Chapter 797: I Wait for You at Kunlun

Chapter 797: I'll Wait for You in Kunlun

Zhao Changhe looked at her with a strange expression, while Ye Jiuyou stared back at him, the atmosphere thick with oddity.

Though Li Boping was the instigator, he suddenly felt like an outsider... and his expression turned strange as well.

Logically, the ancestor could kill Zhao Changhe in an instant... though since it was only a split soul, killing him might not mean much, but you came here in a rage without even a hint of attacking, just staring at him like this—what does that mean? He still has his hand-blade pressed against my neck...

After a long moment, Zhao Changhe slowly spoke: "Don't kill the ordinary people outside."

Ye Jiuyou said coolly: "You actually knew I was thinking that?"

Zhao Changhe said: "I can roughly imagine... but it's meaningless. Some things represent a trend. Back then, the false Xia Longyuan issued a reckless decree to kill Wanzhuang, but before it could even be spread, the Great Xia's dragon aura was entirely lost. This is similar. Our karmic ties are already formed; killing is useless, only adding karmic debt."

Ye Jiuyou laughed: "You talk to me about karmic debt... No wonder some say you're like a Buddha. Why don't you become a monk?"

"I'm fond of lust."

"..."

Zhao Changhe, neither blushing nor flustered, said: "A chat?"

Ye Jiuyou glanced at Li Boping: "Follow me."

With that, she left from behind the hall.

Li Boping turned his head to watch them leave, his expression even more peculiar. This ancestor wanted to kill, yet because of a few words of persuasion from Zhao Changhe, she actually refrained, and even her killing intent vanished...

Ye Jiuyou had her own private courtyard here, filled with maids and servants. When they saw "Miss" return, they bowed and said: "Miss."

Ye Jiuyou did not want to hear the word "Miss" at this moment at all. She said stiffly: "All of you, get out."

The maids cautiously stole a glance at Zhao Changhe, who had followed into the courtyard, then lowered their heads, covering their mouths as they ran off.

Ye Jiuyou slammed the table: "What expressions are they making!"

"Bang," the stone table in the courtyard turned to ashes, and the tea set on it fell.

"..." Zhao Changhe reached out a hand, and the scattered ashes of the stone table solidified and returned, reforming into the stone table, with the tea set steadily placed on top, as if nothing had happened.

"Eh..." Ye Jiuyou was somewhat astonished: "This effortless skill, it has a hint of primordial force... causal reversal?"

"Something like that..."

Ye Jiuyou's eyes held a hint of amusement: "This thing called causality, though it seems like a single type of law, actually requires mastery of many."

"I've already realized that. It's very difficult." Zhao Changhe sat opposite her, reached for the teapot on the table, and secretly channeled his energy.

After a short while, the tea water boiled directly in his hand. Zhao Changhe poured a cup of steaming tea for Jiuyou, then poured one for himself.

The fragrance of tea curled upward, steam rising.

The atmosphere suddenly quieted, and in this late spring afternoon, one could sense the birdsong and floral scents from outside the courtyard.

Ye Jiuyou studied him with interest, then after a long while, picked up the teacup and leaned back leisurely in her chair: "Your behavior here doesn't quite match the Zhao Changhe I know."

"Mutual." Zhao Changhe said: "The Ye Jiuyou in my impression is chaotic, mad, delighting in slaughter and annihilation, disregarding all rules. It hasn't been long since you ambushed me in that dark alley, and at that time, your pale, deathly stillness was extremely obvious... but the you now..."

"What?"

"Your expressions are very vivid and varied." Zhao Changhe paused, then added: "I felt like I was talking to someone else."

"But then, why would that so-called someone else have such vivid and varied expressions?" Ye Jiuyou laughed: "Did the previous her have them?"

Zhao Changhe said slowly: "At first she didn't, but later she gradually began to... I once thought she had changed, but in the end, I discovered... perhaps she hadn't."

"Are you very sad?" Ye Jiuyou seemed to find the funniest thing in the world: "You are sad because she wasn't what you thought she was..."

Zhao Changhe was very calm: "Yes. Although the imaginary enemy in my heart has always been her, and she knows it in her heart... but she should know that I have been trying my best to avoid this outcome, hoping for a win-win for everyone... but in the end, I was disappointed."

Ye Jiuyou burst into loud laughter, rocking back and forth: "You seem to be talking to me, but you're actually speaking to her, aren't you?"

Zhao Changhe: "..."

