Chapter 891: Suppression!

Xiao Yibo slowly removed his blindfold and pulled the plugs from his ears.

Before him, the Guides of Stars who had once enjoyed incomparably exalted status across the snowfields were chanting ancient incantations while coughing blood. Every face carried a smile of release.

The scene was tragic and heroic.

And the more “tragic and heroic” it looked, the harder Xiao Yibo found it to suppress the upward curl of his lips.

He was controlling himself with everything he had, trying not to make his smile too obvious.

A demon lives inside every heart. And for a man who had personally driven a blade into his own father’s chest, the definitions imposed by ordinary worldly standards had long since ceased to apply.

Still, after that almost twitching state lasted for a short while, Xiao Yibo forcibly suppressed it. He took a deep breath and raised his head again.

Stone covered the ceiling above him.

In truth, even without the stone, he still would not have been able to see anything.

But what did that matter?

“Steward Xiao.”

A Brocade-Clad Guard handed him a ledger and a brush.

Xiao Yibo nodded and accepted them.

He supported the ledger in his left hand, held the brush in his right, and simply stood there looking ahead.

The moment he assumed that posture, the chanting from the Guides of Stars below suddenly grew louder. The smiles on their faces deepened as well.

That was a merit ledger.

Prince Pingxi Residence had an atrocious reputation on the snowfields, but no one could deny one thing: it had always been clear and exact about rewards and punishments. The small tribes that had submitted to Snowsea Pass in the earliest days had all grown stronger one after another.

That was the best proof.

Years ago, while still locked in a cage, Gou Moli had once roared hysterically at the Blind Man. He said that over the past several centuries, the Savages of the snowfields had tried everything.

Some learned the language of Xia.

Some wore the clothing of Xia.

Some adopted the hairstyles of Xia.

Some even helped the Jin capture members of their own people and send them away as slaves.

They bowed and scraped. They buried their heads in the deep snow long ago.

Yet in the end, they never gained recognition from the Jin.

No.

From all Xia.

Ritual and culture?

Bullshit.

In the end, what mattered was still the skin covering your body.

They were all human.

They had always been human.

But in the eyes of the people of Xia, Savages were no different from pigs and dogs.

At that moment, the first Guide of Stars toppled over and lost all signs of life.

A Brocade-Clad Guard went down, removed the waist token hanging from the corpse, and brought it to Xiao Yibo.

Xiao Yibo glanced at the token and began writing.

Above them, the manifested star continued smashing into the blue bird again and again, each collision a suicidal expenditure of strength.

The blue bird dodged repeatedly, but every dodge still consumed a considerable amount of power.

Thus, even with the Daoist’s profound cultivation, after first being obstructed by the Buddha image and then facing this relentless assault from the star, he was beginning to find it difficult to endure.

More importantly, he had already sensed several groups filled with killing intent converging upon his location from every direction.

This was Fengxin City.

The seat of Prince Pingxi Residence.

The Brocade-Clad Guards reacted with extraordinary speed. Their Prince had not yet returned from campaign, and the Princess was waiting to give birth. At a time like this, any accident inside the Residence would be something none of them could accept.

Those qualified to become Brocade-Clad Guards had all been selected from a thousand men for their loyalty.

If something truly happened, there would be no need to wait for the Prince to return and punish them.

They would be the first to cut their own throats.

“The aura of a founding dynasty. The aura of a founding dynasty indeed.”

Inside the coffin shop, the Daoist could not help sighing.

When a state was about to arise, whether gods and Buddhas filling the heavens or monsters and demons lurking in darkness, they would naturally gather around it and try to “share” in that great opportunity.

So everything that ought to appear would appear.

The Buddha had been unable to sit still.

Now even the stars had gathered here.

Once the atmosphere had formed, petty figures could no longer easily reach into it.

Yes.

The Daoist had just compared himself to a petty figure.

Before “a state,” no matter how powerful a man beyond the world might be, no matter how strong a Martial Artist, Swordsman, or Qi Refiner, he was still only petty vermin.

“Return!”

The Daoist withdrew his palm.

The blue bird in the sky began retreating.

