Chapter 1361: My Plan

“Er...”

To put it bluntly, they targeted him because he lacked background and patrons.

Another question came to Ye Qing. “But wait, if Emperor Jing Run really wants the Earthly Sovereign Bell, then why didn’t he send anyone when the heroes’ arena is taking place?”

𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

Feng Qingyou countered, “And how did you know that he hadn’t sent someone?”

“Emperor Jing Run is an ambitious but incompetent, cowardly but vicious man. However, he is extremely keen on playing power games. Patient and cunning, he is adept in the art of conspiracies and intrigues. I am sure he has dispatched some men, but your responses made him realize that his chances of killing you and snatching the Earthly Sovereign Bell from you isn’t one hundred percent. That is why he did not act rashly.”

This time, Ye Qing did not refute Feng Qingyou. It was because her deduction might very well be the truth.

First, he was protected by Murong Xianxian. Second, Xiahou Zun, Wan Lingxiao and Long-browed Divine Monk were watching over him at the time. Three, he was in Wei territory. It was never easy operating in foreign territory as the risks of being discovered were very real. Combined with the fact that the mission had a good chance of ending in failure, and it was easy to see why Emperor Jing Run chose to stay his hand.

Finally, Emperor Jing Run did not want to inadvertently alert him. If he realized what was happening, he would surely take countermeasures against it. It would make it so much harder for Emperor Jing Run to entrap him.

Ye Qing wasn’t boasting his own abilities. He was simply that strong and capable now.

Worst case scenario, there was always the option of joining Wei, Yan, or Qi. He was sure that these empires would welcome him with open arms.

“Hah! To think an emperor would personally scheme against me! What an honor it is!” Ye Qing said in a sarcastic, self-derisive voice before asking another question, “Say Qingyou, you said ‘yes and no’ earlier. What do you mean by that?”

“Yes, Emperor Jing Run desires the Earthly Sovereign Bell,” Feng Qingyou explained. “But no, it isn’t because he is using it to accumulate and secure the Will of the Empire. It is to repair the Heavens’ Eye.”

“The Earthly Sovereign Bell is the Earthly Sovereign’s Dao artifact and a creation of Profound Yellow Mother Qi. Be it in terms of background or offensive power, the Earthly Sovereign Bell is clearly superior to the Heavens’ Eye. But in terms of patrolling the realm and considering the current state of Chu, the Heavens’ Eye is clearly better than the Earthly Sovereign Bell. Besides, the Earthly Sovereign Bell is currently damaged, isn’t it? Its power is less than a tenth or a fifth of what it was during its prime. It would be taxing enough for it to secure Chu’s Will of the Empire, much less restore it. On the other hand, repairing the Heavens’ Eye is much easier.”

“Therefore, Emperor Jing Run wants the Earthly Sovereign Bell most likely because it wants it to feed it to the Heavens’ Eye to repair it. Even if Chu’s crises cannot be immediately resolved by the Heavens’ Eye’s restoration, the situation would not get worse than it currently is.”

“He’s planning to feed the Earthly Sovereign Bell to the Heavens’ Eye?”

Ye Qing was speechless for a second. Then, he let out a cold chuckle. “Emperor Jing Run is quite the dreamer, isn’t it?”

Feng Qingyou’s deduction was sound in logic and reasoning. He could find no flaws in it.

“So, what do I do now?”

“As I’ve told you before, the best solution is to leave Chu immediately,” Feng Qingyou answered.

Ye Qing let out a sardonic chuckle. “Now isn’t the time for jokes, Qingyou. You know I’ll never do that.”

If he wanted to leave, he would have left a long time ago. There would be no need to contact Feng Qingyou either.

“In that case, there is only one other way.” Feng Qingyou smiled. “You must surrender the Earthly Sovereign Bell in exchange for the hostages.”

“... Is there truly no other way?” Ye Qing asked reluctantly after a short silence.

The answer had come to him as soon as he learned of Emperor Jing Run’s true goal. He just didn’t want to admit it. How could he? At least half the reason he became so strong, came so far, and even lived this long was thanks to the Earthly Sovereign Bell. Naturally, he was reluctant to part with it.

