Chapter 365: His Name is Yu Qiankun
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The Empire of Yutang could no longer afford any turbulence from its internal hierarchy, especially with the impending war against the Empire of Dongxuan.
A misstep could shatter and bring about the collapse of the Empire of Yutang from the successive and simultaneous eruptions of both internal and external chaos.
The old marshal had connected too many dots at once. Like a bucket of iced water had been poured on his head, his thrill turn to ice as he stood dumbfounded without saying anything for a good amount of time.
Standing in front of him, Yun Yang waited for the old marshal’s response silently.
Qiu Jianhan’s response was well within Yun Yang’s expectation. How could Yun Yang not know what this old general, who had given everything in his life to Yutang, was thinking about? In fact, Yun Yang had thought about it too. This was the core reason Yun Yang found it hard to make his choice.
However, this matter had to be made known to him, even earlier than to His Majesty, the emperor.
"Lord Supreme Wind, may I ask what you are going to do?" After a long silence, Qiu Jianhan finally came back to himself and asked in a trembling voice.
"Well, it isn't really up to me," Yun Yang said calmly, "Supreme Earth has named the child Yu Qiankun."
The old marshal gasped. How could he not know the meaning of this name?
Qiu Jianhan was silent for a long while before sighing suddenly and said, "I want to take a look at the will."
It was a logical matter of course. Although it seemed that he didn't trust Supreme Wind and risked offending him – after all, Yutang’s higher authority had never and would never doubt Nine Supremes’ words, the old marshal had still asked, despite knowing the consequences.
Yun Yang did not mind though, passing the will to the old marshal easily. At the same time, he conjured Holy Water Charm. With a flash of blue light, aquamarine words appeared slowly on the blank paper.
This was the Nine Supremes’ exclusive seal of authenticity. Only by their own cultivation method could they open their own wills and read the handwriting contained therein.
When the old marshal saw Supreme Wind showcasing Supreme Water’s uniquely arcane skills with a wave of his hand, he already believed a ninth of what Supreme Wind had said just now.
However, as he thought more of it, he appeared startled and shifted his gaze to Yun Yang. "Lord Supreme Wind, may I ask if the Nine Supremes’ cultivation methods… are they all in your hands?"
Yun Yang was silent for a moment and said quietly, "Where I stand so stands the Nine Supremes! Everyone is present."
"That’s wonderful! The Nine Supremes are not gone after all!" The old marshal was greatly comforted.
"The Nine Supremes were never gone." Yun Yang said coldly, "I am the Nine Supremes."
Qiu Jianhan looked at him meaningfully.
Yun Yang’s short words held an impactful implication.
Qiu Jianhan chewed the words over again before heaving a long sigh. "This old man understands."
He then lowered his head to meticulously read through Supreme Water’s will.
The old marshal, who had gone through much in life, could read the implicit meaning with just a single glance at Supreme Water’s will that contained certain emotions and hidden thoughts. It was also because of this that the old marshal did not speak for a long, long time after he finished reading the will.
Tonight, the moments spent in silence were much longer than the time both of the men spent conversing.
"Did the eldest prince leave his… letter?" Old Marshal Qiu asked.
He had subconsciously changed the term of will to letter. He still held the hope that the eldest prince had not died yet, despite it being the cold, hard truth.
"No!"
Yun Yang spoke honestly, "My current ability only enabled me to obtain fourth sister Supreme Water’s will. I still can’t acquire eldest brother, second brother, and third brother’s exclusive cultivation methods for now. Maybe I can get it sometime later. If there’s a need then, I’ll send it over to Old Marshal and… His Majesty."
Yun Yang made a vague promise that contained no fixed time nor achievability. After all, he still did not know the contents of his eldest brother’s will. If it involved some of the Nine Supremes confidentiality, then it could not be turned to the old marshal nor the emperor. This could not be helped nor could there be room for discussion as the eldest Supreme Earth was the only person to know the background of the other eight supremes!
Qiu Jianhan nodded and rolled the will carefully before passing it back to Yun Yang.
Yun Yang had been watching the letter closely. The old marshal was one of the people he absolutely trusted but what was mentioned in the will was too significant indeed, easily shaking Yutang’s core. Yun Yang was not at all confident about whether the old marshal would do anything else. No matter how proud he was about his intelligence, the old marshal’s experience in life was not something Yun Yang could compare to.
When the will was once again in his hand, only then could Yun Yang breathe a sigh of relief.
Looking at the will, now held in Yun Yang’s hand, Qiu Jianhan was quiet for a long while. After almost a period of tea-making duration, he finally spoke again, "His Majesty must be very happy if he knows about this…"
His words were exceptionally meaningful with implicit tenderness.
Yun Yang, however, made no move nor sound, as if he did not hear anything.
"This child… having Lord Supreme Wind at his side… how lucky the boy must be!" Qiu Jianhan closed his eyes.
