Tome of Troubled Times

Chapter 168: Bad Woman

Zhao Changhe had indeed been suppressed by the sword domain earlier, but when he realized that his Back Eye was not affected by it, he began to secretly unravel its effects.

The Back Eye was a gift from the blind woman, and whatever it was, it could ignore the sword domain. Regardless of whether the blind woman was the spirit of the Tome of Troubled Times or not, the level of the Heavenly Tome was definitely higher than that of the Back Eye, thus it could also ignore the sword domain.

The shroud of the sword domain did not target anything in particular, so even the Heavenly Tome page in his possession was currently being affected by the sword domain. With the pride that the Heavenly Tome had, how could it possibly just sit still when it was being suppressed by the sword domain?

Zhao Changhe attempted to channel his true qi into the golden foil that was inside his chest pocket Qi, and sure enough, he felt a connection with it for the first time.

The golden foil seemed to convey a vast will, indicating that the so-called domain was merely an application of martial arts. Decrypting it was akin to breaking down a martial art. It seemed to be expressing, How dare a mere sword domain oppress me?! Oh, you’re so weak that you won’t be able to see even if you do manage to decrypt it. However, you do have the Back Eye.

As the Back Eye and the golden foil resonated with each other, in Zhao Changhe’s eyes, the space before him seemed to be deconstructed, much like when everything seemed to get digitized in the movie Inception. He could clearly see the flow of energy, the movement of sword qi, and even will, though it was quite vague and he could not quite comprehend it due to the vast difference in martial arts understanding.

But that was already enough. When one does not understand water, diving into it would only lead to drowning. But once one understands it, they can even harness the power of water.

Not only did the sword domain cease to suppress him, but when he swung his saber, he could actually follow the energy within the sword domain to enhance his strike, allowing him to unleash power even greater than normal.

However, Zhao Changhe did not outwardly show this. He continued to make it seem as if he was still struggling under the supposed suppression of the sword domain

When he used his Back Eye, Sisi’s expression always remained odd. He had never forgotten that she had attempted to control him when they had first interacted with each other. He never mistook their recent strengthening bond to be an actual friendship.

In a dark and dangerous place, one must always be vigilant against others.

However, what he did not anticipate was that her plans had begun since the previous night.

Clang!

Zhao Changhe vented all his frustration onto the sword guardian in front of him. The sword and saber clashed violently, sending ripples of energy in all directions!

The sword guardian, already wounded by Tang Wanzhuang’s strike, had lost the astonishing sword intent that it had displayed when it first appeared. However, it remained formidable. Zhao Changhe was sent flying back several zhang, leaving long skid marks on the ground as he landed.

His shoulder and cheek stung, which was actually the result of the other party’s sword qi brushing past him during their exchange.

It’s too strong... Even after the erosion of its power over countless years, being injured by Tang Wanzhuang, and facing the group of sword-wielding terracotta warriors, it’s incredible that it can still muster such strength. Just how strong was it back when it was at its prime? Moreover, according to Sisi, this is just a secondary guard!

This was not actually the biggest issue. The biggest issue was that it seemed Tang Wanzhuang did not dare to kill the sword guardian... Otherwise, with her strength, even if she was suppressed by the sword domain, she should have been able to kill the guardian in an instant when she got to strike its neck. However, she only ended up restraining and weakening it.

She likely feared that killing the guardian would anger the imperial tomb, leading to irreparable consequences. This was probably why good people always ended up at a disadvantage in front of bad people... They had too many concerns and restrictions.

But this sword guardian was a corpse, and its body was as hard as steel. It was not viable to use conventional methods to defeat it without killing it, so they were forced to slowly wear it down, exhaust its power, and put it back to rest.

Sisi had clearly figured this out a long time ago, and her aim seemed to be to delay them. While they were occupied, she would simply go and obtain the so-called sword seal.

The sword seal was not too far. After a while, Sisi had already obtained it and turned back.

Clang!

Zhao Changhe slashed diagonally with his saber and deflected a strike from the sword guardian, allowing Tang Wanzhuang to pierce its chest. Spring water swirled around as sword qi restrained and tied the sword guardian in place

The countless other sword-wielding terracotta warriors surrounded the sword guardian, pressing it firmly in place.

