Chapter 646: The Prankster Ultimately Becomes the Joke

Chapter 646: The Prankster Ultimately Becomes the Prank

Suzaku now noticed Sanniang laughing in the distance, but how could she find the leisure to pay mind to a turtle who was practically dying of laughter? Right now, her own tail was truly caught in the fire; how was she supposed to face Chichi in her towering rage?

What vexed Suzaku most was that in the past, she had genuinely and righteously opposed the relationship between Zhao Changhe and Xia Chichi... In the very beginning, there had been no selfish desire on her part, truly. Back then, she had even wanted to kill Zhao Changhe to end the matter once and for all. Had she not worried that such a crude method would cause Xia Chichi to rebel, she might very well have carried it out.

Setting everything else aside, on the sole point that a Holy Maiden must not turn her back on her own kin, her stance had been thoroughly vindicated this time. The moment Zhao Changhe was involved, Xia Chichi completely discarded every shred of objectivity. How could she still act as the Holy Maiden, or remain the candidate for Sect Master?

It only proved how far-sighted and prophetic her initial opposition had been!

Yet, once she herself had jumped onto the carriage first, no matter how justified her foresight was, it turned into utter nonsense. To anyone else, it would look like she was merely fighting her own disciple for a man. This was also the biggest reason why she had found herself in a catch-22 situation later on, unable to unmask herself. The deeper she sank, the less she dared to reveal her identity, until today, when she could finally hide it no longer...

Could this be retribution for the murderous intent she had once harbored against Changhe?

Now that her disciple was asking if she had intercepted him for her own sake, how was she supposed to answer?

Suzaku froze for a long time before she could only manage: "As for why I stopped you in the beginning, you should know very well yourself... Later on, later on, didn't you act as the matchmaker for me yourself? You said so yourself..."

Xia Chichi: "..."

Right, just a few days ago, she had even claimed credit for it, calling herself a grand matchmaker, saying it with her own lips...

Xia Chichi’s face turned greener than Seiryuu's.

This was not just shame and anger; in truth, her level of social death was not a single bit lighter than Suzaku's. Not only had she claimed credit as a matchmaker a couple of days ago, but she had also plotted with "Huangfu Qing" on how to hide it from the Venerable One together. In the other woman's eyes, hadn't she been a living, breathing clown upon a stage?

Back then, she had even put on airs to force her to serve tea and dispatched her to copy the scriptures on poison.

No wonder later on, even crossing the threshold with her left foot first would earn her a punishment from the Venerable One, and every subsequent matter resulted in copying books as punishment.

This shame of being cuckolded by her own master, tangled with the social death of having acted like a clown, could not be resolved unless she tore the other party to shreds!

"Oh, so it turns out I was the one who gifted him to you? But the match I made was with Yuhuofeng. Where is she? Tell her to come out, say a few words, and serve some tea?"

Suzaku remained stiff, unable to answer.

Xia Chichi shook the Venerable Suzaku, whom she had once feared like a tiger: "Speak up, little snake. Isn't that little mouth of yours usually quite nimble? Kissing him from top to bottom, your oral skills are quite formidable indeed, so why are you mute now?"

"Even if she is Yuhuofeng, she is still your Queen Mother now," Suzaku finally said. "It is still you who should serve the tea..."

"Pfft..." Sanniang rolled around on the grass.

Xia Chichi nearly jumped out of her skin. Did she really think that this fake Queen Mother was someone the Emperor dared not tear apart?

Suzaku added: "Besides, I didn't stop you later on either. A few days ago, you practically turned yourself into Tang Wanzhuang's chambermaid. When she couldn't take it anymore, you went in to relieve her. I clearly knew about it, yet I said nothing, did I? Is that not tacit approval..."

Xia Chichi flew into a towering rage: "I have already ascended to the throne of nine-five, and I am to be the Sect Master. You couldn't have stopped me anyway, yet you treat this as your act of grace? You had better first explain to the sect members the psychological journey behind stealing your disciple's man!"

"Um..." Zhao Changhe wiped away his cold sweat. Usually at a loss for words in a battlefield of jealousy, this time he could no longer play dead. If he kept playing dead, Chichi might truly start a fistfight.

He carefully tugged at Xia Chichi's sleeve, just about to speak, when Xia Chichi flung his hand away in annoyance, snapping: "You shut up first! You weren't the one punished to copy books! Today, I absolutely must tear her apart, I..."

"Then punish me instead," Zhao Changhe said with a fawning smile. "The grievances you suffered in the past, I will suffer them all over again with you. Don't be angry."

This was where Zhao Changhe's current experience from a hundred battles showed. If he were to plead for Suzaku and say he would take the punishment in her stead, Xia Chichi would only grow three times more furious. But what this rascal said was 'I will suffer them all over again with you.'

Hearing this, Xia Chichi's rage lessened by thirty percent. At the very least, her tone was no longer as explosive as she said coldly: "None of your business. You were deceived as well. I see you've only just found out yourself, which is why you intentionally tried to overpower her? I think you did a fine job, you should keep her down! Why should you be punished with her?"

Zhao Changhe said: "Making you two angry is my fault. If not for my insatiable greed, none of these things would have happened..."

Holy crap... Over there, Sanniang even stopped rolling and lifted her head in shock.

