Tome of Troubled Times-Chapter 894: The Tarnished Angels

The reforging of Dragon Bird took far longer this time.

When he reforged Dragon Bird last time, it had only been a prelude to forging River of Stars. The whole process had taken less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

But this time, it consumed an entire day, even longer than when he finished River of Stars.

Material-wise, Void-Shattering Star Iron was not superior to the materials used for River of Stars. Both were of the highest caliber. Yet Void-Shattering Star Iron was purer, more extreme in nature, and thus far more difficult to smelt.

Fortunately, Zhao Changhe, Lady Three, and Huangfu Qing were all seasoned veterans by now. Even the act of forging served as a means of sharpening their own cultivation insights, and it was something they performed with fluid ease.

When Dragon Bird fully came to her senses once more, she found her soul body much more solid than before. Now, she was nearly indistinguishable from an ordinary human. Her skin gleamed with a translucent luster, a lifelike blend of cream and blush, and a new power coursed through her veins, different from before. Raising her head toward the heavens, she felt as if she were staring at an eggshell, one that she could shatter with ease.

The universe is but an eggshell... Even space itself can be sliced apart if I feel like it.

There was nothing left in existence that could hinder the edge of Dragon Bird’s blade.

Her gaze fell upon the three figures who had forged her anew. Huangfu Qing and Lady Three had only served supporting roles. For cultivators at their current level, controlling flame and heat no longer exhausted them the way it once had. After a full day, they were barely a little fatigued, lounging carelessly nearby with unrestrained grins as they admired the reborn Dragon Bird.

Their expressions seemed to say, “We’ve got a daughter now too,” or “Forget Ye Wuming and Xia Chichi, they’re all late to the party.” Dragon Bird was sharp enough to see through their thoughts in an instant.

But Zhao Changhe’s state... was something else entirely.

His clothes had been utterly reduced to tatters, leaving only a ragged pair of underpants that struggled to cover his hanging obelisk. His body glistened with sweat, muscles coiled with exertion, every sinew pronounced. He stood like a man forged in fire, raw and unyielding. Even Lady Three and Huangfu Qing, who moments ago had eyes only for Dragon Bird, found themselves unable to look away from him.

So this is what they mean by a gaze that clings like silk... Dragon Bird finally understood. Even she found it hard to avert her eyes. It was the first time since awakening as a “female” saber spirit that she realized that human bodies could be beautiful too.

He really is nice to look at...

The forging process had been a brutal test of Dragon Bird’s will. Had she failed that test, then she would have ceased to exist, and a new Birdy would have taken her place. But Dragon Bird, reborn in fire, did not feel much about the test. Moreover, rather than focusing on the difficulty of the test, she found herself focusing more on the sensation that she had felt during the forging process.

The sensation was difficult to describe, but if anything, she felt as though her body had been kneaded throughout.

If Ling Ruoyu had been here, she might have pointed out that thoughts like “his body is good to look at” or “my body feeling like it was getting kneaded” were already perilously close to being human thoughts. These were no longer thoughts that a saber should be having.

Indeed, while Dragon Bird had always acted less like a weapon and more like a bratty little sister, it was not until now that a true transformation of thought occurred.

Of course, Zhao Changhe was not just posing for effect. He was also reflecting deeply on the growth and transformation he had undergone. Having forged both the strongest saber and the strongest sword of this world with his own hands, he now stood at the pinnacle of understanding regarding the essence of power. His comprehension of the Profound Control Realm had fully crystallized, and he had truly reached the absolute peak of the third layer.

Apart from the Ye sisters, the two walking anomalies who had reached with one foot all the way to the Other Shore, this was the limit of what this world could offer. It was a ceiling imposed by the very fabric of this world.

To others, this barrier might have been a steel wall. But for Zhao Changhe, it was nothing of the sort. His inability to ascend further was not due to the limitations imposed by the world but simply because his own cultivation had not yet gone past the threshold.

Given enough time and resources, that bottleneck would be broken. It was only a matter of when, not if.

Ye Wuming’s plan to summon aid from other worlds had always been about confronting this very problem. And now, perhaps, her efforts were bearing fruit at last?

Suspended high above the Night Palace, Ye Wuming watched Zhao Changhe’s sculpted frame, lost in thought. She was not even sure what she was feeling. Should she be gratified that her plan had succeeded? Or uneasy that he was growing closer and closer to matching or even surpassing her?

“How are you feeling?” Ye Jiuyou suddenly appeared before her.

Ye Wuming withdrew her gaze and cast a sidelong glance. “How did you get up here?”

