Chapter 136

A few days later, Zong Zi Xiao hosted a banquet in the name of Emperor Zong to entertain Xu Zhi Nan and Li Bu Yu. He also summoned the sect leaders of several small sects. These were the people who obediently paid their annual offerings immediately.

They had cut their flesh and had blood dripping from their hearts, but they still had to force a smile on their faces at the banquet and treat Zong Zi Xiao with respect. Worse still, some of them had to stay in Wuji Palace or send their elders and trusted aides to Wuji Palace to refine the core for Zong Zi Xiao.

At this banquet, everyone except Zong Zi Xiao was uneasy and nervous, especially Emperor Kong Hua, who was high on the throne.

At the banquet, Zong Zi Heng met the divine predictor Huang Dao Zi.

The man's hair was grey at the temples and was skinny. His eyes were too white which made his black pupils look extra sharp. It was deep and sharp when he looked at people. He really had an unpleasant face. Even though he's wearing the attire of a scholar*, at this moment he still couldn't conceal his marketplace vibe.

During the banquet, Zong Zi Heng noticed that Huang Dao Zi looked at him several times, as if he was pondering something. If Zong Zi Xiao didn’t want to retain him, he would have expelled the man from Daming.

Zong Zi Heng drained his cup of wine and rose to leave the table.

Cai Cheng Yi followed behind him. Seeing that his steps were a little weak, he was about to help him.

Zong Zi Heng waved his hand: "I want to be alone."

"Don't catch a cold, Emperor." Cai Cheng Yi draped a cloak over Zong Zi Heng before silently retreating.

Zong Zi Heng stood in the garden of the courtyard. Looking up at the lonely star and the waning moon in the sky, his heart felt infinitely lonely.

A cautious sound of footsteps came from behind him.

Zong Zi Heng inclined his head slightly, and when he saw the person coming, his eyes grew colder.

"Caomin* pays respects to the emperor." Huang Dao Zi bowed his body almost at a diagonal.

"Who are you?"

"Caomin is a fortune teller, known as Huang Dao Zi in Jianghu. His Holiness is not disdained with my crudeness and has allowed me to stay in the palace and serve the Emperor and His Holiness faithfully."

"Who gave you permission to follow me?" Zong Zi Heng turned around and glared sternly at Huang Dao Zi.

Huang Dao Zi smiled in a pleasing manner, "Emperor, forgive me. Caomin dares not to. Caomin was looking for the toilet and took a wrong turn. I took a wrong turn. Emperor please forgive me." After saying this, he retreated backwards.

"Hold on."

There was a flash of light in Huang Dao Zi's eyes and he stopped in his tracks.

Zong Zi Heng narrowed his eyes, "Do you have something to say to me?"

Huang Dao Zi smiled, "Does the Emperor have something to instruct Caomin?"

"... Scram."

Huang Dao Zi bowed again, "The Emperor is now in deep sorrow and thinks you cannot free yourself, but in fact, the Emperor has an imperial destiny and is a reincarnation of a celestial being. This is all a necessary calamity. Eventually, you will surely escape danger."

Such words are often used by fortune-tellers to comfort sorrowful beings, but it is disrespectful to deceive the Emperor.

Zong Zi Heng's disgust with Huang Dao Zi increased: "How do you know that I have an imperial destiny?"

"Caomin used the Luo Shui Jade Armor to calculate it." Huang Dao Zi still smiled obsequiously, "It was calculated when the emperor was born."

"Who knows if you're just a charlatan?" Zong Zi Heng gritted his teeth and said, "You fooled the late emperor and my mother with this art of words, do you want to die?"

Huang Dao Zi said unhurriedly, "How would I dare fool the late emperor and Consort Shen? What I said is the truth. The Emperor does have an imperial destiny."

"Everyone in the world knows how I came to be the emperor." Zong Zi Heng took a step closer to Huang Dao Zi, his voice concealing a murderous aura, "Is this the imperial destiny?"

"Those who can be emperors may not always have an imperial destiny, but those who have an imperial destiny are bound to be emperors." Huang Dao Zi said respectfully, "The emperor's throne is the destiny."

"Now I am under coercion, and the throne only exists in name, is there such an imperial destiny? Is this also destined!?"

"The emperor is not invulnerable."

"Then what is the use of this imperial destiny?"

