Chapter 480

A shimmering aura of treasure light surged skyward as the box was opened.

Inside lay an inexplicable mystic resonance—a mechanism tied to destiny, crafted before the Witch-Cult Uprising, forged by the Shiwaisan Sect, activated by destiny.

Thirty-six chains of destiny-locked mechanisms snapped simultaneously.

Previously, the destruction of any single destiny chain would have instantly obliterated the box's contents, yet this time, every chain opened in the most fortuitous manner, passing all thirty-six destiny checks at once.

The final masterpiece of the Witch-Cult lineage failed to activate at all.

It simply went silent.

Crack—the box split apart and fell to the ground; Nangong Wumeng stood frozen, cradling a jade bi in his hands, its surface glowing with soft luster, radiating an indescribable elegance, its quality surpassing all known jades of this era.

"Sssss!!!"

Master Yan Daiqing rose and rushed over, staring at the jade bi in Nangong Wumeng's hands, his expression growing ever more solemn, finally speaking solemnly:

"General Nangong, may I examine this object?"

"Huh? Oh, if you want it, take it."

Nangong Wumeng handed it over; Master Yan Daiqing received it with both hands, studying it intently, his tired eyes, shadowed by dark circles, now gleaming with luminous energy, revitalized.

Master Yan Daiqing studied it for nearly half an hour before exhaling a long breath from deep within, setting the jade bi down with renewed vigor, and said to Li Guanyi: "Lord, fortune has truly descended upon us—this is the legendary Bian Clan Jade Bi, two thousand years old."

"Legend says the Bian Clan discovered this jade beneath the Jingchu Mountains and presented it to two monarchs, but the craftsmen of the time, blind to its worth, caused Bian to lose his left leg, then his right as punishment."

"Only when he was old and white-haired did he meet a third king, who pitied him and ordered the stone cut open—inside lay a peerless jade; later, a minister of a state hosted guests at Chi Mountain and displayed this jade, causing fish of all sizes in the deep pool to leap in unison."

"This object was lost many times thereafter."

"It is said that after Emperor Chi unified the realm, he intended to carve his imperial seal from it but could not find it—never did we imagine the Lord would acquire it here."

Li Guanyi looked at the destiny-linked locks on the box and felt even he could not have opened it better than Nangong Wumeng; he gazed at Nangong Wumeng's utterly innocent face.

Li Guanyi fell silent, then turned to the side.

Li Guanyi's Xuan Gui Dharma Form floated forth.

The strained Xuan Gui Dharma Form widened its pea-sized eyes, glanced at Nangong Wumeng, then at the supreme jade bi—the perfect material for an imperial seal—and back at Nangong Wumeng's innocent face.

His Dao heart shattered into dust.

"He truly is the Tiance Prefecture's star of fortune!"

"Even opening it carelessly shattered the destiny locks within."

Li Guanyi sighed again—how many times now? —and temporarily stored the jade bi, then went to meet Mr. Po Jun, who personally arranged the southwestern troops for the operation into the Chen Kingdom's Mystical Realm.

Upon hearing Li Guanyi planned to go to Xiyicheng, the thirty-three-year-old Mr. Po Jun paused to think.

"In that case, I shall accompany the Lord."

Mr. Po Jun unfurled a geographical map and pointed to Xiyicheng's location: "Xiyicheng lies here; above it lies the Turkic steppe, to the east lies the Central Plains' Ying State, to the south lies the Chen State."

"South of Chen lies us."

"If we seize Xiyicheng, absorb the western armies here, and station our main force within the Mystical Realm, we can send two armies—one from Xiyicheng, one upriver—encircling and annihilating Chen, forcing Chen to commit all its forces."

"This is attacking where they must defend."

"If they hold firm, we advance from both flanks, nibbling away Chen's territory—eventually, Chen's fate is death, and the Lord can lead ten thousand troops to lay siege to their capital."

"We win."

"If they send a large army to confront us."

"Then the Lord can lead the main force out from the Chi Long Mystical Realm."

