Chapter 439: 414 Rosy Light

The sun descended inch by inch, and the sky darkened bit by bit.

The firmament turned the color of seawater, vast and somber. It was deeper than the clear, bright sky under the shine of the day.

Four people and one white fox hung from a long, transparent silk thread, dangling beneath a white flower so elegant yet fragile, like a strangely shaped kite drifting with the wind in the dim Bilu.

This was truly a strange journey.

As a Sword Guest, Tang Zhao was of course capable of flying; he had once flown to his heart's content, once steered Sword Light to pierce the firmament, and once ridden the Six Dragon Carriage to charge toward the sun.

But those flights were fast, passionate, and full of power. He was like lightning, like thunder, like a majestic eagle; even if his sword and his carriage were but a drop in the ocean compared to heaven and earth, the way he mastered direction and speed to soar at will made it seem as if he were the master of the sky.

However, drifting in the air while tugging on a silk thread was so slow, aimless, and even fragile. Tang Zhao and his companions did not know where they were going; the wind surrounded them and pushed them, and they were like exiles packed into a wooden barrel drifting across the ocean, aimlessly going with the flow, able to do nothing but grasp the thin silk thread in their hands.

This reminded Tang Zhao of the first time he campaigned in the Demon Cave, when he had held a cat and flown through a curtain of rain. At that time, he knew nothing and borrowed the power of others, filled with trepidation, yet he was still firm, knowing what he was going to do and knowing where he was flying.

But now, he had no idea where the end of the flight was. It seemed... there was a Xiancheng in the distance; were they going there? It seemed so, but every gust of wind could blow them off course. With so many strong winds at high altitudes, they seemed completely at the mercy of the wind, seemingly never able to approach their goal.

Moreover, the thread in his hand at this moment was far less reliable than that fat, big cat.

Gradually, Tang Zhao grew accustomed to this drifting, especially as the stalemate between Meng Huazhou and Shangguan Jianke above his head grew longer, and both sides tacitly gave up the struggle, knowing that no winner could be decided on the road, so they simply waited to settle the outcome upon reaching the final destination. This long thread became completely calm, with only the wind moving.

The journey became peaceful, leisurely, and even romantic.

At this moment, the dim sky changed color, becoming bright.

"Look, the evening glow!"

Overhead, Black Widow pointed toward the horizon.

On the horizon, it was as if it had caught fire.

The cold-toned sky suddenly turned to warm colors, first with orange-red light, then infecting the fire-red clouds, and finally dyeing the firmament a purplish-red; heaven and earth suddenly became lively and brilliant.

Facing the gorgeous colors, whether it was the naturally stunning Black Widow or the "plain" Tang Zhao, both were draped in a layer of rosy light, adding to their radiance.

"Clear breeze intoxicates the evening glow, red waves surge with the tides."

Tang Zhao sighed with emotion and said, "The setting sun is truly infinitely beautiful."

At this time, the white fox sighed softly.

"Seeing the rosy light again; that day, the clouds were just as beautiful."

Tang Zhao guessed that "that day" must refer to the day of the disaster. Since it had taken the initiative to mention it, he said, "Was the evening glow that day just as beautiful?"

"No, that day it was the morning glow. The rosy light was even more beautiful than today, and that red light was redder than blood. Her Highness said that legend has it that the clouds are woven by the Heavenly Maiden; I wonder what kind of skillful hands could weave such a beautiful morning glow?"

Tang Zhao suddenly thought of the old saying, "Morning glow means stay, evening glow means travel ten thousand miles," and said, "The weather that day must not have been very good."

The white fox gradually sank into memories, its voice turning soft, and said, "Yes, the morning glow was brilliant that day, but after noon, the sky turned overcast. In the afternoon, goose-feather snow began to fall, and it didn't take long before it turned into freezing rain. The rain hit the walls, rolling down in beads and freezing, rolling around everywhere just like pearls. By evening, the sky became as black as the bottom of a pot, and very low, as if it were about to capsize and smash the earth to pieces. We stood on the clouds, feeling as if we were about to be crushed to death by the sky collapsing. Although we couldn't see the ground, we could feel the earth trembling."

This did not sound like a normal celestial phenomenon. Tang Zhao whispered, "Yin Calamity?"

The white fox said as if in a dream, "Perhaps that counts? That day was the Calamity Moon. Even through layers of dark clouds, one couldn't see the first moon at all, but one could see the second moon. One could see the moon looking like a vortex, surrounded by black smoke, black clouds, and endless blackness."

"At the time, everyone said that a great Yin Calamity was coming, likely an unprecedented catastrophe for the Human World."

Tang Zhao said, "So Baiyujing was destroyed by the arrival of the Yin Calamity?"

The white fox shook its head and said, "No—if it were just the Yin Calamity, even if Baiyujing couldn't defeat it, it could still protect itself. Besides, we only saw the shadow of the Yin Calamity from afar across the clouds. At that time, Her Highness looked down at the earth, worried, as if there were some obstacles. At this moment, the eldest sister advised: 'Your Highness, there are also experts in the Human World. We came down from the Sword Domain already at the end of our strength, our vitality not what it once was, and we ourselves are powerless; there is no need to rush to the front.'"

Tang Zhao was startled; he had not expected that the Xiancheng had retreated from the Sword Domain—that is, the Suiyu.

Was it a voluntary retreat?

Or was it shattered?

He wanted to ask about the Sword Domain, but the white fox was completely immersed in its memories, saying to itself, "The eldest sister advised her, and the second sister also advised her, both saying there was no need to go. I arrived late and didn't know the ins and outs of this, so I couldn't speak, just waiting for Her Highness to decide. Her Highness remained silent, and finally returned to the tower alone. At that time, both the eldest and second sisters breathed a sigh of relief."

