Emperor Zhao Zhe trembled with fear inside his imperial palace. His Majesty had never imagined such brutality from Diwu Qing Rou; ruthlessly executing subjects, and that too inside the greenhouse, a place where he had grown up as a child. Such a bloody massacre had simply transcended his wildest imaginations!
His conduct didn’t reflect the slightest bit of mercy anymore!
He simply didn’t care about imperial clan’s dignity! Naturally, he didn’t care about the loss of tens of thousands of lives either!
Neither did he care about the lives of the hundreds of civil servants and the military officers! Anyone, falling into his hands, could only be described using one word: Dead!
The imperial concubines had been crammed together in one corner, their beautiful faces alarmingly pale, seemingly devoid of all traces of blood. Their bodies trembled like a bunch of dead leaves falling in the wind.
"Prime Minister Diwu has arrived!" A guard at the entrance announced as he lifted his blood-stained saber upwards; it sounded like the knell of death to Emperor Zhao Zhe.
"Diwu Qing Rou is here?!" Zhao Zhe’s lips turned purple as he asked with a shivering voice: "What’s he doing here?"
Nobody answered his question; just a pin-drop silence stagnated in reply.
The sound of calm and steady footsteps resounded as Diwu Qing Rou leisurely walked in, step by step, with an everlasting and gentle smile hanging on his face. He casually strolled in with his hands clasped behind his back, clad in an ordinary cotton robe.
As always, his countenance was both elegant and dull at the same time, as if living things simply didn’t wind around his heart.
However, it seemed like Zhao Zhe could actually see the image of a demon in Diwu Qing Rou; a demon from hell, whose entire body was drenched in blood. His Majesty was so frightened that his eyes rolled back, revealing the whites of his eyeballs; it seemed like he would faint any time now.
"Your Majesty appears safe and sound." Diwu Qing Rou greeted in a soft voice.
"Safe...and sound……you as well! You too appear safe and sound, Prime Minister..." Zhao Zhe tried his utmost to control his facial muscles as he attempted to give a diligent greeting while maintaining a smile on his face. He did not want to lose the remnants of his royal demeanor, but still failed miserably in saving it.
Diwu Qing Rou crossed his hands behind his back to stand at ease, and then slightly cast his eyes sideways; an imperial guard hastily moved a chair, placing it right behind him. A smile appeared on Diwu Qing Rou’s face as he gracefully sat down.
"Your majesty."
"......, what?"
"You and I, a ruler and his minister; I think fate has brought us together like this." Diwu Qing Rou heaved a sigh before continuing with a smiling expression on his face: "I initially thought that you and I will get along well as a ruler and his minister should; we would work together with a common purpose of unifying the lands into one domain, encompassing mountains and rivers. Together, we would stand at the top as the entire world prostrated before us!"
"I have the ability to achieve that, and also the courage to rule it from above! It’s a pity that Your Majesty has always failed to trust me." Diwu Qing Rou heaved a deep sigh as he shot a pitiful look towards Zhao Zhe: "Whatever may the reason behind your distrust be, but was it really worth the trouble?"
"This….is our fault…." Zhao Zhe’s eyes couldn’t dare to meet Diwu’s as he replied back in a trembling voice.
"Well, it truly was a blunder on your part...." Diwu Qing Rou chuckled.
"You never trusted me in the past; leaving me with no recourse but to find opportunities in the battlefield, just to gain my own power and authority! I never actually imagined ... ... that the path I was going to take back then would bestow the kind of military authority and power upon me which clearly surpasses yours..."
Diwu Qing Rou narrowed his eyes slightly, as if recalling those tragic battles from his past.
"It took numerous battles, negotiations and constant efforts to build my fame to where it stands right now; piles of countless military exploits and achievements were drawn to my name during the time of my service in the military, which even forced you into rewarding me with the titles that I deserved...it just took a certain step, and then the entire jurisdiction and military command fell into my hands; the outcome is decided already!"
"You have always been incapable of controlling me!" Diwu Qing Rou paused for a moment then said: "After that, I waged wars on all sides. Firstly, I focused on eradicating the dissidents; secondly, I became an omnipotent commander in the eyes of the common people. In fact even in the eyes of Tie Long Cheng, I was the one pulling the strings behind that war; all in order to attain great military accomplishments...."
