Chapter 154 False History

Shangguan Chuci had a vague suspicion after hearing this. “司主, what do you mean?”

Wei Xuanji spoke slowly. “Since the stranded giant fish was connected to the Dragon King, the Dragon King Temple felt it had a duty to help and stepped forward to take on the task. They insisted on saving the fish and volunteered to care for it and nurse it back to health. At first, the temple faithful placed it in the pond in the forecourt of the main hall, where passing pilgrims and worshippers could come and see it. Once it was back in the water, the giant fish gradually regained some vitality, and its condition seemed to improve. But before long…”

Fortunately, Fongqiya reacted in time. He wrapped himself in a distorted golden ring of light, changing the trajectory of the cherry blossoms’ attack and protecting himself.

It was both the cult leader’s punishment of him and his own punishment of himself. It forced him to face a truth—a truth that had made his heart ache for many days.

Shen Ci slowly nodded. Perhaps it was the chill outside; her face had grown stiff from the cold, and she was still trembling. Zhu Jianlian pondered for a moment, then patted the spot beside him and invited Shen Ci to sit down.

Some of the gardeners were so frightened by me that they trembled uncontrollably. A few of the bolder ones seemed not to believe me; the look in their eyes clearly said they thought I was mad.

“You—you—you… You really don’t know Shangguan Yuexiu?” The person who had been asked stared in astonishment. The people nearby looked at Qian Yuluo as if she were some kind of monster.

The next morning, Zhu Jianlian received a report from his guards: Shen Ci had returned safely to the Imperial Armory. She seemed downcast, but was otherwise calm and had done nothing out of line.

Wang Siyu, drunk and rambling, happened to be right by the time Yin Sizhe, out for a stroll, passed her.

When they weren’t by Su Li’s side, other people gradually took their places beside him.

After Scarlett finished speaking, she smiled and pinched Wang Xuanyuan beneath the ribs. It was late March, and he was still wearing a thin down jacket and other winter clothes. Scarlett’s pinch didn’t catch much flesh, but the less she caught, the more it seemed to hurt.

Having said this, Rudolf performed the standard salute of the Sith Church, then switched off his communicator.

Daisy had positioned this firing line here precisely to prevent Wang Tengfei from pursuing them.

It was a shame that Count Wulei and Viscount Chu Xunzi had hidden you so well. It took a great deal of effort before I learned that you had been in contact with Wang Ronghua.

Xia Rumu closed her eyes. Her fingertips rested against Chu Yifeng’s back, and tenderness swept over her, growing stronger by the moment.

Night fell. There was no bright moon in the sky tonight—not the moon unique to this world—but plenty of stars twinkled overhead, keeping the darkness from becoming so deep that one could not see a hand before one’s face.

Hao Jingyuan cupped his fists. “A greeting to Sect Leader Meng. It has been decades since your late master brought you to visit our Dingfeng Mountain. Now you lead the Yunan Sect and have brought honor to its name. Your master must be proud of you, even in the afterlife.” He opened by invoking their old ties and piling on the compliments, doing his utmost to play the genial peacemaker.

Chu Yifeng guessed that Xia Rumu would be afraid. Fortunately, he had prepared for that from the very beginning.

What, the blue-flame Gatling gun? All sorts of high-end medicines? Some systems even came with fully modern operating rooms.

Yuesheng flicked his right hand and caught the blade between his fingers. Under the crowd’s horrified gaze, the ten-meter-long blade shattered into pieces, which turned into blossoms of dark-red earthfire and crumbled to ash.

“I told you, ‘acting like a diva’ is the kind of rookie mistake you absolutely cannot make. You’ve been famous for years, Cheng Nuo. Have you forgotten every last bit of the discipline I taught you?” The anger that had only just subsided flared up again after a few words of reprimand.

Zhong Nan’s repeated delays had left the people of Qing and Yan Provinces deeply dissatisfied. “We’ve been suppressing bandits here for over half a month, while you, Zhong Nan, are still holed up in Dongchang Prefecture. Could you have some connection to the White Lotus Sect?” At that, Zhong Nan lost heart. There was no way to put it off any longer, so he had no choice but to lead his troops out to suppress the bandits.