Tome of Troubled Times

Chapter 221: Dear Big Brother

Zhao Changhe’s so-called going and looking for a mask was observed by Vermillion Bird to be quite the opposite. He passed through towns and villages without stopping, at most taking a break to eat before setting off again. It was as if he had a very clear destination in mind.

Moreover, he seemed to be highly experienced, always choosing remote paths, even trekking through forests and mountains every now and then. Sometimes, he would intentionally follow a straight path, only to veer off course after a short distance, leaving Vermillion Bird unsure of his intentions.

He was likely doing all of this due to his past experiences of being chased and intercepted. By doing this, he made it incredibly difficult to accurately track his movements, especially since setting an ambush for him ahead of time was pretty much out of the question.

Vermillion Bird could understand his reasons for moving in such a way, but she was still annoyed.

These mountain paths were rough, causing both the horse and Zhao Changhe to sway around unsteadily. What really infuriated her was that Zhao Changhe did not seem to be intentionally swaying around, which made it so that she could not just go and blame him.

“Are you done?” irritably asked Vermillion Bird as she placed her hand on his back and stabilized him. “Why do you keep on taking these mountain paths rather than the main roads? With me here, what’s there for you to be afraid of?!”

“You’re only at the ninth layer of the Profound Gate; you aren’t at the top of the Ranking of Heaven.”

“Others don’t know that I’m with you, so which formidable person would go all this way just to hunt you down?”

“That’s true. But will you always accompany me?”

Vermillion Bird: “...”

She helplessly placed both of her hands on his back to keep him from moving, then changed the subject, “You said that we were going to buy me a mask. I saw a town earlier where we could have stopped by to buy a mask, eat, and rest. Why did you just pass by it without stopping? Just where are you even planning to go?”

“I stayed at an inn near the Wang Clan before departing. While I was there, I asked the locals about the nearby geography. Oh, by the way, Venerable Vermillion Bird even paid the fee for the room for three days, it was really considerate of her. Send her my thanks when you return next time. I really enjoyed the room.”

Vermillion Bird: “?”

Sensing that the palms pressed against his back were about to send out a burst of true qi, Zhao Changhe quickly said, “I asked the innkeeper about nearby cities and found out that Sword Lake City is actually just a few hundred li northwest. I happen to have something to attend to there. That is why it might have seemed to you that I was going to a specific place.”

Vermillion Bird was stunned. “The saintess mentioned something about an alternate space beneath Sword Lake City. She said that was where she acquired Iceheart, but apart from that, there weren’t any other treasures there. I guess there were some decent swords laying around, but I don’t think you would be going all the way there for those swords. Why are you heading there?”

“Did Chichi not mention that the sword chamber seemed to have some connection with the Night Emperor?”

“She did. However, we know that that area is not within the Night Emperor’s territory. It was just where a woman with a connection to the Night Emperor resides. We are not certain about the nature of their relationship, but she was definitely not one of the Night Emperor’s consorts. Her lover was the one you found the Azure Dragon Seal with.”

“Right.”

“The saintess also mentioned that she could not sense anything related to the Night Emperor there, only the woman’s sword intent, which comes from a different system than ours. While Han Wubing might be interested in it, it is irrelevant to those of our cult. Therefore, we did not continue investigating the place.”

Zhao Changhe thought about how it seemed that Han Wubing had been underestimating them when he said that since they were not swordsmen and would thus not be able to sense the sword intent in the sword chamber. It looked like Chichi could sense it all along, it was just that she believed that it had nothing to do with the Four Idols Cult. In the end, the Four Idols Cult was a cult, so they were not as eager as others when it came to collecting irrelevant martial arts or weapons.

Now that he thought about it, he believed that Chichi may have had some doubts about the golden foil he took, but her attitude at the time did not show any suspicion at all. Instead, she seemed intentionally dismissive, probably to guard against Han Wubing...

Fortunately, Chichi is my girlfriend. If she were a true witch, she would have probably tried to snatch the golden foil away from me...

