Chapter 25: Xia Chichi
Zhao Changhe had to admit that he had never thought of any of that. He always believed that they could join the Four Idols Cult together. He indeed never considered what Luo Qi thought of the matter.
Never had he thought that this thing was her reason for coming to Beimang, let alone something that she had been striving for since she was a child.
Why didn’t you fucking tell me earlier? If you told me, do you think I’d still take it from you?
Luo Qi said, “By ‘sharing,’ you mean we can join the Four Idols Cult together, don’t you?”
Zhao Changhe grunted in approval.
“That’s why I said you’re naïve. What will the Vermillion Bird think of your sharing? Besides, the purification effect can only be used on one person, and that person is the Vermillion Bird’s so-called fated one. She’s not joking about the reward, either. If the Azure Dragon Seal accepts you and bestows upon you its blessings, she won’t just take you into the Four Idols Cult, she’ll even let you become the Saint of the Azure Dragon Idol and successor of the Azure Dragon Guardian Art. Remember, the Four Idols Cult is a cult, not a clan. They believe in their ancient texts and their so-called will of heaven.”
Zhao Changhe asked curiously, “How do you know all this?”
Luo Qi was a little tired but answered, “You don’t need to bother yourself with how I know all this. What matters is that you know this now. The Azure Dragon Seal will only accept one person. Can you still say you want to share it with me? You keep saying you really need it. You keep harping on about what’ll happen after you obtain it… Am I just supposed to congratulate you while looking on helplessly without even being able to tell you…what I wish for. Is my future really that irrelevant!?”
Zhao Changhe finally laughed. “Why can’t you tell me? You didn’t even say a word to and you still want to blame me for never considering any of this. You’re a woman, alright. So fucking hard to deal with.”
Luo Qi responded angrily, “What does being a woman have to do with this!? I’ve said everything. Don’t tell me you still want to give the seal to me!”
“Why can’t I do that? One needs to judge a person by their actions and not by their thoughts. It doesn’t matter if you’ve harbored ill intent toward me in the past. You never did anything, did you? And now, you even threw away your dagger… Doesn’t that mean you’ve given up that childhood dream of yours to me?”
Luo Qi’s eyes narrowed. “You’re right. I’ve given it up. It’s all yours now.”
“If that’s the case, then why were we arguing so much just now?”
“It’s because you kept bloody questioning me! You’re definitely a man. So fucking stupid!”
Zhao Changhe suddenly bent down to pick up the Azure Dragon Seal and passed it to Luo Qi. “Well, since you want it, it’s yours.”
Luo Qi was caught off guard as she accepted the seal and panicked. “You’ve gone insane! My situation is different! Once this thing is in my hands, it’ll really pass down its power to me!”
“Isn’t that a good thing? That means you’re the fated one. Isn’t this the future you want?”
“I’ve already given it to you!”
“You barely allowed me to take it. Now you’re not allowing me to give it to you?”
“You’re crazy!”
The Azure Dragon Seal started glowing. Luo Qi wanted to throw it aside, but she realized that it was somehow glued to her hands. No matter how much she tried, she could not fling it away, and she started stamping her feet anxiously.
Zhao Changhe was amused as he watched the strange scene playing out in front of him. He held his chin and said, “Stop repeating the same things over and over. I’m giving it to you, so just take it. Let’s talk about something else. For instance, I still don’t believe that your reason for killing me was this thing. You told me not to trust you before. I have the feeling that you were already contemplating whether or not you should kill me back then.”
Luo Qi bit her lower lip and did not speak.
Zhao Changhe put on a glowing smile. “That’s why you should tell me what reasons you had to kill me… For example, what exactly is your real relationship with Village Lord Luo?”
Luo Qi looked at Zhao Changhe at a loss. His smile was as resplendent as the sun. He did not care one bit about how she had taken the Azure Dragon Seal.
The fact that he stayed here to ask about her story made Luo Qi feel as if he was watching over her. She could confirm, without a doubt, that he truly did not care about the treasure. In his heart, not only was she more important than Yue Hongling, she was more important than any treasure, more important than having his body’s impurities cleansed away, and more important than escaping from the Vicious Blood Art’s influence.
What was she so conflicted over this past month?
Who says you can’t trust anyone in the jianghu… Mother, you were wrong…
She stared blankly at Zhao Changhe. The complicated look in her eyes slowly began to change, becoming like the gentle light in the pool outside, clear and crystalline.
“It’s not what you think. Village Lord Luo isn’t my father, and the one you slew was not my brother. It’s not anything that contrived.” Luo Qi suddenly laughed and said in a relaxed manner, “Like you, I don’t have a good impression of those two. On the contrary, I detest them. How could I have any relationship with those animals?”
Zhao Changhe said, “So… You’re not a servant of the Luo family, and neither are you actually surnamed Luo. Is that correct?”
Luo Qi grinned, “Maybe you’ve already guessed it. You may look boorish, but you’re not an idiot… Wait, no…” She suddenly put on a stern expression. “No, you’re clearly an idiot.”
Zhao Changhe put on a blank face. “Yes, yes, yes. I’m an idiot.”
Luo Qi glared at Zhao Changhe, displeased. It took a while before she was in the mood to continue what they were talking about. She said in a low voice, “You should have figured it out by now. My real surname is Xia.”
