Chapter 30
"Your Majesty, what brings you such joy? Might you share it with your humble servant?" Consort Ya remained dressed in simple attire, yet her beauty was enough to dim the splendor of the Zichen Palace.
As for the emperor’s art of statecraft, what of it? He believed he could command that very art for his own purposes, and he would use this situation to teach the Fifth Prince a lesson.
Zhao Yanyan looked at Yu Ting, who stood there like a downtrodden child bride of the old society, unable to vent her temper even if she had one. Then there was Chen Wei'er; they had become good friends, and she did not want these matters to ruin their relationship.
"Hello. Actually, it is like this: I have a scan of a heart here. Could you help me look for any defects, and then see if you can have someone draw a perfect version based on this shape?" I took out Yang Wen’s scan and explained it to the elderly doctor.
One was Mu Jinyan, the infamously foolish young master of the Mu family, a political dynasty renowned throughout the Imperial Capital. The other two were brothers who should still be living abroad, having yet to return. As for the last one, judging by the timing, if all went according to plan, he was surely overseas performing surgery on some high-ranking political dignitary.
"Liu Yue, now is not the time to lecture me. Have you noticed that there seems to be something strange about this letter from Yang Mei?" I stared at the letter, pondering the meaning between the lines.
In the thirty-sixth year of Changtai, the Great Yong mission traveled to Western Yan. Zhang Duan, a director from the Ministry of Revenue who accompanied the mission, inspected the economic and commercial affairs of various prefectures and counties along the way. At the time, it was Jiang Chenghai himself who had given the order, hoping to increase the Ministry of Revenue's income through the prosperous trade in the Xining Circuit.
"Then what did they look like? What were their physical features? We need them to conduct an investigation." The surveillance footage was unclear, and with the rain and the darkness of night, it was difficult to make out details. Furthermore, it was a chaotic battle scene, making it hard for the cameras to capture their faces with any precision.
The old man took a green repair tool from his caddy’s bag, repaired the indentation left by Frank’s club on the green, and finally tapped it flat with the sole of his putter—perfectly fulfilling the duties expected of a player.
His gaze fell upon the man not far away, then slowly drifted toward Gu Xiaoyue, a flash of indiscernible sorrow crossing his eyes.
***
No sooner had the barrier enveloped the three of them than a dragon-like streak of light soared up and struck the Five Elements Eight Directions Formation. With a thunderous boom, a gap a fathom long appeared in the formation, but the inexhaustible power of the five elements instantly mended the tear as if it had never been.
In this way, millions of human cultivators in the prisoner-of-war camps were forced to use their earth-shattering supernatural powers and techniques merely for tilling fields, carving paths through mountains, and performing construction work.
After packing my things, I looked at the beautiful Potala Palace ahead, which appeared even more sacred and solemn under the night lights.
Once a creature with the ability to act is born, its first instinct is to find someone to fight. Who they fight and why doesn't matter; what matters is that there is a fight to be had.
With a flick of his will, a screen of light appeared out of thin air before Yu An. His gaze shifted, landing on Maoqiu.
For some reason, hearing these words made Gu Xiaoyue’s heart ache with a twinge of sympathy for him.
Before I could think further, Maomao was already following the staff’s guidance and leaving to the right. Was it my turn? Was I about to walk up to Xu Yifan? In an instant, my brain seemed to short-circuit; things I had previously deemed simple now left me at a loss as to where to begin.
The details of what happened were not clarified in Qi Ping'an’s memories. After thinking for a long while, Yu An cast the matter to the back of his mind.
Calm words drifted quietly through the air. Yu An paid them no heed; things had already reached this point, so how could he stop now? Besides, he would eventually leave this world—how could he let any of Chu Yeyu’s potential enemies survive?
The centipede recoiled in pain, and the snake lashed out with its tail in a sweeping strike against Ren Bai. The tail was as thick as an elephant's trunk and whistled through the air as it moved. Had that blow landed, Ren Bai would surely have been a dead man. He leaped lightly into the air to dodge, but dared not relax, reaching for his peach-wood sword to counterattack.
***
Gradually, having pulled himself back from the brink of death, Stauffenberg even began to strive to overcome his disability through his own efforts.
After thirty bouts of fierce combat, Cao Ren thought to himself that Guan Yu’s martial arts seemed to have declined significantly since he defected to Jingxiang. Overjoyed, he swung his iron spear with even greater vigor.
A single sentence stirred up a thousand waves. Those who had joined the Justice Alliance without belonging to any sect began to whisper among themselves. The disciples of the various major schools remained relatively calm, especially those from the Wudang Sect, who all looked spirited, radiating an intangible strength.
A torrent of artillery fire surged toward the north bank of the Thames, shattering the chaotic and crowded formation of the National Guard gathered on the British defensive line.
"Then, if the Thunderstorm Demon King dies, what if we let the Demon Lord take his place as the Demon King? The Great Sages of the Demon Lands shouldn't object to that, right?" Qi Tianshou’s eyes darted about.
Hao Lingli listened to him finish speaking and then looked at Wei Renyi not far away. Wei Renyi was watching him patiently, waiting for him to say something. Hao Lingli knew in his heart that his opportunity had arrived.
Reinhardt stood before the reporters' flashes, a pained expression on his face as he declared: "Now, I hear only one cry from England: The war must go on!"
Hearing Huang Zhong’s words, the soldiers behind him were invigorated. When they saw him raise his great saber, the Jingxiang troops charged toward the city walls, fearless of death.