Tome of Troubled Times

Chapter 402: Everything Won

Actually, Zhao Changhe had in fact noticed that Huangfu Qing had acted slower than Tang Wanzhuang. Feeling quite shrewd, he asked what he believed to be a more important question. “You seem to have been relying on the fact that Wang Daoning is unaware of what’s happening here when you had the Marquis of Wuping escort Wang Daozhong to the capital. Now that the Tome of Troubled Times has reported the incident, what if he tries to intercept them?”

Tang Wanzhuang’s eyes lingered for a moment on Cui Yuanyang, who was nestled in his arms, before she said, “There are several routes to the capital. Which route could Wang Daoning, coming all the way from Langya?”

Zhao Changhe said, “What if he blocks the way directly to the capital?”

Tang Wanzhuang sighed with a touch of melancholy. “If Wang Daoning is able to seize a key suspect from the Demon Suppression Bureau right under the emperor’s nose... that would mean that His Majesty has completely lost control, and Wang Daoning might as well raise his army and rebel. If that were the case, all our efforts would be for nothing...”

Zhao Changhe fell silent.

“If they really dare to intercept someone at the gates of the capital, Empress Wang can just as easily order the release of the suspect, and there is nothing you could do to stop it. So if they manage to rescue him, then so be it,” Huangfu Qing added, crossing her arms. “But don’t expect me to go back and stand up to the empress on your behalf.”

Zhao Changhe glanced at her, thinking to himself that, from the perspective of the Four Idols Cult, she would not want Wang Daozhong to be defeated. They still needed the Wang Clan to rebel; they could not afford to weaken them too much. In fact, Wang Daozhong being rescued might even align more with the cult’s interests. Despite that, she had still helped out earlier, placing him above the cult at that moment. That must not have been an easy choice...

With this in mind, Zhao Changhe felt a softening in his heart and whispered, “Let’s see if Wang Daoning has the guts and if Old Xia will take action. We’ve done all we can. We can’t worry about everything.”

The group openly discussed who might rebel, whether to defy the empress, and even referred to the emperor as “Old Xia.” Yang Jingxiu stood by the side, his expression carefully neutral, trying to make himself as inconspicuous as a statue.

The conversation among aristocratic families was already fairly unrestrained, but this group was practically like a gang of bandits, and yet Tang Wanzhuang was among them, as was a young lady of the Cui Clan, who was even snuggling up to Zhao Changhe at the moment and showing no signs of moving away.

Old Yang thought that it was a miracle that this group even managed to stay civil to each other, much less have a conversation like this.

Of course, just because he was not speaking did not mean that he was a pushover. After all, he was the one most directly affected by all this! If Wang Daoning were to intercept Wang Daozhong at the capital’s gates, that was one thing. But if it was the empress who ordered Wang Daozhong’s release, he would step forward and make sure that everyone recalled that he was the grand commandant. At this moment, Yang Jingxiu was not even concerned about wrapping up the situation here—he just wanted to hurry to the capital to stabilize things, and if he could quietly have Wang Daozhong killed, all the better.

But then he heard Zhao Changhe say, “Alright, now that things have calmed down, let me try to wake up the Lianshan Sword.”

Yang Jingxiu was taken aback. “Wait, you actually have a way to do that?”

So you weren’t just here to mess with Wang Daozhong? You really had a way to solve the issue with the sword?

Zhao Changhe said, “I already said that I have some ideas, but I still need to try them out.”

He carried Cui Yuanyang in his arms as he walked toward the sword. “Yangyang, let’s work together.”

Cui Yuanyang nodded happily. “Okay!”

Seeing her face light up with joy, who would think she was a frightened little rabbit hiding in a man’s arms?

She sure found a good excuse to snuggle up to him... Tang Wanzhuang and Huangfu Qing, standing on either side, shot sidelong glances and subconsciously ground their teeth.

They had each thought the other was their main rival, but it turned out the most troublesome one was this little girl.

The heroes of the world, you and me—two fires at Chibi and Yiling...[1]

Meanwhile, Zhao Changhe carefully scraped off the Mysterious Radiant Sequestered Soil that had been applied to the Lianshan Sword. Without the yin qi, the soil had lost most of its value. He then placed the sword hilt in Cui Yuanyang’s hand. “I’ll leave you to it.”

Cui Yuanyang gripped the hilt and closed her eyes.

