strictlysupreme Chapter 548: Sword Unsheathed! (I)
Chapter 548: Sword Unsheathed! (I)
Chapter 548: Sword Unsheathed! (I)
A merchant convoy from the Ministry of Finance?
Li Hao thought back to the Liu youngster who’d died in Battle Heaven—he seemed to have been from the Ministry of Finance too. But that had nothing to do with Li Hao, it was Qi Gang and Hu Qingfeng who’d killed him.
The nine ministries all had their own flags. Skystar Dynasty also had its own flag as well. It just hadn’t flown in many years. There were three Solars in residence on the ship. It looked like the Ministry of Finance was very strong!
Li Hao rose into the air and flew toward the ship. A man in his thirties kept a weather eye out. The sky was bright enough that he could easily pick out the powerhouse approaching from above. They exuded no presence, which meant they were either a premier martial master or a Nova!
“Who goes there?! We are the Four Seas company under the Ministry of Finance, a faction of the nine ministries...”
BAM!
Li Hao landed as the man was speaking. The latter’s expression shifted drastically and a dozen supernaturals converged on the decks. Everyone was on high alert and very worried. Who was so bold as to attack a ship of the Four Seas??
Li Hao displayed a medallion in his hand. “I am a high level chief commissioner from the Night Watchers...”
“How dare you!” roared a supernatural when they heard the newcomer was a Night Watcher. “How dare Night Watchers barge onto a vessel of the Four Seas! Which branch are you from?”
Li Hao blinked, then smirked. “You shrink and cower when you see pirates, but lay down the law when you see the Night Watchers!” He kicked out his leg!
BAM!
The speaker was sent flying and smashed onto the deck. Li Hao looked at the man in charge. The latter wanted to speak, but a flash of sword light cut him off. Cold sweat drenched him as his hair fluttered to the ground.
“They say that the nine ministries are the same as the three great organizations. I didn’t believe it before, but now... I do.” Li Hao said this because the man had seemed ready to attack. When the young man revealed his identity as a Night Watcher, it drew hostile action instead! These guys had been more apprehensive when he was an unknown factor.
Was this a trading company under the nine ministries’ jurisdiction? They were worse than the pirates!
“Chief Commissioner... I...” The man swallowed hard.
“Cut the bullshit. Have you received word? Light Sword has been surrounded and seems to have entered the North Sea. Do you know where she is?”
The man’s heart skipped a beat. Why was this person asking about Light Sword? He must be very strong. Was he a premier martial master? Or a premier Nova? But would a character like that only be a chief commissioner?
He didn’t dare say anything other than answer the question. “We received word two hours ago, telling us to avoid certain areas...”
“What do you use to communicate?”
The man paused, hesitated, and took out a jade pendant. “This is a transmission pendant excavated from the ancient ruins. We started using them several years ago. The major organizations and factions all have them.”
“You haven’t done what pirates would do, have you?” Li Hao repeated calmly.
The bottom fell out of the man’s stomach and he hastily shook his head. “Of course not, we’re a group under the nine ministries at the end of the day. We’re different from the others. If discovered... Ahem, we cannot dishonor the nine ministries.”
“It wouldn’t matter,” Li Hao laughed. “Whether it’s the merchant ships, trading companies, or pirates, it’s all the same! But a group directly under the nine ministries wouldn’t stoop so low as to raid the ordinary citizens on the shorelines, would you?”
“Of course not!” the man protested. “We would never do something like that!”
Li Hao said nothing further and turned to leave. The man couldn’t hold himself in check, considering his pendant had been confiscated.
“If I may... ask your name... sir...?” he ventured carefully, regretting his words almost as soon as he said them. He shouldn’t have asked! People unaware of his intentions might think he wanted revenge. But he absolutely didn’t, not at all!
It was just a jade pendant, he could find an excuse for that. And upstairs wouldn’t fault him if he really couldn’t overcome the enemy. Asking so bluntly like this... was asking for trouble!
“Li Hao of Silver Moon!” the young man answered with a smile, departing through the air as the crowd grappled with what they’d heard.
Li Hao of Silver Moon!
“Li Hao of Silver Moon...” The man’s expression shifted drastically when Li Hao was gone. “Disciple of the Five Styles and of Yuan Shuo, heir to the eight families...”
What was this guy doing out here? Wasn’t he in Silver Moon? And that wasn’t the crux of the issue—there was a message regarding Li Hao in the pendant! Please please please don’t see it.
In reality, Li Hao had seen it already. He just didn’t care.
“After the Four Seas company enters Silver Moon and concludes their business, they are to stay in the province for a period of time and collect information regarding Li Hao of Silver Moon...”
Li Hao didn’t find it strange that the nine ministries were interested in him. He wouldn’t even be surprised if they had designs on him and wanted to seize the sword. Neither would he be taken aback if they wanted to just kill him. Thus, the man’s worries were misplaced.
“Sir, that Li Hao is too arrogant!” Someone next to the man couldn’t help but protest as he stared in the direction Li Hao had vanished in. “It looks like he’s going to seek out Light Sword. He’ll be dead before long if he’s this cocky! There's a lot of people who want to kill him...”
The man flicked a glance at him and raised an eyebrow. “Would you still be speaking if that’d been the three great organizations or a heavyweight from the pirates?”
“Huh?” His subordinate blinked. What did that mean? Of course he wouldn’t! Those people were so cruel!
The man sighed inwardly and said nothing else. Li Hao had been right. Everyone was afraid of the three great organizations, the eight pirate factions, but not the official authorities—for no reason other than they were subordinates of the nine ministries!
This was a frequently seen issue as they could do nothing to those factions. But when it came to the official authorities, there was plenty they could do to those they knew.
However, everyone would be well served to remember Li Hao’s other identity.