In the next moment, as if they had coordinated beforehand, Zhao Changhe and Tang Wanzhuang both redirected their saber and sword toward Sisi, who was at the end of the passage.

Sisi sighed and suddenly raised the sword seal.

Swish, swish, swish!

As if responding to an imperial decree, countless terracotta warriors rushed out from both sides, sealing off the passage completely.

That wasn’t all. The other sword-wielding terracotta warriors behind them went to block their rear.

Sisi sighed from behind the terracotta warriors. “The Sword Emperor didn’t get provoked enough to revive, and nothing has happened... It shouldn’t be too difficult for you to break through these guards and leave. There’s no danger anymore. I’ll find another way out and I won’t be seeing you again. Why do you have to chase after me so relentlessly?”

Zhao Changhe said coldly, “Is that why you plotted against us? For a sword seal?”

“Do you know what this sword seal is?” Sisi sighed. “Apart from the ultimate core, the majority of the essence of the Sword Emperor’s sword art is gathered here. It can even be regarded as the ultimate compendium of sword arts in the world.”

Zhao Changhe said, “You’re deluding yourself. This isn’t the main tomb, just the periphery. Why would such a valuable thing be placed here?”

“I understand those from the previous era better than you... Even the Sword Emperor could not be sure if he could eventually resurrect before he died. He was unwilling to let his legacy die out, he would naturally leave behind opportunities in easier places outside. By passing the trial of the sword slaves and obtaining the sword seal, you can become his sword art successor. However, the true core skills can’t be acquired so easily. Those require further understanding of what the sword seal imparts. Then, you have to explore further into the tomb and pass various trials to truly become the Sword Emperor’s successor.”

Zhao Changhe thought of the Azure Dragon Seal and knew that what Sisi was saying was true. These inheritance trials were indeed relatively straightforward, and they were mainly dependent on one’s fate. If they were too difficult to obtain, so that only a top-tier expert could obtain them, they would not value the inheritance that greatly. These inheritances were designed for members of the later generations who had yet to fully grow.

Unfortunately, Sisi was not Chichi.

Seeing his silence, Sisi sighed again. “We don’t know what the trial of the sword slaves entails, perhaps there’s no need to defeat them all. Regardless, I don’t study the sword, so passing such a trial is basically impossible for me. Not to mention, I wouldn’t dare to kill the sword slaves even if I could, because who knows whether that would provoke the imperial tomb? In the end, my only option was to steal it. When I learned that big sister Tang was coming in as well, I knew that I had a good shot at it... Big sister Tang is too powerful. Not only can she handle the sword slaves, she can even exercise restraint and avoid killing them. It was perfect. So, I snuck in here and made preparations in advance...”

Zhao Changhe said coldly, “You could have just directly told me.”

Sisi smiled, “I believe that you would be willing to help and that you wouldn’t even compete with me for the sword seal if we did succeed. However, the Demon Suppression Bureau deals in matters of the empire, and the inheritance of the sword seal is also very valuable to the Great Xia. Big sister Tang wouldn’t have let me take such a valuable treasure. And since I wanted to make use of her power, it became impossible to do things in a straightforward manner, so I had no choice but to resort to a little scheming... In fact, I’ve always been a shameless little witch, right?”

Zhao Changhe remained coldly silent.

“You can hate me and scold me, and even if you want to fight or kill me in the future. I won’t blame you. But Zhao Changhe, ever since we first met, this is what I was aiming for...” Sisi said quietly. “Your story was very nice... ...Shall I tell you mine? Haven’t you been eager to hear it for a long time?”

Zhao Changhe said, “Go ahead.”

“I am Duan Yu, yet not. He left home because he did not want to learn martial arts, whereas I did want to learn my tribe’s witchcraft[1]. I was even the most outstanding among my peers. But what does that matter? Sitting inside the well and watching the sky, stagnant in our ways, bearer of forbidden areas, our whole tribe serving as vassals. They were very happy, saying they could receive the inheritance of the ancient gods, but kneeling among the crowd, I only felt shame.”

Zhao Chang and Tang Wanzhuang looked at each other without saying anything.

The information in Sisi’s words seemed significant, especially for Tang Wanzhuang, who appeared to find them worth analyzing.

