Ze Tian Ji

Edited by: Michyrr

"It will naturally be best if we can kill him, but what do we do if we don’t kill him? And don’t forget that even now, the palace has not made the slightest noise. Perhaps...the Empress is also hesitating."

Tianhai Chenwu gazed in the direction of the distant Dew Platform, his face showing exhaustion and disappointment. For the imperial throne, he had plotted and prepared for ten-odd years, yet it was apparent that the path forward was still shrouded in darkness. Perhaps it would be very painful, but he had to begin considering other paths.

"Is Father not concerned about matters of the future?" Tianhai Shengxue asked.

In these past few years, the Tianhai clan had experienced limitless prosperity. The Tang clan, the Qiushan clan, the Zhu clan, the Luofeng clan, and even the Chen Imperial clan, these ancient clans with vast resources, had all been firmly suppressed by the Tianhai clan. If one were to say that these clans and those officials who were still inwardly loyal to the Imperial clan had no complaints about the Tianhai clan, nobody would believe it. If the Tianhai clan could not ascend to the imperial throne of the Great Zhou, when their walls began to totter and everyone was about to give it a shove, who would show mercy to them?

"He is Aunt’s son; in his body flows the blood of my Tianhai clan. In the future, even if he ascends to become emperor, would he possibly exterminate his mother’s family? No, no matter if behind him stands Shang Xingzhou or the Pope, he will always feel timid and uneasy and will ultimately still rely on our strength." Tianhai Chenwu gazed at the distant Dew Platform, his short beard drifting lightly in the night breeze, giving off a refined and unyielding aura. "We are not Zhou Tong, the people will not come shouting and attacking the moment our fortunes are down. So we must act more cautiously."

Tianhai Shengxue understood his father’s meaning, but...if that rumor was true, if Chen Changsheng really was Crown Prince Zhaoming, then he was a threat to the Divine Empress. Was this moment really the time to consider matters of the future? He suddenly felt like the wind blowing through the garden had chilled, and then he remembered that it was already the bleak autumn season.

The Tianhai clan’s present status naturally had some relationship to the Divine Empress, but just as the Tang Old Master would often say while fishing at the side of the Wen River, the Tianhai clan and the Tianhai Divine Empress had never been one thing. The Tianhai clan held influence at every level of society, so even if they lost the care of the Divine Empress, no power could pull them up by the roots in a single day.

A truly far-sighted and deep-thinking sage would never place the future of a clan entirely on one person, even if that person was the strongest person in the world. The Zhu clan of Tianliang County had flourished because of Zhu Luo and now it was withering before the world’s eyes because this expert’s era was coming to an end. This was a lesson and warning to all other clans.

Moreover, even the most formidable figure eventually returned to the sea of stars. Emperor Taizong had died, Zhou Dufu had died—who could escape the forces of life and death?

Countless people emerged from the Tianhai clan’s mansion and the government offices controlled by the Tianhai clan and charged into the darkness, beginning to search for Chen Changsheng’s whereabouts. This very naturally shocked many people. Those people then noticed the suspicious movements coming from the sinister office in the principal alley of the Northern Military Department, and only then did they learn from the Orthodox Academy the source of this uproar: Chen Changsheng had left the Orthodox Academy and vanished to parts unknown.

The bell of the Li Palace rang out in warning and the priests dispersed into the darkness. The lights of the Bureau of Ecclesiastic Education were also lit, the plum blossoms within glowing with a bewitching beauty under their light. Two-hundred-some Orthodoxy cavalry charged out from the Bureau, galloping towards the Orthodox Academy with thunderous hooves.

On this early autumn night, the situation in the capital instantly grew tense. It was extremely somber and desolate, yellow leaves falling and withering.

......

......

The best way to die was a question normal people did not wish to consider. Every time they considered it, they would subconsciously back away. Chen Changsheng’s life was different from normal, so he had considered this question before. He had thought about it many times, so he had an extremely clear answer, or position, towards this question.

’To live an exciting life and then die alone’ was the answer Zhexiu and Tang Thirty-Six had guessed, but it was not his answer. Perhaps at the moment he left the world, he would choose some lonely place, but in the time beforehand, he would not live in solitude, lowering his head to lick his wounds in silence. He had not left to search for his own tomb, but to perform some tasks.

Zhexiu’s words had reminded him that this world truly was brimming with evil intentions aimed at him, but while living in this world, many people had shown him great kindness. Before he left this world, he had to repay this kindness, repay those evil intentions. These were tasks that he had to accomplish.

On this quiet and beautiful autumn night, the big and small streets of the capital were filled with the spies of various factions while the cavalry of both the Imperial Court and the Orthodoxy galloped up and down the boulevards. Countless people were seeking him so that they could attempt to kill or protect him. Yet at this time, he had already escaped everyone’s gaze. Holding the Yellow Paper Umbrella, he had noiselessly arrived at New North Bridge and then jumped into that dried-up well.

The space at the bottom of the well was still pitch-black and ice-cold. His still-injured body fell into the seemingly bottomless abyss faster and faster, as if he was transforming into a rock descending from the heavens to bring the rest of the world with it in destruction, yet when he was several dozen zhang away from the ground, a thick Qi like a soft cotton cushion appeared on his body, greatly decreasing his speed of descent.

