That inexplicable world had its own rules of operation. It was rigid, monotonous, and repetitive. Even if a few unexpected circumstances occasionally appeared, if one looked deeper, it was still a rehash of those old events. Whether it was under the sun or under the stars, there was nothing new. Conspiracies and betrayals were filled with a nauseating stench of decay.
Young people who were still filled with expectations and hope for this world, who still had the courage to look straight into the darkness under the sun, who looked up to morality under the stars, naturally had no good opinion of this kind of world, such as Tang Thirty-Six. But in the eyes of the Second Master of the Wenshui Tangs who liked to laugh silently, in the eyes of the elders of the Tianhai clan, in the eyes of Zhou Tong, the thoughts of young people were always so childish and laughable.
Life could not be a game of playing house — Chen Changsheng could even imagine how many similar words Tang Thirty-Six would hear on the journey back to Wenshui from the capital. He could also imagine that at this moment, in the Divine General of the East's estate, the solemn and righteous Xu Shiji, after removing the dishes from the table, would plausibly say to his wife, "As a father, everything I do is for the sake of my daughter. If it weren't for me acting decisively and turning the tide, after the Divine Empress died, do you think she would still be able to sit stably on the position of Holy Maiden?"
The starlight scattered and the darkness deepened. There was a sudden disturbance in front of the Orthodox Academy, and then Su Mo Yu hurried to the lakeside and told him the news.
The news from Xuelao City was truly shocking. Chen Changsheng was silent for a very long time.
The Demon Lord's death was an extremely good thing for him. In the Garden of Zhou, he and Xu You Rong had almost been killed several times by Nanke. He did not have any good opinion of that rather open-minded little Demon Princess, but when he thought of how this once mortal enemy had disappeared like a splash in this magnificent upheaval, he could not help but feel a little lost.
"Leave the capital. This is the best choice," Su Mo Yu said to him.
Chen Changsheng understood what he meant.
The Demon Lord's death and the internal strife of the demons had allowed Shang Xingzhou, who had arranged everything, to ascend to the altar. Before the memories of humanity had completely faded, no one would have the courage to resist him.
Today, the Pope had used an extremely unyielding stance to protect him and the Orthodox Academy, but he could only maintain a balance.
But just as the Pope had said, he was already old, on the verge of death. If that day truly came, how would Chen Changsheng face that person?
That person would become a god of the entire continent, and he would also be his teacher.
Chen Chang Sheng once again remained silent for a long time.
He really did want to leave the capital. During the time he had been sitting in the library, he had wanted to pack his luggage several times, but in the end, he had given up.
He knew he could not leave, because that man would not allow him to leave his sight until he died.
Yuren also knew this, so he quietly remained in the Imperial Palace as his own emperor.
Chen Chang Sheng silently waited for time to pass in the Tradition Academy.
They were the people in the world who understood Shang Xingzhou the most, even more so than the Pope.
In the past, their teacher was just an ordinary Daoist, but now he was a Dao Lord.
However, regardless of whether it was an ordinary Daoist or a supreme Daoist Lord, they were all their masters.
…
…
On the fourth day after the coup of the Mausoleum of Books, another shocking piece of news came from Mount Han.
The Elder of Heavenly Secrets had peacefully passed away in a small house by the Heaven Lake.
This leader of the Storms of the Eight Directions, an elder of the same generation as the Pope and Shang Xingzhou, was ultimately unable to resist time and pain. His soul returned to the sea of stars.
After being shaken by this news for a few moments, the capital once more fell into an orderly state of chaos.
It was said to be chaotic because people were dying and families were being confiscated everywhere. It was said to be orderly because all of this was carried out under the Imperial Court's powerful control. Whether it was the scope or the intensity, the majority of people could endure it, and it was also not at a level that would arouse too much ill will from the populace.
Some of the ministers of the Tianhai government had died and the vast majority of those who had been imprisoned had already been released. Only a few diehards were still bitterly holding on, perhaps able to hold out until the autumn to be executed.