Huang Dao Zi smiled but said nothing.

"What are you guys talking about?"

Zong Zi Xiao's icy voice came from behind him.

"Your Holiness." Huang Dao Zi saluted very flatteringly.

"What did you say to the Emperor?" Zong Zi Xiao looked askance at Huang Dao Zi in a condescending manner.

"The Emperor was slightly curious about Caomin's magical treasure."

Zong Zi Heng tensed his face and looked at them without saying a word.

Zong Zi Xiao glanced at his big brother and said coldly, "If you dare to say anything nonsensical to the Emperor that he doesn't like to hear, go back and count how many days you have left to live."

"Caomin does not dare." Huang Dao Zi begged for mercy as he retreated.

Zong Zi Xiao walked over to his big brother, "He's not talking nonsense, is he?"

"What can he say?"

"This man looks blindly subservient, yet he dares to say to my face that I 'will not end well', I am afraid that he is hypocritical. I also wanted to see what he is really up to, that's why I retained him." Zong Zi Xiao didn't know why he got flustered. When he saw Zong Zi Heng and Huang Dao Zi standing together, he was afraid that this divine scoundrel would also read his big brother's fortune.

When Huang Dao Zi told him that he would "not end well", he was not angry, but on the contrary, he found it funny. From the day he went into exile ten years ago, he never thought he would end well. He summoned the Yin soldiers and his hands were full of blood. It was forbidden by heaven and earth. Unless he can attain perfection, attain immortality and transcend reincarnation, he will definitely go to hell. Therefore, he's provocative, and he will die for a good cause if he doesn't succeed.

But what about Zong Zi Heng? What will happen to Zong Zi Heng, who has sinned just as much?

During those ten years, he had cursed his big brother in endless pain, but he dared not let go of him as if he was clutching at the last straw*. He did not even have the courage to ask Huang Dao Zi to forecast Zong Zi Heng's fortune, fearing that their fate - even if it was a sinful one - would be broken.

He wanted to change his fate against the heavens. Not just his own fate. He wanted to be entangled with his big brother until the end of time!

The words "imperial destiny" still seemed to echo in Zong Zi Heng's ears, and because of this imperial destiny, his family had been destroyed and he had even been reduced to his younger brother’s exclusive property.

"Big brother?" Zong Zi Xiao frowned, "What exactly did Huang Dao Zi say? Did he forecast your fortune?"

"... No. He only said that I have an imperial destiny."

Zong Zi Xiao's frown deepened, "Isn't that nonsense?"

If one did not specialize in the way of reincarnation of life and death, an ordinary person would not understand that imperial destiny and imperial fortune were two different things, and it was only from Huang Dao Zi that Zong Zi Heng learned a thing or two.

Zong Zi Heng always felt that Huang Dao Zi had come with some kind of purpose, and as Zong Zi Xiao had said, this man was not as shallow as he appeared.

"It's cold outside, let’s go inside." Zong Zi Xiao gathered the front of Zong Zi Heng's cloak.

"I want to get some air and enjoy the moon." Zong Zi Heng said lightly.

Zong Zi Xiao lowered his head and kissed the tip of his big brother's nose: "There is nothing to see in the stars and the moon tonight. If you want to see them, I will take you up the mountain to see it another day."

"No need." Zong Zi Heng turned around and was about to leave.

Zong Zi Xiao stopped him by the waist and gazed down into those indifferent eyes, "You are mine. If he upsets you, you can tell me."

Zong Zi Heng thought: You actually care about who upsets me? You have contributed half of all the pain today. But his face sank like water and he shook his head, "Let's go."

The two of them left side by side.

In the deep, darkened corridor, a handsome face peeked out. The intimate image Li Bu Yu had just seen kept floating before his eyes, and one pair of pupils was gradually drenched with jealousy.

 

 ----

PS: Xiaobai is really loved by so many people ♥

 

Attire of a scholar* [峨冠博带]---A tall hat with a wide belt. A reference to the attire of the ancient scholar.

Caomin*[草民]----a way to address oneself (of a low status) when talking to a superior. I wanted to change it to ‘I’ initially, but hmmmm…

clutching at the last straw*[抓着救命稻草]---clutching onto one last hope

 

Edited on 28 Apr. 21 (Emzie)

 

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