Tome of Troubled Times-Chapter 749 (1): I Heard Your Young Lady Is Quite Beautiful

The only reason Zhao Changhe had not slapped Li Boping into the dirt already was that Jiuyou loomed behind him. Even if Zhao Changhe were to shed his disguise right now and stand before them undisguised, Li Boping would have no choice but to pretend he did not recognize him—an unbearable humiliation.

But more pressingly... At this point, did this group actually have the power to challenge Jiuyou outright?

A shiver ran through Li Boping’s heart as he instinctively turned to glance in Jiuyou’s direction.

Jiuyou remained expressionless, her gaze locked onto Zhao Changhe. He, in turn, gripped River of Stars tightly, meeting her stare. Sweat had already formed in his palm.

They could not fight her.

Even without considering that none of them were at their peak condition at the moment, there was the simple fact that Jiuyou was not just one person. Who knew how many corpse puppets she controlled?

And yet, for some reason, Jiuyou was still holding back, hesitating to fully reveal her hand. Since she was not making a move, neither side was willing to break the fragile peace.

The atmosphere hung thick with tension for a brief moment until Vermillion Bird suddenly spoke, “I am here as an envoy. Is the King of Qin truly receiving envoys right here in the middle of the street?”

The crowd blinked in stunned silence. Oh... right, you’re an envoy. For a moment, they had almost mistaken this for a routine purge of traitors in the empire’s own capital.

That only made the whole situation more bizarre. Driving out enemy leaders and unmasking hidden demons, these were the kinds of deeds that would be praised wherever they were told, acts of heroism worthy of admiration. And yet, it had not been the governor of Chang’an who carried out this righteous act. Instead, it had been the Great Han Empire’s King Zhao and the “demonic cult witch” Vermillion Bird who had come all the way here to do it for them.

Truly, the comparison was humiliating.

Li Boping knew exactly what the people were thinking, but he could only swallow his pride and pretend not to care. With a perfectly measured smile, he responded, “Indeed, the constant turmoil nearly made this king forget. Venerable, please, this way.”

Zhao Changhe and Yue Hongling followed closely at Vermillion Bird’s sides without a word. Li Boping’s expression remained unreadable as he observed this. “Venerable, what is the meaning of this?”

Vermillion Bird’s face was a picture of nonchalance. “Oh, they’re my guards.”

“This brother Qin... Is he not a disciple of the Buddhists? And is Heroine Yue not a lone wanderer of the jianghu?”

“I just recruited them. I pay them a monthly wage of one qian[1].” Vermillion Bird did not even bother crafting a plausible excuse and simply strode forward without looking back.

Zhao Changhe and Yue Hongling did not feel like explaining anything either. Given the current situation, who in their right mind would let Vermillion Bird go face Jiuyou alone? That would be nothing short of insanity.

As the crowd around the main street dispersed, satisfied with the spectacle, murmurs spread among them. Today’s events had been far more thrilling than anything they had witnessed in the past decades.

And the real gossip? Apparently, Vermillion Bird had come as an envoy to negotiate a marriage proposal between King Zhao and a lady of the Li Clan...

This 𝓬ontent is taken from fгeewebnovёl.co𝙢.

* * *

“Blindie.”

The procession moved in silence. Li Boping said nothing, Vermillion Bird and Yue Hongling kept their composure within the ceremonial escort, and Zhao Changhe took the opportunity to reach out to the blind woman.

Since Jiuyou had appeared, she had not responded to any of his attempts to call her. But this time, she did, with a single word: “Scram.”

Zhao Changhe felt an overwhelming sense of awkwardness. Seeing through people’s eyes—that had been half-truth, half-bluff. But seeing into the depths of his subconscious, unearthing his most deeply buried desires... that was real. Even he had not expected those visions to surface.

He had wanted to test if the blind woman had noticed.

Well, there’s no need to test anymore. She definitely did.

Damn it. Just how powerful is she? No one else perceived the spiritual clash between Jiuyou and me, yet she did. And she did not even enter the “dream.” Just how did she see it?

Now what? How am I supposed to continue this conversation?

He had just made his subconscious desires blatantly clear to a woman, so how could he still expect her to talk to him normally? He should be grateful she had not beaten him to a pulp.

And this was not just any ordinary woman—this was the spirit of the Heavenly Tome. Basically, she was the tome.

But honestly... the way the blind woman looked in that illusion, draped in sheer silk, her silhouette faintly visible beneath, reclining with a soft smile—damn, that was breathtaking.

He had always known she was beautiful. No matter how much resentment he harbored toward her, even in his worst moments, he had instinctively described her as though she were the goddess of the dark night. He could not bring himself to say she was not stunning, which spoke volumes. But her aura had never evoked desire. No matter how close they were physically, it had always felt as if an invisible river of stars separated them, an unfathomable distance, like a dream that was never meant to be real.

