HPDBC Chapter 133 Are You Still Claiming to Be Innocent?
Chapter 133 Are You Still Claiming to Be Innocent?
in the dead of night, the four great protectors of chess, calligraphy, poetry, and painting from moon spring residence finally arrived. what was unexpected, however, was that they also brought two other domain lords with them, namely the lords of shuheng ridge and nan dong territory.
the four seasoned protector dharma kings entered one by one. the great protector wore a white robe and held a dark harp in his hands, the second protector held a square inch chessboard, the third protector pinched a creamy-white square seal stamp, and the fourth protector grasped a vajra brush.
the quartet strode in with an imposing air. although they were all over seventy years old, the moment they walked into the southern territory base camp, all the soldiers and fighters present couldn't help but rise in respect.
in the southern territory, these four protectors enjoyed extremely high prestige. especially after the death of the old southern territory king, these four retainers virtually became the spiritual pillars of the southern territory. their status at one point was even higher than that of the new southern king.
"the four protectors, you have finally arrived. please, come in quickly!"
in the main hall of the southern territory base camp, after three hours of breath regulation, the southern king dugu ming finally recovered somewhat. his body was no longer as weak as before.
however, after suffering from the torment of gu and poison for five years, even with a strong constitution, one could hardly bear it. therefore, although dugu ming now had the ability to move, his martial skills were far from recovered. moreover, his foundation had been damaged, and it was estimated that it would be difficult for him to return to the peak realm in his lifetime.
the four protectors entered with their heads held high, not only without saluting but not even bothering to greet anyone. after stepping inside, they directly took their seats on the left and right at the lower head of the table.
this left the southern king dugu ming, who had intended to exchange a few more pleasantries, at a loss for words.
now that he had lost his martial powers, and given that he didn't fully trust the northern king ye feng—it wasn't a lack of trust so much as a feeling that, in this matter, ye feng, being an outsider to the southern territory, should not get involved—the southern king thought of the four protectors first, inviting them to come out of retirement to take charge.
otherwise, the southern king was well aware that he couldn't possibly control the commanders below, nor even the lord of the nine domains!
sitting in a position further back, ye feng raised his eyebrows slightly as he witnessed this scene, sensing something unusual.
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logically, even if these four protectors were the retainers of the old southern king, since the old dharma king had asked them to assist the new southern king after his death, no matter how high their status, the southern king was ultimately their new lord. they should not be acting in such a manner.
but ye feng said nothing, merely sitting in the back like a spectator. in such a situation, it would be unseemly for him to step forward and embarrass the southern king.
"bring forth the evidence!" following the king's command, quickly four guards came in, carrying a brocade box.
"open the brocade box!" southern king dugu ming struggled to stand up and then slowly walked to the brocade box, bent down, and took out an ancient bronze incense burner.
"divine doctor wu, do you recognize this object?" dugu ming demanded as he spoke, not waiting for a response, he continued, "this is the incense burner from my bedroom!"
for an instant, a flash of panic crossed the depths of wu zhong's eyes, but seeing xiao jingyuan's confident demeanor beside him, he quickly overcame his fear.
"with all due respect, king, i am not sure what you mean. what is the bedroom's incense burner doing here?" wu zhong asked in return.
"doing what? naturally, the incense burner contains something it shouldn't!"
southern king dugu ming then turned to face the four protectors and said, "today, i asked the four protectors to come to bear witness. according to what the northern king has said, this incense burner contains a type of bewitching incense. although it is not a poison, long-term inhalation can cause mental confusion and disorientation."
at this point, he picked up a piece of white cloth with dark gray residue on it.
dugu ming continued, "the residue on this white cloth was scraped from my lips by the northern king. he claims that this residue comes from a plant known as blue noble grass, found in our southern border. it carries a mild toxin and while it can suppress gu and poison to an extent, prolonged consumption eats away at a martial artist's essence of inner power.
over time, the martial artist's power will naturally decline!"
"now, with both witness and evidence here, xiao jingyuan and wu zhong, you two scoundrels, what else do you have to say now!"
king of the southern territory dugu ming was uncontrollably furious. now he finally understood why he had been in a constant state of sluggish confusion for the past five years—it was all due to the influence of the bewitching incense.
originally, he was at the peak realm of a huajin grandmaster, with an immensely sturdy foundation. even if he were poisoned, he could suppress it to a degree, never experiencing a bout of unconsciousness that lasted five years. but with the bewitching incense and the blue noble grass, the situation was entirely different.
now that his power was lost, it was all because of the blue noble grass's harm!
thinking of this, a murderous aura burst forth from dugu ming, and he yearned to immediately behead these two culprits.