Chapter 69 What is the Emperor's Intention?
The old ancestor was determined to die.
Old Master Duan had a bad temper; he slapped Bai Tingxu away with his sleeve and didn't give the remaining Bai Yanxing a friendly look either.
There were piles of clouds in the sky. She grabbed a handful, tore them apart piece by piece, and ate them like cotton candy.
Bai Yanxing smiled helplessly and found a chair downstairs to sit down.
"Even I'm getting angry?"
"How could I dare to be angry with Your Majesty?" Duan Jiuyou said in a cold tone as he ate. "That Bai Tingxu was sent on a mission. Without your orders, would he dare to trespass on my territory? If Your Majesty suspects me, you can simply come and ask me directly. Why go through all this trouble? If I had been more temperamental that day and actually strangled that man, wouldn't Your Majesty have lost a loyal minister and general?"
Duan Jiuyou's words contained three parts sarcasm and seven parts anger.
This preemptive strike was also guided by an "expert."
Emperor Jiang had said that Bai Yanxing would be coming today, and that Duan Jiuyou could do as he pleased. Duan Jiuyou already disliked Bai Tingxu intensely, and all his emotions were born from genuine feeling.
As soon as she opened her mouth, she thought of the suffering that Di Jiang had endured.
Therefore, Bai Tingxu's story of being fanned is true, and Bai Yanxing's story of being annoyed is also true!
She thought to herself, "You two, ruler and minister, are quite the troublemakers. You almost killed a divinely ordained ruler of the Three Realms. If he dies, do you know what the consequences will be? Do you know what kind of torture I'll suffer? My reputation is already bad enough! If I were to bear the blame for failing to protect my master and incurring divine punishment, how could I possibly live with myself?"
Bai Yanxing said, "This matter was due to my oversight. I do not truly suspect the priest. Emperor Jiang's status is special, and I am more worried that he may harm the priest."
Duan Jiuyou said arrogantly, "Even if he were still alive, let alone already dead, I can kill him once and I can kill him a second time. What is there to fear?"
Bai Yanxing said with a gentle smile, "Come down first, let's have a good talk."
He is, after all, the Heavenly Emperor. Does she have to keep talking down to him?
Looking down at people is fine, Bai Yanxing doesn't care about these details, but he has a bad neck from sitting at his desk for long periods of time, and looking up at people like this always hurts his neck.
Duan Jiuyou was easy to talk to, and in a flash, he sat down opposite Bai Yanxing.
The two sat facing each other, separated by a tea table. Duan Jiuyou swayed his sleeves, clasped his hands in front of his abdomen, and his smoky blue robe fluttered in the wind, exuding a solemn yet aloof air that kept people at a distance.
Bai Yanxing rarely saw her put on airs, but today she was probably furious and determined to establish a hierarchy between them. People filed into the courtyard to serve tea and set out fruit platters for the two of them. She didn't even look at him, but simply picked up a small pastry, turned her head to look at the lotus pond in the distance, and ate it as she looked at it.
Bai Yanxing couldn't get angry at Duan Jiuyou; no matter how sullen she was, he found her adorable.
But if it happens again, he will still investigate her. Not only her, but all the officials in the Heavenly Realm are treated the same to him.
Duan Jiuyou may be an exception to Bai Yanxing, but that is only in certain specific circumstances. For example, he will tolerate all her little temper tantrums. He may not attend court or care about politics, but she, as well as the Great Qi Aozong behind her, must stand on his side.
"The imperial territory is a formidable enemy."
Much later, Bai Yanxing spoke again.
He said, "I know very well that with my strength, it would be difficult to fight against the Imperial Empire at its peak. The restoration of the Zhaozhao City barrier is too strange, which inevitably makes me suspicious. Today, Liu Tianshi came and said that the barrier was repaired by her master Zhao Fengli using the Longling Treasure Mirror. Although I got a result, I still can't put my mind at ease."
"What does the Emperor intend to do?"
Duan Jiuyou put down her snacks, picked up her sweet drink, and took a couple of sips. She always ate in this childlike way, leaving a little crumb on her lips. Bai Yanxing noticed this and took out a handkerchief from his sleeve and handed it to her.
"I don't want anything in particular, I just want to tell you what's on my mind. This Heavenly Realm is a gift from you, and I shouldn't have doubted you. But I've been taught since childhood that one should not trust people or things completely. I feel the same way about you, as well as my close ministers and confidants of the Dragon Clan."
Duan Jiuyou wiped the corner of his mouth with a handkerchief. Now that things had come to this point, it would be too domineering for her, as a subject, to continue to press the issue.
She pushed the snacks in her hand toward Bai Yanxing, her tone much gentler than before.
"I understand, but that Bai fellow is really annoying. If Your Majesty wants to investigate again next time, please try to pick someone more clever, so as not to cause me any trouble!"
Bai Yanxing took a pastry that she pushed towards him: "There will never be a next time. If there is a next time, you can just stay angry with me and do whatever you want to me."
