Chapter 8: Purge Targets
Inside the Iron Hand residence in the royal capital.
Su Xiao, Bubu Wang, and Amu sat before the dining table, which was laden with sumptuous dishes. Su Xiao had never seen these delicacies before; each world had different cultures and products, so the cuisine varied to some extent.
"It seems you two have some use."
Looking at the food on the table, Su Xiao couldn't imagine how two little girls around ten years old could cook so many dishes in just one hour.
Don't think this was simple. The two little girls first went to the market to buy ingredients, then processed and cooked them.
Su Xiao tasted the dishes on the table. To his surprise, they were quite good. Bubu Wang and Amu also began to feast.
"Sir, can we go clean the courtyard later?"
The older of the two little sisters spoke. Though she looked a bit adorably dazed, she was the diligent type.
"As long as you can fill its stomach, do whatever you want afterward."
Su Xiao chewed on some beast meat as he spoke. He decided to keep the two little girls for now. Though they had no combat ability, they could handle household chores. After all, he would be staying in this world for about a month.
The food on the table was quickly swept clean by Amu. The two little sisters immediately brought more dishes. This time, Amu completely unleashed his appetite and began devouring everything.
An hour later, the two somewhat exhausted little girls stood by the table.
"Burp~"
Amu let out a satisfied belch, his expression one of pure bliss. His fondness for the two little creatures by the table increased slightly.
"You two, leave first."
Su Xiao certainly didn't mean for Bubu Wang and Amu to leave; he was telling the two little girls to excuse themselves. Though it was unlikely they were spies, it wasn't impossible.
"Yes." ×2
The two little girls, moving in perfect sync, left the room, closing the door behind them. They dragged their tired bodies to clean the courtyard. For them, staying here was the only way to survive. Mixed-bloods without a slave master were either executed or sold again. Though young, these sisters had already experienced the cruelty of this world.
Su Xiao took out the small roll of parchment the old king had given him from his storage space. Unrolling it, he saw four names written on it:
Ian Polit, Warner Vorn, Zarb, and Elvie Anthony.
These four names seemed ordinary, but together they represented immense power.
Ian Polit: Kingdom Councilor (one of ten councilors).
Warner Vorn: Inspector (responsible for public morals, royal capital building maintenance, expansion, etc.).
Zarb: High Priest of the Sanctuary (in charge of festival ceremonies, royal rituals, etc.).
Elvie Anthony: Chief Judge (low official rank but extremely high real power).
...
Among the four were a councilor, an inspector, a high priest, and a chief judge. The first three were nothing special—one was a idle official with some authority, while the other two managed construction and ceremonies. Though their titles were impressive, their actual power was limited.
The last one, Elvie Anthony, was different. As Chief Judge, in a world with such backward communication, his authority was greatly amplified. He could cleverly convict someone of a crime or just as easily reduce their sentence.
Wealthy merchants, commoners, and mid-to-low-level officials who violated the kingdom's laws were all judged by him. This gave him vast connections and financial power within the royal capital.
The Iron Hand had eliminated many of the old king's political enemies, but purging important officials like the Chief Judge was relatively rare.
"This is killing the chicken to scare the monkeys."
The old king's intention was to send a warning to all officials: though the power struggle was about to begin, they had better behave, or the Iron Hand would snap their necks.
Just as Su Xiao was considering how to act tonight, a mouse suddenly scurried into the room.
The mouse looked ordinary, but it wasn't afraid of Su Xiao's blood aura. Instead, it ran to his feet, looked up, and stared at him with its small black eyes.
Su Xiao examined the mouse at his feet and soon noticed something unusual on its belly—something seemed tied there.
Amu grabbed the mouse, which didn't struggle but instead rubbed its head against Amu's finger. This creature had clearly been domesticated.
On the mouse's belly, Su Xiao saw a small paper tube. He pulled it off and opened it, revealing a twisted pattern.
Su Xiao had seen this pattern before. When the Reincarnation Paradise introduced the Iron Hand identity, a large amount of coded language was marked below.
Using the cipher, Su Xiao decoded the twisted patterns and soon got three words:
'Am I on it?'
The message wasn't signed, but Su Xiao knew who sent it: the Kingdom's Financial Officer, Rowan Harvey—the old man he had encountered earlier, who twisted his waist after bumping into Su Xiao's shoulder.
Rowan Harvey was one of the four people the old king trusted most, holding a position no lower than Su Xiao's in the king's eyes. If even someone like him felt endangered, it showed how brutal the upcoming power struggle would be.
In a peaceful world, such an almost open power struggle would be idiotic. But this was a world that had been at war for nearly a thousand years. It had developed a stable power system—seemingly absurd, but actually a very complete framework.
Su Xiao crushed the paper strip in his hand and signaled Amu to release the mouse. Not replying meant Rowan Harvey wasn't on tonight's purge list.
The previous Iron Hand must have had an excellent personal relationship with Rowan Harvey, or sending this message would have been suicidal. Su Xiao naturally intended to maintain this connection. The man controlled the finances and would definitely be useful at a critical moment.
For tonight's purge, the best time was around 8 PM. At that hour, it had just gotten dark, and the people in the royal capital had finished dinner not long ago, with nothing much to do. If something major happened then, it would spread like wildfire—the ideal effect.
Purging those four officials seemed simple, but Su Xiao had many preparations to make. First, he needed a very detailed map. He had to at least understand the terrain of the royal capital.
In modern times, maps were everywhere, but in this world, they were highly valuable and considered contraband. Except for royalty or officials, commoners were not allowed to produce maps.
First, Su Xiao needed to get a detailed map of the royal capital. With that thought, he stood up and walked out of the room. With his position as Iron Hand, getting a map wasn't difficult.
Three hours later, Su Xiao returned to the Iron Hand residence. He had obtained the royal capital map, but his wallet was hurting.
The Iron Hand was a high-income position, but the previous Iron Hand had left behind only 350 gold coins. One gold coin had a purchasing power roughly equivalent to 12,000 RMB. The map in Su Xiao's hand cost him a full 285 gold coins. Yes, the price of a royal capital map was that outrageous.