Tome of Troubled Times-Chapter 752 (2): Ye Wuming

With negotiations falling apart, the meaningless pretense between Vermillion Bird and Li Boping in the grand hall came to an end. Still, for the sake of maintaining the appearance of a civilized nation, they courteously arranged accommodations for their guests at the embassy.

Once inside, Zhao Changhe did not bother with disguises anymore. Given the current situation, whether he changed his face or not made no difference. Whether a fight broke out depended solely on when Jiuyou decided to snap. He might as well revert to his true appearance to make things more comfortable for his wives.

As for his objectives in coming to Chang’an... it was hard to say whether he had succeeded or made things worse.

The main goal was never to rely on the Li Clan to march troops against the northern barbarians. The real aim was simply to ensure that the Buddhist and Daoist sects did not take Jiuyou’s side. If war broke out with the barbarians, and the Li Clan attempted to send troops from Hangu Pass to strike at his rear, it would be much easier to handle as long as those like Yuxu were not involved. On that front, Cui Wenjing was in charge, and Old Cui was no pushover. Moreover, Li Shentong had agreed to a northern campaign against Hanzhong. As long as the enemy lacked the support of the Buddhist and Daoist sects, there would be no cause for concern.

So, it was not time to leave Chang’an just yet. There were still loose ends to tie up. He needed to make a trip to Louguantai to assess the stance of Yuxu and the Dao Lord. However, rushing there openly might provoke Jiuyou into lashing out. It would thus be better to slip in quietly at night.

But even if the Buddhist and Daoist sects had been neutralized as a threat, the greater problem now was Jiuyou. She was the goddess of chaos. She was utterly unrestrained by rules and far more dangerous. Who knew what kind of havoc she would wreak? If she personally marched to Hangu Pass or even further into the Central Plains and Hebei, Cui Wenjing would not stand a chance against her.

The only silver lining was that the blind woman seemed unwilling to let Jiuyou run rampant.

Could she be convinced to keep an eye on Jiuyou?

Inside the embassy, Zhao Changhe stood watching the setting sun in the west. He murmured, “Mingming~[1]”

The blind woman’s delicate brows furrowed instantly. “Shut up!”

“Aren’t you Ye Wuming?” Zhao Changhe sighed. “You call yourself Wuming, so doesn’t that line up perfectly? Damn it, so your actual name is Wuming, and you’re telling me you already gave me your name. I was just too stupid to get it, is that it?”

The blind woman snorted twice but did not reply.

“So, Mingming...”

“If you call me that again, I will twist your head off.”

“Alright, Blindie.”

This time, she did not even argue.

Zhao Changhe chuckled. “So, Blindie, we’re already this close. What’s the point of keeping your name such a big secret and letting someone else reveal it for you? As my deepest subconscious desire, you’re making things really difficult for me, you know?”

“Get lost!” The blind woman was both furious and amused. “So now you’re just shamelessly admitting it outright, huh?”

Zhao Changhe shrugged. “Whether I say it or not, the truth doesn’t change. Might as well be upfront about it. That’s your biggest issue. You’re never honest. You keep denying it, but let’s be real, you are the Night Emperor. Ye Wuming, that name is the final nail in the coffin. You’ve already opened your eyes, so why still speak as though you’re blind?”

“When did I open my eyes?”

“Is that the point?”

“I’m not the Night Emperor, you are,” said the blind woman with a sneer. “I abandoned that title in the last era. The faith and power of the Night Emperor in this world have all been transferred to you, with not a single shred left for me. What’s wrong with saying I’m not the Night Emperor? Besides, I don’t want a flock of followers creating a brothel in my name. At least brothels pay their workers. Whoever holds the title of Night Emperor should be ashamed. If you want it, be my guest.”

“So you’ve abandoned that title, and left behind the physical body that was once yours.” Now that he had all this information, Zhao Changhe was finally able to put together the whole picture. “So the Night Emperor merged with the Heavenly Tome and turned into the spirit of the tome.”

