Chapter 54

Translated by boilpoil Edited by boilpoil

Bai Lianhua can’t say anything in response.

In fact, he’s almost been convinced by Yang Chongyin’s logic… What a tragedy.

Yang Chongyin then asks, “will you hate me for this?”

He seems to want to lay out everything at once, “in fact, there’s probably one more thing you don’t know yet. The master and the elder, have now both lost all their capabilities… Yes. It’s something I did as well.”

Bai Lianhua raises his head in shock.

“They forced my life to change since I was young. I was forced to become strangers with my parents and relatives. I was not allowed to have any emotional fluctuation either…”

——Bai Lianhua is perhaps the only accident that the master and the elder have failed to plan for in his life.

“I am extremely disgusted with them in my mind. If it were not that they treated you well, I would not have hesitated to take their lives.”

“Perhaps this me is quite different from the Yang shixiong you had in mind… Are you scared?”

Bai Lianhua is unable to say anything.

Yang Chongyin’s expression clearly darkens. He still looks directly at Bai Lianhua, not willing to move his gaze away.

Bai Lianhua feels a bit pitiful for him, “no.”

Of course, he knows that the master and elder are not good people. What they’ve done to Yang Chongyin is deplorable… In fact, there’s another reason for which they treated Bai Lianhua well. If he were just Bai Lianhua and nothing else, it would have perhaps gone differently.

“I knew that everything shixiong has experienced is unfair. It’s perhaps a tall order for you to abandon your grudges and your hate.”

Bai Lianhua tries to smile, “I actually knew somewhat beforehand… Knew that shixiong is perhaps not peaceful and calm in your mind. Not as calm and collected, even noble as you seem on the surface.”

He bites his lips, “I might be dumb, but I’m not as silly as shixiong may have imagined.”

“There’s nobody that can retain their innocence in face of such treatment; I knew that from the start… Shixiong is someone alive. You’re not a marionette to be manipulated.”

Yang Chongyin seems agitated, “since you knew that I wasn’t as good ad you imagined, why did you still approach me?”

“I don’t know either,” Bai Lianhua raises his head to look at him with a clear expression, “if I knew, perhaps I could have restrained myself, and stop incessantly wanting to speak with shixiong.”

“You’re still my Yang shixiong. I don’t hate you, nor do I fear you… The cause for all this tragedy is this post of State Oracle that’s persisted through the ages. It’s the ex-emperor, the master and the elder’s fault… Not shixiong’s.”

“I think, it is not my place nor do I have the right to scold shixiong for what you did.”

Bai Lianhua says the classic phrase of all white lotuses with a complicated feeling, “I just… felt that the populace was innocent in all this.”

“Whenever the world falls in chaos, the populace suffers.”

“Look, in these days, those residents of the hamlet that looked up to you for divinations – they may have certain bad habits and undesirable qualities, but they’re all still humans who are alive and full of interesting quirks.”

“When the national fortune fails and causes the world to plunge into chaos, they would lose their peaceful lives and have to run away. They’ll lose their homes and belongings.”

He looks at Yang Chongyin, saying with a tone almost being able to be said to be begging, “shixiong. It’s not too late yet. The national fortune is still able to be salvaged.”

While the dynasty both has internal and external factors that could lead to potential collapse, but as long as they still remained untriggered, the dynasty can still be saved.

Though, Yang Chongyin is the only person who can do anything about it.

Yang Chongyin sighs quietly, “you’re still you, I see. The same as always.”

——To feel empathetic for the people, hoping for peace for the world.

He mocks himself, saying, “finally, the last person who genuinely cared for me, is also urging me to see to the duties of the State Oracle.”

Bai Lianhua lowers his head, not knowing what else he could do.

Yang Chongyin’s tone is too saddening. It makes him feel as if he has no shame facing Yang Chongyin directly.

And Yang Chongyin pauses before continuing, “if it’s you, then alright.”

Bai Lianhua can’t help but look at Yang Chongyin again as he hears this, his eyes widened.

“Though even if Bai shidi may feel empathetic towards the world, why not empathise with me first?”

“Help me return all these emotions they have stripped of me these years back onto myself.”

“Now I am already the State Oracle, and succeeded as the master of the sect. There is no one that can restrain me anymore telling me to remain emotionless.”

Yang Chongyin shows him a smile.

Bai Lianhua catches up to the wording in Yang Chongyin’s request, “ all emotions?”

“Yes. I am greedy. The worry existing between blood relatives, the care between close friends, the love between couples… I want all of that from you.”

“You said you are not as oblivious to these worldly emotions as I thought you are… Then have you noticed that I have affections for you, by any chance?”

