Chapter 156

In front of Zong Zi Heng, Li Bu Yu sent a sound transmission flower to his third uncle, asking him to unseal the corpse from the Demon Binding Formation and hand it over to the Zong Clan's emissary after Zong Zi Xiao had left.

After Zong Zi Heng had planned to settle down, he intended to try to inform Zong Zi Yun or the elders to come and escort Zong Ming He's corpse back to Daming. Although he was not too sure whether he would be able to escape Zong Zi Xiao's pursuit, he had no other choice but to escape.

Fluttering like a butterfly, the transmitting flower waved its wings and swooped into the light, escaping the eerie and evil cave in the blink of an eye.

Zong Zi Heng let out a sigh secretly, his gaze faintly looking towards Li Bu Yu.

Li Bu Yu said in a deep voice, "Does the Emperor really want to choose today and at this time now? I am not clinging to life, I am just worried that provoking Zong Zi Xiao will be unfavorable to the Emperor."

"'Unfavorable'? Why do you think I want to run away?" If he couldn't stop Zong Zi Xiao from being unfavorable to him, the immortal cultivation world would probably never see the light of day again.

Zong Zi Heng took out a talisman from his qiankun pouch.

Li Bu Yu took a step back and pleaded, "The Emperor promises to give me one last act of decency." He pulled out the qiankun pouch from his arms and placed it on the ground, "My sword lives and dies with me, but I’ll leave the Thunder Ancestor Treasure Grant behind for Wuliang Sect."

What Zong Zi Heng feared most was the Thunder Ancestor Treasure Grant. Seeing this, he thought for a moment and put away the talisman, "The life and death of the Wuliang Sect is at the tip of your tongue."

"Don't worry, Emperor, I have committed an unforgivable sin and have already treated life and death indifferently. Besides, I am no match for the Emperor."

"Let's go."

Zong Zi Heng gave Zong Ming He one last look. There was no joy or sorrow in his eyes, only indifference.

The two of them lowered their spiritual breath to a minimum, and without anyone noticing, they flew away from Mount Shu on their swords.

It was twilight, the time when morning and evening were alternated. Zong Zi Heng used paying his respects as an excuse to act alone. Zong Zi Xiao would not realize he was no longer on Mount Shu until the evening. A few hours will be enough for him to fly to Zhangyang.

As the clouds swirled, Mount Shu faded into the background. Zong Zi Heng took one last look back, really wanting to see Zong Zi Xiao again ---- if this was the last time.

---

Zhangyang was a small city in the south of the Yangtze River, and the Zhangyang Shen Clan was his mother's clan back then. Later, they suffered a reversal of fortune, and his mother had no choice but to join a distant relative from the Daming Zong Clan, and because of her intelligence and beauty, she was chosen by the Empress Dowager* and was taught in the palace. She and Zong Ming He were childhood sweethearts and innocent playmates.

Everything was just fate.

A few days ago, they had been here to move a grave, but they had been in a hurry that day and had not taken a good look at the place. Currently, it’s in the middle of the night, and nothing could even be seen. Zong Zi Heng found Shen Shi Yao's tomb with the spirit breath he left behind.

Shen Shi Yao's soul had already been dispersed by the Thunder Ancestor Treasure Grant. Within the three realms, among the reincarnations, she was only left with these dried bones. Thinking of this, Zong Zi Heng felt extremely sad and his grief surfaced.

With a thud, Li Bu Yu knelt in front of Shen Shi Yao's tomb.

Zong Zi Heng whispered, "You have done much evil, yet you still have a chance to redeem yourself. My mother has nothing left, and one day when I am gone, no one in this world will even remember her anymore."

Li Bu Yu remained silent.

"You claim to be seeking revenge, but in fact revenge is just an excuse for your evil deeds. You killed in order to get Zong Ming He's core. You used the evil formation to suppress Zong Ming He at Diancang Peak in order to suck his rich destiny for the Wuliang Sect to prosper. You said you felt sorry for me, but you brutalized all the people I cared about, including me, who is also just a pawn for you to use." Zong Zi Heng's tone sounded peaceful, which appeared extraordinarily gloomy and cold in the dark valley.

Li Bu Yu walked towards Zong Zi Heng with his knees, tilted his head to look at him, and said in a trembling voice, "Emperor, I may be wicked beyond redemption, but my feelings for you are true."

Zong Zi Heng looked at Li Bu Yu condescendingly.

“I…” Li Bu Yu’s eyes gradually reddened and said while holding back his tears, "I adored you from the moment you saved me. I have always wanted to catch up with you. I went to Wuji Palace every now and then, not for my aunt, but to see you. But I am slow-witted in nature. If I were not the heir to the Wuliang Sect, you would probably disdain me."

"Say no more." Zong Zi Heng said coldly.

"There are factional disputes within the Wuliang Sect, and the immortal families outside have ill intentions. With my roots alone, it is not possible to support a large family. I had no choice ah.” Li Bu Yu cried, "Emperor, how I wish we had never grown up. That you were still the smiling Highness, and I were still the young master of the Li family under the protection of my father. I would be satisfied if I could ask you for some advice and a few words."

"Say no more!" Zong Zi Heng said in a stern voice, "What is the use of talking about this now?" He had never forgotten his youth, the best youth of his life. At that time, although he was not respected by his father, his mother was gentle and loving, and his younger brother was smart and cute. He was so determined to cultivate immortality that his only worry was whether he could gain face for the Zong Clan at the Jiaolong Assembly. Yet the man in front of him was not the hated sect leader of the Wuliang Sect or the murderer who had ruined his family, but just a young friend who liked to play with him.

