Chapter 783: Bad News

In the end, Tang Zhao still accepted the Emperor's request for him to search the areas around Jingshi for the various people who had been sent away and bring them back to the capital.

After all, he was the most familiar with the situation and possessed outstanding strength, making him well-suited for the task; there were not many people like him left in Jingshi now. For his own part, he also wanted to find Xing Ji and the others as soon as possible to confirm their safety. Furthermore, the aftermath of this matter was worth worrying about; the civil and military officials, as well as the imperial clansmen and feudal lords, would cause chaos if they remained scattered, so they had to be found quickly. Thus, taking on this errand to find people was just a matter of going with the flow. As for presiding over the situation in Jingshi, that went without saying; the Emperor had only mentioned it in passing, and Tang Zhao was neither a local of Jingshi nor did he hold a post in the Imperial Court. If he were to take charge, he would likely just be fumbling in the dark.

This matter could only be left to the Imperial Guard, whom the Emperor trusted most. Tang Zhao only agreed to go out and patrol a circle; if he saw any key officials who had been exiled, he would send them back. This was, first, to ensure their personal safety, and second, to prevent any disturbances.

As for whether Tang Zhao himself would bring about disturbances, he was not worried about it, and as for whether the Emperor was worried, that was not his concern. In any case, the Emperor appeared to be showing wholehearted trust, even grabbing his hand and saying earnestly, "The safety of Jingshi is entrusted to you, Minister."

"The world is going to die!"

If there really were a way to save the world.

"It's not that kind of destruction, it's an accident... well, actually, there's no difference. I need to go to the Sun Court now to discuss it with them. As for the matters here, Marquis, and the affairs here, I leave them to Chief Xing." He repeated the Emperor's instructions once more and said, "You can go as yourself, or you can go as me. It is up to your own judgment. If you go as me, I will give you a Jinwu Faki. As for the face... you know, go find Boss Hua."

Since the Emperor had put on such a display, Tang Zhao could not bring himself to refuse him, so he played along, accepted a gold medallion from the Emperor, and left. He felt that the Emperor was also eager for him to leave quickly; the subsequent series of cleanup work and the division of the fruits of victory were the Emperor's top priorities. Tang Zhao was, at most, a "loyal subject" worth recruiting later, and he was still a person from the Sun Court; the Emperor would only remember him once he had his fill.

Tang Zhao was startled and said, "You mean, you didn't just travel from the past to the future once, and then from the future to the present, but you just didn't return to the very beginning point?" Seeing Wei Se nod, he found it incredible and said, "Then who sent you back? Me?"

Tang Zhao immediately took Wei Se to find Xing Ji.

He tried to soothe Wei Se, but Wei Se shook his head repeatedly, saying, "It wasn't the Marquis, it was the world."

Tang Zhao pondered for a moment and understood the logic: the timeline formed by the Gaoyuan Marquis shuttling through time was not a parallel timeline as described in some stories. That is to say, changing time would not affect events that had already occurred, but would instead create a "parallel world." It was "Dragon Ball-style." It only had one timeline; if it was affected, it was affected. Whatever facts were observed were the true facts. Every fact that had occurred was the final result of all influences applied to it and could not be changed; it was "Doraemon-style."

The Marquis knew well that if one wanted to change things in the past, one could not determine the present, so she did not let Wei Se observe the "solution" of the future, but only let Wei Se deliver the message, thereby providing sufficient room for salvation in the past.

"It was the Marquis." Indeed, Wei Se answered without hesitation, "I saw the world begin to be destroyed; the time is just three months from now. I didn't know what to do at the time, but later the Marquis found me and, before the world had completely begun to be destroyed, used her last bit of strength to send me back to let me deliver the message to you."

"Wei Se!"

"No, why would you know that? Who told you?"

"I saw it with my own eyes." Wei Se forced himself to calm down slightly, "Please don't be too anxious. It's my fault for not explaining clearly. I don't mean now. I came back from the future."

Wei Se, he must have just traveled through time, right?

Heading straight out of Jingshi, ignoring the city gates being closed impatiently behind him, Tang Zhao followed the hints he had received earlier to find a secluded spot, where he saw a face that was both familiar and strange.

"Ah?"

But seeing Wei Se today, Tang Zhao felt that this panic was likely not an act. There was none of the usual sluggishness or subtle unnaturalness; instead, his forehead, his eyes, and his fingertips were all telling of his fear and anxiety. This completely uncontrollable anxiety made Tang Zhao feel anxious himself.

To say he was familiar... did Wei Se even need to be mentioned?

To say he was strange, it was the first time Tang Zhao had seen a naturally revealed expression of anxiety, fear, and loss on Wei Se's face.

Tang Zhao was also eager to leave, not because he was in a hurry to see Xing Ji or the Gaoyuan Marquis, but because he was going to see someone else he hadn't expected.

Tang Zhao felt a pang in his heart and immediately asked, "The Marquis sent you back, then what about me? When the world was about to be destroyed, what was I doing?"