"In no time, we can bring ten thousand troops to the gates of Guan Yicheng."

"We still win!"

When Mr. Po Jun first met Li Guanyi, he was the most arrogant at twenty-eight; five years later, that once composed youth is now thirty-three—the age Confucian masters call "established," yet Mr. Po Jun remains arrogant.

I give you two choices: first, you lose, we win.

Second, you still lose, we win.

Time has not washed away this strategist's arrogance; instead, it has fermented it into a rich, potent wine, its aftertaste growing ever longer. The strategist smiled lightly and said:

"As for me, I recalled a five-year-old idle move."

"Back then, I merely acted on circumstance, unsure if it would ever be usable—but the chance to activate this move lies before us now; how could I resist?"

Mr. Po Jun smiled faintly and said:

"When the Lord was only fourteen, the Tangut had not yet founded their state; I met the Seventh King of the Turkic on the steppe. Later, during the fall of Tuyuhun, the Seventh King, Ashi, seized that stretch of grassland."

"Though he was later beaten by Yu Langwang, that grassland remained in his hands—if we can secure both Xiyicheng and Ashi's territory, we gain advantage against the Turkic."

Li Guanyi asked: "How did you do it?"

Mr. Po Jun replied: "Turkic tradition holds that the eldest sons guard the four frontiers, while the youngest inherits the central Khan's tent."

"Ashi was the disfavored son of the Turkic Grand Khan, granted only the worst land—so I helped him seize the vast grassland. As expected, his brothers came, hoping to claim a share."

"I gave him a strategy; he accepted it."

"He poisoned the water sources along the route."

Mr. Po Jun's hand traced the map and said:

"Back then, I was too young, and eager to return to the Central Plains—I acted too ruthlessly, like Yan Daiqing and Wen Qingyu, leaving too many traces, too many openings."

"Unfortunately, Ashi suspected this act would bring consequences, but he could not resist the obvious gain, nor swallow the humiliation of others seizing what was his."

"He poisoned them."

"This act itself became a pawn in my hands. These five years, Ashi has surely cultivated that grassland well—the time has come. I shall secure for the Lord that thousand-li expanse of grassland and horse pastures, and a fierce general."

Li Guanyi asked: "Will Ashi rebel against his father?"

Mr. Po Jun said: "The Turkic differ from the Central Plains—you cannot judge them by Central Plains etiquette. Ashi was raised elsewhere. As for rebellion… Lord, even the Turkic Grand Khan's reign is nearing its end."

"While the Turkic Grand Khan lives, he suppresses the other khans."

"When the Turkic Grand Khan dies, among the eighteen khans, over ten will split apart—if Ashi's poisoning is discovered, all seventeen others will unite to destroy him."

He does not seek to rebel against his father.

He seeks only to rebel against his own fate.

Po Jun shed his outward arrogance, merely gazing calmly at this geographical map.

The world knows that the Qilin Army has two poison strategists.

But few know that the true cold, top-tier strategist needs no poison tactics or schemes—only placing stones slowly, steadily, and years later, eliminating all other options—that is the higher realm.

To manipulate the enemy.

To manipulate the opponent.

Li Guanyi stared at this territorial map.

If the entire realm were divided into east, center, and west.

Then, if the seven kings' grasslands and Xiyicheng were swallowed, the western region would fall entirely under Li Guanyi's rule. Po Jun said: "I will negotiate with the Seven Kings myself."

"Good."

Li Guanyi gazed at the realm, his gaze pausing briefly over Guanyicheng in Chen State, as if seeing the courtyard where he lived as a boy—the Liu family private school, Huichun Hall, and the tree that had made the Young Lady twist her ankle.

Finally, he shifted his gaze to something broader.

"Then, I leave it to you, Po Jun."

Li Guanyi reached out, took a black stone from the nearby chess basket, and placed it across the vast realm. Qin Wang's sleeve fluttered, the Qilin embroidery upon it gradually expanding, becoming transparent, hollow.

"Faster, faster!"

"Even faster!"

