If Tianhai Zhanyi still could not guess that person's identity, what right did he have to contend with Tianhai Shengxue for the position of clan head?
In the Myriad Willows Garden, he had even mentioned this possibility, even saying that if it really was that person, he would very much like to meet him.
Who could have expected that he would really meet that person tonight? What would he do next?
Only then did he realize that any preconceived notions were meaningless, because before the real situation appeared, people tended to have more courage than their real selves. He couldn't do anything now, he didn't even have the courage to look her in the eye.
Very few people now compared that person to other experts of the younger generation, not because that person's strength had already far surpassed his peers, but because that person had long since surpassed the category of so-called young geniuses. He was no longer a mortal, but a true Saint.
As he gazed at that figure on the broken bridge, Tianhai Zhanyi's body went extremely stiff, wishing that he had not appeared tonight.
Zhu Ye was still coughing.
The Zhu clan head's injuries seemed to be more severe than anyone had imagined. He coughed painfully, his head lowered, his waist bent, unable to straighten his body. It was like his lungs were about to burst from the coughing. With some difficulty, he raised his right hand and waved. The experts of the Emotion-Severing Sect understood and stepped forward to support him. Then, they retreated into the darkness.
Upon clearly seeing the face of that person on the bridge, Ning Shiwei's complexion turned nasty. As he watched Zhu Ye retreat, his complexion turned even gloomier.
Because he had understood.
Zhu Ye had been coughing painfully precisely so that he would not raise his head. As long as he did not raise his head, he would not see that person on the bridge, or perhaps he would not let that person on the bridge see him. In this way, he could pretend that he had not seen anything before, that he had not seen anything now, that he had not recognized that person's identity.
Ning Shiwei's reaction was not as fast as Zhu Ye's, so he could not pretend, so what should he do?
Tianhai Zhanyi also came to his senses. As he watched Zhu Ye and the others retreat into the darkness with unimaginable speed, he inwardly cursed the old fox.
The experts of the Emotion-Severing Sect supported Zhu Ye as they retreated, but there were still many people around the lake.
There were no more sounds of crossbows being nocked, blades being unsheathed, metal grinding, somber and heavy breathing. All was silent.
The soldiers of the crossbow camp and the experts of the Tianhai clan had already vaguely guessed at what was going on and were extremely nervous and uneasy.
Even their breathing seemed to stop. What was supposed to be a short few breaths of time felt like an eternity to them.
The armored figure finally bowed towards the center of the lake.
Looking at this scene, everyone felt like they had just survived a disaster.
If he insisted on not kneeling, no matter what happened tonight, how many of the hundreds of people present would be able to survive?
…
…
"Ning Shiwei of the Mount Song Army pays respects to His Holiness the Pope."
Ning Shiwei knelt on one knee in the snow by the shore.
Tianhai Zhanyi was kneeling nearby, his head lowered, making it impossible to see the expression on his face.
The sound of metal rubbing against each other once again broke the silence of the snow lake. It was not the sound of swords being unsheathed, but the sound of armor changing shape.
Several hundred people knelt in the snowy forest by the lake, facing the figure on the bridge and saying in unison, "Paying respects to His Holiness the Pope!"
Their voices were very uniform, but some were trembling slightly. It was unknown whether they were nervous, excited, or afraid.
The young man was obviously not used to it. After a moment of silence, he said, "Get up."
"Thank you, Your Holiness."
The clattering of armor once more rose up.
The young man said, "Disperse."
Countless gazes fell on Ning Shiwei and Tianhai Zhanyi.
Tianhai Zhanyi's face was pale and his thin lips were tightly pursed. He said nothing, appearing rather sinister and stern, but he finally had the stubbornness of a young man.
Ning Shiwei expressionlessly said, "We solemnly obey His Holiness's decree."
The clattering of armor and the hurried sound of footsteps rang out.
The snow and mud were trampled apart, just like the mood of many people.
… …
… …
Disperse.
With these simple words, everyone dispersed.
The torches were nowhere to be seen, the starlight once more flourished, and the darkness thickened.
In the blink of an eye, the lake returned to its undisturbed state. There was only the young man and woman on the broken bridge and those people in the pavilion who were unable to leave.
The young man was naturally Chen Changsheng, who had vanished for two years. The black-clothed girl was the little Black Dragon. She now had a name: Cinnabar.
The lake was quiet and beautiful. Chen Changsheng gazed at the lotus leaves in the lake, silently thinking.
It was very normal for someone to use the Cinnabar Pill to find clues to his whereabouts.
It was also normal for those people to discover that he was the master of the Cinnabar Pill, so they hastily retreated without fighting.
Probably only that madman, Xiao Zhang, would dare to attack the current Pope in front of so many people.
But when these two things happened together, it was clearly abnormal.
It was obvious that both the people in the pavilion and the people who had just left were characters being used.
It seemed like tonight's matter was not over yet.
The lake was very quiet, as if nothing had happened at all. No rocks had fallen from the sky, no experts had surrounded the lake, no murder had occurred in the fog, no blood had dyed the lake red, and no rain of crossbows had nearly been unleashed. But the wooden bridge had still been broken, the lake had still been red, and those people had still come, so it was not advisable to stay here for long.
He glanced at Cinnabar.
Cinnabar rolled her eyes at him. In the end, she was still a Black Frost Dragon. Even a little girl's action of rolling her eyes had a different effect. Her bewitching vertical pupils were especially white, clearly expressing her emotions. But she still complied with his wishes and removed the seal on the pavilion.
The general led his people out of the pavilion and prostrated, not daring to speak.
An Hua's mind was in extreme agitation, but her movements were still meticulous and pious. But when she thought about her rudeness to the Pope, she couldn't help but feel nervous.
As for the one-armed Sir Yang, his face was pale and terrified. He thought to himself, I'm probably doomed.
"Leave this place as quickly as possible. Something will happen in a little while, and when the time comes, I might not be able to protect all of you."
Chen Changsheng did not turn around. He calmly gazed at a certain place in the mountains.
There was an endless darkness there, and it seemed to hide endless dangers as well.
… …
… …
In a certain place in the mountains, the Tang Seventeenth Master was also gazing at the same darkness.
The former bishop of the Hall of Illustrious Persons and his personal subordinates from Wenshui were currently looking at him with eyes brimming with respect. Everyone now naturally knew that the Tang Seventeenth Master had long since known of the identity of the Cinnabar Pill's master. Now that they thought about it, the suppression he had received from Zhu Ye, Tianhai Zhanyi, and the others was naturally just a facade.
He truly was worthy of being the master of the Tang clan. His methods were truly steady and ruthless. If this was a scheme to borrow a knife, then tonight, he had unquestionably borrowed the world's fastest knife. Even if Zhu Ye and the others had reacted so quickly, even if Chen Changsheng's personality was still as gentle as it was in the past, if the Li Palace were to learn of this matter, how could the Orthodoxy let it go?
But why was it that the Tang Seventeenth Master's face showed no pride, only such solemnity?
… …
… …
(This chapter has been too difficult. The main reason is that there are three clues in the grand plot that is about to unfold. I have never been the best at writing about changing scenes, so I had a headache over how to get to the point. In the end, I decided to get straight to the point and kill to my heart's content.)
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