Ze Tian Ji (Way of Choices)

Chapter 967 – Before Tomorrow

Several days ago, Divine Domain experts had battled high above White Emperor City, and a seal had been activated over the two shores of the Red River to cut off the flow of information. Then came the Great Western Continent’s diplomatic mission and the abrupt commencement of the Heavenly Selection ceremony. The successive events over the last few days had sunk White Emperor City into an abnormally tense atmosphere.

The various tribal and clan leaders had kept silent, but this did not mean that they were truly indifferent. Even though their secret investigations had suffered pressure from both the Demi-human Court and various factions in the Council of Elders, they had already found many clues and were, step by step, getting closing to the truth.

The sudden withdrawal of the Second Prince of the Great Western Continent from the Wildfire baptism had drawn all their gazes to the young man in the bamboo hat instead.

Characters like the Shi clan leader and Xiaode were even speculating that this young man came from the north.

“The humiliation of tens of thousands of years, the blood feud of countless ancestors… can they really just be forgotten?”

Xiaode’s voice was cold and sharp, almost like a real blade.

The Shi clan leader turned his head to look at the high platform in the mountains. The river was vast and the mists had reemerged, so it was impossible to make out the figures on the platform.

“We once had a very a deep hatred of the Human race. Just like the Elves who ultimately fell at the hands of the Demon race, if you asked the Elves who they hated the most, they would assuredly say it was those humans in the capital. But now, just who remembers those matters of the past?”

The plains that had once been the homeland of the Elves had been occupied by the demons and then later reconquered by the humans, but the remaining Elves did not choose to return to these plains. Instead, they preferred to cross the vast seas and live in the distant Great Western Continent. Presumably, this was related to their ingrained hatred towards the Human race.

The three races that lived on this continent—human, demi-human, and demon—had a far too complex relationship. There were so many grudges in their history that one could not clearly explain it in just a few words.

But Xiaode lived in the current generation, so he had an inherent bias, a deep dislike of the Demon race.

“Even if we… ally with Xuelao City, why hold the Heavenly Selection ceremony? Are we really about to call someone from another race His Majesty?”

Just saying this was an arduous task for Xiaode, making his heart sink and his teeth turn cold, even ache a little.

He found it impossible to imagine how furious he and the tribes living along the Red River would be if such a thing really did happen.

The Shi clan leader replied, “It should just be a marriage alliance, unrelated to the throne.”

Xiaode slightly raised his brows. “If Her Highness is married off to the distant Xuelao City, who will inherit the throne?”

The Shi clan leader thought for a very long time and then voiced his speculations.

Xiaode’s expression suddenly changed, a tawny light flashing in the depths of his pupils as a ruthless and terrifying Qi surged out of his body.

The howling river winds collided against his heavy, hurried breathing and instantly scattered.

“Does the Empress take us to be fools that can be played with?”

The Shi clan leader bitterly smiled. “With both the court and the Council of Elders taking action at the same time, it’s no wonder that we’re not able to investigate the specific details, but even if we did, what can we do?”

Xiaode suddenly asked, “Just who is that young man?”

The Shi clan leader replied, “We’ll have an answer tomorrow.”

……

……

Tomorrow would be a new day, and to each person that would continue to live, these words were reliable and often tedious. This was because just as tomorrow was about to arrive, one would discover that the tomorrow, the day that had just passed, and every tomorrow for the foreseeable future, were not very different at all.

But to Madam Mu, tomorrow was completely different from every other tomorrow she had experienced in her countless years.

She was confident that something fresh and interesting would happen tomorrow.

She stood by the railing at the highest point of White Emperor City, gazing at the profuse stars and drifting clouds as she calmly thought, the two of you have lived for another day.

She was thinking about Bie Yanghong and Wuqiong Bi.

The seal over the two shores of the Red River had been removed and the Heavenly Selection ceremony had reduced White Emperor City’s heavy guard from that night. In reality, however, she had never relinquished her pursuit of those two experts. Several hundred Red River Beast Guard and eunuchs of profound cultivation had secretly been searching White Emperor City this entire time.

She firmly believed that Bie Yanghong and Wuqiong Bi, with their heavy wounds, could not possibly escape White Emperor City.

But why had she still not been able to find this couple?

Just where were they hiding?

“Since you’ve sought my protection, you must prove that you are worthy of protecting.”

A pear tree was growing along the railing in front of the stone hall, its shadow distinct in the starlight.

With Madam Mu’s voice, the shadow suddenly twisted as if alive. Then it began to bulge, transforming into a kneeling person.

If something so ugly could be called a person.

This person buried their face, their back bulged up, and their entire body stank with a fishy smell. Two grays wings of flesh were folded up behind them.

It was the monster of the Longevity Sect, Chusu.

Several days ago, he had fled Wenshui and encountered Xiao Zhang in the canyon. Though his ambush had succeeded, he did not dare pause any longer.

Logically speaking, he should have met up with the Imperial Court’s diplomatic mission or hid himself in the Longevity Sect, but he had chosen neither.

Because now it was not just Chen Changsheng and the Orthodoxy that wanted to kill him. The Tang clan had joined their ranks.

In giving him a way out, the blind zither player had used up any lingering affections.

If the Tang Old Master wanted to kill him, not even the Imperial Court could protect him, much less the Longevity Sect.

Though the territory of the Great Zhou was vast, there was no place within that he could safely reside, so he had fled for the distant land of the demi-humans as quickly as possible.

In his view, only this Saint within White Emperor City could protect him and was willing to use him.

Yet he had not expected that the moment he appeared, even before he had time to catch his breath, he would receive such a terrifying mission.

“There’s also a person called Xuanyuan Po. You might as well kill him too.”

Madam Mu’s expression was extremely calm and apathetic, as if she was tasking him with some extremely unremarkable trifle.

To her, the Demi-human race, and the Great Western Continent, tomorrow would be a wholly new day. She would not allow a single accident to occur.

……

……

Xuanyuan Po did not know what would happen tomorrow. He only wanted to guarantee that nothing would happen tomorrow. The greatest problem he currently faced was the abnormally massive distance between White Emperor City and the capital. No one other than Divine Domain experts could travel between them as they pleased. The seal over the two shores of the Red River had long since been released, and the Daoist Church of the Western Wastes and the Great Zhou embassy had already sent off the news of the Heavenly Selection ceremony. Based on the attitude of the Great Zhou ambassador, the capital had already sent back its reply, but when would help arrive?

Bie Yanghong looked at Xuanyuan Po and said, “The Second Prince’s sudden withdrawal means that this is not an alliance between the demi-humans and the Great Western Continent. The venerable Daoist might have already seen through the befuddling mists, resulting in his clear and unflinching stance that says that you should ruin this matter at any cost.”

Xuanyuan Po was somewhat puzzled. “Shouldn’t the Great Zhou Imperial Court be happy about this?”

Bie Yanghong directly touched upon the heart of the matter: “There is definitely something wrong with the identity of the young man in the bamboo hat.”

Xuanyuan Po had a rather slow personality, but he was certainly no fool. He had an inkling of what this problem might be, and incredulously said, “How could that be possible?”