Chapter 68 I'll go with you

The old ancestor was determined to die.

Liu Tianshi is a man of her word. Di Jiang saved her life, and she repaid him with her own.

Most importantly—she couldn't leave this favor unpaid!

Not just anyone can owe a favor to the Lord of the Great Wilderness. Even her master, Zhao Fengli, had to "guarantee" this favor, right?

When Di Jiang sent Liu Tianshi back to Xingxin Temple, he took away half of Zhao Fengli's cultivation. He laid out everything for today, how to narrate the events, and the explanation of various details, listing everything down to the smallest detail.

Zhao Fengli's exquisite mirror was taken away by him. Zhao Fengli cried uncontrollably and said that he was sorry to his ancestors.

Lord Wilderness smiled kindly: "Then let your ancestors seek revenge on me."

He sat there, turning Zhao Fengli's exquisite mirror into a folding fan, and played with it in his palm.

Zhao Fengli cried even harder, thinking to himself, "Even if my ancestors were alive, let alone now that they're gone, who would dare to snatch anything from you?" The reason why the Emperor Jiang could talk to them and reason with them now was because they were obedient. If they showed any opposition or did anything rebellious, they could be killed on the spot.

Zhao Fengli had witnessed Di Jiang kill people, not with a single blow, but by dismembering them! He didn't want to die in a way that was impossible to reassemble.

So the master and apprentice accepted their fate and would "bear" whatever arrangements the emperor made for them.

As Di Jiang had predicted, when Liu Tianshi entered the palace to apologize, Bai Yanxing invited Zhao Fengli over and checked his cultivation level on the spot, finding that it had indeed been reduced by half.

Zhao Fengli admitted that he used the Exquisite Mirror to repair the barrier, and every single thing he did contradicted Liu Tianshi's words.

Bai Yanxing was not easily fooled. He said to Liu Tianshi, "But I still don't understand. If what Qi Xinghe said is false, why did he dare to go up Yanshan with Bai Tingxu?"

"Because he had already arranged for a spy to impersonate the emperor."

Liu Tianshi answered fluently.

She said, "Ancestor Duan brought twelve disciples with him on this trip to Flame Mountain. With so many people, the Ancestor certainly wouldn't have checked them all. Qi Xinghe had one of them impersonate the Ancestor's disciple so that he would feign poisoning in front of Bai Tingxu, making Bai Tingxu mistakenly believe that he was Di Jiang. Everyone knows that the Desolate Lord Di Jiang's primordial spirit has dissipated, and if he were killed again, he wouldn't leave a body, but would only turn into a wisp of dust. He gave that person a Dust-Dissolving Powder, which would turn him into smoke after death, no matter what his original form was. Unexpectedly, this person was too cowardly and unwilling to die, so he escaped halfway. Qi Xinghe was unaware of the change in circumstances, which led to the subsequent events."

"No wonder he kept telling me to keep an eye on Duan Jiuyou's disciples. The disciples of the Ao Sect are immune to all poisons. Once someone is poisoned, it must be Di Jiang. I was really stupid. When no disciple was poisoned, I suspected that wolf cub and actually led people to raid Duan Jiuyou's house."

Bai Tingxu entered the hall with Liu Tianshi. Recalling what had happened before, he still felt lingering fear: "That Ancestor Duan was so angry that he almost strangled me!"

When Duan Jiuyou was mentioned, Bai Yanxing's expression softened involuntarily: "She is arrogant and intolerant of any wrongdoing. You trespassed into her place without any evidence, so naturally she will be angry."

But did Bai Yanxing believe it all? Of course not.

He asked Liu Tianshi, "What is the name of this person you mentioned who works for Qi Xinghe? Could you perhaps bring him to the Hall of Diligent Governance to testify?"

Liu Tianshi said, "This man's surname is Huang, and his given name is Lang. He was Qi Xinghe's close attendant. When Qi Xinghe was observing the stars at the Imperial Observatory, Huang Lang followed him. The day Qi Xinghe sent men to kill me, it was Huang Lang who led the charge. I had been keeping an eye on Qi Xinghe's movements. When Huang Lang escaped, I wanted to capture him and keep him as a witness. Unfortunately, he escaped too quickly, and because he had chased me before, he suspected that I was here for revenge, and refused to go back with me no matter what. I chased him to the top of Luping Mountain, where he lost his footing and fell off the cliff. By the time I found him at the foot of the mountain, he was already dead."

That would mean there's no way to prove it when the dead are dead.

Bai Yanxing tapped the table twice, picked up the tea beside him, and took a sip.

Now that things have come to this, it seems that everything has an answer.

He did not delve into any further details, nor did he punish Liu Tianshi.

Firstly, Qi Xinghe harmed others first, so he deserved to die and his death was not a pity.

Secondly, when the barrier of Zhaozhao City broke for the second time, Liu Tianshi rescued many divine artifact immortals who were unable to escape the barrier in time. His merits and demerits cancel each other out, which can be considered to offset this matter.

As for her master Zhao Fengli, it was indeed a serious crime to tamper with the barrier, but he also dispersed half of his cultivation to make up for his mistake.

Bai Yanxing ultimately suppressed the matter and ordered the master and disciple to reflect on their mistakes in seclusion at Xingxin Temple for three years, thus closing the case.

...

After Liu Tianshi left, Bai Tingxu remained in the hall. He had been following Bai Yanxing for some years and could tell that Bai Yanxing was not completely at ease about the matter.

Bai Tingxu asked, "Does Your Majesty find anything amiss in Liu Tianshi's words?"

Bai Yanxing took a sip of the cooled tea: "It all sounds reasonable."

