King of Creation
Chapter 229 - 226: Treasure Map

Chapter 229: Chapter 226: Treasure Map

"Treasure?"

Ye Zhen’s mouth curled into a sneer. His toes transformed into a series of illusions and kicked out like lightning, swiftly dislocating the imposter’s joints and sealing his dantian before tossing him aside.

In fact, Ye Zhen spared his life not because of any treasure but primarily because Ye Zhen wanted to find out how many wrongdoings this scoundrel had committed under his name!

"Everyone, I am Ye Zhen from the Qiyun Sect. As I seldom walk in the Jianghu, it has allowed such thieves to deceive under my name. I apologize. Here, I offer my apologies to everyone!"

"Today, since friends are here, I ask you to convey a message for Ye Zhen to our comrades in the Jianghu. Compared to the title of Duke Wusan, my true identity is that of a martial artist, a disciple of the Qiyun Sect!

"I navigate the Jianghu with the sword in my hand; titles like that of a duke are all but illusions! Should anyone use the name of the duke to impersonate me, they are definitely a fraud. Please, everyone, join me in eliminating them!"

"Please enjoy yourselves with food and drinks, as today’s meal is on me!"

After Ye Zhen finished speaking, the martial artists present reacted and started praising enthusiastically.

"Good, Duke Wusan is impressive!"

"This is a true hero among us martial artists!"

"Good!"

After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Ye Zhen’s gaze then shifted to Marshal Zhou Zhen of Ming at the Great Wilderness Pass.

"Marshal Zhou, may I use your esteemed premises?"

"Nothing would please me more. Please!"

"Please!"

Grasping the imposter who wore a look of terror like a small chicken, Ye Zhen headed towards the military camp, surrounded by many commanders of the Great Wilderness Pass.

As for the ten or so guards brought by the imposter, they had already been subdued by the soldiers of the commanders.

"Marshal, I would like you to have someone individually interrogate these guards of the imposter to see where they have been with this fraud and what they have done," Ye Zhen requested bluntly upon reaching the camp without giving Marshal Zhou Zhen the chance for courtesies.

After pondering briefly, Marshal Zhou Zhen gave Ye Zhen a thumbs up. "Brilliant, Duke Wusan truly lives up to his reputation! This way, there’s no chance that the wrongdoings committed by the imposter can be hidden!"

Shortly, Marshal Zhou Zhen arranged a separate military tent for Ye Zhen to interrogate the imposter.

"What have you done? Will you confess on your own, or shall I torture the truth out of you?"

All this was arranged by Ye Zhen right in front of the imposter. Initially, the imposter was thinking about how to respond, but Ye Zhen’s words completely broke him.

"I’ll speak, I’ll confess everything myself! I’ll confess everything I’ve done!" the imposter said.

"Speak, under my name, what wrongdoings have you committed? Don’t be hasty to speak; think carefully. If your story doesn’t match up with your guards’, I will take a part of your body for every discrepancy!"

"I dare not hide anything anymore!"

"I, Wang Xingye, once saw Duke Wusan in Black Water Kingdom. My friends used to joke that I resembled Duke Wusan, and that’s when I got the idea to impersonate him!"

"But places too close to the Royal City, even with ten times the courage, I did not dare to impersonate him, so I came to these remote areas! The Great Wilderness Pass was just the second stop!"

"The second stop?" Ye Zhen expressed with a skeptical look.

"Yes, who knew I’d be so unlucky to encounter the real person on this second stop!" Wang Xingye said with a bitter smile, "The first stop was at State City of Yuanzhou State, fifteen hundred miles from here. I met the Governor of Yuanzhou State and accepted some minor gifts—several tens of thousands in gold, a hundred low grade spirit crystals, all in the storage ring!"

"That’s all, I beg Duke Wusan to show mercy and spare my life this one time!" Wang Xingye struggled to kowtow to Ye Zhen.

"That’s it?"

"Truly, that’s it! If I’ve lied even in the slightest, may lightning strike me down!"

"Hmph, still trying to be cunning! Then tell me, what were you planning to do with my name in the military camp to look at the military terrain spirit map?

"Speak, are you a spy sent by Sword Origin Empire?"

Ye Zhen shouted sternly, terrifying Wang Xingye immensely.

Just then, a general knocked and entered, delivering the statements of Wang Xingye’s followers.

Ye Zhen reviewed them, and indeed, as Wang Xingye said, this was their second stop, and they had not done anything too outrageous. However, Ye Zhen’s eyebrows furrowed deeply.

"Scoundrel, daring to tarnish my reputation!"

An detail in the testimony made Ye Zhen burst into rage. He suddenly stood, drawing his sword again, aiming to strike Wang Xingye.

Wang Xingye, realizing why Ye Zhen was so angered, struggled to continue his kowtowing.

"Spare my life, my lord. That maid was arranged by the Governor of Yuanzhou State; I merely... merely..."

"Speak! Going into the military camp to look at the military terrain spirit map, what were you actually scheming? Be honest, or I’ll have the soldiers take care of you!"

"Marshal Zhou, please...."

"Don’t, don’t— I’ll confess....."

After half an hour, Ye Zhen had an old and somewhat damaged map in his hand. The map depicted vague mountains and rivers with a red dot marked in middle of a large mountain.

Using Wang Xingye’s words, this was a treasure map, and the "treasure" he referred to was also this treasure map.

And the fundamental reason he impersonated Ye Zhen was because of this treasure map!

