Seeking Truth with a Sword-Chapter 564 - 507 Khan

Chapter 564: Chapter 507 Khan
"If there are any further changes, notify me."
Li Ang instructed, then slid his shortened Triangular Spear back into his belt and hung his Radiant Crossbow on the strap on his back before stepping out of Dongjun Tower.
The sky was growing dark. The sunset merged with the azure sky into a magnificent, deep crimson. A few rays of light pierced the clouds and mist, shining down like a stairway to the heavens.
Li Ang silently gazed at the scene before him. His figure slowly levitated, and then he shot up into the sky.
The wind roared in his ears. In the blink of an eye, he had crossed the mountain ridge and flown into the clouds and mist.
The clouds, dyed red by the sunset, drifted like ethereal smoke. Li Ang wove through them, gradually growing accustomed to the sensation.
He spread his palms, letting the cool cloud vapor drift through his fingers. His form would sometimes dive, sometimes ascend, and sometimes circle.
No longer needing to rely on a Wind Talisman to conjure gales, he could soar freely using only his Telekinesis.
An unprecedented sense of freedom filled his body. Li Ang slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air, standing above the clouds and looking down at the myriad lights gradually illuminating Chang’an City in the distance.
"So, this is the Cloud Patrol Realm..."
His lips curved upward as he dived, landing in the courtyard of the pavilion on the back mountain in a heroic one-knee landing pose.
Chai Chai, who was in the courtyard eating barbecued skewers, paused mid-bite. Looking at Li Ang striking a pose, he asked in confusion, "Eldest Son, are you trying to imitate a squirrel?"
"You’re the squirrel."
Li Ang rolled his eyes and stood up. There were many squirrels on the back mountain of the Academic Palace, and those animals often struck similar "heroic landing" poses when they used their hind legs to scratch an itch.
"Enjoying your Cloud Patrol?" He Fanshuang, sitting by the brazier, smiled faintly.
"Yes." Li Ang nodded solemnly at her. "Thank you."
If not for the reminders and guidance from He Fanshuang, Song Shaoyuan, Pu Liuxuan, and the others today, he didn’t know how much longer it would have taken him to resolve his inner turmoil.
"No need to thank me. No matter how much enlightenment others provide, it’s no match for one’s own realization." He Fanshuang handed him a skewer. "Have something to eat."
The three of them sat around the fire. Li Ang watched the flickering flames, eating and lost in thought.
A sudden epiphany, a breakthrough to the Cloud Patrol Realm! He could feel the profound depths of the Qi Sea within his body, his Spirit Veins brimming with energy. His control over the Mo Si had also reached a new level.
Balance was restored. At least for the short term, he no longer needed to worry about the Mo Si going out of control.
With one worry settled, Li Ang took the letter from Gan Xiao’er of Yizhou from his robes and slowly read it by the light of the brazier.
After the death of Zhou Pingchun, the village squire of Sha Tao Village, Gan Xiao’er had gone to live with his relative Wang Liubao. Some time ago, he had passed the entrance examination for the Yizhou State School.
Due to his poor foundation, his grades were relatively low. Fortunately, he cherished the opportunity to study; his determination to learn was strong, and he studied diligently, progressing quickly.
For the young men and women of Yu Country from poor families or commoner backgrounds, studying might not be the only way to change their destiny, but it was undoubtedly the path with the highest probability of success.
Even if one’s success was built upon the failure of countless others, and even if it was like thousands competing to cross a single-plank bridge, it was worth a try.
Every year among the candidates participating in the imperial examinations in Chang’an City, there was no shortage of scholars in their forties or fifties, and some even older.
Li Ang folded the letter with mixed emotions and used his Telekinesis to place it on the bookshelf in the pavilion.
THUD. THUD. THUD.
The sound of hasty footsteps approached from afar, and the light of an oil lamp moved rapidly closer through the distant woods.
"So late," Chai Chai asked in confusion, "who could be coming?"
The answer was Mou Zhengqing, the Academic Palace Supervisor.
"Supervisor Mou?" Li Ang and the other two stood up and cupped their hands towards Mou Zhengqing in greeting, asking in confusion, "It’s so late. Are you here to...?"
The Academic Palace Supervisor was an official position established by the imperial court, responsible for relaying information to the Academic Palace. He rarely made an appearance.
