Inside the Divine General’s Mansion, everyone wore expressions of astonishment. What no one had expected was that, at this critical juncture, Lin Huang would actually wake up.
Lin Beichen’s face was filled with pleasant surprise. This was the first time Lin Huang had been conscious in the two years since he had fallen into the Demon Realm!
Lin Haoran, on the other hand, looked utterly incredulous. Staring at Lin Huang, who was flashing him a sly smile, a surge of fury welled up in his heart, yet his face displayed a sincere smile.
"Young Master, you’re awake. This is wonderful!" Lin Haoran quickly walked over to Lin Huang’s side, looking exactly like a scholar’s attendant. Even though Lin Huang had been paralyzed for three years, he still appeared to be the fiercely loyal Lin Haoran.
"You, a household slave, want to inherit the position of Young Master?"
"Young Master... I..." Lin Haoran stammered. He looked back at the group of generals behind him, then at Lin Beichen, putting on a wronged expression.
Behind Lin Haoran, Lu Hexi also frowned upon seeing Lin Huang awake. Then, he sneered inwardly and spoke with sharp, aggressive words. "Young Master, Haoran is already the Xiance Little General, not some household slave. By speaking like this, do you view the six hundred thousand troops of my Divine General’s Mansion all as household slaves?"
Lin Huang raised an eyebrow, his face cold and ruthless. "Since you, Elder General Lu, also call me Young Master, does your desire to establish a new Young Master today mean you intend to rebel?"
"Hmph, what a massive boast from the Young Master. The moment you open your mouth, you brand this old man with the title of a rebel. I, Lu Hexi, am a citizen of Great Xia; how could I ever betray the Great Xia Dynasty? By saying this, I fear the Young Master is trying to frame me!" Lu Hexi’s expression was indifferent. With eyes like blades, he glared aggressively at Lin Huang.
"What does framing matter? Our Divine General’s Mansion even has the right to kill. Do you want to test that out, Elder General Lu?" Lin Huang looked up at the towering and imposing Lu Hexi, speaking in a hauntingly calm tone.
"That depends on whether the Young Master has the guts to try!" Lu Hexi laughed darkly. As the esteemed Northern General, his official rank was only slightly lower than Lin Beichen’s. Lin Huang was nothing but a wet-behind-the-ears brat; no matter what he said, he couldn’t touch him in the slightest.
"Then I’ll let you see!" Lin Huang sneered, then turned his head to Zhao Changfeng. "Uncle Zhao, help me close the doors to the Divine General’s Mansion!"
Upon hearing this, Zhao Changfeng immediately left the grand hall. It wasn’t as simple as just closing the doors; he was going to mobilize the troops!
"Xiaohuang..." Lin Beichen spoke up in the grand hall, ultimately unable to bear it. He naturally understood Lin Huang’s intentions. The boy wanted to cut through the Gordian knot and thoroughly purge the Divine General’s Mansion. However, in this hall, there were many who had once braved life and death alongside him, many who had bled and suffered wounds for his sake.
Lin Huang smiled faintly and said, "Grandfather, there are some things you cannot bring yourself to do because of old sentiments. Let me handle them instead!"
"Lin Huang, what are you trying to do?" a general scolded. "When all is said and done, the Divine General’s Mansion is but a subject of Great Xia. If you recklessly employ extrajudicial punishment, your entire extended family will be executed!"
"My Divine General’s Mansion controls six hundred thousand troops! Who would dare execute our extended family!" Lin Huang laughed wildly, not caring in the slightest how treasonous his words were, nor caring how many dignitaries were present in the hall. Let alone the entire Azure Sky Continent, even within the East Spirit Realm, the Great Xia Dynasty was merely an insignificant existence. The annihilation of a dynasty was nothing more than an Imperial Dynasty’s decree of subjugation away.
"Elder Mansion Master, you certainly have quite the grandson!" Lu Hexi sighed, his expression indescribably hardened.
"Lin Haoran, will you die by your own hand, or should I kill you?" At this moment, Lin Huang turned back to look at Lin Haoran, beginning the reckoning.
Knowing that today’s matter would not be easily dropped, Lin Haoran’s expression gradually stiffened. He said coldly, "Young Master, I ask myself and find no shame in how I’ve treated the Divine General’s Mansion or you. Why are you so heartless as to want me dead? Are you truly not afraid of the wagging tongues of the Great Xia people?"
"No shame in how you’ve treated the Divine General’s Mansion?" Lin Huang sneered. "Then what is the deal with the tattoo on your chest? Don’t tell me you tattooed a dog’s head on your chest to bless you with a long life on the battlefield!" As he spoke, Lin Huang discreetly bit his finger. A few drops of blood fell into the wine cup in front of him, and he then picked it up, swirling it casually.
"You..." Lin Haoran’s expression changed, and he stared at Lin Huang in astonishment. Then, with a self-righteous smile, he stripped off his upper garment under the watchful eyes of the crowd, completely disregarding the female guests present in the hall.
In the grand hall, the soft candlelight illuminated Lin Haoran’s body. Apart from hardened muscles, there were only crisscrossing scars. There was no sign of the supposed tattoo Lin Huang had mentioned.
"Young Master, I pride myself on my unwavering loyalty. Can this prove my innocence now!" Lin Haoran’s words were filled with grievance and resentment.
The crowd in the hall instantly began whispering among themselves. Looking at Lin Huang’s demeanor, they thought that if Lin Huang were truly allowed to inherit the Divine General’s Mansion, it would likely perish in less than three years. With such a narrow mind, he would never achieve greatness. However, they were actually quite happy to see Lin Huang take charge of the Divine General’s Mansion.
