Chapter 246 (Chapter 245) Resignation
Yan Shi watched with great interest.
As is widely known, Shu Zhijing is Shu Yao's first disciple and also Shu Yao's most outstanding student.
Yu Youguan described Shu Yao as an old hag who had done many dirty things; however, when he spoke of Shu Zhijing, he genuinely believed that his senior sister was an upright person.
This assessment was indeed based on Shu Zhijing's character, but more so on Shu Yao's genuine fondness for this student.
His favoritism extended to the point that all the dirty deeds that Shu Yao had done were unrelated to Shu Zhijing; his favoritism extended to the point that even as Shu Zhijing rose through the ranks at the Bureau of Extraordinary Affairs, he remained upright and untainted by corruption.
Yan Shi simply found it amusing.
Shu Zhijing stood in the center of the council hall, remaining silent for a long time. She kept her head down, avoiding Shu Yao's gaze.
Yan Shi glanced at Shu Zhijing again and realized something was wrong.
Shu Zhijing was wearing the standard uniform of the Bureau of Foreign Affairs' Execution Department. The uniforms of the Execution Department were all dark-colored, with silver thread trim on the cuffs and hem.
At this moment, the silver thread on Shu Zhijing's sleeve had a hint of darkness.
Yan Shi squinted; it was dried blood.
Because the uniform is a dark color, only the traces of the silver thread are visible; further up to the sleeves, the lines become indistinct.
Is Shu Zhijing injured?
Yan Shi raised an eyebrow slightly, and shifted to a more comfortable sitting position with some confusion.
This jade chair is really hard.
She made subtle adjustments with an effortless grace as she pondered.
That shouldn't be the case.
Shu Zhijing's team was simply led to the west of the city by Aska.
Although Yan Shi had Asuka claim that the serious criminals from the Novano Port Incident had been rescued and escaped to Baiyujing, this was not actually the case.
The serious criminals involved in the Novano Port Incident were all tried by Yan Shi in the Floating Church. They signed a legal contract, which made it impossible for them to break their oath.
There was no chaos in the west of the city, only Ah Jiu was forging traces.
By the time Shu Zhijing finally arrived at the scene, the disturbance on the main street had already ended.
She had no unexpected need to fight or get involved in any conflict, so where did Shu Zhijing get injured?
There were dried bloodstains on the cuffs.
Yan Shi couldn't understand it.
Shu Zhijing remained silent for a long time, and Yan Shi was not in a hurry, but the scene remained frozen.
One of the family elders spoke up, saying, "Director Shu, you may simply state your actions for today."
This is a fairly mild suggestion.
After all, although Shu Yao resigned to atone for her crimes, she was still the head of Kunlun Mountain after her resignation. Her strength was undeniable, and generally no one in Baiyujing was willing to offend Shu Yao.
If Shu Zhijing explains things clearly and there are extenuating circumstances, Shu Yao can easily smooth things over by going through the motions.
Shu Zhijing finally slowly raised her head, her tightly clenched fists relaxing weakly. Under the lights of the Baiyujing council hall, her face was almost deathly pale.
Yan Shi then noticed that there was also blood on the side of Shu Zhijing's hair.
Shu Zhijing spoke softly, "It was my dereliction of duty, and I take full responsibility. I am willing to resign from my position as the head of the Executive Division of the Branch of the Bureau of Foreign Affairs, and..."
She paused, then slowly said, "I'm very sorry if I don't get a position in the Bureau of Foreign Affairs or an important unit in Baiyujing."
Yan Shi: ?
Shuyao: ?
Shu Yao couldn't even contain her shock and blurted out, "Zhi Jing, do you know what you're saying?"
While Shu Zhijing may have made some oversights today, he absolutely did not fail to warrant resignation or re-entering the center of power to atone for his crimes.
Not taking a position in an important unit in Baiyujing also means that Shu Zhijing voluntarily gave up his position as the young master of Kunlun.
She was the undisputed next leader of Kunlun Mountain; saying that was practically self-destructive.
