SLLBTT Chapter 50
Translated by Q the Panda (ko-fi)
⋇⊶⊰Chapter 50⊱⊷⋇
"Number one?" Liu Jiao blushed. "Where do I even fit in..."
The Snow Wolf King said to Liu Jiao, "Also, don't call me 'Great King' when we're outside."
"Are you afraid of someone discovering your identity?"
The Snow Wolf King nodded slightly.
Liu Jiao laughed, "Well, you can rest assured. There are many dogs called Great King/Da Wang (as in big woof)."
"......"
The Snow Wolf King couldn't respond to this.
In the end, Liu Jiao chose a movie starring the Ragdoll Fairy. When the Snow Wolf King looked at the movie ticket, the film was titled "Domineering Wolf King and Charming Cat Consort."
The Snow Wolf King frowned. "Is this movie really good?"
"As long as the protagonist looks good, that's all that matters, right?" Liu Jiao gave a superficial answer.
The Snow Wolf King thought for a moment, reasoning that since it was a date, they should watch whatever movie the date companion liked. So, the two entered the theater before the movie started.
As the movie began, the Wolf King appeared on the big screen — a character true to its name, a domineering wolf king. The moment he appeared, a wolf howl echoed with a resounding "Awoo."
The Snow Wolf King, upon hearing the sound, judged, "This actor is a Husky."
The actor playing the Domineering Wolf King was a fake wolf, but the Charming Cat Consort was indeed a charming cat. The Ragdoll Fairy was wearing thin gauze, adorned with pearls and jewels, with bright eyes and white teeth, captivating many viewers, completely overlooking the simplistic plot.
"Great King..." the Ragdoll Fairy teared up on screen, "Great King, if I die..."
"If you die, I'll have the veterinary hospital buried with you!" the Husky howled.
The Ragdoll Fairy also meowed sadly in response.
The Snow Wolf King commented, "Killing the veterinarian without reason, does the Great King not care about KPI anymore?"
"Why doesn't this Wolf King need to attend court?"
"Doesn't this Wolf King have any governance tasks?"
"This Wolf King can't even pass the probation period."
Liu Jiao turned to look at the Snow Wolf King, "Great King, no talking during the movie."
"......"
The Snow Wolf King remained silent for a while, then extended a wolf claw to Liu Jiao.
Consequently, Liu Jiao also couldn't finish watching this movie carefully.
At the movie's end, the Cat Consort tragically died, separated from the Wolf King, bringing tears to many viewers. As the audience dispersed, many had red eyes. Liu Jiao's eyes were moist, gritting his teeth, glancing at the Snow Wolf King with a flushed face.
The Snow Wolf King said, "The movie was good. We can come more often in the future."
After watching the movie, they left the theater. Liu Jiao checked the clock and asked, "Are we going back to the Temple of Heavenly Emperor?"
"Let's go back."
When the two finished the movie, it was already dark. They returned to the Temple of Heavenly Emperor. Ah Ye and Da Huangya had been waiting for them, relieved to see the Snow Wolf King and Liu Jiao safely back.
"Both of you are noble men, better not go out in the future," Da Huangya recalled with some fear. If the two had encountered any unforeseen events outside, he wouldn't be able to bear the guilt.
The Snow Wolf King, however, said, "Don't worry. Commander Xiao Jiao is valiant. No matter what happens, he will protect me."
The Snow Leopard Chief Guard, upon hearing the Snow Wolf King's words of praise, felt quite proud. "That's right, I will protect the Great King well."
Ah Ye, on the side, wanted to advise but was instead intercepted by Da Huangya. Da Huangya just pulled Ah Ye and said, "The Great King and Master are tired and hungry after a day out. Let's go prepare a meal first."
After saying that, Da Huangya pulled Ah Ye to arrange the meal. Ah Ye, however, asked, "Why didn't you advise them?"
"Didn't you see them both in high spirits? Besides, do you want to risk upsetting them?"
"I haven't seen you care about this before."
"Before, I only served Master," Da Huangya glanced at Ah Ye and said in an elder's tone, "You're young, with limited experience. You've only served the Snow Leopard Master, so there are many etiquettes you won't understand. You can't use the same approach with the Snow Wolf King, or you'll end up at a disadvantage."
Ah Ye, however, said, "I think the Great King is quite easygoing..."
Da Huangya countered, "What about Queen Ming?"
"Queen Ming? He's quite a ruthless character." Ah Ye had heard somewhat about Queen Ming's ruthless actions in the palace to eliminate rivals.
Da Huangya continued, "Look, Queen Ming, such a formidable character, can't even speak in the palace now, and he's restricted and stripped of authority. Do you still think the Great King is easy to get along with?"
Ah Ye also stood still.
The two quietly placed the meals on the table. The Snow Wolf King still appeared amiable, smiling at Ah Ye. In Ah Ye's heart, the Great King seemed divine, always smiling, and naturally easygoing.
The Snow Wolf King noticed a plate of chicken wings and said, "Why no beef today?"
Liu Jiao replied, "After having a lot of chicken in the palace, I wanted beef. Now, having had plenty of beef, I miss the taste of chicken, so I had the kitchen prepare chicken."
"Alright," the Snow Wolf King laughed, "I'll help you debone the chicken."
With the Snow Wolf King's skillful hands, somehow, he managed to debone the chicken wings, leaving only the tender meat.
"Aiya, Great King! Are you not going to eat the bones?" Liu Jiao said, "It's the bones that are fragrant!"
Saying that, Liu Jiao started to gnaw on the chicken bones with his bare hands.
The Snow Wolf King sighed in resignation, watching Liu Jiao enjoy both the chicken meat and bones, then said, "This way is good too. No need to share like eating meat buns, where you eat all the meat, and I get the leftovers."