The star seemed ready to pursue, but the blue bird originated from one person while the star had been formed through the combined power of many.

That meant the star could defend.

Active pursuit was another matter.

If they insisted on chasing, one Guide after another would gradually find himself unable to lend his strength across the growing distance. They would fall out of reach, and the star would weaken continuously.

In the end, the blue bird could simply turn around and peck it apart with ease.

Tagan opened his eyes.

Around him, six Guides of Stars had already lost their breath. The rest were all extremely weak.

Everyone here wanted death.

They wanted their names, and the names of their mother tribes, to be written into the ledger held by the steward of Prince Pingxi Residence.

But Tagan understood more clearly than anyone else that all of this depended on their successfully defending the Residence.

If they pursued blindly and let the enemy counterattack and reverse the situation, then not only would the merit of this battle be erased with one stroke, the companions who died afterward, together with those already dead, would all have died for nothing.

Take the profit and stop.

“Steward, that powerful Venerable has been driven back by us at the cost of our lives.”

Xiao Yibo heard this.

He raised his head again and stared at the stone ceiling, pretending he could see the “battle” taking place above.

Then he gave a noncommittal grunt, turned around, and left.

He needed to verify whether things had truly ended that way.

As he walked out of the courtyard beside Prince Pingxi Residence, Xiao Yibo thought that in the future they really ought to assign a Qi Refiner specifically to supervise these Savage Guides of Stars.

He himself was a blind man with his eyes open.

He truly was not suited to this work.

He had climbed all the way from sweeping the courtyard at Cuiliu Fort to becoming chief steward of Prince Pingxi Residence.

Because of that, he understood one principle very well.

Rather than clutching at outside assignments and refusing to let them go, it was better to hand away everything that could be handed away and remain quietly inside the Residence.

That was the best path for one’s future.

Anything else was picking up sesame seeds while throwing away the watermelon.

Fortunately, there was no need for him to report anything.

Inside Prince Pingxi Residence, Xue San had already looked up and seen the blue bird retreating.

Siniang had returned to the Princess’s courtyard and was sitting there while Liu Ruqing and the other women attended her.

“Heh-heh.”

Siniang smiled.

She spat out the shell of a sunflower seed and said to Madam Ke:

“Send someone outside to pass Third Master a message. Tell him Prince Pingxi Residence has its own rules. This isn’t some place anyone can come and go as they please. The man of the house isn’t here, and we women aren’t suited to keeping guests. So it would be best to bury him here and let him slowly wait for the Prince to return.”

Madam Ke found Siniang’s words very strange, but she still hurried outside to relay them.

Then Siniang turned and looked toward the inner room.

She was not especially worried about giving birth herself. It was her first child, yes, but her physical constitution stood there plainly.

The original concern that “reproductive isolation” might make it difficult to safely deliver a child even after forcibly becoming pregnant had disappeared once Demon Child revealed the truth behind the “Ghostwork ligation.”

According to the Demon Kings’ analysis, when it came to bloodline, Master was unquestionably the one dragging down the score.

In a sense, that added another layer of insurance and made it less likely that anything absurd would happen during pregnancy.

But Siniang was somewhat worried about the Princess’s pregnancy.

Normally, Siniang had been the one checking her pulse, examining the fetal position, and feeling the condition of the child.

The Princess possessed Fire Phoenix blood.

Although that bloodline had grown extremely thin after countless generations, there was still some chance of atavism.

Master’s bloodline created little difficulty for Siniang. Whatever happened, she could endure it and maintain control.

The Princess was different.

If the next generation experienced atavism, then the mother would effectively be nurturing an existence whose aura was stronger than her own.

And signs of exactly that had already become extremely obvious.

The child inside had always been very obedient and rarely made trouble. Only when Liu Ruqing or the others occasionally listened to the Princess’s belly and patted it would the child kick once or twice in response.

But Siniang could clearly sense the maturity of that child’s aura.

Perhaps Master had something to do with it.

As Fan Li had once said, to this world, people like them were basically giant shit-stirring sticks.

Or perhaps fate had always been arranged this way, and Xiong Liqing’s next generation was destined to undergo this kind of bloodline mutation.

