The Spirit Dragon opened its jaws, and between its upper and lower fangs, a sphere of purple qi slowly condensed, like a dragon holding a pearl in its mouth.
The purple qi grew increasingly dense, the sphere gradually solidifying and compressing until it became a tangible purple pearl the size of a pigeon’s egg.
The purple qi converging from the surrounding void disappeared. The Spirit Dragon, holding the pearl containing the last remnants of the Great Feng Dynasty’s fortune in its mouth, turned its head to look at Huai Qing on the shore.
“Huff…”
With a breath, it spat the pearl toward Huai Qing’s brow. A purple light flashed as the pearl dispersed at her forehead, dyeing her pupils purple and tinting her fair skin.
After a few seconds, the purple light faded.
“Very good!”
Huai Qing nodded slightly, turned with a sweep of her sleeve, and walked toward the imperial palace.
“Aooo…”
The Spirit Dragon, with its black button-like eyes, watched Huai Qing’s retreating figure and let out a mournful cry.
Huai Qing, hard-hearted, neither looked back nor stopped. She returned to the Imperial Study, sat behind the desk draped in yellow silk, and said coldly:
“Withdraw!”
The eunuchs and palace maids standing in the hall bowed and gradually retreated.
After everyone had left, Huai Qing spread out a letter paper, gripped her sleeve, personally ground the ink, and after dipping her brush, wrote on the paper:
“Ning Yan:”
After writing these two characters, she held her brush aloft for a long while. Though her heart held countless words, she didn’t know how to express them.
After pondering for a long time, she finally put brush to paper again:
“Those who gave me life did not cherish me, and the clan despised my defiance of tradition—a woman ascending to the throne as emperor. Yet I have lived without shame before our ancestors and heaven and earth, without shame before clan and kin, walking an upright path.
“After much contemplation, the matters of my heart, I wish to share only with you.
“I studied the writings of sages and cultivated the martial way diligently, all because of what the Imperial Tutor said in the classroom when I was young: ‘A woman’s virtue lies in her lack of talent.’ Throughout my life, I’ve been competitive, never yielding even in the squabbles with Lin’an. In my heart, I refused to accept the Imperial Tutor’s words.
“Who says women are inferior to men? Who says women are born to embroider in inner chambers? I deliberately became a talented lady renowned throughout the capital, wrote books, and compiled histories, just to prove to the world that all men are but dust.
“As I grew older, the passionate defiance of youth wore away with time. Yet after ten years of study, with my mind full of classics, I still wished to follow the Sage in educating the world, to emulate the Lesser Sage in establishing a school of thought, to achieve great merit like the Founding Emperor.
“But constrained by my female body, I could only endure in silence, refusing marriage while secretly watching court politics and cultivating allies. Before meeting you, I often thought that after a few more years, when my willingness had worn away, I would finally marry.
“My initial favor toward you stemmed from appreciation and nurturing talent. My quarrels with Lin’an were merely habits born of a domineering nature.
“Later, as my admiration for you grew uncontrollably, I still refused to face my heart, refused to yield, stubbornly telling myself I wanted one life, one world, one partner, never to share a husband with other women.
“Who would have thought that Lin’an, that troublesome girl, would steal ahead of me? I often vented my anger in private, even taking it out on Consort Chen. These feelings I never spoke of before, but now I’m not afraid to tell you.
“Though we lack the title of husband and wife, we have the reality of it. This life holds no more regrets.
“With the Shaman God’s emergence, the Nine Provinces face imminent danger. At this crucial moment of life and death for Great Feng, I, as ruler of the nation, must bear this responsibility. The Son of Heaven guards the nation’s gates, the monarch dies for the state—this is as it should be.
“This world, I share its burden with you.
“In my life, I have never been willful. This is my first and final time.
“When you’ve quelled this catastrophe and peace returns to the four seas, don’t forget to tell me at the spring ceremony. I will smile in the Nine Springs below.
“Huai Qing’s final words!”
…
At the border between Yu Province and Sword Province.
Rolling black clouds surged across the sky, blocking out the blue heavens and morning sun. The world seemed to split in two—one side dark and terrifying, with countless armies of walking corpses surging forward like a tide; the other side bright with sunlight, hills, and plains covered with frantically fleeing crowds.
They were like a swarm of ants that had lost their core, numerous but scattered and disorganized, knowing only to flee in panic without direction.
At the boundary between light and darkness, a hundred-strong military unit escorting civilians was covered by shadow. In the next moment, soldiers and civilians, including their warhorses, all stiffened at once. Then, both humans and beasts’ eyes rolled back, their expressions becoming vacant as they became part of the corpse tide.
“Help! Save us…”
Some civilians ahead who had exhausted their strength screamed in terror at the sight, their shrill cries accompanying their desperate flight as they tapped into hidden reserves of energy.
But soon, they too stopped screaming, their expressions becoming stiff and vacant.
They too became part of the corpse tide, advancing with the black clouds. More and more people were transformed into walking corpses, losing their lives without any resistance. Below the Supreme realm, humans were no different from ants.
