Chapter 776: The Wager of the Ye Sisters

Chapter 776: The Wager of the Night Sisters

"To think you would actually intervene yourself and meddle in the struggles of the mortal realm." High in the night sky, Jiuyou asked the Blind Maiden with a smile, "Is there something wrong with you up here?"

The Blind Maiden replied flatly, "Why not ask whether there is something wrong with that perpetual grin plastered on your face all day long?"

Jiuyou's smile deepened. "Because it is you I am looking at."

"Cui Yuanyang is not me, and Zhao Changhe before her was not me either, yet you smiled more radiantly than anyone, like some little courtesan from a brothel."

Stunned for a moment by these words, as if finding it unbelievable that the Blind Maiden could speak such prose, Jiuyou soon burst into laughter again. "Since even you can speak of such things, why shouldn't I laugh?"

"But your smile is hollow and superficial—or rather, a seductive smirk from a parlor house, looking both fake and foolish." The Blind Maiden informed her with utmost gravity, "It is nothing else, and smile as you please, but it only makes me feel ashamed. After all, you are my sister."

Utterly silenced by the rebuke, Jiuyou's smile vanished, leaving her face entirely expressionless.

With her smile withdrawn, a desolate, deathly stillness immediately set in. Small wonder the Blind Maiden called it a superficial smirk; in truth, from the very beginning when they met in Chang'an, no matter how she smiled, her eyes remained detached. It only made one feel the falseness of her mirth, a performance ill-suited to her, whereas her flat indifference fit her perfectly, forcing anyone to feel that this was how she was meant to be.

And the more expressionless she became, the more the two sisters resembled each other.

One was as serene and placid as the night, the other as desolate and dead as the abyssal dark. Such auras were hard to distinguish with the naked eye, and in the eyes of Zhao Changhe, they merited the exact same description: a plus-sized Xinghe.

The Blind Maiden said softly, "Could it be that you were forcing that foolish grin just to differentiate yourself from me?"

"Not quite." Jiuyou suddenly smiled again. "My dear sister, perhaps you have forgotten... most of the time, I represent your negative aspect. This negativity is not merely a matter of order versus chaos, or life versus death... Have you never considered that your habitual righteousness means I can actually be quite wanton?"

The Blind Maiden: "?"

"Of course, in the past, neither of our minds ever wandered in this direction, so it never manifested... after all, such matters were of the utmost insignificance to us, things we barely considered, even believing them non-existent." Jiuyou smiled bewitchingly. "Yet you actually found a man before me. How truly astonishing—it seems you are far more wanton than I am."

Crossing her arms, the Blind Maiden retorted, "That was his desire, not mine. What do you mean, 'found a man'? On the contrary, it was you who publicly declared an intent to disrupt his harem... I was wondering why you would say such a thing to his face; it turns out it was due to your wanton nature. Were you perhaps dripping wet even as you spoke those words?"

"Tsk..." Jiuyou remarked, "I never imagined this would become a topic of conversation between us."

She tilted her head, saying with mild amusement, "If people back then had known we would bicker over this, what kind of expressions do you think they would wear?"

The Blind Maiden sneered, "You can let them know right now. I would love to see just how wanton you can be, uttering such words to others."

Jiuyou challenged, "Then why were you willing to utter them to me?"

The Blind Maiden did not answer.

Jiuyou sighed. "You claim you did not find a man, so why then are you participating in the mortal struggles for hegemony? Do not think you can brush this aside by changing the subject."

The Blind Maiden countered, "If you make a move, it brings desolation across ten thousand miles. Naturally, I must stop you. What is so strange about that?"

"But I was merely capturing Cui Yuanyang." Jiuyou blinked mischievously. "As for the war itself, I am not responsible for intervening. But what about you? For what reason are you protecting Cui Yuanyang? Is it to preserve an important fighting force so she can help your man win this battle? Or is it because... you fear her awakening?"

The Blind Maiden deflected the question. "You harbor no sense of rules; who could trust that you would refrain from intervening in the war? If I am not mistaken, you have another avatar in the northern frontier right now. If not to stir up trouble in the conflict, could it be to offer yourself to his bed?"

Jiuyou ignored her deflection and pressed on, "My dear sister, shouldn't you be the person who wants to kill Cui Yuanyang the most? Watching her grow up so lively and full of vigor all these years, what were your thoughts? Was it because you didn't realize before that she was Piaomiao? True, they do not look entirely identical, as she inherited quite a lot from her parents. But it is impossible that you haven't realized by now, so why haven't you struck?"

