The Empress's Gigolo

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

When Xing Ruo opened the door, he immediately got a cramp in his calf. He saw a bodyguard standing outside who was full of murderous intent. He was 1.9 meters tall, weighed over 150 kilograms, and had leather armor draped over half his heavily scarred body.

“It’s fake, it’s fake!” Xing Ruo said to himself twice as he calmed down his nerves forcibly. He first turned around and gently shut the door, then walked outside softly and quietly.

As his behavior and cowardice had always been similar to that of an ordinary child, Ren Baqian was always skeptical as to whether he could perform well.

However, since Xing Ruo was taught by Su Wen, he naturally wasn’t a slow-witted person. After thinking it through in his room for two days, he prepared himself to take the first step by leaving the house and exploring outside.

The bodyguard turned his head and looked Xing Ruo. The look in his eyes was as if he was examining his prey, and Xing Ruo’s entire body immediately trembled. He hurriedly lowered his head and hastily walked out.

“It’s fake, it’s fake, it’s fake. They are all amiable-looking and good people. Karmic hindrances are obscuring my eyes…” Xing Ruo kept repeating that to himself before bumping head on into a person who was entering the courtyard and tumbling away immediately.

“Hey, little fellow, watch your step while you walk.” Xing Ruo bumped into Gong Zheng, who knew that Ren Baqian and this little baldy had some sort of relation. He lowered his head and picked Xing Ruo up. The entire process was no different from picking up a doll from the ground.

“Where are you headed to?”

When Gong Zheng stood there, he was like a slab of wall that blocked off all the sunlight and enveloped Xing Ruo in shadow.

Adding on his sinister smile, Xing Ruo shriveled his lips while his eyes looked as if he was about to cry.

“It’s fake, it’s all fake!” Xing Ruo shut his eyes and shouted out loud.

“What’s fake?” Gong Zheng scratched his head.

Was this little baldy really a fool?

Xing Ruo opened his eyes and trembled as he replied, “You’re a good person!”

“Of course! Whoever dares to say that I’m not a good person, I’ll tear him apart, pull out his intestines, wrap them around his neck, and strangle him to death before chopping him up into minced meat to feed the babeasts!” Gong Zheng sneered with a sinister look.

Xing Ruo was so astonished by Gong Zheng’s malevolence that he almost turned around and ran back to his room.

However, after thinking that he only had himself to rely on now, Xing Ruo stood there trembling as he resisted his fear and said, “It’s fake. You’re actually amiable looking, kind, and charitable. It’s just that the karmic hindrances are obscuring my eyes.”

Gong Zheng was speechless.

Amiable looking? Kind and charitable? Is he referring to me? Seems like it.

“Amitabha, I’m leaving!” Xing Ruo replied appropriately while shivering.

“Oh, be careful.” Gong Zheng scratched his head.

After hearing this burly, ferocious, and baleful-looking man tell him to be careful, Xing Ruo suddenly felt that it was like what Arhat had said, that all the ferocious looking things were fake, and that this was just the exterior surface.

Xing Ruo faced Gong Zheng and put his palms together. He then carefully moved a few steps to the side before dashing through the door.

Gong Zheng turned around and looked at the back of Xing Ruo, who seemed like he was running for his life. He then said to the courtyard’s bodyguard, “You heard that just now, right? He said that I’m amiable looking, kind, and charitable. Kids don’t lie, so this must be true.”

That bodyguard shriveled his lips.

Don’t you have an idea of what kind of a person you are?

“You don’t agree?” Looking at the guard’s shriveled mouth, Gong Zheng was immediately enraged. He raised up his fist, which as big as a casserole, and sent the bodyguard flying away.

After leaving the courtyard, Xing Ruo felt that he had become much bolder.

A group of winged cavalry warriors walked toward him. He immediately stepped to the side and said to himself that it was all fake. He put his hands together and chanted, “Amitabha.”

After that, he saw another two bodyguards. Again, he stepped aside saying to himself that it was fake, put his hands together, and chanted, “Amitabha!.”

Ren Baqian’s location was either surrounded by the winged cavalry or by people from the Protectorate of the South.

During the third encounter with someone, Xing Ruo subconsciously stepped to the side and said, “It’s fake, Amitabha.”

“It’s fake, Amitabha!” Xing Ruo stood by the side of the street and put his hands together, looking on as a few aboriginal soldiers walked past him.

“It’s fake, Amitabha!” Xing Ruo realized that these people didn’t seem to be so scary after all. Indeed it was like what Arhat said, and he had grown a little more courageous.

The winged cavalry warriors and bodyguards all looked puzzled.

What fake Amitabha? Could it be an aboriginal dialect from somewhere? Was it a greeting?

The little monk took an hour to walk out of a street. He could finally see some ordinary people in the surroundings, which made him a lot more relaxed.

Along the way, he saw some unadorned architecture at the sides as well as some ordinary pedestrians. Whenever he bumped into someone, he would chant, “Amitabha!.”

After walking for the entire morning, Xing Ruo felt a little hungry. He found a store by the roadside and went in with his palms put together, “Amitabha. Benefactor, are you able to give me a bowl of water and rice?”

