荔枝影院

Edited by: Michyrr

As the official from the Bureau of Rites was relaxing, the crowd was getting more and more excited and stirred up. In the middle of a packed crowd, a man raised his child up onto his shoulder.

“Look! Son, that’s the person you need to imitate. When you grow up, you need to become that kind of hero.”

The father excitedly looked at the distant carriage.

“Daddy, daddy, I see it, I see it!”

The boy of three or four spoke in a childish tone as he excitedly watched from his father’s shoulders.

The calm Wang Chong, his eyes closed, heard this childish voice. His heart thumped and a hint of emotion appeared on his face.

“Stand aside! Everyone, back up!”

Perhaps because they were too excited, this father-son pair continued to surge along with the crowd, failing to notice that they had pressed right up against the wary soldiers.

In a flash, a soldier turned around with a savage expression and forcefully pushed back the crowd, the father and son amongst them.

The father staggered back, causing his son to fall with a shriek from his shoulders.

Just when the child was about to hit the ground, boom! A majestic stream of energy shot forward to catch the boy.

Buzz!

All of this happened very abruptly, and when everyone turned to see where this energy came from, they fell silent. Even the soldiers on the perimeter who were pushing back against the crowd came to a shivering stop.

“Fuck!”

The officials from the Bureau of Rites in the distance immediately paled.

All of them suddenly felt an extremely ill foreboding.

“Hurry!”

The supervising official frantically bellowed the order like a beast, and the City Guard experts around him immediately charged toward the source of the disturbance.

But though they reacted swiftly, the matter was already developing in the worst way possible.

Bang!

As countless people watched, the wooden doors of that simple and unadorned carriage suddenly flew open, and a young and slim figure emerged.

The area around the city gate became deathly still and silent.

“The King of Foreign Lands! It’s the King of Foreign Lands!” a man suddenly yelled out from the middle of the dense crowd, and then the city gate practically exploded with earthshaking cheers, louder than they had been at any time previous. For many of the common folk of the capital, this was their first time seeing Wang Chong.

The slender figure standing at the doors to the carriage appeared in their eyes to be taller than a mountain and more dazzling than the sun. At that moment, Wang Chong was the most brilliant and striking existence in the entire world.

“It’s over!”

The supervising official felt his heart turn cold and sink like a stone when he saw Wang Chong. He had never expected that just when Wang Chong was about to go through the gates, they would fail at the final moment, a pack of idiots from the City Guard and a father and son ruining their plans.

Gallop! A trail of dust rose up over the road as several City Guard experts rode up and obstructed Wang Chong’s path.

“Milord...”

Just when they were about to speak and try to stop Wang Chong, Wang Chong glared at them, causing them to shiver and instantly shut up.

The duty of the City Guard was to maintain order and safety in the capital. People of all trades and types gathered in the capital, and they had seen their fair share of high-ranking officials and noble dignitaries. However, none of them had eyes like Wang Chong’s. A single glare had been enough to leave them speechless.

“Withdraw!”

An indifferent voice spoke into their ears, neither loud nor soft. They instinctively wanted to retort, but before they could say anything, these City Guard experts suddenly felt like they had lost control of their bodies, which were seemingly backing up on their own.

“Yes! Milord!”

Familiar voices could be heard, and to the shock of the City Guard experts, they realized that it was their own voices. These voices were suffused with respect, far more respect than they even paid to their own superiors. For a moment, all the City Guard experts were utterly dumbstruck.

What... what frightening pressure!

The City Guard experts broke out in cold sweat, even their backs becoming drenched. They had served in the City Guard for so long, yet they had never encountered anyone with such profound majesty. They suddenly felt like gazelle that had run into a lion. Before they could even think, their bodies had taken instinctive countermeasures to preserve their lives.

Wang Chong ignored them as he stepped down from the carriage and toward the father and son.

Bzzz! In a flash of light, the falling boy fell into Wang Chong’s embrace. In the distance, the father got up off the ground, and when he saw what had happened, not only was he not worried, he was elated.

“Wonderful!”

He had never imagined that an accidental fall would result in his son having a meeting with the greatest legend of the empire.

The crowd was in an uproar, countless people straining their necks to get a look at the King of Foreign Lands and the child in his hands.

