Chapter 984: Chapter 983 Reluctant Choice_1
Where there are people, there will be disputes.
Shi Xiaole might not be clear about the filthy deeds within the Flying Horse Dynasty, but he had already caught a glimpse of the internal strife of the Daxia Dynasty, uglier and more perilous than the Martial World.
In fact, as early as when Xia Xiaonine articulated the relation between the royal family and the Ancestral Temple, Shi Xiaole could already imagine the tumultuous waves beneath the tip of the iceberg.
Why was it so difficult for Xia Xiaonine and Xia Youying to practice cultivation?
How could the previous Xia Emperor suddenly lose his fertility?
Could the withering away of the royal bloodline really have happened naturally?
Some matters are best left undiscovered, but to delve into them would be truly alarming.
Shi Xiaole had no energy to ponder these issues; he wasn’t a member of the royal family. His relationship with Xia Xiaonine didn’t go beyond the verbal agreement of ’mentor and disciple,’ perhaps a bit deeper, but definitely not to the point of complete trust.
The door opened, and as sunlight streamed in, a tall and elegant figure entered, her voice enchanting, lightly plucking at one’s heartstrings: "Do you enjoy the play?"
Dressed as he first saw her—but having shed her red fox fur, now clad in plain white garments—she did not conceal her charm. It was as if the previous conflict with the young man had never occurred.
"I don’t understand what you mean."
Said Shi Xiaole.
Xia Youying just smiled, stopping three steps in front of him, her tone pleading: "Xiaole, let this palace have its way just this once. It won’t cost you a piece of flesh, and it will fulfill my wish; it’s good for you, good for me, good for everyone."
Shi Xiaole’s complexion soured; he prided himself on keeping his emotions under control, but in front of this woman, his restraint was futile. It only encouraged her arrogant and domineering behavior.
In past conversations, this woman had repeatedly teased him. Looking back, it seemed his tolerance only served as a form of entertainment for her, akin to a rascal delighting in molesting a virtuous woman and reveling in her silence borne of indignation.
"Don’t push me to take action."
Said Shi Xiaole coldly.
Xia Youying stepped back hastily, putting her hand to her chest in feigned shock, maintaining this pose for two seconds before suddenly bursting into laughter: "Xiaole, this palace is so scared!"
Even as she laughed, her phoenix eyes slightly narrowed, her fair wrist covering her small mouth. The sunlight cast upon her porcelain cheeks and neck. To describe this woman accurately, ’sinfully seductive’ was probably the most fitting—intensely charming and provocative.
Remembering how this woman had previously molested a maid in his presence, Shi Xiaole scoffed, "Madame Pimp."
This time, Xia Youying was taken aback, seemingly not understanding the meaning of these words.
"If there’s nothing else, ’General’ Xia, you better scram."
Shi Xiaole issued an eviction notice. He didn’t move, but a gust of Qi pushed Xia Youying out the door.
"General... General Xia? What does that mean?"
Xia Youying mumbled to herself, her voice reaching Shi Xiaole’s ears, prompting him to burst into laughter as if immensely satisfied, arousing suspicion in Xia Youying.
...
Within Daxia’s imperial court, the Imperial Study Room.
"Your Majesty, King Chuan was assassinated in his residence yesterday, sustaining thirty-three stabs; both his right arm and left leg were severed, and his dantian was destroyed. He is currently unconscious."
Gasps!
Upon hearing the report from the chief eunuch, Xia Xiaonine suddenly stood up from his seat, his face filled with indescribable horror and fury.
Among the royal family today, only a few, including Xia Xiaonine and Xia Youying, were of the direct bloodline, with the rest being collateral branches. And King Chuan was one of the few collateral members willing to publicly support Xia Xiaonine.
King Chuan was powerful in his own right and commanded the ’Feather Clothes Army,’ one of the three major imperial guards, considered one of the strongest forces of the royal house. Yet, he was attacked within the Emperor’s reach, breaking into his residence and leaving him crippled.
Warning!
A blatant warning!
This was undoubtedly schemed by those people from the Ancestral Temple, aimed at handing down a harsh lesson to the disobedient Emperor!
Actually, it wasn’t just King Chuan; not long before, several officials including Du De, the Minister of Rites, and Wang Ming, the Vice Minister of Personnel, were assassinated in different locations. The one thing they had in common was that they were all staunch loyalists to the Emperor.
Disagreeing with them was enough to bring about the execution of imperial officials. Although Xia Xiaonine had long known that the Ancestral Temple’s power was immense, it was another thing to truly grasp this; it turned him pale as death, feeling icy chills all over his body.
He slumped back into his chair powerlessly, gazing up at the ceiling of the Imperial Study Room.
Most of the forces on the imperial court had already shifted allegiance to the Ancestral Temple. Two of the three major imperial guards were beyond his control, and after today, more of those who were undecided would likely make their choices.
Heh, to think that the Emperor himself was constantly constrained, unable to implement his decrees, his orders not reaching beyond the palace walls, forced to be compliant and walking on thin ice—what a plight!
Xia Xiaonine even suspected that if not for the covert suppression by the Witch Heavenly Guard, those people from the Ancestral Temple would have long dispatched someone to kill him and installed a docile puppet in his stead.
They wouldn’t have politely requested the marriage of his royal sister either; they most likely would have directly taken her, delivering her to the bedchamber of the Ancestral Temple’s number one talent, allowing him to harvest and humiliate her at will!
In the end, the word ’direct descent’ had become nothing more than a talisman protecting the likes of Xia Xiaonine and Xia Youying—a handful of people. How pitiful!
"You exert such pressure simply to force me into giving in, to marry off my sister."
Xia Xiaonine’s eyes were bloodshot.
