Volume Six: The Lord God Returns to the Shattered Continent Chapter Fifteen: The Prophecy

Yu Qingshu shook her head, reached out to seize the Clear River Sword from the table, and rose to her feet. She was about to leave when she passed Zhuo Hua and saw that he was still standing where he had been.

“Foolish boy,” she asked, “do you intend to remain cooped up in Xunyang City until you die of old age? Do you truly have no wish to look after all my disciples and their descendants?”

“If the access incantation for the Cloud-Heaven Stele has been altered, there is no way to enter.” Zhuo Hua’s face was filled with anger and helplessness. He glanced up at Yu Qingshu, and seeing that she intended to help him, continued, “Even someone as unfathomably powerful as you, Ancestress, cannot force your way into the Cloud-Heaven Stele from outside, even with an ancient divine weapon like the Clear River Sword.”

Yu Qingshu suddenly smiled, her expression full of charm. She turned gracefully, cradled the Clear River Sword against her chest, and said to Zhuo Hua, “Did I ever say I intended to force my way in? The rule of the Mysterious Yellow Realm is that whoever obtains the Cloud-Heaven Stele receives the title of Saint-Heaven Primus Lord. Naturally, every Primus Lord has an access incantation unique to them.”

Zhuo Hua abruptly raised his head. “That’s right! We assumed that the Primus Lords before you had all transcended and ascended, and never thought to erase your access incantations. Who could have imagined that they would prove useful today? As they say, what goes around comes around.”

The two of them immediately went downstairs together. Zhuo Hua called Yu Changsheng and Su Mengling over and told them to prepare to set out at once.

The road north grew more difficult with every mile. The Beilun Continent rose from south to north. Its southernmost reaches consisted of a vast plain, dotted here and there with countless cities and nations. Xunyang City stood upon that great plain.

The farther north they traveled from Xunyang City, the more the plains gradually disappeared, replaced by hills of every size and shape. Beyond those hills lay the imposing Cangwu Mountains, magnificent and perpetually mantled in snow.

Ten days later, the caravan had entered the snow-covered region of the Cangwu Mountains. In another five or six days, they would reach the Road Beyond the Stele.

Inside the largest carriage, the four of them huddled around a brazier for warmth. Su Mengling nestled in Yu Qingshu’s arms, motionless as a little cat.

“Ancestress, what do you think my father is doing right now?” Su Mengling suddenly lifted her head and gazed at Yu Qingshu with wide, blinking eyes.

At that moment, the Valkyrie revealed a trace of tenderness. She stroked Su Mengling’s brow and said, “Your father is a kind-hearted scholar whose heart contains nothing but learning. After I had settled him somewhere safe, I originally intended to teach him a few spells for self-defense, since I would soon be leaving to find you all. But he said that all he needed to get by was a desk, several pots of orchids and bamboo, and a chest of books. He told me not to worry about him.”

At that, tears welled in Su Mengling’s eyes once more. “My father spent his entire life exhausting himself for our family and for me. He always said that, in this chaotic world, the vast heavens and earth had no room even for his little desk. Now that he has secluded himself, he has all the time in the world to pursue his studies. Perhaps that is some small compensation for him.”

She paused, then raised her head again. “Ancestress, I beg you—when Big Brother’s affairs are over, could you take me to see my father? I miss him so much.”

Yu Qingshu’s heart ached. She said regretfully, “How could I not know how painful it is for a father and daughter to part? But before we separated, your father specifically told me never to take you back to see him. He wants you to believe that he truly died that time. If you went to see him, he would really take his own life.”

Tears began to glisten in Yu Qingshu’s eyes as well.

Su Mengling nodded obediently. Though her heart was filled with a thousand unwilling thoughts, if her father was so insistent, he must have had his reasons. At least he was safe. Even if she could never see him again, it was enough to raise her head and gaze at the bright moon above, knowing that her father was looking at that same moon somewhere far away.

The two fell silent, and the atmosphere grew somewhat awkward.

Zhuo Hua shifted a little closer to them and looked at Yu Qingshu. “Ancestress, there is something that has troubled me for a long time. I do not know whether I ought to ask.”

Yu Qingshu did not even raise her eyelids. “Ask whatever you want. Whether you ought to or not is none of my concern. If it is something I should not answer, I simply will not.”

Choked by the reply, Zhuo Hua looked as though he had swallowed a mouthful of food the wrong way. His expression shifted uncertainly as he sat there, unable to decide whether to speak.

Yu Changsheng, sitting beside him, burst out laughing. “Primus Lord, if you want to ask, then ask. We’re family. There’s no need for all those empty formalities.”

Zhuo Hua glared at him. Yu Changsheng gave an awkward grin, hunched his shoulders, and retreated to one side.

Yu Qingshu was rather fond of this young man from the Yu clan. She smiled and praised him. “You have a temper much like mine, boy. Straightforward, never beating around the bush. I like you.”

Yu Changsheng grew even more pleased after receiving the Ancestress’s praise. He was just about to launch into a lengthy boast when he noticed the sharp looks from Zhuo Hua and Su Mengling. He immediately shut his mouth, waved his hand, and settled down.

Zhuo Hua cleared his throat twice before asking, “Ancestress, you had already been chosen as the Primus Lord of the Mysterious Yellow Realm. Why, then, did you suddenly go alone into the Dark Fury Void and hand supreme authority over to the Elder Council? I have always believed that if you had led us against the Dark Fury Emperor back then, we would not have suffered such a devastating defeat.”