"But he was wrong! I actually didn’t desire meritorious military accolades; just absolute power." Diwu Qing Rou’s voice sounded dull as he continued: "During that time, the entire twelve hundred troops of the Great Zhao were sent to the battlefield by me at different intervals! All I wanted was to get in touch with the military generals and high-ranking officers; my motive was to use my persuasion skills and convince them into accepting my authority so that I could gain absolute control over each and every army troop."
"And since I was sure that you would never hand them over to me, my only option was to strive on my own in order to obtain them myself."
"Innumerable traps led to huge losses for the Iron Cloud, but our Great Zhao was in no better condition either since too many of our people also fell into the traps I had personally set up. I directly led them into the ambush which was set up by their own nation... But remember that these people were loyal to your majesty, the so-called ‘loyalists’ of the Great Zhao; you see, I did not trust them since I hadn’t been able to obtain your trust at that time. They needed to be let to go because I needed only those who were loyal to me, Diwu Qing Rou..."
Diwu Qing Rou heaved a long sigh: "When the war finally came to an end, Iron Cloud had been weakened so terribly that they found it difficult to retreat. I stopped the battle and returned to the Imperial Court with unparalleled military successes in my grasp."
"Everyone thought that I intentionally allowed Iron Cloud some respite, but the reality was a lot different." Diwu Qing Rou continued onwards: "Because at that time, I only had control over the military, not the government. So, I needed to come back in order to build a government; a government I could control on a whim. Moreover, the Imperial Clan’s still had a significant control over the nation. Considering a possibility in which, let’s suppose I had destroyed the Iron Cloud Nation, your majesty would’ve still executed me with just a flick of a finger."
"Thus, I couldn’t choose to start an all-out war at that time! I had to give up on the excellent advantageous situation that we had built for ourselves, and was forced to retreat in order to manage things from the rear." Diwu Qing Rou sighed deeply: "If only you had put your trust in me back then, I would have given you a unified domain! But unfortunately, you didn’t..."
"You’ve waited for far too long to deal with me, and now it’s already too late!" Diwu Qing Rou stood up: "The Military holds absolute authority! Now, you have no soldiers under your command and no generals on your side. You only have a bunch of pedantic scholars to depend on, so then how do you plan on defeating me, the current leader of this nation’s entire army? Your majesty, don’t you find this so ridiculous that even laughter would probably shy away?"
Zhao Zhe’s face turned deathly pale as he stared blankly.
"There are so many things I wish to tell you; there were so many things I had always wished to share with you all those years. But as we stand here today, face to face, I actually feel as if they are not necessary anymore." Diwu Qing Rou continued indifferently: "In fact, there’s actually no requirement for us to be talking like this. I am quite surprised; maybe this conversation is a result of a change in my mood, but now I really feel very naïve."
Diwu Qing Rou slowly said: "It is really childish of me that I actually bothered to have a conversation with you, or perhaps it was just a demonstration of power."
After he was done talking, Diwu Qing Rou turned around and left like a gust of wind, without even bothering to look back at the Emperor who had been utterly and thoroughly defeated by him.
Moments later, Diwu Qing Rou’s voice sounded from outside.
"Seal this place! Let His Majesty lead a comfortable life inside. Starting today, no one is allowed to enter or leave this place until...the war ends!"
"Yes!"
"If we win the war, then His Majesty shall be permitted to look at our achievements before his beheading! And if we lose, then behead him straightaway! After that, you shall proceed to exterminating his nine generations!"
"Yes!"
Zhao Zhe could clearly hear everything from the inside, and fainted with his eyes rolling back into his head.
In short, his death was certain, regardless of victory or defeat.
This was a completely reversal of the usual. It was always the Imperial Clan that ordered the extermination of others’ nine generations; but what did Diwu Qing Rou state in his precise order today? Was it not the extermination of the nine generations of the Imperial Clan?
This really was……something rather hard to explain....
The purge was still ongoing in the Great Zhao. Moreover, judging from Diwu Qing Rou’s current stance, it seemed like the present state of affairs would repeat over and over again for quite some time.
In the meantime, the members of Gu Clan finally contacted Gu Du Xing: return to the clan!