Chu Yuan Zhen stood upon his flying sword, his heart filled with indescribable sorrow and pain that threatened to overwhelm him.
Not long ago, when the Shaman God emerged and swept through the Central Plains, he had personally witnessed army after army being devoured, group after group of civilians being transformed into walking corpses.
The formation of refugees instantly broke apart, leading to the current scene of people scattered across the hills and plains, disorganized and directionless in their panic.
Similar situations were occurring in other parts of the three provinces adjacent to the Northeast.
Before this great disaster, the corpse tide Chu Yuan Zhen witnessed was only a fraction of the whole.
The three provinces of Xiang, Jing, and Yu were finished, with tens of millions of civilians annihilated in this catastrophe consuming the Central Plains. Behind lay Sword Province, and beyond that, Jiang Province and the capital.
No war had ever been so terrifying—even the Battle of Shanhai Pass years ago had only claimed one or two million lives.
Witnessing such a disaster firsthand was cruel to him.
Perhaps ten or twenty years later, he would still wake from nightmares of this catastrophe in the middle of the night.
At this moment, Chu Yuan Zhen’s gaze is fixed on a mother and daughter in the distance, positioned at the boundary between light and darkness, with the endlessly expanding rolling black clouds behind them.
The little girl had fallen.
“Mother, I can’t run anymore…”
The seven or eight-year-old girl’s face was covered in sweat, her yellowish hair stuck to her face in strands, and her lips cracked.
Her small feet were covered in blisters, making her stumble as she ran. Her father, who had been carrying her and had witnessed the tragic deaths of those behind them, had abandoned mother and daughter to flee alone.
The young mother in cotton clothes still had some strength, but not enough to carry her daughter while fleeing. She held her young daughter in her arms, repeating over and over:
“Mother’s with you, mother’s with you…”
Though she trembled in fear, her face pale, her arms holding her daughter remained steady.
“Mother, why did father abandon us?”
Sorrow crossed the mother’s face:
“Because monsters came, and Father couldn’t protect us anymore.”
Unlike her mother, the little girl’s expression held hope and certainty. She said in her crisp voice:
“Officer Xu will protect us.”
Children who had visited teahouses and wine shops watched shadow puppet shows and listened to traveling doctors’ stories all knew of Officer Xu.
He was a great hero who protected the common people.
At this moment, Chu Yuan Zhen descended on his sword, grabbed the young mother’s arm, and carried both mother and daughter into the sky before sharply turning back.
The Shaman God didn’t intervene, probably because such ants weren’t worth its attention.
“Thank you for saving our lives, noble warrior.”
The young mother, having escaped death, held her daughter tightly with tears streaming down her face as she repeatedly expressed her gratitude.
However, she spoke in dialect, which Chu Yuan Zhen couldn’t understand, though he could grasp her meaning.
“Are you Officer Xu?”
The little girl blinked her eyes, full of expectation.
Chu Yuan Zhen opened his mouth and said:
“Yes, I am.”
The little girl’s face, covered in dirt and sweat, bloomed with an excited and bright smile, like hope in the apocalypse.
Exhaling deeply, Chu Yuan Zhen seemed to find solace in his soul. He flew them on his sword for some distance, ensuring they were safe enough.
The Shaman God’s advance speed seemed extremely fast to mortals, but to supernatural experts, it was slow, because it wasn’t advancing meaninglessly but gradually consuming the territory of the three provinces of Jing, Xiang, and Yu to forge the Mountain River Seal.
Once the Mountain River Seal was complete, these three provinces would belong to it.
Then, as long as Great Feng fell, it could absorb the fortune dispersed in heaven and earth, accommodate the Mountain River Seal, and compete with the Buddha and two other ancient divine demons for final supremacy.
Watching the mother and daughter’s retreating figures, Chu Yuan Zhen turned his gaze away, and then felt his heart stir. He turned to see the Empress in dragon robes, wearing an imperial crown, standing with her hands behind her back.
“Your Majesty?”
This startled Chu Yuan Zhen—he hadn’t expected Huai Qing to personally come to the front lines.
“At this rate, it will reach the capital in three days,”
Huai Qing’s tone was completely calm. “By then, Thunder Province will likely have fallen as well.”
Chancellor Chu’s face was filled with bitterness.
From Thunder Province to the capital, from the Northeast to the capital, countless lives would be extinguished along the way.
Huai Qing continued:
“We don’t know the situation overseas. He is our last hope, so delaying to wait for his return is Great Feng’s only choice.
“Brother Chu, what do you think?”
Chu Yuan Zhen responded with a “hmm,” but how could they delay the Shaman God? Unless another half-step Martial God appeared in the world.
Huai Qing smiled:
“Very good, we’ve reached an agreement.”
She took out a letter from her bosom, along with two items, and handed them to Chu Yuan Zhen.
Chu Yuan Zhen looked down at a yellow jade seal with a missing corner and a dried, flattened lotus petal.
“Give these to Xu Ning Yan for me,” Huai Qing said softly.
