Chapter 474 - The Emperor's Death, Wandering the Jianghu, Twisted Imperial Capital, Heaven Soul Second Stage – Part 2

Li Yuan chuckled softly. His arm slid across her shoulders and gently smoothed her long hair as he began to explain.

The Eastern Sea’s Immortal Domain had already begun to show its hand, making moves to push forward the Grand Union of Yin and Yang.

It wouldn’t stay a secret for long.

He told her because she was his ally. She needed to be ready.

When he finished, Xie Wei sat in silence for a very long time. Eventually, she shook her head. “No...that doesn’t make sense. If that’s true, then why would the Mountain Hall help

me

? If the Eastern Sea’s Immortal Domain wants the Grand Union of Yin and Yang, and the Dragon Vein opposes it... Why would

both

sides send people to support me?”

“If we can’t make sense of the game...then it’s time to step off the board.” Li Yuan’s voice turned heavy. He repeated it again, this time with clear intent, “Move the Jade Capital.”

“Why?” Xie Wei suddenly asked.

Li Yuan looked into her eyes. “If I told you I see you as my woman...and I want you to live, to live well, would you believe me?”

Xie Wei closed her eyes. Her hands slowly rose to rest against the firm planes of his chest. A softness bloomed across her features.

“Thank you...” Her voice was barely above a whisper. Then she added, “There was something I hadn’t been able to decide until now. But I’ve made my decision.”

“What is it?” Li Yuan asked.

She leaned in until her chest pressed against his, raising her chin with the poise of a strange and graceful swan. Her eyes locked onto his.

“I’ve decided...” she said gently, “to ask His Majesty to die.”

“...” Li Yuan’s expression didn’t change.

Xie Wei giggled and leaned back, covering her mouth as she laughed. She gave him a playful slap on the chest. “I thought you'd be at least a little scared.”

Then, with no more teasing, she explained.

After the Dragon Vein sent the second loyal soul, it had also delivered a demand. The false Emperor had to die. The Dragon Vein could not tolerate an unclean Ji bloodline wearing the imperial crown.

But because the Empress was the de facto ruler, and Ji Hu was still too young, the loyal soul had not acted immediately. It had waited for

her

decision.

“That’s why Fish Guts was staring at your chest like that,” she said lightly. “He was ready to cut out your heart.”

Xie Wei paused for a moment, then said softly, “At first, I couldn’t bear to let you go. You were a formidable senior. Having you in the palace might’ve been a hidden card in my hand. But now...now that you’ve been so good to me...I don’t want you caught up in this storm any longer.”

A sorrowful look passed over her face.

“This madness has to end. The false Emperor must die. And you...you should go find Yu’er. The imperial capital has become a city of ghosts—a twisted, devouring place that eats away at lives and souls. You shouldn’t stay here anymore.”

Without warning, like a lioness roused to fury, Xie Wei seized Li Yuan’s face and kissed him with a fierce, desperate hunger. Then, as if possessed, she flipped him over, ignoring her exhaustion, and threw herself into one last reckless embrace.

“One last time,” she whispered. “One...last...time.”

Her voice rang out like wind and thunder in the darkness, shaking the night.

Li Yuan let out a soft sigh. He understood her now—her decision, her sorrow, and her courage.

So he held her hand, tightly. Fingers interlaced.

˙·٠✧🐗➶➴🏹✧٠·˙

Several days later.

The heatwave that swept over the Great Zhou began to subside.

And the reclusive Emperor, who was rumored to be in ill health, was suddenly declared dead.

In his place, the four-year-old crown prince, Ji Hu, ascended to the dragon throne in full.

The Empress remained by his side, still holding the reins of power.

The winds of chaos began to swirl once more.

In the sealed chambers of the Apparel Atelier, the red-robed atelier ghost stood silently in the shadows, watching the court with cold, patient eyes, like it was waiting for something.

Schemes tangled with blood, hearts filled with ghosts. The Jade Capital had become the stage for a twisted and unfathomably complex game of death.

And Xie Wei sat at the very center of it. She lifted a chess piece between her fingers, calm and steady. She was going to play this game.

But Li Yuan had stepped off the board. He understood her choice and knew he had no right to stop her.

And besides, she was no longer alone. Dark forces had begun to gather around her. Powers hidden in the deepest shadows.

That meant, even the one holding the pieces...was herself a piece.

Li Yuan had said all he could. And with her intelligence, Xie Wei surely understood what that meant.

But even so, she still chose to stay.

“Life is short,” she had said. “So even if I know this storm will swallow me whole, I still choose to sit here, at the eye of it. Not just for my clan...but to leave behind a name that burns bright. A name history won’t forget. Whether that name becomes the

Wise Empress

...or the

Demon Empress

.”

When Li Yuan left the Jade Capital, he was no longer the Emperor.

From that day forward, his title was silently erased.