In the hall, many women stared at Lin Huang with disgust, including the maidservants of the Divine General’s Mansion. In contrast, their gazes toward Lin Haoran were much softer.
"So impassioned and righteous. You spoke so well that I almost started doubting myself, heh..." Lin Huang said with a leisurely expression, swirling his wine cup. Then, when no one was paying attention, he suddenly swung his arm, splashing the blood-tainted wine from the cup squarely onto Lin Haoran’s bare chest.
"You..." Lin Haoran’s face changed drastically. Feeling a burning sensation spread across his chest, panic flashed in his eyes as he hurriedly tried to put his clothes back on.
The crowd in the hall watched Lin Haoran’s frantic attempt to dress himself, their eyes widening in shock. No matter how fast Lin Haoran moved, they still caught sight of the tattoo gradually manifesting on his skin. A dog’s head, with a bright red tongue hanging out and long fangs protruding, appeared right on Lin Haoran’s chest!
Lin Beichen’s face changed, his expression gradually growing cold and hard.
The scene became deadly silent. Some wore expressions of confusion, not understanding the significance of the dog’s head tattoo. Others, however, understood completely; occupying high positions, they naturally knew more secrets.
"Now, what else do you have to say in your defense?" Lin Huang smiled faintly.
With a THUD, Lin Haoran suddenly fell to his knees on the ground. He didn’t speak, only kowtowed continuously.
Watching the scene unfold, Lu Hexi clenched his withered hands into fists. The gaze he directed at Lin Haoran was full of fury. "You useless piece of trash!"
The Divine General’s Mansion held a transcendent status within the Great Xia Dynasty. It possessed the ultimate power of life and death and commanded six hundred thousand troops. Such formidable power was naturally feared by the Royal Family. Over the past twenty years, the Divine General’s Mansion had progressively been stripped of military authority over 1.4 million troops. It was only after Lin Huang became paralyzed that the situation had finally calmed down.
Lin Beichen had not expected that the Royal Family had no intention of letting the Divine General’s Mansion off the hook so easily, but rather, they had set their sights on the successor of the Divine General’s Mansion. The hidden dog’s head tattoo on Lin Haoran’s body was the best proof.
Most of the First-Grade Officials in the Imperial City knew that Crown Prince Lingyun had twenty-seven Death Guards under his command. No one knew their names, their origins, or in whose estates they were lurking. Only the dog’s head tattoos on their bodies could prove the identities of these Death Guards.
Undoubtedly, Lin Haoran was one of them.
In the grand hall, Lin Beichen shook his head helplessly. Lin Haoran had grown up in the Divine General’s Mansion since he was a child. If he could have just bided his time for another ten years, he would undoubtedly have become a prominent figure of power. Who could have expected him to become Crown Prince Lingyun’s dog?
"Lin Haoran, stop kowtowing. Leave yourself a shred of dignity before you die!" Lin Huang looked at the young man before him and spoke calmly, his heart exceptionally cold. "Considering you were raised in the Divine General’s Mansion, I don’t want to see you die too miserably. Take your own life!" Lin Huang drew a saber and tossed it to Lin Haoran.
In the grand hall, Lin Haoran stopped kowtowing. He stared at the blade before him, fists clenched tight, his eyes bloodshot, lost in thought.
The crowd held their breath, quietly watching the situation unfold. Many of the young ladies bit their lips, their eyes red; even now, they refused to believe that Lin Haoran was a man devoid of gratitude.
"Lin Huang, I cannot accept this..." Lin Haoran picked up the long blade from the floor, glaring at Lin Huang with crimson eyes. "Why did you have to wake up at this exact moment? I was only one step away. Just one step away, and I would have been the Young Master! I cannot accept this!"
With that, Lin Haoran raised the blade and thrust it toward his own chest.
The crowd inwardly sighed, thinking that a perfectly good coming-of-age ceremony was about to be stained with blood in the grand hall.
Lin Beichen also shook his head. After all, he had watched Lin Haoran grow up. It was just that the Lin Haoran of today was no longer the humble, gentle, and perhaps somewhat weak child of the past.
Just as everyone lowered their guard, Lin Haoran’s body suddenly moved. In the blink of an eye, he held the blade against Lin Huang’s neck, a sinister smile creeping across his face. "I cannot accept this, so I cannot die..."
"Insolent!" In the grand hall, Lin Beichen roared in fury. Primordial Qi surged around his body, and a tyrannical aura flooded the hall. At the same time, many officers of the Divine General’s Mansion clamped their hands onto the hilts of their blades.
"Mansion Master, you only need one palm strike to kill me, but you had better think clearly before making a move. No matter how fast you are, you aren’t faster than my blade." Lin Haoran’s face was gloomy, yet he carried a trace of arrogance as he brazenly shouted, "Let me leave!"
In the center of the hall, it was actually Lin Huang who looked completely calm and collected, not minding the Cold Blade at his neck in the slightest. He said peacefully, "Lin Haoran, since you stubbornly refuse to give up your wicked ambitions, the only thing waiting for you is death by a thousand cuts!"
Lin Haoran laughed uproariously, looking at Lin Huang with pity. "If you had stepped into the Human Element Realm, you might have had a chance to resist. But you’re just a fop, a piece of trash! Even if I die, I’m dragging you down with me!"
A smile touched the corners of Lin Huang’s mouth as he tapped his fingers against the armrest of his wheelchair. His calm tone was laced with ruthlessness. "You’ve endured silently for so many years, so why lose your composure all of a sudden? And who told you I hadn’t stepped into the Human Element Realm?"