Chapter 182: Clear Sky Day Chapter 159: Ten-Day Deadline

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Protagonist:

Shaowei

Liu Qi

At these words, the household slaves fell silent at once, switching tactics to sit down on the platform step just above Shaowei, offering wordless companionship instead.

The household slaves were very skilled at this kind of companionship; with this silence, they settled comfortably into it.

The cool night breeze brushed the steps; sensing this companionship, Shaowei lifted her face from her knees to breathe, turning her head to look at the household slave sitting quietly to her rear side.

A half-new, half-worn gray summer robe, hair hastily half-tied behind his head, greenish stubble, a face that had worn the same expressionless look for ten years — like a breeze that couldn't care less, blowing or not blowing, either way was fine, anything went.

Truly detached yet intense, reserved yet straightforward, simple yet clear-headed — a peerless good uncle-slave who never gave pressure, only endless reassurance.

When Jiang Fu first disappeared, he had once said: "Respect her, listen to her — that pleases her more than accompanying her to death."

This was the way this oddball got along with that oddball Jiang Fu; at the time Shaowei could not accept it at all, and so she had hatefully shouted a single "I hate you."

Now, Shaowei said: "Zhao Shu, only now do I understand why a person like her would uniquely be willing to let you stay by her side."

Zhao Qie'an's expression flickered with brief surprise; he waited reservedly for her to continue.

But the child's thoughts jumped unpredictably; having spoken, she turned her head back again, staring blankly into the night.

While Shaowei was lost in thought, an unknown time passed before a brief question came from behind: "Why?"

Seeming to recall for a moment, Shaowei answered: "Because you are good, your goodness is different from others', and it suits her very well."

Looking at the back of the girl's head with her hair in a dangling bun, Zhao Qie'an fell silent, that sentence — worthy of being a lifetime's pursuit — echoing repeatedly in his mind; he only felt this was clearly a divine oracle.

To maintain his reserve, he did not forget to reciprocate: "You are also very good, and you suit her very well too —"

As he spoke, he added a line carrying his true meaning: "As long as you don't act foolishly, don't fall into Chiyang's trap."

"Rest assured, I won't." Shaowei's voice was a bit listless, but the blankness in her eyes had dispersed: "I understand now."

Since Jiang Fu led her into the mortal world, she had been learning how to be human all along; being human had many pleasures, one could have good friends and companions, but it also came with too many painful choices.

Especially this journey to find Jiang Fu, the injuries and suffering her body endured were only secondary; besides today's matter, what left the deepest impression on her was the experience of yielding and taking poison at Rui Fu.

She certainly had several layers of consideration, and this account had already been repaid with no small interest, yet the cracks in her dignity remained; Shaowei had also once wondered blankly, being human is this hard — where is the endpoint of humanity, is there a line that can be held?

Only now did she suddenly realize: Jiang Fu had given her the answer long ago — Jiang Fu taught her to fathom humanity, but never tried to domesticate her.

One must experience it personally to probe the existence of this boundary; Shaowei now had her resolution.

She came to split mountains and sever seas; a bloody head or bones ground to dust were both acceptable, but she absolutely could not submit under the intimidation of these black mountains and evil waters; otherwise, no matter the outcome, it would be a crushing defeat, she would lose very badly, and Jiang Fu would thoroughly lose to Chiyang — that would be true total annihilation.

Therefore, the Rui Fu matter was the final bottom line; she had done being human to this extent, already with proper form; her study of humanity ends here; she has become an adult, and must absolutely stop that endless self-domestication.

The listless Shaowei sat up straight silently, slowly straightening her spine; the night wind lifted the blue silk ribbon binding her hair behind her.

The household slave looked at that back figure; when she spoke, she had already discarded those pointless emotional entanglements, and said instead: "It is not only Chiyang this one path."

She has accomplices; Chiyang also has accomplices; the tails of those accomplices of his have been stepped on, and are still being pursued.

As for Chiyang himself —

Shaowei gritted her teeth: "If he remains obstinate, then let him go die."

