Chapter 135

When Zong Zi Heng met Li Bu Yu, the atmosphere between the two of them became cold.

They had not met alone ever since the Eight Trigrams Platform. With that unpleasant secret holding them back, the little friendship they had when they were young had long since vanished.

Li Bu Yu bowed deeply, "Greetings to the Emperor."

Zong Zi Heng looked at Li Bu Yu expressionlessly, "There's no need to be polite."

Li Bu Yu straightened up and looked at Zong Zi Heng with a slightly evasive gaze, not daring to take the initiative to speak either.

It was only after a long time that Zong Zi Heng asked, "Is there anyone taking care of mother's tomb?"

"Consort Shen's place is always guarded and always clean. I often go and pay respects on the Emperor’s behalf."

"... Many thanks."

"Emperor has flattered me. Emperor has succeeded to the throne for many years, have you ever thought of moving Consort Shen back to Daming?"

Zong Zi Heng shook his head, "She cannot enter the Zong's cemetery." She hated Zong Ming He so much that she wanted to die with him, so how would she be willing to be a ghost of the Zong clan after her death? She would rather sleep forever in Mount Shu. Although Mount Shu is a foreign land, it is a picturesque place filled with an immortal breeze, so it is also considered home.

"That's also good. If the Emperor wants to pay respects to Consort Shen, I will arrange it without telling anyone."

"I ..." Zong Zi Heng thought about it and shook his head. Maybe after some time, he has to meet his mother eventually. If the two of them met in the underworld, they might be able to let go of their grudges in this life. But now, he still cannot let it go. Her twisted love and hate had ruined him and herself.

Li Bu Yu took advantage of Zong Zi Heng's contemplation to peek at him. Remembering the tainted rumors in Daming City, and he mentality tensed up. The supremely proud and noble Human Emperor was really taken by Zong Zi Xiao ...

Zong Zi Heng kept away his train of thought and said deeply: “Today I summoned you here because of the matter of the annual offerings. I just met Xu Zhi Nan. There was already a discussion between you two, right?"

"Yes. But if Chunyang Sect really handed over the Vermilion Bird Plume, it would be forcing our sect to hand over the Nine Heaven Mystic Iron."

"It wasn't Xu Zhi Nan who forced you, but Zong Zi Xiao." Zong Zi Heng said, "If both of you are afraid of suffering a loss, you take a step back, and he takes a step back. In the end, you will attract censure"

Li Bu Yu wrinkled his brow, "I know it's a stop-gap measure, but ..."

"You are worried that the Chunyang Sect is hiding a selfish motive?"

"Yes." Li Bu Yu said frankly, "What's more, Xu Zhi Nan is close to Qi Meng Sheng, and this time Qi Meng Sheng's reaction is the most stubborn. What will happen after that is really unpredictable."

It’s understandable that Li Bu Yu was worried that Xu Zhi Nan and Qi Meng Sheng would work together to trap him, and likewise, Xu Zhi Nan may also have such worries, which was why he needed Zong Zi Heng to mediate between them.

Zong Zi Heng was frank about the countermeasures he and Xu Zhi Nan had discussed. Now, it was necessary to stabilize Zong Zi Xiao first, then secretly lobby all the sects and wait until the time was ripe to fight the enemy together. There was no better way. If they could not unite the power of the entire immortal cultivation world, it would be impossible to defeat the Supreme Demon who is holding two ancient divine treasures and could summon thousands of Yin soldiers.

Li Bu Yu agreed to this, and only under Zong Zi Heng's guarantee did he agree to trust Xu Zhi Nan and work with Chunyang Sect together this time.

Zong Zi Heng advised, "Bu Yu, although you have taken over as the head of Wuliang Sect, you are too young and your foundation is not stable. The open and dark fights between Wuliang Sect and Chunyang Sect are mostly the affairs of the previous generation. You are the one who knows how to advance and retreat, so why don't you take this good opportunity to make peace with the Chunyang Sect?"

