Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
“Fang Zhengzhi, do you really think that anyone would believe you?” Qian Ye’s gaze was as chilly and sharp as a razor blade.
Meanwhile, Cang Yue looked like she was confused. She was stunned, but more importantly, she seemed lost.
The disciples around them chose to remain silent. No one said a word or looked at Fang Zhengzhi again as if that was a taboo.
“It isn’t true that no one believes me, it’s because no one dares to believe me. However…” Fang Zhengzhi took a break, because at this point in time, some of his questions had already been answered.
The only question that he had yet to figure out was the war mentioned by both Lin Mubai and Qian Ye, which took place over a decade ago.
He guessed that everything had started from that war, but the strange thing was, the war wasn’t recorded in Great Xia Dynasty’s history.
Fang Zhengzhi thought that this was peculiar.
After all, according to Qian Ye, Lin Mubai took part in that war as well. Even Ling Yun Tower seemed to have been involved. In that case, it must have been a devastating war.
If that was the case, why wasn’t it recorded?
Although Fang Zhengzhi didn’t witness the war, and neither did he know anything about it, he had a feeling that it was definitely extraordinary.
Wait!
A devasting war that took place in Flame Capital City a dozen years ago?!
Flame Capital City… A dozen years ago?
Was this the war that took place at Ten Mile Lake?!
Fang Zhengzhi’s eyes lit up. The bloody war that took place at Ten Mile Lake a dozen years ago was the most famous war in Great Xia Dynasty’s recent history. According to historical records, that was a war between Great Xia Dynasty and the Demon race, and it almost wiped out Great Xia Dynasty.
However, according to the records, it was the Western Liang’s Yan Cloud Cavalry that saved Great Xia Dynasty. Yan Qianli and his brothers led tens of thousands of Yan Cloud Cavalry’s soldiers to Flame Capital City and managed to fend off hundreds of thousands of Demon soldiers until they received help from other regions, which ensured the successful survival of Great Xia Dynasty.
Was this a coincidence?
Fang Zhengzhi didn’t think so. Such a significant war couldn’t possibly be covered up, so the only possibility was that part of the true story was concealed.
“However?” As Qian Ye said that, she placed her other hand behind her back secretly.
“Your majesty, was Yu Er the cause of the war that took place a dozen years ago?” Fang Zhengzhi turned towards Lin Mubai.
“How… How do you know that?” Lin Mubai trembled with disbelief.
“Am I right to say that this was the same war that took place at Ten Mile Lake a dozen years ago?” Fang Zhengzhi replied with another question.
“Yes…” Lin Mubai paused briefly, before he continued with a miserable expression, “You’re right. The war at Ten Mile Lake was much more complicated than what was recorded. However, as the emperor, I couldn’t reveal everything to the dynasty.”
“Can you tell me about it?” Fang Zhengzhi asked.
“This was kept a secret in all the four Great Dynasties as well as the Holy Region. However, you are definitely qualified to know about it now!” Lin Mubai nodded and gazed towards the sky, falling deep into his thoughts. After a moment, he continued, “To be honest, it was my incompetence which led to the war!”
“Father, why are you doubting your capabilities?” Ping Yang could sense that Lin Mubai seemed to have turned older all of a sudden.
“Cough… Ping Yang, let me finish the story first. It was my incompetence that turned Great Xia Dynasty into a battlefield! I was even selfish enough to forget the ancestors’ instructions, and I… I took out the Heaven Dao Tablets.”
“Heaven Dao Tablets?” Ping Yang was startled to hear that. Meanwhile, Fang Zhengzhi’s eyes lit up.
“Heaven Dao Tablet?”
“The war that took place over a dozen years ago was related to Heaven Dao Tablets?”
“That’s right. Heaven Dao Tablets!” Lin Mubai nodded. He looked towards Qian Ye in a daze and continued, “She really… Really looks like her… When I first met Yu Er, she was also wearing a golden dress, and she looked so elegant and pure. I decided to marry her the moment I saw her!”
Lin Mubai seemed to be recalling those memories, so he took a break before continuing, “However, I only realized that she didn’t just look elegant after I tried my best to know her. She was the living embodiment of elegance, because she was a Sage, a mighty and untouchable Sage. Furthermore, she was Ling Yun Tower’s disciple, so I must treat her with respect. I couldn’t possibly force her to do anything…”
“However, I was madly in love with her. I didn’t give up even though she was a Sage, and a disciple of Ling Yun Tower!”
“The truth eventually proved that I made the right choice. Yu Er accepted my feelings and I got to marry her just as I wished. However, she had one condition. She would only spend two years by my side in Great Xia Dynasty.”
“She would leave after that!”
“However, for the sake of marrying her, I had no choice but to agree to her condition!”
“Those two years were the happiest time of my life. Not only was Yu Er by my side, but Great Xia Dynasty also became extremely prosperous thanks to her assistance.”
“However, two years ended in a flash…”
“Two years!! I am the ruler of the Great Xia Dynasty, but I could only enjoy Yu Er’s company for two years? I wasn’t willing to let her go, because I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her.”
“I disobeyed the previous emperor’s last words and took out the Heaven Dao Tablets passed down from all the previous emperors, and I placed all of them in front of Yu Er.”
“That was because I knew that no one could resist the temptation of Heaven Dao Tablets, even a mighty Sage. Yu Er would definitely stay by my side so that she could study the Heaven Dao Tablets.”
“I was right about that, for I could still vividly remember how excited Yu Er was when she saw the Heaven Dao Tablets. At that moment, I knew that she would stay behind!”