The blind woman seemed to have resigned herself to the fact that her identity was out in the open. In reality, the moment Jiuyou’s appearance had been revealed to Zhao Changhe, there had been no way to hide it any longer. Some things were inevitable—sooner or later, Zhao Changhe would have had to face Jiuyou.

She spoke with a rare calm, “And so what? What does digging into my past have to do with the current situation? Shouldn’t you be more concerned about whether Jiuyou is going to turn you into her puppet?”

“If you wouldn’t step in for anything else, but you would step in when it comes to Jiuyou, what do I have to be afraid of?”

“Zhao Changhe, you really don’t understand something crucial...” the blind woman said coldly. “I don’t follow you around at all times. I told you long ago, I observe the world. That includes you, but you are not my sole focus. So yes, I know what you’ve done, and when you call for me, I am aware. But that doesn’t mean I’m always there. Sometimes, when I’m dealing with other matters, your calls won’t reach me—not because I’m ignoring you, but because I’m simply not there. Do you understand?”

Zhao Changhe laughed. “Then that’s even better. It means I’m not some pathetic simp calling out to a goddess who never responds.”

The blind woman nearly lunged to strangle him.

Zhao Changhe chuckled for a while before his expression turned serious. “Blindie...”

“What?”

“What she does to me is secondary. The real issue is that if we go north on campaign, we fear that she’ll strike at our core. Wanzhuang and Old Cui won’t be able to stop her. So if that happens... can you keep her in check?”

The blind woman remained silent.

Zhao Changhe pressed further. “I know you usually don’t intervene in worldly matters. But this isn’t just any worldly matter—it’s Jiuyou.”

The blind woman finally responded, slowly, “That means if Tngri or Papiyas move against you, you’ll have to handle them yourself. I won’t be helping.”

Zhao Changhe burst into laughter. “That was always going to be my fight!”

For some reason, the blind woman found his fearless enthusiasm rather irritating. With a cold expression, she snapped, “First, handle the Dao Lord standing in front of you. You’ve already exposed yourself as Zhao Changhe, and he knows you have the Heavenly Tome. Don’t expect me to slap him across the face again like I did back in Kunlun.”

Zhao Changhe smirked. “Looking back on it now, that was just Blindie’s overwhelming love.”

The blind woman was fuming. “Get lost!”

Zhao Changhe laughed heartily.

She’s so easy to tease, and she can’t even hit me... Why didn’t I realize this sooner? She literally can’t attack me. I should’ve been doing this all along...

“What are you grinning about like an idiot?”

Huangfu Qing had removed her Vermillion Bird mask and slipped her arms around his waist from behind, resting against his back. Her voice was soft, teasing, “You handled yourself well today. I was afraid you’d be blinded by lust and actually bring Jiuyou home as a wife.”

Zhao Changhe chuckled, placing a hand over her delicate fingers around his waist. “And if I did?”

Huangfu Qing’s soft fingers turned into claws, pinching his stomach. “I’d strangle you. She’s an ancient demon and the Night Emperor’s mortal enemy. Speaking of which... Even though you’ve tried to avoid it, haven’t you still inherited some of the Night Emperor’s karma? At the very least, this grudge isn’t something you can escape.”

Zhao Changhe sighed. “More than a little...”

“Hm?”

“I inherited all her subordinates. And not just that, I’ve been devouring them.”

He turned around, pulled Huangfu Qing into his arms, and kissed her.

Huangfu Qing laughed, resting her forehead against his. “I’m your subordinate, not hers. If you want to devour her too, that’s your business.”

Zhao Changhe could not see the blind woman at the moment, but he could almost picture her face—dark as iron, fists clenched.

Huangfu Qing glanced at the sky, lowering her voice. “You’re waiting for nightfall?”

“Yeah. If I go openly to Louguantai, Li Boping might interfere. Better to sneak in at night. I’m worried about Yuxu.”

“If you sneak in at night, you might avoid official entanglements, but Jiuyou won’t be fooled. Won’t she intervene?”