Ye Jiuyou laughed: "Hey, have you ever thought that this is very rude to me? I might get upset, you know."

Zhao Changhe said: "You were the one asking about her; I was answering your question. How is that rude?"

"Expressing regret about another woman in front of your fiancée—isn't that rude?" Ye Jiuyou said with a grin.

Zhao Changhe shook his head: "This so-called fiancée—you don't acknowledge it, and neither do I. What's there to say?"

Ye Jiuyou said: "Who says I don't acknowledge it?"

Zhao Changhe rolled his eyes, picked up his tea and drank, too lazy to argue with her about this.

Acknowledge my foot—you just scolded the maids for their expressions and smashed the table to pieces.

Ye Jiuyou said: "What, you kissed my hand and touched my chest, and now you want to shirk responsibility?"

"Pfft..." Zhao Changhe sprayed out a mouthful of tea.

"You want to possess Ye Wuming, don't you?" Ye Jiuyou asked with a grin, watching him spray tea.

Zhao Changhe coughed for a long time: "Who exactly is being rude here?"

"Me." Ye Jiuyou said matter-of-factly: "Do I need manners?"

Zhao Changhe: "...Then I touched your chest, and there's no need for me to take responsibility either, since you don't care about that sort of thing anyway."

Ye Jiuyou's eyes widened.

The atmosphere fell silent for a moment.

Zhao Changhe realized that one of Jiuyou's traits was extreme jumps in thought, inconsistent behavior—a manifestation of "chaos." It was hard to track what she was thinking a moment ago or whether it would change the next. Against such an opponent, there was no point in being serious; wasn't it just acting crazy? Who couldn't out-crazy whom?

He hadn't noticed this trait before... Perhaps Jiuyou's logic only became relatively clear when the blind man was present? He didn't understand.

Ye Jiuyou ground her teeth: "Whether I need it or not is my business. Don't you have any shame?"

Zhao Changhe said: "No."

Ye Jiuyou was not at all angered by this shameless remark; instead, she laughed: "Do you want to join my sect?"

Zhao Changhe said: "Why don't you join my sect instead? Since when did you, Ye Jiuyou, have such stale rules of precedence or the strong ruling? Learning from your sister's rules?"

Ye Jiuyou blinked her eyes vigorously twice.

"Let alone you, even your sister..." Zhao Changhe said calmly: "Doesn't she know I want to take her down? And you talk about joining a sect... Even if I joined a sect, it would be to overthrow the superior from below. You want me to join your sect—are you hoping I'll take you down?"

Ye Jiuyou blinked even more vigorously, seemingly at a loss for how to continue this argument with Zhao Changhe. After a long while, she changed the subject: "You want to possess Ye Wuming—I can help you."

Zhao Changhe said: "You want to defeat Ye Wuming—I can help you."

Ye Jiuyou laughed: "So this is why you came to see me today?"

Zhao Changhe said: "Exactly. You and I can cooperate."

Ye Jiuyou sipped her tea leisurely: "Don't you know that cooperating with me is like courting a tiger for its skin?"

"I've touched your chest, so it's fine if I take a loss... Or you take a loss? Since you don't care anyway."

This time it was Ye Jiuyou's turn to "pfft" and spray out her tea.

She wasn't angry at all; she found it very amusing—in fact, she rarely had such enjoyable conversations.

Scatterbrained... yes, off-the-wall.

Yet it wasn't merely crude; every word contained defiance and rebellion.

Chaos is not actually opposed to order; it could even be said that chaos itself is a kind of order. What it stands against is called orderliness.

What Ye Jiuyou detests is the solemn order, the man-made boundaries, and even the shackles defined by the Heavenly Dao. As the strongest demon god, she could be Li Boping's daughter without a care for such things.

"Who dares to meddle with my karma?" It is less about anger at her karma being interfered with, and more about her hatred for karma born of "parental commands and matchmaker's words"—such karma should not apply to her. Yet this thing is both detestable and stubborn. For instance, when everyone believes you are someone's wife, even if you kill them all, it won't change what they think in their hearts.

But the world cannot exist without order; a world without order cannot sustain civilization.

Thus she is a demon, a true demon of chaos, the natural antithesis of someone like Zhao Changhe. Yet at this moment, Ye Jiuyou realized that Zhao Changhe was not entirely incompatible with her...

She finally laughed. "How do you propose we cooperate?"

Zhao Changhe said, "First, I want to know what happened with Piaomiao."

