V2C141

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What kind of… mindset is this?

“Ahem… Shi Ying doing things, he never really… followed the conventional rules.” The news had just reached the Purple Pavilion, and even the bedridden emperor released a bitter laugh, turning to the man on the side, “You didn’t expect that either, did you?”

The Grand Master sitting next to him shook his head and nodded in turn.

“He is not suffering from negative anger, is he?” The Bei Mian Emperor murmured, with a strange expression in his eyes, “Like me back then, thinking that there was nothing left to hope for in this life anyway, so… might as well just pick one randomly? This ended up hurting Ah-Yan… as well as Autumn Water. Cough, cough.”

“Ah-Jun, you shouldn’t worry about this,” the Grand Master interrupted his elder brother, “both of them are already in the grave since long time, preserving your life is important, it is better to exert less effort.”

The Bei Mian Emperor took a breath and murmured, “Fortunately, you are lucky to live a long life, and I am relieved to have you by Shi Ying’s side… ahem…”

The Grand Master smiled bitterly and shook his head, ” Except that, unfortunately, my life span is also coming to an end.”

“What?” The emperor was shocked and propped himself up.

“Don’t look at me like that – I’m the Great Sage after all, I can foretell my own lifespan.” Da Si Ming gazed out of the window at the night sky and smiled bitterly, “Look, my star has already started to dim…” bending his fingers and calculating, “I have only two or three more years left to live before my lifespan is over.”

“How… how can this be?” The emperor’s face was ashen as he muttered, “You… were always in good health, why would you be… dying within just two years”

“Of course, the cause of death is not natural,” the Grand Master’s tone was calm, “but rather a bloodshed – if the calculations are correct, I am supposed to die from being murdered.”

“Impossible!” The emperor blurted out, “Whom would be capable of killing you in the entire Yunhuang?”

“Heh, for that matter, I am also curious myself…” Da Si Ming said lightly, gazing out at the stars, “There is hardly anyone left with the ability to outsmart me on this Wasteland – unless it is Shi Ying to do it himself.”

“Shi Ying?” The emperor did not expect to hear his son’s name and could not help but become even more pale, “He has always regarded you as his Master, how is he going to kill you? This… ahem, this can’t be!”

“There is nothing impossible, I have done some unspeakable things for the sake of Yunhuang,” the Grand Master shook his head, and a meaningful bitter smile appeared at the corner of his mouth, “If he learns what I have done covertly, he will surely want to kill me in return, for sure.”

“…” The emperor fell silent, as if he suddenly understood something, and raised his head to look at Da Si Ming, and said in one sentence, “Then don’t ever let him know.”

The light of the candles reflected on the Grand Master’s face, gloomy, unsettled and unfathomable.

“Let’s not talk about this for now,” the Grand Master shook his head in an attempt to melt away the frozen atmosphere and changed the subject, “Now that Shi Ying has chosen a consort, it’s time to hold a tight grip on everything that follows – you should be aware that the Green King is already working on the territory starting to mobilize his army.”

“Is that so?” The emperor muttered upon hearing the bad news but not showing too much surprise, “The Green King is really a hungry wolf, when cornered, he indeed means to revolt openly…”

“Don’t worry, according to the spies who sent me back information, so far none of the other Vassal Kings have sided with him.” The Grand Master whispered, “The Primus Army originally under the charge of Qing Gang has now been taken over by Xuan Can, and the White King and Red King have each dispatched their own forces to prepare to advance to the capital – the situation in the kingdom will still not be overturned for a while.”

“Cough, cough…” However, the emperor only coughed feebly with concern, “But… what about the Green King? Is he just going to be allowed to fortify his army across the realm? Has he also colluded with the Ice barbarians on the Western Sea? The gateway to the north of the Yunhuang, in case of being overtaken by the Cangliu Empire…”

“It won’t happen, you mustn’t worry.” Da Si Ming sighed and lifted his garment, “I will personally go over and take care of the situation with the Green King, I will not allow him to keep messing around.”

“What?” The emperor was startled, “What you planning to do?”

“Capture the traitor first.” The Grand Master said calmly, “Before they can officially raise their banner to rebel, I will go to the Green King’s Residence in the Purple Terrace and execute the Green King first – without the leader of their group, the rebellion will most likely not even start.”

When it came to removing a head from the midst of an army only by himself, he was as nonchalant as sipping a cup of tea.

“Are you… going alone?” The emperor reached out and grabbed his brother’s wrist, coughing intensely, “It’s too dangerous! Ahem… you must absolutely not!”

“Alas, Ah Jun, now is not the time for fraternal piety,” the Grand Master sighed, turning back to gaze at the dying emperor, “the world of Kongsang is in danger, and you may collapse at any moment, at such times, if I don’t make a decisive move first, I am afraid that someone else will steal the show!”

“So… something so dangerous… you, all by yourself…” the emperor coughed violently in a huff. Even the words came out unclear, “No… cannot… absolutely!”

He patted his brother’s withered shoulder and whispered reassuringly, “I am still considered to be the greatest master of magic in the Yunhuang Kingdom, I might hesitate to fight one against ten thousand, but I can still fight one against a hundred – the divine priests of the Green Clan are mediocre and not skilled enough to be worthy of fear. There is nothing to be worried about. Even if I fail to kill the Green King, it won’t be too difficult for me to retreat… You don’t have to worry too much.”

The Northern Coronation Emperor gradually unclenched his grip, but his eyes remained apprehensive as he whispered, “Shall I go and request the Sword Saint’s Sect to help us one more time?”

“No way, the Sword Saint Sect?” The Grand Master laughed bitterly and patted the back of his hand, “They have always kept themselves apart from the political struggle of Yunhuang for thousands of years, being quite detached from the court – I was already surprised that you managed to ask them to help you overcome the civil unrest last time, can they still be requested again?”

The emperor fell silent, breathing heavily, and only after a long time whispered, “I should have known… that I should have preserved that handwritten warrant from the former Sword Saint; now they could have been asked to go with you to the Green King’s residence… cough… Why bother using it for something like executing Consort Qing?”

The dying man spoke with urgency, and in the end coughed violently again.

Obviously infected by his brother’s sincerity, the Grand Master’s eyes faltered for a moment and he couldn’t help but sigh: “Ah-Jun, have you forgotten that not long ago I wanted to take your life? Although I am your younger brother, I have been mostly hostile towards you throughout my entire life and have not been kind to you at all. Why do you still think of me in such a way?”

The emperor coughed for a while before he managed to speak, “I have also done a lot of wrong things over the course of my life, of which I’m not very proud of.”

“…” Da Si Ming remained silent for a moment and patted his sibling’s shoulder, “Rest well, I’ll be right back. If things go well, maybe I can even come back in time for the big wedding ceremony.”

The old man turned to leave, his black robes flapping hauntingly in the shadows of the candlelight within the deep Palace.

By nightfall, the wind at the top of the White Tower was even more bitter, blowing so hard that one could hardly manage to stand still. Yet there was someone standing motionless in front of the Gui Heng in silence, wearing only a white robe that was fluttering in the wind, and his eyes were glistening brightly against the reflection of the stars, while his fingers were calculating something swiftly, until, in the end, his body quivered.

“What? Still trying to figure out where that piece of returning evil hides?” Without making a sound, the Grand Master appeared behind Shi Ying, and said cautiously, “You won’t find it – I’ve made repeated calculations, it has been concealed by a greater power than we can project.”

“No,” Whispered Time Shadow, shaking his head, “I was following Zhao Ming’s trajectory.”

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