Li Bu Yu choked out, "Does the Emperor even find my last few words annoying?"

Zong Zi Heng clenched his fist.

"Actually, when you say you are satisfied, how can you really be satisfied?" Li Bu Yu grabbed Zong Zi Heng's robe, his eyes tinged with madness, "I have taken one step wrong and one step closer to you at the same time, so I couldn't stop ... I am not willing ah. If I were Zong Zi Xiao, I would never dare to curse you."

Zong Zi Heng swatted away Li Bu Yu's hand and took a few steps back, glaring at him with bloodshot eyes, "That's enough."

Li Bu Yu laughed bitterly twice and drew a dagger from his boot and placed it against his chest. He looked miserable and desperate. His hazy, teary eyes still struggling to see Zong Zi Heng clearly: "Emperor, please don't forget me. If there is an afterlife, I wish to be with you as a couple."

With a ‘puchi’, the dagger penetrated Li Bu Yu's heart, and blood gushed out wildly.

Zong Zi Heng closed his eyes. He felt very sad, and he didn't know because of who.

---

Zong Zi Heng buried Li Bu Yu properly and talked to his mother again. After finishing all these, it was already dawn.

He took out a thick, casual suit from his qiankun pouch and put it on, put on his bamboo hat and went down the mountain.

A new day had begun in Zhangyang City. Although it was only a small and insignificant place, the people were busy, each rushing about to make a living, and this delicate and simple earthly atmosphere was full of life.

When he was young, he often heard his mother talk about her hometown, but both times he went to Jiangnan, he did not come due to unexpected turns of events, so he thought that one day he would come back to see it on behalf of his mother. But he never expected that the tricky and inconstant hand of fate, after taking away everything from him, would hold him down in the cold and lonely Wuji Palace.

Today his wish came true, but his mental state will never return.

He stood in the crowd of people, yet he felt panicked and confused. Knowing that no one would recognize him, yet he didn’t dare to look up. He escaped from Zong Zi Xiao, yet fear followed him like a shadow.

It’s hard to imagine, as a young boy, it was his dream to travel the world. He loved the local conditions and customs, good wine and delicious food, and was always excited to buy new and interesting things to take back to his mother and younger brother. He saw the vast world and learned how to be compassionate. Whenever he blends into the great wide world, he will then be relieved from the mental knot of his unaccomplished ambitions for a while.

At that time, he had great ambition, he had a great spirit, he had unlimited hopes for the future, but now, just walking through a street, he already feels physically and mentally exhausted. He just wants to find a place where no one knows about him and hide himself deep, deep down. A good man's ambition lies everywhere, and he does not have to trap himself in a square-inch palace.

At that time, he had lofty sentiments and high aspirations, he was high-spirited and vigorous, with boundless hopes for the future, but now, just walking along the street, he already felt physically and mentally exhausted, and he wanted to find a place where no one knows about and hide deep, deep down.

He was standing in an unfamiliar place, in an unfamiliar crowd, not knowing where to go.

---

Zong Zi Heng originally wanted to hide in Zhangyang for a while, and then find a more secluded place to hide. The only one who could guess where he was now was Xu Zhi Nan. Although he no longer trusted him, he did not think Xu Zhi Nan would betray him, which was not in anyone's interest.

In fact, even if Xu Zhi Nan did not say anything, sooner or later, Zong Zi Xiao would find this place by his own means, so he would not stay for long.

However, he never expected that the escape he thought he had made would only last for two days. When he felt Zong Zi Xiao's overwhelming spiritual pressure, the last spark of hope in his heart was silently extinguished.

Zong Zi Xiao was in the air with his sword. His black hair and clothes were dancing wildly. His body was surrounded by a black death aura. His anger and killing intent were intertwined, boiling towards the sky, with the momentum of devouring the sky and destroying the earth.

On the other hand, Zong Zi Heng's handsome, glazed white face is plain and indifferent. His pupils seem to be covered with a layer of grey mist, no longer able to transmit light.

In the small city of Zhangyang, there had never been such a battle before, and the people on the ground pointed up to the sky, watching the two immortals, one black and one white, confronting each other.

"Zong, Zi, Heng!" Zong Zi Xiao's eyes were wide with anger, "How dare you!"

Zong Zi Heng looked calmly at the man in front of him, "How did you find me?"

"Is that all you have to say?"

"Forget it, it doesn't matter."

"You're looking for death." Zong Zi Xiao said viciously, "Haven't I treated you leniently and well enough? I even allowed you to pay respect to the poisonous woman who killed my mother, and you? You dare to leave without a word!" He waited for hours, until it was dark, until late at night, waiting for his big brother to return, but his big brother didn't come back. When he was finally sure that the man had anxiously fled from him, his heart felt like it had been fully crushed. He gave in again and again, his guilt for his mother tormenting him day and night as he loved his enemy helplessly, but all he got was an unforgiving abandonment. Just like ten years ago.

Who does he think he is? He was nothing. Even if he had the greatest power in the world, in his big brother's eyes, he was still the same dog that could be fooled, trampled and thrown away at will from ten years ago!

Zong Zi Heng's heart ached as if his heart had been wrung, and he said, trembling and slowly, "Zong Zi Xiao, I will not let you have my golden core."

Zong Zi Xiao's body shook greatly.

 

 ----

Empress Dowager*[太皇太后]---aka the mother of the emperor. In this case she’s Zong Zi Heng’s grandma, and Zong Ming He’s mother.

 

Edited on 5 May 21 (Emzie)

 

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