"Still for Cui Yuanyang after all. You went around in such a big circle, afraid that if you got straight to the point, I wouldn't tell you?"

"If I'm not mistaken, when Yuanyang's change occurred, it was the same time and place as your confrontation with your sister. You should know everything about this." Zhao Changhe spoke slowly. "It's even possible that you awakened Piaomiao... because if your sister wanted to awaken her, she could have done it long ago."

Ye Jiuyou said, "Correct, I awakened Piaomiao."

Zhao Changhe narrowed his eyes, and Ye Jiuyou clearly caught the flash of anger and murderous intent in them.

"You want to kill me." Ye Jiuyou laughed heartily. "Sipping tea and chatting with me about cooperation, all the while wanting to kill me."

Zhao Changhe said flatly, "Cui Yuanyang is my wife, who knew me when I was nothing."

Ye Jiuyou said, "Am I not your wife now?"

Zhao Changhe: "..."

Ye Jiuyou said, "Is it because we haven't slept together yet? Want to give it a try?"

Zhao Changhe's face was expressionless. "Such things cannot be replaced, just as your sister cannot replace you."

A strange light flickered in Ye Jiuyou's eyes.

In truth, if those in the know were to judge, this statement should have said that she could not replace Ye Wuming, for Ye Wuming had never sought to replace her, but rather to expel her. It was she who wanted to replace Ye Wuming, but failed.

Yet if this remark referred to everyone in Zhao Changhe's heart, then of course no one could replace anyone else, and Ye Wuming certainly could not replace Ye Jiuyou.

Zhao Changhe said, "I am worried about Yuanyang and have no mood for rambling. I hope you understand my feelings... If you enjoy such conversations, I will indulge you another time. For now, I wish to quickly sort things out—if you truly intend to cooperate with me against your sister."

Ye Jiuyou looked at his earnest eyes and finally stopped being erratic. She said slowly, "Do you know that Piaomiao died at the hands of Ye Wuming back then?"

"I didn't know before, but I've guessed it now."

"I admit I am no match for Ye Wuming, so of course I needed an ally. Piaomiao is the best ally. Isn't it only natural that I awakened her?"

"...Yes." Zhao Changhe said calmly, "I understand the cause, and I also know why Piaomiao, who should not have revived with only the Qinghe Sword, could do so—with your help, it was indeed possible. Now what I want to know is Yuanyang's condition after you awakened Piaomiao."

"In theory, a reincarnated self is one entity. When the past life awakens, it merges with the present life, becoming a person with two sets of memories. But their situation is a bit different..." Ye Jiuyou said. "Because she did not awaken on her own, nor did she remember her past life by herself. Essentially, I used my power over life and death to resurrect the 'dead' Piaomiao through that body, similar to how Yin Kui once awakened Lie within you. Their consciousnesses are extremely independent, but Cui Yuanyang is too weak, so the body cannot be controlled by her."

"Will it devour her?"

"If it were someone else, yes. But they are Piaomiao and Cui Yuanyang, so no."

Zhao Changhe's expression shifted.

"Piaomiao is the embodiment of the mortal realm's mountains and rivers, the goddess of the human path's vital energy—arguably the most benevolent deity. She will only eliminate evil and will never harm a kind mortal, and Cui Yuanyang happens to be very kind." Ye Jiuyou said lazily, "Piaomiao would never bear to go against Cui Yuanyang's will to forcibly devour her, even if it means her body will forever be discordant and she can never regain her peak strength. She refuses to do so."

Ye Jiuyou did not tell Zhao Changhe that she had once advised Piaomiao to devour, but Piaomiao refused. And for reasons unknown, she did not press hard or maliciously scheme—she simply mentioned it and let it go... Now thinking back, was it because she truly did not want to offend Zhao Changhe too deeply?

Zhao Changhe let out a long sigh and said seriously, "Tell Piaomiao I thank her."

Ye Jiuyou looked at him without speaking.

Zhao Changhe said, "And thank you too."

Ye Jiuyou smiled, a hint of interest in her eyes. "But Piaomiao cannot leave Cui Yuanyang's body. This is not possession; she is a reincarnated self, her soul co-existing with this body. If she leaves, she cuts off her own foundation, which is suicide. What do you plan to do? Let Piaomiao die?"

Zhao Changhe pondered. "Is there a solution? In theory, we can both create avatars. Could she split off a separate body?"

Ye Jiuyou laughed. "First, you'd need to find a body perfectly suited for her. Second, no matter how you split, the soul remains one, not severed—you should know that. How to sever without harming either side—you're asking about something beyond my knowledge. You should ask Ye Wuming."