Chu Yuan Zhen was stunned at first, carefully studying the Empress’s beautiful profile, and then he understood her determination.
“No, no, Your Majesty, you shouldn’t act rashly…”
Before Chu Yuan Zhen could finish speaking, he was pushed away by an overwhelmingly masculine force.
Huai Qing stood proudly, golden light erupting from within her body, condensing into a dragon shadow that bared its fangs and claws, releasing a silent roar toward the distant Shaman God.
The rolling black clouds in the distance stopped, and then a blurry face emerged from the clouds, staring across hundreds of zhang at the golden dragon and Huai Qing.
Huai Qing’s voice rang out clear and strong:
“I am the ruler of Great Feng, duty-bound to guard the nation’s gates and protect the state. Today, I carry two-tenths of the national fortune to block the Shaman God at Sword Province’s border. Chu Yuan Zhen, withdraw immediately, do not disobey.”
She announced her decision as if reading an imperial edict.
The blurry face withdrew into the clouds, and in the next moment, the rolling black clouds surged forward, carrying unstoppable greatness, like heaven collapsing and mountains crumbling.
Chu Yuan Zhen’s eyes instantly reddened.
Just as he was about to bow and accept the command, a gentle voice said:
“Your subject has an objection!”
Chu Yuan Zhen and Huai Qing turned their heads simultaneously to see clear light rising between them, revealing Zhao Shou’s figure.
“Chancellor?”
Chu Yuan Zhen was stunned, then filled with wild joy. He couldn’t take Huai Qing away, but Zhao Shou could.
“Your Majesty, let me!”
Zhao Shou smiled: “When the ruler is disgraced, subjects die. I yet live, how could I let Your Majesty sacrifice herself?”
Before Huai Qing could refuse, he recited:
“Do not move!”
Sure enough, Huai Qing froze in place, unable to move.
Zhao Shou glanced at the surging black clouds and smiled:
“Your Majesty says the Son of Heaven guards the nation’s gates, the monarch dies for the state. But Xu Ning Yan also said: establish the heart for heaven and earth, establish destiny for the people, continue the lost teachings of past sages, and open peace for ten thousand generations.
“Your subject thinks what Officer Xu said is what scholars should do.
“What does Your Majesty think?”
Huai Qing didn’t answer, a trace of sorrow flashing in her eyes.
Zhao Shou gently waved his hand, and his crimson official robe automatically detached itself and folded neatly, floating in the air.
“Ah, I hadn’t had enough of being an official.”
This great Confucian scholar touched his official robe reluctantly, then waved his hand, making it fall before Chu Yuan Zhen.
He said finally:
“Your Majesty, at the end of the Great Zhou Dynasty, the great Confucian scholar Qian Zhong sacrificed himself to destroy Great Zhou’s national fortune, leading to Great Feng’s six hundred years of prosperity.
“Today, I, Zhao Shou, follow my predecessor’s example, hoping to give Great Feng another six hundred years of prosperity.
“Your Majesty, the scholars of Cloud Deer Academy have never failed the common people or the state since ancient times. Don’t let the dispute over the national foundation from two hundred years ago repeat itself.”
He bowed solemnly to Huai Qing.
After learning of the Shaman God’s emergence, he decided to follow his ancestors’ example and sacrifice himself for the nation.
The “one matter” he had transmitted to all supernatural experts was a request for them to defend Thunder Province to the death.
Zhao Shou adjusted the Lesser Sage’s crown on his head, and clear light flashed in his hand as an engraving knife materialized. The Shaman God had already approached, the fierce wind disheveling his beard and hair but not his determined expression.
As life approached its end, this great Confucian scholar remembered his lame teacher from many years ago. Despite his hatred for the imperial system, when teaching students, that teacher had first emphasized “state” and “common people.”
In his ears, he seemed to hear that lame man’s voice again: “Don’t say the Confucian crown misleads, literature and history don’t betray people; achieve and serve the world, in poverty cultivate oneself.”
As pages burned, Zhao Shou called out loudly: “Summon the Sage!”
In an instant, clear qi filled the universe!
Between heaven and earth, a pair of emotionless eyes manifested, and with these as the core, a hundred-zhang tall figure wearing Confucian robes and crown appeared, half ethereal and half solid.
He stood with one hand behind his back and one hand at his lower abdomen, gazing into the distance.
The Sage’s spirit turned his head, beckoning to the golden dragon.
The golden dragon roared as it separated from the Empress, charging with bared fangs and claws into the Sage’s body. Then, those emotionless eyes burst with golden light.
Righteous qi spread across the sky, filling every space.
In this moment, it was as if the Sage had truly returned.
The churning black clouds showed visible hesitation, whether from wariness or from remembering the fear of being suppressed by the Sage.
Zhao Shou rose with the wind, carrying two-tenths of the nation’s fortune and Sage’s heroic spirit, and charged into the black clouds that blotted out heaven and earth.
…
First Year of Huai Qing’s Reign, Eleventh Month, Third Day: Zhao Shou repelled the Shaman God at Sword Province’s border, sacrificing his life for the nation!