Chapter 297: Chapter 293: Ye Liangchen Was Here

At the Imperial Palace gates, all the civil and military officials, along with Emperor Li Bi, were gathered. They were protected by numerous Imperial Guards.

"What in the world just happened over there? Why did a white light suddenly appear?"

"I don’t know, Lord Lin. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen a phenomenon like that."

"Indeed, I’ve never seen it before. But it must have been Lord White Cloud, right? As soon as the white light appeared, he broke out of the encirclement."

"This Lord White Cloud is truly formidable. Not even that many soldiers from the Imperial Army could contain him."

"He is. He’s incredibly strong. He severely wounded National Master Meng with a single sword strike."

"My lords, do you think His Majesty’s Imperial Army can kill Lord White Cloud?"

"Of course they can. Lord White Cloud may be strong, but he’s hopelessly outnumbered. When surrounded by that many soldiers, even an Innate Realm expert will eventually exhaust their True Qi."

"That’s a bold claim, Lord He. I’m not so sure. He was surrounded by the Imperial Army just moments ago, and he still escaped, didn’t he? A single Heaven-shattering Thunder can kill and wound a large swath of them. Didn’t you see the heavy losses the Imperial Army suffered?"

"I must disagree, Lord Chen. Even Heaven-shattering Thunders run out. Could they really kill an army hundreds of thousands strong? In my opinion, if Lord White Cloud had simply broken through the perimeter and fled, he could have easily survived. But unfortunately for him, he chose to storm the Imperial Palace. Once His Majesty’s hundred thousand troops from the West Suburb arrive and join the fifty thousand soldiers of the Imperial Army, Lord White Cloud will be trapped inside the Imperial Palace. It will be a dead end."

At the Imperial Palace gates, the assembled civil and military officials whispered amongst themselves.

"Hey, my lords, look! It seems an Imperial Guard is coming out from inside the palace," someone exclaimed.

All the civil and military officials, and Emperor Li Bi himself, turned to look past the Imperial Palace gates.

A swift horse galloped out from the Imperial Palace, kicking up a cloud of dust. The Imperial Guard atop it quickly dismounted, came before Emperor Li Bi, and knelt. "Your Majesty!"

At the guard’s arrival, all eyes—from the officials to the Emperor—snapped to him. Impatient, Emperor Li Bi immediately asked, "What’s the status of the battle inside? Have you captured Lord White Cloud?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty, Lord White Cloud is too fast. We can’t keep up with him," the Imperial Guard replied with a bitter smile. "Additionally, Commander Jiao sent me to report that... all the Ink Treasures in Yunshu Hall... have been completely looted by Lord White Cloud."

"Useless fools." Emperor Li Bi’s expression turned foul as he roared, "Every single Ink Treasure in Yunshu Hall is worth a thousand gold coins! Not only did the Imperial Army fail to capture Lord White Cloud, you let him make off with everything in Yunshu Hall! What use do I have for a bunch of incompetents like you!"

The Imperial Guard was terrified. "Please calm your anger, Your Majesty!" he stammered. "Commander Jiao is already setting up ambushes and traps in the other palace halls! We should be able to—"

"I don’t want to hear about the process. I only want results," Emperor Li Bi snorted. "Go back and tell Jiao Lu’an that if he fails to capture Lord White Cloud and retrieve the Ink Treasures, all of you can worry about keeping your heads on your shoulders."

"Yes, I obey!" The guard, looking terrified, hastily withdrew and hurried back into the Imperial Palace.

A clamor immediately erupted before the Imperial Palace gates as the civil and military officials huddled together, whispering amongst themselves.

"To think that Lord White Cloud looted all the Ink Treasures in Yunshu Hall."

"How audacious! All the Ink Treasures in there must be worth hundreds of thousands of Gold Coins, at least!"

"Hundreds of thousands of Gold Coins? It’s that much?"

"Of course! Every piece is worth over a thousand Gold Coins, and the rarer, more precious ones are worth more than ten thousand."

