Beginning with the Ubume Bird-Chapter 603 - 35 Closing the Polls

On the stage, people were coming and going. Some, without uttering a word, stamped a golden star on the board and directly walked off the stage, while others would say a few symbolic words.

"I’ve never liked monks, never have."

The individual with the shawl-like hair stood on the stage, seemingly unconcerned about Wuwei Sanzang’s feelings. He took his hand out of the pocket of his jeans, stamped a star beneath the emblem for Taishuai, then suddenly turned his head to face Yang Zheng, "But I don’t like cops either."

After finishing his statement, he placed the stamp on the table and actually walked straight off the stage.

As soon as the person with the shawl-like hair stepped off, Bai Xiao immediately stood up, took two or three steps onto the stage, and stamped a star beneath Zheng’s emblem before stepping down.

Not long after, the short-haired woman named Gongshu ascended the stage. She glanced at Lady Dan below, then stamped a golden star beneath the emblems for both Jingang Zhi and Zheng. Just as she was about to leave the stage, Commissioner Bai suddenly gave Gongshu an inquiring look, to which Gongshu nodded almost imperceptibly. Commissioner Bai’s eyebrows twitched, as if reassured, and he took a conspicuous sip from his teacup.

Jiao Chong muttered dejectedly to Commissioner Bai, "I heard that Si Wenji released a statement yesterday, asking all those Proxy Travelers who are on secondment at Third Eye Global or who have been looked after by them to cast their votes for Mountain Spirit. Moreover, many are not keen on us getting another secondary seat. If Yang Zheng ends up losing the votes, don’t come looking for me."

Commissioner Bai shook his head without saying a word.

As they spoke, Miss Mei took to the stage. She hesitated in front of the three emblems symbolizing heritage, and after a good while, she decided to cast her votes for Yang Zheng and Lady Dan.

Cha Xiaodao followed closely onto the stage. He turned his eyes round and round, cast his votes for Jingang Zhi and Lady Dan, and then turned to step down.

Li Yan stood up but before he could reach the secondary seat to ascend the stage, Zhao Jianzhong suddenly spoke, "This election is directly related to you, you can’t vote."

"I know."

Li Yan didn’t sit down immediately but looked at Lady Dan across Zhao Xuantan, with a complicated expression on his face.

"Do you two have something to say to each other?"

Zhao Xuantan suddenly spoke, catching Li Yan by surprise.

Before Li Yan could speak, Zhao Xuantan continued, "The new list for the Yan Zhao Club hasn’t been decided yet, everyone is just sitting casually. A gentleman should delight in helping others achieve their potential, so why don’t we switch places?"

Li Yan blinked and immediately nodded with a smile, "Then thank you."

"No worries." Zhao Xuantan actually got up. Facing the primary seat, he asked, "Elder, this doesn’t break any rules, does it?"

Zhao Jianzhong shook his head slowly, "It doesn’t."

Zhao Xuantan patted Li Yan on the shoulder and then, humming a tune, really made his way into the fourth seat.

Li Yan sat down beside Lady Dan without demur, he tilted his head and looked at Lady Dan’s face, exhaling slowly, "Yan Fu is such a wonderful place."

Gongshu retracted her gaze, looking somewhat puzzled as she asked Zheng Jinghong beside her, "What kind of game is Zhao Xuantan playing? I can’t seem to see through it."

Zheng Jinghong was still notably frail, but it wasn’t evident on his face any longer. He replied quietly, "Qin An is dead, but he’s left quite a bit of property behind. As time goes on, Zhao Xuantan won’t have it easy. He’s a smart man, but some things can’t be resolved with cleverness alone. Let’s see how long he can hold out."

One after another, representatives of the Yan Zhao Club made their way to the stage. Some of the new representatives who weren’t aware of what had happened asked those around them and, after pondering for a while, still decided to go up and vote.

Over the past two years, there had been little change in the members of the Yan Zhao Club; they were a closed circle. When it came to this segment of vote-casting, more or less everyone knew what kind of vote count each person could secure; it was all a formality. But this time, the Yan Zhao Club was welcoming a large influx of new blood, and together with the fact that many of the old representatives were barred from entry, the outcome of the votes became unpredictable, leaving everyone uncertain of the result.

"You should have told me beforehand, especially about this kind of thing."

Li Yan spoke very slowly.

"Would you have agreed to me then?"

Their faces almost touched each other.

"No."

"I thought so too, that’s why I simply didn’t say anything."

"..."

The two fell into a prolonged silence, and sitting on the other side of Lady Dan, Jingang Zhi calmly turned his prayer beads, his expression as unfathomable as an ancient well.

Lady Dan looked at Li Yan with a somewhat heavy expression on his face, and suddenly smiled radiantly. She reached out to stroke Li Yan’s ears and hair, her eyelashes trembling slightly, "I know, you really dislike this kind of thing. I promise I won’t ever do it again."

Li Yan grabbed Lady Dan’s wrist and squeezed it tightly, not speaking for a long while before finally mumbling, "There better not be a next time."

On the stage, Si Wenji stamped a golden pentagram under the Taishuai insignia on the board, and seeing Li Yan and Lady Dan acting intimately as if no one else was around, an unpleasant feeling was clearly etched on her face.

She slammed down the stamp and left the stage without turning back.

Commissioner Bai glanced over calmly, a sudden sinking feeling in his heart.

Taishuai’s vote count was still the lowest, only around one hundred and fifty, but unknowingly, it seemed that many Proxies who had only voted for Lady Dan had emerged, and the gap between her and Yang Zheng was only about forty votes.

As for Jingang Zhi, his vote count was still far in the lead. With barely any people left who hadn’t voted, if the newly arrived Proxies couldn’t make up the difference, the voting would come to an end.

"It shouldn’t really come to that," he thought apprehensively.

But in the end, things still moved in the direction he was reluctant to see.

Perhaps Lady Dan’s words had eased the concerns of those who were reluctant to vote for Zheng, or maybe Third Eye Global really had incredible reach; Lady Dan’s vote count actually caught up to Yang Zheng’s, with both ending up at two hundred and seven votes!

"Is there anyone else?"

Zhao Jianzhong asked, frowning.

The place was silent; Jingang Zhi’s final vote count was two hundred and sixty-three, evidently unbeatable.

"If that’s the case,"

Just then, the door suddenly opened, and when Jiao Chong saw the face of the person entering, rage burst forth from his face, and his expression was even stiffer. The representatives on either side couldn’t help but look at him.

Chou Ci, covered in mud and wounds and appearing somewhat at a loss, gazed around at the richly decorated venue.

"Are you here to vote?"

Zhao Jianzhong asked languidly.

"I, I," Chou Ci struggled to speak.

Zhu Jiuyin chimed in, "If you’re not going to vote, find a place to sit. If you are, then come forward and don’t dilly-dally."

"I, I will vote."

Chou Ci stumbled up to the stage, lifted the stamp with an awkward gulp. He didn’t recognize any of the three insignias in front of him and had to rely on pure luck; yet, not choosing was something he couldn’t bear to do.

The hall was very quiet, nearly everyone’s eyes were on him.

Except for Li Yan and Yang Zheng. Both of them had their eyes closed, as if they were recuperating.

In the end, Chou Ci bit the bullet and stamped the gold star behind Jingang Zhi’s name, then hastily left the stage.

Taishuai and Zheng were still tied.

"Is there anyone else?"

Zhao Jianzhong asked.

This time, truly no one responded.

"Then, I declare the voting closed."