This treasure map was something Wang Xingye had discovered a few years ago while exploring a Heritage Mansion.

Ever since he had obtained this treasure map, Wang Xingye had been tirelessly seeking the treasure marked on it.

However, after searching for several years and coming across a few suspected traces, he never found the correct location, which greatly disappointed Wang Xingye.

Latterly, he heard that the military possessed highly accurate Military Terrain Spirit Maps, and Wang Xingye began devising a plan.

But even the commanders of the army could only see parts of the Military Terrain Spirit Map, let alone someone as insignificant as Wang Xingye. Eventually, Wang Xingye had a stroke of inspiration when he realized he bore a striking resemblance to Duke Wusan, Ye Zhen, and thought of an impersonation scheme.

The encounter with the Governor of Yuanzhou State was merely a test by Wang Xingye to see if his impersonation could pass muster.

After succeeding at the Governor’s residence, Wang Xingye headed straight for the Great Wilderness Pass, having learned that the Border Army Camp there had one of the few complete Military Terrain Spirit Maps.

There, he was discovered by Ye Zhen!

It has to be said, Wang Xingye was correct in the path he took.

Ye Zhen took out his Military Terrain Spirit Map and immediately found two or three similar locations upon comparison, but to determine the exact spots, a detailed comparison was necessary.

"Duke Wusan, I truly only seek treasure and have no other intentions! I beg Duke Wusan to spare me this once, I will never dare again!"

Wang Xingye begged desperately for mercy.

As for what to do with him, Ye Zhen found himself in a dilemma.

"If Duke Wusan finds it difficult to decide, let this old man take care of them. Using his martial skills, putting him to work in the army would be the best option!"

"Very well!"

The moment Ye Zhen agreed, Wang Xingye’s screams were heard.

Ye Zhen had struck Wang Xingye’s face with his sword, causing two deep, bone-deep wounds, and blood immediately gushed out.

"Rub some salt in it yourself. You understand why I did this, right?" Ye Zhen said coldly.

"I understand, I truly do! This is Duke Wusan marring my appearance, preventing me from impersonating him in the future..."

"Good that you understand!"

Having handled the matter, Ye Zhen was about to take his leave when he was stopped by Duke Ming of the Great Wilderness Pass, Zhou Zhen.

"Duke Wusan, I am truly ashamed of today’s events!"

"Marshal, we rarely meet; being deceived is normal," said Ye Zhen.

"No, I meant the matter of General Yua entrusting tasks to that imposter!"

Zhou Zhen felt deeply ashamed; it was common for people in the military to give gifts to get things done. However, these gifts had ended up in the hands of an imposter and were exposed by Ye Zhen himself, which was a great loss of face.

The gift that General Yua had given the imposter had already been returned by Ye Zhen.

"Marshal, I, Ye Zhen, am not detached from worldly affairs; I understand all this well. Were I in the same position, I, too, would take measures. Who doesn’t long to see their parents or children?"

Ye Zhen spoke earnestly and Zhou Ming was deeply moved by his words.

"Duke Wusan is truly noble!"

"Since Duke Wusan is so noble, I must speak frankly, even at the risk of appearing shameless!"

"Please speak, Marshal!"

"Duke Wusan, I am not complaining on behalf of these frontier commanders. Honestly, despite being busy with combat, the Great Wilderness Pass is as bustling as Black Water King’s City, but time takes its toll!"

"Especially when we risk our lives every day, we miss our families all the more. Though our families wish to come, the journey is far too long.

Some have been stationed here for over a decade. Not to mention a son failing to recognize his parents, I am ashamed to say, but many commanders at Great Wilderness Pass have been cuckolded more times than I can count.

You wouldn’t believe it, but some even call our Great Wilderness Pass ’Cuckold Pass’!"

At this, Ye Zhen’s expression became stern.

"I am brazenly asking for Duke Wusan to speak kindly on our behalf to the Crown Prince, not to ask for a transfer, but at least for some rotation of commanders. Not every year, but once every two or three years!"

As they spoke, Zhou Zhen surreptitiously handed a storage ring to Ye Zhen.

"This is a small token of appreciation from the commanders. Please accept it, Duke Wusan!"

Ye Zhen stood up abruptly.

"Marshal, what are you implying? Do you see me, Ye Zhen, as a deceitful and unprincipled man? Even if you didn’t mention it, I would have spoken out!"

"How can we allow our soldiers to bleed and sweat, only to shed tears as well?"

"Marshal, I will draft a Dao Talisman Communication right now and send it to His Highness the Crown Prince. I trust the Crown Prince will handle it swiftly!"

While speaking, Ye Zhen wrote a talisman in front of Zhou Zhen. Shortly after, he launched the Dao Talisman Communication into the sky, heading straight for the direction of Black Water King’s City.

"Thank you, Duke Wusan. On behalf of the thousand commanders of the Great Wilderness Pass, I thank you! Regarding this small token, please...," Zhou Zhen once again offered the storage ring.

"Marshal, in your eyes, am I really so despicable? I, Ye Zhen, also have a heart of passion..."

"I was wrong, utterly wrong!" Zhou Zhen apologized profusely.

That day, Ye Zhen declined the dinner invitation from Zhou Zhen with the intention of leaving the Great Wilderness Pass overnight to avoid being seen too much and risking exposure.

On the road, Ye Zhen began studying the treasure map! (To be continued. If you enjoy this piece, feel free to visit qidian.com to vote or leave monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)