“So long as I know where your Night Palace is, those so-called defenses and veils might as well be mist to me,” said Ye Jiuyou casually. “I didn’t come looking for trouble these past two days because Changhe needed to reforge Dragon Bird. I didn’t want to complicate things.”

“Well, now that Dragon Bird’s forging is complete, what’s your plan?” Ye Wuming asked calmly. “Do you plan to bring Zhao Changhe and Piaomiao here to conquer me?”

“Well, maybe. I mean, why not?”

“Our conflict has always been a performance choreographed by the Heavenly Dao. You are not truly yourself. I am not truly myself. The more chaos we bring to each other, the more delight it brings to Him. You know this now, so why keep dancing into His trap?”

Ye Jiuyou’s voice remained calm as she said, “Because his trap has always contained an open truth. You and I both know that if we remain in our current states, we will never breach the final threshold.”

Ye Wuming said nothing.

Ye Jiuyou went on, “You’ve always known this. That’s why you merged with the Heavenly Tome in the first place. You wanted to test whether taking its form as your body might help resolve the impasse. But in the end, it changed nothing. Because the Heavenly Tome was always our body. No matter how you reconfigure it, we remain incomplete, all because we are still missing each other.”

At last, Ye Wuming replied. “And so?”

Ye Jiuyou said softly, “Back then, when you tried to perish alongside the Heavenly Dao, was part of you hoping that if you died, I would absorb the remnants of your will and become whole? That your death would gift me a perfect ascension—a seamless solution, one that would unfold naturally without the need for intervention or guilt?”

Ye Wuming let out a dry laugh. “How sentimental. Have you grown softer now that there’s a man in your life?”

Ye Jiuyou ignored her and continued, “Even Piaomiao’s hatred of you would likely fade the moment she saw your lamp extinguished, especially knowing you had already prepared the lotus platform in advance. You’ve arranged it all beautifully, Ye Wuming... If everything had gone according to your plan, perhaps everything would have ended neatly, with your sacrifice making all the pieces fall into place.”

Ye Wuming’s anger finally surfaced. “So what if? Now you know Zhao Changhe, led by his damnable lust, ruined your perfect plan and shattered your chance to become whole, and yet you utter not a single word of blame? What are you here for? To demand that I kill myself before you? Sorry to disappoint. That ship has sailed.”

For a moment, Ye Jiuyou, who had been icy throughout, suddenly smiled. “Do you really think Zhao Changhe acted purely out of lust? Do you truly believe that?”

Ye Wuming’s expression did not change. “What else could it be? Gratitude? For dragging him to this place, away from everything and everyone? He’s resented me for that from the beginning.”

“Why couldn’t it be because he couldn’t bear the thought of you vanishing after three years of companionship?”

“Absolutely not.”

Ye Jiuyou gave her a pitying look, saying nothing.

Ye Wuming snapped, “What’s that look for? Since when did you get to pity me?”

“I pity the one who calculated everything, but never once managed to account for her own heart.” Ye Jiuyou yawned lightly. “Oh well, seeing the mess you’re in now... Hehe. It actually makes me feel quite satisfied.”

Ye Wuming sneered. “If you came here just to gloat, you may leave. I’m not in the mood for games.”

“Oh, but I still have something to say.” Ye Jiuyou’s tone turned faintly sharp. “You say he ruined my destined opportunity, but I say that he understands me. At the very least, he understands me better than you do.”

Ye Wuming scoffed. “Spare me the sweet nothings and dog food... Oh wait, I forgot. You probably don’t even know that slang. Between him and me, the unspoken understanding runs deeper than you think.”

“Ha! Look at you...” Ye Jiuyou burst into laughter. “You’re actually trying to use that to needle me?”

Ye Wuming: “So what is it that he understands about you more than me?”

“That I claim my own destiny, that my path is mine to walk. My future is not something for you to arrange without my consent, even if it means giving up your life. I never asked for that.” Ye Jiuyou’s smile faded. Her expression turned glacial. “Ye Wuming, if I wanted your life, I’d take it myself.”

Ye Wuming replied flatly, “Are you done talking? If so, get out.”

Ye Jiuyou’s smile returned, brighter than before. “My husband is coming to see me. I have company. You can stay here and stew alone... Oh, by the way, you brought a lot of poems from other worlds and mixed them into the history of this world, didn’t you? Well, there’s a verse from one that suits you really well.”

She did not say which verse it was. She simply vanished.

But Ye Wuming, eyes narrowing, seemed to know exactly which line she meant.

Chang’e must rue stealing the pill of longevity; for now she mopes alone night after night in the blue sky.[1]

Utterly ridiculous.

