Chapter 5: The Emperor Arrived in Person to Buy Big Hippo's Freedom

Dylan Weedy kicked Shaun Sinjen in the backside. "What the hell are you thinking? I'll need Jade to massage me for a long time to come. Besides, she'll be my Imperial Guard from today onward, and her rank is higher than yours. Watch your mouth when you speak to her." Dylan had already uncovered Jade Jauncy's past through indirect questions, careful probing, and psychological analysis of her microexpressions. She had been born to a hunter's family in a remote northern mountain village. When bandits swept through her hometown and slaughtered the entire village, the young girl had been taken up the mountain and forced to become a child bride. Once, she had secretly tried to escape. Instead, she had fallen into a cavern beneath a mountain ravine, where she had unexpectedly found several little clay figurines covered in markings of acupoints. The bandits caught her again, but by then she had begun practicing according to the markings on the little clay figurines. The more she practiced, the stronger she became. Her body grew larger and more powerfully built as well. Before she had even reached the age when the bandits could "use" her, she had already looked more like a burly man than a young woman. Of course, it was precisely because her appearance made it impossible for most men to feel any desire toward her that she had remained a virgin in the bandit stronghold. The bandits did not keep anyone who could not work, however. Jade had been forced to wash clothes, sweep floors, chop wood, and cook. Even then, she had never been given enough food to eat. Later, when the Imperial Court launched a campaign against the bandits, Jade was rescued as a Ransom Hostage. She had no parents, no relatives, and nowhere to go, so the local magistrate secretly sold her to a Slave Trader. After changing hands several times, she had eventually been bought by a brothel. When the Old Madam heard that Dylan intended to buy Jade's freedom, she leaped nearly a foot into the air. The Slave Trader had sold Big Hippo to the brothel as a free gift. She had been there for several years, yet she had never served a single customer. It was not that she had refused. No one had ever wanted her. She could also eat an absurd amount. A single meal for her was roughly equal to the combined meals of every girl and servant in the entire brothel. Keeping her around meant losing money. Still, throwing her out seemed like a waste. She worked hard enough to replace six servants by herself. All she needed was enough food to fill her stomach, and she did not even require wages. The Madam hurried upstairs. "Young Master, do you truly intend to buy Jade's freedom?" she asked. Dylan lounged back and tossed a grape into his mouth. "Cut the crap. Name your price!" "Young Master, Jade has been in my care for several years. Our bond is just like that of a mother and daughter. To see her leave so suddenly is heartbreaking. As her mother, I truly can't bear to part with her..." By the end of her speech, the Madam had begun to cry. Jade started crying too. She rushed over and hugged the Old Madam. "Mama, you were the only person in my life who ever let me eat my fill. I can't bear to leave you either. I won't buy my freedom anymore. I'll stay with you for the rest of my life and take care of you in your old age..." Before Jade could finish, the Old Madam shoved her away. The tears vanished from her face without a trace. "Young Master, one thousand taels, and she's yours!" "I'm a Young Master, not a fool. A thousand taels? Keep dreaming. I'm not buying her!" Dylan rose to his feet and turned to Shaun. "Prepare the sedan. We're going home!" "Young Master, wait! A deal is a deal. You're buying, and I'm selling. We can still discuss the price." The Old Madam hurriedly grabbed Dylan's sleeve. "I started with an outrageous price. You're supposed to bargain me down." Dylan held up one hand. "Fifty taels." "That won't do. She's eaten more than fifty taels' worth of food in all the years she's been here. The least I can accept is four hundred taels." "One hundred taels." "Three hundred!" "Fifty!" "How did the price get lower the more you bid? Fine, one hundred it is!" Under the stunned gazes of everyone present, Dylan left with Jade Jauncy. The customers, the prostitutes, and even the Old Madam could not help imagining Dylan, the little horse, struggling beneath the heavy cart until he coughed up blood. One after another, they raised their thumbs at his departing back. Shaun's face burned crimson as he followed beside Dylan with his head lowered. "Young Master," he whispered, "if you take her home, I'm afraid the Duke may actually beat you to death. By tomorrow, the entire capital will be saying that you bought Big Hippo's freedom. Your reputation will be ruined." Dylan gave a self-mocking laugh. "Do I even have a reputation left?" "Not really..." Shaun hesitated. "But people say you can question the Young Master's character and morals, just never his taste in women. The commoner girls you abducted were all beautiful enough to rival flowers. But this time, you've even lost your taste..." Dylan glanced at Jade, who stood timidly beside him with worry written across her face. She did not even realize how powerful she was. Anyone who reached the level of Grand Master of the Martial Way was either the leader of a top sect, a Supreme General worthy of entering the Cloud-Scraping Pavilion, or the Grand Commander of the Imperial Bodyguards serving at the emperor's side. The worst of them still became honored guests of the most powerful clans. Yet Dylan had bought one for a mere one hundred taels. He had stumbled