Royal Garden, Wei Dynasty

Wei Han was sitting on the cushion. Soon, Mo Chang and Li Gang came together.

Wei Han looked at them and said lightly, "You won!"

Li Gang calmly sat on the cushion, followed by Mo Chang, who was still confused.

There were three cups of tea served.

Li Gang calmly took a cup and sipped slowly. "You are exhausted, Your Majesty."

Wei Han said calmly, "I never expected that you are from the Demonic faction."

Mo Chang was surprised. He was very well aware that Li Gang was not from the Demonic faction. He looked at Li Gang in a confused manner.

Li Gang smiled. "You don't have to be in a dilemma. I don't represent the Demonic faction. I just have some collaboration with them. I only seek a few benefits from them, and it won't affect the Wei Dynasty in any way."

Wei Han asked lightly, "What do you want, Master Ren?"

Li Gang said slowly, "Everything."

Wei Han smiled. "Is it not negotiable?"

Li Gang denied. "It is negotiable. I can let you lead the dynasty as you wish, except for one thing."

Wei Han asked, "What is it?"

Li Gang smiled. "You know my ambition, don't you?"

His smile converged, and then he said in a deep voice, "Help me conquer every minor kingdom. You can handle your subjects in your own way; however, I will be the true ruler. I want you to help me win over the Wu, Shu, and Golden Crow."

Wei Han took a deep breath and said calmly, "You think the Wu and Shu dynasties can be taken down by us? At most, our dynasty can win over minor kingdoms."

Li Gang smiled. "Then, just win over them and increase the battle strength of the dynasty as much as possible. As for winning over the Wu and Shu dynasties, leave it to me. I will decide when to start the war."

Wei Han nodded. "Everything is fine, but I hope you give up on the Golden Crow."

Li Gang narrowed his eyes.

Wei Han said in a low voice, "Huang-er is a good girl. She is a righteous, caring, and kind person. She has never harmed a single innocent. However, despite such a huge weakness, she has never lost. What do you think is the reason?"

Li Gang said calmly, "She is bound by her own ideals. A person who has restricted themselves is not a threat to me."

Wei Han smiled. "Do you think you are the only one who has such opinions? Many people had the same thought, but she is capable enough to defeat anyone even while restricting herself. I consider her value on par with an Emperor."

Li Gang glanced at him deeply and didn't speak. He didn’t know much about her, and thus, he didn’t feel he deserved to make any comment.

He said calmly, "I will handle the Golden Crow and make a decision in the future. You don't have to worry about it."

Wei Han sighed. "You are too stubborn."

Li Gang took out a pouch and threw it to him. "This is the antidote. However, it will work for only one week."

Saying that, he took out another pill from his space ring. He said calmly, "It is a Rank 6 Corruption poison. It has the ability to erode the spiritual essence within an Intermediate Warrior's Heavenly Core."

He paused and smiled coldly. "Take this pill if you want me to continue giving the antidotes for those alchemists."

Wei Han laughed wryly. He knew he had no other choice. He was aware that Li Gang wanted to control him with this pill; however, he had no option but to consume it.

Mo Chang said slowly, "Master Ren, our leader wants to meet you."

Li Gang said calmly, "You don't have to bother about it. It is about time."

At that moment, a guard entered and said slowly, "Your Majesty, the Demonic Faction's leader is here."

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Wei Han glanced at Li Gang and then said calmly, "Let him come."

Li Gang said lightly, "Your Majesty, I think you need to give us some private space."

Wei Han looked at him and nodded.

Soon, Mo Tiancheng came.

He glanced at Li Gang and laughed. "Congratulations, Master Ren. You are freed!"

Li Gang's eyes were deep. "Don't celebrate too early. We need to consolidate our power as soon as possible, or we will be eliminated quickly."

Mo Tiancheng was surprised. "Did you control Wei Han?"

Li Gang smiled at Mo Tiancheng. "What do you think?"

Mo Tiancheng nodded. "All the core Demonic factions have been brought out today, and we can establish our new base in the royal palace of this Wei Dynasty."

Li Gang nodded. "Good job." Saying that, he left calmly.

Mo Chang glanced at Mo Tiancheng and asked puzzledly, "Uncle Cheng, how did you know? How did you save us from Wei Han?"

Mo Tiancheng sighed. "Chang-er, it was not I who saved you. It was Master Ren's plan all along. He was never caught to begin with. He just entered the prison to give the king confidence and let him lower his guard. He had already made arrangements before he was caught."

Mo Chang was surprised. "How? Even you were part of his plan?"

Mo Tiancheng said lightly, "Yes. He had already notified me beforehand."