Footsteps tapped softly on stone, robes stretched taut in rapid motion, the rush of running wind lifting vast clouds of fallen leaves and snow.

Ba Chong Tian's famed general, the Southwest King Duan Qingyu, personally led the Southwest Flying Army, galloping through the mountains without raising banners—these elite troops, forged in the Southwest's rugged terrain, excelled at swift movement through mountain passes.

They swiftly crossed the complex, impassable gaps between the mountains.

They passed through the forested barriers, passed each outpost the Qilin Army had discovered four years prior along this arduous path, and finally reached the Chi Long Mystical Realm. The Ancient Chi Long did not join the battlefield, yet he paid no mind to this.

The Ancient Chi Long himself opened the Mystical Realm, permitting these troops to enter.

The Southwest King Duan Qingyu led the elite Southwest Flying Army into position.

Just five days' forced march from Guanyicheng in Chen State, the Qilin banner flew high, snapping fiercely in the wind, its crimson Qilin pattern shimmering like flame.

The warriors, clad in ink-black armor, clustered beneath the banner. As the Ancient Chi Long's dragon roar rose, and his gaze lowered to look down, the clustered Southwest Flying Army resembled a single ink-black stone.

Pata.

Qin Wang held the black stone.

Across a thousand mountains and ten thousand rivers.

His fingers pressed hard, finally landing amid the mountains between Chen State and Ying State, upon the Chi Long Mystical Realm—with a crisp sound. The reflection of the candle flame flickered in Qin Wang's eyes, like a banner rolling in the wind.

"Then—place the stone!"

The Southwest Flying Army marched toward the Chi Long Mystical Realm.

The Yue Army reorganized.

Qin Wang personally erected a high altar before the three armies, appointed Yue Pengwu as Grand General, bestowed upon him the ceremonial staff, enfeoffed him as Marquis Mu, and stationed him to command the three armies—all under heaven submitted.

Li Guanyi changed into the attire of a wandering martial hero.

He placed three stones across the realm.

Two hidden, one visible.

One of the hidden stones, he would place himself.

Even if the other two hidden stones remained unknown, the mere news of Yue Pengwu's enfeoffment as Grand General and his stationing at the heart of Qin territory was enough to shake the four corners of the realm.

Chen State · Jiangzhou City.

Chen Dingye set down the Juan Sect records. This forty-something monarch, now entirely white-haired, did not sit upon his throne, but sat calmly upon the jade steps of the grand hall, unrolling the scroll and reading its text.

No civil or military officials were present—only the Director of Ceremonies, the eunuch, remained beside him.

"Master Nan Hanwen has come again, begging for funds. Hmph… ten million taels of silver. Tell me, how much will reach his hands?"

The Director of Ceremonies remained silent. "Your servant dares not say."

Chen Dingye murmured: "Dares not say?"

"I estimate less than three-tenths."

"And even that three-tenths—will it truly corrupt Li Guanyi?"

"I think the chance is even less than three-tenths. To speak of it feels almost like wasted effort."

The Director of Ceremonies turned deathly pale, unsure how to answer the monarch's question. Chen Dingye merely set the scroll aside, resting his palm on his knee: "Still, I wonder what Master Nan Hanwen will do with the remaining three-tenths."

The Director of Ceremonies suddenly understood. He said:

"Your Majesty… you did this on purpose?"

Chen Dingye closed his eyes: "On purpose? No—not on purpose. I do wish to defeat Li Guanyi. Lu Youxian showed me the way. How could the fall of Great Chen be so dull?"

"Yet I know—I cannot win."

"The tide has turned. I cannot win."

Chen Dingye himself admitted defeat, yet his eyes remained cold and disdainful: "But does losing mean surrender? That is not the way. Not like the King of Tuyuhun, indulging his desires, nor like the King of Tangxi, mad as death."

"How laughable."

"The Emperor of the Central Plains must die as an Emperor of the Central Plains should."

"Great Chen once held hegemony."

"If we were hegemon, then our end must be grand, blazing."

