Chapter 716: Ye Wuzong

Chapter 716: Ye Wuzong

The treacherous little guards, who never missed a chance to mock their own Saintess, were punished again.

They knelt in a row, balancing copper basins filled with snow on their heads, waiting for the Saintess to melt it for her bathwater.

It was said this could grant skin like ice and jade... Poor Spiritfolk had never tried it, didn’t know, and found it mysterious yet impressive. Anyway, what use was ice-and-jade skin if you had no man to appreciate it?

Facing the treacherous ones’ questioning yet silent, sidelong glances, Sisi huffed and stormed out of the temple, circling around to the rear where her Saintess Palace—or rather, her royal palace—stood.

She was the Spiritfolk’s king, having once reformed and ascended to the throne following the Central Plains’ Xia system. But most Spiritfolk still called her Saintess, since above her were the Ancestral God and the Holy Envoy, Old Zhao. The title “Spiritfolk Queen” was mostly used by outsiders. Sisi herself was fine with this; otherwise, over time, others might forget the Holy Envoy’s former might.

Even now, it wouldn’t last much longer. Half a year—neither long nor short—was enough for people to heal their wounds and forget many things. Outside, for instance, the chaos and death of the Miao border’s impending civil war were nearly forgotten. Peace hadn’t lasted long before the old struggles for power and profit resurfaced. Inside, too, after the various tribal chieftains had tasted the outside world’s splendor, who could say what schemes they harbored?

Of course, Sisi was no pushover. When it came to petty tricks and calculations, a whole crowd of them together might not match her.

There had been a small rebellion some time ago, but she had actually lured it out herself. Others might not have rebelled otherwise... But once lured, she crushed it with thunderous force, rivers of blood flowing, terrifying both inside and outside. The reputation of being “unfathomable” had spread from then on. Now her authority was unshakable; those who wanted trouble could only resort to covert infiltration and bribery.

Sisi wasn’t entirely unaware of this, but it couldn’t be resolved overnight.

There were too many things.

Her master was injured, hiding in his own palace to recover, still not healed. That alone cast a shadow over Sisi’s heart.

Her master was a Heaven List figure. To be laid low by a mere weapon... The power beyond that defied common sense, and the more it defied understanding, the more one felt powerless.

The more powerless, the more she missed her man.

Even if her man was only on the Earth List, she couldn’t help relying on and longing for him. She wouldn’t normally stand before those treacherous guards and talk about sharing the snow, only to be laughed at.

Infuriating.

Sisi carried a bowl of medicine and personally delivered it to her master’s sickroom.

Ye Wuzong wasn’t exactly “bedridden.” He sat cross-legged at the head of the bed, healing himself. His spiritual sense was extremely sharp; sensing someone approaching, he opened his eyes at once.

His disciple entered with the medicine and smiled, “Master, feeling better today?”

Ye Wuzong’s complexion wasn’t better at all—in fact, it was graver. He said quietly, “Is it snowing?”

“Yes.” Sisi set the medicine by the bed and smiled. “Everyone’s happy. They’ve never seen snow here before; it’s a novelty.”

“Nonsense...” Ye Wuzong frowned deeply. “Since your entire era has never seen snow, for it to suddenly appear—shouldn’t you be alarmed instead of happy?”

Sisi was taken aback. “Isn’t it because of the Divine Axe?”

Ye Wuzong shook his head slightly. “The Divine Axe does have the power to draw heavenly thunder, but it’s been here for a month or two already...”

Sisi: “...”

“If it had brought rain, I wouldn’t say much. But why snow? Has the Spiritfolk’s cold reached the point of forming snow?” Ye Wuzong said. “These past few days, it’s been getting colder, especially today, reaching a peak... The cold is one thing; it has nothing to do with the axe’s thunder. Forcing a connection is wrong.”

Sisi was startled. An old ginger was indeed spicier. No one else had thought of it; they all assumed the thunder and snow explained each other. But if it had nothing to do with the axe and was instead misleading, then something major was afoot!

“If it’s not necessarily related to the Divine Axe, then what is it?” Sisi asked. “Some demon god of ice and snow?”

Ye Wuzong said, “There might be such demon gods... and in ancient times, there were many who could control ice and snow. Xuanwu could; it’s said that the Night Emperor’s guard named Frostbloom was also skilled in this. The natural way of the five elements has always been the broadest application. The Four Symbols might be the masters, but others can use it too. But if it were such a person, why would they bother to make it snow here for no reason? To give you a good omen for a bountiful year?”

