Chapter 806: Chapter 746: Wherever We Stand Is the Capital City
Yue Hongling sometimes wonders what her relationship with the Four Symbols Sect would be if Zhao Changhe didn’t exist.
On the level of power, the Four Symbols Sect and Tang’s faction are adversaries, and it’s said privately that the Vermilion Bird and Tang are lifelong enemies.
But in terms of the worldly society, she and the Four Symbols Sect seem more like the main characters in the worldly stories.
Without Zhao Changhe, she might not go to Beimang, and Xia Chichi might not either, so their first confrontation in Beimang with Luo Qi might never happen. But Xia Chichi’s connection with the Four Symbols Sect stands, and she might have been directly taken and initiated by the Vermilion Bird during the battle at Luo Family Manor.
As a famous demon sect in the worldly society, the chaotic things they do are numerous. Given her temperament, there’s a great possibility she would clash with them in the Central Plains, possibly starting with provoking the newly initiated Holy Daughter Xia Chichi and her Azure Dragon Hall minions, getting tangled with other Twenty-Eight Constellations, eventually confronting the Vermilion Bird Venerable, getting defeated and fleeing, only to return after gaining Creation from the Sword Emperor’s inheritance and striking back…
Many old worldly stories are like that, generally aligning with her and the Four Symbols Sect’s positioning and mindset, the only difference being that the main characters in those stories are usually male.
As for finding out in the end that the Four Symbols Sect is actually a righteous army against the tyrant ruler, and because the tyrant is unjust, whether she could reconcile with the Four Symbols Sect to resist the ruler… that would be another story.
But because of Zhao Changhe’s presence, both she and the Four Symbols Sect deliberately avoided each other, and for such a long time, she unexpectedly met this great Demon King whom she once imagined she would have to defeat and escape from, but now the conflict seems more suited to someone else’s backyard… Beyond that, this Demon King turns out to be one of the most trustworthy people, a strangely peculiar feeling.
Huangfu Qing looked at the girl in red at the street corner, and his first thought was “that red dress looks really gaudy,” then he wished he could slap himself.
His second thought was about last year’s conversation with San Niang: “Everyone has been wondering, with the Emperor Ye being present, is there an Emperor Wu? We’ve never seen it documented. But even if it wasn’t in ancient times, by the principles of the Heavenly Dao, it should exist. Since it wasn’t present in ancient times, it might exist now.”
The dead turtle’s reply always raised people’s blood pressure: “Yeah, yeah, so what? Didn’t we previously guess it was a bald monk?”
Huangfu Qing replied annoyingly: “We previously speculated it might be the Great Sun Tathagata, but the bald monks were suppressed by Xia Longyuan into that state. It doesn’t seem like they have that kind of Qi Vein, and we don’t sense any conflict in cultivation techniques during our interactions, so it’s probably unrelated. Instead, that Yue Hongling in the worldly society recently, the Chaotic World Book has numerous judgments related to the setting sun, could it be…”
Guigui pointed out: “Yue Hongling just teamed up with Zhao Changhe beyond the border, you’re not thinking of using this opportunity to kill Zhao Changhe, are you?”
At that time, Huangfu Qing hadn’t really gotten along with Zhao Changhe, but they had already joined hands at Sword Lake, so he hesitated greatly. Am I thinking of killing Zhao Changhe? I might actually want to kill Yue Hongling instead.
But he didn’t dare show this in front of the turtle, otherwise, she might laugh until upside down. Huangfu Qing could only say: “I’m asking if there’s anything off about her when you saw her beyond the border?”
San Niang thought to herself, you can fool others but not me, the Room Fire Pig mask is already arranged, let’s see if you can still maintain that air of yours then. Haha.
She answered, “Her cultivation is too low; if we fight, I could squash her to death just sitting on her. What feeling could there be? You can let Chichi provoke her a bit, I’m sure Chichi would be delighted.”
Huangfu Qing hesitated even more. If Chichi really went to provoke Yue Hongling, Chichi would probably be very happy. But what does this count as? Randomly seeking trouble with Yue Hongling without any excuse, unless the excuse is “your man has a vixen outside, do you want to go chop her up?” Then please let the obedient disciple chop herself first.
Moreover, at this time, Chichi couldn’t even beat Yue Hongling… truly a little useless. Huangfu Qing hesitated for a long while and finally said: “Earlier, we received a message from Liu Tuzhang of Kunlun that Yang Qianyuan, wanted by the Yang Family, has escaped to Kunlun. If we can catch him, we might be able to make a deal with the Yang Family. And since Kunlun lies in the west, and Chichi wishes to break through the Secret Treasure, she should seek the meaning of the western White Tiger, so I’ll assign this task to Chichi. If she can break through the Secret Treasure, then let her face Yue Hongling; otherwise, we would just be sending her out to lose face for us.”
San Niang said, “There are so many strong people in Kunlun, and you dare let her go alone?”
“Liu Tuzhang’s information mentions the Fire Flame Kun Gang. I also want to go and see it myself, both to protect her secretly and to follow my path to the Third Layer Secret Treasure.”