Zhao Changhe had recently improved his mastery of the Rejuvenation Art, and it had proven effective on Tang Wanzhuang, so it should also have some effect on the sword spirit. How effective it would be still remained to be seen, but the main issue he faced was that he could not directly interact with the sword spirit. Without knowing the precise location to apply the Rejuvenation Art, he could not even test it out.

After all, a sword was different from a person. A person had a spiritual platform and a soul sea, but where were these corresponding locations in a sword? With his meager mastery, he could not just apply the technique to the entire sword.

If he were an expert at the third layer of the Profound Mysteries, perhaps he could delve deep into the sword with his soul and examine it in detail, but he was still far from that level and had no way of doing something like that at the moment.

However, Cui Yuanyang could deal with that issue. Not because her soul was powerful enough, but because she had the experience of awakening the Qinghe Sword and knew how to elicit a response from the sword spirit toward the wielder.

At this moment, Cui Yuanyang’s mind was clear, and it was as if purple qi rising from the east emerged from her soul sea, forming a sword shadow that extended into the heavens. The ethereal purple qi covered the mountains and rivers, filling the vast expanse with a majestic presence.

This was the unique sword intent of the Cui Clan, cultivated by their clan members from a young age based on the essence of their ancestral sword. Their ultimate goal was to resonate with the divine sword, hoping that one day it would recognize them as its master. This was something that neither Vermillion Bird nor Tang Wanzhuang could do. They had their own intents, and those did not match the swords—they simply walked different paths.

Cui Yuanyang used the Qinghe Purple Qi to resonate with the Lianshan Sword. Although they seemed mismatched, it could still somewhat establish a form of communication.

Yang Jingxiu, observing from the side, felt a subtle shift in his emotions.

Of course, he could also achieve this kind of communication. Strangely, however, the Lianshan Sword completely ignored him—its rightful owner—yet it responded to Cui Yuanyang’s intent despite her being seemingly unrelated.

In Cui Yuanyang’s perception, it was as if towering mountains blocked her path; the purple qi was like a cloud, and it was unable to pass through.

The faint consciousness that came through conveyed a thought: “The master of the Qinghe Sword? Have I been taken away?”

Cui Yuanyang: “...”

“No, you aren’t the master of Qinghe... Qinghe is vast like the sea, and you’re a bit too small-minded, more like a little stream at best... Still, you’re better than the useless bunch in my household—at least you’re not too far off. As for their intent, hmph, I can’t even be bothered to respond.”

Cui Yuanyang: “...”

“Did your elders take me from my incompetent master and give me to you to play with? Get lost, you’re not worthy.”

Cui Yuanyang’s lips pouted, and she almost cursed out loud.

But then, a gentle breeze suddenly swept through her heart, soothing and comforting her, making her feel as if spring had arrived, reminding her of the season when rabbits should be doing what rabbits do best...[2]

It was the Rejuvenation Art.

Zhao Changhe had no idea what Cui Yuanyang was experiencing in her perception, but with her in his arms, he could sense the connection between her soul and the sword spirit. Without hesitation, he directed the Rejuvenation Art to the very center of this connection.

“Eh...” The Lianshan Sword seemed to let out a sound of surprise, but soon it fell silent again.

Cui Yuanyang clearly felt the mountains in front of her growing quiet, and on the gray, barren slopes, a hint of green began to sprout.

It’s working. It’s actually working! But it’s not enough...

Zhao Changhe’s consciousness finally reached the intersection and said, “You have the nerve to scold my Yangyang for being unworthy. You’re the unworthy one—you’re not even whole, only half of what you should be. Where I come from, you’d be considered intellectually disabled or mentally retarded. Despite that, you still pretend to be all high and mighty.”

With a loud “boom,” the enraged and embarrassed Lianshan Sword forcefully expelled the consciousnesses of both Zhao Changhe and Cui Yuanyang, closing itself off entirely.

Cui Yuanyang placed the sword back on its rack and withdrew her hands innocently.[3]">https://p9.itc.cn/images01/20230712/df6d5c3e8f7748659ab7f6828af381a5.jpeg[/ref]

Zhao Changhe embraced her from behind.

Yang Jingxiu looked at the two anxiously. “H-how was it? I sensed a strong fluctuation in the Lianshan Sword’s aura. It hasn’t shown such an intense reaction in years...”

