The Demon Lords-Chapter 591 - 88 Mountain Fire_1
Xue Yi, the current National Master of Great Yan, knelt on the steps at the entrance to Tianhu Mountain. He felt no humiliation; in some respects, he had long ago achieved the transcendence of a true person of the faith.
He felt he had lived a full life, which made it easier for him to face everything with equanimity.
Rows of soldiers pointed their weapons at him. Xue Yi remained indifferent, even gazing with mild interest at the flammable oils being transported and stacked up behind them. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚
Xue Yi wanted to tell these Jingnan Army soldiers that there was no need for such effort. The Daoist temple on the mountain had already prepared these supplies; hauling more oil up the mountain was merely a troublesome task.
However, such a reminder, though perhaps well-intentioned, would make him seem too much like the "master" of this place.
Alas. Such a beautiful Tianhu Mountain, now embroiled in this turmoil because of me. A century-old Daoist lineage... probably only a few hours left. He couldn't help but admire the Marquise Jingnan's eye for beauty; to die in such a picturesque land, from another perspective, wasn't it a kind of fortune?
Common households have to invite a couple of Taoist priests to perform rituals for the dead, while wealthy families host grand Daoist ceremonies, inviting a dozen or even twenty priests so as not to 'lose face.' For the true high-ranking nobles, at least a hundred are required; otherwise, it would be a disgrace to their family's prestige. However, the Marquise Jingnan will probably take a whole mountain of Taoist priests with her to the afterlife. Heh, heh, what prestige, what a spectacle! She truly got her money's worth.
The hooves of the Pixiu struck the ground, the tremors growing closer.
The surrounding Jingnan soldiers instinctively puffed out their chests.
Xue Yi also straightened his back slightly and lifted his eyelids.
The principal party, and also the aggrieved party, had arrived.
Lord Jingnan, not wearing his armor, dismounted from the Pixiu and began walking towards him.
Xue Yi sighed, slowly stood up, and said, "Now that you're here, I will not remain kneeling. I don't wish to use these knees to humble you."
Tian Wujing stood before Xue Yi and raised his hand.
"Fall back!"
"Fall back!"
"Fall back!"
The various commanders quickly issued the order, and the entire Jingnan Army retreated five hundred paces.
When the armored soldiers withdrew, the air around them seemed to circulate freely once more, and the oppressive atmosphere that had made it difficult to breathe finally eased somewhat.
Xue Yi looked at Tian Wujing. He still remembered the scene when His Majesty and the Earl of North Border had brought a young Tian Wujing into the palace. Though young at the time, Tian Wujing was very proper and meticulous, strictly adhering to etiquette.
In contrast, his two older brothers—His Majesty and the Earl of North Border—were hardly proper at all.
Now, the young one has grown up, and the older ones have grown old.
As a Palace Elder, Xue Yi, the most trusted confidant of the Ji Family, was also one of the imperial physicians. However, he only took His Majesty's pulse and prescribed tonics to replenish qi and blood for Li Liangting.
He could clearly sense that His Majesty and the Earl of North Border were aging day by day. No matter how peerless a hero one might be, they must still bow before the passage of time.
Conversely, Lord Jingnan was in his prime, and it was foreseeable that he still had a long period of being at his peak ahead of him.
When the tripod of power was stable, Great Yan could expand its territory; one state could still defeat two.
But in a true time of crisis, a pillar of support must be preserved; otherwise, if this "building" was constructed too high, it would easily collapse.
"My Lord, I have come to give you an accounting."
Tian Wujing said nothing, merely looking at Xue Yi.
This elder, who would give him freshly steamed rice cakes when he, as a child, entered the palace.
"I was originally a disciple of the Tianhu Sect," Xue Yi began. "This place is my sect. His Majesty sent me to bestow blessings upon your unborn child, so I came. I haven't left the palace for many years. This time, having come out and reached this place, I thought of visiting my old sect, so I took up lodging on Tianhu Mountain.
"It's also thanks to you, My Lord, for crushing the Jin State, allowing a mediocre disciple of my former sect like me to return bearing the title of National Master of Yan and receive such honored treatment. Heh heh.
"You were leading troops away from the capital when I arrived, and the child had not yet been born. So I decided not to make an unnecessary trip then, thinking I would visit after the child was born.
"Then, your wife, the Marquise, went up the mountain.
"In a pavilion halfway up the mountain, she said she wanted to rest. After dismissing her attendants, she vanished.
"The people on the mountain and the Jingnan Army soldiers searched for a day and a night before finding her. However, she was already dead."
Hearing this, Tian Wujing remained expressionless.
"Wujing," Xue Yi continued, "His Majesty's health is not what it used to be; it's an illness born from accumulated fatigue. He cannot rest, nor does he dare to.
"Therefore, if your child is a boy, frankly speaking, it would indeed pose a significant threat to the Ji Family.
"While His Majesty is alive, all is naturally peaceful. But once His Majesty passes away and the Crown Prince ascends the throne—you know your nephew well—will he be able to keep you in check?
"But you and Liangting have always known His Majesty's character. Ordinary monarchs, when they approach old age and infirmity, often undergo a drastic change in temperament. But our Emperor will not.
"This golden age of Great Yan is built upon the three of you. He is capable of shouldering great responsibility, and also capable of letting go.
"What His Majesty is currently contemplating is another campaign against the Qian State a year from now. This is His Majesty's lifelong aspiration. Only by crushing the Qian State can the dominance of the East truly fall into the hands of us Yan people.