On the eve of Gu Du Xing’s departure, Chu Yang was whispering to him in the middle of the night before finally giving him a big bag full of items, “This is for Ji Mo, this is for Dong Wu Shang, and this is for...”
Of course, the majority of things...were for Mo Qing Wu...
The two brothers stood opposite each other as the morning wind bore witness to their parting.
"Take care!"
"Take care!"
These two words were spoken simultaneously by the two brothers.
Following which, Gu Du Xing turned silent as he looked at Chu Yang with a profound expression in his eyes. Then, he simply turned around to leave and didn’t even look back once.
[Dear Brother! We met in a time of distress, but you still helped me out. You gave me hope all this time, and also assisted with my martial arts practice! You have done everything you could for me!]
[I won’t fail you!]
[Never!]
It was just that his lips weren’t able to weave these words, which left with no other option, could only reverberate within the bounds of his heart.
Chu Yang didn’t say anything either.
Although it always appears quite dull, parting is such sweet sorrow; both of them knew that the next time they would meet, it would be in the Middle Three Heavens! And definitely not here!
In the Middle Three Heavens, the Mo Clan had suddenly livened up.
This shouldn’t have been the case since all clans were preparing for the imminent war on the Cang Lan Battlefront, but still, the Mo Clan’s front yard was as busy as a marketplace.
At this time, Mo Xing Chen was in his study, discussing some matters with the Great Elder when a servant suddenly reported: "I have a message for the Clan Lord; two enate young masters have arrived to visit us."
"Enate young masters, you say?" Mo Xing Chen gawked for a second.
"Yes, Young master Ji Zhu has arrived with Young master Ji Mo."
"Ah, guide them to the drawing room for the time being; also, go and inform the eldest young master to welcome our guests."
"Actually, Young master Ji Zhu is already in the drawing room, having tea at the moment. But Ji Clan’s second young master has gone into the inner chambers to find the young lady."
"Young lady? Which one?" Mo Xing Chen gawked again.
"My lord, they are looking for Lady Xiao Wu." The servant lowered his head as he tried his best to hide his twitching mouth from his lord’s eyesight.
"Xiao Wu?!" Mo Xing Chen was stunned: "Why is Ji Mo looking for Xiao Wu?"
~~Inside the inner residence~~
"Big Brother Ji Mo!~~" Mo Qing Wu was pleasantly surprised, and her cheers resounded through the backyard; she rushed towards him, seemingly flying: "Big Brother Ji Mo, what brings you here? Where is Brother Chu Yang? Did he come too?"
"Eh, your Brother Chu Yang didn’t come." Ji Mo saw the brightness of her face fading away as he spoke these words.
Feeling sorry for the poor girl, he hastily hugged her before carrying her up in his arms, and then stated in a consoling manner: "Well, your Brother Chu Yang isn’t here, but he has asked me to deliver lots of good things to you…"
"Really?" Mo Qing Wu suddenly opened her eyes wide, getting excited all of a sudden: "Where, where?!"
"Really! It’s only natural that…eh?" Ji Mo suddenly noticed that something was off: "Why are you so light? My god! How did you lose so much weight? You’ve become so skinny."
The Second Young Master Ji turned furious: "Who bullied you?!"
"No, wait big brother…no one has bullied me." Mo Qing Wu’s eyes gleamed once again, before dimming again. She raised her face as she pleaded earnestly: "Big Brother Ji Mo, I don’t want to live here any longer......can you take me to your home?"
"This...." Ji Mo somewhat hesitated.
"No, you mustn’t!" A sound passed over: "Xiao Wu, how can you talk about leaving your own home so easily?"
The voice belonged to an Elder of Mo Clan’s branch clan. He was the one who had been ordered by the Clan Lord to bring Ji Mo here.
"What has happened to Xiao Wu?" Ji Mo put her down, and slowly stood up to look towards that King level expert from the Mo Clan.
"Second young master Ji, actually-" The expert hesitated for a while, but he soon noticed that Ji Mo’s countenance was turning grim. He hurriedly pulled Ji Mo to the side and whispered into his ears.
"Her Three Yin Meridians are damaged?" Ji Mo was dumbfounded.
Even after going to the Heavenly Armament Pavilion, Chu Yang had never once told him about this matter.
As a result, this was actually the first time he came to hear of it.
