Chapter Twenty: A Power All One's Own!

“Y-You… what are you doing here?”

Zhang Rui was genuinely astonished this time. He never expected that this insignificant extra could still be alive and, moreover, tagging along with his group. How had he managed that?

That old man didn’t seem like anyone particularly formidable; otherwise, he wouldn’t be stuck selling fish and scamming newcomers. How was it that he had been trailing behind their group unnoticed, despite several experts on their side?

“Lord Zhang, do you know this person?” Chen Xiao asked curiously.

“Somewhat acquainted, I suppose,” Zhang Rui replied, eyeing the old man with suspicion. “Sir, let’s keep our accounts clear. We agreed on that from the beginning.”

“Agreed, agreed…” The old man chuckled quietly, rubbing his hands as he approached. Murong Yunji took a step forward, her sword intent flashing sharply. The old man immediately shrank back in fright, falling onto the ground.

Murong Yunji frowned deeply. No matter how she looked at it, this was an old man with failing vitality. How had he managed to stay just ten meters behind her without her noticing?

The old man hastily waved his hands. “Gentlemen, I mean no harm, no harm at all…”

He truly bore no ill will—or rather, he lacked the courage for any. The reason he had been trailing Zhang Rui all along was to consider whether to trade his item one last time.

Unexpectedly, when they arrived at the entrance of the Painted Market, disaster struck. The painted-skin ghosts charged straight through. If not for his treasured item, he would have been bitten to death on the spot.

But because he had that treasure, he survived. That young man leading the others also remained unharmed. At that moment, the old man realized that the youth was indeed extraordinary.

The Painted World was no place to linger now. He thought to follow that youth in hopes of escaping. To his surprise, the youth truly led him out!

This was a dependable ally!

Zhang Rui patted Murong Yunji’s shoulder, signaling her to calm down, then stepped forward. “Sir, you’ve been following this junior. What is your intent?”

“Your Excellency…” The old man, now noticing Zhang Rui’s official robes, finally realized this youth was a county magistrate. He hadn’t noticed before.

“I truly mean no harm. I only have an item I wish to show you.”

“Oh?” Zhang Rui’s eyes narrowed. “What item?”

After hesitating, the old man finally gritted his teeth and produced a pair of black beads. Upon seeing them, the others frowned immediately. The beads clearly belonged to some living creature and radiated an eerie aura.

Chen Xiao, wary of any misfortune befalling Zhang Rui, quickly warned, “Lord Zhang, be careful. It might be some malevolent object. Wang Er, retrieve it.”

“Right!” The guard named Wang Er stepped forward, but Zhang Rui waved him off.

Curious, Zhang Rui approached the old man, forming a theory about how the man had slipped unnoticed behind him.

“Sir, you survived among so many painting spirits and managed to escape because of this item, didn’t you?”

A strange gleam appeared in the old man’s eyes. The youth truly understood its value.

“Do you know what it is?”

“Somewhat,” Zhang Rui nodded.

Murong Yunji scoffed beside them, thinking, Why does he always only know “somewhat” about everything?

“This item is called ‘Fish Eyes.’ I don’t know where you got it, but in your hands, it won’t be very useful. Name your price, old sir.”

Truly a knowledgeable person!

The old man laughed. He had acquired this item by chance during his time as a soldier on the battlefield. Several times, relying on it, he mingled among enemy troops unnoticed and narrowly escaped death.

He had entered the Painted Market thanks to this item, blending in with those aristocratic families. As long as he carried it, he could infiltrate any group without being noticed.

But it wasn’t exactly powerful…

Because it wasn’t true invisibility. If one suddenly stepped into the open, they would still be detected. Over the years, it had brought him some benefits, but limited. After many years in the Painted Market, he was worn out and exhausted.

Now old, he still harbored some regret. Meeting someone who recognized its value, he decided to gamble.

“My lord…” The old man clasped his hands earnestly. “I am willing to offer these Fish Eyes, asking only for your shelter in return!”

Zhang Rui was speechless.

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Capital City… Imperial Palace…

“Your Majesty, after all these years, are you still unsure of the loyalty of the Yuchi family? Both publicly and privately, they would never harm Heng’er!”

In the imperial garden, a woman clad in splendid robes moved gracefully. Every gesture exuded natural elegance and nobility. Her face was not breathtakingly beautiful but bright and generous. All agreed that the Yuchi daughter bore the demeanor of an empress, still strikingly attractive well past forty.

Beside her, the emperor, dressed in plain clothes, looked frail and aged. Not yet fifty, he seemed as withered as a man in his seventies.

“I know…” The emperor gently clasped the empress’s hands. “Your brother fought alongside me in the northern battlefields; our bond was forged in life and death. He entrusted you to me, and I have never doubted him. Even when court ministers expressed discontent, I stood firmly by the Yuchi family. How could I suspect they would harm Heng’er?”