Zhao Changhe narrowed his eyes. That implication...

Seeing Ye Jiuyou's smiling expression, he couldn't tell if it was what he thought. After a moment, he said, "Can I meet Piaomiao?"

Ye Jiuyou looked him up and down for a while, then laughed. "No."

"Why?"

"Because even now, you are nothing but Ye Wuming's puppet. Do I look like a fool to you?"

"...I am not."

"Hmph."

Zhao Changhe was silent for a moment, then said, "Cooperation requires a foundation of trust. I understand. You don't trust me, and I don't necessarily trust you. So how should we begin to establish mutual trust? For example, what do you want me to do?"

Ye Jiuyou smiled. "Give me the Heavenly Book. Would you?"

Zhao Changhe said, "Indeed, I would not."

"Why? Are you coveting the Heavenly Book?"

"No, I cannot allow a demon of chaos to possess such power."

Ye Jiuyou's smile vanished as she stared at him.

Zhao Changhe met her gaze calmly.

Yes, this was the greatest rift between them, one that could never truly be bridged. Even shallow cooperation was possible, but Ye Wuming had no fear of their sincere alliance.

Why had Guanlong not been unified to this day?

Because Ye Jiuyou wanted the divine land to remain fragmented, and she fostered the division in Guanlong... To Zhao Changhe, this was practically a sacred scale.

They were fundamentally enemies, ideologically irreconcilable, destined to end only with one's destruction or subjugation.

After a long stare, Ye Jiuyou suddenly laughed again. "Some things are actually quite simple... Cooperation is just a step away from subjugation. You have my attributes within you, which pleased me just now. So if I subdue you and turn you into my blade, everything will be settled, won't it?"

Zhao Changhe said flatly, "That won't be easy."

Ye Jiuyou said, "Are you going to say again that you want to overthrow your master?"

Zhao Changhe: "..."

"But I'll let you overthrow me." Ye Jiuyou blinked. "You were Ye Wuming's blade and wanted to get her, but she wouldn't let you. Be my blade, and I'll let you get me. What do you say?"

Zhao Changhe did not answer that, instead saying, "When I ask that we stop rambling and talk business properly, you are capable of being orderly. So you also have a normal side. If you put away that chaos and slaughter, there may be no more barriers between us. As for who listens to whom, I think we can set a goal."

Ye Jiuyou smiled enigmatically. "That's simple... Defeat me, by yourself."

Zhao Changhe stared into her eyes.

Ye Jiuyou said leisurely, "The victor can always dispose of the loser as they wish, whether the loser accepts it or not. If you win, I'll listen to you; if I win, you'll listen to me. It's that simple."

Zhao Changhe said flatly, "Fair enough."

"I'll wait for you at Kunlun. If you can come before me alone, you will see Piaomiao. Whatever you decide between you, I won't interfere. And if you can defeat me again, then our cooperation will be on your terms. Otherwise, you will become my servant, driven by my will." Ye Jiuyou stood up and walked toward the courtyard gate. "I believe that for Cui Yuanyang's sake, you will achieve the first step. As for the second step, whether you dare is up to you."

Zhao Changhe did not rise, saying flatly, "You haven't even told me the specific location."

"How do I know that telling you isn't the same as telling Ye Wuming?" Ye Jiuyou chuckled. "I've already told you that Cui Yuanyang is fine, and there's no rush. Finding our whereabouts is also a test of your ability, isn't it? You may use others' help to find the place."

"Why leave so quickly? You're even more pretentious than your sister."

Ye Jiuyou stopped, a strange expression on her face. After a long moment, she said, "I hope you will call her Ye Wuming, not 'your sister' all the time."

"I'd be glad to," said Zhao Changhe. "Could you deliver a message to Yangyang for me?"

"Speak."

"Tell her not to clash with Piaomiao, lest she be hurt or anger the other. Within a month, Brother Zhao will appear before her."

Ye Jiuyou laughed. "A month? Even Ye Wuming wouldn't dare say that. Aren't you afraid of disappointing her with such a boast?"

Zhao Changhe said calmly, "I wouldn't say it if I weren't confident. Do you want to make a bet on this as well?"

"Fine... If you truly find our whereabouts within a month, I'll let you touch me again—a real, solid touch." Ye Jiuyou glanced back with a smile. "I'll be waiting, my fiancé."

Her voice faded, and she was gone.