I Am the Fated Villain

Chapter 271: Eternal Empress Who Likes To Hear Flattering Words; Have I Met Him Too Late In Life?

Empress Xiyao’s expression remained the same even after hearing Gu Changge’s words, and Old Shi¹Old Stone’s name is Lao Shi as mentioned in the ., who was sitting next to her, didn’t show any reaction either, looking very indifferent.

Although the story of what happened six thousand years ago had been widely spread throughout the Upper Realm, there were still many bad rumours circulating in various places, even now.

However, other than the people who were truly in power in the Demon Realm, who would know what truly happened?

Thus, the rumours travelling around in the outside world were more or less smearing Xiyao’s name.

And these naturally made their way into the ears of these two also.

“Oh, about these rumours, I wonder what’s Young Master Changge’s opinion on them?”

Empress Xiyao’s eyes were crystal clear and filled with divine light.

She stared at Gu Changge.

Her Dharma Body was only a subsidiary of the main body, and yet it still possessed a noble temperament, looking down upon everything.

A once in a millennia Empress, commanding the whole of the Demonic Realm. Who dared disobey her word?

If an ordinary Young Supreme was being scrutinised by her like this, they would probably have panicked and made a mess of themselves.

“In this Junior’s humble opinion, I say that these rumours are all nonsense, and should not be trusted.”

But Gu Changge seemed to not feel that pressure at all, and just smiled lightly, as if he didn’t intend on explaining any further.

“What do you mean by that, Young Master Changge?”

Xiyao was slightly stunned.

The Empress looked a little puzzled, carefully thinking about his words.

Nonsense?

It would indeed be nonsense if an ordinary Young Supreme had said so, and she would’ve definitely taken it as idle flattery, ignoring them entirely.

However, these words had come from Gu Changge’s mouth, so it was bound to be different, and a bit unfathomable.

Just like the man himself.

Did he see something? Or did he understand her good intentions?

To be honest, Gu Changge had piqued her interest. If others dared leave their sentences unfinished by half, she would have already lost patience and killed them with a slap.

Without considering the need for any further questions.

At this time, even the Great Elder and Old Shi looked at Gu Changge in surprise when they heard this.

Xiyao’s reputation within the Upper Realm wasn’t great; this was almost considered common knowledge by now.

Especially amidst the younger generation of the present, who’d definitely heard of the chaos that occurred within the Demon Realm back then.

Most of them, with only rumours to go off of, knew Empress Xiyao as an eccentric, ruthless, and tyrannical ruler who killed innocents like how one would eat rice, causing the common folk of the demon race to suffer.

So the Great Demons from all over the world united as one and rebelled.

And this rebellion was exactly the reason why figures such as the Heavenly Warden of the Demon Realm existed. Serving Empress Xiyao during those turbulent times, he was known as her executioner’s blade, a sharp weapon that could cut through anything.

Alongside countless other rumours.

At this moment, the gazes of the three people fell on Gu Changge.

“Truthfully, in the past, this junior had also thought that Empress Xiyao was a tyrant who committed all sorts of unspeakable acts and that the creatures of the Demon Realm were suffering from disaster as a result.”

The scholarly man smiled faintly and replied with a calm expression.

At the same time, he looked at Xiyao and saw her expression change ever so slightly as he continued to smile.

“However, when one carefully thinks about it, then no matter what ancient realm or divine world it is, there will always be one matter that remains unchanging…”

“Unchanging?” Xiyao stared at him, her heart trembling slightly as she carefully repeated those words of his.

She felt a little incredulous. Could it be that Gu Changge’s thoughts were the same as hers? That he’d somehow understood the truth?

Gu Changge nodded. “Yes, there’s one thing that will never change.”

“And that is the price of ‘change’ itself. To make, to enforce change, the inescapable price that one must pay for it.”

“The time period six thousand years ago, when the Six Emperors of the Demon Realm had waged war against one another, was the true hell for the demons. It was even common for demons to exchange their own young to feed themselves. Since territories were ruled by different Demon Emperors, the various creatures inside the Demon Realm weren’t united and acted much like beasts.”

“If this junior recalls correctly, there was no universal language for the people of the Demon Realm either. In order to survive, they had to turn to cannibalism, murder, thievery… and all sorts of cruelties. For the Demon Realm to continue existing in such a state was not difficult, but progression was almost impossible as a whole.”