This sort of situation had happened many times and he was not the slightest bit panicked. Correcting his posture, he waited for that Qi to scatter and for his two feet to firmly plant themselves on the ice-covered ground.

A point of light appeared on the roof of this cavern, a Night Pearl. Countless Night Pearls followed it in lighting up as if the profuse stars had descended to this place. A mountainous black figure floated over, seemingly slowly but actually swiftly, from the distance, regarding him from high above.

Under the silver light, the Black Dragon’s eyes that were larger than houses were suffused with a cold light, brimming with a ruthless sensation, yet it also gave off a particularly apathetic feeling.

This sort of meeting had already occurred many times, but today was different. Neither Chen Changsheng nor the Black Dragon spoke. They gazed silently at each other in the chilly wind, the atmosphere somewhat oppressive.

After a long time, a dragon cry of anger echoed through the cavern, causing the light spilling down from the Night Pearls to tremble. The snow that covered the ground year-round madly danced in the air, swatting at Chen Changsheng’s body and leaving deep and shallow marks like the lashes of a whip.

Chen Changsheng could her understand her mood, so he silently endured it.

The dragon cry gradually faded and the snow and wind gradually settled. The Black Dragon gazed down upon him, no more apathy in its eyes, only ruthlessness and anger, and also a tinge of...frustration.

"You...you...you’re going to die?"

As the dragon cry vanished, it was replaced by the voice of a young human girl. One could hear that she was currently very bewildered.

Chen Changsheng gazed at the Black Dragon. He felt that this Black Dragon with such a massive body and such terrifying cultivation actually had a voice that was pure and tender. The contrast was truly too great.

"Yes."

The Black Dragon once more grew furious. Ten-odd li away, her tail struck against the wall, yet before it could land, it was sent flying away by the array implanted in the wall, throwing frost and ice everywhere.

"But...but..."

The Black Dragon gazed at Chen Changsheng, her eyes tinged with anguish. Perhaps because of the array’s backlash or because she had seen Chen Changsheng’s tragic features, her voice trembled.

"...you still haven’t learned Dragon language."

"I’m sorry." Chen Changsheng lowered his head and only after a while did he raise it again. Looking at her, he said, "I might not be able to learn Dragon language for the rest of my life."

"Then...then...you are forbidden from dying."

Chen Changsheng said nothing.

The Black Dragon sadly said, "You haven’t done what you promised, so how can you die?"

"I’m sorry." Chen Changsheng once more apologized, saying, "I once promised you that I would find a way to rescue you from here..."

"Yes, yes!" The Black Dragon’s eyes suddenly brightened as it continued, "You still haven’t rescued me from here, so how can you die? I cannot permit you to just die like this."

"Don’t worry, I’ve already thought of a method to rescue you."

Chen Changsheng laughed, very happily and sincerely. "On the journey back from Mount Han, I had a lot of time to think and calculate. I’ve confirmed that we still have to start with the Scroll of Time. In a moment, I’m going to go over to the stone wall and perfect the array to ensure that the Daoist techniques of the Scroll of Time will continue to function for a very long time. But if we’re relying solely on the array, it might take a very long time for the power of time to completely eliminate the restriction, so I advise you to begin practicing the Scroll of Time. You might be able to speed up the process by quite a lot."

He suddenly remembered something and said, "Right, in Mount Han, I met with Wang Zhice, but because things were too hurried at the time, I forgot to ask him a few things."

Upon hearing that name, the Black Dragon that was still immersed in the sorrow and anger of Chen Changsheng’s coming death could not help but freeze. It asked in a strange tone, "That swindler is still alive?"

Chen Changsheng replied, "Although he didn’t admit his identity, that should be the case."

The Black Dragon’s voice turned cold, filled with bitter resentment. "It truly is the case that evil people live forever."

Chen Changsheng didn’t know what to say. If he viewed things from the Black Dragon’s standpoint, she had just been a confused and ignorant little girl of the Dragon race at the time. Although she had committed many crimes after coming ashore from the South Sea, being imprisoned for several hundred years was enough to pay for her crimes; what need was there to keep her eternally imprisoned in this underground cavern where the sun never shone? But if one examined the matter through Wang Zhice’s standpoint, as a military advisor and protector of the Great Zhou Dynasty, he naturally had the responsibility of protecting the common people of the Great Zhou.

"Chen Changsheng..." The Black Dragon’s voice suddenly grew calm.

"Hm?" He was somewhat puzzled.

The Black Dragon’s voice echoed incessantly, the cold carrying a faint sorrow.

"...you should not have been a good person."

"...why?"

"Because good people do not live long."

Chen Changsheng once more lowered his head towards the frost at his feet. As he recollected that path shrouded in storms and snow that he had walked in these past few years, he fell silent for a very long time.

He had always believed that a person like Wang Po was a good person and that he most certainly was not. He had only acted according to his heart’s desire because he cultivated the Dao of following his heart.

It was a pity that life and death followed the dictates of the heavens and would not listen to his heart.

He raised his head towards the Black Dragon, wanting to give a few words of explanation, but realized that the Black Dragon had disappeared!

That body like a mountain range had just vanished like that!

Chen Changsheng was abnormally shocked. He looked all around, wanting to clear up just what had happened.

Then, he saw that a girl had appeared on the snow-covered ground.

This girl was wearing a black dress. She sat in the snow, her dress spread out around her, two thin chains extending from beneath her dress towards the stone wall ten-odd li away.