"You are a marquis who commands armies; His Majesty's thoughts cannot be unclear to you.
"To speak frankly, His Majesty wouldn't mind whether you, Tian Wujing, have a son or a daughter. In fact, what His Majesty desires may not be the eternal foundation of the Ji Family, but the supremacy of the Yan people. Even if it were you, or Liangting, who took that throne—as long as Great Yan's aspiration could be realized—His Majesty would very likely not care. This is our Emperor! The Emperor I watched grow up, and also the Emperor whom you, Tian Wujing, and he, Li Liangting, are willing to follow at any cost!
"You, Tian Wujing, have not misjudged His Majesty. Not in the past, not now, and not ever in the future!"
Xue Yi took a breath, drew two family letters from his robes, and placed them on the ground before him.
He said, "In here, one is from His Majesty, and one is from Liangting.
"There is also a message, not a physical letter, but conveyed to me verbally by one of the men of sacrifice as I was departing the capital.
"He said, the Marquise Jingnan was the Qian State's most deeply hidden pawn within our Great Yan—a pawn planted twenty years ago, never contacted, and never activated."
Upon hearing this, Tian Wujing slightly lifted his head.
"After receiving this message," Xue Yi went on, "I did not make it known. Truth be told, although the Spy Bureau is nominally under my command, I never involve myself in its routine affairs; those are all handled by Wei Zhonghe and the others.
"And regardless of whether she was a Silver Armored Guard or not, even if she was, since she was carrying your child in her womb, all matters should wait until she had given birth. That is your child, Tian Wujing, your Tian Family bloodline.
"This is also another reason why I have remained on Tianhu Mountain and not descended into the city.
"But I never, ever expected that while I did not descend the mountain, she ascended it.
"As for why she chose to die at this time, you should know. All I can say is that she chose a good time. For the rest, I do not wish to say more."
Having spoken, Xue Yi turned around, looking at the steps leading up the mountain, his eyes filled with the image of his younger self climbing these very steps.
Tian Wujing still did not speak.
After a long while, a smile touched the lips of Xue Yi, his back still to Tian Wujing. He said, "Do you not trust my words, or do you not trust…"
Xue Yi spread his arms, and a faint blue mist began to rise from his body.
"Wujing, I know the bitterness in your heart, and I understand your anger. You want an accounting, so I shall give you one. This Tianhu Mountain, and I myself, are that accounting for you.
"My sole regret in this entire affair is that when she ascended the mountain, I guessed her intentions. Fearing that the dirty water slung would be too deep and implicate too many, I did not go down to receive her.
"Had I gone down the mountain then, she... might have departed more peacefully...
"Everyone has their own fate. All that cultivators seek throughout their lives is to defy heaven and change their fate. Yet, even if you are a peerless talent, in the end, it is but a flower in a mirror, the moon reflected in water.
"Li Liangting possessed transcendent talent in his youth, yet due to an injury, he was forever barred from stepping onto the great path of a martial artist.
"His Majesty is a man of great ambition and strategy, yet at this juncture, Heaven does not grant him more years.
"The Emperor and the Two Marquises—any one of them, if left to their own era, would possess the makings of a hegemon, capable of forging an empire.
"And you, Tian Wujing, is not your fate also one of being utterly alone?
"But His Majesty does not believe in fate, Li Liangting does not believe in fate, and neither do you. Yet, whether you believe it or not, fate... is right here!
"The Emperor and the Two Marquises—it is Great Yan's fortune, yet it is also the misfortune of you three!"
Blue flames began to burn on Xue Yi's body. He was forcibly ending his life through spiritual dissolution.
"I, Xue Yi, possess no great virtue nor great talent, yet I was favored by two generations of Emperors. The Yan Cauldron assisted my cultivation, and the National Destiny accompanied my spiritual practice.
"Last winter, Master Zang severed Great Yan's Dragon Vein outside Yanjing City.
"His Majesty does not believe in matters of fortune or destiny, for His Majesty is the Son of Heaven! The Emperor of our Great Yan must naturally possess such dominance!
"Xue Yi is untalented. Today, I shall return the Yan Cauldron energy I have intercepted within my body, along with the century-old Daoist lineage of this Tianhu Mountain, back to the Yan Cauldron!
"May our Great Yan establish an eternal foundation! May our Emperor, and our Two Marquises of Great Yan, be blessed with enduring fortune!"
The firelight suddenly surged, and within the flames, Xue Yi's figure began to grow increasingly ethereal.
The Daoist temple atop the mountain also erupted in flames, as many disciples of the Tianhu Sect chose to end their own lives by throwing themselves into the great fire.
Xue Yi turned, looking at Tian Wujing one last time.
"Tian Wujing! Who is there that cannot die? Who is there that must not die? Who has it easier than another? And who suffers less than another?!"
Through the heart of the flames, Tian Wujing walked, passing through Xue Yi's now nearly transparent body.
He began to ascend the steps. Step by step, he walked. He walked past the foot of the mountain. He reached the mountainside. He entered that pavilion.
In the pavilion, a gentle breeze stirred.
In a trance, Tian Wujing seemed to see a woman's figure. She too stood in this pavilion, holding a sword. She plunged the sword into her own body.
Within the gentle breeze, her soft murmur from that day seemed to echo: "My Lord, I never intended to deceive you…"
Tian Wujing's hand caressed a pillar in the pavilion, as if its surface still held the lingering warmth from where her back had rested.
Foolish woman... So what if you are from Qian? I, a monster who slaughtered his own entire clan... how could I possibly look down on you?
