Chapter 485
Chapter 485
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 485
>Chapter Title: Ji Lin
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Chapter 485: Ji Lin
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> Standing on the outskirts, Li Huowang watched the bizarre scene inside the coffin, and a chill ran down his spine. He felt like he had seen something he shouldn’t have.
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> “The Great Liang royals wouldn’t silence me to protect their secret, would they?” After enduring all sorts of hardships, Li Huowang couldn’t help but think of the worst possible outcome.
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> He heightened his vigilance, his mind racing as he prepared contingency plans for whatever might happen next.
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> Zhuge Yuan reassured him from the side. “Brother Li, no need to panic. Everyone knows the royals have a dragon vein. I just never imagined that Great Liang’s dragon vein would be like this. Perhaps that’s why this false Great Liang was able to suppress Great Qi back then.”
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> Regardless of what Li Huowang was thinking at that moment, the grand imperial ancestral temple before him, gleaming with golden light, showed no abnormalities.
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> The only change was the increasingly urgent shouts from the Emperor of Great Liang. “Are you all deaf?! Hurry up and save my father! I am the emperor now! Do you dare defy my orders?!”
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> Yet in response to his commands, the old eunuchs merely trembled on the ground, doing nothing.
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> “Cough cough... Lin’er.” A voice filled with pain and exhaustion made the tear-streaked Emperor of Great Liang look toward the top of the “dragon vein”—his father.
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> “Lin’er, don’t make things hard for them. I ordered them to do this. Cough cough cough...”
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> Only then did Li Huowang learn the name of this young Emperor of Great Liang. The imperial family of Great Liang bore the surname Ji, and his name was Ji Lin.
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> When he had escorted the previous Emperor of Great Liang to the execution ground, Li Huowang remembered that man cursing the emperor on the dragon vein. He had been called Ji Song.
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> “But Father Emperor, why?! You’re clearly still alive!” Ji Lin stared at the chains embedded in his father’s flesh, feeling the pain as if it were his own, tears welling up in his eyes.
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> Ji Song’s voice grew quieter, as if he didn’t want outsiders to hear. But Li Huowang’s sharp hearing caught every word.
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> “You wouldn’t understand. To preserve the fortunes of our Great Liang dynasty, this is the only way... This is our fate. You’ll understand when you reach my age.”
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> “Father Emperor, but... but...” The young Ji Lin was at a loss, wanting to say something but not knowing how to express it.
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> “I actually died long ago. This dragon qi forcibly revived me. Only when I die can you ascend the throne. You should be happy about that.”
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> With that, Ji Song, spread out in a large character shape, yanked on the chain beside him, pulling the remaining stack of emperors closer to the side of the coffin.
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> He reached out with his dragon-clawed hand covered in scales and yanked Ji Lin over by the collar, his voice turning stern. “Do you know why, before I passed, I passed the throne to you instead of the upright eldest prince?”
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> “Your son does not know.” Ji Lin choked out in reply.
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> “Because you’re ruthless enough! At six years old, just to win favor, you dared to feed your own brother ground beans! The other princes can’t compare! But that’s still not enough. If it were me, I’d have used crane’s-top red!”
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> His tone suddenly turned icy cold. “Lin’er, when you go back, kill all your brothers.”
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> “W-what?!” Ji Lin’s face drained of color. If his father weren’t gripping his collar, he might have collapsed right then and there.
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> “Of course, you could choose not to act, but then don’t blame others for striking first. They all have advisors by their sides. You may be emperor, but the ascension ceremony hasn’t happened yet. Everything is still uncertain. Remember: to achieve great things, even your closest kin can be killed!”
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> Li Huowang frowned deeply at this. It seemed the Emperor of Great Liang planned to pit his sons against each other like breeding poisonous insects.
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> Whoever emerged the strongest and most venomous would become the next Emperor of Great Liang. But would someone selected this way truly be a wise ruler?
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> “Remember, Lin’er, the sovereign is a lonely soul. To be emperor, trust no one besides yourself—not even your own mother.”
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> As Ji Song released Ji Lin’s imperial robe, the heavy golden coffin lid slowly closed with a resounding boom.
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> In an instant, the massive tomb fell silent, save for Ji Lin’s ragged breathing. Even in the cold, sweat dripped steadily from his forehead.
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> “Escort the divinity~ Withdraw the offerings~~!” An old eunuch called out from somewhere, and the previously statue-like eunuchs sprang into action. They performed complex and tedious ritual steps in unison before the Nine-Dragon Coffin. Li Huowang, like a mere spectator, silently observed it all.
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> After a while, when the ritual ended, the eunuchs filed out in neat rows, departing without waiting for the emperor on the ground to rise.
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> Li Huowang glanced at Ji Lin, slumped on the floor, and followed the eunuchs out.
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> He figured that facing such a massive upheaval and choice in life, the new emperor would be occupied for a while and wouldn’t have time to deal with a minor figure like him whom he’d met only once.
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> Stepping from the cold, oppressive tomb into the warm imperial ancestral temple lit by hanging candles felt like ascending from the underworld to the world of the living.
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> As he moved toward Lian Zhi Bei waiting at the door, a voice filled with authority called from behind. “Ji Zai!”
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> “Ji Zai?” Li Huowang paused briefly. Seeing Zhuge Yuan beside him, he realized it was the name the other had given him earlier. “He’s calling me.”
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> “Brother Li, no need to worry. The Great Liang National Advisor can’t see through my methods. He doesn’t know your real name, so he can’t divine your past actions.”
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> After giving Zhuge Yuan a grateful look, Li Huowang turned and approached the National Advisor of Great Liang, who stood there with hands clasped behind his back.
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> “Ji Zai pays respects to the National Advisor!” Li Huowang bowed solemnly to the man’s back.
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> “Since you’re a Geng flag of the Supervisor of Heaven Division, you should know what to say and what not to say, right?” The National Advisor raised his wrinkled hand and began calculating rapidly.
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> “This one understands.” Li Huowang stood straight, eyes downcast, unsurprised by the warning.
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> On the contrary, if the man had said nothing at a time like this, Li Huowang would have felt uneasy.
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> “Ji Zai, since you’re an Ao Jing cultist, why join the Supervisor of Heaven Division? I thought you ignorant fools always sought to forget the mortal world, chasing pipe dreams of immortality?”
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> Li Huowang thought it over seriously before sticking to his previous story.
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> But facing this man, Li Huowang didn’t even plan to lie. He fully immersed himself in the belief that he was Ji Zai, seeking revenge against the Sitting Oblivion Dao for the death of the Great Elder.
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>(End of chapter)