Tome of Troubled Times
Chapter 796 (1): Effect Shall Inevitably Follow

Chapter 796 (1): Effect Shall Inevitably Follow

Baoqin used to be reserved and shy about such matters, never daring to express herself, always waiting with a quiet longing for her young master to take the lead. But ever since she had been “marked” last time, she had become noticeably more proactive—coquettish, even. Not only did she neglect to rescue her young miss who was in distress, but she also took the opportunity to flirt with her young master instead...

She was so absorbed in her teasing that she did not even notice Shelly standing behind her, grinning mischievously. Without a care, she was openly seducing another woman’s husband right in front of her.

Zhao Changhe found the whole scene amusing, while Lady Three nearly laughed out loud.

Of course, Lady Three could not be bothered with a little maid’s antics. She was far more entertained by the sight of the dumb bird bullying Tang Wanzhuang.

Tang Wanzhuang’s cultivation had already fallen behind Huangfu Qing’s. Now, still recovering from her injuries, she was no match for the other party. Pressed against a pillar with her true qi circulation sealed—though not entirely, just enough to leave her limbs weak and struggling—she twisted her head away desperately, refusing to be kissed. Yet, the sight of her hairpins in disarray, her flushed face framed by a few loose strands, and her eyes burning with defiance was nothing short of breathtaking.

Huangfu Qing was not in a hurry to truly steal a kiss. Wherever Tang Wanzhuang turned her face, she kissed the other side, deliberately trailing downward to her neck. Tang Wanzhuang was both furious and helpless, and before long, soft moans escaped her lips.

Meanwhile, her maid was still busy seducing a man, and that man held the girl tightly, lowering his head to claim her lips.

This maid, who usually had such a glib tongue, obediently parted her lips, welcoming his deepened demand. Her flushed cheeks were utterly charming, and her bright eyes darted nervously toward her young miss, watching her struggle while hoping she would not notice what was going on over on this side.

Lady Three found the sight of the young miss and maid being simultaneously “devoured” immensely amusing.

Tang Wanzhuang, breathless and fuming, snapped, “Huangfu Qing, it’s one thing for you to come flaunting your dominance, but are you seriously playing around right now? Do you really think the frontline would have succeeded without the support we provided from the rear?”

Huangfu Qing smiled lazily, her jade-like fingers trailing across Tang Wanzhuang’s body. “What does success or failure matter? I’m just here to heal you... Look at how well I’m treating you...”

“What kind of injury requires such forceful treatment? Your brain must have gotten damaged. I should be the one treating you instead!”

“Go ahead, then... If you can pin me down, you can treat me however you like...” Huangfu Qing murmured against her fair neck, placing a teasing kiss. “Just like the time you tricked me onto the riverbed for that so-called treatment...”

Tang Wanzhuang was utterly drained. “Enough already! I have too much on my mind, I have no energy to play with you... Your cultivation is so strong now. If you can reach Zhao Changhe, then hurry up and contact him. There’s trouble, alright?”

She had never shown such weariness or a hint of pleading in front of Huangfu Qing before, which left the latter momentarily stunned. “What’s wrong with you? Everything is settled now. This should be the time for rest. What are you so worried about? There’s always more to be done, but you have to find balance. Why spend every moment drowning yourself in work and worrying about every single little thing?”

“Cui Wenjing came and reported that Cui Yuanyang is missing.”

Huangfu Qing: “?”

Lady Three: “...”

Zhao Changhe: “!!!”

Baoqin: “!!!”

It’s over. Once again, the wait will be endless. The young master will have no room in his mind for anything else now.

As expected, the young master, who had been happily mistreating the young miss’s maid just moments ago, immediately straightened up. “What happened?”

Tang Wanzhuang: “?”

She shoved at Huangfu Qing in frustration. “Zhao Changhe, you were here all this time yet you didn’t even save me? You just let her bite me all she wanted!”

You two have literally rolled around in bed together. What saving are you even talking about?

Zhao Changhe ignored that entirely and demanded, “What happened to Yangyang?”

Tang Wanzhuang explained, “Cui Wenjing said that Yangyang’s cultivation skyrocketed. She took down Desolate Calamity in a single strike and then left with Jiuyou. Before Desolate Calamity died, he called her by the name Piaomiao.”

Zhao Changhe’s expression darkened.

He already knew that Yangyang was Piaomiao’s reincarnation. But back then, the blind woman had assured him that such a situation would not easily lead to possession; even awakening Piaomiao to any extent was no simple task. After all, the Qinghe Sword was just one of the four divine swords. Relying on a single medium to restore Piaomiao in full was highly unlikely. At the time, Zhao Changhe had agreed with that assessment.

Moreover, it was not like his opinion really mattered. He had no way of preventing it back then anyway, unless he had refused to reforge the Qinghe Sword in the first place. Under the circumstances back then, that had not even been an option.

Now, it was clear that the blind woman had not been telling him the whole truth.

The worst part of this all was that the Tome of Troubled Times had not mentioned this at all. Its records of the battle that had taken place at Hangu Pass only detailed the back-and-forth between Li Boping and Cui Wenjing, concluding in a truce. It had not even mentioned Desolate Calamity.

If he had not returned early and were still recuperating at Langjuxu, how many days would have passed before he even received this news?

“What the hell are you doing? I’ve been calling you for days with no response. Were you hiding this from me on purpose?” Zhao Changhe shouted in his mind at the blind woman. “This is something you chose to keep from me?”

Still, the blind woman did not answer him.

A chill ran down Zhao Changhe’s spine, and he suddenly came to a realization. This time, his failure to reach the blind woman was not like the usual short-term silences. This time, she had truly left him. At the very least, she had made up her mind to cut off communication for the long haul.

