[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-peace-decree":3,"chapter-the-peace-decree-the-peace-decree-chapter-584":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The Peace Decree",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2328759,4553,"Chapter 584: Epilogue · The Fated Pact (Part Three)","the-peace-decree-chapter-584",584,"\u003Cp>Epilogue · The Fated Pact (Part Three)\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Observing Stars lineage dwells in seclusion, rarely interacting with the mortal world, yet that does not mean they are rigid ascetics. Yu Yanming, though stern-faced, is in fact a clever man who has gone to great lengths for his wife.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This place, arranged with esoteric arrays and celestial-terrestrial formations, features flower beds, rockeries, waterfalls, and swift streams; though it is summer, here bloom rare flowers and exotic herbs of every season, radiant auras swirling, auroras reflecting—faintly resembling the abode of immortal hermits beyond the world, truly magnificent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But this is not the point!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Who the hell is looking at flowers today?!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>General Pojun stared fixedly at that spot.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before the rare flowers and exotic grasses, a white-haired girl in a simple Observing Stars sage’s robe crouched, holding a pastry, watching butterflies flit through the blooms, lowering her head to chew—seemingly aware of Pojun’s attention.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The girl’s motion paused.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thinking. Thinking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The silver-haired girl, facing away from Pojun’s gaze, slowly crouched lower.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Slowly buried her head into the flower bed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Stare~~~\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You can’t see me. You can’t see me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Slowly opened her mouth, tiny teeth biting into the flaky crust.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Crunch—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The craftsmanship was indeed excellent; the teeth sank in, the outer crust cracking crisply, evoking the sweet, delicious taste within. The sound was faint—unnoticeable in a bustling market—but here, it was unnervingly loud.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The silver-haired girl’s movements grew subtle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet she still bit down firmly, hidden within the flowers, back turned to the purple-eyed strategist, expressionless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Carefully, yet resolutely, she bit down, her cheeks puffing softly, trembling slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chewing. Chewing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pojun’s temple twitched.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For a moment, he couldn’t tell whether the white-haired girl disdained him—or overestimated her own concealment skills.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Why are you still eating?!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No, that’s not the point either!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>General Pojun pressed his finger to his brow, wondering if he’d been cursed by the white-haired in a past life—every encounter with a white-haired person brought nothing but misfortune, his thoughts growing chaotic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Calm down. Calm down. Think carefully.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>White hair?!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How is there white hair here?!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Why is white hair here?! Wait—if Yaoguang is here…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pojun’s expression froze. He suddenly realized something, strode into the hall, pushed open the door, and saw dim lantern light swaying in the wind, casting flickering shadows on either side.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The scrolls his master and private secretary had brought to show off were piled here.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A young “wandering swordsman,” clad in dark-blue martial attire, stood tall, holding a scroll, reading it with rapt attention.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The reigning Emperor, who with a battle halberd and longsword carved out an unprecedentedly vast realm, unmatched in martial prowess and thus in perception, had known of General Pojun’s arrival long ago.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet he did not hurry, finishing the letter in his hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Placed it on the table, lightly pressing his finger against the scroll, he raised his head, seeing the purple-eyed strategist—calm, gentle, smiling as always:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’ve come.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pojun: “…………”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In an instant, even the wind seemed to halt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In an instant, the purple-eyed strategist had already decided where to bury himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This man’s stature meant he wouldn’t care about the contents of these scrolls—but Pojun’s pride was immense. These letters were meant only for the elders at home, to boast a little. Now that the subject himself had seen them…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pojun had arrived at Yaoguang’s domain with lofty confidence, eager to show off—yet now he stood frozen. The faint, ever-present smirk he’d worn through over a decade of chaotic warfare finally dropped, for the first time, of its own accord.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The corner of his mouth—twitched… twitched… wouldn’t lift!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The purple-eyed strategist’s brilliant mind raced through countless thoughts—explanations, feigned ignorance—but the crushing shame from his towering pride and thin skin drove him to turn away, cover his face, and sprint blindly out of the Observing Stars’ sacred grounds, all the way to the world’s end.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But human will is no match for fate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before Pojun could act, laughter came from behind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hahahaha, Pojun, why are you rushing so fast?!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Bah, young people, so unsteady, so impatient—what kind of image is this?!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your Master Yu won’t run off. We’ve been here before. Walk slowly, walk slowly—only then can we show the grace and poise of true victors.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pojun’s master was a short man with messy eyebrows but a thunderous voice. Beside him stood Pojun’s uncle, his private secretary—every minor figure of the Observing Stars’ Pojun lineage had come, all the aunts and uncles gathered in full.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This lineage was fiercely competitive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After eight hundred years of rivalry with the Yaoguang line, damn it—they’d finally won!