20demayo Chapter 274 Qin Mu Makes His First Appearance in the Li Yang Court, Shocking the Three Pillars!
Chapter 274 Qin Mu Makes His First Appearance in the Li Yang Court, Shocking the Three Pillars!
Gu Jiantang suddenly stood up and paced back and forth in the hall.
The black iron boots pounded on the gold bricks, producing a dull "thump-thump" sound, one after another.
He took a few steps, then suddenly stopped.
He turned around and looked at Zhang Julu.
Those tiger-like eyes were filled with barely suppressed anger and resentment.
"This is clearly Qin Mu pressuring His Majesty!"
He spoke slowly and deliberately, each word as if squeezed out from between his teeth.
"Otherwise, how could Her Majesty possibly agree to marry him within seven days?!"
"This is completely unreasonable!"
Zhang Julu fell silent.
Of course he knew that.
He knew it the moment he saw that letter.
His Majesty was forced into a corner.
He was forced to make this decision by that man, in a way he didn't know.
But he—
What can we do?
Zhang Julu closed his eyes.
Countless images flashed through my mind.
On the day His Majesty ascended the throne, he was adorned with a crown and looked down upon his ministers with great pride.
When His Majesty summoned him to the palace late at night to discuss state affairs, his eyes were weary yet resolute.
It shows how His Majesty gritted his teeth and persevered through those difficult times.
Those were the children he had watched grow up.
He was the emperor to whom he devoted all his efforts.
But he...
At this moment, she could only watch helplessly as she was forced to marry that man...
Zhang Julu opened his eyes.
Those sharp eyes were now filled with a deep, unventable sorrow.
But his face remained expressionless.
Only his slightly trembling beard betrayed his true state of mind at that moment.
He spoke, his voice so hoarse it was almost inaudible:
"Alright."
"Let's proceed as we just discussed."
He paused, his gaze sweeping over the two of them:
"The rest, we'll just have to take it one step at a time."
"When problems arise, we solve them."
Gu Jiantang stood still, not moving, upon hearing this.
His hands were clenched into fists, and the veins on the back of his hands bulged.
But in the end, he simply turned around abruptly and walked back to his seat.
He plopped down on his bottom.
The movement was so heavy that the chair made a dull creak.
He lowered his head and stopped speaking.
But those clenched fists were still trembling slightly.
A brief silence fell over the hall.
The only sounds were the faint flickering of candlelight and the occasional whisper of the night wind sweeping across the square from outside the window.
I don't know how much time passed.
Gu Jiantang suddenly raised his head.
A near-mad glint flashed in those tiger eyes.
"Zhang Xiang".
He spoke, his voice hoarse and low, yet carrying a resolute determination.
"Passive, far too passive."
He spoke slowly and deliberately:
"Or perhaps we should just fight the Qin Dynasty!"
Zhang Julu's brows furrowed suddenly.
Gu Jiantang continued, each word seemingly squeezed out from between his teeth:
"Send the Imperial Advisor to the Qin Dynasty, infiltrate it, and rescue His Majesty!"
"The moment they are rescued, I will immediately lead my army to conquer the seven towns in the eastern border of the Great Qin!"
"I refuse to believe that Qin Mu can simultaneously fend off the Imperial Advisor's assassination attempt and my entire army!"
After he finished speaking, he stared intently at Zhang Julu.
Those tiger eyes were full of anticipation.
Hopefully Zhang Julu will agree.
I hope he'll say "okay".
But Zhang Julu did not nod.
He remained silent.
There was a long silence.
Then, he turned his head and looked at Li Chunfeng.
"The Imperial Advisor."
His voice was hoarse and weary:
How feasible is this?
Li Chunfeng finally opened his eyes.
Those eyes, which were always half-closed, were now fully open.
Its brilliance was restrained, yet it carried a barely perceptible hint of bitterness.
He looked at Zhang Julu, at those expectant eyes.
Then, he slowly began to speak.
The voice was aged and ethereal, yet carried a profound sense of powerlessness.
"At most three points."
Gu Jiantang's pupils suddenly contracted!
Three points?!
His voice was filled with disbelief:
"How could it only be three points?!"
Li Chunfeng looked at him without saying a word.
But that silence itself is the answer.
Gu Jiantang was stunned.
He recalled the solemn look on Li Chunfeng's aged face after he returned from the Nujiang ferry that night.
Thinking back to what he said—
"The dragon's scales shattered and instantly reformed; its body was severed, and new flesh grew back in the blink of an eye."