"Even in falling, we must bite off a limb of this realm—and…"

Chen Dingye extended his hand.

His palm was excessively pale and slender, as if it were about to grasp the empty great hall before him. The Director of Ceremonies eunuch suddenly felt a sliver of cold, and he raised his head in fright; in the light of the setting sun, the Emperor seemed to have changed.

His shadow spread backward, twisting and ferocious, coiling, swaying.

Like some kind of ferocious venomous dragon.

Chen Dingye intoned in a low voice:

"A dynasty of a hundred years, a noble house of a thousand."

"These great Chen noble houses, the officials and the noble-born, have fed upon the flesh and blood of our great Chen. If our great Chen collapses, are they to wash their hands clean, wipe their mouths clean, and go into another era to become those high and mighty lords all over again?"

The Director of Ceremonies eunuch looked at the monarch seated there, looked at those cold, lucid eyes, and the mocking smile at the corner of his lips, and suddenly felt a bone-piercing chill.

It was deliberate.

Deliberately placing the upright Nan Hanwen forward, deliberately giving him hope, then using the rot of Chen to trample that hope, to crush it in the mud, letting the money that should have fallen into Qin Wang's hands be devoured by every civil and military official of this great Chen, high and low.

They devoured the flesh and blood of this great Chen like wild beasts, like parasitic worms.

Eat, eat, eat!

Eat until their bellies swell, eat until their eyes bulge and burst with blood.

Such people are what is called a glutton; even if their own bodies are about to be eaten by themselves, even if they are about to die from their own endless appetite, they still will not stop their actions, they will still keep eating.

Only these officials who eat with such abandon.

Do not know that this great Chen has long since transformed into a venomous dragon.

The light and shadow swayed, Chen Dingye's white hair hung down, carrying a trace of an icy smile.

As if saying—

These wild beasts that have devoured the poisonous flesh and blood of great Chen, let them, along with great Chen itself, be utterly destroyed in that earth-shaking great battle!

If great Chen perishes, I too shall go to my death.

But you ministers are loyal—why should you not be buried together with me?!

Majestic and contemptuous, yet a ferocious venomous dragon.

Those high lords with their mouths dripping with oil from their devouring—every deed they have done is now under the gaze of this Chen Dingye.

The Director of Ceremonies eunuch's lips trembled.

He felt that the Emperor before him was brimming with a fierce aura, yet it was a fierce aura that belonged to a sovereign.

He suddenly spoke a wildly treasonous line:

"Your Majesty, do you also hope that in the future, when the realm is at peace—"

"—that none of these people survive?"

Chen Dingye's gaze fell down.

The Director of Ceremonies eunuch lowered his head, his body stiff and trembling.

A long, long time later.

He only heard the monarch answer indifferently: "What a laughable question."

Chen Dingye rose, stepped out of the palace, his sleeves hanging down to the floor, and he merely said coldly: "I should have my own ending. Since great Chen can no longer yearn for the realm, then it should die fighting."

"High and mighty lords, civil and military noble houses."

"You should be buried with the nation!"

"If they will not bury themselves with it, then I will help them."

………………

The Director of Ceremonies eunuch kept his head lowered, not knowing how long had passed. Only when the wind from outside the great hall blew in and a wave of cold crept across his brow did he manage to raise his head stiffly, dazed for a long while.

Your Majesty… truly has changed…

Such depth of mind, such coldness.

The Director of Ceremonies eunuch heard laughter coming from outside—it was Crown Prince Chen Tianyi. He slowly walked out and saw the Emperor halt his steps to play with Chen Tianyi; the child was still young, could not even speak clearly.

Everyone else feared and dreaded this violent, dangerous monarch; only this little child clung to Chen Dingye's leg, pestering the Emperor to play with him. The Director of Ceremonies eunuch watched Chen Dingye crouch down and let the child sit on his shoulders.

Chen Tianyi waved the willow branch in his hand, stripped of all its leaves, and shouted: "Giddy-up!"

"Giddy-up!"

"Forward!"