That wasn’t all. The Earthly Sovereign Bell was the key to humanity’s safety. When he first obtained the Earthly Sovereign Bell, the Earthly Sovereign’s intent had entrusted him with the task of exterminating the Four Evils: the Earthbearing Dragon Turtle, the Undying Nether Phoenix, the Endless Lord of Plagues, and the World Ender Jiuying.

Back then, the Earthly Sovereign with his unparalleled power had split the Earthly Sovereign Bell’s essence into four to seal away the Four Evils indefinitely.

Alas, after ten thousand years, the seals on the Four Evils had almost run out of power. Should the seals run out of power, and the Four Evils broke free, then the bodies would surely pile like mountains, and the blood would run like the sea.

That was why the Earthly Sovereign’s intent had warned him to exterminate the Four Evils before they broke free. Obviously, the Earthly Sovereign Bell was absolutely necessary in the extermination effort.

If Emperor Jing Run simply wanted to take the Earthly Sovereign Bell for himself, then Ye Qing would be less miffed about it. Worst case scenario, he could wait until he had become a powerful Sage before coming up with a scheme to retake it.

However, it was a completely different story if Emperor Jing Run’s plan was to

destroy

the Earthly Sovereign Bell. Without it, how could he deal with the Four Evils and complete the mission the Earthly Sovereign’s intent had entrusted him with?

Sure, he still had almost thirty years before the Four Evils were expected to escape, and many things could happen in thirty years. Humanity might have come up with a better way to deal with the Four Evils by then, and geniuses and heroes who could eliminate the Four Evils once and for all might be born during this time.

Could he take the risk though? Of course not. After all, the price of success was countless human lives, and the price of failure was the end of humanity itself.

He wasn’t so selfish and cold-blooded that he would sentence millions of lives in the future to a fate of damnation for himself.

However, he wasn’t so magnanimous and virtuous that he would sacrifice his friends’ families and his own family for the greater good either.

In the end, he was just a mortal.

“The Earthly Sovereign Bell must not be destroyed. The hostages must be rescued as well.”

A period of silence later, Ye Qing looked straight at Feng Qingyou and declared in a tone that would not accept no as an answer.

“Is there a reason you cherish the Earthly Sovereign Bell so much?” Feng Qingyou seemingly guessed something and asked.

And so Ye Qing told her the truth. There was no reason to hide it anyway. He told her about the Four Evils and the mission that was entrusted to him.

Feng Qingyou was silent for a long time after he was done with his story. Then, she let out a heartfelt sigh. “Accept the opportunity, inherit the will, bear the karma. As I thought, there is no such thing as a free lunch.”

“I know right?” Ye Qing let out a bitter chuckle. “If Emperor Jing Run only desires to claim the Earthly Sovereign Bell for himself, then I wouldn’t mind giving it to him. I can simply take it back in the future. But his desire is to destroy it. That is why I cannot give him the Earthly Sovereign Bell no matter what.”

To his surprise, Feng Qingyou refuted him, “Actually, you’re wrong. Now that the pieces of the puzzle are in place, I believe that surrendering the Earthly Sovereign Bell to Emperor Jing Run is actually a great idea.”

Naturally, Ye Qing was confused. “What do you mean?”

“The Earthly Sovereign Bell is the artifact that inherited the Earthly Sovereign’s will, the responsibility to exterminate the Four Evils, and the duty of saving humanity. How can it be so easily destroyed?”

Feng Qingyou smiled. “This is what I predict will happen. Emperor Jing Run will fail to destroy the Earthly Sovereign Bell even if you surrender it to him without resistance. He might even lose more than he already has for trying to go against fate.”

“Perhaps, but it is just your guess, no? What if you’re wrong?”

Ye Qing was still worried. What if? It wasn’t like they could rewind time to fix things.

“I cannot be wrong. Not in this case.”

Feng Qingyou’s voice was absolutely confident, however. “If you are still worried, then we can leak the news of the Four Evils and Emperor Jing Run’s desire to destroy the Earthly Sovereign bell to the Clear Sky Palace, Earthly Sovereign Hall, and Human Sovereign Mountain. They will do everything in their power to stop him if they learn about this.”