Ze Tian Ji (Way of Choices)

Chapter 945 – There Are Records of Herding the Clouds over the Sea

“Guardian Jin, how did you get here?”

Upon seeing this person, Guardian Li was both shocked and worried.

Jin Yulu had come.

The fastest and oldest demi-human general had once followed Luoluo to the capital for her studies and had acted as a gatekeeper in the Orthodox Academy for a long period of time. Upon returning to the land of the demi-humans, he had not entered the court and become an official, but continued his life tilling the fields, until now.

Luoluo knew that Xuanyuan Po had attempted to get in touch with him, but Xuanyuan Po had failed because Jin Yulu’s estate had been under constant guard. As for how he was able to leave his estate and come to the Imperial Palace today, the unconscious guards and maids outside the hall explained everything.

“Your Highness, please come with me,” Jin Yulu said to Luoluo.

As the expert with the fastest movement technique and eldest of the Demi-human race’s generals, there really was a chance that he could escape with Luoluo, even in the heavily guarded Imperial Palace.

Guardian Li gazed at Luoluo, intent on persuading her. “Empress will at most discipline me. She will not treat me too badly.”

Luoluo stepped forward and took Jin Yulu’s hand. She was extremely grateful, but she did not agree to his request, instead whispering to him a few words.

“Quickly go through the tunnel behind the hall. I have here…”

She wanted to give the magical artifacts her father had given her to Jin Yulu and have him leave through the tunnel, but before she could finish, the clouds in the sky began to gather like a shepherd herding their flock. The sun was obscured, casting all of White Emperor City into shadow.

Madam Mu entered the stone hall and calmly said to Jin Yulu, “Even a little child knows you can’t succeed, so why did you insist on coming?”

After a period of silence, Jin Yulu replied, “On what charge is Empress prepared to kill me? Trespassing in the Imperial Palace or disrespecting a Saint?”

Madam Mu replied, “Your prestige in the race is too high. Even His Majesty cannot lightly kill you, let alone me. I only do not understand why you have always had such hostility towards His Majesty for all these years and have taken aim at me many times. Have we not treated you kindly?”

Jin Yulu answered, “In matters of the past, His Majesty naturally understands. For today’s matter, Empress probably understands.”

Madam Mu said, “You should well know that this is not my will alone. The Chief Elder perceived His Majesty’s will last night.”

“This is where I and Old Xiang, along with those other elders, are different. Perhaps it’s because His Majesty has never liked me very much.”

Jin Yulu gazed at Madam Mu and impassively said, “Even if this is a decree from His Majesty, as long as I believe it to be incorrect, I still will not accept it.”

Madam Mu said, “Guardian Jin truly lives up to his reputation. Let us put aside your crime of defying the decree for now. In terms of right and wrong, who are you to decide them?”

Jin Yulu answered, “The eight hundred li of the Red River, the hundred thousand li of the land of demi-humans—how can it be given to someone not of my race?”

Madam Mu replied, “The so-called Heavenly Selection is the will of the ancestral spirits. No matter what race the person belongs to, as long as they are accepted by the Celestial Tree and baptized by the Wildfire, their blood will be transformed into the true body of the demi-human emperors, becoming a part of the White Emperor clan. How can they be considered an outsider then?”

Jin Yulu looked into her eyes and asked, “You are speaking of your arrangements for the Second Prince?”

Madam Mu answered, “Everyone who participates in the Heavenly Selection ceremony must obey the arrangements of fate. This is the fairest method.”

Jin Yulu asked, “Your sudden announcement of this matter leaves the humans no time to respond or send anyone to participate, so how can this be considered fair?”

Madam Mu indifferently said, “What does this have to do with Guardian Jin? Are you colluding with the Zhou people?”

Jin Yulu sternly said, “Does Her Highness exist in your eyes? She acknowledged His Holiness the Pope as her teacher, so she also might be colluding with the Zhou people? So that even though you clearly know that her meridians have already been repaired and that, given sufficient time, she can smoothly inherit the throne, you still insist on holding the Heavenly Selection ceremony?”

Madam Mu answered, “I understand her circumstances more than any of you. I hope that she can obtain happiness, but I will not give her the slightest misconception.”

Jin Yulu asked, “A misconception or a lie? Empress, not even you can fool yourself with these words, so how can you convince Her Highness?”

As they spoke, they did not avoid Luoluo. She had heard everything.

With these final words, the stone hall fell abnormally silent. After speaking up to here, they had run out of things to discuss.

Madam Mu lightly waved her sleeve, her jade-white hand turning. A gust of wind stirred to life in the hall and a massive hand condensed from clear light swatted at Jin Yulu.

Countless ear-piercing howls resounded through the hall and the air grew turbulent.

Jin Yulu blurred, avoiding the giant hand and retreating onto a stone platform.

Madam Mu took a step forward, her expression unchanging as her sleeve rose again.

The clouds gathered over White Emperor City suddenly dropped several li, so low that they almost touched the mountains on the opposite shore.

Someone with good eyesight might have even been able to see the raindrops condensing in the clouds.

As the layer of clouds moved down, so did an unimaginable pressure. It enveloped White Emperor City, especially the stone hall at the very top.

A groan came from the platform and the blur of Jin Yulu’s body that seemed about to meld into the world slightly slowed.

His strength was formidable, but if he wanted to contend against an expert of the Divine Domain, he had to push his speed to the limit to have a chance.

But Madam Mu just waved her sleeve, borrowing the might of the world and the pressure of the clouds to break his movement technique.

The clouds in the sky continued to get closer and closer to the ground, the massive trees on the opposite shore practically disappearing from sight. The pressure falling on the stone hall continued to increase. The unconscious guards and maids began to moan in pain while Guardian Li began to find it incredibly difficult to breathe.

Jin Yulu’s body was becoming increasingly distinct.

The more distinct his blurred figure, the slower his speed.

The moment his figure completely appeared, Jin Yulu would receive Madam Mu’s thunderous blow.

This sight did not become reality.

Because Luoluo walked to Madam Mu’s side.

She grabbed Madam Mu’s sleeve, raised her small face, and opened her eyes wide as she very seriously spoke.

“Mother, please don’t do this.”

……

……

Before the black clouds could crush the city, before a drop of rain could fall, they returned back to the sky, where they gradually dispersed.

Jin Yulu fled the Imperial Palace. Presumably, it would be impossible for him to return to the fields he had worked for so many years, so it was hard to say where he would go.

Guardian Li and the guards and maids exited. The stone hall was quiet, with only Madam Mu and Luoluo inside.

“Many people think that I am only doing this out of my selfish desires.”

Madam Mu looked into Luoluo’s eyes and asked, “Do you think the same?”

Luoluo silently thought for a very long time. She did not directly answer the question, instead asking a rather strange question.

“Mother… after so many years, are you still thinking about home?”