* * *

Zhao Changhe picked up Dragon Bird, unable to put it down. He gave it a few practice swings, feeling the perfect resonance between man and saber. A grin spread across his face. “Right now, I feel like I could cut down the Heavenly Dao if He stood in front of me.”

Lady Three chuckled. “Don’t get ahead of yourself. If your theories are correct, there is still a realm beyond this one, and possibly more than just one. Do you really think that you can cross levels and beat the Heavenly Dao just by relying on Dragon Bird?”

Zhao Changhe laughed and slung an arm around her. “I’m not relying only on just Dragon Bird. I’ve also got you all, don’t I? Also, if we’re talking about Dragon Bird, you’re the ones always after my dragon birdie...”

“You’re insufferable!” Lady Three pushed him away with a disgusted look. “Saying stuff like that in front of the kids? Do you have no filter at all? Go wash up. You reek of sweat.”

Zhao Changhe playfully pouted. “I want Lady Three to help me wash.”

Without another word, Lady Three slapped her palm, conjuring a giant sphere of water that instantly engulfed Zhao Changhe. The water then spun furiously, sloshing like a washing machine. Meanwhile, Lady Three hoisted the giant sphere of water and bolted away with it.

Huangfu Qing, finally snapping to attention, shouted, “You damn turtle! Stop right there! Trying to steal him while my guard’s down?!”

Lady Three shot off like a streak of lightning, ignoring her entirely. This man just now... He looked just too delicious, and this little turtle is very, very hungry.

And so, the freshly forged Dragon Bird was left behind in the forge, gleaming alone and forgotten, a faint aura of melancholy about it.

Why was I even made? What am I here for?

Did they forget that having a child isn’t just about birthing it, but also raising it?

Ling Ruoyu poked her head around the edge. “Hey Birdy, are you good now?”

Tears streamed down Dragon Bird’s face. “At least River of Stars still comes to keep me company. Come on, let’s spar. I wanna see who’s stronger now.”

Ling Ruoyu did not really want to fight. After hesitating for a moment, she said softly, “I’ve been thinking it over... I think that idea you had about me copying my mom’s handwriting to write a love letter to Master Zhao might actually work.”

Dragon Bird perked up immediately. Even the idea of a duel was forgotten. “Really? Let’s do it! How should we write it? What should we say? Want me to brainstorm with you?”

Ling Ruoyu said, looking troubled, “That’s why I came to you. I have no idea how to write something like that. How does a woman express affection to a man, especially with parents like mine? I can’t just copy love poems from the mortal realm’s romance novels. I’ve got no references.”

Dragon Bird stroked her chin in deep thought, then snapped her fingers. “Got it. If we’re not good at this, let’s consult someone who is. Tang Wanzhuang.”

“Prime Minister Tang? You want her to help someone else write a love letter... to her own husband? Do you really think that she’ll agree? She might just kill us both.”

“That just proves you don’t understand Tang Wanzhuang at all,” Dragon Bird scoffed. “If she had the power, she’d personally tie Ye Wuming to your dad’s bed without hesitation.”

“Well, where’s Prime Minister Tang right now?”

“I think she’s in Miaojiang.”

Meanwhile, Lady Three, having just finished laundering her man and fully intending to make use of him now that he was clean, was left sorely disappointed. Zhao Changhe slipped free from the watery prison, looking sheepish. “Lady Three, I’ve got something I need to take care of...”

“Going off to see another wench?” Lady Three sniffled pitifully. “You already gave Ye Wuming an entire day. Wasn’t that enough?”

“Ye Wuming isn’t a wench.”

“...Is that what I’m upset about?” Lady Three sighed, half-laughing. “So you really are going to see Ye Wuming?”

Zhao Changhe shook his head. “I’m going to find Jiuyou. For matters of breaking through to the next realm, there’s no one better to ask. Besides, she’s in Miaojiang right now. I also want to see how the others’ witchcraft thing is progressing. Wanzhuang and the others have been tracking the whereabouts of the Heavenly Dao for days now and still haven’t reported back. It’s starting to worry me.”

Lady Three looked like she wanted to say something, then swallowed it down. She sighed and said, “Go on, then. Anyway, we don’t think they’re really going to get anywhere with that nonsense anyway. Give them a few more days and it still won’t amount to anything.”

“I don’t think it’ll be easy either. That’s exactly why I’m concerned. Right now, this is the highest priority...”

“Then go.” Lady Three waved him off like shooing a fly, then flopped down with a dispirited groan.

I was so close to having a feast, and now I got nothing but air... Ugh, that body was just too tempting...

Suddenly, Lady Three felt a sharp tug at the back of her neck. Huangfu Qing had grabbed her by the scruff like a misbehaving kitten. “Don’t you have anything better to do?”