The shopkeeper’s face immediately turned black when he heard this.

You little beggar. If you just wanted some water and food, I’d probably give it to you, but you actually asked for rice? That stuff is imported from Great Xia, and I can’t even afford to eat it myself!

“No, get lost!”

The little monk didn’t feel disheartened after being chased out and continued asking for alms at the next store.

“Get lost, get lost!” After listening to Xing Ruo, the second shopkeeper had the exact same reaction as the first.

“Amitabha. Benefactor, can you spare me a bowl of water and a bun? A pancake will suffice!” The little monk went on to a third store and lowered his request.

“No, go away. I’ll hit you if you don’t!” After hearing what the little monk said, the boss of the store immediately picked up a broom.

What Arhat said was right. The people here don’t revere Buddha, don’t know about genuine virtue, and don’t have merciful hearts. Those who look fiendish were actually kind and charitable. Those who look easy to talk to were in fact fiendish,Xing Ruo thought to himself.

Eventually, a few of the winged cavalry warriors who saw him earlier walked past. They saw that he was hungry and gave him a piece of jerky and a pot of water. This made Xing Ruo feel extremely grateful.

He had affirmed his thoughts even more.

…

A bodyguard entered the room and spoke to Ren Baqian, saying, “Jia de ah mi to fu! Principal Ren, our brothers who previously went north will be returning back to the city in two hours. It was said that they brought back many people. How are we going to settle them down?”

“What jia de ah mi to fu?” Ren Baqian was stupefied for a moment.

“It’s an aboriginal dialect from the south of Tianjing Basin which means hello,” the bodyguard properly explained. This phrase appeared to be trending these days. In any case, he had already seen a few bodyguards from the outside who used this greeting.

“Oh!” Ren Baqian felt a little suspicious, but didn’t give it much thought either. He then sent the bodyguard out of the city.

Currently, other than Ren Baqian’s original aboriginal bodyguards, there were six others following behind him.

Four of them hailed from Lingshan Sect and were in their thirties. Among them, two used swords, one used a spear, and the other one used a pair of steel blades. The last two people were slightly older and were Qingyun Sword’s underlings. One of them was like a farmer because the weapon he used was a pitchfork. The other one had white hair and a white beard, but his figure was robust and healthy, just slightly shy of an aboriginal’s. He used a broadsword with a long handle.

All six of them were Earth Wheel experts, and they were all considered pretty strong.

They all used to be experts in their own regions, but had now become Ren Baqian’s bodyguards.

However, even though the weakest members of the winged cavalry were also at the Earth Wheel level, these bodyguards weren’t affected at all.

If they were troubled, it would be due to the fact that they had fought the aboriginals in the past and felt a little awkward now that they were bodyguards among the aboriginal ranks.

A party of men left the city. Not too long after, they saw another group approaching from afar.

At the front were people from the Golden Ring Residence. Hundreds of people followed behind with both of their hands tied up. One could tell how gorgeous their clothes used to be, but now, they were all dirty.

Aside from this party of people, there were dozens of winged cavalry warriors riding on regular mounts and moving forward slowly.

Furthermore, behind all of these people were large numbers of horse carriages. However, these carriage weren’t carrying people. Instead, they were filled with goods that had been plundered.

“Sir!” The winged cavalry stepped forth in greeting when the party arrived at the city gate.

“Was everything alright throughout the journey?” Ren Baqian asked.

“Sir, they know their place very well.”

“Not bad. Have you met the army of the Protectorate of the South?”

“Sir, there were a few cities along the way that haven’t been tidied up yet. They will need a few more days before coming back.”

Ren Baqian nodded. Seeing that the people at the back were getting restless, he ordered, “Release them.”

He then raised his voice and said, “You came here not to become prisoners under the stairs, but to exhibit the amicable coexistence between the people of Tianjing Basin and the aboriginals. The people of Tianjing Basin have a lot of misunderstandings toward the aboriginals and the imperial court. I hope that when you leave in the future, you can dispel these misunderstandings that you previously had.”

Awkward silence!

Misunderstandings? There were no misunderstandings at all.

Ren Baqian paid no attention to this and continued talking, “I’m giving you a chance and am lenient toward all of you, but that doesn’t mean that I’ll always be lenient. After you enter the city, all of you must know your place and be well-behaved unless you are stronger than this thing that is hanging from the top of the city wall!”

“Sir Ren, what’s that on top of the wall?” From the very start, Zhan Changkong had kept his eyes fixed upon those few people behind Ren Baqian. He had seen them before. Those four from Lingshan Sect were all reputable experts, and he hadn’t expected for them to actually follow behind Ren Baqian.

The other two were experts from the hidden village.

It seemed like Lingshan Sect and Qingyun Sword had both fallen…

Who was that hanging from the top of the city walls? Sensing Ren Baqian’s intentions, this person must be someone extremely important.

“The Spirit Spear, Teng Yue. Surely you have heard of him before!” Ren Baqian sneered

“The fourth most powerful expert in the world, the Spirit Spear, Teng Yue?” Everyone was astonished. Why would Teng Yue appear here? How did he die here?

“All of you can find out the specifics from those who have arrived earlier. Enter the city!”