Vermillion Bird continued, “Based on our records and the remnants of the sword chamber seen by the saintess, we speculate that the owner of the Azure Dragon Seal, namely the Emperor of Beimang, was the manifestation of the Azure Dragon during the previous era, and was dispatched by the Night Emperor to the mortal realm. But later on, the Night Emperor encountered some issues, and the Azure Dragon developed some intentions of independence. Regardless, the ancient and mysterious history of the previous era can hardly be discerned from just a sword chamber.”

Zhao Changhe said, “Yes, but I still want to take another look. After all, I am much more knowledgeable now than I was before. I might discover new things. It isn’t completely irrelevant to you either, so you should have some interest in it too, no?”

Vermillion Bird was indeed somewhat interested, but not overly so. After all, it did not make much sense for a mere sword chamber to contain that many ancient secrets. Moreover, the owner of this sword chamber was neither the Night Emperor nor the Azure Dragon. Xia Chichi’s investigation suggested that it was not related to the four idols, so it was unlikely for anything significant to be there.

But her mood was pretty good.

From Zhao Changhe’s point of view, this was considered a private matter. If it were instead Situ Xiao who was with him, he might not have been willing to share such information with him. Yet he did not hesitate to bring her with him into the sword chamber. Well, it was clearly not because he favored her as the Fire Serpent of Yi, but because of his genuine feelings for Chichi. In his eyes, the Four Idols Cult was pretty much his wife’s family, so exploring matters related to the Night Emperor was akin to helping his wife.

Meanwhile, Zhao Changhe was thinking about how with the help of the Heavenly Tome, he might be able to decipher some more of the secrets within the sword chamber, and potentially get a glimpse of some of the secrets of the Night Emperor.

Anyway, Vermillion Bird no longer had any objections to his actions. The two gradually disappeared into the mountain forest as the sun set in the west.

“I must be crazy to have passed up staying in an inn and having delicious food to eat, just to accompany you to sleep in the wild,” Vermillion Bird said. They were in front of a cave, and she sat by the crackling fire, hugging her knees. She helplessly took out some coarse bread she brought from one of the taverns they passed by during the day, then she slightly lifted her mask and nibbled on it.

Masks are really annoying. They make it so inconvenient to eat...

Zhao Changhe extended his wine gourd. “Want a drink?”

“Disgusting.”

“Hey, I got this wine gourd from your saintess, so you can bask in her divine aura. You already have it pretty good not having to kneel down in worship.”

Vermillion Bird smiled half-heartedly and said, “Oh, I see...”

She secretly thought about how when she went back to her identity as Venerable Vermillion Bird, she would have him kneel before her.

Zhao Changhe asked, “Why is your tone so disrespectful when you talk about your saintess?”

“I am under Venerable Vermillion Bird, not the Azure Dragon or the White Tiger branches. Even though she outranks me, she does not have any authority over me.”

“So do you respect Venerable Vermillion Bird?”

“Of course.”

“Haah,” Zhao Changhe let out a sigh as he sat next to her. He then asked her as if they were close, “Tell me about Venerable Vermillion Bird, what kind of person is she in your eyes?”

Vermillion Bird was stunned and warily inched away. “What are you doing?”

Zhao Changhe said speechlessly, “What do you mean? Don’t the people in your cult gather together to talk about your leaders?”

Vermillion Bird: “...”

She did not know. When she first joined the cult, she was already revered as the Vermillion Bird Saintess. Nobody dared discuss their leaders in front of one of said leaders. If she had been exposed to any, then perhaps it was when she and the White Tiger Saintess talked about those of the previous generation.

But her sister was gone.

In fact, what puzzled Vermillion Bird the most about Xia Chichi and Zhao Changhe was their identities. Xia Chichi knew the White Tiger Divine Art, but Zhao Changhe did not; Zhao Changhe knew the Six Harmonies Art, but Xia Chichi did not.

It doesn’t feel like this is supposed to be the case.... It feels as if the characteristics of the prince have been split between Xia Chichi and Zhao Changhe... If Zhao Changhe being twenty years old is false and he’s actually only seventeen, then could it be that Zhao Changhe and Xia Chichi are actually twins? Then aren’t the two of them....

