Tome of Troubled Times
Chapter 802 (1): If Blindie Ended an Era

Chapter 802 (1): If Blindie Ended an Era

There was indeed no need for any further cleaning; before long, the ruler of the empire and her most trusted official had already been stacked on top of each other.

Perhaps the act of pouring each other a drink this time was part of their karma... But in truth, Zhao Changhe’s intent this time was not one of indulgence. If not for Xia Chichi having taken the initiative in a moment of deep emotion, he had merely wanted to be there for her.

If someone like Yangyang, for instance, was weighed down by sorrow and unable to enjoy life, it was unfair to those around her as well. At the same time, Zhao Changhe only realized after Yangyang’s misfortune that he had spent too little time with the people in his life; this made him acutely aware of the need to cherish those beside him before regret set in.

But no matter how much time he devoted, there were only three days, and one and a half of those days had already been spent on cultivation.

Xia Chichi’s words carried a hint of sourness, but in truth, she felt no jealousy toward Tang Wanzhuang. Resting her chin in her hand, she watched as Tang Wanzhuang, with a rare shyness, yielded in harmony, thinking to herself how breathtakingly beautiful she looked.

Even Huangfu Qing could not help but feel that this disciple of hers had grown closer to Tang Wanzhuang than to herself. Their roles had brought them together too often. Both of them were driven by duty, and both of them were working for the greater good. Naturally, they complemented each other as ruler and minister in perfect accord. Even when they occasionally held differing views and debated over matters, no one else in the world understood better how much the other had sacrificed.

If there was any aspect where this ruler and her minister were not in harmony, it would be that the prime minister only afforded the empress due respect in front of others. Privately, she had never hesitated to challenge her authority.

For Tang Wanzhuang, the only ruler she would cast aside all restraint and serve with complete devotion was her husband.

And now, whatever he asked of her, she would comply. Some of the positions seemed particularly humiliating, making her bite her lip and turn her face away, yet she still endured with quiet submission. Watching this, Xia Chichi felt a twinge of jealousy toward her own husband. She could only imagine how much Zhao Changhe adored this.

“Hey, if you enjoy seeing her like this—diligently working by day, tenderly serving by night—you should have just become the Emperor from the start. Then you’d get to see this every day. Oh... wait, I get it now. You think that if it happened every day, it wouldn’t be as interesting, and it’s only enjoyable because it’s occasional, right?”

“What nonsense are you talking about? No matter how much I like it, I could never treat the throne of a nation as a plaything.”

That remark only confirmed her suspicions—he did enjoy it. Tang Wanzhuang’s face grew even redder, her eyes shutting tightly in embarrassment.

Xia Chichi found it all highly amusing. After all this time as husband and wife, the only person still capable of feeling such shame was Tang Wanzhuang.

They’re all old, yet somehow, Tang Wanzhuang remains so adorably bashful. Maybe it’s because we both prefer to wear white.

* * *

“How do you plan to handle the arrangements for this trip to Kunlun?”

From a day of indulgence to the depths of night, as darkness fell, the three of them finally got up in earnest and sat at the desk in the imperial study to seriously discuss matters.

Zhao Changhe took his seat at the dragon throne as naturally as breathing while Tang Wanzhuang stood gracefully beside him. Her delicate face was still flushed with warmth.

Xia Chichi rested her chin on her hand, her eyes darting between the two of them. It was over now. Ever since it was confirmed that Zhao Changhe enjoyed that particular dynamic, even the most proper and serious aspects of their daily work had become a form of amusement for him. From now on, nothing would ever be purely professional again.

Caught up in these thoughts, the fool did not even realize that someone else had taken her dragon throne.

Fortunately, the man himself was not wasting time on such trivial matters. Zhao Changhe leaned back in his seat, contemplating for a long while before speaking in a low voice, “According to my agreement with Ye Jiuyou, I have to meet her alone.”

Tang Wanzhuang said, “If we locate the place ourselves, does she still get to dictate how many of us can enter?”

“She actually can.” Zhao Changhe sighed. “She’s capable of manipulating chaotic space. If she doesn’t want us inside, she can shift locations at will and just drag us into an endless game of hide-and-seek. I may be willing to play that game for as long as it takes, but Yangyang doesn’t have time for that.”

Tang Wanzhuang’s brow furrowed slightly, considering for a while before murmuring, “Then what if we set up an ambush outside? You enter the space alone and leave a mark. If the situation turns dire, we can storm in immediately.”

“That’s an idea, but it would require avoiding her detection, and to be honest, I doubt we can pull that off. The abilities of those at the third layer of the Profound Control Realm are far too enigmatic. Even if Ye Jiuyou isn’t as unfathomable as Ye Wuming, she’s still not someone we can easily deceive.”

“But our forces can be stationed openly nearby,” Tang Wanzhuang pointed out. “We have legitimate business dealing with the ancient White Tiger. Kunlun lies to the west, and common belief holds that the ancient White Tiger also resides somewhere within the Kunlun region. If we claim to be searching for the White Tiger, what does that have to do with her? She can’t possibly forbid us from looking just because she happens to be there, can she?”