He looked out the window and said calmly, "It started a few years back. Through Wu Meng, we contacted him to establish an alliance with Renhuo Trading."

"We had helped him in the initial phase, and thus, we had hoped to have a proper long-term deal. At that time, he was already aware that something like this would happen. He was making a very risky move by openly adding spies in the royal court and also developing his own subordinates. Renhuo Trading expanded very quickly and on a large scale. Rapid progress comes with high risk. He was adding spies in the court, and the king was also adding spies in Renhuo Trading. Master Ren was aware that he would be exposed sooner or later. In fact, he had expected that the king would not make a move despite knowing about it for at least a few years. But Wei Han was very decisive. He was a righteous king, and he wouldn't tolerate external invasion unless there was a huge benefit or danger involved. I was also caught off guard when I realized he was captured."

Mo Tiancheng thought of something and continued, "From your words, it appears that you were also captured. I can't answer this because, according to the plan, giving the antidote and collecting the evidence was sufficient for him to let out Master Ren."

Mo Chang was surprised. "Does that mean you didn’t save us?"

Mo Tiancheng nodded. "Master Ren only told us that he would cooperate with the Demonic faction. He asked us to bring the core members of the Demons in case of some unforeseen circumstances. I didn't expect he would need them to consolidate his position in the dynasty!"

The day Li Gang established Renhuo Trading, he had already foreseen this situation. He had long planned to add spies in the court and was prepared for the situation where he would be caught.

He had told them that in case he met the king and didn’t appear for three days, Mo Tiancheng should proceed with the plan.

What was the plan?

There are various poisons that need a stimulus to activate, like an environmental factor, another ingredient, or some gaseous substance. Li Gang had already given every alchemist he came into contact with such poisons. He had created two such poisons.

One of them was activated through a certain gaseous substance that he had provided to the spies present in the royal court.

As soon as Li Gang was captured, they were the first to realize it, and they immediately released those gaseous substances. It was odorless, and only those who had taken the poison before would be affected.

The other poison was given to the younger generations Li Gang personally trained. The way to activate it was mixed in the antidote of the first poison!

Wei Han lacked alchemists, and thus, he had no way to verify the pills when Mo Chang suddenly came without prior information. It's not that he hadn't hired alchemists before, but because Mo Chang came suddenly, Wei Han couldn't verify it on time and had to use a person to test its effect.

Why did Mo Tiancheng give that letter to Wei Han?

In fact, it was to stop him from giving this pill to other alchemists. Wei Han's own son was also suffering from the poison. This gave him more motivation. Motivation is a really special thing. It can change one's rationality, one's decision-making when they are facing a dilemma. When a person is unable to decide whether to take the right path or the left path, motivation can allow him to choose a path, even if it is not the correct one.

Li Gang put Wei Chan's alchemy status on top for this purpose. He also praised him often and heightened his value in Wei Han's heart. Thus, Wei Han wanted him to get better much earlier. He was motivated to choose this path.

Since they all had the same symptoms and Wei Han also lacked alchemists, Wei Han was unable to figure out if they were all given the same poison or different ones.

He distributed the pills among the younger generations since they were the only ones with more prospects among alchemists below Rank 3 Warriors. This triggered the second poison.

Yes! Those younger generations were given both of the poisons. Initially, they all suffered from the same poison, and thus they had the same symptoms. However, this antidote possessed an external chemical that triggered the second poison, worsening their conditions significantly.

Wei Han was unable to bear the situation of Wei Chan. He decided to compromise. He decided to make a deal with the Demons.

But was Wei Chan the reason?

No, the reason was his own guilt. He felt guilty for worsening the condition of all those 20 youngsters who had high prospects, especially Wei Chan, who was his own son.

Initially, their situation was not that bad, but after taking the elixir, their condition worsened. Wei Han blamed himself for not verifying those pills again. He blamed himself for not using an alchemist to conduct a proper experiment over them. He blamed himself for not hiring more alchemists. It was not his fault, but he felt guilty.

Even this was not sufficient to give up on the dynasty. He tested Li Gang first. If Li Gang wanted to take over the dynasty and harm the subjects, he would reclaim his position at any cost. As a righteous king, he was willing to sacrifice his own family for the subjects who supported him, for the public he ruled over.

Li Gang allowed him to keep his position as a king and handle the court accordingly. This gave him a reason. Wei Han was in a dilemma. He wanted a reason, a reason for his actions. Li Gang gave him that reason. The reason was, "He, Ren Ying, was not that bad! Even while dealing with demons, he wouldn't be harming the public! He wouldn't do something that goes against the conscience of a king!"