She had blocked him.

If what she needed was all nine pages of the Heavenly Tome, then the final missing page was in Jiuyou’s hands. Now that Piaomiao had gone to Jiuyou, there was no way Zhao Changhe would not go after them. No matter what, whether he died at Jiuyou’s hands or Jiuyou fell to him, all nine pages of the Heavenly Tome would be gathered once the dust settled.

Is this final outcome really all that the blind woman needs?

But something still doesn’t add up. If all she’s always wanted was to gather the pages of the Heavenly Tome, she could have simply pretended nothing had happened, worked together with me to defeat Jiuyou, and smoothly collected all nine pages. Why go through all this trouble, creating unnecessary conflict and increasing the risk of unexpected complications?

Unless... her true goal isn’t merely completing the Heavenly Tome but something else. Perhaps, for her, the moment the page of illusion and reality was found marked the critical turning point. Now, she’s beginning the final phase of her plan.

What truly frustrated Zhao Changhe the most right now was that even if he were to scatter the pages of the Heavenly Tome right now, it would be useless. No matter where he threw them, the blind woman could retrieve them effortlessly. Even if he divided them among other powerful figures, she considered none of them a threat, and giving them the pages would only bring disaster upon them.

Before he knew it, she had cleared all other paths, leaving only one road ahead.

Enter Kunlun and face Jiuyou.

“You’re playing at being some self-proclaimed final boss... Do you really think your grand scheme is an inescapable fate for me?” Zhao Changhe muttered. “But don’t get ahead of yourself, Lady Night Emperor...”

Huangfu Qing and Lady Three narrowed their eyes at the same time.

“There’s nothing to worry about,” Zhao Changhe said calmly. “Yangyang won’t be in danger. And I’m certain that Piaomiao and Yangyang exist separately. That means if I want to save Yangyang, I have to kill Piaomiao. Someone wants me to do that. If they had directly told me to kill Piaomiao, I wouldn’t have done it without reason. Piaomiao is a good person, but for Yangyang’s sake... I have no choice.”

Tang Wanzhuang frowned. “If someone wants you to kill Piaomiao... then what if Piaomiao does devour Yangyang? Wouldn’t you then want to kill Piaomiao in revenge?”

“If Piaomiao devours Yangyang, she would inevitably retain part of Yangyang’s memories, inhabit Yangyang’s body, and perhaps even hold feelings for me. Could I really bring myself to strike her down?” Zhao Changhe shook his head. “I don’t even know if I can do it. And if I hesitate, then what? She understands me too well. She wouldn’t gamble on such an uncertain design. That’s why I’m sure they remain separate. Only if Piaomiao has no personal ties to me will I decisively act against her.”

He paused for a moment, then murmured to himself, “Logically, things shouldn’t be dragged out too long. The longer this drags on, the greater the chance that Piaomiao could fully consume Yangyang. She clearly isn’t afraid that I might not act quickly enough. But if speed is what she needs, then why not do what she used to and push all the blame onto Jiuyou and work with me to get this over with fast? Why deliberately provoke me, making things harder for herself? Does she actually want this to move quickly... or is she intentionally slowing things down? Or... does she just want me to hate her?”

The room fell into silence as everyone exchanged glances.

This level of entanglement... just how well do he and that woman know each other? How familiar are they with one another?

Tang Wanzhuang, who had been deeply worried before, suddenly seemed much calmer. “I had thought this was a sudden crisis, which made me anxious. But since this is a pit someone deliberately dug for us, then rushing forward blindly is the worst possible response.”

Zhao Changhe asked, “What’s your plan?”

Tang Wanzhuang replied, “If we’re going to act, where should we go? Chang’an?”

“Most likely Kunlun... but the real issue is that Kunlun spans thousands of li. It’s not just Yuxu Peak we’re concerned about. Hongling was there months ago and barely uncovered a fraction of it. How are we supposed to find Piaomiao in the shortest time possible?”

Tang Wanzhuang smiled slightly. “Finding her isn’t actually that hard... at least, finding Jiuyou should be easy.”

Zhao Changhe’s eyebrows shot up. “What do you mean?”

“The Li Clan has been abandoned by both the Buddhist and Daoist sects and lost their foreign allies among the northern barbarians, yet they still act as if they’re on equal footing with us. Doesn’t that suggest they have Jiuyou backing them?”

“That’s true.”

“If Jiuyou is supporting the Li Clan, that means she needs them and won’t let them fall so easily, right?” Tang Wanzhuang continued, “You can descend anywhere using the subterranean sky. If you directly descend into Li Boping’s palace and try to kill him, Jiuyou will have to come out to save him. That way, we’ll meet her face to face.”

Zhao Changhe exhaled. “That makes sense.”

The worst thing was being in the dark and having no grasp of the situation. As long as he could meet Jiuyou, he would be able to discern her motives, and from there, they could make their move with confidence.

Without another word, Zhao Changhe shot off toward the imperial palace. “Everyone, come with me. Once we make contact, we’ll decide our next steps on the spot.”

The group moved swiftly toward the imperial palace.

Meanwhile, Baoqin sat on the ground, hugging her knees, sniffing as tears welled up. Then, with a wail, she cried out, “That damn Night Emperor! If I ever see her, I’ll curse her so hard even her mother won’t recognize her! Waaah! If this keeps getting delayed, in two more years, I’ll be an old woman!”

Zhao Changhe ignored her grumbling. He could not descend everywhere, but with the subterranean sky, he could cover most of the region.

The group rushed to the secret realm beneath the Imperial Ancestral Temple. Then, with his palm pressed against the subterranean sky, Zhao Changhe quickly pinpointed Li Boping’s palace and descended in an instant.

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