The Blind Maiden replied evenly, "Piaomiao is immortal, just like you and me; killing her achieves nothing. In truth, she has reincarnated through many lifetimes, passing through all four sword-wielding clans, yet none triggered her awakening. This lifetime will not be much different... A minor spark of past-life insight is normal, but a full revival of her past memories requires a monumental catalyst. Cui Yuanyang cannot achieve it on her own..."

"So you are stopping me because you fear I can awaken her?"

"Allow me to be blunt." A cold smile played at the corners of the Blind Maiden's lips. "That is not your domain; you are utterly incapable of it. It would be more plausible if I were to do it."

Jiuyou sneered back, "So, are you willing to do it?"

Instead of answering, the Blind Maiden countered, "You claim not to participate in the war, so do you intend to just stand here chatting with me until the end of time?"

For the Blind Maiden, stalling Jiuyou was enough; everything else was Zhao Changhe's affair.

But for Jiuyou, if the Guanlong army was stalled outside Hangu Pass, then nothing could be accomplished; she had come specifically to help the army break through this bottleneck. The Blind Maiden's understanding of her was accurate—a fiend-god rooted in chaos claiming not to meddle in mortal warfare was a lie meant only for fools.

Yet neither of them truly wished to engage in combat, for a clash between them would bring unpredictable consequences.

Why had the ancient fiend-gods cowered and hidden themselves in the early days? Because they harbored nothing but malice toward one another. For instance, when Anmie was severely wounded and Xuexiao happened to be nearby, its end was wretched indeed; when Poxun was gravely injured, it was a stroke of fortune for Jiuyou, allowing her to seize his Mirror of Truth and Illusion. Such was the nature of them all.

Should the Blind Maiden and Jiuyou truly come to blows, the outcome would be impossible to predict. If both were grievously harmed, they could easily lose control in this tumultuous era, perhaps even allowing a third party to reap the rewards.

Thus, both preferred to talk rather than strike. Yet, while the Blind Maiden could leisurely converse until the end of time, could Jiuyou do the same?

Jiuyou could as well... it was simply a matter of both watching the other battlefronts to see which side would collapse first.

Below them, torches blazed brightly, and the distant roars of battle gradually drifted up into the sky.

With the Qinghe Sword temporarily incapacitated and Huangyang suppressing Cui Wenjing and the others, the horn for the Guanlong army's first exploratory assault finally blew. Fortunately, Huangyang was currently half-crippled; otherwise, another hundred-mile blight would be completely unendurable for the Han army. However, he could not employ it again anytime soon, and the conflict had descended entirely into the logic of conventional warfare.

Cannons were slow to manufacture and rarely mass-produced; in a clash involving armies of a hundred thousand, a few artillery pieces were of little use, so none had been deployed for now. As the shouting drifted from afar, Jiuyou looked down at the stalemate atop the fortress walls, her lips curling into a mocking smile. "Sister, tell me, what will happen once Huangyang recovers even slightly?"

The Blind Maiden did not answer, seemingly lost in thought over something.

Surprised, Jiuyou asked, "What are you doing?"

A golden light flashed across the sky: "At the end of the first lunar month, Huangfu Yongxian led his troops beyond the frontier, leaving Yanmen unguarded. The fiend-god Fengyin led the forces of southern Shanxi northward in a surprise assault on Yanmen. The Han Chancellor Tang Wanzhuang rode alone to the rescue, repelling Fengyin within ten exchanges and absorbing all his forces, thereby resolving the crisis at Yanmen."

"To repay the lord's grace upon the golden dais, I bear the Jade Dragon to die for my sovereign."

"..." Jiuyou opened her mouth, then closed it again.

You spent all this time chatting with me, only to be writing your book on the side? And even composing poetry there... Is the Jade Dragon you mentioned the same Jade Dragon I am thinking of?

In truth, Zhao Changhe had previously failed to understand why Jiuyou could not see across ten thousand miles. Aside from her incomplete recovery, the most critical factor was that this domain had been covered and practically monopolized by the Blind Maiden using the laws of the Heavenly Book; she simply could not replicate what the Blind Maiden did.

No one had expected the Battle of Yanmen to conclude so swiftly. What Jiuyou expected even less was that the Blind Maiden was cheating yet again.

