Chapter 251: What Do They Say I Am Seeking

Chapter 251 What Am I Seeking

It was no wonder Ying Wu had suspected that the Crown Prince was killed by Xia Longyuan himself. Only if he had done it personally would it make sense why Tang Wanzhuang remained silent, why the world was hushed, and why the Wang family chose to rebel. Otherwise, an political event of this magnitude would have caused blood to flow like rivers long ago. Even just to give an explanation, heads would have rolled. Yet, no one had ever heard of any major ripples arising from this matter.

Either Xia Longyuan had suppressed it for some other reason, forbidding Tang Wanzhuang and the others from investigating, or he had simply killed the boy himself.

However, he only said he "wanted to kill him," not that he actually did, nor why he had harbored that thought so early on yet the prince only died last year. In short, it left Zhao Changhe so frustrated that his teeth itched, and he abandoned this particular line of inquiry regarding the Crown Prince, steering the conversation back to the matter of Xia Chichi and himself.

"Let us speak no more of the Crown Prince. My shift in perspective did not happen back then. When I left at that time, I did not leave anyone by her side because the Luo family was originally comprised of my trusted confidants, and I believed their oversight would suffice. I never expected to trip up in such an insignificant ditch. Who could have known that fellow would actually have the nerve to hatch a twisted scheme, sending reports claiming that a prince had been born? His line of reasoning was so extraordinarily bizarre that it never even crossed my mind that it could be false."

Zhao Changhe felt a strong urge to facepalm and smile wryly.

Your vocabulary is becoming increasingly modern, Your Majesty. Is my appearance making you rather excited?

In short, despite everyone racking their brains to guess the truth, the answer to certain matters was actually quite simple. Xia Longyuan was only human, and all humans make mistakes. Come to think of it, he could truly understand Xia Longyuan's misstep this time. Who could have imagined Master Luo would dare play such a game? It was utterly preposterous.

Xia Longyuan also seemed caught between laughter and tears. "Very well then, since it was a boy, I truly had no intention of bringing him back. The jade pendant was left behind, and that was that. As for any grand imperial experts, I never dispatched any. Those were simply experts recruited by the Luo family who claimed as much to the outside world."

At this point, he sighed again. "She was clearly a powerful martial artist herself, yet she suffered a cultivation deviation and succumbed to illness simply because I never returned. This, too, was something I failed to foresee."

Zhao Changhe remarked, "It was because she had developed true feelings that it came to this, even though there might have been a different purpose at the beginning."

"Mhm." Xia Longyuan offered no evaluation, merely continuing his narrative. "When she passed away, I had the internal guards investigate. That was when I learned that the child born was actually a daughter. However, as I mentioned just now, my thoughts had already shifted by then, and I had no intention of taking her back. I did nothing to dispel the rumors of a prince; instead, I gave them an ambiguous push. Since the Luo family wanted this status for a prince, I granted it to them, hoping they could bear the weight of it."

Zhao Changhe shook his head. He could only attribute it to a cruel twist of fate. If Xia Longyuan had not been deceived by the Luo family's false information early on, he probably would have taken her back sooner, and then there would have been no Senior Disciple Luo Qi.

The extermination of the Luo family was truly brought upon themselves. Even if Zhuque had not destroyed them, Chichi herself would likely have done so once she found out the truth in the future. He wondered if Zhuque's massacre was partly because she discovered the truth of those past events after entering the palace, seeking vengeance for her sister?

Xia Longyuan had allowed the rumor of a prince to circulate with pure, malicious amusement. Without his ambiguous stance, others would not have been so certain that the Luo Family Manor harbored an imperial prince.

Throughout this lengthy dialogue, Xia Longyuan had only touched upon the momentous matter of the Crown Prince's death without wishing to delve deeper. Instead, he related the family matters of yesteryear in meticulous detail. Rather than a conversation to clear up doubts with Zhao Changhe, it felt more as though he were using Zhao Changhe's mouth to speak to his daughter.

Did this prove that he actually possessed some measure of paternal affection? Did he not want his daughter to hate him forever? Just as he had cheerfully remarked that a father-in-law was also a father, he did not seem like a man entirely devoid of human emotion.

The matter of killing the Crown Prince likely held another hidden truth, but it was doubtful Xia Longyuan would speak of it.

In essence, Xia Longyuan had not come to resolve doubts for Zhao Changhe; he had come for his daughter.

If he said he was "treating you particularly well" or "ensuring you enter the capital without regrets," there might be a shred of sincerity in it, simply because this man was a fellow countryman. Yet, when two countrymen meet, it does not necessarily bring tears to their eyes. His attitude remained hard to gauge, to the point where Zhao Changhe did not quite dare to broach the subject directly with him.

The two lapsed into silence once more before Xia Longyuan suddenly asked, "The blind woman sent you to Chichi's side. What was her intent?"

Zhao Changhe sighed. "I do not know. It seemed like a choice I drew myself."

