Ze Tian Ji (Way of Choices)

Chapter 1008 – A Conversation with the World, a Negotiation with Oneself

Silence.

The wind rustled the pear tree.

The answer had been made known.

Luoluo lowered her head even more.

Chen Changsheng said nothing for a very long time. Finally, he said, “If Empress is willing, I can act like none of this ever happened.”

Madam Mu asked, “And what comes after the word ‘willing’?”

Chen Changsheng stated, “Our two races are comrades-in-arms. We share a common enemy.”

Madam Mu gave a forced smile. “You are speaking of that person?”

Chen Changsheng affirmed, “Correct. The Demon Lord should still be in White Emperor City, along with those two strangers.”

He was issuing an invitation.

He was inviting Madam Mu to join him in killing someone.

He did not want to kill an ordinary person, but the sovereign of the continent’s north, a mighty existence that was like darkness incarnate.

As for the two strangers from the distant continent, they were even more unfathomable existences.

Madam Mu was quiet for a while, then asked, “If I accept Your Holiness’s invitation, what would happen next?”

Chen Changsheng answered, “Nothing.”

Luoluo could not understand this conversation between her teacher and her mother.

Madam Mu naturally understood.

Chen Changsheng’s meaning was loud and clear. If she accepted this invitation, he would no longer pay any mind to that black cliff.

Whether the White Emperor could live or die, could escape from his jail, would no longer have anything to do with him.

A mocking smile appeared on Madam Mu’s lips.

“You’ve finally matured.”

She looked at Chen Changsheng and asked, “Are you not afraid of turning into the appearance you most loathed?”

Chen Changsheng recalled his conversations with Tang Thirty-Six by the lake and river, recalled those golden koi sinking into the mud. He was silent for a very long time, then said, “At certain important moments, one has to learn what to choose and what to give up.”

Madam Mu commented, “I believe that this is the greatest sign of maturity, of decay.”

Chen Changsheng sank into another period of silent thought.

He recalled those two who had just taken leave of this world, Bie Yanghong and Wuqiong Bi.

He thought of those ten-some rebellious princes entering the capital, the Tianhai Divine Empress standing on top of the Mausoleum of Books, and a sea of lotuses in front of the Divine Path, speckled with many red flowers.

“You’re right. I shouldn’t be thinking this way.”

The moment he said these words, he felt his entire body lighten up. Even his sea of consciousness became much clearer.

Madam Mu arched her brows. She had not expected him to so quickly change his mind.

Just a moment ago, he had been pondering tactics and strategy, compromise and sacrifice, and now he was casting these all out of his mind.

In the view of many people, such fickle conduct was more appropriate for a child or a woman.

Chen Changsheng was not one of these.

He was just climbing an extremely steep and lonely mountain, and in his long and silent sojourn, he felt somewhat lonely and tired.

So he turned to take a glance at the world behind him.

“Then I will bid farewell here.”

Chen Changsheng said to Madam Mu, “Empress is correct. These words should be said after I meet His Majesty the White Emperor.”

With a slightly chilly expression, Madam Mu declared, “His Majesty will not see you.”

Chen Changsheng pondered this, then asked, “Perhaps because it is already impossible for him to see me?”

Madam Mu looked at his eyes and asked, “If things really are as you think and he already is dead, what will you do?”

Luoluo raised her head at these words, her face even paler than the white blossoms dropping from the tree branches.

“The news that you are imprisoning a Black Frost Dragon will be spread as quickly as possible along the two shores of the Red River.”

Chen Changsheng added, “I will then announce that you are colluding with the demons and have become an enemy of the Orthodoxy.”

Madam Mu faintly smiled. “Do you think I will care about such things?”

Of Chen Changsheng’s two statements, the former was to stir the flames of rage in the demi-human populace toward her while the latter was to light a flame for the entire continent.

But she was the Empress of the Demi-humans and a Saint. She had the confidence to disregard the wildfires that burned amidst the mountains, lakes, rivers, and pools.

