Tome of Troubled Times

Chapter 251: My Pursuit

No wonder Ying Five speculated that the crown prince may have been killed by Xia Longyuan himself... Only if Xia Longyuan had done it himself would Tang Wanzhuang and the others’ silence be justified, as well as why the Wang Clan had suddenly turned against him. Otherwise, such a serious political incident should have resulted in widespread bloodshed throughout the nation. Even if an explanation was given, heads should have rolled, yet there had never been any reports of turmoil due to this matter.

Thus, either Xia Longyuan had other reasons for preventing Tang Wanzhuang and the others from investigating, or he had simply killed the crown prince himself.

But he only said that he had been considering killing the crown prince, without specifying if he actually had gone through with it. He had also not said anything about why the crown prince had only died around a year ago when it seemed like he had been considering killing him much earlier... All of this made Zhao Changhe so frustrated that he did not want to talk about the crown prince anymore. He would much rather go back to talking about himself and Xia Chichi.

“That’s enough about the crown prince. Anyway, my perspective had not yet changed back when Xia Chichi was born. When I left her, I did not leave anyone by her side because the Luo Clan were originally my trusted minions, and I thought having them watch over her would be good enough. Thing is, there was a slip-up, and one of them actually had the balls to try and dupe me. And he did it. He sent someone to report that the baby was a prince, and I didn’t even think it could be fake.”

Zhao Changhe really wanted to send the emoji that held its forehead while laughing and crying right now.

Your choice of words is becoming more and more modern. Is it because my presence has made you happy?

Anyway, despite everyone racking their brains, the answer to some things was actually incredibly simple. At the end of the day, Xia Longyuan is still human, and humans make mistakes... I mean, I can easily understand why he made such a mistake at that time. Who could have imagined that the head of the Luo Clan would dare to play such a trick? It’s simply fucking outrageous.

Xia Longyuan could not help but feel a bit amused and exasperated at the same time. “Well, since I thought the child was a boy, I did everything as I planned in the beginning. I just sent them that jade pendant and left it at that. I never sent any experts from the palace.”

He sighed, and then continued, “She was clearly a strong person, yet she went crazy and died of illness because I never returned... I never expected something like that.”

Zhao Changhe said, “It’s because genuine feelings can lead to such outcomes, even if she may have had ulterior motives at first...”

“Mm.” Xia Longyuan did not comment. After a slight pause, he continued with the story. “Anyway, it’s basically a soap opera plot. When she passed away, I had the palace guards investigate, and I finally found out that the child was actually a girl. But by that time, I already saw things differently, and I no longer had any intention of taking her in. I did not even refute the rumors about the Luo Clan possibly having a rightful heir of mine. Actually, I even fueled those rumors by acting ambiguously. If the Luo Clan wanted to have one of theirs bear the identity of a prince, then so be it. It was up to them whether they could handle it. “

Zhao Changhe shook his head, realizing that much of what had happened was due to mistakes and coincidences. If Xia Longyuan had not been deceived by the Luo Clan’s false information earlier, he would have really taken his child in earlier, and then there would have been no chance for him to ever meet any “senior brother Luo Qi.”

The downfall of the Luo Clan was truly self-inflicted. Even if Vermillion Bird had not wiped them out, Chichi would have probably done so herself once she found out the truth. Zhao Changhe now could not help but wonder if Vermillion Bird had massacred them partly because she had discovered the truth behind the incident after entering the palace and sought revenge.

Xia Longyuan allowed the rumors about the prince to spread out with malicious intent, enjoying the spectacle. Without his ambiguous attitude, others would not have been so convinced that there was a prince within the Luo Clan.

Despite the lengthy conversation, Xia Longyuan had only briefly touched upon the matter of the crown prince’s death and avoided discussing it further, instead choosing to delve into the details of past family affairs. Rather than simply chatting with Zhao Changhe to clarify some of his doubts, it seemed more like he was using Zhao Changhe as a mouthpiece to converse with his daughter...

Does this mean that he still harbors some fatherly affection for Chichi? Does he not want his daughter to continue hating him? Did he joke about a father-in-law also being a father so as to not appear as someone utterly heartless?

There are likely many secrets pertaining to the death of the crown prince... and from how things seem, I doubt Xia Longyuan will be revealing them to me.

Essentially, it seems that he isn’t here to answer my questions nor clear my doubts, he came here for his daughter.

When he spoke about treating Zhao Changhe particularly well or allowing him to leave the capital without regrets, there might indeed be some truth to it since—Zhao Changhe had realized it by now—they both came from the same world. But being from the same place did not necessarily mean that they would have any emotional attachments to one another, and Xia Longyuan’s attitude was truly hard to gauge... It was to the point where Zhao Changhe did not even dare to directly discuss many matters with him.

After another period of silence, Xia Longyuan suddenly asked, “What was the point of the blind woman sending you to Chichi?”