Earlier, messengers had ridden hard to "deliver news" to Huangfu Yongxian's army, intending to shake their morale. Although Huangfu Yongxian saw through the ruse and decisively executed them to resolve it, the slightly wiser soldiers likely had an inkling. A surprise attack on Yanmen was foreseeable; they just didn't know how the battle had turned out, making anxiety inevitable.

The Blind Maiden chose to cheat outright. Instead of waiting for the entire campaign to conclude before making a unified summary as she usually did, she broadcasted the Battle of Yanmen to the entire world beforehand, her sole intention being to help Zhao Changhe stabilize his army's morale.

And you still claim he isn't your man? Your bias couldn't be more blatant. Is this what you call refraining from the conflicts of the mortal world?

Meeting Jiuyou's strange gaze, the Blind Maiden remained as unruffled as a gentle breeze, pretending to notice nothing. Instead, she asked with a beaming smile, "Ah, my apologies, what were you asking me just now? Something about Huangyang?"

Jiuyou remained expressionless.

The Blind Maiden smiled. "In truth, I do participate in mortal conflicts. Under Our system, the sovereign of the human realm has always been Our Azure Dragon, and so it remains today."

Jiuyou laughed in spite of herself. "It has been a long time since I heard you use that royal 'We,' and it sounds strangely ironic. Right now, you are nothing but a book, and I am using one of your pages to wipe my backside every day, as if wiping it right across your face."

She expected these words to send the Blind Maiden into a furious rage, but the Blind Maiden proved utterly indifferent, her expression unyielding as she continued to ask with a smile, "What will happen when Huangyang recovers, I do not know. But the campaign in northern Shanxi is over, as everyone now knows. By the way, Fengyin is currently fleeing south and is about to pass nearby, yet he seems to have no intention of coming to see you?"

"He dare not face me." Jiuyou smiled faintly. "He will find a way to redeem his failure through service."

The Blind Maiden smiled. "Then shall you and I simply stay here and watch their end unfold?"

Jiuyou replied, "Why ever not?"

"Standing around here is rather tedious. How about we make a wager?"

"Oh? To be honest, I do not care much about the outcome of this battle. Why should I make a wager with you?"

The Blind Maiden murmured, "I know the battle's outcome is not what concerns you; all you desire is to plunge the heart of the realm into chaos... Oh, perhaps you have other designs regarding the Temple of Tengri. Naturally, my wager is not on the victory or defeat of this campaign. I wager that everything you seek will end in failure... Whether it is your plots scattered across the land or the battle at the Temple, you will go out to shear and come home shorn. Do you believe me?"

Jiuyou sneered, "Of course not. Even if most places end in failure like northern Shanxi, there will always be some successes."

"Since you disbelieve, we have a wager," the Blind Maiden said with a laugh. "If all your schemes end in failure, what will you give?"

A faint ripple finally stirred within Jiuyou's detached eyes as she laughed softly. "If that comes to pass, I shall give you the Mirror of Truth and Illusion; I know you desire it greatly. But what if there are successes? What can you give me? Your man?"

The Blind Maiden ignored the barb completely, saying flatly, "How about the Book of Life that you crave?"

Jiuyou gazed at her intently, her eyes shimmering slightly. "What if I want the entirety of the Heavenly Book?"

The Blind Maiden's eyelids twitched, as if she were on the verge of opening her eyes.

But she quickly suppressed the urge, murmuring, "You have always wished to replace me... yet you do not realize that it is no blessing."

Nine You stared fixedly at her.

The blind man sighed. "If you insist on betting like this, it's fine, but don't regret it."

Nine You gave a cold laugh, saying nothing.

The blind man said, "What if someone loses the bet and breaks the agreement?"

Nine You pointed to the heavens. "Since the karmic bond is opened, there will be consequences. You try to trap me with such words, yet you are trapping yourself as well."

"Very well." The blind man was noncommittal, merely saying, "The matter north of Jin counts as the first. Let us continue watching."

...

"Boom!" Feng Yin slammed headfirst into a golden barrier, knocked dizzy and nearly vomiting his gall.

He knew where Nine You was, but dared not go see that terrifying woman—though in her exchanges with the blind man, she seemed hardly fearsome, even almost playful with Zhao Changhe, but that was all because of the blind man. To anyone else, Nine You was an utterly fearsome demon lord.

It only proved the blind man's level was higher... so high that Nine You had never imagined that meeting Ye Wuming again in this life would involve such dialogue.

In any case, Feng Yin, as Nine You had predicted, wanted to go elsewhere to make amends. He detoured south and first arrived at Xiangyang.

