Chapter 7: First Appearance
There were eight council members in total. Initially, their power was indeed equal, but over so many years, five of them could be temporarily ignored. The reason was that these five council members were just there to make up the numbers, holding too little real power.
It wouldn't be accurate to say they had no power at all. When council meetings were convened, these five could gather together and barely count as one vote.
The remaining three council members held real power, namely:
Puli's father, the Holy Realm Councilor. He was the oldest, reportedly 179 years old. Once becoming a councilor, one could no longer use their own name. Each councilor had their own heraldic badge, which involved the traditions established by Emperor Okaz.
Even though the Four Kingdoms had split, the portrait on the coins was still that of Emperor Okaz. This could never be changed, unless a second empire was established.
The predecessor of the Council Chamber was the parliamentary system established by Emperor Okaz. Initially, there were eight councilors under Emperor Okaz, and there were still eight now. The eight heraldic badges had been passed down to this day: Holy Realm, Frost Serpent, Rose Flower, and others.
Besides the Holy Realm Councilor, also known as the Old Councilor, the remaining two were the Frost Serpent Councilor and the Rose Councilor.
The Frost Serpent Councilor was cold-hearted, truly like a cold-blooded creature, but his position was unshakable. When steam technology first emerged, he overruled all objections and forcibly conscripted talents from within the Four Kingdoms, concentrating them to research steam technology. This was how today's steam trains and such came to be.
Almost all steam products bore the heraldic badge of the Frost Serpent Councilor, to thank him for his decision back then. The Chidorman Company had a close relationship with the Frost Serpent Councilor, obeying him in everything. There were even rumors that the Chidorman Company was controlled by the Frost Serpent Councilor.
Finally, there was the Rose Councilor. She was a female councilor of unknown age, always maintaining a young and beautiful appearance.
Do not be deceived by the Rose Councilor's beauty into any illusions. Among the three councilors with real power, she was the most radical. 19 years ago, the Rayman Kingdom, as the strongest of the Four Kingdoms, had attempted complete independence.
The result was that the Rose Councilor immediately convened a council meeting, scolding the three kings and five councilors until they were drenched in spit, not daring to utter a word. In the end, she concentrated the forces of the three kingdoms and marched all the way to the capital of the Rayman Kingdom.
It was said that the Rose Councilor pressed the Rayman King's head down, using his face as a stamp to imprint a bloody seal on the armistice agreement. To this day, that armistice agreement was kept secretly stored, never to be made public.
The life stories of any of the three councilors with real power were legendary tales. Puli's father, the Old Councilor, had even more accumulated achievements. This old man rarely participated in the struggles among those in power. His main task was to clean up the Hyena Wolf Clan. All high-ranking members of the Hyena Wolf Clan shared one wish: that this old fellow would die soon. Every day he lived, tens of thousands of Hyena Wolf Clan members were rooted out and executed.
Since the establishment of the empire by Emperor Okaz, if one were to calculate who had eliminated the most Hyena Wolf Clan members, the Old Councilor would definitely be at the top.
Su Xiao hadn't known about the Old Councilor's critical illness before. Upon learning this now, he thought of another possibility. Previously, due to too little intelligence, his deductions had deviated. After all, having just entered this world, Su Xiao couldn't predict the future, nor was he omniscient. Deviations in inference were normal.
In Su Xiao's view, the Hyena Wolf Clan kidnapping him most likely wasn't to kill him, but to control him in some way, and then use him to harm the Old Councilor.
This possibility was over 90%, after all, the Hyena Wolf Clan deeply hated the Old Councilor.
The core deduction was correct. The person behind the scenes was someone from the Council Chamber. The Hyena Wolf Clan couldn't have interfered with the secret arts masters escorting Su Xiao. Those dozen or so newly promoted secret arts masters were utterly useless for protection.
The person behind the scenes had already colluded with the Hyena Wolf Clan, attempting to eliminate the Old Councilor by controlling Su Xiao.
Su Xiao was basically certain that the suspicion on the Old Councilor and Puli was not high, unless Puli was a filial son in mourning. As for the Old Councilor's trusted aide, Azaz, he couldn't figure him out for now.
"Puli."
"Mm, please speak. As long as it can save my father, any request is fine, except marrying my sister."
"May I ask, Acting Councilor Puli, how old are you this year?"
Baha started with his nonsense again. He had already figured out that being too serious when dealing with Puli wouldn't work.
"Hahaha, I'm 32 this year, unmarried."
"And your sister?"