Logically, since the world was about to be destroyed, why bother with patrols or missions? He should hurry up and save the world. But Tang Zhao had his own persistence; the matters here needed some sort of closure. Of course, he could no longer handle chores like patrolling or searching for the feudal lords, but he couldn't just walk away either. It would be best to hand the finishing work over to someone he trusted and who was capable, like Xing Ji. Plus, the Gaoyuan Marquis and others also needed to be entrusted to someone. In short, taking half a day to wrap things up was necessary.

"Ah?!"

114.41.68.39

If that was the case, there was no need to rush. Although there had been many twists and turns, the Marquis had been saved. Although the situation was very bad, the worst outcome had been avoided. Even if her life was hanging by a thread, she could hold on until everyone returned to Yunzhou together.

Wei Se shook his head and said, "I don't know, and the Marquis doesn't know either. I wanted to go find you, but the Marquis wouldn't allow it. She said she didn't know if you had a way, and if you didn't, and I had seen it, then there would be no room for maneuver."

So... the Marquis used her last chance here.

Falling leaves return to their roots; coming out together and returning to their hometown together, this could be considered a stroke of luck in misfortune.

"The world is going to be destroyed!"

He came from the past. Before coming here, he had just caught the moment when the Gaoyuan Marquis was besieged and in mortal danger, and then he was caught up in it and arrived at this point in time. Naturally, he came to find himself first, wanting him to go save the Marquis.

What should an ordinary person say when encountering such a situation?

No, how would an ordinary person encounter such a situation?

"Huh? The world is going to be destroyed?!"

Finding Xing Ji was not difficult. At the critical moment, he had sent everyone away and incidentally sent himself away as well, all by the standard thirty miles. But unlike those who were sent away, Xing Ji knew what was going on and would take the initiative to move toward Tang Zhao.

Even Wei Se was scared out of his wits; what kind of bad news could it be?

"What's going on? You just came back? What happened? Could it be that someone died? If it's the Marquis, don't worry, she's still fine for now." Tang Zhao was panicked at first, but then he remembered something and felt slightly relieved.

Seeing Tang Zhao arrive unscathed, Xing Ji knew that the matters here were over. He was just about to ask about the Marquis when he was choked off by Tang Zhao's words.

"So fast?" Tang Zhao immediately thought of what the Six-Dragon Sword had told him at the Sun Court: the world would eventually be destroyed, and he didn't know which day it would reach its end. He had also been thinking about cultivating quickly, hoping to gain enough strength in time to see if he could save it. But let alone the Sovereign realm he was pursuing, he hadn't even become a proper Sword Immortal yet, and the world was going to be destroyed?

"Ah!" Tang Zhao knew his "ah"s were stupid, but he really didn't know what to say.

That was also... actually, the Marquis should feel it was worth it.

Wei Se had been very anxious, but his heart stirred slightly when he heard "Boss Hua." Tang Zhao also knew he had heard it and explained, "It's your senior brother, Hua Qian. He has separated from the Yama Shop and opened a Wanshi Wu, and business is quite good now. You weren't here when I needed to disguise myself as the Marquis, so I went to find him. His disguise skills are no less than yours."

Actually, he knew that was impossible. Not to mention that his imitation was nowhere near the Marquis's, reversing time could only reverse it for a short while, and the power of the Dharma Artifact he had obtained earlier had already been exhausted; he had no way to imitate her again. Thus, there was only one person capable of sending Wei Se on a long-distance journey to deliver the message.

Although he had eaten more meals than Tang Zhao for over a decade, compared to the information Tang Zhao had received at the Sun Court and the mental preparation he had, Xing Ji was completely bewildered, left only with the feeling of "Are you kidding me?"

Tang Zhao's mind raced, and he said, "The Marquis's decision was not wrong. The world is being destroyed, it must be saved... I have to think of a way. Three months, I have to go up there. You tell me the details first. No, wait, let's talk as we walk. Follow me, let's go find Chief Xing first."

Tang Zhao's heart skipped a beat, and he himself became anxious, fearful, and flustered: one had to know, Wei Se had always been absolutely expressionless, almost to the point of illness. It wasn't that he didn't have joy, anger, sorrow, or happiness, it was just that his facial nerves seemed to be disconnected from his emotions. Whenever he had obvious emotions on his face, they were faked. Over time, Tang Zhao stopped distinguishing whether his emotions were real or fake; after all, Wei Se wouldn't deliberately lie to him. Everything he showed in front of him was a true emotion, just one that had gone through a negation of the negation of "seeing mountains as mountains."

Actually, he could have returned on his own long ago. The reason he hadn't was mainly because he didn't know how Tang Zhao's progress was going. After all, this was literally "gods fighting," and he had fled precisely to avoid being caught in the crossfire. If he had thrown himself into the net without figuring out the situation, it would have been better not to have run out in the first place.

Wei Se said, "You are too kind. Senior Brother is better than me; he is half a teacher to me. He left the Yama Shop? That's great. What he liked was only silver, not killing."

Tang Zhao gave a few more instructions, and unable to delay any longer, he took Wei Se and hurried toward the sky.