Xia, the name of the reigning dynasty.
The Great Xia was not yet an old empire. Only a few decades had passed since its founding. And its founder was the emperor that the bandits spoke of before. His name was recorded in the Tome of Troubled Times.
Number one on the Ranking of Heaven. The number one man under heaven, Xia Longyuan.
Xia Longyuan had his start in the jianghu. He was domineering and without rival. After he unified the lands under heaven with his absolute might, he disregarded the system of rites and immediately named the empire after his surname—the Great Xia.
He had been a brilliant warrior, the mightiest of his time, and his might shook the entire world. Any demonic cults he fought had to go into hiding; any clans he fought had to flee to desolate wastelands. Today, however, he was old and decrepit. His numerous blunders had led to the chaos that beset all under heaven.
Xia Longyuan had no close relatives. Neither had he set up any branches of his own clan to inherit the throne. If he died without having a son, then it was inevitable that the lands of the empire would devolve into chaos.
There was no change in the Tome of Troubled Times. Zhao Changhe did not know if it was because there was still no one with military accomplishments rivaling his. Otherwise, it was hard to say if he would still retain his number one ranking.
That’s not important… What’s important is that Luo Qi is from the Xia Clan.
Amidst rumors of the Luo family having a connection to the Imperial Clan, and Luo Zhenwu appearing to be the illegitimate child of the Emperor, Luo Qi revealing her surname as Xia was basically admitting that this illegitimate child was actually her rather than Luo Zhenwu.
What had been bewildering Zhao Changhe for so long had suddenly become clear.
The Luo Village Lord and Luo Zhenwu interacted as if they were father and son because they were father and son.
The Four Idols Cult chose not to simply assassinate Luo Zhenwu and instead exterminated the whole Luo family because they were not entirely certain that Luo Zhenwu was actually the emperor’s son. With that in mind, it was only natural that they slayed everyone. In any case, it did not make sense for the Luo family to put the prince in the outer sect. That was why both Zhao Changhe and Luo Qi, who were in the outer sect, were not suspected of being the emperor’s child and were allowed to follow the Blood God Cult.
It was that simple.
Since such a big secret had been revealed, Luo Qi felt like there was nothing she could not tell Zhao Changhe anymore and gently said, “The rumors got it wrong, though. The Luo Village Lord never sent his wife to tend to the emperor. Rather, when the emperor was at the Luo Family Village, the previous saintess of the Four Idols Cult went to assassinate him.”
“Is this saintess your mother? Was she captured?”
“It’s nothing like those erotic stories where someone is taught a lesson that you men like to hear… It’s actually one of those stories where a hero subdues a female assassin, something like what you’d find in a folk legend. He deceived my mother, and not only did she give up killing him, she even willingly went to bed with him.”
To be honest, men also liked this kind of story. They probably enjoyed it even more. Of course, the main character had to be them. However, Zhao Changhe could not spout random comments like this. After all, the female lead was Luo Qi’s mother.
There’s nothing amazing about subduing an assassin, really, anyone strong enough can do that. But just how did he make her sleep with him? Damn, your dad’s really impressive…
“It’s not because he was glib-tongued or had an irresistible charm, but because he held some secrets about the ancient Azure Dragon. This put the faith of the Four Idols Cult at play. At that time, my mother really believed he was a saint descended from heaven and intended to assist him.”
“No wonder. Then that makes sense. After all, we’re talking about faith here…”
“However, in reality, what information he had about the martial arts of the Azure Dragon was obtained by accident. He had no relation to the faith of the Four Idols Cult or its teachings, and neither did he regard the cult as his own people. He made a solemn vow to work with the cult. After he deceived my mother and slept with her, I don’t know if he intended to kill her after having his fun…but he realized she was pregnant.” Luo Qi laughed mockingly. “He had few sons, so he hesitated and only told my mother that he had been away from the capital for too long, he needed to return, and would come to pick her up at a later date.”
Zhao Changhe could not help but say, “Being deceived before that was understandable. But this is really a case of a stupid woman being blinded by love. Why did she believe him?”
“She thought that her being pregnant was a guarantee… She waited and waited. However, even after she gave birth to me, the emperor did not send her any message. The name she gave me was Chichi[1] … She really was a stupid woman.”
Xia Chichi—this was Luo Qi’s real name. Zhao Changhe would need time to get used to this name. He felt that it was not as pleasant as Luo Qi.
Luo Qi seemed to have guessed what he was thinking and smiled. “My name isn’t Qi. I chose Qi because it sounded similar to Chi. If you’re used to calling me Luo Qi, then just call me Luo Qi.”
Zhao Changhe nodded. “What happens next?”
“When she gave birth to me, she lost a lot of blood. After that she wanted to head to the capital. But because her heart was restless and perturbed, she experienced qi deviation and ended up losing her cultivation. She lived for a few more years before leaving this world filled with hatred and regret.” Luo Qi grit her teeth. “Whoever wants to defend this empire of the Xia Clan can do so themselves. Even if I’m surnamed Xia, I feel that the one thing that should be destroyed in this world is the Xia Clan!”
1. Her given name, 迟迟, means “late.” ☜
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