Lady Three wriggled resentfully. “What’s there even left to do at this point?”

“Obviously, compete with them to see who can pinpoint the location of the Heavenly Dao first,” Huangfu Qing said matter-of-factly. “Even if we’re not planning a direct offensive, we should at least know where the enemy is. Know yourself, know your enemy. What, are you just going to sit here and wait, clueless about the other side? That’s not how proper warfare is waged.”

This was exactly what Lady Three had been hesitating to bring up earlier. The truth was, they were competing against Tang Wanzhuang, Sisi, and the others, but she had not wanted Zhao Changhe to know.

The other side claimed they could trace the Heavenly Dao through Miaojiang witchcraft, but the Four Idols Cult had their doubts. This was the Heavenly Dao they were talking about, not some stray cat or wandering ghost to be divined with a bone charm. And witchcraft itself was a facet of the Heavenly Dao, so how could they use His own rules to reveal His position?

Still, while they had plenty of critiques, the Four Idols Cult did not have a better method either. Their own rituals and rites were exquisitely arcane—communication with the heavens, communion with spirits and stars... but upon closer reflection, it was a bit embarrassing. No matter what they tried to connect with, the result was either the Night Emperor or the spirit of heaven and earth. And in both cases, that meant Ye Wuming.

Their fate and hers were too deeply entwined. This karmic web could not be severed.

The awkward part? Even when they managed to contact Ye Wuming and tried to bring her in to help, she could not pinpoint the Heavenly Dao either. If she could, she would’ve just told Zhao Changhe outright. What need would there be for all this fortune-telling?

Still, the venerables of the Four Idols Cult were not willing to sit idle. If Tang Wanzhuang’s side succeeded first, the ridicule at the next dinner table would be unbearable. They would not even be able to eat in peace. Furthermore, who was to say? Maybe Ye Wuming alone could not do it, but Ye Wuming with the addition of the Four Idols just might.

The Four Idols’s rituals could afford to miss any one of its members, except Lady Three. If others used tortoise shells for divination, they had the actual tortoise on hand.

“Call Chichi. We have to have everyone put their backs into this. We’ll show those little hussies that the Four Idols Cult will always be the center of the household. They’re just here to pour tea and show respect.”

Meanwhile, Zhao Changhe had retrieved Dragon Bird. “Let’s go. We’re headed to Miaojiang. Ruoyu, are you coming with me or staying in the capital?”

Ling Ruoyu nearly jumped out of her seat. It was like someone offering her a pillow just as she was dozing off. “I’m coming to Miaojiang! I want to travel the world!”

“Uh, there’s no actual traveling this time. I’m teleporting us straight there.”

“I’m still going. My master is there, isn’t she?”

“That she is. Do you miss her?”

“Yeah.”

Zhao Changhe took her hand. “Then hold on tight...”

With a soft whoosh, the two of them vanished from the imperial capital.

In the next moment, they reappeared in the skies above Miaojiang. Ahead of them, Ye Jiuyou floated lazily, smiling. “I knew you’d come see me first.”

Zhao Changhe blinked. “You’ve picked up your big sister’s—uh, I mean, your little sister’s habit of fortune-telling now?”

“Not quite.” Ye Jiuyou smiled, tousling Ling Ruoyu’s hair with great satisfaction. “I was just in the middle of an argument with her when I saw you arrive in Miaojiang. So naturally, I left her behind and came to greet you first just to see how annoyed she’d get.”

Zhao Changhe chuckled, half amused and half exasperated. “Is that really something to be jealous over...? You think she’d get upset?”

“Maybe not...” Ye Jiuyou’s eyes gleamed with mirth. “But Changhe, that arrow you shot all those years ago pierced more than just its target.”

Zhao Changhe: “?”

Watching from afar, Ye Wuming’s expression remained blank, but her thoughts churned. If there was something that she was jealous about, then it was Ling Ruoyu being so close and affectionate with Ye Jiuyou.

Ye Jiuyou was showing off that while Ling Ruoyu was fairly distant with her, she was pretty close to her stepmothers or aunts.

Just as Ye Wuming was brooding, her heart stirred.

She felt a call from the Four Idols Cult.

This was the first time since this era began that the Four Idols Cult’s summoning ritual for the Night Emperor had been fully enacted. And the one who received it was not Zhao Changhe, the current Night Emperor in everyone’s eyes, but Ye Wuming.

For a moment, Ye Wuming hesitated. Should I descend?

It was a pretty convenient excuse, after all. This would not count as her acting of her own accord. She had been summoned by the Four Idols, after all...

1. This is an excerpt from Chang’e (嫦娥) by Li Shangyin (李商隐). ☜