He was well aware that once that peerless genius from the Ancestral Temple obtained the virgin Yin of his sister and refined the blood of the Witch Ancestor, the Xia family would truly be doomed.
But if he were not to compromise, the outcome would have been no different, at best he could save his life. As long as he wasn’t dead, the Witch Heavenly Guard wouldn’t intervene.
Could it be that the Flying Horse Dynasty was truly going to end with his generation?
"No, I will never compromise, if it were so, how could I face my ancestors?"
After struggling for a while, Xia Xiaonine forcibly calmed himself down and ordered the head eunuch to arrange for the imperial physicians to go to King Chuan’s residence to provide full treatment, while he himself called for his carriage to the Princess’s residence.
...
No one from the Ancestral Temple had come again, it was said that after that incident, Xia Youying had ordered the guards of the Princess’s residence to kick out anyone from the Min family who came to the door.
Seeing this, Shi Xiaole couldn’t help but shake his head.
According to Xia Xiaonine, the people of the Ancestral Temple didn’t even put the royal family in their eyes, if so, why would they care about the Princess’s residence? The current calm was probably because the Ancestral Temple was confident and therefore too lazy to bother.
Xia Xiaonine, however, would come to visit Shi Xiaole every few days, and it was clear to see, although he was smiling, his expression could not hide his tiredness, obviously he was troubled by many worries.
"Master."
One day, Xia Xiaonine came again, his eyes still red with lingering bloodshot, he started a few conversations, then hesitated to speak.
"What do you want to say?"
Shi Xiaole, perceptive of words and expressions, sighed inwardly. There were some things that he and Xia Xiaonine had an unspoken understanding of, originally thinking they could continue feigning ignorance, but now it seemed that the other party was ready to lay his cards on the table.
Xia Xiaonine took a few deep breaths, stood up from his seat, and bowed three times deeply to Shi Xiaole before raising his head: "Master, Daxia City is no longer peaceful, Xiaonine cannot fulfill the duty of a disciple, please leave as soon as possible, master. Once everything is settled... Xiaonine will again perform his filial duties at your feet."
"Is that really what you wanted to say?" Shi Xiaole asked.
The air in the room seemed to freeze, Xia Xiaonine’s fists curled tight in his sleeves several times before relaxing, but he suppressed the inexplicable emotions, smiling, "Otherwise, what does the master think Xiaonine would say?"
Shi Xiaole’s eyes were deep and impenetrable, he watched him for a long time before saying, "If that’s the case, thank you for your filial piety, I shall leave tomorrow."
After another bow, Xia Xiaonine left the room, standing outside the door, he seemed to still see through the paper door Shi Xiaole’s silhouette, he clenched his teeth, and strode toward the corridor.
Only after Xia Xiaonine disappeared did a sigh echo from the room.
Shi Xiaole’s gaze was complex, a mix of anger, helplessness, and pity. He continued his cultivation as if nothing had happened and after finishing the dinner that was served, he quietly sat at the table.
The moon rose to its zenith.
The door creaked open.
Pan Eunuch walked in, his seemingly amicable round face revealing an unfathomable smile: "Does Young Master Shi anticipate my visit?"
"In the entire Princess’s residence, there are only five people who could defeat me, and only Pan Eunuch you could detain me, possibly even control me."
The Princess’s residence was indeed one of the main strongholds of the royal bloodline, and it’s not an exaggeration to say that it’s full of experts. Yet, even so, there were only five Earthly Realm Martial Emperors or higher level experts, which made Shi Xiaole lament the imperial family’s weakness.
That makeshift disciple must be having a hard time.
"Young Master Shi, do you know what I am here to do?" Pan Eunuch sneered.
"I have no grudge with Xiaonine; he wouldn’t harm me, but circumstances do not always allow choice. Perhaps his orders for you were to detain me and then present me to Xia Youying."
Pan Eunuch said, "It’s not His Majesty’s command, but Her Highness’s."
Shi Xiaole smiled.
Today’s hesitation and abnormal behavior from Xia Xiaonine had already given him the answer; that disciple must have known that asking him directly would be rejected, leaving no room for maneuver, so he simply avoided the main issue and took a lighter approach.
"Young Master Shi, why refuse? This is a blessing many people can’t ask for in their lifetimes."
Shi Xiaole’s smile turned cold.
A blessing?
Once he had a conflict with Xia Youying, and the Ancestral Temple came to know, the royal family would be severely hit. However, for the royal family of Daxia, already in turmoil, it really made no difference.
But what about his own innocence?
Xia Xiaonine would never marry Xia Youying off, and he also knew, under duress from the Ancestral Temple, he wouldn’t be able to hold out for long. Most importantly, during these days of interaction, Shi Xiaole discovered with his psychic power a very cruel fact about Xia Xiaonine: he was infertile!
This meant that the direct line of Daxia was going to end. Naturally, Xia Xiaonine would not accept this, hence Xia Youying became his only choice to continue the royal lineage.
But he could never let the Ancestral Temple succeed, so for now, himself, his makeshift master, had caught Xia Xiaonine’s eye—the Kirin Young Emperor had an extraordinary talent. Coupled with the Demon Bone, the chances of producing offspring were much better.
Between the royal family and his master, Xia Xiaonine ultimately chose the former.
This choice, perhaps from the first moment he saw him, was already made—otherwise, why would he himself be locked in this room, kept away from contact with others, with no news allowed to leak out?
For this, Shi Xiaole didn’t harbor any resentment, but from his perspective, he couldn’t accept it!
"Young Master Shi, you won’t lose out. Once the deed is done, I’ll release you, and nobody will know of your existence," Pan Eunuch said, laughing, releasing a strong aura.
Shi Xiaole gave him a sideways glance, then suddenly relaxed with a chuckle, "How long do you plan to keep up this act?"
