Side Story 9

“Yin Ze, for privately entering the Demon Realm under the guise of a divine lord, provoking the demons and committing such a grave crime, you should not be lightly forgiven. However, considering your urgent desire to save your people, and the fact that the casualties among the immortals and gods in this battle with the demons were not heavy, I will be lenient. Effective immediately, you will be stripped of your divine powers for a thousand years, and for five hundred years, you must leave the divine realm and be accompanied by Lu Wu and Ying Zhao.”

“This outcome was better than Yin Ze had expected. The matter of the divine realm’s water had already made him restless, and now that he had seen Chen Zhi die under his own spell, he had also lost the courage to return to Su Zhao to see Luo Wei again. However, as soon as he thought of Su Zhao, he remembered Bi Xu’s interference, and so he asked the Heavenly Emperor, “Then what should be done with Su Zhao?”

“Naturally, it must be collected,” the Heavenly Emperor replied matter-of-factly.

“No!” He took a step forward excitedly, “No, I can accept anything else besides that!”

All the gods were somewhat surprised. Some of the old gods had watched Yin Ze grow up and had never seen him so agitated. The temple was empty and cold, and only wisps of clouds drifted in from the window, blurring the face of the dragon coiled around the pillar. The Heavenly Emperor sat at the top, his white gold-trimmed robe draped to the ground, his face as blurred as the dragon coiled around the pillar, his voice gentle but ruthless: “Yin Ze, you cannot decide this matter. Su Zhao has a passage to the Demon Realm, and you have your private army. Even if I trust you, I cannot trust Su Zhao.”

“The Heavenly Emperor could simply destroy the passage to the Demon Realm,” Yin Ze suggested.

“That’s not a bad idea,” the Heavenly Emperor mused, propping his chin on his hand. “Then what about your private army?”

“I’m a new arrival in Su Zhao, so how can I have a private army?”

“You may be new, but your little disciple is not,” the Heavenly Emperor chuckled lightly. “She’s the heir to Su Zhao, and her sister is the Empress of Su Zhao, isn’t she?”

At this point, Yin Ze knew there was no point in saying more. The Heavenly Emperor clearly knew everything. The so-called private army was merely a euphemism for winning people over, and the Heavenly Emperor was simply waiting for him to make a statement in front of the gods. Looking out the window, Yin Ze said softly, “I will never set foot in Su Zhao again, and I will have no more contact with any of the Su Zhao clan. I will also hand over the military power of Water Heaven.”

There was nothing wrong with parting ways with Luo Wei like this. They hadn’t been together for very long.

The Heavenly Emperor smiled slightly, “With your word, I’m relieved.”

Since he would no longer have freedom after leaving the divine realm, there was no point in staying in the Azure Dragon Heaven. After leaving the temple, remembering the ink-wash umbrella that Luo Wei had given him, Yin Ze immediately prepared to go back to Tian Shi City to get it. Unexpectedly, he met Shang Yan on the way. Unable to sleep due to the grief of losing her child, she said she wanted to travel with him.

It only took a blink of an eye to fly from the divine realm to Tian Shi City, but when he landed in front of Cang Ying Mansion, he heard a voice behind him: “Master!”

In that brief moment, he recalled a foolish thing Luo Wei had done when he was still in Su Zhao. She had been pestering him, indirectly asking what kind of woman he liked, and he had always said indifferently, “I don’t know.” But she was determined to argue with him to the death, and when he didn’t answer, she resorted to all sorts of methods to torment him, such as not talking to him, not eating with him, sleeping in separate rooms, and turning her back on him whenever he appeared. Unable to bear it, he had asked directly, “You want to know what kind of woman I like, don’t you? Well, it’s the opposite of you.” To his surprise, she didn’t get angry at all but blinked and asked, “What’s the opposite of me?” He replied, “Quiet, obedient, mature, sensible, and not noisy.” She happily slipped away, leaving him puzzled. The next day, she brought a group of submissive and quiet beauties to him and asked, “Which one of these do you like the looks of?” He glanced at the women, then looked at her in confusion for a long time, asking her what she meant.

“If I die, it’s fine if you marry another woman or live a solitary life. You have to forget me,” she stood in front of those women with her hips akimbo like a madam, but the bright and sweet smile instantly dimmed all the beauties. “Before I die, I’ll give you time to find someone else to accompany you. When the time comes, I’ll choose a new wife for you and attend your wedding.”

He looked at her, his eyes unblinking.

“How is it? Aren’t you amazed by my wit?” She shook her fan smugly and shrugged meaningfully. “You know, I can only leave without any regrets if I see you happy.”

He was silent for a long time, and then he dismissed all those women, saying, “Wei’er, if one day your life is about to end, do you want me to die with you, or do you want me to continue living?”

“Don’t even think about it,” she was furious, hitting him with her fan. “I want you to live, don’t die, don’t!”

“You’re thinking too much. How could I die for you? I was just asking casually.” He smiled lightly. “Of these girls, I actually like one. When you’re old, I’ll ask you to pick me someone similar and invite you to my wedding.”

She was stunned for a moment, seeming a little hurt, but she still nodded obediently and said, “Don’t worry, I will.”

At that time, he hadn’t thought that he would never marry her in this life.

He turned his head and saw the center of the city in the midst of the lights. Luo Wei stood at the bottom of the jade steps, looking at him worriedly. They hadn’t seen each other for several months, but the pain in his heart had not diminished at all. However, he could not show her any affection, partly because he wanted her to give up on him, and partly because Lu Wu and Ying Zhao would soon arrive as human disguises. If Lu Wu knew that Luo Wei had a relationship with him, he might put her in danger. Therefore, he looked no different. He was still the same him, the heartless man she feared and loved, perhaps even hated. He walked down the steps to her and said coldly, “What are you doing here?”

The dagger of longing finally cut through his chest, tearing open the inside.

After living for more than seven thousand years, he finally understood what love was.

When faced with the choice between letting the whole world perish and letting her live, he thought he finally had an answer.