Chapter 535 - Curtains Fall, The Emperor in Mourning, the Khagan Raises His Axe, and the Strongest of the New and Old Eras - Part 2

Early May.

A baby’s cries pierced the air from within a tent pitched south of Gemhill County.

And in the very instant that cry rang out, the bright spring sun overhead was suddenly swallowed by shadow. Crimson lightning surged across the distant sky like molten rivers. From deep in the earth, a biting cold welled up through the soil.

Heaven and earth began to churn like two massive whirlpools spinning into existence.

One in the sky, one on the ground.

For a moment, the world seemed to collapse in on itself.

But the vision lasted only a heartbeat.

The crimson lightning vanished. The ground stilled. The sky brightened again as though nothing had ever happened.

It had taken just a few seconds. A few people nearby had barely begun calling for friends to come look!. But by the time anyone stepped out of their tents, the spectacle was already gone.

No one thought to connect this strange omen with the birth happening inside that tent.

Except for Li Yuan. He glanced at the sky, eyes thoughtful, then quickly turned and made his way inside.

He had always known this child would be special, so the heavenly phenomenon didn’t surprise him. What puzzled him was how quickly it had vanished.

Inside the tent, someone called out, “It’s a girl!”

A smile broke across Li Yuan’s face. He stepped forward and gently took the newborn into his arms.

She was all wrinkles and squirming, her eyes still squeezed shut. Floating beside her was a combat power of merely

0

. Just an ordinary baby, or so it seemed.

Li Yuan looked over to the bed, where Xie Yu lay pale and exhausted, her gaze fixed on him.

“Our child!” he said joyfully, lifting the baby slightly as if to present her to the world.

Xie Yu asked softly, “What name do you want to give her?”

A simple, normal question. The midwives around them didn’t think anything of it.

But Xie Wei did. Something in the air made her wary. She quickly cleared the room, ushering out everyone except herself, Li Yuan, Xie Yu, and the newborn girl.

Xie Yu turned cold. “You’re going to give her

your

surname? Ximen?”

Li Yuan smiled. “Let her take your surname, Xie.”

Xie Yu fell silent for a moment. Then said, “No need.”

And added, “She deserves to have her

real

surname.”

Li Yuan looked at her, so pale, so frail after giving birth. He softened. “Let’s talk about it in a few days.”

Xie Yu turned her face to the side, then said quietly, “Leave.”

˙·٠✧🐗➶➴🏹✧٠·˙

Later that night.

Li Yuan was walking just outside the tent when Xie Wei approached. She shook her head at him.

“She knows,” she said.

Li Yuan said nothing.

“She’s put the pieces together,” Xie Wei continued. “She’s met Lady Divine Crow, she’s spent time with me, she’s seen the faceless ones...and she’s smart. She’s picked up more than we expected. The signs were there, from the old house you hid away, to your

special

status at the Ginger Tavern, to me being Lady White Plum, to Lady Divine Crow herself, and the powers you’ve shown here and there...

“She can’t lie to herself anymore. And beyond that,” Xie Wei added, “she’s learned quite a bit about what’s been happening in the Jade Capital as well. Last time, she asked me who was that man who burned with me in the Jade Pool Palace?

“I told her he was just a fake eunuch. She didn’t believe me. So I joked about a widowed woman like me finding herself a handsome man? She shot back that that wasn’t who I was, not unless it was a man I couldn’t resist. Another time, she asked how I knew Li Yuan. And afterward, I got the feeling she’d gone digging into your past.

“After all, the story of

Master Li

is a living legend. If she really wanted to know more, all she had to do was sit in a teahouse or tavern and listen to a storyteller, she’d pick up plenty. They might not know about his ties to the Khagan, but they’d still have a lot to say.

“Layer by layer, piece by piece...she gathered everything she could. And from all those pieces, she arrived at a truth too unbelievable to accept.

“Yu’er...she’s been investigating us behind our backs for a while now. Before, she could still convince herself to doubt, to second-guess. But not anymore.”

Li Yuan gave a helpless smile. “She can’t accept it, can she?”

Xie Wei replied, “She’s your woman. You know her temperament better than anyone. She left the Xie Clan for you, willingly. Gave up everything just to wander the world by your side. She’s the Empress Dowager’s own sister, and yet she’d rather live a life of obscurity, pinching coins, bickering with neighbors, just to be with you.

“The man she loves is Ximen Gucheng. And the deeper she loves him...the more impossible it becomes to accept

you

.

“Ximen Gucheng and Li Yuan...are not the same person. Ximen Gucheng was a pure, singular man of the blade. But you...you’re something unfathomable. Something divine.”

“Divine?” Li Yuan raised an eyebrow.

Xie Wei said softly, “You’ve already become a god. Aloof, untouchable, pulling the strings behind the curtain. No one can see through you, not even me.”

“I’m no god,” Li Yuan said quietly. “I only want the people I care about, my family, to survive this broken world. But you know as well as I do...in times like these...”

“No one knows what’s coming,” Xie Wei finished for him, her voice barely above a whisper.

“You don’t know either?” he asked.

But Xie Wei had no answer. She simply fell silent.

In that moment, a crushing loneliness crept into Li Yuan’s chest.

But then again...wasn’t that always the case?

Who could truly understand him, aside from Yan Yu, who had known his every move from the beginning?

Could he really blame them? No. He couldn’t. But could he sit down and explain it all?

Don’t be naive.

