239: Chapter 22 The Way of All Beings 239: Chapter 22 The Way of All Beings Tonight, the wind at the Jade Sea Hunting Ground was exceedingly boisterous.
Outside the pavilion, the wind and snow encircled it, and hundreds of Purity Talismans emitted a rustling sound as the leaves swayed.
Inside the pavilion, only silence remained.
Xie Xuanyi watched the child in front of him, hands pressed on the table, trying to overwhelm him with his aura, his face completely earnest.
He was silent for a long time, finding it somewhat amusing.
“Are you sure?”
Xie Xuanyi looked at the child’s serious face, barely suppressing his laughter, and curiously confirmed the other’s meaning.
“The case of the Lin Family has too many traces in its wake.”
The young emperor did not detect the irony in Xie Zhen’s words and earnestly explained, “If this matter is thoroughly investigated, it will reveal oddities.
In the future, I will vindicate the Lin Family, and by then the misunderstandings between you and those noble families of the Northern County will be resolved… As for Yuan Jimo, I will have him tortured to death!”
Xie Xuanyi could hardly contain himself.
He smiled wryly, watching the young emperor with interest, and teased, “The case of the Lin Family involves the Qin Family, how do you plan to deal with that?
And the future you are speaking of, how far away is this future?”
“The Qin Family…”
The young emperor was at a loss for words for a moment, clenched his teeth, and said, “The Imperial City suffers from many ills that must be addressed one by one.
Once the Lin Family case is settled, it will be the Qin Family’s turn.”
Xie Xuanyi smiled and asked again, “What about the Holy Empress?
How do you plan to handle her?”
“…”
The mention of the Holy Empress finally extinguished the young emperor’s spirit.
“I have a suggestion for your majesty.”
Xie Xuanyi smiled faintly, leisurely speaking, “Invite Tang Fengshu from the World Pavilion as well; the Great Perfected behind her is on equal footing with the Pure Yang Sect Leader of the Sword Palace.
If we can unite the Taoist and the Sword Palace and gather them in the Great Chu Imperial City, with the Sect Leader intercepting the Qin Ancestor and the Great Perfected confronting the Holy Empress, it would only take two hours for the Seven Huts and Four Mountains of the Taoist and Sword Palace to cleanse the realm of Great Chu.”
Is this a plot to usurp the throne?
These heart-piercing words scared the young emperor into falling back into his seat.
His face turned pale, truly unexpected.
This Xie Zhen… could actually make such outrageously disloyal remarks?
“Are you scared, your majesty?”
Xie Xuanyi slightly tilted his head, looking at the child before him, softly musing, “Doesn’t your majesty think that calling me here today…
is for this very purpose?”
“…”
The young emperor opened his mouth, speechless.
He met Xie Zhen today.
Naturally, it was to build alliances.
And what happens in the end of such alliances… goes without saying.
Alright, he had to admit, Xie Zhen was right; the thought hidden deepest in his heart was just expressed by Xie Zhen in a casual, audacious manner.
Yet, it sounded incredibly ironic.
Plotting a coup d’état?
He was the legitimate emperor of the Dachu Dynasty!
“An emperor planning a rebellion… the sun must be rising from the west.”
Xie Xuanyi chuckled, helplessly saying, “Your Majesty, you better recognize the reality, you currently lack the power to reverse the Lin Family’s case.
Despite sitting on the throne, you are not the true master of Great Chu, the recent turmoil in Qing State also showed the outcome, didn’t it?
You wouldn’t want to end up like the You Hai King, would you?”
“I…”
The young emperor realized his slip of tongue, and quickly corrected himself, putting on a tougher stance: “I know what I am doing!”
With a “snap” sound.
Suddenly a gust of wind swept through the pavilion.
Xie Xuanyi extended his hand, merely waving his sleeve lightly, and a jade ring, as if by magic, appeared in his palm.
The young emperor was startled and quickly looked down.
The jade ring that he had worn on his thumb had disappeared.
“Give it back to me!”
Upon speaking again.
The voice had lost its previous majesty and composure, sounding shrill and irritated.
This was the voice that a ten-year-old child should have.
Xie Xuanyi tossed the ring back lightly and casually remarked, “Your Majesty… this jade ring seems familiar.
Did Chen Jingxuan give it to you?”
The young emperor hurriedly caught the ring and put it back on.
A hint of annoyance crossed his face, and he said coldly, “You ask too many questions!”
“Interesting.”
Xie Xuanyi mused, “I heard that the array patterns and talismans on the outskirts of the Jade Sea Hunting Ground were built by the old State Preceptor… Even though Chen Jingxuan is now the master of the library, that old State Preceptor has been a cornerstone of Great Chu Country’s fortune for decades and was intimately connected with the former Emperor Chu, so this act of pretending to be ignorant, was it the library’s idea?
Then, was today’s meeting proposed by Chen Jingxuan as well?”
“I don’t need to explain my actions to you.”
The young emperor’s face was gloomy as he fiercely said, “Xie Zhen, don’t overestimate yourself, nor should you be too self-assured!”
Xie Xuanyi looked meaningfully at the child before him.
He had already confirmed…
Just who was standing in this meeting tonight.
Ten years, not just for this young emperor to grow.
But also for the library’s layout.
“Don’t worry, being identified as a ‘library’ agent isn’t a bad thing.”
Xie Xuanyi slightly bowed his head, slowly saying, “After all, you must have seen my file…
I myself am a Dark Child of the library, in some sense, there is no difference between us.”
The young emperor, initially fierce within, paused for a moment upon hearing this.