Shu Zhijing continued to avoid Shu Yao's gaze, lowering her head again: "I'm sure. I'm very sorry."
The council chamber was completely silent.
"I apologize, everyone." Shu Yao forced a smile. "The network in the Baiyujing City Lord's Mansion is not working well today, so the conference will be suspended for a while."
"We'll restart once the network is repaired. An attendant will escort you to the lounge. I apologize for the inconvenience."
Her tone was gentle and polite, yet carried a chill.
Yu Xuewen nodded gently: "Of course. We understand it's a network issue. The Baiyujing Conference wasn't recorded, so we can re-enable it later."
A chorus of agreement gradually rose from the council chamber, and the people rose from their seats as the lights above dimmed.
Shu Yao glanced at Shu Zhijing and walked out of the council hall.
Shu Zhijing paused for a moment before silently lifting her leg and following Shu Yao.
Yan Shi also got up from his chair and slowly followed behind Shu Zhijing from a distance.
As the recently retired city lord of Baiyujing, Shuyao was quite familiar with the city lord's mansion.
She walked silently down the corridor behind the council chamber, and after reaching the door of an empty room, she pushed the door open and went straight in.
Shu Zhijing followed her inside and closed the door behind her.
Yan Shi leaped onto the roof, lay down on it, and carefully used Shui Ling to pry open a tile, listening closely under the cover of night.
Shu Yao controlled her voice, her tone filled with anger: "Are you crazy?"
Not only Shuyao couldn't understand it, but Yanshi was also very curious.
Inside the room, Shu Zhijing remained silent, standing there like a wooden statue.
Seeing the child like this, Shuyao couldn't bear to get angry with her. She sighed, "It's okay, it's just a mistake. When we go in later, you can recount today's actions again, and pin the blame on me. It's alright."
She reached out and patted Shu Zhijing's head, her voice gentle: "You're bound to suffer a few losses eventually. Don't believe what others say next time."
Shu Zhijing remained silent.
Shuyao was extremely patient and continued, "Is it alright?"
Shu Zhijing shook her head and called out in a hoarse voice, "Sect Leader."
Shu Yao paused for a moment, then frowned slightly: "Hmm? Why are you calling me so formally?"
"Sect Leader," Shu Zhijing finally raised her head, "what is engraved on the Dharma Stele in the center of Baiyujing?"
Shu Yao was somewhat surprised: "Why are you suddenly talking about the law stele?" She pondered for a moment, "If you are in a position, do your job. If you are responsible, do your best."
“Yes.” Shu Zhijing stared at her. “Bai Yujing’s bottom line,” she said, enunciating each word clearly, “is not to harm innocent lives.”
The smile on Shu Yao's face faded, and her expression gradually darkened.
"So," Shu Zhijing asked her slowly, "Sect Leader, why is there a blood array beneath the center of Baiyujing?"
Yan Shi's eyes widened in surprise.
Inside the room, Shu Yao did not respond immediately; her expression was complex for a moment.
Finally, she sighed again: "You saw it?"
Shu Zhijing lowered her eyes: "Yes. When I was arresting fugitives from Novano Port in the west of the city, an alley suddenly collapsed."
Then a very deep passage is revealed underneath.
Shu Zhijing was worried that it was a trap set by the fugitives, so she decided to rely on her strength and go ahead alone to explore the way.
The passage was very long, with lanterns hanging along the way, casting a soft glow.
After walking for a long time, Shu Zhijing heard the sound of flowing water. She rounded a corner and then, at the end of the passage, saw a scene she would never forget in her life.
Blood, countless drops of blood, an overwhelming amount of blood, smeared across the hall at the far end.
The hall floor was riddled with deep trenches, interconnected to form a gigantic magic array. And within those trenches lay blood. The blood flowed, and from it, hands even reached out, struggling to grasp at the air.
Shu Zhijing had initially thought that the fugitive was a criminal with serious crimes and audacious behavior, and had been suppressing her anger, preparing to strike hard.
She finally managed to pull a person who was still breathing shallowly from the ditch by the door, and wanted to ask her about the characteristics of the criminal.