But it's just too reasonable, so reasonable that it's flawless, as if it had been taught to be so.

He has never liked answers that are too perfect.

Bai Tingxu, observing the situation, volunteered: "Should I go and investigate further?"

Bai Yanxing said there was no need.

"Now that this matter is settled, let's not disturb anything else. I'm being too meticulous; perhaps I'm overthinking things."

He had doubts, but refused to investigate further. Bai Tingxu couldn't tell whether Bai Yanxing genuinely thought he was overthinking things, or simply didn't want to alert the enemy.

Bai Tingxu's mind wasn't as quick as Bai Yanxing's, so when Bai Yanxing said he wouldn't investigate, he could only obey.

The two each drank a cup of cold tea, and then Bai Yanxing said, "Last time, our trip to Flame Mountain disturbed the Ancestor. Could you go to Earth Breath Mountain afterward to apologize to her?"

Bai Tingxu shook his head like a rattle drum: "How dare I go? That old ancestor Duan is fierce and evil. She looks delicate and thin, but when she gets angry, she can cause all kinds of chaos! I thought about going to her mansion to apologize before, but I was afraid that she was still angry and would choke me again."

Bai Yanxing said it was no problem: "I'll go with you."

"Will you come with me?"

"Didn't you say you were too scared to go?"

Bai Yanxing looked innocent: "It's better to resolve enmity than to let it fester. Do you want to stay there with a knot that's impossible to untie? I'll accompany you to Dixi Mountain. Even if Jiuyou isn't satisfied with his actions, he'll still give me some face."

That being said...

Bai Tingxu hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.

Based on his understanding of Bai Yanxing, he was not the kind of person who would easily go to great lengths for his brothers.

The two had known each other for a very long time. Before Bai Yanxing became emperor, they always played together. Bai Tingxu often got into trouble, and Bai Yanxing always stood by and watched. At most, when Bai Tingxu was punished too severely and desperately begged him for help, Bai Yanxing would reluctantly plead for him.

He seemed to think he deserved it most of the time, so much so that Bai Yanxing considered it perfectly normal for him to be beaten and scolded.

"Let's go."

While Bai Tingxu was pondering, Bai Yanxing had already gotten up. Bai Tingxu followed beside him, and although he didn't know what Bai Yanxing was up to, he felt that it wasn't that simple.

...

Dixi Mountain is located west of Tianjing and is the farthest sacred mountain from Qinzheng Hall. It looks lush and green from afar and up close as well.

Old Master Duan loved growing flowers and plants, but disliked pruning them. As a result, towering trees grew everywhere in the Dixi Mountain, from palaces and pavilions to waterside terraces.

The lush greenery provides ample shade, but she lacks any aesthetic sense, always transplanting brightly colored flowering trees as accents. Upon closer inspection, the result is a chaotic mess, like spilled paint on white paper, a riot of colors.

Bai Tingxu was carrying several gift boxes.

Since the purpose is to apologize, it is not appropriate to come empty-handed.

There were no disciples guarding the palace gates, and no one relayed any message upon entering. The two proceeded without hindrance until they bumped into a young disciple hiding under a tree, secretly eating snacks. Only then did they realize that the Ancestor was taking a midday nap in the side hall.

After the young disciple finished speaking, he brushed the crumbs off his hands and shouted, "The Emperor and the Martial God are here! Quickly, have someone brew tea and prepare some snacks!" At the same time, he skillfully put on a friendly smile and gestured for them to enter.

Bai Yanxing felt that the smile was familiar. After thinking for a while, he remembered that Duan Jiuyou usually had this expression when he socialized with him.

He chuckled inwardly, thinking to himself that the disciple truly resembled the master, even their pretentious manner was exactly the same.

Then she felt unhappy; she always just went through the motions with him!

...

In the side hall, there is a small, oddly shaped plaque with the words "Ranran" written on it. The plaque was personally inscribed by the patriarch. According to his young apprentice, it was because the side hall faces east and can always see the rising sun.

Bai Tingxu found it amusing: "Your ancestor always gets up before the sun is high in the sky and doesn't even attend court. Even if you have this excellent scenic spot, it's just for show, isn't it?"

He had no time to hold his tongue, and before he could finish speaking, a furious shout came from mid-air: "What does it matter to you whether it's just for show?! Did you fail to die last time and come here to die?"

Duan Jiuyou's voice was unique, a deep, delicate voice with a hint of sweetness. Bai Tingxu remembered that voice vividly and trembled with fear.

Looking up, there was a cloud floating above, and sitting on it was Duan Jiuyou, dressed in an elaborate robe, with long hair and glaring eyes.

Bai Tingxu quickly bowed to her and apologized: "Grandmother, please forgive me. I misspoke and hope you will forgive me."

Duan Jiuyou showed no mercy: "What forgiveness? You asked me to forgive what happened last time, and now you want me to forgive you again? Do you think I grew up eating seawater?"

A section of her long dress slid down from the clouds, and she looked down barefoot with an angry expression. "I'm not that magnanimous!"

Bai Tingxu knew that this crime was difficult to plead guilty to, and just as he was about to say something more, he saw her wave her sleeve and directly send him flying from inside the Earthly Breath Mountain to a hundred miles away.

Throughout this process, Bai Yanxing didn't say a single good word about Bai Ting. Just as he himself said, he accompanied him on this trip.

It was just a matter of "accompanying" them; they never said they would take charge.

Bai Tingxu thought sullenly in the desolate mountains a hundred miles away: He even said he would apologize to me. He clearly wanted to come to find Duan Jiuyou himself and used me as a cover!