Embers of Sword

Chapter 161 Old Blade, New Knife
"I...killed Emperor Chu?"

Xie Xuanyi stood there in a daze.

The sea of gods is blank.

The memories before falling into the North Sea seemed to be cut into pieces by a sharp sword and could not be pieced together no matter what.

Zhao Chunyang looked at his disciple's confused expression at this moment. There was heartache, pity, and more helplessness in his eyes.

He sighed softly and held out his hand.

Countless vital energies gathered together and condensed into a blurry image in the palm of the hand.

"This is the image captured by the Hunyuan Instrument in the Great Chu Imperial City..."

on the screen.

In the Da Chu Palace, snow was falling heavily and a door with sparks slowly opened in the wind and snow.

Emperor Chu, dressed in casual clothes, sat in the pavilion with Xie Xuanyi in a black robe, talking and laughing, and the atmosphere was gentle. After a while, Emperor Chu stood up and walked to the Xinghuo Gate, stretched out his hand to invite Xie Xuanyi to go together... Then the two of them stepped into the gate.

"This is?"

Xie Xuanyi couldn't remember this at all.

"This is the dragon vein cave heaven 'Yue Yinjie' of the Great Chu royal family. Emperor Chu invites you to go with him to enjoy the scenery."

Zhao Chunyang said softly: "The Hunyuan Instrument captured this scene... After you stepped into the cave, the Emperor Chu's soul lamp suddenly went out, and then you rushed out of the cave alone with a sword, killing people in the imperial city, and fled all the way."

What happened next.

There is no need to say more.

After the emperor passed away, the royal family of Da Chu, with the whole country's strength, issued an order to hunt down and kill Xie Xuanyi.

Finally, it was killed in the North Sea!

"I……"

Xie Xuanyi murmured, looking at his hands in disbelief.

When he took office as Emperor Chu, he treated him well and was as generous as an elder brother.

On the day when he became the champion of swordsmanship, it was Emperor Chu who personally awarded him a reward. After that, Xie Xuanyi often went to the imperial city to drink with His Majesty.

He opened his mouth, wanting to say something.

But in the end, I swallowed the words back.

"If there is only this scene...it is actually not enough to prove that you killed Emperor Chu."

Zhao Chunyang shook his head and said, "Who can convict you based on such a picture? But no third person entered the Hidden Moon Realm for several days, and the sword wound on Emperor Chu happened to be caused by [Serious Illness]. In addition, after you escaped from the Imperial City, you did not make any excuses, but just killed people and fled. So the Great Chu Royal Family posted a warrant. At this point, your act of killing the emperor has been determined."

Xie Xuanyi raised his head and looked at his master in confusion.

He wanted to say: "I didn't..."

But when this sentence was spoken, it became: "Why?"

Why would he kill Emperor Chu?

This question is actually unreasonable.

Because Xie Xuanyi is the "murderer".

But Zhao Chunyang understood what Xie Xuanyi meant... For so many years, he never thought that Xie Xuanyi was really the culprit behind Emperor Chu's death.

“A lot of people don’t understand why.”

Zhao Chunyang said softly: "Your junior sister has always believed that you are innocent... No one can understand why you want to assassinate Emperor Chu. You have a good relationship with him and he has always treated you well. This assassination is unreasonable."

"But the 'why' is not important."

Zhao Chunyang said calmly: "The assassination really happened, and this basin of dirty water was really poured on you, that's the most important thing..."

The previous Emperor Chu was a wise ruler who worked hard to govern the country, allowing the Chu Dynasty to regroup after the Battle of Drinking Poison and embrace the great fortune of the world. He had the ambition to conquer the world, but his fate was too short, and he fell at the peak of his career.

If not.

King You Hai would not miss his brother so much.

"Master..."

Xie Xuanyi murmured, "I...can't remember clearly..."

There was a split in his sea of consciousness.

The scenes of assassinating Emperor Chu were stripped away.

"Even if you remember it clearly, what can you do? Will it be of any use if you speak out to defend yourself?"

Zhao Chunyang looked at Xie Xuanyi and said softly, "If you don't speak, maybe some people will still believe you. If you speak... then even the last person who believes you won't be there. From the moment this game was set up, you lost the chance to 'prove your innocence', but the person who set it up was determined enough to not give you even the slightest chance to 'defend yourself'."

"layout……"

Xie Xuanyi stared at the image reflected by the Hunyuanyi.

If the death of Emperor Chu was just a game.

Then he was a carefully selected chess piece. Countless people in the world wanted him dead, so this chess piece was chosen, pushed out, and then buried... It became a logical and natural thing.

"Holy Queen?"

After a moment, Xie Xuanyi slowly uttered two words.

"I don't know what the truth was back then, but I know a simple truth..."

“Whoever is the biggest beneficiary is most likely the one who planned it.”

Zhao Chunyang said sarcastically: "After the death of Emperor Chu, the fortune of the Great Chu Dynasty collapsed. For a while, everything was leaking. But in the end, the 'Saint Queen' came forward and stabilized the chaos in the imperial city. In the name of destiny, she once again ruled from behind the curtain. The 'chess piece' she chose this time was more obedient and more sensible than the previous Emperor Chu..."

The current heir to the imperial city is an "idiot".

Foolish and crazy.

This was the dragon seed that was left unintentionally by the previous Emperor Chu when he visited a palace maid. After an accident, the dragon seed was not yet born. Later, it was born and was carried to the throne in its cradle... The Holy Empress was able to sit behind the imperial curtain with full legitimacy, and this "carefully cared for" child grew up day by day, and finally came into being under the attention of everyone.

Became a fool.

now.

In the Da Chu Dynasty, who is the emperor?
This question will make countless Chu people silent and ashamed.