Li Bu Yu said with a bitter smile, "Emperor, it's not that I haven't thought about it. I'm a junior in front of Immortal Lord Xu, so I don’t mind about that bit of face, but ..."

"But what?"

"Emperor, don't mind me talking about people behind my back. I really have no choice." Li Bu Yu sighed, "Leaving aside the conflicts of the previous generation, this person, Immortal Lord Xu, is really incomprehensible to me." He gave an odd expression, "When I was young, I had some contact with him and found him to be open-minded and dashing, unlike those old-fashioned people in Chunyang Sect. But ever since he became the Sect Leader, he has changed. Sometimes he is pleasant, sometimes he seems to be indifferent, extremely difficult to please, and once he even forgot our verbal agreement and went back on his word."

Zong Zi Heng was slightly surprised. The Xu Zhi Nan described by Li Bu Yu was totally different from the one he knew. In any case, Li Bu Yu was the head of a sect, so he’s unlikely to sow discord between people. With his friendship with Xu Zhi Nan, wouldn't he be able to see through him at once?

"The Emperor and Immortal Lord Xu have a deep friendship, so he is naturally submissive before the Emperor." Li Bu Yu said helplessly, "But what I said is true, or else the emperor can ask around in the immortal cultivation world. Many people say that after Immortal Lord Xu became the Sect Leader, his temperament has changed greatly and he is cloudy and unpredictable."

Zong Zi Heng pondered for a moment, "As the Sect Leader, naturally he cannot act in the same way as before."

Li Bu Yu sighed.

"Go back to the post house, discuss with Xu Zhi Nan and make a new annual offering. I will try my best to negotiate with Zong Zi Xiao."

"Yes." Li Bu Yu stole another glance at Zong Zi Heng and could not help but say, "Emperor, you have lost a lot of weight. Is your body ... unwell?"

A light silhouette appeared on Zong Zi Heng's thin cheeks, which appears extremely handsome. A pair of dark inky deer eyes were increasingly sullen day by day, set against that sickly pale skin that showed a bit of fragility.

Li Bu Yu's heart surged with a desire that he had suppressed for years, but he only dared to watch from afar.

Zong Zi Heng shook his head, "It's not a problem."

"I heard that Zong Zi Xiao has sealed your chakra." Li Bu Yu held an extra item in his hand, "You have taken this True Essence Jade Training Pill before. I brought two more. It is a universal pill, so it will help you."

"Thank you for your concern."

This time it was a secret meeting. There was not even a single subordinate in the room and Li Bu Yu seemed to have an excuse to come closer. He got bold and presented the immortal pill with both hands and gently placed it on the coffee table next to Zong Zi Heng's hand.

Zong Zi Heng swept a glance at the delicate wooden box and felt the sensation of being watched above his head again. He looked up and met Li Bu Yu's eager gaze that he could not tuck away in time.

Zong Zi Heng suddenly felt strange. Ever since he was forced by Zong Zi Xiao, he began to feel repulsed by the proximity of men. Fortunately, he was usually surrounded by eunuchs, but at this moment Li Bu Yu made him feel a little uncomfortable.

Li Bu Yu took two steps back quickly, "Emperor, forgive me."

"It's alright." Zong Zi Heng was even more uncomfortable with his own sensitivity, "It is late, you should go back. In two days, you guys will have to be summoned to the palace again."

"Yes." Li Bu Yu said softly, "I hope the Emperor will take care of your health."

---

After Li Bu Yu left, Zong Zi Heng was silent for a long time alone, thinking about all that had happened in the past ten years, only to feel that he was caught in a swamp which he could not get out of.

He thought of Yunding, of the Eight Trigrams Platform, of the moment when he had defeated Zong Ming He with his life, and the twist of pain and delight that had flooded him at the same time. His own father, who had given him hair, skin, bones and blood, had tried to dig up his core, and he used his sword to vent all his sufferings. The reason why he took on the eternal infamy of killing his father was not just to save his mother's honor, but because, at that moment, he truly had the intention to kill.