"Mr. Li, please come with me to the palace," Mou Zhengqing said anxiously. "His Majesty has summoned you urgently."
After extinguishing the brazier, locking the doors and windows, Li Ang and the other two boarded a carriage heading for Chang’an City. Mou Zhengqing rode in another carriage ahead of them.
Chai Chai frowned and asked quietly, "His Majesty has summoned him urgently. What could it be about?"
"It’s definitely not good news." Li Ang shook his head.
Mou Zhengqing only said the Emperor had summoned him urgently but didn’t state the reason. This is highly unusual.
Where could the problem be? The plague in Hedong Road has been resolved, and thanks to that letter from an unknown source, there’s been a breakthrough with the Plague Demon Talisman.
Could it be a problem with the war on the front lines? But he’s just an ordinary doctor. Why summon him for no apparent reason?
Or... has the Mo Si parasitizing Li Leqing’s body been discovered?
As he pondered, the carriage entered Chang’an City. It turned right at the end of Vermilion Bird Street, passed through the Chongren, Yongxing, Yongchang, and Light Mansion Wards, and entered the Great Ming Palace.
He Fanshuang and Chai Chai were escorted to Chang’an Hall, where Li Leqing was already waiting.
Li Ang, meanwhile, was taken to a study in the Immortal Residence Hall.
In the study, Emperor Yu, Li Shun; Crown Prince Li Si; the three Prime Ministers, Xue Ji, Dongfang Lu, and Pei Su; the Academic Palace Sacrificial Official, Chen Danqiu; and the Garrison Commander, Lin Hongbo, were all present, their expressions grave.
Seeing this, Li Ang’s heart sank. These individuals collectively decided all major affairs of Yu Country. What could have them looking as if they were facing a formidable enemy?
"Your Majesty—" Emperor Yu cut off Li Ang’s salutation with a wave of his hand. "No need for formalities. Risheng, how much do you know about Ashina Yandu?"
"The Turkic Khan?" Li Ang paused for a moment, then recounted everything he knew in detail. "In his youth, Ashina Yandu was a man of great talent and ambition. After his father’s death, he personally killed his uncles, who were his rivals for the position, at a banquet, thereby ascending to the Khan’s throne. He took advantage of the political chaos during the latter period of the Holy Empress’s reign in Yu Country to lead the Turkic Army in expanding both east and west. He also emulated the Academic Palace by establishing the Wolf Garden to cultivate talent for his own nation. When Yu Country stabilized its internal situation and prepared to wage war against the Turkic, he returned Yu Country’s eastern territories and sent his own sons and nephews to Chang’an as a display of submission, thereby securing decades of peace for the Turkic. As for the territories he had seized from the various states in the Western Regions, the Turkic kept them. All things considered, the Turkic still came out ahead."
A cunning and ruthless hegemon, decisive and swift, yet also adept at assessing situations.
What Li Ang described was essentially the assessment of this Khan held by both the Academic Palace and the common people of Yu Country.
"What happened to him?" Li Ang asked, glancing at the expressions on the faces of Emperor Yu and the others.
"According to s from Garrison intelligence, five days ago, at the Winter Solstice Assembly, after this Khan announced he would not participate in the war against Yu Country, he inexplicably contracted a severe illness and fell unconscious," Garrison Commander Lin Hongbo said gravely. "The one currently in power at the Turkic Royal Court is the powerful Prime Minister, Ashide Keluo."
Li Ang instantly understood. "Is that Prime Minister plotting to usurp the throne?"
"It could be worse," Minister of the Secretariat Xue Ji said grimly. "He has won over many of the tribes that attended the Winter Solstice Assembly. They have surrounded the Royal Court and are holding the critically ill Old Khan and the primary future heirs of the Ashina family hostage. Unlike the Old Khan, who leaned towards peace, his ties with Taihao Mountain are much closer. If he comes to power, then the Turkic will be added to the nations waging war against Yu Country in the future."
"..." Li Ang fell silent for a moment. Dozens of countries, including Jing Kingdom and Zhou Kingdom, had already issued denunciations against Yu Country. If the Turkic were added to them, it would be no exaggeration to say the situation was as precarious as a pile of eggs.
He looked up and asked, "What do you need me to do?"
Emperor Yu’s gaze was sharp as he said slowly, "We need to assemble a team to infiltrate the Turkic Royal Court. Your task will be to cure the Khan."