But after a moment.
He returned to his previous stern demeanor, ignoring Xie Zhen.
Obviously.
Some things are simply not spoken aloud.
Talking about rebellion…
even if it crossed his mind a thousand times, he couldn’t utter a single word about it.
Xie Xuanyi thought for a moment, then continued, “Think carefully, given Chen Jingxuan’s character, if he really wanted you to meet with me… it wouldn’t have been so troublesome.
After all, were there to be any major movements, he’d directly tell me, as that would be far more useful than you.”
These words deeply hurt the young emperor’s pride.
He huffed coldly.
But this exactly confirmed Xie Xuanyi’s thoughts.
This meeting tonight, was entirely the young emperor’s own idea.
“I can help you.”
Xie Xuanyi said indifferently, “But you need to prove your strength… If your majesty only has those few Death Soldiers by your side, then it really isn’t enough.”
Addressing me so casually, showing no respect at all!
“Xie Zhen, I see you truly are lawless…”
The young emperor grew angrier the more he thought about it.
He stood up again, clenching his teeth, and tried to assume an imposing manner as he said angrily, “If you dare to disrespect Us again, We will not be polite!”
Upon hearing this, Xie Xuanyi showed no fear.
He smiled faintly, arms crossed, clearly prepared to face the storm.
But after a long while.
The young emperor deflated like a punctured ball and sat back down.
Aside from summoning Xue Zhu.
He really had no other effective measures.
Ten years.
He was just a naive child.
Nearly all the power of the Dachu Dynasty was in the Holy Empress’s hands.
“Alright, just as I thought.”
Xie Xuanyi raised an eyebrow and said, “I guess this meeting is nothing more than your attempt to recruit another impressive ‘Death Soldier.’
“Not a Death Soldier.”
The young emperor explained in a low voice, “We do not lack for Death Soldiers.”
Xie Xuanyi smiled and said, “There’s no need to say more, those who know…
naturally understand.”
The young emperor looked up, his eyes filled with deep resentment, “Fang Yuan Fang said you will definitely be in the top three of the Heavenly Pride List and it won’t take a sixty-year period for you to reach the rank of Yang God.”
Xie Xuanyi laughed, “So you’re wooing a future Yang God?”
“…Naturally.”
The young emperor took a deep breath and said, “I will also seek an opportunity to visit the Taoist sect.”
“I’m afraid you won’t be able to wait that long.”
Xie Xuanyi looked at this naive child and felt pity.
These ten years should have fully informed the young emperor how cruel the struggles within the Imperial City were.
But unfortunately,
The young emperor still underestimated the difficulty of some matters.
“Do you think that our meeting here can truly be hidden from the Holy Empress?”
Xie Xuanyi stared into the young emperor’s eyes, posing a fatal question.
The latter was momentarily stunned.
It was apparent.
In that moment, he was genuinely at a loss.
“Or rather…
the real truth that you’re not foolish, can that be hidden from the Holy Empress?”
Xie Xuanyi’s tone became serious as he posed the second question.
The young emperor, sitting in the pavilion, fell into a long contemplation, his fists clenched tightly and resting on his knees, due to excessive nervousness.
At that moment, he even forgot to alter his voice with the jade ring.
“Perhaps…
she knows everything.”
The young emperor’s voice was very faint, almost trembling.
He knew what had happened ten years ago.
He also knew the enemies he faced were immensely powerful.
“She must know everything.
She just doesn’t care.”
Xie Xuanyi gave a confirming answer.
He said indifferently, “Some things, she just doesn’t care about…
Does a giant elephant under the heavens lower its head to look at an ant on the ground?”
This sentence was like a sharp sword.
The young emperor, struck at his most vulnerable, looked at Xie Zhen in dismay.
Xie Xuanyi sat in the pavilion, thinking back to the days he had visited the palace.
That night.
He had looked directly at the Holy Empress, seeing all living beings flit through her eyes.
He saw countless people and also saw “himself.”
Although his master’s Sword Qi Lotus had blocked the Holy Empress’s Divine Thought,
Xie Xuanyi still felt a palpable sense of trepidation.
After leaving the Imperial Palace.
Xie Xuanyi pondered what kind of realm the Holy Empress, who lived in the deepest part of the Great Chu Imperial City, had reached.
It was said that the Qin Ancestor had ascended to Heavenly Person.
The Pure Yang Sect Leader fought with the Qin Ancestor to a draw and, upon returning to the Sword Palace, had an epiphany and began to meditate.
So what lies above the Heavenly Person?
The Holy Empress, seated in the Dachu Dynasty, enjoying offerings from numerous citizens and incense from countless sects and noble families…
Was she already nearing the final level above Heavenly Person?
When he, Xie Xuanyi in his past life, became the master of Lotus Peak, he had once held the Sword Qi Decree of Lotus Peak.
The moment he took the decree into his hands, he felt his “Divine Soul” transcend, perceiving everything on Lotus Peak.
As the wind blew, he knew where the grass leaves would fly to and where they would land.
A mere thought would bring forth the result.
Perhaps,
The Holy Empress sitting in the heart of the Great Chu Imperial City felt the same way.
Only the “grass leaves” she saw.
Were the countless people of the Great Chu Imperial City.
After a long while.
A gust of wind blew.
A grass leaf fell into the pavilion, landing on the stone table in front of them.
“But,”
The young emperor murmured in confusion, “If she knows everything, why would she do this?”
Xie Xuanyi didn’t reach out to brush off the leaf.
He lowered his eyes, and softly said, “Perhaps…
this is the way of all beings.”