Everyone around them was nearly scared to death, wanting to come forward and lift the little Crown Prince down, but Chen Dingye merely raised his sleeve to stop them and said lightly: "A father playing with his son is only right and proper; you may all withdraw."

"Tianyi will be accompanied by me today."

"Y-yes…"

The Director of Ceremonies eunuch looked at the rare warmth in the Emperor's eyes, his expression complicated for a long while, yet for some reason he thought of the former Crown Prince Chen Wenmian, who had been so calm and gentle, and he sighed.

Your Majesty, how much of what you do today is to make up for the past?

But… things that have passed can never be made up for in the end.

It's only that you did not value these things back then.

The Xue family, the Xue family…

Sigh.

The old patriarch of the Xue family was Chen's Left Chancellor; his eldest daughter was the wife of Ying's famous general Qin Yulong, and his second daughter was Chen's Empress; his granddaughter was the Lady of Yunmeng, who moreover had close ties with Qin Wang.

His grandson-in-law was moreover Chen's Crown Prince.

Xue Daoyong, Xue Daoyong, what a grand old gambler.

Yet in this turbulent age of raging chaos across the realm, this old gambler actually won every single bet.

The Director of Ceremonies eunuch sighed.

And at this moment, that young Lady of Yunmeng, the Changfeng Lady, was taking leave of her aunt—also the present Empress—when, under the protection of the Eldest Princess Chen Qingyan, she departed and arrived at Yicheng, only to encounter a different matter.

Cavalry thundered, the sound booming like Lei Ting, banners like long spears pointing at the sky, the banners fierce and dragon-like; upon that crimson-gold bearing were ancient, unadorned crimson-dragon patterns.

These were the Imperial Feather Forest cavalry from the Central Province — the last courtesy they could offer.

Carriages cleared the way ahead, and the grand procession enveloped the entire Xue residence. The common folk around them were stunned, not knowing what was happening. Old Chen Chengbi rolled up his sleeves, ready to rush out and brawl with the visitors from the Central Province.

"Are they here to fight?!"

Chen Qingyan held him back and said, "Those are the Taigu Chilong Feather Forest cavalry."

"The last dignity of the Imperial Clan."

Chen Chengbi's logic was straightforward: "Since it's the last dignity of the Great Emperor of the Central Province, doesn't that mean we should beat them up even more?"

"From now on, they won't even have this little bit of capital left."

Chen Qingyan was at a loss for words for a moment, but Xue Shuangtao said, "Old Grandfather, Aunt Qingyan, stop arguing — let's go down and take a look first."

Xue Shuangtao came down and saw the elder over there — it was Ji Yanzhong, the last Grandmaster of the Central Province Imperial Clan. Xue Shuangtao offered a salute and said, "Greetings, Imperial Grand-Uncle Ji. May I ask what brings you here?"

Ji Yanzhong held a scroll in his hand and smiled:

"It is an edict from His Majesty the Great Red Emperor."

The Great Emperor of the Central Province was, after all, the nominal Lord of All Under Heaven, still possessing the authority of investiture, and even the great currents of fortune still flowed through him. Such a grand procession came surging forward. Xue Shuangtao had at first assumed it was an imperial decree for the old grandfather.

But Ji Yanzhong only read it to her, then added a line saying there was no need to kneel and give thanks.

Xue Shuangtao was puzzled, but simply stood there quietly.

Chen Chengbi and Chen Qingyan both stepped back.

Xue Shuangtao stood there, a little bored, and partly thinking about the intelligence from the Changfeng Tower. She listened to the elder read the imperial edict, heard the people around discussing it, her expression unchanged, and began to space out and let her mind wander.

Ji Yanzhong unrolled the edict and read for a long while before finally reaching the last line: "…………Having heard that the granddaughter of the Duke of Xue, Xue Shuangtao, is virtuous and intelligent, wise and serene, a rare soul of this age, I am greatly pleased."

"I wish to be bound as brother and sister."

"Bestowing the honored title of Eldest Princess of the Central Province Red Emperor, with ceremonial dress equal to a feudal prince!"

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