Chapter 356

Chapter 356: Going to a Place (4000 words)

Suyan entered the Imperial Study.

At this moment, the Emperor of Wu sat on the soft couch in the Imperial Study, calmly looking at the memorial scrolls.

“Your humble servant Suyan pays respects to Your Majesty.” Suyan placed her hands together in front of her and bowed respectfully.

The Emperor raised his head, looked at the woman before him, and smiled, “A cultivator of the Upper Fifth Realm need not be so courteous to me, right?”

Suyan smiled and shook her head. “Your Majesty misunderstands. Even if I am a cultivator of the Upper Fifth Realm, what difference does it make? There are probably quite a few cultivators of the Upper Fifth Realm who have fallen under Wu Kingdom’s hand.”

The Emperor chuckled as well. “There aren’t many, actually. Cultivators of the Upper Fifth Realm aren’t like kittens or puppies that can be killed at will. On the contrary, they’re extremely difficult to kill. If they don’t linger in battle and focus solely on escaping, there aren’t many people who can subdue a cultivator of the Upper Fifth Realm.”

“At least there are a few cultivators of the Upper Fifth Realm guarding my Imperial Palace; otherwise, my head might have been taken by you cultivators without me even knowing.”

Suyan maintained a calm expression with a polite smile. “Your Majesty is truly modest. Who in this world could possibly enter the Imperial Palace and harm you?”

“There are plenty who want to hurt me—not just cultivators, but also court ministers, feudal lords, and even some martial artists who want to storm the palace and deliver a fatal blow to me.”

“Never mind all that nonsense. Now, why has Lady Xu come to see me?” The Emperor didn’t want to continue discussing trivial matters and wanted to get straight to the point.

But before getting straight to the point, some things couldn’t be said too plainly.

“Not long ago, the child sought me out and told me about the conditions and cooperation proposed by Your Majesty.” Suyan spoke directly.

“Oh?” The Emperor nodded, showing great interest. “Then I wonder if Lady Xu agrees or disagrees?”

Suyan’s lips curved into a gentle smile. “Of course I agree. After all, the conditions offered by Your Majesty are very generous, and the price I have to pay is so small. What reason do I have to refuse? If I were to refuse, it would truly be unwise.”

The Emperor smiled. “In that case, I must thank you on behalf of ‘Lady Xu.'”

Suyan bowed politely. “Your Majesty is too kind. Actually, that child always seems to misjudge things and thinks poorly of me.”

“That’s only natural. After all, Ming is someone who values emotions deeply,” the Emperor said. “And I admire Ming for that very reason.”

“Ho ho ho…” Suyan merely laughed without saying much more.

“But I do have a question for Lady Chen. Would Lady Chen be willing to answer?” the Emperor asked.

Suyan nodded. “Your Majesty doesn’t need to be so formal. Just ask.”

“Since Lady Chen has said that, I’ll get straight to the point then.” The Emperor stared directly at Suyan, his voice low. “If I’m not mistaken, Lady Chen was waiting for me to seek your cooperation, wasn’t she?”

Lady Chen’s bright eyes blinked a couple of times, seemingly puzzled as she spoke calmly. “Why does Your Majesty say that?”

The Emperor chuckled a few times. “It’s simple. At the time, Lady Chen appeared in a village outside Wudu not by chance but deliberately.

When Lady Chen woke up this time, no one was harmed, and you could’ve quietly absorbed the other personality, but you didn’t.

Could it be because Lady Chen is too kind-hearted?

I believe a cultivator shouldn’t be overly sentimental.

This means Lady Chen intended to leave room for maneuver. Perhaps from the start, Lady Chen had in mind the idea of cooperating between Wu Kingdom and Canglan Sect.

Although I didn’t expect Lady Chen to sacrifice so much, marrying an ordinary person and having a child.”

Suyan shook her head, seeming somewhat helpless. “What can be done? If I didn’t hide myself, sooner or later those people would figure me out, and at that point, I wouldn’t even be able to protect myself. What use would talking about anything else be?

However, Your Majesty overthinks things. I’m not like the old man in Tianji City who can predict everything so accurately.

I merely want to survive.

After sealing my memories, I became a completely new ‘me.’ As for what ‘I’ would do, how could I know?

Let alone predicting things to this extent.

So now, the fact that I’m here and may cooperate with Your Majesty is all due to coincidence.

Still, I must admit, I did give birth to a good son.”

The Emperor looked seriously at Suyan, and Suyan didn’t avoid the Emperor’s gaze.

“Ho ho ho!” After a brief pause, the Emperor burst into laughter. “Apologies, apologies. I tend to overthink things. If I offended you with my previous words, please forgive me, Lady.”

Suyan’s lips curled slightly upward. “Your Majesty didn’t say anything strange. Why should I hold any grudges?

Moreover, whether it’s a conspiracy or something calculated by me, it doesn’t matter. After all, it benefits both of us, doesn’t it?”

The Emperor nodded. “That’s correct. Since we’ve reached an agreement, shouldn’t we sign the contract?”

“Naturally,” Suyan replied. “I came here to meet Your Majesty precisely to sign the contract. To be honest, I’m also worried that Your Majesty might change your mind. After all, our Canglan Sect has nothing now, only some remnants. But Wu Kingdom is thriving. If Your Majesty looks down on us, there’s nothing we can do.”

“Lady Chen, you’re being too modest. I trust you. Even though Canglan Sect suffered a setback, it’s still formidable, and it will surely regain its former glory.

Besides, even if Canglan Sect’s power is small, I would still cooperate with you because I highly regard Ming. Ming’s affairs are my affairs,” the Emperor stated.