"This is not a summoning, this is creation."
"I have practiced swordsmanship for fifty years, but I am no match for him."
Gu Jiantang clenched his fist tightly.
My fingernails dug deep into my palm, sending a sharp pain through me.
But that pain was nothing compared to the despair churning within him.
Three points.
They only have a three-point chance of winning.
It's no different from sending someone to their death.
Zhang Julu also fell silent.
He looked at Li Chunfeng, at that aged, weary face.
After a long silence, he finally spoke, his voice so hoarse it was almost inaudible:
"Imperial Advisor, is it really only three points?"
Li Chunfeng looked at him, a complex emotion flashing in his cloudy old eyes.
There is bitterness, helplessness, and a sense of resigned powerlessness.
"I have said everything I can."
He paused, then spoke slowly and deliberately:
"unless--"
Zhang Julu's eyes lit up slightly.
"Unless what?"
Li Chunfeng looked at him and slowly spoke:
"Unless I can now reach the realm of a terrestrial immortal."
"Otherwise, even if I risk my life, I can only increase my chances of winning by one point at most."
"Four points."
He finished speaking and sighed softly.
The sigh was soft, yet exceptionally clear in the silent hall.
The light in Zhang Julu's eyes dimmed once again.
A paradise on earth.
That's a legendary realm.
In the past three hundred years, no more than five people across the entire Divine Continent have reached that level.
Zhao Kuangyin, the founding emperor of the Liyang dynasty, is one example.
But he has already ascended to heaven.
Currently, the strongest person in Liyang is Li Chunfeng.
One foot has stepped into the realm of terrestrial immortals.
But that half foot had been holding him down for twenty years.
Twenty years.
For a full twenty years, he couldn't get over it.
How could there be progress in just a few days?
Silence fell once again inside the hall.
This silence was heavier than any before.
Even more desperate.
Even more suffocating.
The candlelight flickered inside the lampshade, casting long, long shadows of the three people on the wall.
The shadows remained motionless, like three silent statues.
I don't know how much time passed.
Zhang Julu suddenly spoke.
Her voice was hoarse, yet carried a glimmer of struggling hope:
"Imperial Advisor, what do you say—"
He paused, his gaze fixed intently on Li Chunfeng:
"Does the Great Qin Dynasty truly possess powerful beings on land, like immortals?"
Even now, he still harbors a sliver of hope.
I imagine everything that happened that night was just some kind of powerful treasure.
The being that made even Li Chunfeng feel powerless was not a real terrestrial deity.
fantasy--
There is still a chance.
Li Chunfeng looked at him, at those expectant eyes.
A deep sense of sorrow welled up in my heart.
He knew what Zhang Julu was thinking.
He also knew what this fantasy meant to him.
But he still spoke up.
The voice was aged yet ethereal, carrying an undeniable certainty:
"I can't be 100% sure."
"but--"
He paused, then spoke slowly and deliberately:
"There is an 80% chance that there is indeed a powerful being on land who is a celestial being."
The light in Zhang Julu's eyes was completely extinguished.
He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.
That aged face was filled with deep weariness and despair.
He didn't say anything more.
He just sat there quietly, like a lifeless statue.
Seeing him like this, Li Chunfeng felt even more heartbroken.
He didn't voice the even more shocking guess—
That immortal being on land is very likely Qin Mu himself.
Because the aura he sensed outside the Hall of Mental Cultivation that night was of the same origin as the imperial aura emanating from Qin Mu.
What does that mean?
This means that the Qin emperor was himself a terrestrial deity.
This means that the young man, at less than thirty years old, has reached the pinnacle of martial arts.
mean--
They were not facing a dynasty with terrestrial deities.
He was an emperor who was a terrestrial deity.
This speculation is terrifying.
It was so terrifying that he dared not say it aloud.
It was so terrifying that he preferred to keep it inside him.
Because if it were revealed, Zhang Julu and Gu Jiantang would likely be completely devastated.
As Gu Jiantang listened to their conversation, his face grew paler and paler.
Finally, he couldn't hold back any longer.
He slapped his thigh suddenly!
"Bang!"
Another loud bang.
This time, instead of placing his hand on the long table, he patted his own leg.
The force was so great that my entire leg went numb.
But he seemed not to feel any pain.
He simply raised his head and looked at Zhang Julu and Li Chunfeng.
Those tiger eyes were filled with resentment.
There was also a deep, unvented anger.