When a person in a vegetative state lost their temper, their family members would not blame you for provoking them; instead, they’d even be overjoyed.

But as Zhao Changhe looked at this excited family member, he was not sure whether to tell him the truth or not.

The truth was that the sword spirits were incomplete. There was a high probability that Xia Longyuan had taken away a part of them for his own purposes.

Due to the nature of sword spirits, losing half of themselves was not fatal. A sword was inherently without a spirit anyway. The sword spirit was born from the intent of its master. If the master’s intent fully aligned with the sword, it would not take long for a complete spirit to be reborn. But if the master’s intent did not match, what remained of the spirit would be filled with resentment, making communication difficult.

This was what had led to the current situation—what appeared to be the sword spirit having vanished or in a state of deep sleep. This was the root cause of the problems with the sword spirits in each of the major clans.

As the siblings of the Cui Clan began to align more closely with the intent of the Qinghe Sword, the sword spirit started to respond again. However, the incomplete spirit still had not fully recovered, mainly because the two younglings were still inexperienced and not yet qualified to truly be its master.

The reason the Wang Clan was able to resolve their issue was that the Sea Tribe’s soul power fused with the sword spirit, filling in the gap. As a result, the sword spirit “awakened.” But whether it still remained the Zhenhai Sword’s true spirit was questionable.

Each of the clans suspected that Xia Longyuan had a hand in the issues with their divine swords, but without concrete evidence, it remained pure speculation. But if Zhao Changhe were to reveal this information, it would be irrefutable proof, with consequences that could be unimaginable.

Of course, Zhao Changhe did not have to retrieve the other half of the sword spirit from Xia Longyuan; by relying solely on his Rejuvenation Art, he could indeed solve the problem. Although the sword spirit was incomplete, its nature differed from that of a human soul—it did not suffer from cognitive loss but rather a significant reduction in soul power. This was a textbook case of restoring a weakened soul.

However, this not only required further advancement in the Rejuvenation Art, but also a substantial increase in his own soul power. Right now, with his soul power, it was like using a toothpick to stir a large vat—utterly insufficient. Additionally, a deeper understanding of the sword itself was crucial, given that this was a sword spirit.

Not only could this approach work for the Yang Clan’s sword, but it could also resolve the issue with the Cui Clan’s sword, and more easily at that.

After careful consideration, Zhao Changhe ultimately decided not to explain the underlying pathology. After all, what the clans cared about the most was whether the problem could be fixed, so he simply said, “I can fix it...”

Yang Jingxiu was ecstatic. “Your Highness, what do you require? We can—”

Zhao Changhe interrupted him. “... but my current cultivation is not enough, just as I’m not at a high enough level to fully treat Wanzhuang. I need some time. Don’t worry, senior—the sword spirit won’t dissipate on its own. If anything, if we’re talking lifespan, it won’t die even after I’m long gone.”

Huangfu Qing’s lips curled up into a smile.

Smart move. You’re effectively putting them under our influence. With this, the Yang Clan will follow our lead in the future.

Yang Jingxiu rubbed his hands together and said, “I understand, I understand.”

After all, this young man is only at the first layer of the Profound Mysteries. Moreover, he’s only been studying medicine for a bit over ten days. It’s completely normal for him to still need to improve his skills.

Yang Jingxiu thought for a moment and asked, “Your Highness, if you wish to improve your medical skills, what do you need our Yang Clan to do? Should we find renowned doctors? Or ancient texts, medicinal herbs? Or perhaps something to improve your martial arts?”

Zhao Changhe said, “I’ve heard that the Yang Clan has Spirit-Weaving Grass. I’d like some. Uh, I don’t need too much, just one stalk will do.”

Yang Jingxiu patted his chest. “That’s a small matter. Bugui, bring His Highness three stalks of Spirit-Weaving Grass!”

Zhao Changhe sighed. With your wealth, I was worried you only had one stalk and would refuse to part with it, but here you are casually giving away three.

Tang Wanzhuang’s lips also curled up into a smile.

He hasn’t forgotten to help me find medicine after all...

1. These are references to the Battle of Chibi, also known as the Battle of Red Cliffs, and the Battle of Yiling, also known as the Battle of Xiaoting. These battles took place during the Three Kingdoms period. ☜

2. <_< ☜

3. It actually says “揣手手” in the raws, which literally translates to “hiding the hands,” but it’s referring to something more like this:

☜