He smiled gently and said, "The martial world is full of dangers."
"Your Majesty, rest assured, your subordinate will do his utmost to complete the mission!" Chu Chen clasped his fists, his voice resonant.
"Very good, you may go and prepare. You will depart with me for the northwestern mountain range tomorrow," Long Kun commanded.
Chu Chen accepted the order and withdrew.
After Chu Chen left, Long Kun gazed out the window, his eyes gleaming with wisdom, and murmured, "I hope my prediction is correct. You are indeed a remarkable individual."
The following morning, Long Kun convened a court session and announced a decision.
"By the mandate of Heaven, by imperial decree," Long Kun stood on the dragon throne, looking down at his officials, and proclaimed, "The northwestern mountain range is treacherous and fraught with danger.
I intend to dispatch the Jinyiwei secret agents to organize an elite squad to infiltrate the northwestern mountain range in search of my seventh brother's whereabouts. Do any of you have objections?"
"Your humble servants obey the decree!" The officials all prostrated themselves and shouted in unison.
"Excellent," Long Kun nodded with satisfaction and continued, "The position of Jinyiwei Commander has been vacant for many years.
Now that someone is finally filling it, you must all diligently assist the new Commander and must not be negligent."
"Yes!" The officials responded in unison.
"Mm," Long Kun nodded slightly, his gaze sweeping across the ministers before finally resting on Chu Chen. "Esteemed Minister Chu, I trust you. I hope you will not let me down.
Find your seventh brother's whereabouts as soon as possible and bring him back."
"Your Majesty, rest assured, your subordinate swears to follow you to the death," Chu Chen clasped his fists and bowed.
Long Kun nodded slightly. "Very well, from today onwards, Esteemed Minister Chu shall officially be the Commander of the Jinyiwei. Apart from me, you may command anyone within the Jinyiwei."
Upon hearing this, Chu Chen was overjoyed and quickly knelt to kowtow. "Your subordinate will certainly not fail Your Majesty's expectations!"
"Good, Esteemed Minister Chu, you may withdraw. I have other important matters to attend to and cannot entertain you further," Long Kun said.
"Your subordinate takes his leave." Chu Chen turned and departed.
Watching Chu Chen's receding back, Long Kun narrowed his eyes, a sinister curve forming on his lips. "Hmph, Chu Haonan, Chu Haonan, let's see how you can escape this time!"
"Guards, draft an imperial edict!" Long Kun commanded sternly.
Immediately, an eunuch brought a table, brush, ink, and paper, attending to Long Kun as he wrote the decree.
Soon, the imperial edict was personally sealed with the imperial jade seal by Long Kun.
"Congratulations, Your Majesty, congratulations!" Several elite imperial guards beside him offered their felicitations.
Long Kun laughed heartily. "My esteemed ministers have also worked hard. We shall hold a banquet tonight to celebrate. My esteemed ministers, please enjoy yourselves and do not be reserved!"
"Thank you for Your Majesty's grace."
"Thank you for Your Majesty's benevolence!" The elite imperial guards were ecstatic, clasping their hands in thanks repeatedly before leaving the imperial study.
Of course, this was merely a show of courtesy. In truth, each of them felt immensely stifled and wished they could leave immediately.
They were all martial artists and knew that the position of Jinyiwei Commander was a thankless and arduous task.
One had to fight against fierce bandits day in and day out, and a single mistake could cost one's life.
Long Kun sat on the throne, picked up a bowl of wine, and took a sip, a look of contentment on his face, as if he were drunk. "I have finally waited for this day."
"Father Emperor, I am late, please do not blame me." Just then, a voice sounded, and Long Ze, clad in a python robe, entered the imperial study.
"Ze'er, you have finally deigned to return," Long Kun said, looking at Long Ze with a flicker of tenderness in his eyes.
"I have waited for over twenty years, and finally, I see you have grown up. Now I can hand over the throne to you."
"Ze'er dares not aspire to the throne," Long Ze shook his head and said, "My purpose in returning to Xiling City is to request Father Emperor to withdraw his decree."
"Oh? You no longer wish to be the King of Xiling?" Long Kun's brow furrowed slightly.
Long Ze said solemnly, "I believe my aptitude is dull and I am likely incapable of shouldering such a heavy responsibility. I implore Father Emperor to select another virtuous individual."
"You truly do not want the throne?" Long Kun looked at Long Ze in surprise. He had not expected Long Ze to refuse the throne, and to do so so cleanly and without hesitation.
"My aspirations lie not in the imperial court," Long Ze shook his head slightly.
Long Kun sighed and said, "Since your mind is made up, I respect your wishes. You may withdraw."
"Yes, my son takes his leave." Long Ze bowed respectfully and then withdrew.
Long Kun gazed in the direction Long Ze had left, his eyes filled with disappointment, and murmured, "Have I truly erred?"
In Xiling City, in a certain restaurant, Chu Chen had just sat down and taken a sip of tea when he heard a discussion from the next room.
"This mission is likely to be difficult for us."
"Alas, who says not? I hear the northwestern mountain range is a desolate place, utterly barren, and overrun with wild beasts.
With our cultivation levels, we'll probably die halfway before we even get deep inside."
"You can't say that. We are all elites of the Jinyiwei, how can we fear mere wild beasts?"
"I think we should just not participate. It's not like it's our turn anyway. It's better to save our strength to heal, and if we encounter a surprise attack from wild beasts, we can run faster."
"Brother is absolutely right. We should seize this time to heal."
"Hey, I say, why are you guys so cowardly?" Suddenly, a slightly mocking voice came from the next table.
Several young men and women were sitting at a square table, looking at Chu Chen and his companions with scorn.
"You mere few weaklings think you can compete with us for this Jinyiwei Commander position?"
Chu Chen raised an eyebrow slightly, his gaze indifferent as he looked at the young men and women. "What? Do you want to spar with me?"
"Oh ho, you're quite arrogant."
"Which two of you will fight? The three of us are enough to defeat them."
"Don't waste time, just drive them out of the restaurant," the young men and women urged.
Clearly, they did not want to waste time, nor did they want to exchange more words with Chu Chen.
"You bunch of good-for-nothings, I can't be bothered to deal with you!" Chu Chen sneered and turned to leave the restaurant.
Seeing Chu Chen leave, the young men and women were stunned.
"This... this guy actually left?"
"Damn it, what kind of attitude is that?"
"Forget it, forget it, let's hurry up and heal," the group grumbled and cursed as they left the restaurant.
Chu Chen had no interest in bickering with them and went straight to the entrance of the restaurant, flagging down a carriage.
"Young master, where to?" The carriage driver was an old man of about sixty, asking kindly.
"Yunshui City," Chu Chen stated the destination.
The carriage driver paused, then reminded, "Yunshui City is very close to the northwestern mountain range. It would be best for the young master to hire some guards to accompany you, lest any trouble arises."
"Thank you for the reminder." Chu Chen clasped his fists in gratitude, then jumped onto the carriage, asking the driver to head towards Yunshui City.