San Niang’s eyes blinked and sparkled, as if she was on the verge of laughing out loud. Back then it wasn’t clear what her meaning was, but now it’s obvious; San Niang knew early on that Zhao Changhe was going to Kunlun to find the Blood Ginseng…
The memories fleetingly flashed by and then shattered on the long street before his eyes. The street was still bustling, but the rival was smiling.
The debate between night and day remains unresolved. In the future, it seems there should be more interaction with her; we are family now… a family member met for the first time. Truly absurd.
The Vermilion Bird saw Yue Hongling having a whispered conversation with someone beside her, then quietly retreated.
“How about collaborating, Venerable?” Yue Hongling’s voice transmission reached her ears.
Without showing any emotion, the Vermilion Bird urged her horse forward slowly: “What for?”
Yue Hongling transmitted her voice: “Chang’an is not overrun by Hu people as we imagined earlier. On the contrary, there are no Hu soldiers, only regular merchants and envoys. In other words, the Li Family is superficially distancing themselves from the Hu people to win public support, but their alliance with the Hu people remains intact; it’s just a façade.”
“So?”
“I initially proclaimed my intent to assassinate a high-ranking Hu official to test my master… let that be aside. In short, someone just discreetly warned me that Honglu Temple hides Bo’e. If I go, I will fall into the Heavenly Net, with no way out.”
Yue Hongling was smiling, but Vermilion Bird could see the sadness and loneliness in her eyes.
Her master sold her out.
Vermilion Bird felt a sense of absurdity. Yue Fenghua must have lost his mind, really believing others respected him for his own merits? Everyone is only interested in Yue Hongling! Once she’s dead, who will care about Luoxia Manor? They’re blinded by years of glory.
Yue Hongling continued: “If I were alone, I would consult with Changhe. But since Venerable is here, it’s a perfect setup—if I enter Honglu Temple to confront Bo’e, with Venerable nearby, he can loudly exclaim ‘how come there’s the presence of Bo’e here’, then come to assist me. I will be fine, and Bo’e’s presence in Chang’an will be exposed to the world, nullifying the Li Family’s façade, forcing them to make an immediate choice.”
Vermilion Bird was stirred and deliberately said: “What if their choice is to protect Bo’e and kill us?”
Yue Hongling laughed freely: “We still have Changhe in the shadows. As long as the commotion is big, he will support us, so how can mere Chang’an constrain us? It will just make the Li Family’s plan for a clean image fail, and in the battle for people’s hearts in the world, we’ve already won half.”
Vermilion Bird was already far away. Yue Hongling faintly heard her response: “Okay.”
The truth was, the commotion didn’t need to be big, as Zhao Changhe was already nearby. He was worried about Yue Hongling encountering Bo’e, so he hurried here.
Both parties acted separately, yet their clues converged at a single point.
Not quite there yet, a blinding sword light shot from the sky into Honglu Temple: “Barbarian heads roll!”
The Wei Changming who discreetly warned Yue Hongling about Bo’e inside was scared out of his wits. What’s up with this woman? I risked a lot to warn you to flee, remembering this favor after you leave would be a gain for me! How dare you confront Bo’e knowing he’s inside, are you crazy?
Oh, seeing this sword, has this woman reached the Imperial Realm? That might be okay… but at most you’ve just entered the Imperial Realm, while Bo’e could be at the late stage, and how many elite and traps are set in his home base? Heading in like this, can you still gain the upper hand?
While thinking this, a terrifying burst of Qi Force erupted inside Honglu Temple. In an instant, lightning thundered, the courtyard walls collapsed, and it spread to Zhuque Avenue.
Seemingly far away, Vermilion Bird suddenly turned back, shouting loudly, her voice carried for miles: “How can Bo’e be in your Li Family’s Honglu Temple! We Dahan temporarily suspended past grudges to ally with you, thinking you intended to break off with the Hu, yet you’re still colluding in secret, a treacherous move!”
This was almost heard within half of Chang’an, leaving everyone stunned. Li Boping in the hall was in shock, while Wei Changming over here was momentarily dazed, and a hint of delight flashed in his eyes.
Vermilion Bird’s words rang with righteousness; she transformed into a raging blaze, soaring across the long street straight to Honglu Temple.
“Boom!” Flames erupted, engulfing Honglu Temple in a sea of fire; any ambush or mechanism became null and void.
Bo’e’s voice finally sounded: “Vermilion Bird, Yue Hongling… This is Chang’an, not your Capital…”
Before the words were finished, he felt a sudden sense of danger.
Turning his head, on the far rooftop, there was ‘Qin Jiu’, who appeared yesterday at Louguan Platform, reportedly a legitimate Buddhist disciple, drawing a bow and aiming at his throat.
Is this Chang’an?
As long as we are here, this is the Capital!
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PS: Unable to produce a big chapter, here’s a small one, but not very short either. Still asking for monthly tickets! More to come tomorrow!