Bai Lianhua is stunned… He didn’t expect that Yang Chongyin who’s been leading him along the garden path would suddenly be straightforward with it so.

“I… I…” During his stay, Bai Lianhua has already become accustomed to the slow pace when interacting with Yang Chongyin. Therefore he is slightly bewildered facing this straight remark by him.

Yang Chongyin continues, “does shidi not want to?”

“Then perhaps in other words… What this dynasty owes me, is Bai shidi willing to pay me back on its behalf?”

Bai Lianhua’s heart skips a bit. He forces himself to show a confused expression, “what do you mean?”

Yang Chongyin doesn’t seem to be affected, and continues, “you were also an imperial prince, weren’t you?”

Bai Lianhua’s fate is something beyond his divination capabilities; this is something he has discovered clues for during his tenure as State Oracle from within the many secret rumours about the royal family. He has become suspicious of Bai Lianhua’s true identity, suspecting him to be of royal blood… Though only as a bastard the ex-emperor abandoned among the common populace.

Yet perhaps it is only because of this special identity of his that Bai Lianhua is able to enter the sect despite his mediocre talents. For some people, perhaps only this close surveillance could make them feel safe while still separating him from the imperial throne as much as possible.

All those who enter the sect have more or less cut themselves off from the mortal world. It might not go as extremely as he did when he had to cut his ties off himself, but there’s still quite the inseparable barrier drawn between him and the normal people.

Clearly, someone who deals with the supernatural all day, every day becomes no threat to certain people.

——While the other imperial princes are receiving their appropriate education from the best tutors, while competing with each other over the connections they’ve made, Bai Lianhua is quietly learning about how to be a ‘diviner’… Over time, what ever stakes can he hold?

The master and elder may have taken care of him well, but on the other hand, this is still another form of surveillance.

The sect does not actually make it hard for the common disciple to leave for a period of time for any reason. Most of the disciples have had excursions to the outside world. Even he, as tacitly permitted by the master and elder, was allowed to see his family once, even if it were only to amplify his pain.

Only Bai Lianhua has not been allowed to leave for whatever cause since he entered. Even if he were a foodie, he could only ask his elder disciples for the latest types of snacks.

While everyone thought it was amusing as they were sure this is just Bai Lianhua being his lazy self, but perhaps there’s more to it than the eyes perceive.

In fact, it was true the master and elder were gentle and caring to him, but they were too kind, spoiling him by limiting the work Bai Lianhua has to do in assignments, even allowing him to scoot by undisciplined… Now that one is aware of this, it seems to be intentionally turning him into incapacitated trash.

If it were not that Bai Lianhua always seemed harmless, perhaps even that opportunity for him to experience the mortal world would not have come… Or, even this experience was itself a lethal trap.

Yang Chongyin had once suspected that his disappearance was related to his identity and there was more to it than meets the eye.

As the State Oracle to-be, he had the ability to decide who the next ruler would be… What about Bai Lianhua? He’s an abandoned imperial prince stuck in an awkward position, but he’s close to him.

He might understand how Bai Lianhua truly is and that he familiarising himself with him could not have been intentional or some deep, convoluted scheme of his. Yet, when seen from the outside by those who eye the throne with ambition, it would likely have been quite the eyesore.

Bai Lianhua, now, seems a bit reluctant, but he’s unable to deny it.

——He thought Yang Chongyin would never know.

Certainly, thanks to the system, his true identity in this world, other than being Yang Chongyin’s junior disciple on the surface, is also an imperial prince that’s stuck in an awkward position.

In a certain sense, he can even be said to be the son of Yang Chongyin’s mortal enemy? In the sense that Yang Chongyin hates this dynasty that has wrought his fate so, and also the emperor that’s an instrument of this.

… Ah, it’s kind of mystifyingly a wild plot element, perhaps.

But thanks to this identity, he could at least manage to stop the master and elder from employing certain extreme methods on Yang Chongyin. Also, with his self-harming schemes, he was able to get close to Yang Chongyin without worrying about himself being made ‘missing’——Just for his bloodline, the master and elder had to have certain reservations when dealing with him.

Yang Chongyin continues to try persuading him with his clear, calm voice. It is actually making Bai Lianhua’s skin itch.

“Speaking of which, since shidi you are part of the ex-emperor’s bloodline, of course you are also qualified to be a candidate for the imperial throne… Would you like my help attaining it?”

“If you want to, I can do it.”

Bai Lianhua “???”

No no no, no thanks… Bai Lianhua shakes his head wildly, while pondering how the topic switched to this all of a sudden.

Yang Chongyin’s thoughts are jumping all over the place. He’s failing to keep up.

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