Feng Yin's heart stirred, thinking this was a major city; if he stirred up chaos, it would at least satisfy Lord Nine You's needs. So he transformed into a breeze and charged straight ahead.

But before he could even dive to the ground, he crashed into the golden barrier.

Feng Yin clutched his head with one hand and his chest, pierced by Tang Wanzhuang's sword aura, with the other. He looked up in shock to see Yuan Cheng floating in the void with a golden Buddha. The old monk, wielding a massive staff, struck down at him: "Do you truly think the Buddhist sect of this world does not exist?"

The old monk alone might have been manageable, but Feng Yin sensed the Imperial Realm aura of the Vajra Buddha, trembling with terror, and fled by a detour.

Hadn't this Buddha been said to be crippled? How did it seem to be recovering so quickly, its eyes already growing lively...

Now badly wounded, Feng Yin dared not tangle with an Imperial Realm. Relying on his speed, he fled in panic. The old monk Yuan Cheng gave chase with his staff, and Feng Yin dared not stop, racing straight southwest.

Southwest of Xiang was a place where Nine You had made arrangements... He didn't know if the others could succeed, but if he went to assist, at least he could find a relatively safe place to heal. If the old monk pursued, there would be someone here to help hold him off.

The blind man grinned, raising two fingers as fair as jade. "Second."

Saying there was "someone" in the southwest wasn't quite accurate, because they weren't human.

On the desolate plain, eerie winds howled.

A vast horde of corpse puppets was advancing westward, stretching as far as the eye could see.

Leading them was a familiar figure, with a glaring arrow wound on his shoulder, still emitting a faint golden light, as if constantly corroding the body, impossible to erase.

It was a mark from the Dragon Soul Bow... Yin Kui, who had once died under Zhao Changhe's arrow.

He himself had become a corpse puppet, losing all former intelligence, save for a faint spark of light forcibly preserved by the death god Nine You. Now, as the leader of the corpse army, he rose again, advancing from his former hiding place in western Xiang, heading once more to Miaojiang.

Queen Xiang Simeng of Dali had unified Miaojiang not long ago... Miaojiang was vast; in such a short time, she couldn't have extended her reach to this eastern border, nor was it necessary, especially since she was reportedly pressing into Bashu.

Once the corpse army suddenly came east, Miaojiang would fall into chaos. Then they would capture Xiang Simeng, seize the spirit race's ancestral land, and complete many tasks there.

Yin Kui's eyes flickered with phosphorescent fire, his heart holding a final death obsession: revenge... he must tear apart those accursed spirit race bastards...

He could already imagine Xiang Simeng's face, pale with terror at the sudden sight of such a massive corpse legion.

"Hehe..." Yin Kui laughed mindlessly.

"Rustle!" Birds startled from the surrounding dense forest.

"Swish, swish, swish!" Countless arrows shot from the woods, their tips coated with something unknown, glowing with a faint blue light.

Yin Kui's mind was dull; before he could react, the corpse army beside him was struck by arrows, letting out low roars and collapsing.

Their bodies, once as hard as iron after being puppeteered, seemed utterly ineffective, more fragile than mortals.

Yin Kui turned in horror. On both sides of the forest, dense human figures appeared, with faint roars of beasts, coming from all directions, shaking the earth.

Looking closely, jackals, tigers, leopards—a myriad of beasts charged forth. Eagles circled and cried overhead. A massive blood tortoise stomped the ground, causing mountains to tremble.

The elite of Miaojiang had come out in full force, all gathered here!

The Xiang Simeng he had imagined with a pale face now stood quietly on the blood tortoise's back, in a short skirt and bare feet, coldly watching him. In her hand, a bone dagger gleamed with blue light in the moonlight.

Seeing Yin Kui turn, Sisi smiled sweetly. "I don't know if it's you hearing me now, or Nine You... Whoever it is, it doesn't matter. I'll say just one thing."

"My lord has penetrated the mystery of life and death, and long ago devised a plan to counter corpse puppets. At this moment, you are nothing but fish on a chopping block in our eyes."

The rhyme was decent, but thousands of miles away, Nine You's face changed.

The blind man grinned, extending three fingers. "Third."

In the blind man's eyes at that moment, the mountains and rivers for ten thousand miles were all dotted lines, interwoven layer upon layer, like a vast chessboard.

On this board, the one placing the pieces was not she, Ye Wuming... All the lines converged on a single endpoint, pointing to the Mongolian grasslands at this moment, where a light cavalry was galloping at full speed.

That was Zhao Changhe.