Chen Changsheng said, “I don’t know if you’ll care, because even now, apparently nobody seems to know just what it is you care about.”

The negotiations came to an end, but there was not much in the way of breakthroughs.

Because from start to finish, neither side had explicitly given their demands.

For a certain perspective, they had been negotiating with themselves.

This was not something very difficult to understand.

A conversation with the world was often a conversation with oneself.

Convincing the other party was far less important than convincing oneself.

Ultimately, Madam Mu withdrew her hand and Chen Changsheng withdrew his invitation, but it was not because they had convinced the other. They had simply convinced themselves.

……

……

Chen Changsheng traveled through the secret passage to the Starfall Mountains.

Everything had already been revealed to the starry sky, so Luoluo went with him.

The quiet Imperial City appeared even more quiet, even more empty. Madam Mu’s figure appeared even more lonely and cold.

Mu Jiushi walked out from the hall. She stood beside her, her face fraught with concern.

Madam Mu faintly smiled at her. “Do you think me very pitiful?”

Mu Jiushi inadvertently nodded, then came to her senses and repeatedly shook her head.

The Tianhai Divine Empress was dead, and the Holy Maiden of the south had gone to the distant other continent, so in the present age, Madam Mu was the woman with the highest status in the world.

But in Mu Jiushi’s eyes, she truly was very pitiful, because she was lonely.

“In order to become something, you must bear something. It’s a very simple principle.”

Madam Mu stroked Mu Jiushi’s face and said, “Tomorrow, you will go back, because I do not want you to bear these things.”

Mu Jiushi was stunned. Had things really gotten this bad? She stammered out, “Why don’t you just act?”

In her view, now was the best chance to kill Chen Changsheng, and they could even use Xuelao City as a buffer.

If the Human race reacted and sent even more experts, what would they do then?

Madam Mu certainly knew that a quick sword could easily resolve a complex situation.

But Xuanyuan Po’s appearance had disturbed the progress of the Heavenly Selection, and Chen Changsheng… had come too quickly, causing the entire situation to change. More importantly, even if that person’s opinion had not completely changed, it must have been affected.

……

……

The dawn broke and countless swords flew through the air in return. In a stream of light, they retracted into the sheath, concealing their edges.

Chen Changsheng stood up and gazed at the black cliff before him. Exhaustion was evident on his face, but his eyes were still very bright.

Even when using the South Stream Temple sword array as a tool, breaking through this sealing array that was on par with the Tong Palace was still a very difficult task.

But everything was proceeding smoothly. After another span of time, they were bound to see the answer.

Jin Yulu was an elder who had participated in the northern expedition against the demons, so he had experienced all sorts of schemes, traps, and unimaginable emergencies. As a result, he was not delighted by this progress. On the contrary, he appeared even more serious.

He said to Chen Changsheng, “Last night, the Empress clearly had a desire to kill, but she ended up not attacking. You must find the reason.”

Xiaode added, “The experts of the Xiang clan suddenly retreated and three armies that were making their way to White Emperor City suddenly stopped two hundred li out. There seems to have been some sort of strength on the two shores of the Red River that altered the decision of Madam Mu and the Council of Elders.”

The change in last night’s situation had benefited them, but they were still in a state of maximum vigilance.

The White Emperor had been imprisoned, and it was impossible to know whether he was alive or dead, so just where had that mysterious and formidable strength come from?

Very naturally, their gazes peered north, in the direction of the faraway Xuelao City.

When Chen Changsheng returned to White Emperor City, he received an invitation.

This invitation came from the large courtyard very close to the Xiang clan’s estate.

But in reality, everyone knew that this invitation came from the north, from Xuelao City.

The Demon Lord had invited Chen Changsheng to a meeting.

Chen Changsheng considered the proposition, then accepted the invitation, setting the meeting to four days from now.

Four days quickly flew by.

Heavy snow fell over White Emperor City.