Zhao Changhe sighed. “I don’t know, it seemed like it was just the result of a random draw to me.”

Xia Longyuan was momentarily surprised and turned to scrutinize Zhao Changhe for the first time.

Zhao Changhe took the opportunity to ask, “Senior, do you know the meaning behind this?”

Senior... Xia Longyuan chewed on the word, then suddenly smiled and withdrew his gaze. “The heavenly dao has perished, the world is crumbling apart, the great dao no longer gathers, and it is uncertain who fate belongs to. Countless pairs of eyes watching from the shadows, observing this arena, each with their own schemes.”

Zhao Changhe said, “We are all placed in this jar like a bunch of gu. We’re given different destinies and qualities, and left to grow to a certain extent... then we’re harvested? Is this fate decided by the heavens or by man?”

Xia Longyuan said, “Why are you asking me something like that?”

“Because it looks like you seem to be resisting, and in a disadvantageous position, unable to handle everything.”

Xia Longyuan burst into laughter. “You used to think ill of me, but now you seem to think highly of me.”

Zhao Changhe said, “Please enlighten me, senior.”

“There’s no such thing as resisting or not resisting.” Xia Longyuan’s smile faded. His gaze became flat and indifferent. “I am simply taking the initiative to stir some trouble for them.”

Zhao Changhe remained silent.

Xia Longyuan asked, “What is your pursuit?”

“To go home.”

Xia Longyuan was momentarily stumped.

Zhao Changhe really wanted to send a smug emoji right now. It was frustrating to communicate with those from the modern world without using emojis.

Suddenly, Xia Longyuan smiled and commented, “Not bad, that’s a good pursuit.”

Zhao Changhe asked, “What about you?”

Xia Longyuan’s demeanor was amiable. It was as if he was really conversing with a junior from the same hometown. “Once, my pursuit was the pinnacle of martial arts. When my martial arts reached a certain level, I naturally began to want to unify the world and rule over it. That’s why I established the empire. As I told you earlier, I cared for the stability of the empire in the past.”

Zhao Changhe said, “That is simply how men should be, such pursuits are normal.”

“But as we both know, this is not the end. The gods and Buddhas of the previous era attained immortality or, to put it more elegantly, the true essence of power. When you’ve done everything that should be done in the world, won’t you feel like something is missing?”

Zhao Changhe pondered for a moment and shook his head. “Some people might feel that way, while others might be content. Of course, heroes like you would probably always feel like there is always more to be done.”

“Of course. In fact, I find what I have now rather tasteless. It’s just a reality show in the eyes of others.”

Zhao Changhe squinted his eyes slightly, feeling a similar thing. He felt as if he was a character in a reality show in the eyes of the blind woman, a particularly unpleasant feeling.

Xia Longyuan said, “Since it’s tasteless, then why not let it go.”

Subconsciously, Zhao Changhe stopped in his tracks and turned to look at him.

Let it go... What does he mean by that? The colossal empire that he painstakingly built, his position as the supreme emperor, the prosperity of the world... Does he not want any of them anymore? Is this what he meant by neither resisting nor not resisting? Does he just want it to fall apart as well?

“Whatever they’re scheming, it doesn’t matter. Perhaps they all even want to become the heavenly dao...” Xia Longyuan pointed to the sky. “You’re all just a bunch of rotten bones in the graveyard... You can do it, but I can’t?”

Boom!

As if in response to his provocation, thunder rumbled in the sky amidst the gentle autumn rain.

The sunlight dissipated; the sun and moon lost their radiance.

A bolt of lightning suddenly struck down, and Xia Longyuan rushed toward it with a punch, directly confronting the lightning. “Witness my fist, can it break open the heavens?!”

A deafening roar echoed, and a terrifying force swept over. Zhao Changhe raised his arms to shield his face and was pushed back several steps. Through the gap between his arms, he clearly saw Xia Longyuan sway slightly.

Huangfu Qing said that he must be engaged in a covert battle with someone or some people, and sure enough... How could he have the mind to care about a bunch of ants at a time like this?

But even though Xia Longyuan was swaying, the sky cleared.

The lightning dissipated, and the sunlight returned.

Is this how the chuuni name for his fist art came to be?

But at this moment, Zhao Changhe did not feel like the name was chuuni at all. Even Dragon Bird, which was shaking with excitement on his back, no longer seemed chuuni anymore.

With a single punch, this man was truly able to disperse lightning and dispel dark clouds. Xia Longyuan displayed the awe-inspiring might of a true emperor, a man who could force the world to kneel in front of him.

This was the first time that Zhao Changhe had witnessed such a direct confrontation with celestial phenomena. It was only at this moment that he learned that once one reached Xia Longyuan’s level, it was actually possible to achieve such a feat. He could not help but wonder if they were still even beings of the same dimension.

As someone who truly was able to face the gods and Buddhas, he was undoubtedly deserving of the title Number One Under Heaven!