Chapter 571
Chapter 571
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 571
>Chapter Title: Emperor
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“Daddy, are you here?”
>Li Sui pushed open a dusty woodshed, her face filled with utter disappointment.
She was just about to check the next room when Gao Zhijian stopped her.
>“Don’t... don’t... don’t search like this!”
Li Sui wrinkled her nose, speaking with some dissatisfaction.
>“You talk so slowly. Can I crawl inside your body and listen to you speak?”
Gao Zhijian shook his head vigorously as he pulled Li Sui into the now-unsealed Shang Capital.
Though Li Shixiong’s daughter now looked human, she wasn’t one.
>It was far too unsafe for something like her to stay in the capital. Better to send her back to Niuxin Village first.
As for Li Shixiong, he could figure something out after sending her back.
Truth be told, Gao Zhijian felt quite dejected at the moment.
>He’d thought his status was impressive enough to be of use to Li Shixiong, but in the end, he was nothing at all.
He led out his own carriage and took Li Sui—who was riding on it—toward the city gates.
>Just as those thoughts swirled in his mind, a familiar figure appeared and blocked his path.
“Daddy!”
>Overjoyed, Li Sui leaped down from the carriage. She spread her arms wide and pounced fiercely onto Li Huowang’s body, nuzzling her head repeatedly into his chest.
Li Huowang gently stroked Li Sui’s hair as he softly comforted her.
>“Sorry. There’s just been too much going on lately. I couldn’t come find you sooner.”
Li Sui lifted her head from Li Huowang’s chest and flashed him a huge smile.
“Daddy, how did you find me?”
“I followed the divination signs all the way here.
>Next time something like this happens, don’t go searching everywhere. Head home first, understand?”
“Daddy, where’s home?”
“Home is Niuxin Village. Niuxin Village is our home.”
After hugging Li Sui and coaxing her for quite a while, he turned to Gao Zhijian standing before him.
>No need to go looking—this big fellow had come to him instead. What a coincidence.
Holding the horse’s reins with one hand, Gao Zhijian walked up to Li Huowang’s side.
>He slapped his chest forcefully, his face blooming with joy.
>Then he began stammering a question about where Bai Lingmiao had gone.
“The dice is dead. She should be fine for the time being.
>Once we sort out your situation, I’ll go find Bai Lingmiao right away.”
With that, Li Huowang led Gao Zhijian into an inn and booked a top-grade room.
In front of his fellow disciple, Li Huowang had no intention of hiding anything.
>He explained the causes and effects in full detail, even including the royal family’s bizarre method of continuing their gu cultivation lineage.
This sudden shift in identity left Gao Zhijian stunned.
>There was actually another world? He wasn’t emperor here, but emperor there?
>And he was about to become emperor once more, saving two worlds all by himself?
Gao Zhijian’s hands trembled slightly as he lifted his clothes.
>The sword wound that Li Huowang had inflicted on his chest was still clearly visible.
Though the story Li Shixiong had told was utterly bizarre, he wasn’t raving mad—it was all true.
>Gao Zhijian had the memory in his mind of Li Shixiong killing him.
“Pa!”
>Li Huowang slapped a round jade pendant onto the table and slid it over to him.
>It was the one he’d traded for a horse earlier, now exchanged back.
“I don’t know if this is good or bad for you, but this is your identity.”
>Li Huowang’s voice carried a hint of melancholy.
He could become the emperor ruling over the world.
>Anyone else would probably accept on the spot.
>But after spending so long in the capital, he’d seen all the royal family’s ridiculous nonsense.
To put it bluntly, he was shoving his brother into a pit of fire.
>But there was no other way—this was the only method to save Great Liang... and Da Qi, which Zhuge Yuan wanted to save.
Gao Zhijian stared at the jade pendant for another half a shichen.
>He reached out with that massive hand and gripped the pendant tightly in his palm.
>“Li... Li Shixiong! I... I’m... very happy to be able to help you all!”
With that said, Gao Zhijian stood up.
>He resolutely pushed open the door and strode out.
>He figured that if he was going to be emperor, then he would be.
Being emperor was good.
>Once he became emperor, no one would ever dare bully Xiaoman and the others again.
“Now that I’m emperor, Xiaoman should marry me, right?”