Emperor Zhao Zhe trembled with fear inside his imperial palace. His Majesty had never imagined such brutality from Diwu Qing Rou; ruthlessly executing subjects, and that too inside the greenhouse, a place where he had grown up as a child. Such a bloody massacre had simply transcended his wildest imaginations!
His conduct didn’t reflect the slightest bit of mercy anymore!
He simply didn’t care about imperial clan’s dignity! Naturally, he didn’t care about the loss of tens of thousands of lives either!
Neither did he care about the lives of the hundreds of civil servants and the military officers! Anyone, falling into his hands, could only be described using one word: Dead!
The imperial concubines had been crammed together in one corner, their beautiful faces alarmingly pale, seemingly devoid of all traces of blood. Their bodies trembled like a bunch of dead leaves falling in the wind.
"Prime Minister Diwu has arrived!" A guard at the entrance announced as he lifted his blood-stained saber upwards; it sounded like the knell of death to Emperor Zhao Zhe.
"Diwu Qing Rou is here?!" Zhao Zhe’s lips turned purple as he asked with a shivering voice: "What’s he doing here?"
Nobody answered his question; just a pin-drop silence stagnated in reply.
The sound of calm and steady footsteps resounded as Diwu Qing Rou leisurely walked in, step by step, with an everlasting and gentle smile hanging on his face. He casually strolled in with his hands clasped behind his back, clad in an ordinary cotton robe.
As always, his countenance was both elegant and dull at the same time, as if living things simply didn’t wind around his heart.
However, it seemed like Zhao Zhe could actually see the image of a demon in Diwu Qing Rou; a demon from hell, whose entire body was drenched in blood. His Majesty was so frightened that his eyes rolled back, revealing the whites of his eyeballs; it seemed like he would faint any time now.
"Your Majesty appears safe and sound." Diwu Qing Rou greeted in a soft voice.
"Safe...and sound……you as well! You too appear safe and sound, Prime Minister..." Zhao Zhe tried his utmost to control his facial muscles as he attempted to give a diligent greeting while maintaining a smile on his face. He did not want to lose the remnants of his royal demeanor, but still failed miserably in saving it.
Diwu Qing Rou crossed his hands behind his back to stand at ease, and then slightly cast his eyes sideways; an imperial guard hastily moved a chair, placing it right behind him. A smile appeared on Diwu Qing Rou’s face as he gracefully sat down.
"Your majesty."
"......, what?"
"You and I, a ruler and his minister; I think fate has brought us together like this." Diwu Qing Rou heaved a sigh before continuing with a smiling expression on his face: "I initially thought that you and I will get along well as a ruler and his minister should; we would work together with a common purpose of unifying the lands into one domain, encompassing mountains and rivers. Together, we would stand at the top as the entire world prostrated before us!"
"I have the ability to achieve that, and also the courage to rule it from above! It’s a pity that Your Majesty has always failed to trust me." Diwu Qing Rou heaved a deep sigh as he shot a pitiful look towards Zhao Zhe: "Whatever may the reason behind your distrust be, but was it really worth the trouble?"
"This….is our fault…." Zhao Zhe’s eyes couldn’t dare to meet Diwu’s as he replied back in a trembling voice.
"Well, it truly was a blunder on your part...." Diwu Qing Rou chuckled.
"You never trusted me in the past; leaving me with no recourse but to find opportunities in the battlefield, just to gain my own power and authority! I never actually imagined ... ... that the path I was going to take back then would bestow the kind of military authority and power upon me which clearly surpasses yours..."
Diwu Qing Rou narrowed his eyes slightly, as if recalling those tragic battles from his past.
"It took numerous battles, negotiations and constant efforts to build my fame to where it stands right now; piles of countless military exploits and achievements were drawn to my name during the time of my service in the military, which even forced you into rewarding me with the titles that I deserved...it just took a certain step, and then the entire jurisdiction and military command fell into my hands; the outcome is decided already!"
"You have always been incapable of controlling me!" Diwu Qing Rou paused for a moment then said: "After that, I waged wars on all sides. Firstly, I focused on eradicating the dissidents; secondly, I became an omnipotent commander in the eyes of the common people. In fact even in the eyes of Tie Long Cheng, I was the one pulling the strings behind that war; all in order to attain great military accomplishments...."