“It’s fine. If she makes a move, someone else will handle her.”

Huangfu Qing had no idea that there was currently a certain blind woman standing there, fists clenched tightly, seething with barely contained rage. She thought Zhao Changhe was just making dirty jokes again and giggled. “You’re not strong enough to handle her yet, though. Speaking of which—your breakthrough today... Was it triggered by watching me and Hongling fight together?”

“Yeah. You and Hongling complement each other in ways I hadn’t noticed before. Seeing it in action helped me integrate a lot of what I had been struggling with. That thin barrier finally shattered, and, well... there just happened to be a perfect whetstone.”

As he spoke, Zhao Changhe suddenly looked around. “Where’s Hongling? She’s been unusually quiet. Even back in the hall, she barely said a word.”

Huangfu Qing leaned in and whispered, “She was betrayed by her own master. She’s not taking it well. You should go comfort her.”

Zhao Changhe gave her a surprised glance. Since when did you two get so close?

Then again, was that even important?

Without wasting another moment, he strode into the room to find Yue Hongling.

Yue Hongling sat alone in the room, leaning by the window, quietly watching Zhao Changhe standing in the courtyard.

She did not look particularly distraught. In fact, she was rather calm. When she saw Zhao Changhe rush in, a hint of amusement flickered in her eyes. “What’s this? Standing alone in the courtyard staring at trees, only to be sent back by Vermillion Bird? That’s not like you. Weren’t you the type to finish your business and immediately find someone to shamelessly cling to?”

“Nonsense.” Zhao Changhe sat beside her. “I was just considering what to do next after negotiations with Jiuyou fell apart.”

Yue Hongling mused, “She seemed quite wary, especially of you. That hesitation of hers... it must be because of you. Do you need us to do anything?”

“You’re still worrying about that? What about your sect? What happened?”

Yue Hongling smiled faintly, her gaze drifting back to the window. “It’s nothing, really. The moment I saw how prosperous my sect had become, I already had a vague feeling in my heart. When it finally happened, it didn’t come as a shock—I just thought ‘so this is how it is.’ No great waves, no real turmoil. Maybe that’s partly my fault. I never truly felt at home there, so it’s not surprising that he never saw me as family either.”

Zhao Changhe did not even know how to comfort her.

Yue Hongling lazily leaned into his embrace, her voice low. “It’s just a bit of a pity. I used to imagine you formally coming to my sect to propose, so I could marry you like an ordinary woman. But for people like us, even that kind of dream has become a luxury. Watching you negotiate marriage with the Li Clan’s young lady in the grand hall earlier... Even though I knew it was all part of a deeper political game, on the surface, it looked... enviable.”

Zhao Changhe chuckled. “Why should that be difficult? I have no parents in this world. When the time comes, we’ll take the heavens as our father and the earth as our mother. We’ll bow atop Langjuxu, with the Temple of Tngri as our bridal chamber. Now that would be a story worth telling.”

Yue Hongling’s eyes brightened, her previous gloom instantly swept away. She looked at him with joy. “Then it’s a promise.”

Zhao Changhe added, “He will get what’s coming to him.”

Yue Hongling was about to say there was no need for revenge, but Zhao Changhe lifted a finger to her lips before she could speak. His voice dropped into a whisper, “I won’t make a move. But you can watch... How could I let anyone who wronged my Hongling off so easily?”

The blind woman stood with her arms crossed, watching from the shadows, utterly speechless.

You were just whispering about your “deepest desire” to one woman, and now you’re turning around and saying this to another? How do you manage to say all this without making yourself sick?

Unfortunately for her, her complaints were utterly useless.

The woman in question was eating it up. Before she knew it, the two of them were kissing passionately, wrapped in each other’s embrace.

What was even more infuriating was that, with the gentle snowfall drifting past the window, the scene actually looked... beautiful.

It looked warm and tender.

1. This is Zhao Changhe trying to playfully call the blind woman. ☜