“The people of the divine land are unaware of our existence, but we discovered the entrance to the divine land early on and occasionally come out to trade. However, our tribe is small, and our strong individuals may not necessarily surpass those of the divine land. The tribe strictly prohibits us from using the tribe’s arts outside to avoid leaving any traces of our existence and stirring up trouble. They also believe that the martial arts of the divine land are still too undeveloped and lack valuable insights compared to our methods that have been passed down by our ancestors... But I disagree.

“I believe that the martial arts of the divine land, no matter how young, are already flourishing, and it’s better than our complacency and stagnation. Also, whether there’s value to draw from them, one must first have a deep understanding of them rather than being arrogant and relying on impressions alone. So they accused me of disrespecting our ancestors and looking down on our ancestral teachings.”

Sisi smiled sweetly.

“And I answered, ‘Is it really impressive to follow the teachings of ancestors who served as vassals?’”

Zhao Changhe: “...”

“We had a big argument, and in the end, we reached a compromise. I could go to the divine land on two conditions. The first condition was that I could not disclose our tribe’s secrets or arts. The second condition was that if I could not bring martial arts that could change their minds, I was to never return and forfeit all inheritance rights.”

Zhao Changhe finally said, “So after you came out, you did not hesitate to worship a thief as your master, associate with adulterous monks, and be a lowly maid... In order to avoid revealing your cultivation base, you would rather let yourself be forced to kneel down.”

“I am willing to adapt to circumstances. What’s the harm in pretending to kneel down once or twice? Besides, in your eyes, the one who was kneeling down was the celestial maiden, not me.” Sisi smiled charmingly. “And as for the kiss to transfer energy... I believed that you have secrets, secrets that could hold immense value to my tribe. Unfortunately, at that time, I was foolishly bound by vows and refrained from using witchcraft. Otherwise, I would have been able to force those secrets out of you long ago. Why would I kiss you for no reason? Just to be regarded as promiscuous by my master?”

Zhao Changhe sighed. “You’re still bringing that up...”

“Mm-hm...” Sisi said charmingly, “I can be as wild as I want. I haven’t learned your etiquette. I’ll use my own mouth however I please. If I suffer any losses, that’s my business. Why should I care about the gossip of others? Besides, I now feel that since you were the target, it doesn’t seem like much of a loss.”

Tang Wanzhuang, who had remained silent until now, finally spoke up, “If you bring back the sword seal, does that really meet the conditions your tribe set? That’s also a martial art from the previous era, not from the divine land.”

Sisi clicked her tongue twice. “Even you are quite narrow-minded. Have I been learning martial arts just for the sake of learning martial arts? I sought the martial arts of the divine land to find a path that would allow my tribe to no longer have to serve as vassals or slaves. The sword seal can already achieve this, and it even carries the possibility for further inheritances. Why should I continue to study the martial arts of the other schools?” Tang Wanzhuang was silent.

Sisi continued, “Besides, this item proves the existence of vast ruins, endless variables, and endless development within the divine land. In the meantime, our tiny territory would only be able to remain stagnant. I’ve already obtained the proof I need. This is enough to bring about changes within the tribe. I’m not here to act like Jiumozhi.”

When she said that, she smiled again. “Perhaps I’ve gotten too good at acting, I can really get into character. Whenever you tell stories, I always feel like all the characters are me, which just always infuriates you and makes you want to hit me... Actually, there’s at least one important character I haven’t embodied yet. It won’t hurt to do it once now, consider it my apology.”

A sense of foreboding washed over Zhao Changhe. “Who are you going to impersonate this time?”

Sisi smiled sweetly and said, “The villainous Duan Yanqing, who imprisoned Duan Yu and Mu Wanqing and drugged them in the dungeon. I’ll play the role of the villain.”

At some point, pink smoke seeped into the passage, growing denser as she spoke, stirring up a restless heat in their hearts.

Outside the smoke, Sisi’s sighs gradually faded away. “Do you know why I triggered the tremors ahead of time? I was afraid that if I kept staying with you, I would no longer be able to bring myself to do something like this. I really enjoyed listening to your stories... It’s a shame that the next time we meet, you might not hesitate to strike my chest with your palm...”

1. Just a note that this word for witchcraft is written 巫蛊, the latter being the character for gu insects. ☜

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