The moon and stars were pale in the quiet night.
The inhabitants of Luoyang City had been struggling in the stifling heat for an entire day. The clouds that had gathered into a thick mass just before nightfall was so close to the ground that they seemed so close to touching the faraway Jinshan Temple.
It was so stuffy that people could hardly breathe. Even cicadas, crickets, and toads had lost their zeal to bellow their grievances, only emitting weak cries when they simply couldn't bear the heat. First, the clouds obscured the moonlight. Then came the faint rumbling of thunder. One could even see bolts of lightning flashing in the crevices of the clouds. It seemed that a rainstorm was coming.
A group of silhouettes sped along the path leading to the Extinctive Sword Manor House from the direction of Luoyang City.
In no time at all, Ye Que showed up in the vicinity of the Manor House. Following right behind him were no less than
Early morning, Extinctive Sword Manor House. The head cook that had gone through a whipping personally led the group of menial workers that had been punished to kneel for an entire night to procure ingredients. Even though the head cook knew some martial arts for self-protection, it was impossible for him to walk or ride the horse after enduring 10 lashings of the whip. Fortunately, they had the five horse-drawn carriages meant for procurement. After helping his master settle down on the back of the carriage, Tian Xiaosi personally took the reins. The group of six were the earliest to leave the Manor House. Their carriage wobbled along the road to Luoyang City. From afar, the road was shrouded in the marble white fog of the mountain. The head cook had fallen asleep the moment they left the Manor House, perhaps because he didn't sleep well last night because the whipping was too vicious. He fell asleep and even began snoring. "W
The Prefectural Magistrate's Office of Luoyang was located in the middle of the southern line. It was accessible from all sides, making transportation convenient. The tip of Ye Que's foot had just touched the grounds of the Prefectural Magistrate's Office when a large crowd of commoners emerging swiftly from the 36 lanes of the city. Watching from a high vantage point, the stream of people looked like black threads. The point of their convergence was also the Prefectural Magistrate's Office. When the glorious Tang Empire was established, it was expressly stipulated in the law that all cases must be transparent and all investigation files were put on the public record to ease supervision. A significant crowd had gathered outside the lobby by the time the Senior Prefectural Official of Luoyang, Song Gongming, was prepared to begin the trials. If one were to take a careful look, one would easily discover that most of the Branch Masters of the D
Inner Hall of the Extinctive Sword Manor House. The disciples and stewards were gone, making Lin Shan and Lin Mei'er the only ones there. "There's something odd about what happened the past couple of days. I feel as if someone's deliberately trying to go against us." Lin Mei'er looked at Lin Shan with a frown, her face full of suspicion. "There's no doubt someone's trying to go against us." Lin Shan paced inside the Inner Hall, his anger still burning. "Should we seek Senior Brother Zhuo's advice? We can ask them to investigate this." Lin Mei'er pointed to an even deeper part of the Inner Hall, her voice carrying rare hesitation. Even though it was a distinguished and orthodox family, for some reason she felt distaste for Zhuo Bufan and the others. It wasn't fear; either way, she was unwilling to stay with them for too long. "No need." Lin Shan raised his head and snapped Lin Mei'er's line of thoughts. "Mount Shu
"The auspicious pair, a match made in heaven, pay their respects in the Jade Hall. The crowd fights to get a glimpse of the delicate bride and the dapper groom. The marriage is so loving that the couple had the leisure to play with parrots. They play the mouth organ, attracting the attention of phoenixes. During the family reunion in the month of flowers, the gem-lined fan is removed. The slim and graceful lady takes on a new shape. Rumor has it that she bears an heir. The days of bliss continue." The Prefectural Magistrate of Luoyang, Song Gongming, congratulated the old general, Ye Zhengru, for the marriage of his son. "Guests get drunk on exquisite wine during the delightful banquet. The luan and the phoenix soar above the houses in this magnificent nation, bearing witness to the beautiful cooperation of two families. They reflect the laughter and kissing in the newlywed home. The newlyweds play the mouth organ in bliss while mimicking Xiaoshi. They raise the platte
The Paper Sword was a sword of Mount Shu that could transmit messages over 500 kilometers. The sword ripped through the air to stop and hover in front of Lin Shan. It trembled ever so slightly before opening from the middle. The handle of the sword bent and in the blink of an eye, transformed into a slip of paper bearing the symbol of the Mount Shu. Shortly after, the slip of paper fell gently on Lin Shan's palm. "Demonic beasts have besieged the mountain." "The number of casualties is high." "Return immediately." Three lines of sentences and 14 words appeared vividly on the paper. Lin Shan's face immediately paled after reading the slip of paper. He clutched his hand to form such a tight fist that blue veins protruded on his skin. "Who exactly are you? What do you know? What relations do you have with demonic beasts?" Staring at Ye Que's smiling face, Lin Shan wanted noth
"A large group of demonic beasts has been discovered outside of Luoyang City." "His Highness has decreed that all officials from the three departments and six ministries, nine courts and five directorates, 16 guards of southern magistrates and 10 armies of northern magistrates must report to duty within an hour. No excuse for delay is permitted." Due to Lin Shan's shouting earlier, the place was already deathly quiet. Thus, the words of the red-armored man rang loud and clear in the ears of the esteemed guests and the onlookers, including the nearby Ye Yunhai. It was a rude shock for everyone to learn about the appearance of a large group of demonic beasts and during daytime at that. They rose to their feet in unison and felt cold sweat forming on their back. All of them prayed hard that their respective departments wouldn't slip up. If something happened, it would be a crime punishable with the execution of one's entire clan.
Passing through the entire wedding scene. Ye Que and Ye Zhengru stared at each other. Ye Que caught Ye Zhengru's gaze earnestly. Reflected in his eyes were a sense of inquiry, curiosity, bewilderment, and even hatred. Even after dominating the Three Realms in his previous life, one regret remained in him: he never managed to meet Ye Zhengru. It was also his heartache. Ye Que's eyeballs remained motionless. Ever since he started looking at the old man, it felt as if his gaze had become frozen. On the other hand, the faraway Ye Zhengru didn't harbor many thoughts. In Luoyang City, even in the entire glorious Tang Empire, there were countless people who admired him or even considered him their target. He had gotten used to this kind of gaze a long time ago. His gaze was no longer as sharp as it had been in the past—in fact, his eyesight had worsened. Even so, it took him one glance for a faint voice to
The seventh day of the seventh month. It was close to 11 pm. The Imperial Palace of the glorious Tang Empire, the Forbidden City. The little monk that walked into Luoyang during the day was now standing tall on the roof of the Ziluo Golden Palace with his hands clasped behind his back and pale green kasaya billowing in the air. It made for an incredibly peculiar scene. On the worshipping square several kilometers away from the Ziluo Golden Palace, the Emperor of the glorious Tang Empire was leading a dozen or more of his cabinet ministers. He waved his hand and looked at his ministers. "Is this the person the astronomer of the Star-harvesting 18-storey Tower?" "In response to Your Highness: This person is called Zhai Xingzi. Even though he looks about eight or nine, he's more than 60 years old. He's the most senior astronomer in the Star-harvesting 18-storey Tower. If even he fails to calculate where the River Soldiers would be