"But he was wrong! I actually didn’t desire meritorious military accolades; just absolute power." Diwu Qing Rou’s voice sounded dull as he continued: "During that time, the entire twelve hundred troops of the Great Zhao were sent to the battlefield by me at different intervals! All I wanted was to get in touch with the military generals and high-ranking officers; my motive was to use my persuasion skills and convince them into accepting my authority so that I could gain absolute control over each and every army troop."
"And since I was sure that you would never hand them over to me, my only option was to strive on my own in order to obtain them myself."
"Innumerable traps led to huge losses for the Iron Cloud, but our Great Zhao was in no better condition either since too many of our people also fell into the traps I had personally set up. I directly led them into the ambush which was set up by their own nation... But remember that these people were loyal to your majesty, the so-called ‘loyalists’ of the Great Zhao; you see, I did not trust them since I hadn’t been able to obtain your trust at that time. They needed to be let to go because I needed only those who were loyal to me, Diwu Qing Rou..."
Diwu Qing Rou heaved a long sigh: "When the war finally came to an end, Iron Cloud had been weakened so terribly that they found it difficult to retreat. I stopped the battle and returned to the Imperial Court with unparalleled military successes in my grasp."
"Everyone thought that I intentionally allowed Iron Cloud some respite, but the reality was a lot different." Diwu Qing Rou continued onwards: "Because at that time, I only had control over the military, not the government. So, I needed to come back in order to build a government; a government I could control on a whim. Moreover, the Imperial Clan’s still had a significant control over the nation. Considering a possibility in which, let’s suppose I had destroyed the Iron Cloud Nation, your majesty would’ve still executed me with just a flick of a finger."
"Thus, I couldn’t choose to start an all-out war at that time! I had to give up on the excellent advantageous situation that we had built for ourselves, and was forced to retreat in order to manage things from the rear." Diwu Qing Rou sighed deeply: "If only you had put your trust in me back then, I would have given you a unified domain! But unfortunately, you didn’t..."
"You’ve waited for far too long to deal with me, and now it’s already too late!" Diwu Qing Rou stood up: "The Military holds absolute authority! Now, you have no soldiers under your command and no generals on your side. You only have a bunch of pedantic scholars to depend on, so then how do you plan on defeating me, the current leader of this nation’s entire army? Your majesty, don’t you find this so ridiculous that even laughter would probably shy away?"
Zhao Zhe’s face turned deathly pale as he stared blankly.
"There are so many things I wish to tell you; there were so many things I had always wished to share with you all those years. But as we stand here today, face to face, I actually feel as if they are not necessary anymore." Diwu Qing Rou continued indifferently: "In fact, there’s actually no requirement for us to be talking like this. I am quite surprised; maybe this conversation is a result of a change in my mood, but now I really feel very naïve."
Diwu Qing Rou slowly said: "It is really childish of me that I actually bothered to have a conversation with you, or perhaps it was just a demonstration of power."
After he was done talking, Diwu Qing Rou turned around and left like a gust of wind, without even bothering to look back at the Emperor who had been utterly and thoroughly defeated by him.
Moments later, Diwu Qing Rou’s voice sounded from outside.
"Seal this place! Let His Majesty lead a comfortable life inside. Starting today, no one is allowed to enter or leave this place until...the war ends!"
"Yes!"
"If we win the war, then His Majesty shall be permitted to look at our achievements before his beheading! And if we lose, then behead him straightaway! After that, you shall proceed to exterminating his nine generations!"
"Yes!"
Zhao Zhe could clearly hear everything from the inside, and fainted with his eyes rolling back into his head.
In short, his death was certain, regardless of victory or defeat.
This was a completely reversal of the usual. It was always the Imperial Clan that ordered the extermination of others’ nine generations; but what did Diwu Qing Rou state in his precise order today? Was it not the extermination of the nine generations of the Imperial Clan?
This really was……something rather hard to explain....
The purge was still ongoing in the Great Zhao. Moreover, judging from Diwu Qing Rou’s current stance, it seemed like the present state of affairs would repeat over and over again for quite some time.
In the meantime, the members of Gu Clan finally contacted Gu Du Xing: return to the clan!