And yet, just a change of attire, a shift in demeanor, and suddenly, his throat had gone dry. Even the usual cold detachment and distance she exuded had transformed into something impossibly enticing.

Now, no matter how proper and composed she appeared in the future, he would never be able to unsee that illusion. The memory would always surface, unwanted and unshakable.

Papiyas is still truly part of the Buddhist system, isn’t he? What the hell is with Buddhism and all this temptation?

“...So, uh...” Zhao Changhe racked his brain for a topic, desperately searching for an opening. Finally, he landed on something. “I shot Papiyas in the shoulder, and he disappeared. Is he dead or not? Shouldn’t the Tome of Troubled Times report it...?”

The blind woman did not respond.

Zhao Changhe pressed on, “Don’t tell me even you don’t know whether he’s dead or not?”

That got a reaction.

“You think I’m as useless as you?” she snapped, furious.

Heh. As long as she’s talking, it’s fine!

Zhao Changhe immediately followed up, “Then why won’t you tell me?”

“Why the hell should I tell you? Am I your personal radar?” The blind woman’s anger flared again. “You don’t even know whether someone you personally shot is dead or not, and you have the audacity to ask me?”

“This is different!” Zhao Changhe endured the scolding like a gentle breeze, taking it in stride as if it were praise, and continued the discussion in all seriousness. “The Sea Emperor’s level was high, but he was already so weakened by Xia Longyuan that he had not even recovered to the Profound Control Realm. It makes sense that he could be killed. Underworld Guide was a lower-tier figure, just an embodiment of one of Jiuyou’s governing principles, so it wasn’t surprising that he died from a direct hit. But Papiyas? He’s not just powerful—he’s also a master of deception and transformation... In theory, as long as human desire and darkness exist, he should always have a presence in the world. There’s a real possibility he can’t be truly killed.”

The blind woman remained silent for a long time.

But this time, she did not lash out. Eventually, she replied in a detached tone, “Whether he is dead or not is something you need to determine. There is no such thing as true immortality.”

Zhao Changhe mused, “So even if he isn’t dead, he’s at least heavily wounded? That’s what I was considering. These beings who possess some kind of divine attributes, once they’re gravely injured, become like rare celestial treasures, which makes them incredibly vulnerable. That’s probably why the ancient gods and demons avoided revealing themselves for so long. They were afraid of becoming targets. And even more so, they feared being listed on the Rankings of Troubled Times. The moment you start broadcasting their weakened states, they’d turn on each other like starving wolves.”

The blind woman remained silent for a moment before finally offering a simple, “Mm-hm.”

Zhao Changhe continued, “I’ve been thinking... The sudden resurgence of gods and demons over the past few months probably isn’t just because Xia Longyuan died. It’s more likely that their rate of recovery has accelerated. When Hongling encountered Papiyas in Kunlun, he was nowhere near as powerful as he is now. These beings barely clung to existence throughout the previous era, yet in just a few months, they’ve returned to such strength. There must be a reason.”

The blind woman let out a soft, indifferent “Oh?”

Zhao Changhe said, “The time Hongling spent in Kunlun overlaps with the period we were overseas. What changed that could have triggered this widespread revival? I can only really see one possibility. While overseas, we obtained two pages of the Heavenly Tome. After returning to the divine land, Xia Longyuan died, and from his remains, we secured another page. That’s three pages in rapid succession. Right now, I have six pages of the Heavenly Tome. Or rather, you do—since you control them...

“You originally had a single page, which you used to broadcast across the sky, and now, with these six, that makes seven. The Heavenly Tome consists of nine pages, doesn’t it? We’re nearly there. As the Heavenly Dao grows more complete, that’s what’s truly driving the revival of gods and demons.”

The blind woman tone carried a hint of mockery as she said, “So, breaking into the Profound Control Realm has really changed you, huh? You think you can sense the Heavenly Dao now?”

“I do. A lot of things have become clear. It’s like deciphering the fundamental structure of the world.”

The blind woman let out a cold laugh. “So, collecting the pages of the Heavenly Tome accelerates the revival of gods and demons. Are you trying to say you no longer want to gather the last two pages?”

“You could just be direct with me, you know,” Zhao Changhe said. “After all, if the Heavenly Tome is completed, the one who benefits the most is undoubtedly you. Whether or not others revive isn’t something you can control.”

The blind woman scoffed and said, “Hah. And here I thought you didn’t care what happens to me.”

“I do.”

Silence settled between them again. The memory of the face he had seen in his illusion seemed to serve as the most direct proof of his words.

1. The qian or the Chinese cash coin is a small, round copper coin with a square hole. ☜