Sisi: “...”

I was even thinking it was so I could share the snow with my man.

Truly, a love-struck brain is useless.

Ye Wuzong said, “From my experience, this should be someone doing something else, causing cold or yin energy to rise and condense. At most, it would have just made the temperature drop. But with the Divine Axe here, drawing thunder, it triggered a change in the weather, bursting into snow. This is Heaven’s fate favoring you, giving a great warning. If you miss it ignorantly, disaster will surely strike.”

Reasonable... Sisi paced a few steps but couldn’t imagine what could have sent such heavy cold into the sky.

She didn’t dwell on it alone. She immediately went out and summoned the guards: “Pass my order at once: search every place, especially near water sources. Report any anomaly immediately.”

“Yes.” The guards saluted and swiftly left.

Ye Wuzong suddenly coughed violently. Sisi hurried to his side: “Master, how are you? How could a broken axe backlash you like this? Are you still a Heaven List? How embarrassing!”

Ye Wuzong didn’t care about his disciple’s scolding at all. He just smiled and said, “Divine artifacts have spirits. If you don’t control them, they’ll run. I had to suppress the axe spirit into slumber, and it fought back and injured me like this... Do you think I’m a fool, getting hurt just because it struggled when I stole it?”

Sisi fumed, “If you’re not a fool, what are you? Why wrestle with an axe? If it runs, so what!”

“Hey, that won’t do. If it goes back, didn’t I steal it for nothing? If your man later fights a great war in the north, whether he has this axe or not could make all the difference.” Ye Wuzong laughed. “Damn it, when I saw Xia Longyuan handle this axe, it seemed like nothing special. But when it’s my turn, I realize what the hell it’s like. If this thing were in Bo’e or Tiemuer’s hands, the boost to their combat power would be no joke.”

Sisi: “...”

Ye Wuzong suddenly laughed up at the sky: “This old man might not recover, but I’ve lived my life to the fullest. To steal a divine artifact from the midst of the world’s first and second battles—above, I have no shame toward the martial way; below, no shame toward my family and country. The Chaos List shines in the sky; I slapped Bo’e’s face swollen like a pig. Even if I die here silently, what more could I want?”

Sisi said softly, “Then why did you hide here? Shouldn’t you have circled back and sent the axe directly to Zhao Changhe or Xia Chichi? Maybe Zhao Changhe’s Revival Art could have saved you right away. But here, our medical skills you disdain as shamanic, refusing to use them... I never knew you were such a stubborn, foolish old man!”

“Hey? Send it directly to Zhao Changhe? How can that be! I want it as my disciple’s dowry. Otherwise, who do they think they are? Back in Kunlun, if I hadn’t sensed you were involved, do you really think I would have been so magnanimous toward them?”

“...”

“I’m old. My lifespan is almost gone anyway.” Ye Wuzong’s voice suddenly softened. “Hai Pinglan’s strike against the Sea Emperor was a final, burning-life blow. So was mine. If I hadn’t taken this risk, I would have died with lifelong regrets. Now, all my wishes are fulfilled. My only regret is that I couldn’t pass on my legacy properly... Those brats like Chengkong are filial but too untalented. You, though, suit me well. As long as you can carry on my Thief Sect, I’d have no problem dying right now. Why bother with shamanic medicine? Those poisonous insects and blood puppet arts stink to high heaven. Even if they cured me, I’d feel like something in my body wasn’t my own.”

Sisi sighed. There was no reasoning with a stubborn old man.

Ye Wuzong laughed again. “Besides, there are people in your tribe who want me dead, right? Since I’ve beaten the axe spirit into submission, for now it still listens to me. If I die, the axe can be controlled by your Spiritfolk.”

Sisi said, “There are indeed those who think that way. I won’t let them show such disrespect. That’s a minor matter. What worries me is that outsiders might be plotting for the axe, and that might be beyond my control. Now everything is converging—the change in the weather hasn’t been figured out, and enemies are lurking outside...”

Ye Wuzong said, “In that case, how about this old man helps you fish again? First clear out the external enemies?”

Sisi asked curiously, “How?”

“Find a coffin, lay me in it, and announce that I’m dead. That should reveal a lot, shouldn’t it?”