“The Great Demon Emperors were stubborn and would not change. They only cared about cultivation and held high positions, ignoring the bottom people. In the long run, the prosperity of the Demon Realm would have inevitably declined. “

“After six thousand years of chaos, the Demon Realm’s prosperity is rising. The Unification of all demonkind led peace into the once tumultuous Demon Realm, where everyone could now cultivate the Dao, write and speak the same language, and live in harmony… is this not all because of Empress Xiyao?”

“The world is ignorant, only knowing faults and not merits. In this junior’s humble opinion, this is actually unfair to the Empress.”

Gu Changge’s voice still retained its calm, not shifting nor fluctuating.

It gave people the feeling as if he was explaining an indisputable fact or principle in a simple and straightforward manner.

“The world is ignorant? Master has also said this in the past…”

After hearing this, Old Shi was stunned and speechless for a long time.

Gu Changge’s words were still echoing in his mind.

Although he possessed unfathomable cultivation and lifespan, he had actually helped Xiyao behind the scenes quite a lot during the chaos.

But even then, he didn’t really understand Xiyao’s actions very well. He pondered it for many years, yet still could not figure it out in the end.

²Mohking: Not a surprise. Since without MC, they won’t be able to even figure out elementary Maths questions.

Xiyao too never mentioned the underlying reason.

This puzzled the Old Shi.

However, today, Gu Changge’s words had finally relieved him of the itch, oddly reminding him of the feeling of looking for his master when he had encountered bottlenecks in his cultivation.

The revelation. The feeling of seeing green mountains after the clouds and mist have dispersed.

“So this was the reason …”

“I really didn’t expect this, this old man was really blind.”

For a moment, Old Shi’s expression seemed extremely complicated.

Except for Gu Changge, probably no one else would think this way.

“This guy’s views are always so different from ordinary people, but this explanation should be very close to what Xiyao is thinking …” The Great Elder also wore a complicated expression and sighed.

Seeing Xiyao’s deeply resonant and stunned expression for a long time, he knew that Gu Changge’s words were truly echoing her intentions.

“Everybody in the world is ignorant of your merit…”

Xiyao, who was silent for a long time, suddenly smiled at Gu Changge, a different kind of expression shimmering inside her eyes.

And for a moment, the skies seemed to brighten. Compared to her polite expression at the beginning, her smile now was obviously from the heart.

“Young Master Changge, are you perhaps scolding these people for being ignorant in my stead?”

She smiled slightly, with a hint of intimacy, and continued, “Throughout so many years, I didn’t expect Young Master Changge to be the first person that would understand me. I never thought that there would be someone with the same idea as me.”

At this moment, she actually felt like she had met a confidant in a junior like Gu Changge.

³Mohking: I swear I have heard this before somewhere…

⁴Kshn: A hentai-

In more than six thousand years, he was the first person to understand her painstaking efforts. This touched Xiyao’s heart greatly, and she felt very incredulous, as if she was in a dream.

Meeting Gu Changge today seemed to be destined.

Even the closest maids beside her found it difficult to understand her actions and countermeasures.

The world said that she was cruel, but they never considered the various things she had done for the Demon Realm.

To maintain the peace of the Demon Realm and the harmony of the four seas, not to mention growing their prosperity, how much thought did she put into it? Did anyone even realise?

For Gu Changge to bluntly state this fact, and even scold those ignorant people, as if speaking out her heart’s desire…

Xiyao found it difficult to calm her own heart.

The smile on Gu Changge’s face lingered as he continued, “Perhaps it is due to the Empress’ royal status that no one dares speak lightly of you. After all, the Empress’ efforts are visible to all, and whether or not they are merits isn’t a matter for people of the present to judge, but for the future generations that will come.”

“The future generations?”

Hearing this, Xiyao was stunned again, staring at Gu Changge, a little curious, “Oh? If Young Master Changge were to say it, what would be your opinion?”

Xiyao regretted her hastiness the moment these words slipped out. This wasn’t something she could ask just anyone about, after all.

Why didn’t she ask her master, or the others present, but only asked Gu Changge? It was too abrupt.