“But Li Yu does not lie. Heng’er’s advisors truly sought aid outside; the plot using the Painted Market is real; the blockade of Beihai City by the Yuchi family is also true!”

“Your Majesty…” The empress looked at the once-beloved man with complex feelings. Though his tone was gentle, the mistrust was unmistakable.

“The Yuchi family should not have concealed this from me…” The emperor sighed deeply. “No matter what happens, Yuchi Peng should trust me as he did on the battlefield. But he hasn’t. From the blockade of Beihai City and the lack of any urgent letters, it seems he intends to handle this himself.”

“But the matter concerns the crown prince. How can I allow him to act alone?” Turning, the emperor lifted the empress’s hands. “Lan’er, rest assured, I promise you: no matter what mistakes the Yuchi family makes this time, I will not blame your brother.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty…” The empress’s eyes reddened, but her heart was icy cold.

He said he would not blame her brother but did not promise to spare the Yuchi family.

From the moment Li Yu’s letter arrived, she knew the Yuchi family was in grave danger.

As the emperor said, whenever the Yuchi family faced trouble concerning the crown prince, they should inform the emperor immediately. But they didn’t. She was not a fool to remain empress for long without realizing the terrifying implication.

That meant… her Heng’er might be in danger!

Only in such a situation would the Yuchi family dare not report it lightly. Before she could even mourn the possible fate of her child, she realized something even more dreadful.

If her child were harmed, the Yuchi family would cease to be a reliable imperial relative in the emperor’s eyes and become a threat.

If the crown prince truly came to harm, even if the Yuchi family bore no fault, the emperor would surely be enraged and use the opportunity to strike against them!

Emperors are ruthless—this is no empty phrase.

She knew she could no longer stop the emperor’s decision to send troops north and could only pray that the situation in Beihai was not as dire as she feared.

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“What use does this have?”

Onboard a cargo ship, Murong Yunji watched as Zhang Rui carefully stored the pair of eerie living eyes into the Thousand-Machine Box, curiosity piqued.

Their luck had been fairly good this time. The exit from the Painted Market was near Blackwater County, and to their surprise, the cargo ship waiting at the dock remained in place. With this ship, enhanced by magical arrays, returning to Beihai would take only a day. After days of hardship, this was a welcome relief.

“It can be very useful if handled properly…” Zhang Rui didn’t explain its function after storing the Fish Eyes. Besides Murong Yunji, Chen Xiao and the others were present, and he did not intend to reveal the secret of the Fish Eyes to outsiders.

These Fish Eyes were a type of malevolent spirit from his own novel, The Enchanted Dynasty—a parasitic evil spirit. When carried, it granted the ability to impersonate others’ eyes. Unless someone deliberately remembered you, you could infiltrate many places using these beads.

For example, if a steward of a noble family went to buy vegetables with his retinue, you could tag along unnoticed, and the servants at the estate’s gate would not stop you. They might even unconsciously treat you as one of their own. Unless a thorough household registration check was conducted, you could freeload inside the mansion indefinitely.

This ability was practically a cheat. The old man had entered the Painted Market by chance, spotting a group of secretive aristocrats and blending in using the Fish Eyes.

But its downside was severe. Once used, it bound itself to you, continuously draining your essence and vitality. The more times it was used, the more life force it consumed. The old man’s advanced age was likely due to this effect. Though he claimed to be fifty, his appearance was more like an eighty-year-old’s—his body had long been sapped by the Fish Eyes.

After carefully sealing the Fish Eyes in the Thousand-Machine Box, Zhang Rui formed a plan.

The Thousand-Machine Box could use malevolent spirits as materials to forge powerful artifacts. Evil spirits with special abilities like the Fish Eyes were excellent raw materials. Through the box’s transformation, it could create an even stronger artifact. Though the side effects might be significant, the power increase could be substantial.

What it would become was the key thing Zhang Rui wanted to control.

Thinking of this, he glanced at the steel pen suspended nearby. From their escape from the Painted Market, he knew that altering fate or erasing characters with the pen incurred a heavy cost. But using it to supplement missing content from discarded drafts carried no side effects!

The Fish Eyes were also part of his original design—a somewhat incomplete concept. If he wrote about it and the artifact formed through the Thousand-Machine Box, would that count as completing the setting?

If so…

Zhang Rui’s heart pounded wildly. If the experiment succeeded, he might finally find his true cheat!

“Mr. Chen?”

Suddenly, a shout from the ship interrupted his hopeful reverie. He turned to see Chen Xiao, seated directly opposite him, and his mood plummeted.

Whether the cheat could work in the future was one thing; first, they had to resolve the immediate crisis…

At this moment, the kidney-weak Chen Xiao began laughing again—but this time, not only was his laughter eerie, black blood continuously flowed from his eyes!