Li Yuan told himself, shaking his head. He couldn’t. And even if he did...it wouldn’t change a thing.

Xie Wei saw the silence on his face and, surprisingly, smiled. “At least you’re not a cold, heartless god. But maybe I’ve spent too much time around Yu’er these past days... I don’t know how to face her either.”

Li Yuan suddenly said, “Blame it all on me. It started with me anyway, when I was still Emperor and we were together. Yu’er needs family around her. And I...was never going to be someone who could stay by her side forever.”

Xie Wei asked softly, “Then the child...you’ll let her carry the surname

Li?

”

Li Yuan shook his head. “Let her name be chosen by you and Yu’er.”

˙·٠✧🐗➶➴🏹✧٠·˙

A few days later.

The truth came out.

Xie Yu couldn’t bear it.

She was still in confinement, still recovering from childbirth. But even so, she grabbed her sword and held her newborn child in her arms, ready to leave it all behind.

The ghost tide had finally receded. All across the land, scouts and martial artists had begun returning from their expeditions, bringing with them reports that shocked many.

Places once teeming with danger, where death could descend without warning, were now strangely quiet. It was as if all the darkness had been swept into one place and taken elsewhere.

For the first time in a long while, people could walk the earth without constantly checking for forbidden markers or fearing an ambush by ghosts that struck without rhyme or reason.

The little town’s houses, though weathered with age, were still standing. Not a single one collapsed. With a bit of cleaning, most could be moved back into right away.

This meant that, at the very least, Xie Yu’s sudden departure wouldn’t raise concern for her safety, at least not because of the road ahead.

But of course, Li Yuan still went after her.

This time, he didn’t wear the face of Ximen Gucheng.

He showed her his true face.

And still, Xie Yu refused to turn back. Not even when Li Yuan suddenly coughed up blood along the way. Not even then. She simply pointed her sword at him, her eyes ice-cold.

“I hate you,” she said coldly, then added through gritted teeth, “Stop following me.”

Sheng’er in her crow form descended from the sky.

Xie Yu looked up at the crow, but said nothing in the end.

After all, hardly anyone in the world knew that Lady Divine Crow was the daughter of Li Yuan and Yan Yu. Xie Yu certainly didn’t.

She assumed the crow followed Li Yuan simply because of his relationship with Yan Yu. They must’ve been partners, allies, nothing more.

Besides, Xie Yu had always gotten along well with Lady Divine Crow. She didn’t see any reason to take her anger out on her.

The little crow landed quietly on Xie Yu’s shoulder.

Li Yuan scanned the surrounding cliffs one last time. Up in the heights, two Tree’ers were waving their branches at him in reassurance.

Only then did he feel at ease enough to stop chasing her.

As Xie Yu disappeared into the distance, Xie Wei stepped silently up beside him and said, “She’s turned against me too now.

“When we were little...I used to bully her. But when we grew up, she still stuck to me like glue. She depended on me. Admired me. She always listened to whatever I said. She’s the only little sister I have. I always wanted to give her the best of everything.

“Except...for you. You were the one thing I selfishly took a bite of for myself. And just that one bite was enough to make her give me up completely.” Xie Wei sighed.

“Do you regret it?” Li Yuan asked.

“You’re the father of my son. What would I even be regretting?” Xie Wei shook her head. “And you...you didn’t have a choice either. Back then, you had to impersonate the Emperor. And even now, you still have to play that role. And what Emperor doesn’t get close to his Empress? If not for that...I would’ve never continued anything with you afterward.”

With Xie Yu gone, neither Li Yuan nor Xie Wei felt like continuing the conversation further. They shared a cup of light tea and then quietly went their separate ways.

˙·٠✧🐗➶➴🏹✧٠·˙

Over a month passed.

Xie Yu did not return.

But Li Yuan wasn’t worried. Sheng’er had kept him informed. Xie Yu had simply settled nearby, built a small wooden house, raised the child on her own, and was living a quiet, difficult life.

And on this particular day, the little crow arrived with more explosive news, fluttering down in excitement.

“The Kingdom of Han has fallen! Naran broke through! King Chu and King Wei were strong, but they still got killed! King Han ran away though! 20,000 two-headed direwolf riders, plus my Heaven Soul Grand Formation, there’s no way they can stop us!” the little crow chirped, full of pride.

“And...do you

feel

any stronger?” Li Yuan asked calmly.

The little crow paused. “Nope. Not really.”

“What about Naran?”

She tilted her head, thinking. “Also no.”

Li Yuan nodded. “Then get ready to save your little brother.”

“How could that be? We clearly won! We had a decisive victory!”

𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

The little crow blinked, confused. But then she quickly added, “Anyway, Papa, my Heaven Soul Grand Formation is already set up over a fourth rank meat field in Silkfloss Province. It used to be a third rank meat field, but it recently declined a bit. Still, I’m going to trigger a fission soon; it should release a ton of Yang energy!

“The old man said that once it splits, it’ll produce enough energy to raise nearly ten Heaven Souls to the third rank!” She giggled. “I already prepared the coffins and everything!”

Seeing Li Yuan about to speak again, she waved her wing dismissively. “Relax, Papa. I’m keeping a close eye on my little brother. He’s basically invincible now. On the battlefield, nobody can touch him!”

Li Yuan asked, “Invincible in what way?”

She grinned. “The old man said he’s capable of turning into a single-entity ghost. Every time he dies, the Yin energy just pulls him back together instantly.”

Li Yuan listened to her chattering happily, but his gaze drifted northward.