Xia Longyuan startled slightly, turning his head to scrutinize Zhao Changhe with genuine surprise for the first time.

Taking advantage of the moment, Zhao Changhe asked, "Does Senior know the meaning behind this?"

Senior... Xia Longyuan savored the word, then suddenly smiled faintly and withdrew his gaze. "The Heavenly Way is dead, the world is shattered, the Great Way no longer converges, and none can say to whom destiny belongs. Countless pairs of eyes from the past hide in the gutters, watching this colosseum, this vessel for raising venomous insects, each harboring their own designs."

Zhao Changhe said, "We are all venomous insects cast into the vessel. Chosen for different destinies, different traits, thrown in to grow until a certain point... for harvest? Is it a matter of gathering the destiny of heaven or humanity?"

Xia Longyuan asked, "Why do you guess thus?"

"Because looking at you, it seems you are currently resisting, yet you are at a disadvantage, unable to attend to everything."

Xia Longyuan burst into hearty laughter. "Previously you thought too ill of me, yet now you think too highly of me."

Zhao Changhe requested, "Pray enlighten me, Senior."

"What talk of resistance or no resistance." Xia Longyuan's smile vanished, his eyes turning flat and indifferent. "It is I who am actively seeking trouble with them."

Zhao Changhe remained speechless.

Xia Longyuan asked, "What is your pursuit?"

"To return home."

"..." Xia Longyuan suddenly found himself at a loss for words.

Zhao Changhe felt a strong urge to show him an expression that conveyed how being a defeatist made one invincible. Communicating with a fellow countryman without the use of expressions was truly stifling.

Xia Longyuan suddenly laughed again. "Very well, a fine pursuit."

Zhao Changhe asked, "What about you, Senior?"

Xia Longyuan was very amiable, as though truly conversing with a younger compatriot. "Once, my pursuit was the pinnacle of martial arts. When my martial arts reached a certain level, I naturally began to desire to sweep across the six directions, unify the world, and conquer a vast empire. As I said just now, I was even considering the stability of an empire at one point."

Zhao Changhe said, "A man should be thus. These pursuits are entirely normal."

"But as everyone knows, that is not the end. The power of the gods and buddhas of the previous era is the true end. To put it vulgarly, it is immortality; to put it elegantly, it is the truth of power. When you have accomplished everything a man ought to do in the mortal world, do you not feel that something is lacking?"

Zhao Changhe pondered for a moment, then shook his head. "Some would feel something is lacking, while others would be content. Of course, a hero like you, Senior, would certainly deem it insufficient."

"Of course it is insufficient. I even find what I possess now to be utterly flavorless. It is nothing more than a reality show in the eyes of others. Is there any meaning to it?"

Zhao Changhe narrowed his eyes slightly. He had felt the same way, believing himself to be a reality show in the eyes of the blind woman, which displeased him immensely.

Xia Longyuan said, "Since it is flavorless, then I shall have none of it."

Zhao Changhe instinctively halted his steps and turned to look at him.

He wants none of it... What was it that he no longer wanted?

The vast empire he had fought so hard to conquer through countless hardships, the supreme majesty of the Son of Heaven, the deference of the entire world.

He no longer wanted it.

He was not resisting anything; he simply did not want it anymore.

"What they are plotting is of no consequence. Perhaps they all wish to become the Heavenly Way..." Xia Longyuan pointed toward the sky. "A mere bunch of withered bones in a tomb... If they can do it, why can the Emperor not?"

Rumble!

Amidst the gentle breeze and mild rain, thunder suddenly erupted.

The sunlight hid away, and the sun and moon lost their luster.

A bolt of lightning suddenly cleaved downward. Xia Longyuan threw a punch upward, meeting the flash of lightning directly. "Behold my fist, can it open the heavens?"

With a tremendous boom, a terrifying shockwave of energy swept forth. Zhao Changhe raised his hands to shield his face and was forced back several steps. Peering through the gap between his arms, he clearly saw Xia Longyuan sway ever so slightly.

Huangfu Qing had said he must be engaged in a secret war with certain entities, and indeed it was so... How could he have the mind to care about the little ants?

Yet, although he swayed, the sky cleared.

The lightning dissipated, and the sunlight reappeared.

So that was how his chuunibyou name for his fist technique had come about... Yet at this moment, Zhao Changhe did not find it ridiculous at all. Even the Dragon Sparrow saber on his back, which was currently vibrating with ceaseless excitement, did not find it ridiculous.

When a single punch could truly shatter lightning and disperse dark clouds, it could only be called the divine majesty of the Son of Heaven, causing heaven and earth to yield.

This was the first time Zhao Changhe had witnessed such a direct confrontation with celestial phenomena in this world. At Xia Longyuan's level, he could actually achieve such a state. Were they even creatures of the same dimension?

He could truly face gods and buddhas, fully deserving of the title—Number One in the World!