Xing who had just hit Tians.h.i.+ Emperor who is the most revered and G.o.d-like Emperor in the history of their millennium old Empire, felt like all her energy is being drained with all the questions weighing on her and the truth sinking in her heart.I am a Descendant of the Great Tians.h.i.+ Emperor?
She punched him because she felt like he deserved it for hiding everything from her till now. He could have told her everything right from the start openly and at least she"d have been prepared mentally for everything to come. He is the one responsible for everything and why did he play this game of hide and seek till now?
All Xing wanted was to just run to Chenglie, hug him and tell him everything and complain to him of the injustices she"d to bear. But alas! He is not here with her now!
Kouki, the current Emperor of the Wind Kingdom, felt like the situation had reached the point of them resolving it among themselves and he felt like an outsider for being there. For no reason should he have witnessed the Tians.h.i.+ Emperor being punched by his Descendant in front of a third party like himself. He was curious to know how the Tians.h.i.+ Emperor is still alive and still looking young and why his heir didn"t take the throne or even if he had a daughter, why wasn"t she mentioned in the Imperial records.
But... It can wait!
" Your Majesty!", he kneeled and gave the bow of the junior to the Tians.h.i.+ Emperor, "May you live a thousand years!", he said the usual greeting for an Emperor. Tians.h.i.+ Emperor is still the Emperor ruling the people"s heart and it is only feasible to address him as Emperor but he felt like the greeting was greatly ironic in this situation to be said to the not so dead Emperor from two centuries ago.
"I"ll take my leave if you please", he bowed his head.
"You are an Emperor, why are you kneeling?", Xing asked, "Oh, respecting the elder.... Right... Carry on!", she finished her sentence in a mocking tone waving her hand.
Right now she was only thinking as the selfish brat she is, pitying herself for being lied to by everyone. She did not care about the atrocious thing she did by hitting her elder and her master who taught her almost everything she knows about swords, which would be a crime punishable by death in their kingdom. Xing is not one for respecting elders anyway! She never was... And the odd thing is no one expects respect from her for some reason too and that only boosts her ego to the sky.
The Tians.h.i.+ Emperor patted his head and Kouki raise his head to look at him, " Know what you want... This path you take will be lonely all the same", he said in a gentle tone as if advising a kid.
The Tians.h.i.+ Emperor knew that he still had reservations in taking the throne but he is still the ruler and he has to be decisive and his personal wishes will never be fulfilled as long as he is on the throne as no ruler has succeeded in having a good personal life and could take care of the people well at the same time. It is always one or the other and that is the only choice he can make as an Emperor.
"I will, your majesty!", Kouki was ecstatic to have received the advice from the Tians.h.i.+ Emperor and he could understand the underlying message in his words.
Xing was standing by the side folding her hands and watching them and Kouki nodded at her and left. But she suddenly felt like that sly ancestor of hers was about to leave again.
" Don"t try to escape", she grabbed his sleeves, "You owe me an explanation!"
"Look at that!", Emperor Tians.h.i.+ smirked, "You"ve become strong enough to counter my spells"
Xing didn"t know what he meant, "You are saying you were about to escape using spells again and I stopped you?", she questioned with the little understanding she had with his words.
"Yes", his lips curved up to a proud smile and he patted her head, "You don"t even realise that?"
"No", Xing pouted, "Am I weird then? Most times what I say really happens"
"You are not weird, you are powerful. There is a difference", he said and wrapped his arm around her shoulder and both of them were on the peak of the mountain near a cliff where the waterfalls was flowing down the next moment.
The sound of the water flowing had a soothing effect and Xing who was fatigued emotionally sat on a big rock then accompanied by the Tians.h.i.+ Emperor.
He gave Xing a bundle containing Java Plum fruits and Xing tried it for the first time and the acidic and sweetish fruit refreshed her a bit.
Seeing her finished eating, the Tians.h.i.+ Emperor asked, "What do you want to know?"
"Everything", Xing looked at him, "But first answer me this, everything... Including you sealing that G.o.d in a weapon... It is related to empress Shu and your child, right?"
Xing had understood one thing for now, the reason the G.o.ds were so obsessed with her was because she was the descendant of the one who put the seal in that weapon. Also that G.o.d, Old Rong has everything to do with all this...
" Yes", he answered and he had the gentlest smile on him while he patted her head, "You really look like my mother and have my wife"s hair... It is amazing... None of my descendant took after my side. Only you..."
Xing was completely confused, isn"t it said that the Tians.h.i.+ Emperor"s mother was a great beauty who was like a celestial maiden? Why am I being compared to her?
But seeing the beautiful man by her side with his eyes clouded and lips curved to a gentle smile, she remembered how he used to treat her when she was young.
"Master Yuan, do you hate your mother that much? You used to make me cover my face and didn"t like to look at my face ", Xing looked at him intently for answers. So why is he having such a gentle expression now?
"And don"t say weird things like you look like my mother and my wife... It is creepy. It is what perverted old men would say", she lectured him making him laugh loudly,
"It does sound creepy, right? But it is the truth though", he pulled her hand from her head and cleared his throat and his expression got sombre,
"Kiddo, do you know the cruelest thing I"ve ever done, that I regret till this day?"
Xing took a deep breath, "There are a lot right? You did many cruel things...", she started listing, "Killing the entire inner palace, running over the officials who refused War, killing millions in war.."
"Enough!", he stopped her, " Those are the things I don"t regret... although some of them are cruel...", he placed his hands on his knee, "The most cruelest thing I"ve ever done is giving sword to an eight year old girl"
Xing was shocked, is he meaning him teaching me?
"What ? Is it because I"m a girl?", she felt a bit offended. He surely wouldn"t have felt bad teaching an eight year old boy...!
"Yes", he was straight, " Because of my desire to protect my bloodline, I became lesser of a man and I turned a little girl whose hands should be soft as a velvet turn into a scalded mess! I had to torture a little girl who took after my beloved mother by sc.r.a.ping her knee, let her beg for water and food and other unspeakable cruelties! "
Xing saw that long lashes in his eyes slightly drenched and she knew he actually means what he said and her guess from before is right. Her supposed brother is alive somewhere.
And Xing understood why he felt bad about letting a girl take a sword in her hands. Even her father who is born centuries after the Tians.h.i.+ Emperor felt bad to let her carry sword as she knew from reading the letter he wrote for her birthday. Even now it is a crime for women in the Harem to weild weapons. It is not surprising that a guy from two centuries ago being a chauvinist and feels like he was emasculated.
So because I look like his mother, he felt guilty putting me through hard training? So that"s why he asked me to cover my face? How cute! But it doesn"t bother me at all now! I"m grateful he taught me those sword skills and I am better than most. And I didn"t even remember all of it until recently... So...
"I am grateful you taught me everything I know. It helped me stand on my own two feet! ", Xing said from the bottom of her heart. If not she"d be a waste of a human being as sword is the one thing she is really good at.
The Tians.h.i.+ Emperor looked at her deeply and his golden eyes looking at her was scrutinising her for lies. Only after he realised that she"s not lying, did he sighed in relief.
"Are you a G.o.d? Is that why you are still young? And is Fei Lian your father? Is that why he.. ", "was too involved with you?" Xing was curious but got interjected,
"No, the G.o.d of Wind is not my father! And no, I am not a G.o.d. I am just as human as you are",he clearly didn"t like her speculation as she saw him cringing unconsciously.
"So how come you still look young?"
The Tians.h.i.+ Emperor took a deep breath, "That"s because I was cursed by the G.o.ds to not die or age until I see the deaths of my nine generations!"