Baha felt this phrasing was a bit inappropriate. It sounded like an insult.
"My sister is 19."
Puli's eyes showed undisguised pride, as if having an excellent sister made him more honored than becoming an Acting Councilor.
"And your father?"
"My father is 179 years old."
Puli sighed a little.
"You're 32, your sister is 19, your father is 179? 179 minus 19 equals 160. At 160 years old, he could still... wait, let me process this. It's a bit confusing. 179 minus 19 equals..."
After a moment of contemplation, Baha looked at Puli and said decisively, "Your father deserves respect!"
Baha gave a thumbs up with his wing. Bubu Wang, who had been listening all along, was dumbfounded. He had the same thought as Baha.
"As for the reward, there's no rush for now. I was ambushed when I came."
Su Xiao brought the conversation back on track.
"!"
Puli, who had a somewhat frivolous look, sat up straight, the smile on his face disappearing.
"Who was it?"
"Not clear. The person who orchestrated the assassination sent over a dozen newly promoted secret arts masters to escort me. Then the Beast Gentleman also showed up. The Chidorman Company people forced back that Hyena Wolf group."
Su Xiao didn't say it was a kidnapping, but rather a more direct assassination. Some things couldn't be made explicit, such as the person behind the scenes wanting to use him to harm the Old Councilor.
"Understood. Give me... half an hour. Azaz, go root them out."
"As you command, Councilor."
Azaz, leaning on his cane, walked out of the room. He didn't take half an hour; he returned in just 12 minutes.
Azaz carried a large cloth sack into the room, placed it on the ground, and opened it, revealing a corpse inside.
"It's Iron Tooth Muro. When I found him, he was already dead, throat cut. Time of death was about an hour ago. One of his metal teeth was taken. I found this at the scene."
Azaz took out a finger-length glass tube containing a small amount of black ash.
"Did you have a secret arts master perform a retrospection?"
Although Puli was usually unserious, he was very reliable when it came to serious matters.
"I did. The scene was tampered with. The retrospection image was pitch black."
Azaz sighed. The clues for this matter were cut off. He and Puli had invited an Alchemy Grandmaster to help, but the other party had been ambushed midway. Yet they hadn't been able to investigate anything. This was somewhat embarrassing.
"Take me to see the Holy Realm Councilor's condition."
Su Xiao temporarily didn't plan to have Puli and Azaz help with the investigation. The person behind the scenes was not easy to deal with. Even though the plan had failed, the subsequent handling was still interlinked.
"Thank you. I'll remember this favor."
Puli felt relieved inside. He had been worried that this Alchemy Grandmaster would fixate on the murderer, which would be bad. His father couldn't hold on much longer.
Led by Puli, the group left the Council Chamber. This time, there was no need for documents or the like. An Acting Councilor could indeed do whatever he wanted.
As soon as Su Xiao exited the Council Chamber, he saw Amu running over from a distance with large strides.
"Step back."
Azaz gripped his cane tightly, black-purple light surging in his pupils.
"He's my follower."
"Is this... an alchemical creature you created?"
Azaz looked at Su Xiao in disbelief. The basic cognition of this world was that alchemists could not create truly living intelligent beings.
"Yes."
"The great one is saved. Asking you to come to Angor City was the wisest decision Puli and I ever made."
"Stop flattering. Hurry up."
Puli opened the door of the steam car, gesturing for everyone to get in.
Su Xiao quickly walked to the passenger door, opened it, and sat in the front passenger seat. Bubu Wang followed closely. Baha could fly, so he didn't plan to take the steam car.
Seeing this, Azaz was a bit puzzled. Although he hadn't known Su Xiao for long, he felt Su Xiao wouldn't be the type to grab the front seat.
"Even an Alchemy Grandmaster is still a young man."
Azaz smiled. But half a minute later, inside the steam car, Azaz's old face was pressed flat against the window glass. Amu was squeezed in the back seat with him. Azaz now knew why Su Xiao and Bubu Wang had both sat in the front. The back seat was way too cramped.
The steam car's piston engine let out a 'desperate' roar as it drove towards the north side of Angor City.
As soon as the steam car drove away, a man in a gray robe with a hood emerged from behind a building, watching the departing steam car.
"You can't escape. Emperor Okaz is dead. No one can save you anymore. To make sure he was completely dead, we waited over a thousand years. This continent belongs to us."
The black-robed man's voice was hoarse. On his cheek, a very thin black tentacle drilled out from his skin, writhing. He casually pulled off this black tentacle, threw it into his mouth, and chewed slowly.