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To see this before dying? Worth every moment. How could they not bring the whole family? Yu Yanming, ever stoic, now wore a face so dark it seemed to radiate malevolent energy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Yaoguang lineage was refined and composed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To them, the Pojun lineage were nothing but northern sled-dogs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Always barging into their home to gloat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet they couldn’t afford to break ties over such trivialities.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If the Yaoguang line grew angry, the Pojun faction would only laugh louder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yu Yanming and Pojun’s master, Zhou Wangji, had decent personal ties—but when it came to lineage feuds, personal friendship meant little. Besides, even for Zhou Wangji, watching his best friend gloat was enjoyable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now seeing his brilliant disciple, the young strategist who had washed away eight centuries of Pojun lineage shame, standing motionless, Zhou Wangji deliberately raised his voice: “Hahahaha, Pojun, why are you standing there?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Come quickly and pay your respects to your Master Yu. Even if you’ve won, don’t forget propriety—hurry over!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhou Wangji stressed the words “won” with deliberate weight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yu Yanming’s dark expression deepened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Had it not been for the Observing Stars-Yaoguang lineage’s decorum, he’d have kicked this old friend right in the face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That old bastard—how could he grin so smugly? He truly deserved a beating.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His wife, An Ruoxue, remained calm and gentle. Though this was a rivalry between two lineages, both belonged to the Three Outer Sects of Observing Stars, so she treated it as mere play. The white-haired girl, meanwhile, seemed utterly indifferent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She wore the Observing Stars sage’s robe, her hood removed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Swinging gently as she followed her master and mistress inside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>An Ruoxue treated Yaoguang like her own daughter, reading her emotions, and gently tapped her nose, whispering with a sly smile: “You—when the entire Pojun lineage has come to gloat, your master’s liver must be aching. Why are you so happy? Why do you look smug?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The silver-haired girl’s face showed no expression.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only her gaze fixed on the back of the purple-eyed strategist.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Stare—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then her eyes met those of the young swordsman in blue martial attire, his demeanor clear and bright. Her voice calm, she said to her mistress: “I just remembered something interesting.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before Pojun could react, Zhou Wangji laughed and stepped forward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Slapped his disciple’s shoulder: “Come, good child, your uncle and private secretary are here—tell us how you won!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How did you defeat this little Yaoguang girl? How did you proclaim the might of Pojun and successfully aid His Imperial Majesty in unifying the Four Seas? How did you finally end this eight-hundred-year struggle and establish the Pojun lineage as the supreme strategists of the world?!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The swordsman’s smile tightened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>General Pojun’s lips twitched. For the first time, he felt the urge to stuff rags into the mouths of all his elders. He stared at the “swordsman,” looked up at the sky in silence, and felt a faint, unbearable urge to weep.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Uh, now?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Could we pick a different time?!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhou Wangji noticed the young swordsman and blurted: “Who is this young sir?… A guest? Or have you, Master Yu, already admitted defeat and begun selecting the next Yaoguang heir?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhou Wangji joked. Yu Yanming snapped: “Old fool, this is my disciple’s friend from the martial world. Your mouth grows ever more reckless—how much horse urine have you drunk today? You’re disgraceful.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhou Wangji laughed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pojun sighed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With his intellect, he saw clearly—he had just been utterly defeated again by the white-haired girl. His eyes felt gray, drained—but he made his decision swiftly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yu Yanming pointed at the young swordsman: “This is one of the Daoist Sacrificial Masters, a high disciple of the Xuegong, a wandering swordsman. His secular surname is Li, his Dao name is Yishi. You’d better not speak nonsense again.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he spoke, Zhou Wangji, who had been cheerfully reaching out to pat the swordsman’s shoulder, froze mid-motion, his smile vanishing instantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhou Wangji’s mind spent five breaths processing those words.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then slowly turned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He could almost feel the stiffness in his neck, hear the cracking of his joints. His old eyes, dull and vacant, stared at Yu Yanming: “...What?!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The entire group of old Pojun strategists froze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The earlier laughter was cut off as if strangled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yaoguang spoke sparingly—Yu Yanming’s silence made sense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But how could the Pojun lineage not know what “Li Yishi” meant? Zhou Wangji’s hand hung frozen. All of them stared at the young swordsman, holding the scroll, calm and composed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pojun stepped forward, the rustle of his sleeve like flowing clouds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He bowed, the purple-eyed strategist forever loyal to his sovereign:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your servant, Pojun, pays homage to Your Majesty.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Our Emperor—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ten thousand years.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The words drifted slowly through the air—the atmosphere turned heavy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhou Wangji’s hand trembled, jerking back as if shocked. Yu Yanming’s face lost all expression for the first time. An Ruoxue’s gentle smile froze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only the silver-haired girl quietly watched the Emperor of Qin over there.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Guanyi turned his body, gazing at the purple-eyed strategist before him, then suddenly smiled and said, “I was just saying—why did you take so long to arrive? Po Jun is my trusted pillar, my foremost strategist. Without you, my wedding would indeed lose all luster.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The purple-eyed strategist froze, watching the young swordsman blink at him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was just like when we were young.