“It’s worth trying, though I doubt she’ll be reasonable about it...” Zhao Changhe pondered for a moment, then suddenly asked, “What about Gusu? Any new developments at the Sword Emperor’s tomb?”

Tang Wanzhuang replied, “That has been Buqi’s primary mission in Gusu. He’s been keeping watch, and so far, there’s been no change. Everything is eerily quiet. The area a few dozen li around Tiger Hill has been evacuated. The Tang Clan has been handling the arrangements over the past few weeks.”

“That’s good,” Zhao Changhe muttered under his breath. “It’s strange, though... In this time when gods and demons are reemerging, the Sword Emperor has remained dormant. But Blindie placed him in the Ranking of Demon Gods, which means... Could he have already awakened?”

Xia Chichi interjected, “Blindie?”

“Oh, nothing. It’s just a reference to how the heavens are blind,” Zhao Changhe said dismissively.

Tang Wanzhuang nodded thoughtfully. “I’ve considered the possibility that the Sword Emperor has already left, but I haven’t dared to explore the tomb myself. Are you suggesting that we should divert our main forces to investigating the Sword Emperor’s tomb rather than focusing on Kunlun?”

“We have to get a clearer picture on the Sword Emperor’s situation. Leaving an unknown variable like that lingering unsettles everyone,” Zhao Changhe said. “But what I’m really considering is the connection between the White Tiger and the Sword Emperor. If we look at the conflict between the Vermillion Bird and Jiuyou over divine authority, then the White Tiger and the Sword Emperor fit the same pattern. The two should be natural enemies. I wonder if we can use that to our advantage somehow.”

Xia Chichi raised her hand. “Though there’s no record of it, theoretically speaking, the Night Emperor and the Sword Emperor must have had conflicts.”

Zhao Changhe mused, “I’ve been thinking... When the era collapsed, most of the ancient demon gods met untimely deaths. But so far, we only know of two individuals who prepared their own tombs in advance—the Azure Dragon and the Sword Emperor. And both of them were found lying peacefully in the coffins they had arranged for themselves... Doesn’t that seem strange?”

Tang Wanzhuang nodded. “I’ve considered that as well. The Azure Dragon’s tomb is in the mortal realm, a proper imperial burial site at Beimang. Not only that, but its location was even shifted, altering the flow of humanity’s qi veins. Meanwhile, the Sword Emperor’s tomb was clearly formed from a fragment of the heavenly realm, creating a secret realm. Before, we lacked enough information to analyze the situation, but now, with everything we’ve learned, a glaring issue stands out. The collapse of the era was the collapse of the heavenly realm itself. It makes sense that those within it perished at the time. But the Azure Dragon’s tomb is in the mortal realm, so how did Azure Dragon die?”

Xia Chichi said, “There’s a 90% chance that the Night Emperor killed him. The Azure Dragon betrayed the Night Emperor’s personal guard...”

Zhao Changhe murmured, “Betrayal or not, the outcome would’ve been the same. I’m certain that as long as they were in the mortal realm, they were all slain by the Night Emperor. Piaomiao is a prime example of this. Although the Night Emperor could kill her subordinates, she couldn’t completely erase Piaomiao.”

The two women exchanged a glance. Just what exactly was the Night Emperor trying to accomplish...?

Zhao Changhe continued, “And that brings us to another problem. The mortal realm didn’t collapse. After the Azure Dragon’s death, his subordinates could still bury him in a tomb. But the situation in the heavenly realm was different. Who buried the Sword Emperor? In the midst of a world-shattering calamity, when everyone was struggling for survival, who had the time and capacity to entomb his body?”

“Could it be...” Xia Chichi hesitated. “That he was gravely wounded outside, and he somehow stumbled back to his own tomb and collapsed inside?”

Zhao Changhe shook his head. “No.”

“Why not?”

“I’ve been to the outskirts of the Sword Emperor’s tomb. The place is shrouded in an incredibly dense vicious qi. If he had died from the collapse of the heavenly realm, that kind of lingering vicious qi wouldn’t exist. It’s far more likely that he was assassinated. After his death, his body was retrieved and buried in the tomb by his sword spirit or some loyal subordinates.”

Xia Chichi blinked in surprise. “That makes sense.”

“And there’s one other thing. When he built his tomb, what made him so confident that it would remain intact? If he was so sure of its preservation, why didn’t he just hide inside and try to survive the disaster? He had no reason not to do that... unless he knew that the catastrophe wasn’t simply a collapse of the heavenly realm, but a plan specifically targeting them. No matter where they hid, as long as they were alive, they wouldn’t escape. But if they were dead, their tombs would be left untouched, as if their enemies had no interest in desecrating them. As for whether he might resurrect one day... that was left to fate. But at the very least, his legacy was secured.”

Tang Wanzhuang murmured to herself, “If that’s the case, then it wasn’t the legendary death of the Heavenly Dao that led to the world’s destruction, but a deliberate purge targeting the ancient demon gods. Some of the more perceptive ones must have realized it in advance and made preparations.”

Somehow, as the conversation continued, it seemed to imply that even the Sword Emperor had been killed by Ye Wuming; there was even a plausible motive. By extension, it could even be deduced that the entire calamity was orchestrated by Ye Wuming.