Yun Yang said faintly, "I should be the lucky one instead because, from the moment I knew of his existence, I finally understood my future path. The path before me no longer contains only the word revenge!"
"I should be thanking this child. I’ve always known what I was doing was wrong, and known that my attitude was moving slowly towards extreme wretchedness. However, the appearance of this child gives me the chance to be by his side. It has also given me a new goal in life! Otherwise, my future and the path I would walk would only be stained with blood!"
It was awkward sounding but Qiu Jianhan completely understood that when the only one remained after losing all his brothers and that one carried the weight of sacrificed life debts on his shoulders, trudging through this bloodied road was the only thing left to him. However, the child from two Supremes had shifted Supreme Wind’s fate; it no longer consisted only of revenge!
A sharp, sword-like gleam shone in Yun Yang’s eyes. "If the Nine Supremes were all still here, they would be this child's family. That would be his true luck!"
Qiu Jianhan replied, "It looks like Lord Supreme Wind has decided what to do."
Yun Yang lifted his head and said seriously, "Indeed."
Old Marshal Qiu paced around, one arm behind his back as he stroked his chin, frowning.
Yun Yang seated himself on a chair with ease, without the awkwardness of an outsider and said, "This reputed one would like to ask Old Marshal a few questions."
"What question?" Qiu Jianhan asked.
"I ask for Old Marshal’s genuine thought, without avoiding nor concealing your feelings. If Old Marshal is reluctant to answer, just say so frankly," Yun Yang said.
Qiu Jianhan could vaguely gauge what the person before him wanted to ask. He looked crestfallen at once and replied lowly, "Ask away."
Yun Yang sucked in a deep breath and said, "What does Old Marshal think about the current crown prince?"
Qiu Jianhan was silent for a moment before he answered, "The crown prince is thoughtful and all-rounded in handling matters. He’s also apt in winning people over and is fairly proficient in the field of being an emperor, more so than His Majesty then."
Yun Yang rolled his eyes and said, "If the crown prince succeeded the throne, what will Yutang’s future be?"
Qiu Jianhan dove right into silence this time, only replying after a long time, "Maybe… Yutang can finally be safe."
Maybe?
Yun Yang said faintly, "If Old Marshal doesn’t want to answer, you can just say so. Why speak against your heart? The crown prince looks benevolent on the outside but is actually very petty, he looks kind but has a black heart. He thinks he is well-rounded, he thinks he has the art of being an emperor, he thinks he can win over both military and civil officials of the imperial court, he thinks he’s bright and smart in handling matters… but is that the truth? Although there are those in the imperial court who sincerely follows him, he’s more stubborn than decisive, refusing to turn around even when things go devastatingly awry. Does the old marshal think my comments are pertinent?"
Qiu Jianhan did not look at ease as he replied, "More than half of what you say is true."
Yun Yang chuckled. "Only more than half? Let me ask Old Marshal. If someone like this were to take reign – the followers change according to the leader, how many righteous ones are under the current crown prince? How many of them are military maestros? Is there even one honest official among them? Once the crown prince was to be in power, his subordinates would be promoted accordingly. By then, does the old marshal think that Yutang will still be standing?"
Qiu Jianhan looked pale but he had to admit that what Yun Yang said were all true!. The reality was truly bleak.
The current emperor had treacherous officials in his court as well as spies from other countries but more of them were loyalists like Qiu Jianhan, Leng Daoyin, Fang Qingtian, Tie Zheng, Fu Baoguo, Shangguan Family of Generals and more…
On the other hand, the crown prince had none of these people! All he had were pandering, bootlicking men! The occasional capable ones were lowly ranked and could not be used for greater things.
Just like what Yun Yang had said, even when kind officials and courageous generals were disregarded, it was not even possible to find one loyalist! Despite the old marshal wanting to cover for the crown prince, he could not speak against his conscience so he was speechless instead.
"If His Majesty had returned in passing and the crown prince had taken the throne, the land shall be cut in two in return for peace, while we kept to ourselves timidly on one side to make sure that Yutang had a few years of harmony. Yet, with the odd geography of Yutang, it will definitely be swallowed whole if we don’t progress. The so-called harmony for a few years is but a slow suicide. Ultimately, when a powerful overlord appears in this world, Yutang might not even last long enough to follow, but will be long gone when Tianxuan is fighting to unite the continent."
Yun Yang said cuttingly, "The above is still the best possible outcome and the possible achievable limit if the crown prince were to actually work for this country."
Qiu Jianhan heaved a long sigh but did not speak.
The words of this man before him was no song to the ears but it hit home, striking the bullseye.
In fact, how could Qiu Jianhan not see it? He and his older brothers, like Leng Daoyin and Fang Qingtian, had discussed these in secret many times. Even His Majesty had spoken of this with Old Marshal Qiu.
Yet it remained a fact that the royalty had no other descendant. It was a set game. Even when they had a purpose, they were still helpless, left to sigh at the futility of the situation!