He was the monarch and she was the subject. Bai Yanxing had humbled himself to this extent, or more accurately, coaxed her to this extent. What anger could she not vent?
Duan Jiuyou, knowing when to stop, personally poured a cup of tea for Bai Yanxing: "Your Majesty's words are too kind to this humble subject."
She has now submitted to the emperor.
Bai Yanxing watched her fill the teacup. He used "you" and "me" with her, while she used "ruler and subject" with him? Although it was not wrong, it was not the kind of relationship he wanted to achieve with her.
Bai Yanxing always wanted to get closer to Duan Jiuyou, but unfortunately he had too little "experience" in this area. All his feelings were hidden in his conversations with her. He only dared to hint at them but not to make them explicit, for fear that she would refuse, and for fear that if she refused, the relationship between the ruler and his subject would become strained.
He had too many concerns, unlike Di Jiang who was willing to go all out. He always wanted to proceed step by step, not realizing that matters of the heart don't allow for too much hesitation.
Di Jiang is different from him. He will rush in directly. If Duan Jiuyou doesn't let him go through the door, Di Jiang will jump out of the window. Even if they have a big fight, he will never let it go.
Bai Yanxing watched the whole thing and only then realized that he had lost because he was too proud.
Di Jiang is shameless. The dignified Lord of the Great Wilderness was thrown out of the window and then climbed back in. Bai Yanxing advised him to go back first, as this commotion was not going to look good. Di Jiang, standing on the window frame, glanced sideways and said, "Let go: What do you know? Her mind isn't like a normal person's. If she gets angry, you have to coax her quickly. If you wait for her to come to a conclusion through her wild thoughts, when will you ever make up?"
—That's a story for another time.
After the two talked things out, Duan Jiuyou was no longer awkward. After drinking two sweet drinks, Duan Jiuyou got back to his business.
"I plan to go into seclusion tomorrow to refine pills. The Fuling Pills from Huangchen Palace are not easy to refine, so I plan to go to the Twelfth Lesser Heaven to refine them."
When refining the Fuling Pill, poisonous smoke will be emitted. This smoke is thin and easily carried by the wind, and it is extremely toxic. If it is refined in the Earthly Breath Palace, even the immortals on sacred mountains thousands of miles away may be affected.
The Twelve Lesser Heavens are the path to ascension for celestial beings. Each level grants access to a new height, with the highest being the Thirty-Sixth Heaven. The Thirty-Sixth Heaven is inaccessible to anyone but a celestial being, and it is the Twelve Lesser Heavens that Duan Jiuyou spoke of. In the entire Three Realms, only she has been able to ascend to it.
Choosing a place that no human, god, or demon can reach is indeed a good choice, but it is also too secluded. Bai Yanxing cannot go up there, and if he cannot go up there, he will not be able to see her for a long time. Most importantly, he cannot determine whether she is alive or dead.
Bai Yanxing pondered for a moment and said to Duan Jiuyou, "Take one person up with you."
Duan Jiuyou possessed an astonishing number of magical treasures and artifacts; there was even a special hall in the Earth Breath Mountain dedicated to storing them.
"Isn't the Devouring Heaven Bottle capable of going to heaven and earth? You can put someone in it and take them up there. If you make any noise up there, someone will come down and report it."
He avoided saying "death" and even more so, "unexpected events," because he genuinely didn't want anything to happen to Duan Jiuyou.
Duan Jiuyou thought for a moment and said, "Then give me the Four Seasons Demon."
"The Four Seasons Demon?"
This surprised Bai Yanxing somewhat.
Actually, it wasn't Duan Jiuyou who wanted this demon; it was Di Jiang who made Duan Jiuyou ask for it.
The Ten Realms are bitterly cold; even those without illness or disaster feel the chill. His ailment from the cold has not yet subsided, and he will only fully recover once all his spiritual energy is depleted. Little Seasons is a weather demon who can change the weather according to her mood. If she could return to the Ten Realms with them, not only the Imperial Territory but also the people within the Ten Realms would suffer less from the cold.
Bai Yanxing looked puzzled: "Why did you think of bringing her along?"
Could a silly little demon really serve her better than her disciples?
Duan Jiuyou said, "The Twelfth Heaven has long days and short nights. During the day it is like the heat of summer and at night it is like the depths of winter. The seasons can change, and it is a transformation of the weather. It is not affected by the poisonous smoke. With her by my side, she is naturally more useful than my disciples."
"But now that she's lost three of her three souls and seven of her seven spirits, are you sure she still has the ability to change the seasons?"
"Doesn't that child often giggle? All I have to do is make her happy, right?"
Bai Yanxing nodded, agreeing but not intending to engage in a one-way deal.
"Since I've given you the four seasons, I'm going to ask you for something in return."
Duan Jiuyou asked, "What is it?"
Bai Yanxing looked at her: "That's the priest's beloved pet, the wolf cub he keeps by his pillow."
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