As the Prefect of a province, and a member of the Royal Family on top of that.
Harqin was already considered one of the highest-ranking core figures in the Yaoqing Imperial Court.
To him, even Wang Su was just an insignificant figure he could crush at will, to say nothing of Li Chang'an, who wasn't even important enough to be considered a small fry.
Logically, he shouldn't have paid any mind to such a trivial matter.
The main reason for his unusual sensitivity to the name was that he'd heard his subordinate specifically mention Li Chang'an's age—a mere seven or eight years old.
The second reason was that the name Li Chang'an had, as if by some supernatural impulse, reminded him of a secret that traced all the way back to the founding of the Yaoqing!
After the Royal Court's founding Emperor defeated the previous dynasty and established the Yaoqing, all the wealth and power of the mortal world became nothing more than dirt and fleeting clouds to him.
The founding Emperor began to pursue the Martial Dao, chasing the ethereal dream of eternal life.
For the first few years, the founding Emperor was perfectly fine. But a few years after that, he suddenly and silently vanished from the Imperial Palace at some unknown time.
To this day, the incident remains an unsolved mystery and a popular topic of conversation. Common folk whispered that he had left to seek eternal life, while others claimed he had achieved Perfection and ascended to immortality.
Of course, these were just rumors within the Yaoqing Imperial Court.
The rumors among the Central Plains People were far more malicious. Some said the founding Emperor had succumbed to Qi deviation; others claimed he was consumed by the fires of his own karma for the countless massacres of his youth...
The stories were endless and varied.
In short, it was a perplexing and taboo subject even within the Demon Qing Royal Court. Ordinary officials, even princes and nobles, could not learn the true answer.
In reality, however, the matter did have a conclusion. It was just that this conclusion was so shocking that it was only circulated within an extremely small circle.
When the founding Emperor first began to pursue the Martial Dao, he was still quite healthy.
But in his quest to break through to the Emperor Wu Realm, he made numerous attempts, yet could never take that final, crucial step.
But what kind of man was the founding Emperor?
How could he be content to give up halfway and stop there?
Since the righteous path was blocked, he began to walk a crooked one. In order to absorb more Qi, the founding Emperor even went so far as to collect the blood of Ancient Demons and transfuse it into his own body.
The move actually worked.
After absorbing the Demon Fiend blood, the founding Emperor's strength surged. Although he hadn't fully stepped into the Emperor Wu Realm, he had successfully taken another great stride forward, truly touching the threshold of the Emperor Wu Realm—a state of ultimate power, above all others.
Perhaps only a Martial God from the legends could have surpassed him.
However, this reckless enhancement came at a price. The founding Emperor became neither human nor ghost and frequently suffered backlash from the Demon Fiend bloodline and Qi within him.
To resolve the issues with his Qi Force and bloodline, the founding Emperor turned to studying the historical texts of the Celestial Yang Continent.
It is unknown what else he discovered.
In any case, it wasn't long before the founding Emperor went completely mad.
He spent most of his time wandering aimlessly in his seclusion chamber, lucid for only brief moments.
According to his own accounts during those rare moments of clarity, he found he could glimpse phantoms from other worlds and, in a daze, even peer into an unforeseeable future!
The last time he was lucid before his disappearance, the founding Emperor left a message on a piece of paper. It contained only two scrawled words.
Those two words were...
Li Chang'an!
This was a secret known only to a very small number of orthodox Royal Family members within the entire Yaoqing Imperial Court.
And he, Harqin, was the current Emperor's maternal uncle.
He happened to be one of the very few who knew.
After learning this name, the Demon Qing Royal Court had once dispatched the Hidden Guard to search far and wide for any suspicious individuals with the same name. They had even arrested and interrogated a batch of them under various pretexts.
At the time, however, they had found nothing.
Now, after several hundred years, hearing the name 'Li Chang'an' emerge from a group of rebels, coupled with the strange fact that he was only seven or eight years old...