The woman's entire body was white from being soaked in blood, and her body was covered in wounds from which blood continued to flow.
Shu Zhijing held her head and quickly poured several vials of expensive medicine into her until the woman barely regained consciousness.
Her gaze fell on Shu Zhijing, then down to the emblem of the Bureau of Foreign Affairs on the chest of her uniform.
The woman trembled: "...Please, please. Let me go."
Shu Zhijing was stunned.
She waved her hands gently and said, "Don't be nervous, I'm from the Bureau of Extraordinary Affairs. I'm here to rescue you." As she spoke, she took out her work card from her pocket and showed it to the man.
The woman trembled even more violently.
She rolled off Shu Zhijing's knees, her fingernails digging into the rough ground, her voice hoarse with despair: "The Bureau of Extraordinary Affairs, the Lord's Mansion of Baiyujing, hahahahahaha. You, you will all die a horrible death!"
Shu Zhijing froze on the spot.
She watched as the woman desperately crawled backward, trying to get away from her. But she was extremely weak.
A moment later, the woman collapsed to the ground, her breathing ceasing completely.
Blood continued to flow from her body, into the nearby ditch, and then slowly trickled along the array.
I never knew a person could bleed so much.
Shu Zhijing knelt on the spot, when suddenly an idea struck her.
She found it hard to convince herself that the magic array below was the work of the city lord's mansion, and that it must just be a woman's misunderstanding.
Kunlun Sword.
The Kunlun Sword remained pristine white, stuck in the center of the formation, at the confluence of all the channels.
The blood flowed upwards along the blade of the Kunlun Sword, into the ceiling of the hall, and disappeared.
Shu Zhijing suddenly remembered that a long, long time ago, when she had just become a disciple, Shu Yao carried the Kunlun Sword with her every day.
But when did Shuyao stop carrying a sword?
Shu Zhijing couldn't remember.
Just as she was lost in thought, the Kunlun Sword suddenly began to shake violently.
The sword was pulled from the formation, transforming into a sword aura that quickly disappeared into the hall along a passage on the opposite side.
The blood in the ditch churned violently, and a faint membrane of light flickered on the ceiling of the hall.
Shu Zhijing couldn't figure out what was going on and left the underground passage in a daze.
With pain in her eyes, she asked, "Sect Leader, Teacher, why?"
"Isn't Bai Yujing's bottom line to not harm innocent lives?"
Shu Yao looked at her. The room was brightly lit, clearly illuminating Shu Yao's profile. She was unusually calm at this moment: "For Bai Yujing."
"Zhijing, have you ever considered that the Floating City can maintain its levitation state for a long time because its lord is a follower of the Floating Church? Then why can Baiyujing maintain its levitation state for so long?"
Shu Zhijing took a deep, heavy breath: "If Baiyujing has remained floating in this form for thousands of years, then from the very beginning," she almost shouted, "Baiyujing should never have existed!"
Shu Yao said calmly, "Of course it wasn't like that before. A long, long time ago, when Baiyujing was first built, the energy source of the magic array at the bottom came from the power of the blazing sun."
“But I’ve lost it,” she said. “I can’t let Baiyujing crash in my hands.”
Shu Zhijing gasped for breath: "...That can't be, it can't be..." she murmured, "This is a living, breathing person."
Shu Yao: "If you were the city lord, between the lives of ten million people and the lives of ten thousand people," she said in a very calm voice, "how would you choose?"
A long silence fell over the room.
Shu Yao closed her eyes: "You shouldn't have seen it."
The power of the blazing sun.
Yan Shi, who was perched on the eaves, also lowered his eyes.
Shu Zhijing didn't know, but Yan Shi did—it was the crown of the blazing sun.
Ever since she found the Sun Crown at the black market auction, the Sun Crown has been following her on its own.
My grandmother wrote in her work journal that she didn't want to return to her place of oppression under the scorching sun.
Therefore, Yan Shi never considered where the blazing sun crown originally belonged, or its significance to the world.
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