Either way, when the Princess gave birth, everyone had to remain at the highest level of alert.

Otherwise Xue San would never have ridden back alone in such a hurry simply to stand ready.

The calmer everything looked now, the greater the waves might become later.

As for the question of saving the mother or the child, Siniang had never asked Xiong Liqing in advance.

She would not ask anyone else either.

Because the answer was obvious.

Save the mother.

Whether Master returned in time had nothing to do with it.

Master would unquestionably make the same choice.

In later generations, anyone who insisted on “save the child” would be mocked: what, does your family have a throne waiting so desperately for an heir?

Well... their family actually did have a princely throne now.

But from the Demon Kings’ perspective, they truly had no interest in raising a child whose mother had died in childbirth the moment he was born.

That plot was far too cliché.

They had no emotional bond with the child yet.

They had never even met him.

Naturally, they would abandon the child.

As for how outsiders might interpret it, or whether Xiong Liqing might think Siniang was doing this to eliminate future competition for the child inside her own belly...

Siniang did not care at all.

Master’s rear household certainly belonged to Master.

But it belonged to her too.

Siniang lifted one hand and gently rubbed between her brows.

Liu Ruqing, standing beside her, immediately took over and softly massaged the spot.

Siniang smiled faintly and relaxed.

She thought:

If mother and child can both be safe, that would be best.

I only ask that Heaven stop forcing some twists and turns into this sort of affair.

...

Inside the coffin shop, the Daoist laid a fresh human-skin mask over his face.

He was not trying to hide his identity.

His real skin simply feared sunlight.

Above him, after retreating, the blue bird began circling along the outer perimeter. At the same time, it gave the Daoist a kind of top-down “vision,” allowing him to evade the first encirclement of Brocade-Clad Guards in time.

The Daoist had not been sent by anyone to harm Prince Pingxi Residence.

He truly had come only to look.

Only to take a glance.

Unfortunately, this atmosphere was far more solid than he had imagined. Alone, he was no longer able, nor willing, to keep forcing his head against it.

It was not worth it.

His mind and awareness were indeed extremely compatible with the so-called Heavenly Dao.

But he had not yet dissolved his body and abandoned the mortal shell.

Fear of death remained a human instinct.

Bang!

Bang!

Signal flares from the Brocade-Clad Guards kept exploding into the sky, passing messages to their comrades.

Third Master still had one foot planted on the dagger that pinned the iron chain in place.

At the same time, he watched the signal flares blooming above the distant streets.

The bastard was running.

And very likely... he really would escape.

Xue San had received Siniang’s message.

Third Master could only sigh.

Women were dangerous.

Pregnant women were even more dangerous.

“Still, I’ve honestly wanted to let you out for some air too.”

This was a great killing weapon everyone had worked so hard to capture on the snowfields.

Third Master’s hands had been itching for ages.

He genuinely wanted to use it once.

Even if there was danger.

Even if it remained only partly controllable.

Precisely because of that... it felt exciting.

Xue San bent down.

His right hand seized the iron chain on the ground.

His left pulled out the dagger.

Then... he yanked the chain backward another length.

Clack...

Clack...

Clack...

Deep underground, the final short section of mechanism was finally pulled free.

Gurgle...

Gurgle...

The blood stored above began flowing down channels along the iron chains.

At last... it converged above the cage.

Splash...

Blood poured across the black-armored man’s body.

Every inch of skin touched by blood reacted like earth cracked after a long drought, drinking madly.

His eyes slowly opened.

This fellow was an unfinished product.

His origin had not recovered.

His reserves were badly depleted.

But just as they had discovered on the snowfields, fresh blood could stimulate his condition for a short period.

Xue San had not gone below.

Yet he knew perfectly well what was happening underground.

Under normal development, judging by the Blind Man’s particular nature, he could have become something like a State Preceptor.

Once the Blind Man recovered to a sufficiently high level, whether Qi Refiners or men beyond the world, he could flatten them all within their own professional field.

Whatever illusion you produced, whatever falsehood you manifested, beneath a psychic storm all beings were equal.