No, the two of them look too different from one another to be siblings....

Vermillion Bird fell into deep confusion.

“Why aren’t you saying anything?” Zhao Changhe was unaware that Vermillion Bird’s thoughts had wandered so far. He asked curiously, “Don’t tell me that you guys never talk about your leaders? Are there actually such loyal and pious people in this world?”

Vermillion Bird came back to her senses and said speechlessly, “Even if we did, why would I share it with you? Who are you anyway? Are you even a member of our cult?”

“How boring,” Zhao Changhe grumbled, taking out a piece of bread and wolfing it down with the wine.

Vermillion Bird said, “The venerable is, of course, a paragon of wisdom and beauty with unparalleled talent. She brought about the golden era of our holy cult and made brilliant achievements. We only look up to and admire her; we don’t have the right to discuss her!”

“There’s no need to praise her like that. It’s not like she can hear you right now, and I won’t tell her.”

“It’s the truth!”

“Oh, how old is the venerable?”

“The same age as the one surnamed Tang.”

“But Tang Wangzhuang is third on the Ranking of Earth, while your venerable is only ranked fourth. So how can you say that she has unparalleled talent? Wake up.”

Vermillion Bird gritted her teeth, a dangerous light flashing in her eyes.

Just as he was about to erupt, Zhao Changhe continued, “Judging from the state of the Cao Gang, the hidden influence of the Four Idols Cult is very strong. I suspect that when it truly decides to launch a rebellion, it will be even more catastrophic than the Maitreya Cult’s, but it’s unclear when exactly that will be...

“For example, Wan Dongliu is just the young gang leader of the Cao Gang, and he’s among the Twenty-Eight Mansions. This means that if his father were a part of the Four Idols Cult, he would at least be at the level of the four idols, but that clearly isn’t the case, which means that his father has not joined the Four Idols Cult. Wan Dongliu has still yet to take control of the Cao Gang, so there is still a lot of power to be taken over. This should not be an isolated case either, and I assume there are many similar cases among the Twenty-Eight Mansions.”

Vermillion Bird was stunned, momentarily becoming lost in thought.

Zhao Changhe said, “The potential of your hidden influence cannot be realized in the short term, so you can only continue wearing masks and lurking around. Speaking of which, if Xia Longyuan dies a bit later, it would be better for you. If he dies too early, then your cult would not even be ready. If these are the arrangements of Venerable Vermillion Bird, then it can be said that she is quite capable of managing a cult, but her achievements cannot be called brilliant or illustrious just yet.”

Vermillion Bird remained silent.

Zhao Changhe stole a glance at her and asked, “What? What’s wrong? Did I say something wrong?”

“As the venerable’s most loyal subordinate, you have offended me,” Vermillion Bird told him seriously. “Draw your saber. I must uphold the venerable’s dignity.”

“Come on....”

“I, the Fire Serpent of Yi, am her most loyal subordinate.” Vermillion Bird grabbed Zhao Changhe’s collar and threw him over her shoulder. “Die!”

“Fuck...” Zhao Changhe fell to the ground and said, “Can you not handle the truth?”

Vermillion Bird crossed her arms coldly and said, “Anyone can talk, but do you have any solutions?”

“Well, yeah, I do.”

Vermillion Bird was startled and said hurriedly, “Then hurry up and tell me!”

Zhao Changhe rolled over, propping his head up with both hands and acting nonchalant. “Why should I tell you? You just hit me.”

Vermillion Bird gnashed her teeth, seething. “You!”

“I respond better to kindness than force. It’s no use trying to force me to do anything. You might as well smile for me and call me big brother. I might reluctantly tell you then.”

Vermillion Bird clenched and unclenched her delicate fingers, resisting the urge to slap his head to bits. Finally, she took a deep breath and said in a charming voice, “Dear big brother, I was wrong, okay? Don’t be so harsh on a little serpent like me...”

Anyway, it’s the Fire Serpent of Yi who’s suffering embarrassment here, not Vermillion Bird!