Wang Chong paid no attention to all this, his gaze completely focused on the boy of three or four years old. This boy was not afraid, instead staring at Wang Chong with eyes wide with curiosity.

“This is for you!”

Wang Chong took out a small dagger and placed it in the boy’s hand.

“Whether or not you understand, remember, no matter the time, never give up on your ideals, never give up hope!”

Wang Chong returned the boy to his father, then swiftly turned around and boarded his carriage. Rumble! The carriage began to move again and was soon through the gates. Behind it, the sea of people seemed to awaken from a dream and began to loudly cheer.

“The King of Foreign Lands!”

“The King of Foreign Lands!”

“The King of Foreign Lands!”

The crowd shouted with all their strength, cheering louder than they ever had before. Even the walls of the capital seemed to shudder and tremble at their cheers. At this moment, the crowds who had come out to welcome Wang Chong had reached the zenith of their emotions. Nothing had been more representative of their moods than the scene they had just witnessed mere moments ago.

The greatest hero of the empire, the legendary War God who had conquered and vanquished more than one million Arab soldiers, together with a weak and fragile child of the Great Tang. This image had been deeply branded into their minds, to be remembered for many years to come.

This sight and the deafening cheers made all the officials from the Bureau of Rites grimace nastily.

......

As the crowds cheered, Wang Chong, Xu Keyi, Chen Bin, and the others had gone through the gates and entered the capital, which was much quieter. In the distance, several hundred meters away, many carriages had parked along the road. Many figures were standing in front of these carriages, apparently having waited for a very long time.

Perhaps not every one of these figures possessed a powerful cultivation, but all of them without exception exuded the thick scent of authority. Some of them exuded even more authority than Wang Chong. Only the influential civil and military officials of the Great Tang Empire could possess such intense auras.

Rumble! The carriage came to a stop several dozen paces from these assembled officials.

“Lord Marquis, we can’t go any farther.”

Zhang Que’s voice came from outside, slightly trembling as he swallowed his saliva. Zhang Que had followed Wang Chong on his campaigns and experienced many trials and tribulations, but even he couldn’t help but pale at the sight of these figures, a hint of tension creeping into his voice.

At this moment, a deep, energetic, and elderly voice came from up ahead. “Young Marquis, this old man has been waiting a long time!”

Wang Chong’s brow slightly creased, but he quickly relaxed. He turned to Xu Qiqin and gently said, “Qiqin, I’ll go down and meet with them. In a little while, you should return to the residence first.”

“Mm.”

Xu Qiqin looked ahead and nodded, an understanding look on her face. Wang Chong’s return to the capital this time had mobilized various factions. In the space of a single night, all the sacrifices made on the front lines had been rendered naught. Wang Chong needed an explanation and an answer.

The moment their carriage arrived at the capital, an invisible storm had stirred, one that was certain to shake the entire empire. Wang Chong was telling her to leave clearly because he did not want to drag her down. As for Xu Qiqin, she knew that Wang Chong had many things that needed his attention, and she did not want Wang Chong to be dragged down because of her.

“Go. When the time comes, I’ll come and find you.”

Creeeak!

The soft sound of the carriage doors opening seemed particularly loud and sharp. Wang Chong emerged from the carriage and quickly stepped onto the ground. It was quiet outside, and when Wang Chong turned his head, he immediately saw what lay in front of his carriage. Hundreds of carriages were parked there, blocking the road, and all of them were decorated with the insignias of the illustrious clans of the capital.

In front of these carriages, countless figures were standing. Some were white-headed and old while others were young and strong. Some were wearing official robes and had stern and majestic auras while others were dressed in casual clothes and had carefree and natural demeanors. Some of them looked at Wang Chong with beaming faces, as refreshing as the spring breeze, while others wore cold sneers and treacherous expressions.

This one city gate had gathered countless noble dignitaries and high officials. Wang Chong’s return to the capital had brought all these people here, each with their own motive.

Wang Chong immediately took all this in, and his eyes flashed for a second before returning to normal.

“Hahaha, Wang Chong, my boy, this old man has been waiting for some time!”

As Wang Chong was thinking, a hearty laugh came from the front of the crowd, and an elderly figure swiftly began to walk toward Wang Chong.