Perhaps because Chen Guansong had been burned to death by the Tianhai Divine Empress's true flames of the Heavenly Phoenix, or because Han Qing's true identity had been exposed and he had left the capital, the Great Zhou Dynasty was unable to find a general of sufficient seniority to hold the line. Fierce battles would occasionally break out in the armies of the provinces and counties, so the purge of the army was correspondingly even more cruel and fierce.
The rebellion in Xuelao City had caused the deaths of seven Demon Generals, while the Great Zhou Dynasty had already lost eight Divine Generals, and several more Divine Generals had become disheartened and retired to their fields. Most chilling of all was that, according to the decree issued from the palace, the corpses of Divine General Xue Xingchuan and those generals of the Imperial Guard loyal to the Tianhai Divine Empress were still displayed on the official road outside the city, forbidden from being buried.
The entire world knew that Divine General Xue Xingchuan and Divine General Tian Chui were the Tianhai Divine Empress's left and right arms, her most loyal subordinates.
Divine General Tian Chui's corpse had already transformed into smoke, returning to the heavens with the Tianhai Divine Empress. But Xue Xingchuan could not receive the same treatment.
Putting aside the fact that Xue Xingchuan had fiercely resisted the Demon Army in the Northern Army headquarters and performed an enormous service for the Great Zhou Dynasty, even if he was just an ordinary general, why would he have to endure such humiliation after his death?
Many people felt that this was wrong, but they did not dare to oppose it, because this was a decree issued from the Imperial Palace. Moreover, everyone knew that this was the unyielding response of some important figure to a certain rumor in the capital.
In that rumor, Xue Xingchuan had died to Zhou Tong's scheme.
Zhou Tong had betrayed the Tianhai Divine Empress and also betrayed his only friend.
As this rumor spread, the loathing and contempt the people felt for Zhou Tong reached a new height.
At this moment, the decree from the Imperial Palace appeared. The corpses of Xue Xingchuan and those generals of the Imperial Guard were exposed.
These powerful figures wanted to use this callous display to tell the people of the world that as long as they were willing to sever ties with the Tianhai Divine Empress, they would obtain their benevolence and unyielding protection. They did not even hesitate to use this method of humiliating the dead to express their will and support Zhou Tong.
There had always been a saying in the continent: if Zhou Tong died, only one person would come to collect his corpse, and that person was called Xue Xingchuan.
Now, Xue Xingchuan was dead, dead at Zhou Tong's hand, and because of Zhou Tong, he had died without a burial.
This made people scorn and many people begin to get angry, but the entire capital remained absolutely silent.
Perhaps it was because the news of the Elder of Heavenly Secrets's death had made the common people think of the words the Pope had said that night in the coup of the Mausoleum of Books. He was also old and about to die.
If even the Pope died, who could endure the rage of that venerable Daoist master?
There were people who could endure it, or perhaps she had never even considered whether she could endure it, because she was Xue Xingchuan's wife.
In the early morning, Madam Xue walked out of the city gate for the fourth time.
She arrived on the official road and gazed at the corpses of the dead that had been carelessly placed on the ground. She still could not tell which one was her husband.
Then she turned to the supervisor of the Ministry of Justice responsible for watching over the corpses and said, "Milord, greetings, I wish to replace my late husband …"
Her face was somewhat pale, her expression exhausted, and her lips dry, but her expression was still calm, exuding a sense of awe.
The supervisor of the Ministry of Justice did not let her finish.
There was a crisp crack of a whip!
A corner of Madam Xue's skirt was torn.
Perhaps because he had been intimidated by Madam Xue's calm and awe-inspiring aura and thus felt somewhat humiliated, the supervisor's voice was somewhat shrill, extremely unpleasant to hear.
"Xue Xingchuan followed the Demon Empress and rebelled against the law. Convicted of treason, his corpse shall be exposed for ten days and then fed to the dogs!"
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