It was no wonder it struck a sensitive nerve with Harqin.
At this thought, Harqin narrowed his eyes, a dangerous glint appearing within them.
'Regardless of whether this is a simple coincidence or if there's a hidden secret behind it, it's something worth dedicating more energy to.'
Having made his decision, Harqin slowly rose to his feet and gave a cold command, "Someone, have those slaves from the Prison Control Department come see me. I want a man arrested!"
...
「Fengzhou, Sanhuang County.」
Li Chang'an looked at Wang Su not far away and asked, "What are your plans now?"
Looking at the devastated County Magistrate's Office, Wang Su gave a bitter smile. "My original plan was to secretly occupy the county seat, manage it for a while, and then withdraw after securing enough iron and grain..."
"But now, you've completely overturned the Sanhuang County Magistrate's Office and slapped the Yaoqing Imperial Court hard across the face. I no longer dare to proceed with the original plan!"
At this, Wang Su paused, then suddenly asked, "Chang'an, do you have any good ideas?"
Li Chang'an fell silent upon hearing this.
Seeing this, Wang Su was reminded of the boy's age and couldn't help but laugh self-deprecatingly. "I must really be losing my mind. You're not even eight years old, and here I am asking you such a question!"
Li Chang'an's usual behavior was so demonic that Wang Su had started to subconsciously ignore his age.
He had even brazenly asked a critical question that most adults couldn't answer.
Li Chang'an didn't argue.
His gaze swept over the pale faces of Li Dashan and his wife nearby. "Master, I'll go get my parents settled first. As for the plan moving forward, I'll tell you about it later."
Hearing this, Wang Su shook his head and laughed in spite of himself. "Go on. I could use a moment to cool my head anyway!"
...
Looking at the approaching Li Chang'an, who was at once so familiar and yet so strange.
Both Li Dashan and Huang Xiaoru couldn't help their eyes from welling up with tears.
When they were being interrogated by Magistrate Chai earlier, they had thought they would never see their extraordinarily gifted eldest son again in this lifetime.
But they never imagined Li Chang'an would be so powerful as to bathe the entire County Magistrate's Office in a river of blood and forcibly snatch them back from the gates of Yama Hall.
Li Chang'an didn't waste time on pleasantries. He just smiled and said directly, "Mom, Dad, you two need to go back and pack your things. Get ready to leave Sanhuang County!"
Looking at Li Chang'an, Li Dashan spoke slowly, "Son, you're capable. You should escape on your own. Don't worry about us. As long as you can live safely, Mom and Dad are willing to die!"
Although Li Dashan was just a carpenter, he had seen a bit of the world. He knew what kind of consequences would follow after Li Chang'an killed so many people in the County Magistrate's Office.
For an ordinary person like him, it was no exaggeration to call it an earth-shattering disaster.
Therefore, as soon as they were out of danger, Li Dashan's first instinct was to tell Li Chang'an to abandon the two of them—his burdens—and escape on his own.
Li Chang'an couldn't help but roll his eyes at this. "Dad, what are you talking about?" he said, exasperated. "I went to all this trouble, took such a huge risk, only to turn around and abandon you? Wouldn't that make me look like an idiot?"
His tone softened as he continued, "Don't worry. I know what I'm doing. Instead of worrying about my safety, you should be worrying about the Yaoqing Imperial Court. After all, no one who's crossed me has ever come to a good end."
Hearing Li Chang'an's half-joking, half-serious remark.
Li Dashan's anxious heart calmed down a bit. After a moment's thought, he gritted his teeth and nodded. "Alright then. I'll go back with your mother and pack our things right away!"
Li Chang'an nodded. After watching them walk away, he silently gave his senior brother, Lü Changning, a meaningful look.
Lü Changning understood his meaning. He gave a resigned smile and followed the couple from a distance, acting as their bodyguard.
...