upon an unbelievable bargain. Naturally, he had no intention of telling Shaun that. Instead, he had Shaun crouch down and climbed onto his neck. Then he reached over and gently patted Jade's head. There was no other way. The woman was simply too tall for him to reach. "Jade, what are you worried about?" he asked. "I'm afraid I won't have enough to eat." Dylan burst out laughing. "This is the Duke of Weedy's Manor. How could we possibly lack food? From this day forward, eat as much as you want. We'll have whatever you feel like eating. Eat until you're full, eat until you're stuffed, and you won't have to work either." "Young Master, you may not know how much I eat. I can finish ten pounds of rice in one meal. And if you won't let me work, that wouldn't be right. There's no such thing as getting a free meal in this world. Please don't abandon me just because I eat too much. I don't want to go hungry again." Jade's worried expression grew heavier, and her voice turned tearful by the end. "Ten pounds of rice? Even if you ate a hundred pounds in one meal, I could still afford to feed you!" Dylan patted his chest. "Besides, I'm not telling you to live for free. From now on, you can protect me. If anyone hits me, hit them. If I tell you to hit someone, hit them." "But... but hitting people is against the law!" "Against the law?" Dylan snorted. "I am the law! I could bed a Princess and get away with it. What the hell do I have to fear?" In the middle of the street, with countless people watching, Dylan brazenly shouted his treasonous words. Then he jumped down from Shaun's neck and climbed into the sedan. On the way back to the Duke of Weedy's Manor, Dylan lifted the curtain and whispered to Jade, "There are two tails behind us. Give them both a good beating, but hold back. Don't kill them or cripple them. I'll have trouble explaining that to Grandfather." "Understood, Young Master." "Good work. Once we get home, have Shaun tell the kitchen to braise a few chickens and steam a huge pot of rice for you as a late-night snack." Jade stood in the middle of the street with her hands on her hips. In her dress, she looked like a giant, hairless bear. As Dylan's sedan gradually disappeared into the distance, two men in fitted martial outfits cautiously poked their heads out. Both were around thirty years old. The moment they emerged, the moonlight vanished. A towering wall had appeared in front of them. It was Jade Jauncy. She stretched out her plump, fan-sized hands and seized both men by the head, one in each hand. Before they could react, an irresistible force surged through them. A moment later, they felt themselves soar into the air before crashing heavily onto the ground. Crack! Crack! Both men's arms and ribs broke. "I'm sorry," Jade said with an apologetic, sheepish smile. "I lost control of my strength. I didn't realize you were so fragile." She strode after the sedan that had carried Dylan away. Inside the Duke of Weedy's Manor, Benedict Weedy sat calmly in his study. Standing across from him was a dignified, square-faced man in his forties. Benedict's expression remained cold. "His Majesty is the ruler of an entire nation, the supreme sovereign. Yet he came to the home of an old man with one foot in the grave in the middle of the night. What business could he possibly have with me?" The man was none other than His Majesty, Emperor of Southern Radiance. The Emperor of Southern Radiance gave Benedict a slight fist-and-palm salute. "Honorary Father, you flatter me. You are the backbone and pillar of the Sublime Dynasty. When Southern Radiance was still an infant, you entered and exited the enemy camp seven times alone to rescue me. You are the person I have trusted most in this life." Benedict's tone carried a hint of mockery. "I seem to remember that during the Nine Princes' Succession Struggle, I supported the Crown Prince rather than you. You hated me to the bone back then." "Times change. Besides, Honorary Father was merely following the wishes of the Imperial Father. You were not opposing me." "The ruler of a nation must be broad-minded and capable of embracing all things. I forgot what happened back then long ago. There is no need to bring it up again." The Emperor of Southern Radiance finished speaking with grand confidence. His gaze locked with Benedict's, and neither man yielded. "I came for two reasons. First, I was concerned about Honorary Father's health. Second, I wished to discuss the betrothal between Dylan Weedy and Gardenia Negas." "I drove the Imperial Physician away because Everett Murch was at my manor." "Oh? Divine Physician Murch is here as well?" Everett Murch possessed extraordinary medical skills, but he preferred wandering freely through the world. The Emperor of Southern Radiance had repeatedly tried to summon him to the palace as Chief Imperial Physician, only to be politely refused each time. Benedict raised one finger. "I have one year left before I go to accompany the Late Emperor." "The world is in turmoil, the Sublime Dynasty is on the verge of collapse, and the lords guarding the borders have grown powerful by holding armies of their own." "Within the realm, the five surnames and seven great clans are also harboring thoughts of rebellion. They are merely waiting for the right moment to act." "Even the outlaws of the Martial World are plotting to raise the banner of rebellion..." As Benedict spoke, his white hair and beard stirred without a breeze. A powerful, battle-hardened killing intent poured from him. "But as long as I, Benedict Weedy, still draw breath, no one in the Sublime Dynasty will dare act rashly. Your Majesty has one year left to turn this situation around!"