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Back then, the twenty-seven-year-old Po Jun and the thirteen-year-old Gold Guard first met in Jiangzhou City. The Emperor of Qin paced forward, reached out, gripped Zhou Wangji’s arm, and bowed slightly, saying, “I must thank you all.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhou Wangji and the others froze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the Emperor of Qin replied, “Without you all, I would never have met Master Po Jun.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I was once a commoner, trapped in chains—until I met Master Po Jun. Only then did I see the true scale of the world: like a coiled dragon bursting from the abyss, like a bird soaring into the heavens, no longer bound by anything.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The corners of Zhou Wangji’s old mouth curled upward, then his fist clenched, suppressing it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Suppress it! Suppress it!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It couldn’t be suppressed at all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Every old man of the Starwatching School’s Po Jun lineage wore the same expression—enough to hang seventeen or eighteen fish-sword blades from their lips. Zhou Wangji coughed, glanced with restrained dignity at Yu Yanming, who was still stunned by the Emperor’s identity, and said:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your Majesty is too courteous. To meet a ruler as virtuous and capable as you is indeed this brat’s fortune. But if I may dare to speak out of turn: may I ask—is Po Jun truly your chief strategist?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Guanyi answered, “He is the one who opened the world for me; he is the one who stood by me through life and death. My left and right arm—he is my chief.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhou Wangji opened his mouth, exhaled slowly, and at last felt deeply satisfied.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then so be it—excellent!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For nearly a thousand years, generations had clung to their stubbornness and resentment—now, at last, it dissolved. But An Ruoxue, ever perceptive, tilted her eyes and said, “Your Majesty said you came here… to marry?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At last, the old men of the Po Jun lineage reacted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yu Yanming did too.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Starwatching School’s disciples were all prodigies of the age. The blue-clad swordsman leaned his divine weapon, which stabilized the four corners of the world, against the ground, then extended his right hand with a smile:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Li Yushi, I come here to court Yaoguang.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All eyes turned to the silver-haired girl.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moments before, she had swayed lightly, carefree—now, her body froze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[The Travel Log of Xiao Yingyu and Li Nu’er]—Entry Seven:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When the bright full moon hung above the forest, the ancient pine’s growth rings began to turn. Li Nu’er licked the dandelion fluff from his paw and heard faint whispers from deep within the tree hollow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was an ancient pine, five hundred years old, with thick, sturdy bark.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Its branches dripped dewdrops that painted star maps on the ground: “When the Western Tiger of Heaven passes over the earth for the third time, you will meet your story—a promise that never ends.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Nu’er shook his whiskers, lifted his head proudly, and stepped onto the journey to find his story. The tiger stripes on his back warmed slightly as he climbed the moss-covered stone steps beneath the first rays of dawn, dew weaving pearl curtains among the flowers and grass.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the seventh night, the proud little cat with tiger stripes arrived at the lakeside. The water mirrored two starry skies—one silver mass stirred the starlight with its tail.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Little stray cat,” it said, its eyes like melted moonlight, voice clear: “The shadow of the Heavenly Tiger has already passed over the earth twice.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What are you looking for?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Nu’er answered, “I seek a story—a traveling story.” The silver mass laughed: “There are no stories here—only me. A story isn’t something a cat can complete alone, nor does it grow like mushrooms just by staying in one place.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The proud little cat didn’t understand, scratching at the damp grass after rain: “You and I—that’s already two.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But we’ll part ways. Then the story ends.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Nu’er tilted his head, watching the silver tail lift and coil a rainbow: “Then we won’t part. From the moment the Heavenly Tiger runs across the river of stars for the third time… until the moon falls into the river and is washed ashore—that’s our journey.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Our journey, together.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The story never ends.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…………………………\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>BOOM!!!!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sky’s cloud sea tore open. A streak of light shot forward, a rope dangling two figures: one drunkard, seemingly sixty, with a carving knife and bamboo tied to his waist.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The other was an old man sitting on a turtle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Old Siming pondered: “I don’t know why, but I feel something’s off—I just can’t tell what. Tell me—if we arrive and Li Guanyi and Yaoguang’s matter is already settled, what then?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tu Shengyuan’s lip twitched.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ancestor!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shut your mouth!!!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The gale whipped his face; his mouth was stretched wide by the wind, nearly struck by a clump of bird droppings—he dodged with nimble grace, narrowly avoiding disaster, but his face still turned pale.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He felt it—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That silver-haired fisherman had accelerated!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Whale Fisher’s eyes turned red. Missing his only daughter’s wedding was enough to make him tie up those two and drag all three of them to the Northern Sea to fish.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Damn it—all of you, don’t live!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If those bastards found out, that Xue fellow would crawl out of his coffin just to watch this spectacle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Daughter, wait.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Papa’s coming!!!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Old Siming rolled his eyes, he suddenly sensed something wrong—his waist, a certain crystal glowed faintly. It seemed the dormant true spirit sealed within the realm’s crystal was stirring, stirred by some immense, absurd delight.\u003C\u002Fp>",2566,"2026-06-20T19:20:36.387Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","ad235ca722e159af0f1e5d8041e168a4e5a7993eae20f9e27dd03933c26aa5a2","the-peace-decree-chapter-585","the-peace-decree-chapter-583",593,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-peace-decree-cover.jpg"]