"But before long, Her Highness walked out again and ordered: 'We are going.' The eldest and second sisters were both very surprised, and Her Highness said: 'Dongjun is summoning me.' However, the eldest and second sisters fell silent."

Tang Zhao asked in surprise, "Dongjun? Is it that Dongjun?"

The white fox was also very surprised and said, "You know Dongjun?"

Tang Zhao said, "I know he is a deity. Could it be that such a person really exists?"

Dongjun was the deity currently "in vogue." In order to consolidate the hearts of the people, the Imperial Court suppressed Buddhism and Daoism and Revered Dongjun, tearing down all the small temples of minor deities everywhere and rebuilding Dongjun Temple and the Moon-Suppressing Terrace. The Moon-Suppressing Terrace, as the name implied, was for suppressing the Calamity Moon, and Dongjun Temple had now become the guardian deity of the common people. Originally meant to guard the peace, it now managed everything—praying for wind, rain, children, or wealth, all fell under the jurisdiction of Lord Dongjun, and the incense was truly flourishing. When Tang Zhao was gathering the common people in Xun City, he had used the Dongjun Temple as a raft.

But perhaps it was the inertia of thinking, or perhaps it was because of his different education, he had never thought that Dongjun truly existed in the world, thinking it was just a memorial archway the Imperial Court had brought out from somewhere, specifically for the peace of mind of ordinary people.

If he were a real person, where was this expert from?

A powerful Sword Immortal or Sword Saint?

The white fox said, "I don't know him either; he must have been a friend of Her Highness when she was in the Sword Domain, right? I was already in the Human World when I followed Her Highness. I don't know about the Sword Domain; Her Highness doesn't mention it, and even the eldest and second sisters rarely speak of it."

Tang Zhao thought: Could it be that it wasn't a particularly good memory?

Thinking about it, that made sense.

The Sword Domain was now called the Suiyu, shattered into pieces and so chaotic; when it was called the Sword Domain back then, it surely wasn't like this, right? In any case, to go from a perfectly fine Sword Domain to the current Suiyu must have involved one, or more than one, tragedy.

Thinking of this, he went to touch the Glasses in his arms, feeling the lenses and the dense cracks.

His Glasses were also shattered, just like the Suiyu.

The white fox added, "I still remember Her Highness and the sisters looking solemn at that time; the wind above Baiyujing seemed to have frozen into ice. Immediately after, Her Highness ordered the departure and had me prepare to cut Cloud Silk and weave a Cloud Boat to send that man surnamed Xu away. At that time, I didn't dislike the man surnamed Xu; after all, he was the first mortal to come up, looking refined and fair, and he spoke nicely, so I quite liked him."

"I went to find him; the man surnamed Xu was a mortal after all, and seeing the weather so bad, he had already guessed that a crisis was imminent and was running around in a panic. I told him I would send him down, but he actually refused to leave, saying he wanted to live and die with Her Highness and the Xiancheng. I thought he was affectionate and righteous at the time, but now that I think about it, it was truly overestimating his own strength! What could a mortal do staying behind other than being a hindrance? Hesitant and indecisive, he had no resolve at all."

Tang Zhao thought: This is truly what it means to dislike someone so much that even their breathing is wrong. Conversely, if Xu Congsheng had readily agreed to leave, one could say he was decisive and self-aware, or, in a worse light, cold-blooded, selfish, and cowardly.

"I felt sorry for him at the time and didn't force him, instead coaxing him to help me set up defenses. He naturally agreed, so I took him to cut Cloud Silk; we had remaining Cloud Silk in Moyun Tower. I would also go and weave little foxes, little rabbits, and the like. I took the Cloud Scissors and cut a section from a roll of Cloud Silk for him. He knew how to weave baskets before, so I let him weave one with the Cloud Silk. He really wove a basket in a few strokes, and just right, I stuffed him into it and sent him back to the Mortal World."

Tang Zhao recalled a phrase: digging one's own grave.

It didn't seem to be the right context, but that was roughly the meaning.

The white fox said, "Who would have thought, I sent him off, and someone sent me off too! Her Highness had me send the man surnamed Xu, but it was actually to get me out of the way to the Mortal World; she never intended for me to go back. When I returned from sending him and looked up, Baiyujing had already drifted away, and they had even thrown my little fox down. It infuriated me, but how could it be so easy to abandon me? Baiyujing was drifting in the sky, and I was on the ground chasing it with all my might..."

Tang Zhao said, "Pity you couldn't catch up, right? So you left early and didn't experience that great battle?"

The white fox said, "No, I experienced it. I caught up with the Xiancheng and went back."

Tang Zhao said "Eh?" and asked, "But you are now..."

The white fox said, "Are you stupid? I am a Sword Image; I am not here in person."

Tang Zhao let out an "Ah—," feeling a bit between laughter and tears: he really had been foolish himself, treating the white fox like a spirit beast such as Gui Ye, when in fact they were completely different.

The white fox was not a spirit beast or of the Spirit Race; it was a Sword Image that possessed consciousness, a "person" who had changed form.

And this "person" was not before his eyes, but living elsewhere; Tang Zhao did not even know what she looked like.

The white fox said: "I personally snuck back into Xiancheng and hid, and it wasn't until later that His Highness dragged me out; His Highness had no choice but to allow me to join the battle."

Tang Zhao Ask: "What did you see on the battlefield?"

The white fox said: "I saw..."

At this moment, they heard Black Widow say: "Ah, Xiancheng!"