Chapter 705: Sister Helps You

Chapter 705 Sister Will Help You

Her bath finished, Heroine Yue strode into the hall and naturally seated herself beside Zhao Changhe.

There was no fragrant lye, much less any modern shampoo or body wash, yet the natural fragrance she exuded was enough to stir the soul. With her spirited posture, long, slender legs, and beautiful countenance, her mere presence was dazzlingly radiant, instinctively drawing the gazes of every male present; even several elderly monks lowered their eyes and chanted the Buddha's name.

Yet Zhao Changhe, in his own perverse way, always felt that Sister Yue was at her most beautiful when she was covered in blood and grime, her eyes still piercing and sharp.

"Do go on," Yue Hongling said with a smile. "Listening to you speak of taxes and corvée labor is quite an education."

"Ahem." Zhao Changhe coughed dryly. "There is not much to say... To put it rather pretentiously, once I set the tone for this sort of matter, Fu Yichangshi is more than capable of handling the subsequent details."

Yue Hongling’s beautiful eyes swept over his face before she lowered her head to sip her tea. "Then what other grand matters do you have to discuss?"

"The affairs of gods and demons, of course," Zhao Changhe said. "Do you know where this is?"

"I just asked the monk who led the way, and he said it was Xiangyang." Yue Hongling knitted her brow slightly, utterly perplexed. "This should not be. I was clearly west of the Kunlun Mountains, in a land exceedingly far away."

If one possessed the mind of a hopeless romantic, they might view this as a fated meeting across a thousand miles, but Yuan Cheng and the others who heard this felt no romance at all; instead, they were struck with horror, the hairs on their necks standing on end.

No wonder their mystic realm felt like a public thoroughfare with people coming and going; if even someone from west of Kunlun could arrive straight here, what secrecy was left to speak of? Never mind the interior of the realm, even this temple could be infiltrated from behind at any moment; who could sleep soundly here?

Zhao Changhe, however, had a deeper understanding of such phenomena. Having been plucked from the modern world to this place, what was so strange about various spaces interconnecting? They could even move. In the far east, the Horizon Island also involved teleportation; it was impossible for human power to fly to the ends of the earth. The concept was similar—since the enemy possessed the attribute of "chaos," the chaos of space was hardly an anomaly.

Furthermore, the mystic realms were originally scattered fragments of the "Heavenly Realm." Perhaps the fragments scattered on these two sides were originally one entity, which made it even less surprising.

The question now was: since one could come from that side, could one cross over from this side?

And was this spatial connection intentionally forged by the enemy, or was it naturally formed?

This would lead to entirely different judgments and subsequent responses.

Observing the grim expressions of Yuan Cheng and the others, Zhao Changhe spoke slowly. "How much do you all actually know about this mystic realm?"

Yuan Cheng replied, "We do not know particularly much either, for our original mountain gate was not here; we only knew through oral tradition that this was once a sacred land. Previously, we did not dare to openly develop this place. After the late emperor passed, as everyone understands... we only arrived here a month or two ago. Our main energy has been spent on repairing the temple and recruiting believers. It is currently difficult to launch an investigation inside the mystic realm; it appears far too vast at first glance, and we lack manpower. We have only guarded the ancient temple and the Vajra inside, hoping to explore the surroundings gradually."

"I know Master Yuan Xing was originally at the Huayan Temple on Mount Wutai. Where were you originally?"

"To not hide it from King Zhao, this old monk was originally in Chang'an." Yuan Cheng hesitated for a moment, then lowered his voice. "The Li family originally supported our growth. To be frank, our original journey to Xiangyang also carried the intent of acting as their vanguard."

Zhao Changhe looked at him askance. "Within the city of Chang'an, are there many barbarians?"

Yuan Cheng fell silent.

Zhao Changhe did not care to lecture him. Religious sects often knew no country, much like the great families in this regard; as long as they were supported in spreading their faith, they cared little who ruled the world. Of course, the barbarians practiced Shamanism, which conflicted quite severely with them, so it was impossible for them to be utterly devoted to the Li family. Coming to Xiangyang was merely opening a second front to see if they could benefit from both sides.

Yuan Cheng knew that Zhao Changhe saw through him, and finally said with some embarrassment, "A few days ago, the matter of Gui Chen at the Wang family came to light, and now Chang'an harbors some suspicion toward us. After all, Junior Brother Yuan Xing previously had an acquaintance with King Zhao, and this old monk himself followed King Zhao to participate in the battle against Maitreya, so this..."

