Chapter 291: Tang San Recognized
"Hey, look, who is that person?"
"Oh my, he's stripped naked. Could he be a servant from some noble's house?"
"Could be. I've heard some nobles have strange fetishes. Look at this guy's delicate skin; maybe…"
"Ew, you're so disgusting…"
"Pfft, I'm just speaking the truth."
...
On the street, a group of people pointed and whispered at the naked Tang San, who was locked in a cage at the back of a cart, still unconscious.
The person driving the cart wasn't from the Spirit Hall. Instead, the Spirit Hall had hired a local thug from the Heaven Dou Empire, paying him handsomely to do the job.
As a professional thug, under the dual pressure of the Spirit Hall's soul power and a generous amount of gold soul coins, he immediately promised to complete the task.
He first used a drug to keep Tang San asleep, then locked him in the cage and began his "street tour."
"A few thousand gold soul coins just for this. I can't understand how these big shots have so much money." Frank glanced back at the naked, unconscious Tang San in the cage, puzzled.
Such an ugly person, was it worth the expense to parade him around?
But then he looked at the precious jewelry given by the Spirit Hall and the stash of gold soul coins at home, and he felt the job was worth it.
For two months straight, Frank administered the Spirit Hall's special drug daily to keep Tang San unconscious while parading him around various cities in the Heaven Dou Empire.
Naturally, people were curious and gathered around whenever they saw the spectacle, some even asking Frank who the person in the cage was.
Whenever asked, Frank, with his flair for dramatics, would mysteriously say, "This is the matter of a big shot..."
People would then nod in understanding, speculating that the naked man in the cage was likely a servant who had offended his master and was being punished publicly.
...
"Hey, have you heard? A servant from a noble's house is being paraded naked across the entire empire."
"You know about it too?"
"Of course, it just came from my hometown city a few days ago. They've almost toured half the empire."
"Hey, did you see the face of that naked guy?"
"No, I didn't. Did you?"
"Hehe, no, but I've heard some daring folks saw it. They said every one of them came back looking like they'd eaten rat poop and couldn't eat for days."
"No way? I thought he was some noble's pretty boy."
"Who knows, maybe some noblewoman has a peculiar taste?"
...
With the ongoing war between the Heaven Dou Empire and the Spirit Empire, the atmosphere was tense. This sensational news spreading across the empire provided some much-needed distraction and relief.
As Frank's cart slowly entered the Heaven Dou Imperial City, the imperial palace was abuzz with the day's discussions, including the matter of Tang San being paraded around naked.
"Your Majesty, we've heard that a servant from a noble's house is being paraded naked across the entire empire. We believe this is inappropriate and should be stopped," an old minister said.
Emperor Xue Ye, recalling his daughter Xue Ke mentioning this recently, pondered. Though betrothed to Tang San, Xue Ke still lived in the palace and often shared interesting stories to amuse the Emperor.
"Your Majesty, I believe this should not be stopped."
A dissenting voice rose in the hall, belonging to an old noble of the Heaven Dou Empire, "Since the founding of our Heaven Dou Empire, we've had countless nobles, each with their own way of punishing servants."
"As long as it doesn't break the law, there's no reason to intervene."
"Besides, it's just a servant. If he made a mistake, even being beaten to death would be deserved, let alone being paraded. Sparing his life is already a mercy."
Nobles only respect two kinds of people: fellow nobles and powerful soul masters. To them, their servants were no better than pets, sometimes even less valuable than their carefully tended cats and dogs.
"Indeed, Your Majesty, I also believe it shouldn't be stopped."
This time, it was Ning Fengzhi, the master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan, who spoke, "As the war between our Heaven Dou Empire and the Spirit Empire intensifies, though there have been victories and defeats, our lack of preparation has led to more losses than wins, causing many citizens to become disheartened."
"Some have even lost their will to fight, living in constant fear."
"This incident, however, has caught the public's attention and allowed our people to momentarily forget the war's failures and ease their minds."
"This temporary distraction could help us regroup and continue the fight in better spirits."
Ning Fengzhi's words made sense.
Although he was siding with the nobles, what he said was indeed true.
As Frank paraded Tang San around in the cart, it had attracted many spectators in various cities within the Heaven Dou Empire.
Many people treated it as entertainment.
Some even traveled from other regions to see it.
Hearing Ning Fengzhi's explanation, Emperor Xue Ye also found some truth in it.
Sacrificing a lowly servant to reunite the hearts of the empire's people was a worthwhile trade.
The old minister who had raised the issue also agreed with Ning Fengzhi's reasoning and did not continue to oppose it.
Compared to the empire's fate, the death of a lowly servant was insignificant.
Moreover, it was just a matter of public humiliation...
...
In the Heaven Dou Imperial City.
As news spread, people lined up along the streets, eagerly awaiting the spectacle.
Sure enough, they saw the cart slowly entering through the city gates.
Frank sat at the front, with the familiar cage and its occupant behind him.
The crowd immediately erupted into a commotion.
"Oh my, he's really pale."
"Whose noble servant is this?"
"I've never seen such fair skin. I'm jealous. Even some noblewomen can't compare, right?"
"I heard this slave is a man. Maybe some noblewoman found him unsuitable and threw him out."
"What did he do wrong? What does he look like?"
"Who knows? Maybe he just said something wrong and got kicked out. If you're curious, why don't you take a closer look?"
...