Li Huowang took Li Sui by the hand and followed along, ready to see his brother ascend the throne.
Gao Zhijian walked straight down the main road.
>As he drew nearer to the imperial palace, it was as if some memory had awakened within him.
>His posture gradually straightened, and the honest simplicity on his face began to change.
“It’s you again! Tired of living, are you? Prepare the eight-ox crossbows!”
When Gao Zhijian raised the jade pendant high toward those massive palace gates, the tightly shut doors slowly creaked open amid grinding noises.
A crowd of eunuchs and palace maids surged out from within, surrounding Gao Zhijian completely.
>They helped him comb his hair, pin it up, and drape him in a dragon robe.
“You’re the one who found him?”
>The Great Liang National Advisor stood solemnly beside Li Huowang as he asked the question.
It was clear that he had already verified Gao Zhijian’s identity through some method.
Li Huowang said nothing as he watched his brother transform from a big burly fool into a noble emperor.
“There were originally nine in the Great Liang royal family, but you killed so many of them.
>Otherwise, we wouldn’t have been forced to find someone from Da Qi to continue the dragon vein! Speak! What exactly is your scheme here!”
>Huangfu Tiangang flipped his hand, and the star-host sword crackling with purple lightning appeared in his grasp.
Just as the National Advisor was about to press further, Gao Zhijian noticed.
>He whipped around and pointed a single angry finger at the National Advisor.
>“You... you... what are you doing!”
The National Advisor—who had been poised to strike—glanced at Gao Zhijian now clad in the dragon robe.
>He unwillingly lowered his hand and bowed a Daoist salute toward him.
>“This old minister Huangfu Tiangang pays respects to Your Majesty!”
Gao Zhijian let out a cold snort and flicked his sleeve forcefully.
>With a retinue of eunuchs and palace maids, he strode toward the interior.
Li Huowang shot a glance at the National Advisor before following inside with Li Sui.
As Gao Zhijian ventured deeper, the size of his ceremonial escort continued to swell.
>By the time they reached the main audience hall, a grand procession of several hundred trailed behind him.
>Gao Zhijian himself was borne aloft on a towering dragon palanquin.
As Gao Zhijian ascended the white jade steps toward the main hall amid the throng, a heart-rending wail erupted from higher up the stairs.
“I’m the emperor! I am!! Why won’t you let me be emperor! You clearly said that when nine are dead and only one remains, that one becomes emperor! You lied! You’re all liars!!”
Li Huowang looked up and saw disheveled Ji Lin clutching a sword as she charged desperately toward Gao Zhijian.
But before Li Huowang could react, a group of elderly eunuchs rushed out from somewhere and pinned Ji Lin firmly to the ground.
Ji Lin struggled wildly, screaming in mad despair.
>“Why!! I gave up everything! I killed my mom! I killed my little sister! I killed my entire family! I’ve become this evil! Why won’t you let me be emperor!!”
Gao Zhijian cast her a single cold glance before turning toward the main hall.
>The others followed along without so much as looking at her.
Even though, not long ago, these very eunuchs and palace maids had taken their cues from Ji Lin.
At this moment, the only one who noticed Ji Lin was Li Huowang.
>He walked over to her side, bent down, and helped her up from the ground.
>He patted the dust from her clothes.
>“You told me back then that you didn’t want to be emperor. You didn’t want to die. You just wanted to live.”
“Now, you’ve achieved your goal. You’re no longer emperor, and no one wants your life anymore. You should be happy about that.”
Ji Lin shoved Li Huowang away.
>She hopped around helplessly like a child while wailing in utter despair.
>“I abandoned everything for the throne! If you take the throne away from me now, I’ll have nothing left!”
Back during the Shangsi Festival, Li Huowang had quite a favorable impression of Ji Lin.
>But now she’d turned into this wretched state—truly a pity.
Li Huowang hugged her and gently patted her back in comfort.
>“If you don’t know where to go, you can come find me. I can help you one more time.”
With that, Li Huowang led Li Sui onward toward the main hall.
But by the time Li Huowang had climbed all the steps, his sharp nose caught a faint whiff of blood.
He turned around to find Ji Lin collapsed in a pool of blood.
>Stark crimson spilled down the gleaming white jade steps, slowly pooling at the base into a little lake.
“Daddy, she’s dead.”
“Yeah. She is.”