Yu Qingshu glanced at the Clear River Sword in her hands and gave a bitter smile. “You are looking at it too simply. At the time, my own thinking was simple as well. I thought that so long as I killed the Dark Fury Emperor, everything would come to an end. The entire Void would return to peace. There would be no more wars, no more slaughter.”

She looked down at the Clear River Sword again.

“Then you could take me home as your wife.”

She spoke the final sentence so softly that it was almost inaudible. Yet Su Mengling, nestled in her arms, heard every word. She wanted to ask about it, but when she saw the tears in Yu Qingshu’s eyes, she forced the words back down her throat.

Zhuo Hua let out a long sigh, and memories from the distant past once more surfaced in his mind.

“Ancestress, I do not understand. There were countless warriors in the clan stronger than I was. In terms of ability, I was merely ordinary. As for family background, my family was nothing more than a fallen noble house, possessing no real power beyond its title. I truly cannot understand why, when I was so young, you went to such lengths to cultivate me as the Primus Lord. I have failed to live up to your efforts.”

Zhuo Hua clenched both hands into fists, his knuckles turning white.

Yu Qingshu composed herself and asked, “Foolish boy, what was your original name?”

Zhuo Hua froze for a moment, then lifted his head and answered woodenly, “Yan Ruojun.”

“Yes, yes—Yan Ruojun. After all this time, I had nearly forgotten your original name. Back then, I led an army against the Dark Fury clan and returned victorious. The Seven Clans of the Mysterious Yellow Realm nominated me as the new Primus Lord, and I took the imperial title Martial Radiance. Not long after I ascended the throne, the Mysterious Yellow Mirror suddenly divined the time when the Mysterious Yellow Void would be destroyed and revealed a prophecy. It was that prophecy that prompted us to begin cultivating a successor.”

Yu Qingshu leaned against the carriage wall and gently patted Su Mengling in her arms. The girl gave a faint snore and drifted sweetly into sleep.

“What prophecy?” Zhuo Hua’s curiosity was instantly aroused.

“The Mysterious Yellow Realm shall shatter, and the golden sun shall scatter; Zhuo Hua shall appear beneath the heavens and turn back the raging tide.”

Yu Qingshu recited the prophecy that had once shaken every important figure in the Mysterious Yellow Realm.

“And then?”

“Elder Council and I agreed that ‘Zhuo Hua’ must be the imperial title of the next Primus Lord. From that moment on, we had the Mysterious Yellow Mirror divine who, among the entire clan, was most likely to become this Primus Lord Zhuo Hua.”

“The result was me?”

“You—and not entirely you.”

“I do not understand, Senior.”

At this, Zhuo Hua’s face was filled with confusion.

“At the time, the Mysterious Yellow Mirror produced another prophecy: ‘Amid the mist and clouds, the resplendent tree stands tall; blue orchids and fragrant grass keep Ruojun company.’”

After reciting the line, Yu Qingshu looked at Zhuo Hua with an expression that plainly said she had known he would not understand.

But Zhuo Hua said, “That prophecy contains my name—and also Lanling’s original name.”

“The Fairy of Lanling was originally called Lan Xin?” Yu Changsheng sprang to his feet as though he had discovered some astonishing secret. He had forgotten how low the carriage ceiling was, however, and struck the back of his head against it with a loud bang. He hurriedly crouched down, clutching his head and howling.

Zhuo Hua cast an inquiring look at Yu Qingshu. She nodded and slowly said, “That’s right. It referred to you, Yan Ruojun, and to your childhood companion, Lan Xin.”

Seeing Zhuo Hua lower his head in thought, Yu Qingshu continued, “Everything that followed proceeded naturally. The Elder Council brought both of you from your respective homes to the Academy. Officially, you were said to possess extraordinary talent and to have been chosen by the Exiled Immortal, who intended to take you as his final disciples. In truth, all the great clans understood what was happening. That was why so few people opposed the Academy’s extraordinary admission of you both.”

Zhuo Hua continued for her, “Then you cultivated Lanling and me, openly and secretly, giving us opportunities to win fame and distinction. Finally, at the last moment, you bestowed those titles and that power upon us. Is that right?”

Yu Qingshu lowered her gaze and said nothing.

“But did any of you ever ask whether we wanted to become Primus Lord Zhuo Hua and the Fairy of Lanling? What gave you the right to decide our lives for us?”

“But someone had to pay the price for the continuation of the Mysterious Yellow Realm!” Yu Qingshu suddenly raised her voice and shouted.

“Why did it have to be us? I never wanted to hold the fate of the Mysterious Yellow Realm in my hands, nor did I ever wish to fight the Dark Fury Emperor to the death. And Lanling—she was originally a delicate girl from the banks of the Han River. You forcibly molded her into the image of a Valkyrie. Do you know how deeply she worshipped you? In her own words, if you gave the word, she would willingly offer up her life. She was only an innocent girl, yet what has she become now? A hound and lackey of the Dark Fury Emperor, a fiend who has slaughtered countless people!”

Zhuo Hua roared, pouring out in one furious torrent all the grievances and rage that had festered in his heart for so many years, casting them upon the beautiful, dignified woman before him.

“She is not what you think she is! She knows what she is doing.”

Yu Qingshu’s voice was so soft that scarcely anyone could hear her words.