Seeing Frank and the naked Tang San in the cage, some people even started throwing money, as if giving tips.
Due to the war with the Spirit Empire, many people had no outlet for their frustrations.
Frank's appearance today provided them with a chance to vent.
Seeing the soul coins being thrown at him, Frank thanked everyone while pocketing the money.
Meanwhile, Bai Chenxiang, the young clan leader of the Agility Clan of the Clear Sky Sect, was out shopping with her cousins.
Seeing the commotion in the distance, she looked puzzled.
"What's going on?"
Hearing their young mistress's question, one of the Bai family girls laughed and explained, "Miss, you don't know about this?"
Knowing that their young mistress was focused on cultivation, the Bai family girls quickly told Bai Chenxiang the whole story.
After hearing it, Bai Chenxiang's face changed.
"Outrageous! No matter what mistake he made, you can't humiliate someone like this!" Bai Chenxiang was furious.
Seeing their young mistress's anger, the Bai family girls stuck out their tongues and remained silent.
"Tch, I think he deserves it," a familiar voice suddenly said. It was Ma Hongjun.
Hearing his voice, Bai Chenxiang's anger flared even more.
"What are you doing here?!"
Ever since the incident a while back, Bai Chenxiang had felt an urge to slap Ma Hongjun's chubby face.
The incident stemmed from when Tang San found a suitable herb in the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well to help Ma Hongjun with his internal evil fire.
From that day, Ma Hongjun's martial spirit had undergone a complete evolution.
From the Evil Fire Phoenix, it evolved into the Pure Fire Phoenix!
Simply put, it became the Ultimate Fire!
Its martial spirit quality was on par with the Ice Phoenix martial spirit of Tianshui Academy.
Because of this, Bai Chenxiang's grandfather, Bai He, had hoped to arrange a marriage between Ma Hongjun and his granddaughter, insisting they have a son with the Fire Phoenix martial spirit who would take the Bai family name.
Although the Bai family had the Sharp-tailed Swallow, an ultimate single-attribute martial spirit with unmatched speed, it had its drawbacks.
The major drawback was its lack of strong attack power.
The Fire Phoenix martial spirit is a top-tier beast martial spirit, belonging to the avian family just like the Sharp-tailed Swallow.
If they were to marry, their offspring could potentially transform the family's bloodline.
When Ma Hongjun learned of this, he was naturally overjoyed.
After all, Bai Chenxiang was quite a beauty.
Moreover, the thought of having this woman, who used to look down on him, as his own brought an evil smile to Ma Hongjun's face...
But Bai Chenxiang was firmly opposed to the idea when she heard the news.
Setting aside whether she had any feelings for Ma Hongjun, just thinking about his reputation for frequenting dubious places—supposedly for martial spirit treatment—made her feel nauseous.
Thus, she staunchly refused to marry Ma Hongjun.
Yet, Ma Hongjun clung to her like a sticky piece of gum, shamelessly staying close to her.
The most frustrating part was that ever since his martial spirit evolved, Ma Hongjun's cultivation talent had improved significantly.
Bai Chenxiang realized she could no longer defeat him.
"I heard there's a good show in the imperial city today, so I came to join the fun." Ma Hongjun grinned as he approached Bai Chenxiang, who immediately pulled her companions away from him.
"Hmph, only someone with a twisted sense of humor like you would enjoy seeing others humiliated. They say a man can be killed but not humiliated. What did that person do to deserve such treatment?"
Bai Chenxiang retorted, "And you think I'd marry someone like you? Dream on!"
Ma Hongjun remained indifferent, "Anyway, your grandfather already agreed. Once I become a Titled Douluo, we'll get married."
"You!"
"Impossible!"
Bai Chenxiang couldn't believe her grandfather would do such a thing.
But when she saw the expressions of her companions, she stood still, stunned.
Her eyes widened in disbelief.
Bai Chenxiang couldn't accept that her grandfather had indeed decided to marry her off to Ma Hongjun.
For the sake of the family's future.
To ensure the family would have a powerful martial spirit in the next generation.
The family had decided to sacrifice her for a marriage alliance with Ma Hongjun!
Bai Chenxiang quickly understood her grandfather's motive.
She felt extremely aggrieved but also helpless.
She had been taught from a young age to sacrifice everything for the family.
Clenching her fists, Bai Chenxiang stood there in a daze.
At that moment, Frank's cart approached Bai Chenxiang and Ma Hongjun.
"Miss, don't overthink it. The cart is here."
Hearing this, Bai Chenxiang had no interest in looking at the cart. She just glanced briefly and was about to look away.
However, with her keen eyesight, Bai Chenxiang suddenly noticed a peculiar mark on the face of the unconscious naked man in the cart.
She remembered her cousin, whose face was extremely unattractive, also had a mark in the same spot.
Bai Chenxiang raised an eyebrow.
"What's going on?"
"Did I see it wrong?"
Meanwhile, Ma Hongjun also sensed something was off.
He too felt that the servant in the cage seemed familiar.
"Why does this person give me the same feeling as Third Brother?"
Ma Hongjun sensed a unique aura emanating from the cage, identical to Tang San's.
As both began to suspect something, the figure in the cage suddenly moved.
"Look, that guy is waking up!"
Someone in the crowd shouted.
Countless eyes focused on the cage.
At the same time, Bai Chenxiang and Ma Hongjun were shocked as they saw the face of the waking man.
It really was Tang San! (End of chapter)