"The Chu Emperor back then was essentially not much different from the 'idiot' now." Zhao Chunyang narrowed his eyes and said, "The Battle of Drinking Poison sixty years ago severely damaged the vitality of the Chu Dynasty. The Holy Queen suffered a heavy blow. While recovering from her injuries, in order to win over the people, she deliberately supported the Chu Emperor. Her original intention was to hope that he would be obedient and be a qualified chess piece... But unfortunately, her son was too smart and more powerful than she imagined. After ascending the throne, he accumulated strength and made great efforts. In addition to the Taoist sect and the Sword Palace, the previous Chu Emperor almost united the power of the aristocratic families of the entire Chu Dynasty and cultivated a new generation of direct descendants."

"…Poseidon?"

Xie Xuanyi's expression became solemn, and he suddenly remembered the chaos in Qingzhou not long ago.

"Poseidon King is just one of them."

"If you want to truly become the emperor of Da Chu, you need to hold strong enough power."

Zhao Chunyang said calmly: "He is on good terms with you. Apart from personal friendship, there is naturally a 'speculation' element. With your qualifications, you are destined to take over as the headmaster of the Sword Palace in the future... Once the Dasui Sword Palace is willing to stand behind Emperor Chu, even the Saint Queen will need to be wary."

"but……"

"If you want to fight against the Holy Queen, how can you rely on young people? The previous Emperor Chu made friends with you and made Chu Lin a king of a different surname. He was making plans for the 'future'... Unfortunately, he never waited for the so-called future. The Holy Queen is even more heartless than he imagined."

Zhao Chunyang looked at his disciple and asked, "What is the biggest change in the Great Chu Dynasty in the past ten years?"

Xie Xuanyi was stunned.

As for the biggest change...

It should be that the garrison commanders in charge of guarding the Great Wall in the north were all transferred back to the imperial city.

When Yuzhu Town awakened and Deng Baiyi told him the news, Xie Xuanyi felt from the bottom of his heart that the world had undergone earth-shaking changes.

He didn't dare to think about it.

The imperial city dared to evacuate all the garrisons.

"Why did you dismiss the garrison commander for no reason?"

Zhao Chunyang said meaningfully: "Is the Holy Queen a fool? She wants to transfer all the hardworking and meritorious garrison commanders back to the imperial city, even though the border of Northern County is at risk of being occupied by the demon country?"

There is only one possibility.

"The sharpest sword that Emperor Chu wielded during his lifetime was the 'Northern Border'."

"Those garrison commanders who participated in the Battle of Drinking Poison, and those famous generals who guarded the northern border during the Iron and Blood Age."

"They are the sharpest swords in Emperor Chu's hands."

these years.

The vitality of Beijun was exhausted. After the garrison commander withdrew, this piece of red land stained with countless blood was covered with heavy snow and became dead silent and bleak.

The ground is filled with dead bones and the land is filled with wailing.

"The so-called garrison commander will return to the North sooner or later."

"But the ones who are returning to the North this time...are most likely not the same group of old guys who fought against the Demon Nation back then."

The old blade has become blunt.

A new sword is unsheathed.

The sword of the North is held by a new person.

Xie Xuanyi sat silently in the courtyard. Just a few words from his master made him feel the cruel turmoil after the bloody storm... It turned out that his death in the North Sea was just the beginning.

The entire Da Chu Dynasty changed overnight.

in this case.

Closing the Dashui Sword Palace was indeed a very wise choice.

Equally wise... is Taoism.

Staying in seclusion and not confronting the royal family is the best way to survive.

"There are very few people like Jiang Lie and Xu Qi."

Zhao Chunyang said with emotion: "Most of the old people who sacrificed their lives in the Battle of Poison didn't have the good fortune to return to their hometown... The reason why the Jiang family member could return to Qingzhou and live out his old age was because he had a good son who was willing to stay in the imperial city and suffer for his father. The Xu family is actually the same. Brother Xu Nianning lives under someone else's roof in the imperial city. If the eldest son of the family is dedicated to his work in the imperial city, then letting a few 'old people' go is not a big deal."

“It takes countless people to stir up big storms, especially countless young people.”

Speaking of which.

Zhao Chunyang shook his head.

“The word ‘cultivation’ is tens of millions of miles long and hundreds of millions of years deep.”

"The wandering cultivators in the mountains and wilds are cultivating, the descendants of the noble families are cultivating, and the disciples of the great sects are also cultivating."

"Some people covet immortality, some are obsessed with power, some are addicted to women, people have seven emotions and six desires...If you want to practice and attain enlightenment, and become a saint, you need to be 'heartless' and abandon everything."

"But... leaving everything behind, how easy is that?"

The headmaster muttered to himself, then laughed and cursed: "Everyone says that the Qin family's ancestor is a celestial being, but that's bullshit. He has guarded the 'martial luck' for the Chu royal family for so many years. If he is really a celestial being, why doesn't he just live freely? Does he really think he is so happy guarding those broken mountains?"

"..."

These words are quite a real insult.

Xie Xuanyi asked curiously: "Master, what about you?"

"……I?"

Zhao Chunyang was stunned by this question.

He sighed, changed into a comfortable position on the wooden chair, and did not answer Xie Xuanyi's question, but looked at the distant mountains with a complicated expression.

The ancestor of the Qin family cannot be considered a true celestial being.

What about yourself?
The lanterns in the courtyard swayed in the wind.

Fireflies fly by like fireflies.

Ten miles or a hundred miles in radius.

Lotus Peak, Yuping Peak, and the entire Dasui Sword Palace.

Where else could he truly abandon and leave behind?

……

……

(There will be another update tonight. Try to post it before 1am.)
(End of this chapter)