Zhao Changhe let out a laugh. No wonder; by any metric, this looked exactly like a second Gui Chen, and the Li family dared not trust them. He had not expected the business with Gui Chen to trigger such a chain reaction.

"If you truly wish to develop well here, then stop being half-hearted. I suggest you withdraw your people from Chang'an completely, and I will not use you the way Gui Chen was used." Zhao Changhe said, "Correspondingly, give me a share of Chang'an's intelligence... You need not give it to me directly; just transfer it directly to the Demon Suppression Bureau in the capital."

Yuan Cheng was very straightforward. "Very well."

Zhao Changhe nodded with reasonable satisfaction. "Since you do not understand this mystic realm either, then seek to understand it first. In the current situation, it is pointless for everyone to make blind guesses. Divert your manpower from other tasks; the temple fair is over, so rein in the proselytizing for now and focus exclusively on exploring this realm. I shall stay here for the next few days and we can discuss further once there are results."

The monks bowed. "We shall arrange it immediately. May King Zhao rest first."

Yue Hongling realized that she had only spoken a single sentence since coming over. She had thought there would be many things requiring her discussion, only to find that she was no longer needed.

Watching Zhao Changhe lift his tea to signal the departure of the guests, Yue Hongling suddenly felt a sense of unfamiliarity...

"Why are you looking at me like that? Is this not the basic operation of a bandit chief? It is just that the stronghold is larger now..." Zhao Changhe turned to glance at her, grinning. "Does my lady feel it is too much to handle?"

"Pah." Yue Hongling glared at him. Watching the monks leave one after another, she went over to close the door, then turned back and said, "I knew long ago that you would undergo your current transformation; I understood it back when we were with the Spirit Race. Your vision is the world; the martial world is too small for you... At the time, it gave quite some inspiration to my sword intent. I just did not expect this day to arrive so quickly. How long has it been... I almost do not recognize that youth anymore."

Zhao Changhe replied, "Because people must always grow up. Even Yangyang is no longer a little girl."

Yue Hongling did not understand what he meant by his strange terms and did not care to ask, choosing instead to sit beside him, propping her chin with one hand as she stared at him intently.

Zhao Changhe truly was no longer a youth now. Yue Hongling could clearly feel the weathering and exhaustion on his face, as well as the dignity and composure of a high station... To speak plainly, he was only twenty-three after passing the New Year, yet commanding authority before a group of old monks at this age felt entirely natural to everyone, which gave off a distinct impression of having "aged."

Because he thought too much and worried too much.

Yet his aura remained potent, his features as sharp as ever, making one feel that he had actually never changed, remaining the youth of yesteryear.

She murmured, "Have I grown old?"

The heroine, who had never cared about her appearance in the past, suddenly felt a touch of anxiety at this moment.

Even he had aged; what of herself?

Wandering the world alone, amidst endless yellow sands, biting winds, and frosty swords—had they left marks upon her face, or calluses upon her hands and feet?

Zhao Changhe said, "I am quite disappointed."

Yue Hongling's heart skipped a beat, and her face stiffened.

Zhao Changhe continued, "You actually haven't aged."

Yue Hongling: "?"

"Actually, I wished for you to be a bit older..." Zhao Changhe finally reached out, caressing her cheek. "Only then could I continue to call you sister."

Yue Hongling’s heart beat even faster, though it felt as if it were moving in the opposite direction from before, drifting and swaying like a stone cast into water, rippling outward in ring after ring, unable to settle for a long time.

She spoke with some difficulty, "In the past, did you not always hate calling me sister? You looked as though you wanted to conquer someone, which was quite infuriating to behold."

Zhao Changhe said softly, "But having seen all the prosperity of the world, in the end, I still feel that I want a sister."

His rough, large hand caressed her face; her lovely face was as tender as ever.

Yet Yue Hongling saw the exhaustion within Zhao Changhe's heart. It turned out that even this man of iron could grow weary.

His weariness seemed only to manifest before her; even "older women" like the Vermilion Bird and Tang Wanzhuang did not receive this treatment.

In the past, he always insisted on showing "I can help you" and "I can wield the sword together with you." This seemed to be the first time he expressed, "I want you to help me" and "I want a sister."

Like the youth who stood stubbornly yet lost and helpless amidst the corpses scattered across Zhao Village. He was almost a completely different person from the King Zhao who had been commanding authority just moments ago.

"I am your sister." Yue Hongling embraced him gently, whispering words of comfort, "The stronghold is larger, and the troubles are many, but it does not matter... Sister will not leave this time. Sister will help you."