The problem was... the Blind Man had not recovered anywhere near the level required to become a “State Preceptor.”

Among the Demon Kings’ current levels, he was still one step behind, just like Xue San himself.

And worse... he was not even home.

But that did not matter.

Because the black-armored man below possessed ability in exactly this field too.

There was absolutely no possibility of letting the man out of his cage, so Xue San did not go down to open the door.

Instead, he went to the artificial hill and pulled out one of its rocks.

Behind it was a tube leading all the way underground.

Third Master brought his mouth to the tube.

“Hello, hello. Hoo-hoo... hello, hello...”

Beside the cage below, another tube extended down.

It appeared to be part of an iron chain.

In truth, that chain was hollow.

The opening ended directly above the black-armored man’s head.

“You still want blood? Tastes good, doesn’t it? Come on, let’s make a deal. See that big blue bird flying in the sky? Drag it down for me, and I’ll treat you to another bucket.”

There was no further conversation.

No prolonged hesitation.

The agreement was reached in an instant.

The black-armored man opened his eyes.

His pupils were filled entirely with blood-red light.

He raised his head.

His body slammed against the iron chains binding him, sending a series of violent tremors through the prison.

Then... he roared:

“ROAR!”

...

“Can’t play anymore. Can’t play anymore. Who knows whether this founding atmosphere tied to a rootless spirit will ultimately be a blessing or calamity for the world? Forget it. This poor Daoist doesn’t care anymore. I’m going back into seclusion. I’ll come out again in another five years and see whether eastern Jin has founded a state by then!”

The Daoist’s figure moved through the streets.

His speed was not especially fast.

But his ability to conceal his appearance and misdirect the eye was extremely effective.

Above, the blue bird protected his retreat from this heavily guarded princely city.

The city gates themselves did not matter much.

If the entire city was being sealed only to catch one man, closing the gates was almost meaningless.

It was not as though the fellow could not leap across walls and roofs.

And so the Daoist reached Fengxin City’s western gate with little difficulty.

“Come. You’re tired. I’m tired too. Come back.”

The Daoist raised one hand toward the blue bird.

The bird folded itself for a dive and prepared to return into his body.

Then... a black hand suddenly seemed to reach out from the very curtain of Heaven.

It seized the blue bird first.

And squeezed.

“PFFFT!”

The Daoist had already overdrawn himself after dueling the Buddha and the star in succession.

Under this sudden crushing blow, the blood inside his body surged backward violently.

Blood poured from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth.

His chest caved inward.

With a heavy thud, he dropped to his knees, mouth hanging open, horror covering his face.

Yet instinct remained.

Even after a successful ambush left him gravely injured, the kneeling Daoist still formed seals with both hands.

He had been about to roar:

Break for this poor Daoist!

But just as the blue bird prepared to respond and struggle... an ancient banner appeared upon that enormous black hand.

One character was written across it:

XIA.

“How... can this be...”

The Daoist’s body convulsed.

Then... face first... he collapsed directly outside Fengxin City’s western gate.

Years ago, when Master Cang entered Yanjing and severed the dragon vein, not only had he himself perished, nearly every white lotus representing an extra thread of life had withered as well. Only one remained to be carried away.

That had been the will of a single state.

It was fundamentally different from the founding-dynasty atmosphere now gathering around Fengxin City.

That was why Master Cang could be said to have gone to sever the dragon vein fully prepared to die.

He had even brought more than ten additional lives with him through those white lotuses.

And still... it had not been enough.

What appeared before the Daoist now... was the will of All Xia.

This had nothing to do with raw strength.

Nothing to do with the caster’s depth of cultivation either.

The main problem was that he himself had pushed directly into it.

He had slammed himself against it.

Once he did that... he naturally had to pay the corresponding price.

No matter how exquisitely someone performed a lion dance, no matter how brilliant the technique... once the dancer met an actual lion... none of it mattered.

The Daoist lay there.

Unable to move.

All he could do was watch the city guards and nearby Brocade-Clad Guards gradually surround him.

The only thing he could manage... was a faint murmur:

“This time... I really played myself into the ground...”

[End of Chapter 891]