"Mm, settled like that then." The household slave said: "Anyway, killing Chiyang counts as avenging her no matter how you look at it; it's not a loss."

He paused, then added: "Having spared no effort, even if we miss, there will be no regrets."

These words were very carefree; Shaowei wanted to nod in agreement to bolster morale, but her neck was held ramrod straight, and she simply could not nod.

"I would still have regrets." She said in a low voice.

Self-domestication has a bottom line; her carefreeness also has a bottom line.

The household slave was silent for a moment, then said: "... Actually, I would too."

He had originally wanted to play a mature elder, but the child faced humanity's fragility so directly — wasn't that a kind of heroism? Since it was so, he would not pretend anymore; otherwise it would seem too fake.

"If there are, there are." Shaowei stood up: "The plan doesn't change; we'll take it as it comes wherever we go."

If she fell for the scheme today, one slash across the throat and death would be death; since she decided to live she must endure the torment, but living is not only for the sake of being tormented — the person must still be found, the matters must still be done; how could a forced heart have reason to change?

Shaowei strode back to her room, and strode straight into that unavoidable torment.

Chiyang likewise unavoidably endured his own torment.

The pain of having an eye gouged out magnified the pain of his physical illness; two or three days passed, and the pain only increased day by day; one moment he fainted from the torture of pain, the next he was tortured awake from unconsciousness.

No need for interrogators to lay a hand on him; he was already inflicting punishment on himself at every moment.

By the third day after his eye was gouged, under interrogation, he laboriously confessed the whereabouts of those children's bones and skin; he claimed he had no accomplices, merely making talismans from children's skin, burning them into talisman ash, and swallowing them together with the crushed children's bones, to suppress his physical illness.

Shaowei half-believed, half-doubted; she would not assert the whereabouts of the children's bones and skin, but whether Chiyang had accomplices or not, she knew clearer than anyone.

And this horrifying testimony was soon presented to the palace.

Que'er, who was involved in this matter, had been receiving treatment from the Taiyi Shu physicians for over ten days; most of the time she displayed a strange false-death state, her body weak beyond measure; under repeated questioning, she provided no more clues — by this point, this child was of no further use, but the Spider Woman still treated her meticulously, as if following a divine command to the letter.

Meanwhile, the drought grew increasingly severe; the people's resentment boiled unceasingly.

Under all manner of pressure, some ministers began proposing to execute Chiyang as soon as possible; as for that unknown-whether-truly-existent calamity-causing evil technique, if Chiyang died, presumably the evil technique he laid down would also collapse along with him.

Bearing the suspicion of being Chimei reincarnated, and with the reality of harming children, such a demonic Daoist had provoked the wrath of heaven and resentment of men; there was absolutely no reason to let him linger.

Moreover, this demonic Daoist's physical decay had reached the point of nothing left to investigate; taking his life to appease the anger of heaven and men was the only choice.

More and more ministers concurred; the Emperor did not immediately make a decision, but turned to ask the Great Wu God's opinion.

Wu God Hua Li inquired of the gods in the Shen Ci, giving the judgment deadline concerning Chiyang: ten days later, the fifth day of the seventh month, burn the demonic Daoist, hold the Han Yu Zhi Ji, sacrifice to the Five Emperors and mountains and rivers.

This decree, proclaimed from the Emperor's mouth, spread swiftly, and all directions hurriedly began preparations for this sacrificial ceremony.

?? (Today is a two-thousand-word chapter; this month's update word count will depend on plot and condition — for example, yesterday was six thousand, tomorrow should be able to be more!

? This month's updates have been poor; currently taking Chinese medicine and acupuncture, and have taken leave for so long; this month I have no face to ask for monthly tickets; I'll come ask for votes next month when updates stabilize! But I must thank everyone who has already voted; from the start of the month breaking updates until now, the monthly ticket ranking is actually still this high — I'm completely shocked, grateful to tears, prostrating in worship... In any case, wishing everyone smooth hearts and healthy bodies!)