Chapter 1301 - Wolf and Dog! (IV)
Chapter 1301: Wolf and Dog! (IV)
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
“Young Master, from our investigation, this Chen Dazhong truly is just an ordinary hunter, and the King of Foreign Lands really did just randomly pick him out. And we learned from his neighbors, wife, and son that Chen Dazhong truly did not know what he was going to the capital for. He was going entirely for the one hundred taels of gold. In addition, we found one of the soldiers who escorted the hunter and were able to ask him questions in a roundabout way without drawing his suspicion. We learned that the King of Foreign Lands had only tasked them with escort, forbidding them from interacting excessively with the hunter, his wolf, or his dog.
“…And according to our investigation, the King of Foreign Lands did not directly interact with this hunter. When they arrived at the capital, they stayed in a hostel, and the hunter even fed the wolf and dog in the hostel. From these various signs, we do not believe that the King of Foreign Lands colluded with him. Moreover, the King of Foreign Lands has always been proud. Doing such a thing would be lowering his own status, so the actual situation is probably exactly what we investigated.”
In the Secretariat Advisor Residence, a man wearing a white robe with a bamboo leaf pattern bowed as he finished his report. Although he did his utmost to restrain his energy, the bright flashes of light from his eyes and the way they sparkled like stars indicated that his cultivation was on par with Elder Song.
Bamboo Mirror!
This was the leader of the Confucian Sect’s spy team, handling the intelligence gathered from the spies of the Confucian Sect throughout the world.
Li Junxian said nothing, but his brows were deeply creased. The more he learned, the less he understood Wang Chong’s plan.
There was no question that Wang Chong was so proud that he had not been willing to meddle in the slightest with this matter. But if this was the case, it meant that the Confucian Sect could exploit this matter for their own ends.
“Keep a close watch on this matter and ensure that the King of Foreign Lands hasn’t done anything. In addition, since he’s made his move, we should make good use of this matter to widen our influence,” Li Junxian said.
“Yes!”
Bamboo Mirror bowed and quickly withdrew. Unlike others, Bamboo Mirror would never question Li Junxian’s decision. He only cared about one thing: information.
……
A day passed in the blink of an eye, and the stage on Azure Dragon Street had attracted the attention of countless people.
Awooo!
In the cage, the large gray wolf let out howl after howl. At its feet, the small dog wagged its tail and ran around the wolf. The wolf had a soft expression, stretching out its paws to stroke the small dog and even occasionally licking the dog’s fur.
Arf! Arf!
The small dog suddenly barked and made a flying leap at the wolf. The large wolf immediately fell to the ground, and it let out soft cries as if begging for its life.
Bang!
The onlookers heartily laughed in amusement.
“Mommy, that wolf is so cute! I want to raise one too!”
“Don’t speak nonsense. How can you raise a wolf?”
A mother slapped her child in reprimand, but there was little rebuke in her eyes. Even this mother had been drawn in by the play of this wolf and dog.
“Do you see! Do you see!”
Beneath the stage, ten-some Confucians had gathered, and one of these Confucians was wildly gesticulating, using this opportunity to preach to the crowd.
“The King of Foreign Lands says that men are just like beasts, and the strong eat the weak. But all of you have seen this! Can you still believe what he says? It’s all nonsense!”
“That’s right! The theories of the King of Foreign Lands have fallen apart all on their own. Everyone, don’t be misguided by the King of Foreign Lands. Only peace can bring happiness to all!”
The other Confucians sounded out in agreement.
“Haha, big dog, here you go!”
On the stage, the hunter, Chen Dazhong, loudly laughed as he tore off a piece of jerky and threw it into the cage. The gray wolf that had originally been rolling around the ground jumped into the air and caught the jerky, growls of happiness coming from its mouth. The crowd down below couldn’t help but laugh with it, all of them moved by the peaceful coexistence of dog and wolf.
“We want peace, not war!” someone shouted from the crowd, and everyone immediately began to cheer.
Gallop!
Several spies saw this sight and immediately mounted their horses, riding out of the crowd.
“This situation is extremely bad for Wang Chong!”
Far away, in King Song’s residence, having received the report from his spies, King Song had a worried look in his eyes. From the current situation, it seemed like Wang Chong had achieved the exact opposite of what he had been aiming for.
“Your Highness King Song, should we go and ask the King of Foreign Lands?” Academic Lu Ting asked. The current clash of ideologies was far too dangerous. Given Lu Ting’s unique status, he did not dare venture in too deeply.