"I knew the Ink Treasures were valuable, but I had no idea they were *that* expensive."

"To be honest, if even a portion of those Ink Treasures were auctioned off to replenish the imperial treasury—"

"Shh! Lord Wang, lower your voice, lest His Majesty hear you and fly into a rage. The Ink Treasures are priceless. His Majesty would never auction them off."

"Hey, my lords, look! Another Imperial Guard is coming out!"

From the wide palace gates ahead, another swift horse galloped forth. An Imperial Guard quickly arrived before Emperor Li Bi.

"Have you caught Lord White Cloud? I don’t care if he’s dead or alive!" Emperor Li Bi asked hurriedly, his voice filled with hope.

"Your... Your Majesty!" the guard stammered, his face covered in sweat and twisted in misery. "All the treasures in the Treasure Hall... Lord White Cloud swept the entire place clean and put everything into his Qiankun Bag."

The messenger guard looked on with extreme trepidation, his expression fraught with anxiety as he watched Emperor Li Bi.

Emperor Li Bi’s face instantly darkened, and a vein throbbed on his forehead.

The atmosphere at the palace gates became suffocating. The civil and military officials held their breath, not daring to make a sound.

The treasures in the Treasure Hall, compared to the contents of Yunshu Hall, were what one would truly call priceless. They were rare and exotic wonders the Royal Family had spent years collecting from every corner of the nation: Gemstones, jade carvings, antiques, and more, all in great number. Losing the Ink Treasures from Yunshu Hall had stung the Emperor. But losing every single treasure from the Treasure Hall? For Emperor Li Bi, it wasn’t just a sting. His liver hurt, his stomach hurt, his kidneys hurt, even his balls hurt. He felt sick to his core, and his mood hit rock bottom.

Now, his mind was consumed by a single thought: for his Imperial Army to capture Lord White Cloud as quickly as possible and reclaim his Ink Treasures and other treasures.

After an anxious and agonizing wait, another messenger from the Imperial Guard finally came galloping from the Grand Imperial Palace.

"Have you caught Lord White Cloud?" Emperor Li Bi asked at once. Though his question was urgent, his eyes held little hope or expectation—in fact, they showed a hint of anxiety. Clearly, he wasn’t holding out much hope for a successful capture.

"N-no, we haven’t!" the guard replied, kneeling with a terrified expression. "Reporting to Your Majesty, Lord White Cloud has forced his way into the Jinluan Grand Hall."

"The Jinluan Grand Hall?" For some reason, upon hearing this news, Emperor Li Bi felt a wave of relief wash over him. Jinluan Hall was a grand and solemn place. It was the main throne room of the Imperial Palace, where the civil and military officials gathered for morning court each day, but it contained nothing of monetary value. Compared to halls like Yunshu Hall and Treasure Hall, which were dedicated to storing calligraphy and precious treasures, Lord White Cloud wouldn’t be able to loot much in the way of silver coins from Jinluan Hall.

Just as Emperor Li Bi was having this thought, he heard the Imperial Guard report with a tremor in his voice, "Your Majesty... that... that Lord White Cloud... he’s... he’s carving something on the dragon pillars in Jinluan Hall."

"The nerve!" Emperor Li Bi’s brief moment of calm shattered into rage. "How impudent! Utterly impudent! Damn him! I’ll have him sliced to ribbons! What did he carve?!"

"Your Majesty, I... I dare not say!"

"Spit it out! If you don’t, I’ll have your head this instant!" Emperor Li Bi bellowed.

"Yes, yes! I obey, I obey!" The messenger guard was terrified, his body shaking as he stammered, "He... he... That... That Lord White Cloud... on the dragon pillars of the Jinluan Grand Hall, he carved... he carved four large words—’Ye Liangchen was here!’"

SMACK!

Emperor Li Bi felt as if he’d been struck across the face. The stinging shame and fury he felt were even more intense than the anger from losing all the treasures in the Treasure Hall.

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