If you had possessed this level of skill earlier, how could things have been so awkward until today?

Xia Chichi said crossly: "I think you just want to help her smooth things over, constantly whittling away at my anger! You only know how to bully me. It was the same that time with Martial Uncle, talking about how she was the wife who shared your joys and sorrows..."

Sanniang: "?"

Suzaku: "?"

Hey, hey, hey! Sanniang carefully took step after step backward.

Zhao Changhe paid no attention to Sanniang's side for the moment; Chichi was still throwing a tantrum here. Ever since he spoke up, Suzaku had remained silent, clearly because everyone could feel he was helping Suzaku smooth things over, which naturally made Chichi unhappy. But was this not also helping Chichi smooth things over? Otherwise, what kind of outcome could Chichi get out of this ruckus? Suzaku would rather die than lose face and would never bow her head. She was your master and your Queen Mother. Even putting those identities aside, she had genuinely cared for you, guided you, and supported your cultivation all the way to this day. To what extent could you truly turn against her... More tragically, if you truly turned against her, you couldn't beat her in a fight anyway.

Zhao Changhe thought it over, then tried saying to Suzaku: "Just now... you already honored me as the new Night Emperor, did you not?"

Suzaku withdrew her gaze from Sanniang's direction and gave an "um."

Zhao Changhe said: "Then will you obey my command?"

Suzaku cast another glance at Xia Chichi, yet still gave an "um."

"Tonight was originally meant to be the grand ceremony for the Sacred Sect to appoint its Sect Master, with Chichi becoming the Sect Master as a foregone conclusion. My view is that regardless of what the original ceremony required—whether it needed the Venerable One's blessing or a coronation—the ritual shall be altered. Venerable Suzaku shall serve a cup of tea to the Sect Master."

If this were a conversational tone, Suzaku might still have to put on a stiff face to oppose the arrangement. But Zhao Changhe said it was a command.

"This is a command," he emphasized. "If you recognize me as the new god, then follow my command."

It seemed like a command, but it was actually a lifeline. Suzaku still took the exit quite comfortably: "Yes, I respectfully obey the divine will."

Xia Chichi opened her mouth, her bellyful of rage seemingly talked into nothingness. If the Venerable One was truly willing to serve her tea in her capacity as the Venerable One, she was essentially lowering herself and admitting her fault. No matter what name was used, the essence remained.

No matter how one spun it, they were master and disciple, mother and daughter; it was a family matter either way, and what was missing was just someone willing to admit fault. As long as Suzaku, who would rather die than lose face, was truly willing to bow her head and admit her mistake, there would be no grievances carried over into tomorrow.

As for the future... In the future, I will be the Sect Master, and she will be the assistant. We can play slowly! Humph.

Xia Chichi's temper had smoothed out, but in truth, Suzaku's temper had not.

She was indeed in the wrong regarding this matter, and she was willing to use the lifeline Changhe gave her to step down, but bowing her head to admit fault to her disciple was nonetheless extremely humiliating. For Suzaku, who had cared about her face above all else for her entire life, her face was burning fiercely even now. Had it not been covered by her mask, she didn't know if she would even have the face to stand here.

She needed to redirect the fire.

With a glance of her beautiful eyes, she spotted Sanniang poking her head around in the distance.

"Yuan Sanniang!" Suzaku gritted her teeth. "So you had already hooked up with him long ago, yet you still put on a face of impartial observation to persuade me to accept the new Emperor! You ungrateful, traitorous wretch, I’ll beat you to death!"

Boom! Blazing flames filled the sky as a massive firebird charged straight toward the distant grass, its might vastly greater than when she had sparred with Zhao Changhe just now.

"..." Sanniang turned around to run, but her speed was no match for Suzaku's. She was quickly caught and had no choice but to turn and face the attack.

Clatter and clash, the two Venerable Ones fought a great battle on the outskirts of the capital. Water and fire clashed, the clouds and winds changed color, and even the Grand Dao was...

"I did this for your own good..."

"Stealing my man is for my own good?"

"Yeah, just like you said it was for Chichi's own good..."

Xia Chichi opened her mouth, then closed it again.

"Yuan Sanniang, go to hell!"

"When I said it was for your own good, I meant helping you make a choice so you wouldn't have to agonize over it. Look at how great things are now... What doctrines and faiths, are they more important than a man..."

"...Meaning that line of rhetoric from you was truly nonsense?"

"Actually, it was quite real too... Aiya, you have to believe me~"

Bang! In truth, Sanniang at this moment was still stronger than Suzaku, and by quite a margin... but with a guilty conscience and a lack of confidence, how could she dare to fight back fully? Before they had exchanged a few bouts, she was pinned down. Suzaku rode upon her, pinning her to the grass as she gave her a sound thrashing: "Inviting you to join the sect by the banks of Lake Tai was the greatest mistake of my life!"

Sanniang wailed as she struggled in vain: "Zhao Changhe, say something... Aren't you great at smoothing things over... Help~"

Zhao Changhe covered his face, while Xia Chichi held her hands inside her sleeves and remained silent.

Fortunately, they had changed locations to fight earlier. If they were to fight in front of the sect members, the Four Symbols Sect could disband right on the spot.