While the Snow Wolf King and Liu Jiao were dining, the Chief Investigator came to pay respects again. The Snow Wolf King dismissed the attendants, leaving only him, Liu Jiao, and the Chief Investigator in the room. "Any new discoveries?"
The Chief Investigator replied, "The abbot's side has clarified. The hair tonic he used was poisonous."
"Hair tonic?" The Snow Wolf King was somewhat surprised. "He used that?"
"Yes, although he shaved his head, he still harbored a desire to regrow hair." The Chief Investigator said with a hint of regret.
However, Liu Jiao suddenly remembered what the goose demon had mentioned – the abbot they knew had hair. Liu Jiao asked, "By the way, is the abbot mentioned by the goose demons the same Abbot Baldy we know?"
"It's the same abbot," the Chief Investigator replied, "Just in the past two years, the abbot started experiencing hair loss."
Liu Jiao was somewhat surprised, "Really? But losing all hair in just two years?"
"For middle-aged men, hair is like leaves — dense in summer, but with the autumn wind, it falls in the blink of an eye. No time for reminiscing," the Chief Investigator said with a weathered tone, "The Chief Guard, with his thick fur, wouldn't understand."
Liu Jiao, however, contradicted, "Actually, I lose a lot of fur every day."
Cats shed fur, and big cats were no exception.
The Snow Wolf King cut in, "Middle-aged men losing hair shouldn't result in going bald entirely, right?"
"He didn't go completely bald, but the hair loss created a Mediterranean sea on top of his head, which was quite unsightly, so he decided to shave it all off." The Chief Investigator answered, "It's a common state for middle-aged men."
"Did that hair tonic not work?" Liu Jiao curiously asked.
"I think he only started using that hair tonic in the past two months."
The Snow Wolf King pondered for a moment and said, "Does the hair tonic contain snake venom?"
"Yes, it's the same snake venom that killed the former Chief Guard. It's the venom from the snake demon."
"How could there be snake venom in a hair tonic?" Liu Jiao felt very puzzled. "Which company produces it? What's the brand? Was there any quality inspection?"
"There wasn't any!" The Chief Investigator shook his head. "It's just a bottle, without any label, filled with a liquid that has a strong ginger scent. I asked the abbot's attendant, and he said it's a 'hair regrowth secret formula' the abbot got from who knows where, claiming it can promote hair growth. He applied it to his head every day."
"This..." Liu Jiao couldn't understand, "Doesn't this mean..."
"This means one should not use unbranded and uninspected products!" the Chief Investigator said with conviction, "Daily chemical products without a brand or quality inspection can pose significant dangers!"
Liu Jiao only said, "Understood."
The Snow Wolf King added, "Are there any other suspicious aspects in the abbot's residence?"
"The abbot seems to be involved in corruption."
The Snow Wolf King chuckled and said, "Still 'seems to be'?"
"Well... it's hard for me to say. Didn't you assign the auditing task to a professional team? They haven't informed me of the results, so I can only make some guesses based on minor clues," the Chief Investigator cautiously replied.
The Snow Wolf King did indeed dispatch experts to audit the Temple of Heavenly Emperor's accounts. The deficit was significant, indicating that the abbot had embezzled a substantial amount.
Upon hearing the Chief Investigator mention "guessing based on minor clues," the Great King asked, "So, how did you discover the abbot's corruption?"
"In response to the Great King," the Chief Investigator answered, "we examined the abbot's computer in his residence and found searches such as 'sentencing for embezzlement of public funds,' 'death penalty for embezzlement of public funds,' 'how to elegantly embezzle and escape,' and similar queries."
The Snow Wolf King nodded. "Those are indeed minor clues... Is there no accounting-related information on his personal computer?"
"He has an encrypted hard drive, which should contain the evidence of embezzlement. The expert team is currently decrypting it," the Chief Investigator replied.
"Alright," the Snow Wolf King nodded, "Is this all you've found?"
The use of the word "all" was quite cunning, instilling a sense of trepidation in the subordinate.
"Is this what you found?" and "Is this all you've found?" may differ by a single word, but the perception was markedly distant.
The Chief Investigator even broke into a sweat, preparing to kneel down. "This subordinate is diligently searching for more clues."
The Snow Wolf King said, "I've already instructed the Bird Guards to keep an eye on Zhengqi Temple."
"Zhengqi Temple?" The Chief Investigator was incredibly astonished. "Does the Great King still suspect that Daoist?"
"Yes. By the way, have you investigated the snake venom and developed an antidote serum?"
Upon hearing this question, the Chief Investigator was shocked and helpless, much like being asked if he had developed the technology for seedless watermelons after just delivering a perfectly ripe watermelon to the boss.
"Uh... Great King... You asked a good question." The Chief Investigator cleared his throat, lowered his head, and said, "I don't know why the Great King suddenly brought up the serum. Besides, this is probably something the experts from the royal hospital can handle." This is equivalent to "You didn't mention this before. My salary doesn't cover this task."
"Indeed, it wasn't necessary before. All the poisoned individuals have already died, and it wouldn't make sense to urgently call the roy physicians to create a serum." The Snow Wolf King suddenly lifted his foot, revealing snake bite marks, faintly displaying a bluish-black hue. "But it seems I have been poisoned."
"Ah!!! Great King!!!" The snow leopard was shocked, leaping into the air and then landing back on the ground.
Liu Jiao touched the Great King's ankle, seeing extremely small bite marks on the fair ankle. If not for the eerie bluish aura, it would be imperceptible.
The Chief Investigator's knees went weak, dropping on the ground, shedding two lines of hot tears. "Heavens！！！！Great King, please——————oh, wait, Great King, aren't you immune?"