On the eve of Gu Du Xing’s departure, Chu Yang was whispering to him in the middle of the night before finally giving him a big bag full of items, “This is for Ji Mo, this is for Dong Wu Shang, and this is for...”
Of course, the majority of things...were for Mo Qing Wu...
The two brothers stood opposite each other as the morning wind bore witness to their parting.
"Take care!"
"Take care!"
These two words were spoken simultaneously by the two brothers.
Following which, Gu Du Xing turned silent as he looked at Chu Yang with a profound expression in his eyes. Then, he simply turned around to leave and didn’t even look back once.
[Dear Brother! We met in a time of distress, but you still helped me out. You gave me hope all this time, and also assisted with my martial arts practice! You have done everything you could for me!]
[I won’t fail you!]
[Never!]
It was just that his lips weren’t able to weave these words, which left with no other option, could only reverberate within the bounds of his heart.
Chu Yang didn’t say anything either.
Although it always appears quite dull, parting is such sweet sorrow; both of them knew that the next time they would meet, it would be in the Middle Three Heavens! And definitely not here!
In the Middle Three Heavens, the Mo Clan had suddenly livened up.
This shouldn’t have been the case since all clans were preparing for the imminent war on the Cang Lan Battlefront, but still, the Mo Clan’s front yard was as busy as a marketplace.
At this time, Mo Xing Chen was in his study, discussing some matters with the Great Elder when a servant suddenly reported: "I have a message for the Clan Lord; two enate young masters have arrived to visit us."
"Enate young masters, you say?" Mo Xing Chen gawked for a second.
"Yes, Young master Ji Zhu has arrived with Young master Ji Mo."
"Ah, guide them to the drawing room for the time being; also, go and inform the eldest young master to welcome our guests."
"Actually, Young master Ji Zhu is already in the drawing room, having tea at the moment. But Ji Clan’s second young master has gone into the inner chambers to find the young lady."
"Young lady? Which one?" Mo Xing Chen gawked again.
"My lord, they are looking for Lady Xiao Wu." The servant lowered his head as he tried his best to hide his twitching mouth from his lord’s eyesight.
"Xiao Wu?!" Mo Xing Chen was stunned: "Why is Ji Mo looking for Xiao Wu?"
~~Inside the inner residence~~
"Big Brother Ji Mo!~~" Mo Qing Wu was pleasantly surprised, and her cheers resounded through the backyard; she rushed towards him, seemingly flying: "Big Brother Ji Mo, what brings you here? Where is Brother Chu Yang? Did he come too?"
"Eh, your Brother Chu Yang didn’t come." Ji Mo saw the brightness of her face fading away as he spoke these words.
Feeling sorry for the poor girl, he hastily hugged her before carrying her up in his arms, and then stated in a consoling manner: "Well, your Brother Chu Yang isn’t here, but he has asked me to deliver lots of good things to you…"
"Really?" Mo Qing Wu suddenly opened her eyes wide, getting excited all of a sudden: "Where, where?!"
"Really! It’s only natural that…eh?" Ji Mo suddenly noticed that something was off: "Why are you so light? My god! How did you lose so much weight? You’ve become so skinny."
The Second Young Master Ji turned furious: "Who bullied you?!"
"No, wait big brother…no one has bullied me." Mo Qing Wu’s eyes gleamed once again, before dimming again. She raised her face as she pleaded earnestly: "Big Brother Ji Mo, I don’t want to live here any longer......can you take me to your home?"
"This...." Ji Mo somewhat hesitated.
"No, you mustn’t!" A sound passed over: "Xiao Wu, how can you talk about leaving your own home so easily?"
The voice belonged to an Elder of Mo Clan’s branch clan. He was the one who had been ordered by the Clan Lord to bring Ji Mo here.
"What has happened to Xiao Wu?" Ji Mo put her down, and slowly stood up to look towards that King level expert from the Mo Clan.
"Second young master Ji, actually-" The expert hesitated for a while, but he soon noticed that Ji Mo’s countenance was turning grim. He hurriedly pulled Ji Mo to the side and whispered into his ears.
"Her Three Yin Meridians are damaged?" Ji Mo was dumbfounded.
Even after going to the Heavenly Armament Pavilion, Chu Yang had never once told him about this matter.
As a result, this was actually the first time he came to hear of it.