In the end, this was indeed their first time meeting, yet she had asked a question that might be considered rude. As the Empress of a generation, caring about these rumours would just undercut her dignity.

Nonetheless, even Xiyao didn’t know why she suddenly cared about Gu Changge’s opinion of her.

Not to mention, at this time, it wasn’t only Xiyao, but even Old Shi and the Great Elder became interested as to how Gu Changge would judge Empress Xiyao’s character.

From his words earlier, Gu Changge’s understanding of Xiyao’s actions and intentions should be rather substantial.

“Oh? You want this junior’s opinion?”

Gu Changge seemed to be a little surprised, but he didn’t refuse, and his expression turned a little thoughtful.

Then, his gaze fell.

Solemnly, and with the utmost seriousness, he spoke: “In this junior’s humble opinion, the Empress’ legacy may have proven her worthy of the title of ‘Eternal Emperor’, at least in the Demon Realm.”

“Eternal emperor?”

At this moment, Xiyao was no longer the only person stunned, as even Old Shi and the Great Elder were greatly taken aback.

Eternal emperor, how high of a compliment was this?!

Because they understood that the ‘Eternal’ Gu Changge spoke of wasn’t literal, but referred to in a general sense.

An Eternal Emperor was one that appeared only once in a thousand or so years, not much different from a Primordial Emperor, who appeared once in ten thousand, they were both high praises for Xiyao.

“Eternal Emperor? Once in a millennia…”

Empress Xiyao muttered these words under her breath.

As they resounded in her mind like a great bell, ringing and exploding!

It even made her head buzz.

Having said that, Empress Xiyao wasn’t a simple person. More than six thousand years of cultivation had already strengthened her state of mind beyond what an average cultivator could achieve in their lifetime.

Soon, the expression on her face returned to normal.

“Young Master Changge’s evaluation is really too high.”

Her words and her expression contradicted each other, as though a plain refusal left her lips, the smile that it formed indicated her good mood.

Before this, she had encountered all kinds of flattering people, and she was almost tired of listening to their praises and adorations.

Moreover, Empress Xiyao knew that what they said was actually out of fear of her, and not out of simple and relaxed opinions like Gu Changge.

After all, Gu Changge didn’t need to be afraid of her right now.

“This junior is merely parroting what the Empress wishes of me to say…” Gu Changge smiled and didn’t explain further.

It was perplexing. Although the scholarly man kept calling himself junior in front of Xiyao, he did not act like one at all.

There was no fear nor respect in his voice, and it was more like he was talking to an acquaintance that he had just met.

Empress Xiyao didn’t care about Gu Changge’s tone. She was used to hearing all kinds of respectful words, so now she found that casual and natural feeling in Gu Changge’s conversations more pleasing.

Just like her feelings just now … it was as if she had met a confidant.

“Eternal emperor, huh? I didn’t expect to have such a high position in Young Master Changge’s heart. It’s really unexpected. “

Empress Xiyao smiled.

Gu Changge responded calmly, “Actually, before this, I have always wanted to meet an extraordinary woman such as you. But it’s not too late to meet you today.”

It was simply a matter of a few words to create a good impression.

So Gu Changge naturally wouldn’t refuse.

No matter what kind of person they were, everyone liked hearing praises and beautiful words, especially by someone they paid attention to.

An indescribably noble status, a decent and elegant conversation, and a few casual words of praise would make her heart tremble.

Even if she was the Empress of a generation, it was impossible not to be moved.

Moreover, judging from Empress Xiyao’s Fortune Value, she was a person of great providence as well.

Her actions 6,000 years ago triggered a thought of his.

With such providence, he wondered if she would become a Favoured Daughter of Heaven because of his involvement.

But… this lady with the fiancé poisoning trope was probably better left for later on, lest he finds himself in a ditch.

“Not too late?”

Empress Xiyao was suddenly stunned. There was an indescribable emotion in her expression when she looked at Gu Changge.

No matter what, Gu Changge was just a junior, and she was more than 6,000 years older than him.

Although the cultivation world didn’t care much about age…

Xiyao still sighed in her heart.

After so many years, she finally met someone who could understand her, but it was a junior who was far too young for her.

This gave her a sour feeling of disappointment and forlorn.

‘Have I met him too late in life?’

However, this feeling disappeared very quickly.