He became just an ordinary young man again—drinking a cheap bowl of rice wine by the street, gnawing on two taels of beef. Yet all around him, the conversations, the rumors, the glances...they were still wrapped in the storms of the capital.

He gently shook his head. Then he made his way to a secluded mountain stream, shed his clothes, and bathed himself clean.

After that, he returned to the secret chamber in the Xie residence. There, he changed into a set of pristine white robes—flawless, untouched by dust—and sat in silence for half a month. Staring into the dark. Thinking...

Everyone else was now a piece on the board.

Yan Yu was forced to bring about the Grand Union of Yin and Yang.

Xie Wei was forced to hold the throne.

Naran was forced to march on the Central Plains.

Sheng'er was forced to guard the Deathless Tomb.

Each of them had been set on a path. Each had a purpose. Each was destined to change something.

And behind them all, pulling the strings were the true players behind the game—the slumbering gods within the Western Extremes, the Dragon Vein, and the Eastern Sea’s Immortal Domain.

Ping’an, Huayin, Jingxiang, and Yaojue had all gone to the Eastern Sea’s Immortal Domain. They didn’t really have a choice. To survive, they had to keep cultivating, had to keep pushing, had to prolong their lifespans. That was just how this world worked now.

And honestly, this

was

the best option left to them.

This world...was like rowing against the current in a raging torrent. If they didn’t move forward, they would drown.

Everyone except Li Yuan had already taken up heavy chains of fate, shackled by duty, by cause, by consequence. All walking paths that had no return, like wheels of history grinding forward without pause.

It left Li Yuan with a bitter taste in his mouth. A wry smile, a quiet sense of loss.

Even if he’d helped turn that wheel, he knew he’d only nudged it a little. A push here, a choice there. That was all.

Just a few turns of the spoke.

˙·٠✧🐗➶➴🏹✧٠·˙

On one particular day, Li Yuan finally rose from the dark.

He walked to the chamber doors and activated the hidden mechanism. With the clanking of chains and the grind of ancient gears, the doors began to open. A single ray of light pierced the gloom, growing steadily as the doorway widened.

Immaculate in his spotless white robes, Li Yuan stepped outside into the world again. He followed the sound of steel and found a beautiful woman in white, blade dancing in the courtyard. He leaned casually against the archway, smiling as he watched her.

He had come so quietly, so lightly, that Xie Yu didn’t even notice. It wasn’t until her blade struck a particular form and her gaze followed its arc that she finally saw him. She blinked.

And in the next instant—

“Kyaaaah!” She shrieked like a startled cat, leaping back in alarm.

“You scared me half to death!” she shouted. Then, just as quickly, she was out of words.

Before her stood the ice-cold man in white. He scratched his head awkwardly.

“What year is it?” he asked.

Xie Yu stared at him, hands on her hips, half annoyed and half amused.

“The Emperor just died. My clan’s little prince just ascended the throne. You tell me, what year do you

think

it is?”

𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

“Really?” Li Yuan blinked innocently. “All that happened while I was in seclusion?”

The smile faded from Xie Yu’s face.

She spoke quietly, “Gucheng...let’s separate. I’ve thought about it. You need your freedom, your space. You need solitude to truly comprehend the powers inside you. And those things...I don’t understand. I thought we were the same. But the truth is...we’re not. I—”

Before she could finish, Li Yuan stepped forward and pulled her into a tight embrace. His lips met hers before she could say another word.

A long moment passed.

When they finally parted, Xie Yu’s eyes were a little misty. Her voice was faint. “Well, now you’ve kissed me...”

Li Yuan cut her off, “I won’t go into seclusion again.”

She was silent for a while.

“That’s not good for you,” she said. “You shouldn’t force yourself just to match someone else.”

“I’m not forcing anything,” he replied. “From now on, I want to walk this road, with you.”

Xie Yu looked at him seriously. “Then...where to? To the Jade Capital? Bis Sis is over there, and it’s definitely not easy for her. We should go help.”

“While I was in seclusion, I had a lot of thoughts. Now I need time to digest them, through cultivation. Once I’ve done that, we’ll go.” Li Yuan said.

“Alright then...” She wrapped her arms around him and whispered, “Wherever you go, I’ll go too.”

Li Yuan looked at her deeply, then cast a final glance at the Xie residence.

“And if I want to wander the rivers and mountains,” he asked, “to travel the world with nothing but clear skies and moonlight, will you come?”

“Of course.” Xie Yu smiled.

And so, the two of them packed a few belongings, left behind a letter, and quietly departed the Xie Clan.

From that day on, they wandered the

jianghu

under false names. Just two people, side by side, on the road.

During their travels, Li Yuan continued to pursue the second sub-realm of the Heaven Soul cultivation technique. But no matter how he tried, he couldn’t make a breakthrough. He was simply lacking Yin energy.