorted Lu Cai rushed onto the platform.
"Let me ask you—" Lu Cai's voice suddenly rang out. His frail figure stood on the stage, surrounded by soldiers, yet he remained straight-backed, his face unafraid. "You said I harmed your first wife?"
Her eyes were extremely cold, and everyone on the scene fell silent.
The Marquis tilted his head and said: "My wife, Wang, was named 'Yan'. I don't know what kind of magic you used to replace her with both her name and her body..." His tone softened, with a hint of hatred in it.
Wang Yan? Was her original name Wang Yan?
Lu Cai felt curious. This scumbag marquis actually broke through the copy limit and remembered the original owner's name?
"Didn't you kill your wife?" Lu Cai was not angry, but rather puzzled. She looked at the marquis who was still kneeling in front of the emperor.
Yue Xiaoyan, standing among the common people, was surprised: "Did the Marquis remember the original Marquis' wife?"
"Why doesn't Lu Cai want to awaken himself, but also wants to bring a group of NPCs to cause trouble?" Zhao Yan looked at the stage with disbelief in his eyes.
Shi Rukui made a "hush" sound, and a red shadow floated across the stage.
The Marquis saw Lu Cai's figure flash by, his eyes widened, and then the red shadow was already in front of him. He felt a sharp pain in his shoulder and was hit by a force. Then the world spun around him, and his already dying internal organs began to twitch.
His back hit the stone pillar beside Wujiu Terrace, and the Marquis lay on the ground with his body bent, vomiting blood.
Lu Cai frowned and looked at him. She was sure that the data on his body became disordered for a moment when she kicked him.
The people around exclaimed, and even General Qi on the stage stood in front of Showa.
Lu Cai raised his hand, and a ledger appeared out of thin air. She opened the code book directly. This Lao Ke looked strange, but he was very serious in compiling the book. The data in it seemed messy, but it was arranged according to the regulations.
He has gone through many copies, and the codes in the encyclopedia are all summarized by himself, and some individual questions are also noted in the blank spaces.
Lu Cai quickly flipped to the part related to the character NPC and began to glance over it.
Gu Xici, who was sitting in the audience, wasn't familiar with Lu Cai. Having fought her in the Lantern Night dungeon, he was only vaguely interested in her fighting style. He had assumed she was a reckless person, but who knew she could actually read? Unable to resist, he asked in surprise, "She's still in the mood to read at this hour?"
The others didn't quite understand either, and in the end it was Qin Yu who climbed onto the stone platform.
"An Ning!" The emperor had been escorted out of the capital by Qin Yu and Gu Xici these days, and he relied heavily on them. "Capture this traitor!"
Qin Yu stepped forward and patted Lu Cai on the shoulder: "Even if you can't help it, you can't beat him up on the spot!"
The emperor was choked by Qin Yu's actions and was somewhat incredulous.
"Your Majesty, you may not know that Lu Cai had lost all her memories upon waking up from sleep. She was in the Marquis's residence, and everyone called her Madam Marquis, leaving her extremely confused." Qin Yu bowed to the emperor in a loud voice, presumably speaking to the people present. "Later, she felt that Madam Marquis's personality was very different from hers, and she became suspicious and fled the residence. I saw that she was lonely and helpless, so I raised her in my residence."
These words were full of loopholes, but few people dared to refute them, even the emperor remained silent.
After all, this group of people with special abilities all have old ties with Lu Cai.
His eyes drifted to the crowd, and the emperor saw his overly handsome son standing in the audience, looking as if he didn't mind his own business.
The emperor understood that they knew each other, but it was too late. In the end, he experienced what it meant to shoot oneself in the foot.
Rumors have already spread that the scorpion monster is related to the emperor. He originally wanted to find someone to take the responsibility for the scorpion monster's disaster so that he could continue to be a wise ruler.
A few days ago, Lu Cai disappeared from the scorpion group and became the best scapegoat.
He thought Lu Cai was just a lowly person with some abilities, but if even An Ning had a past with her... The emperor couldn't help but frown. Now several people with special abilities have attached themselves to Zhaohe's camp, and even the military power is controlled by Zhaohe...
For so many years, Showa was his most favored daughter, but he never expected that in the current situation, she would join forces with the traitor named Qi to deal with him!
There was an undercurrent of tension on the stage. Several soldiers helped the marquis, who was twitching on one side, to his feet, while the culprit was still concentrating on turning the pages of the book.
Finally, she stopped at a page filled with notes.
"When the data character (NPC character)'s words and actions are inconsistent with this source code, this source code will automatically clear the fault. During the clearing process, garbled characters may appear..."
Lu Cai muttered to himself, and flipped through the pages again, only to find a sentence: "Data characters cannot resist this source code, and the fault will eventually be eliminated."
Her eyes darkened. Unable to resist the source code? Then what was she? The first data character to defeat the source code?
Then he looked up at the Marquis who was unconscious and being helped away. The key to his breaking free from the confinement turned out to be the original owner?
Lu Cai narrowed his eyes, feeling mixed emotions for a moment.
"Since she is innocent, why should she be so angry?" The emperor spoke in a dignified tone. He had already sorted out his feelings and put away his previous panic.
"I'm not angry out of shame." Lu Cai put away the code collection and turned to the emperor. "I've wanted to beat him up for a long time."
The emperor's expression turned grim: "Why do you want to teach him a lesson?"
"He tried to kill me time and again, no, he wanted to kill his first wife—" Lu Cai explained, "but I just found out that he killed people... because someone was behind him..."
She looked at the emperor with a faint smile in her eyes, but the smile did not reach her heart, instead it gave off a chill.
The emperor had experienced many ups and downs in his life, but now he was frightened by her cold smile. For a moment, he didn't know whether he was angry or afraid.
"If someone doesn't want me to stay, I'll just leave." Lu Cai retracted his gaze, turned around and was about to leave.
They had been stuck in this dungeon for far too long; they needed to find the key as soon as possible. She had already searched Stonewall Town thoroughly, but found no trace of the side story.
There are only a few hills in the country of Dunmu that are rich in amber - Nanshan, Beishan, Yangshan and Yingshan.
She searched one building after another and was always able to find clues to the main plot, which was better than joining them in their open and secret struggles.
"Teacher Lu, please stay!" It was the little princess who called her. Lu Cai slowly turned around and saw Zhaohe smiling at her.
Zhaohe turned towards the emperor and bowed politely, "Father, Instructor Lu is a righteous warrior who protects the people. I know her from all the experience I've had. She wouldn't be the kind of person who would raise that evil monster."
As soon as the little princess spoke, the people in the audience sided with Lu Cai, and the story of Lu Cai single-handedly defending the city gate was brought up again. Stories of loyal and righteous men being mistrusted by their lords easily filled the common people with righteous indignation. Many had already begun to question the Marquis, even recalling the once-joking rumors and subtly suspecting the emperor.
Lu Cai didn't react much, only thinking that the imperial family was best at manipulating people's hearts. Seeing that the little princess had just gotten started, she had used a rumor that had spread from nowhere, and after a farce, with just two words, the emperor's majesty was shattered to the ground.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