He could never forget the image of Zong Ming He's blood splattered on the Eight Trigrams Platform. Where the unbeatable Emperor Ning Hua begged him, the eldest son who had never been taken seriously, to spare his life for the sake of their father-son relationship.

Father-son relationship; that was the biggest joke he had ever heard in his life. But in the end, he still could not kill him.

Caught up in his memories, Zong Zi Heng did not realize someone was approaching until he heard footsteps close at hand.

"What are you thinking about?" A hand pinched his fleshy earlobe.

Who else but Zong Zi Xiao could be so wanton? Zong Zi Heng did not raise his head, collected his emotions and said in a calm tone, "I have summoned Xu Zhi Nan and Li Bu Yu separately. You will get what you want."

"Very well." Zong Zi Xiao said with a low smile, "It seems that big brother has saved me some trouble."

"You shouldn't push people too much either."

Zong Zi Xiao sat his big brother on his lap. His high nose resting against his big brother's collar, lightly sniffing the faint scent of his skin, "What do you mean by too much?"

"You know it in your heart."

"Then we'll see if they have it in their hearts." Zong Zi Xiao laughed twice, "By the way, there was something interesting just now."

Zong Zi Heng did not say anything.

"Someone called Huang Dao Zi came to Wuji Palace."

Huang Dao Zi? Zong Zi Heng vaguely felt as if he had heard of this name before.

All this time, Zong Zi Xiao had been recruiting people to prepare for the alchemy. Even though he had fallen into the demonic path, there were still countless people who wanted to work for him, and the number of people who came to pay their respects was endless day after day, but there were very few who could be looked upon by Zong Zi Xiao.

"This man is a bit interesting. He looked like a beggar with ragged clothes, claiming to be able to predict the world, but he looked like a divine charlatan." Zong Zi Xiao played with his big brother's fair and slender fingers, "However, he has a magical weapon, which is rumored to have been passed down from King Zhou Wen - the Luo Shui Jade Armor."

Luo Shui Jade Armor!

Zong Zi Heng finally remembered this person. His mother had once told him that back then a divine fortune-teller, who was both real and fake, had come to Wuji Palace and calculated that among Zong Ming He's nine sons, he was the only one with an imperial destiny.

He did not believe it at the time, and neither did Zong Ming He, because this Huang Dao Zi had a bad reputation. He also said that his magical weapon was the back armor of the Luo Shui divine tortoise that King Zhou Wen used to forecast the world, but no one could prove it. Sometimes his calculations were accurate, sometimes they were outrageous, and he was greedy and would talk nonsense for money. The treacherous thing was that no matter how much money he got, he would soon lose it all. So the world sees him in a very downcast state most of the time, and he looks even less credible.

"This man has a notorious reputation, do you want to use him?" Zong Zi Heng said coldly.

"He may not be completely useless. Let's try to keep him around." Zong Zi Xiao gave a light laugh, "And this man is interesting. I asked him to forecast for me on the spot, just to calculate my life, and guess what he said."

"..."

"He pounded on that king's shell for half a day and said that I 'shall not end well'." Zong Zi Xiao laughed out loud.

"Since ancient times, demonic cultivators don't end up well. Do you still need to calculate?"

Zong Zi Xiao kissed his big brother and his gaze was dark, "You also hope for my downfall, don't you?"

"I hope that you will return from your lost path."

Zong Zi Xiao laughed wildly and wickedly, "This is not a lost path, but a straight path to immortality. I am walking a path that no one has ever walked before, and I am destined to go further than anyone else. He is a mere mortal and cannot calculate my great life."

"In that case, why do you still keep him?" Zong Zi Heng was very resistant to Huang Dao Zi. Although his mother's love-hate obsession could not be counted on an outsider, perhaps she would not have done so much evil if Huang Dao Zi had not given her that little bit of hope at a time when she was suffering the most.

"He later said that he could help me to change my fate against the heavens." Zong Zi Xiao arrogantly said, "My fate, I’ll write it myself."

 

----

Edited on 28 Apr. 21 (Emzie)

 

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