“However, I didn’t expect…”
“Yu Er stayed, but the news about the Heaven Dao Tablets somehow got out, and it even brought Great Xia Dynasty to the brink of destruction.”
“Many masters came to Flame Capital City, either with the intent to threaten me, or to exchange the Heaven Dao Tablets with something else.”
“However, how could I give away the Heaven Dao Tablets that were handed down by my ancestors?” I could only turn all of them down, and that resulted in Great Xia Dynasty’s isolation. I lost all my allies!”
“The three other Great Dynasties joined forces and attacked Great Xia Dynasty. I… I couldn’t fight against all of them at the same time. I was weak and useless…”
“…”
“So, you turned to Yu Er for help?” Fang Zhengzhi finally gained a better understanding of the war.
“Yes… I could only ask Yu Er for help, and she didn’t abandon me. She stepped in and stopped the three Great Dynasties’ invasion by killing three generals and 12 commanders in a single night. Only then did I realize… That Yu Er was so powerful!” Lin Mubai nodded.
“Well, Heavenly Oasis Saint told me before that the masters from the Holy Region are not allowed to interfere with the wars between the four dynasties. That is forbidden!”
“You’re right, it is forbidden. The five sects of the Holy Region have explicitly stated that all disciples of the five sects are not allowed to take part in the war between the four dynasties. Therefore… Yu Er broke the rules! However, I thought that the consequence was nothing but a slight punishment. If I could get the entire dynasty to ask for Ling Yun Tower’s forgiveness, Yu Er could be spared. However, what I didn’t know, was that this rule was related to humans, demons, and monsters!”
“Related to humans, demons, and monsters?” Fang Zhengzhi was astonished to hear that. He didn’t expect this to involve all the three races.
“The Holy Region represented mankind, while the demons and monsters were allies back then. When Yu Er broke the rule, I thought the first party to come after her would be Ling Yun Tower. However, I didn’t expect that the demons and monsters to show up first!” Lin Mubai sounded sad.
Nevertheless, he gritted his teeth and continued, “The demons and monsters offered to spare Yu Er in exchange for all the Heaven Dao Tablets!”
“Did you turn them down?” Fang Zhengzhi could almost imagine what had happened back then. He also realized what the demons and monsters were truly after.
“No, I agreed to the offer. I was the one who started it all, and I was willing to do anything for Yu Er. However, Yu Er didn’t agree with that!” Lin Mubai shook his head and continued, “What happened afterward was completely out of my control. The demon’s and monster’s armies came all the way to Flame Capital City!”
“Was that when Western Liang’s Yan Cloud Cavalry arrived?” Fang Zhengzhi made a guess.
“Yes, the demon’s and monster’s armies included Sages. My troops were completely defenseless against them, and the armies around the dynasty didn’t dare to come to our aid. Western Liang’s Yan family were the only ones who came to our rescue, with tens of thousands of their soldiers…” Lin Mubai nodded again.
“…” Fang Zhengzhi kept quiet. He finally understood why Lin Mubai had so much respect for Yan Qianli, and why he trusted the Yan family so much.
Although Yan Cloud Cavalry was a normal army, it dared to go against Sages and the enormous army of demons and monsters. There wasn’t another army which was capable of doing that.
Lin Mubai sighed and continued, “Although the Yan Cloud Cavalry arrived, they couldn’t stop the demon’s and monster’s army. Tens of thousand of Yan Cloud Cavalry’s soldiers defended Great Xia dynasty with their lives, and almost all of them died at Ten Mile Lake. On that day, the entire lake turned red, very red… I only found Prince Yan after digging through piles of dead bodies…”
“I’m in debt to the Yan family!”
“It was my selfishness and incompetence that caused the death of tens of thousands of Yan Cloud Cavalry’s soldiers as well as most of Yan family’s heirs…”
Lin Mubai teared up as if he was witnessing the bloody war again.
“Father…” Ping Yang also teared up.
“Don’t worry, I’m fine!” Lin Mubai wiped his tears and glanced at Qian Ye again, before continuing with a sigh, “Yu Er saved Great Xia Dynasty once again, but this time, it pissed the demons and monsters off, and that eventually led to the war between humans and the other two races!”
“The war took place outside of Flame Capital City, right beside Ten Mile Lake. I saw the bloody battle between the masters of the three races with my own eyes, in the lake water which was painted red by blood!”
“Of course, humans ended up winning the war, but the Heaven Dao Tablets were the ultimate reason that sparked the war.”
“Yu Er returned to the Holy Region after that war, and she never came back. Furthermore, in order to make up for the Holy Region’s losses, I had to give them some of the Heaven Dao Tablets. In the end, Great Xia Dynasty was only left with 13 Heaven Dao Tablets. However, those tablets were still taken by the demons!”
“What?! The demons took away the 13 Heaven Dao Tablets in Great Xia Dynasty?” Qian Ye finally said something after keeping quiet for so long. She was definitely taken aback by the news.
“Yes…”
“Lin Mubai, you really are useless after all. We spent so much effort to protect Great Xia Dynasty back then, even sacrificing so many disciples’ lives so that you could keep 13 of the Heaven Dao Tablets. Who would have thought that you have lost all of them again in just a dozen years!”
Qian Ye was obviously angry. Meanwhile, Fang Zhengzhi rubbed his nose subconsciously, as if he didn’t hear what she had just said.
13 Heaven Dao Tablets…
Haha!
He knew nothing about their whereabouts!
The only thing he wanted to know now, was what happened after Yu Er had returned to Ling Yun Tower. Why did Leader Lan step down? Why did Yu Er fail to become the leader? Where was Yu Er now?