"The Qin Dynasty is truly—"
He spoke slowly and deliberately, each word seeming to be squeezed out from between his teeth:
"May the nation prosper!"
"That damned emperor, he's really lucky!"
He spoke the last few words through gritted teeth, almost grinding them to powder.
The moment the words fell—
A voice came from outside the hall.
With a hint of mockery and a touch of amusement.
"I really liked what you said earlier."
The sound was very soft, yet it was exceptionally clear in the silent hall, like a thunderclap!
"But the next sentence—"
The voice paused, then the laughter deepened:
"I don't really like listening to that."
The moment the words fell!
The three of them changed color at the same time!
Zhang Julu suddenly stood up!
Those sharp eyes were filled with unbelievable shock!
Gu Jiantang's hand instantly pressed on the hilt of the sword!
He was like a taut bowstring, ready to explode at any moment!
Li Chunfeng flicked his whisk!
Those eyes, which were always half-closed, were now fully open!
A burst of light erupted!
Three pairs of eyes turned to the palace gate simultaneously!
The palace doors were slowly pushed open.
Moonlight streamed in from outside the door, illuminating the pale figure.
He stood with his hands behind his back on the threshold.
The moonlight shone in from behind him, making his entire figure exceptionally clear.
That handsome, ever-composed face now gleamed with a warm glow under the moonlight.
Those deep eyes were fixed on the three people inside the hall.
With a smile.
Meaningful.
Behind him stood a person.
A moon-white dress, long, flowing hair, and a pale face.
Those deep purple phoenix eyes were now gazing at the three people inside the hall.
Looking at Zhang Julu, looking at Gu Jiantang, looking at Li Chunfeng.
She looked at the three people she trusted most.
That is--
Zhao Qingxue.
Inside the Tianqi Hall, there was a deathly silence.
The candlelight flickered inside the lampshade, casting everyone's shadows on the ground.
Zhang Julu's pupils contracted sharply.
He looked at the figure at the door, at that familiar face, at those deep purple phoenix eyes.
My mind went completely blank.
Gu Jiantang's hand was on the hilt of the sword, but he forgot to draw it.
He just stared blankly, his eyes filled with disbelief and shock.
Li Chunfeng's whisk froze in mid-air.
Those bright, piercing eyes were now filled with complex emotions.
There was shock, confusion, and vigilance.
There's still a glimmer—
He himself couldn't explain the deep reverence he felt.
The three of them stood there, motionless.
Like three statues frozen in place.
Only the sound of rapid breathing echoed in the silent hall.
finally--
Zhang Julu's lips parted slightly.
The voice was hoarse and trembling, as if waking from the deepest nightmare:
"Your Majesty... Your Majesty?"
His voice was filled with disbelief.
It was as if they couldn't believe their eyes.
It was as if I thought it was a dream.
Zhao Qingxue looked at him.
Looking at his aged, tired face.
Looking into his eyes, I saw the deep shock and disbelief.
A feeling of indescribable sorrow welled up in my heart.
She pursed her lips.
Then, open your mouth.
The sound was very soft, yet exceptionally clear in the deathly silent hall:
"it's me."
Two simple words, yet they were like a boulder, crashing into the lifeless lake in the hearts of the three.
It stirred up a storm.
Zhang Julu's body trembled violently.
His eyes instantly reddened.
Those sharp eyes, which had been sharp all their lives, were now filled with tears.
He looked at Zhao Qingxue, at that familiar face, at those deep purple phoenix eyes.
He opened his mouth, as if to say something.
But it felt like something was blocking his throat, and he couldn't say a word.
I could only stand there, letting my tears flow silently.
Gu Jiantang's hand finally slipped from the hilt of the sword.
He stood there, staring blankly at Zhao Qingxue.
The whisk in Li Chunfeng's hand slowly fell.
Qin Mu met their gazes and smiled slightly.
That smile was gentle, as gentle as a spring breeze.
Then he spoke.
The voice was soft, yet every word was clear:
"What's wrong?"
He paused, his gaze sweeping over the three people in the hall, his smile deepening:
"Won't you invite me in for a seat?"
The three remained standing in the same spot, motionless.
She just stared at him blankly.
Looking at the moon-white figure behind him.
Look at their emperor.
My heart was churning with endless turmoil.
The moonlight spilled onto the white marble steps in front of the Tianqi Hall, casting a long, long shadow of the figure in moonlight.
A night breeze swept by, lifting the stray hairs at his temples.
He stood there with his hands behind his back, smiling as he looked at the three people inside the hall.