Chapter 517 – The Shadows Emerge, and an Unexpected Alliance - Part 1

Chapter 517 – The Shadows Emerge, and an Unexpected Alliance - Part 1

The world was in chaos.

War ravaged the land.

Yet a lone carriage rolled lazily across the sea of grass-covered hills, drifting southward without a care.

Bandits littered the roads, but the carriage always seemed to veer off just in time, taking routes no trouble could follow.

Inside the carriage sat two people, once shamelessly indulging in pleasure behind palace walls. But perhaps thoughts of Xie Yu stirred their conscience. They now carried themselves with restraint, keeping to their roles. No more secret trysts, just serious conversation.

They spoke of the Emperor. Of the state of the world.

The state of the world, in truth, was straightforward. One side yearned for the Grand Union of Yin and Yang, while the other resisted it. The Dragon Vein claimed the event would bring about the end of the world, plunging everything back into primal chaos. The Eastern Sea’s Immortal Domain countered that it would elevate the world to new heights, restoring the richness of old, ushering in a new generation of powerful martial artists, who might stand against the cataclysm that loomed on the horizon.

Yet there was another troubling piece of evidence, the existence of the Deathless Tomb. It proved that the Grand Union of Yin and Yang was already expanding the Evernight. If the full union was ever achieved, the ice and snow of the Western Extremes would bury more and more land beneath their cold weight. The human world would fracture and fall apart.

Xie Wei suddenly said, “The warm snow method you passed onto me comes from the Lotus Cult. That may not be such a good thing.”

Li Yuan knew that well enough. The warm snow he introduced brought new life to barren fields. But it also created excess Yin, which would eventually manifest into ghost domains, feeding ever larger ones.

To conjure something from nothing always came at a cost.

“Still, if the greater tide cannot be turned, why should we let the people suffer?” Li Yuan said calmly. “Whether it's the end of the world or some catastrophe, it won’t come in a hundred years. Probably not even a thousand. It might be ten thousand. A hundred thousand. A million years off. But how long does the common man live? A hundred years is already a blessing. So what does it matter to them if the world ends or not?”

Xie Wei smiled faintly. “Now I truly believe you’re a good man.”

Li Yuan shook his head. “I’m not.”

“Still thinking about the boy?” Xie Wei asked. Then, with a flicker of frustration, she added, “I’ve spent over a decade nurturing my strength in seclusion. All that power, given to him. And what does he do? Tosses himself into an even deeper storm.”

“The Emperor has always stood at the center of the storm. Sitting on that throne, one must be cold enough. Ruthless enough. That’s... the only way to survive,” Li Yuan replied.

“If he were just an ordinary boy, I would have taken him far away long ago. I could’ve given him a quiet, happy life. But he’s the Emperor. I can’t take him away. I can’t even speak to him as I once did. Pain is the soil where willpower grows. Love only makes one soft. Dependent. Let his father remain just a forgotten illusion. Let his mother burn to ash in that absurd fire, beside a palace eunuch.”

Xie Wei sighed softly. “So the only tenderness he knew...was an untouchable illusion. How cruel. You knew all this years ago, didn’t you?”

“I don’t know.” Li Yuan shook his head. “But I do understand one thing. An emperor is destined to be alone. He can never be truly happy.

“I pitied him. That’s why, when he was young, I gave him warmth. And when he grew older, I gave him hope. But now...he’s grown up. The warmth must fade. The hope must shatter. That’s the path of a ruler in chaotic times. The only thing I still don’t know is what kind of emperor he’ll turn out to be, how he’ll leave his mark on the world.”

“You think Hu’er will change everything?” Xie Wei asked.

“He’s an important piece on the board. And no one who controls the board would throw away a piece like that so lightly. Which means...yes, he will change everything,” Li Yuan replied.

“But from what I know of that child...maybe all he really wants is to see you one more time,” Xie Wei said quietly.

“...” Li Yuan said nothing.

The Jade Capital was already the eye of the storm. Over the past decade or so of Xie Wei’s regency, he had placed many of his own eyes within the city. There was no need to fight for anything there anymore.

Suddenly, Xie Wei remembered something. “Oh, that reminds me. I almost forgot. Ten years ago, you asked me to keep an eye on the canal shipping route run by the Mountain Hall. You also asked me to investigate whether any disciples of the Eastern Sea’s Immortal Domain had left anything behind. I’ve been checking all these years. And just last month, I finally found something.”

“Why did it take so long?” Li Yuan frowned.

“Well, I had already cleared out all the belongings left by that disciple years ago. We moved every chest in his quarters into the hidden tunnels. But the boxes were empty, so I left them there,” Xie Wei explained. “Then last month, one of the boxes suddenly started glowing. I went to see what was happening, and found that a charred wooden token had appeared inside it out of nowhere.

“It was radiating light, looked like the energy cast on it was running dry. Once the light faded, the token stayed visible. It hasn’t changed since. My guess is, someone had cast a concealment spell on it. The token was there all along, just hidden. But maybe the spell’s time ran out, and it revealed itself. But then the barbarians invaded, and I had no time to deal with it. Later, I forgot all about it.”

“Where is the token? Does anyone else know?” Li Yuan asked immediately.

Xie Wei leaned in and whispered the answer.

˙·٠✧🐗➶➴🏹✧٠·˙

That night.

A shadowy figure appeared without warning in a corner of the Jade Palace.

The palace was a ruin. Its once-elegant hot springs and beautifully restored pavilions lay buried in rubble. The air stank of blood. If you pushed aside the underbrush, you could still see dried stains and rotting flesh. From the distant city came the frantic thunder of hooves.

All of the Jade Capital was stretched taut, like a bowstring ready to snap.

The figure showed no interest in exploring. Without hesitation, he slipped into a particular ruin. In a blink, his body shrank down into a tiny speck-sized insect.

The insect crawled through a crack in the rubble and dropped down into the darkness below. Then, just as suddenly, it transformed back into human form.

In the hidden chamber beneath, Li Yuan searched swiftly, deft hands rifling through the shadows, until he found a box.

He reached in. His fingers closed tightly around a charred wooden token. And in the next instant, he was gone.

Just as the shadow vanished into the distance, another figure suddenly appeared outside the ruins of the Jade Palace.

At first glance, the person looked utterly unremarkable, plain clothes, plain face, the kind of person one would overlook in a crowd. Just another resident of the capital, nothing more.

But the moment he stepped into a patch of shade, his silhouette began to ripple strangely. The shadow cast on the wall writhed like some clawed, twisted monster.

His flesh squirmed.

And in the blink of an eye, he reshaped himself into someone entirely different.

Had Li Yuan been there to see it, he would’ve been shocked. This man’s transformation was identical to his own skill, Mortal World Transformation.

The figure walked toward the ruined Jade Palace. The guards at the gate immediately straightened, bowing with deference. “Greetings, Imperial Tutor Gao!”

Imperial Tutor Gao nodded and stepped inside.

He walked unhurriedly to the very spot where Li Yuan had just vanished. Bending slightly, he sniffed the air. A calm, knowing smile flickered in his refined eyes, as if the entire game board was already set, and he held every piece.

He didn’t pursue the matter further. He simply turned and walked away.

As he departed, his form shimmered again, returning to that bland, unmemorable appearance. Then he vanished into the crowd, swallowed by the dark.

Later, in a wilderness under the cover of night, he disappeared completely into the wind.

Or perhaps...he was the wind.