“It’s Ming’s good fortune to receive Your Majesty’s favor.” Suyan bowed to the Emperor. “On behalf of Ming, I thank Your Majesty.”

“Too kind, too kind.”

Despite their words and smiles,

both knew clearly inside.

The Emperor mainly acted for Ming, but more importantly, the power of Canglan Sect was far from weak.

And while Suyan claimed everything was coincidental, whether or not she secretly orchestrated events remained unclear.

But that didn’t matter anymore. Regardless, everyone was now on the same boat.

The Emperor picked up the imperial jade seal from the desk.

With both hands, he gently tossed it upwards, and the jade seal hovered between the two of them.

The Emperor extended his finger and tapped the jade seal, infusing golden dragon energy into it.

The jade seal emitted a golden glow.

Under the light, a golden, shapeless piece of paper appeared between the two.

The Emperor’s fingers moved continuously, like a brush, writing character after character on the golden sheet.

As the final stroke fell, the golden, formless paper was filled.

“Lady Xu, please review and confirm if you can accept it,” the Emperor said to Suyan. Suyan carefully examined the terms of the contract.

Suyan understood that the Emperor was using the national fortune of Wu Kingdom to back this contract, and once signed, it must be followed.

Otherwise, even a cultivator of the Ascension Realm couldn’t withstand the backlash from one of the ten major human dynasties.

“No problem,” Suyan smiled and said.

“Good!” The Emperor nodded. “Then let’s proceed.”

The Emperor pricked his own finger, releasing a drop of essence blood onto the contract.

Suyan did the same.

After the contract absorbed the blood of both parties, it exploded into spiritual energy particles and dissipated into the air.

Thus, the contract was sealed.

If the Emperor betrayed the contract, the Wu Kingdom would suffer a certain degree of retribution from Tiandao.

Likewise, if Suyan betrayed the contract, the same fate awaited her.

For both the Emperor and Suyan, this was an unbearable burden.

“Since there’s nothing else, I shall take my leave,” Suyan smiled and said.

“Very well,” the Emperor nodded.

Suyan bowed respectfully, turned around, and left.

At the entrance of the Imperial Study, Ming was still waiting.

“Let’s go home,” Suyan said to Ming.

Ming bowed respectfully to Wei and followed Suyan out of the Imperial Palace.

“Now you can rest assured. I’ve already signed the contract with the Emperor,” Suyan smiled at her son.

“Did the Emperor say anything to you?” Ming asked.

Suyan’s eyes twinkled. “Are you concerned about me?”

Ming snorted twice. “If you really think so, then you’re imagining too much. And even if I were concerned, it wouldn’t be about you.”

“Child, you always say hurtful things to me, but there’s nothing I can do. Your mother forgives you because you’re my flesh and blood,” Suyan sighed.

“The Emperor didn’t say much to me, just the cooperation contract. However, that guy was trying to pry information from me, but your mother isn’t stupid.”

“Alright, in short, you don’t need to worry about anything. Matters between adults are none of children’s business,” Suyan reached out and patted her son’s shoulder. “Your mother needs to rest for a while. During this time, the other me will come to accompany you, though not for long. Soon, your mother will have to head to the Northern Wilderness.”

“I know what you’re thinking. You want to go with me to the Northern Wilderness, but that’s impossible,” Suyan tapped Ming’s forehead. “Again, adults’ matters are not for children to meddle in.”

Ming: “…”

After returning to the Xu Mansion, Suyan said she was tired and needed to rest in her room.

Ming knew that trying to probe her further would yield nothing, so he returned to the courtyard to check on Shixin.

When Ming returned to the courtyard, Shixin had already gotten up from the bed and was sitting in meditation, reciting Buddhist scriptures.

Ming didn’t disturb Shixin but instead sat beside her, listening to her chant repeatedly.

Though Ming couldn’t understand a word of the scriptures Shixin recited,

he gradually felt a sense of peace.

Even Ming began contemplating the meaning of life, though he didn’t arrive at any conclusions. After a long while, Shixin slowly opened her eyes and blinked at Ming.

Ming looked at the clear eyes of the young girl and couldn’t help but smile. “In the past, my mother also took me to the temples in Wudu, and the monks there chanted the same scriptures you are chanting now.

Yet, when you chant them, it feels different somehow.”

Shixin tilted her head. “How is it different?”

Ming smiled. “I’m not sure, but when you chant these scriptures, it makes my heart feel even more at peace.”

Shixin: “Then how about I chant a few more rounds?”

“No need, I feel fine already,” Ming poured a cup of tea for Shixin and pushed it towards her.

Shixin accepted the tea from Ming and sipped it lightly.

“How is Lady Xu doing?” Shixin asked.

“The situation should be okay,” Ming thought for a moment and replied, “To put it simply, after the Emperor’s investigation, it was discovered that my mother’s other personality is actually from the Canglan Sect, and then…”

Ming recounted all the details to Shixin.

After listening, Shixin nodded. “Currently, this is the only way.”

Ming sighed. “That’s true.”

“What are your plans next, Master Xu?” Shixin asked.

Ming shook his head. “I’m not quite sure either. She said she’s going to the Northern Wilderness, but she refuses to let me go with her. It’s impossible for me to follow.”

As he spoke, Ming looked up at the sky.

“But I also know that in this world, cultivation realm is essential.” Ming shook his head.

“You seem to have a place you want to go?” Shixin tilted her head, looking at Ming.

“There’s an issue with me that has remained unresolved for a long time. I’ve been putting it off, but now it feels like the time has come.”

Ming sighed.

“After visiting the Dragon Palace, I plan to go to the Western Regions to meet someone.”