“There’s no need!”
King Song shook his head.
“No matter the occasion, I am confident that Wang Chong will never do anything without reason. Let’s keep waiting.”
Time passed by, and it was soon the next day. The man, dog, and wolf continued to live in harmony. Every day, a large crowd gathered around the stage, the sight of the wolf not eating the dog completely shattering their understanding of the world. And as time passed, more and more information was revealed.
There was information on how the wolf was raised, what its life with the Chen family was like, and how intelligent it seemed. When everyone heard that this wolf could guard the house and even take care of small children, they gasped in surprise.
“I have to report this to Milord!”
A worried figure quickly departed from his unnoticed corner.
“Milord, the situation is bad!”
Cheng Sanyuan stood in Wang Chong’s study, his face fraught with concern.
“The Confucian school and Confucian Sect are promoting themselves using this matter as much as they can. More than eighty percent of the book merchants have stopped selling our books. Milord’s earlier efforts have all been wasted!”
Cheng Sanyuan fully displayed his anxiety in his words. ‘Might Makes Right’ had voiced the thoughts in the minds of all soldiers and generals. Even if the people did not accept the theories in the book, from the perspective of the generals, these words were absolutely correct. But if this continued, all the work they had put in would be for nothing, so how could Cheng Sanyuan not be worried?
He had even wanted to try taking action, but he was rejected every time. Wang Chong had even issued an order expressly forbidding anyone from getting close to that wolf and dog.
“Let them go!”
In the room, Wang Chong was cross-legged on the ground, his head slightly raised, his eyes closed. He was motionless, and it seemed like nothing in the world could disturb his mood.
“I have everything planned out. In a few days, everything will be made clear.”
Cheng Sanyuan froze, and then with a sigh, he accepted the order.
“This subordinate will deliver this order!”
It was now the third day, and the people of the capital were becoming increasingly familiar with this wolf and dog, even giving them names. Meanwhile, the great clans of the capital had slowly begun to turn their attention away from this matter. There was no question now that this scene was a complete and utter mishap. They had all believed that Wang Chong had been building up for some big move, but it was now clear that they would be disappointed.
Other than a few of the great clans, there was no one left in the capital who paid this matter much regard.
Boom!
At noon, there was a crack of thunder, and dark clouds gathered overhead, swiftly building into a vast downpour complete with lightning and thunder.
Large raindrops splattered against the stage, and in the blink of an eye, the curtain of rain made the world blurry and indistinct.
The dog, wolf, and man on stage, and all the people down below, were instantly drenched.
Bang!
At this moment, a foot stomped onto the stage. Under the escort of four guards, Su Shixuan, who had not been seen for three days, stepped forward with a cold and emotionless expression.
“You’ve won this round. His Highness always keeps his word. The ten thousand taels of gold are all yours.”
Su Shixuan held his hands behind his back as he stood on the stage, and as he spoke, he gestured to the side. Someone immediately opened a massive steel chest, showing the neat stacks of gold within.
Hiss!
The hunter gasped, his entire body frozen. He had come to the capital knowing only that he could make one hundred taels of gold, never imagining that ten thousand taels could be just as easy to make. For a hunter of the mountains, this was an immense fortune.
“I-I’m not dreaming, right!”
Chen Dazhong stood in a daze as he muttered to himself.
“Chen Dazhong, you are not dreaming. This is all according to the contract between you and the King of Foreign Lands, approved by the Court of Judicial Review.”
At this moment, an official of the Court of Judicial Review stepped onto the stage. With a shake of his wrist, he displayed the contract to the crowd. Given the downpour, the official from the Court of Judicial Review showed the contract for only a moment before putting it away and handing it to Chen Dazhong.
“Congratulations!”
“Wonderful, wonderful!”
As he hugged the chest of gold, Chen Dazhong was overcome with joy. Never in his life had he imagined that he could make so much gold simply by coming to the capital.
Boom!
The crowd down below thunderously cheered, everyone clapping their hands.
After three days of watching wolf and dog, man and wolf, play around, the people of the capital had been unconsciously entranced, even developing a sort of bond. All of them felt happy to see the hunter finally obtain the ten thousand taels of gold from Wang Chong.
“Chen Dazhong, let me ask you another question. If you don’t feed the wolf, are you still so certain that your wolf will be so docile?” Su Shixuan asked in the pouring rain.