Chapter 26: Rising with a Start from Mortal Illness
The old Holy King passed away from illness, and the Moon Goddess descended—two events occurred simultaneously on an ordinary afternoon, making it no longer ordinary.
At this moment, Su Xiao stood beside the old Holy King's coffin. Outside the hall, weeping could be heard everywhere, while inside knelt over a dozen officials. Any one of these men, if singled out, would be a figure whose stomp could shake the empire. Yet now, they were all sobbing uncontrollably.
Su Xiao kept his eyes fixed on the old Holy King's corpse, because he felt that this old fellow would never die so easily.
Suddenly, Su Xiao noticed the old Holy King's finger twitch.
With a whoosh, the old Holy King sat up from the crystal coffin—a corpse rising!
"Woof!"
Bubu Wang let out a terrified howl. He was most afraid of ghosts, and the old Holy King suddenly sitting up caused Bubu Wang to press against Su Xiao, his hind legs trembling violently, with an expression that screamed, "Don't come near me, stay away, help!" If there had been a tree nearby, he would have climbed it faster than Beini.
The hall fell into dead silence. The officials all had their mouths slightly open, faces full of shock. The finance officer, in particular, sniffled, his entire body of fat quivering.
Meanwhile, above the Moon God Monastery, the Moon Goddess's projection that had descended raised its arms. Below, the believers were filled with fanaticism, while the Moon Apostles showed little change in expression.
Under the gaze of all the believers and over a hundred thousand civilians of the empire, the Moon Goddess's projection moved—more precisely, it began to drift.
At first, the Moon Goddess's projection drifted as slowly as a cloud, but after moving just a few meters, its speed suddenly increased.
"Stop it, quickly!"
The Moon Priestess spoke in a low voice. There were many believers nearby, so she dared not speak too loudly.
The nearby Moon Apostles exchanged glances and quickly rushed out of the monastery.
"Halt!"
A sharp shout came. Soldiers on the street blocked the Moon Apostles who were chasing the Moon Goddess's projection.
"Today is the King's day of death. Do you intend to openly rebel?"
"Move aside, that is a divine miracle. Are you blind? Move!"
"All troops, listen: anyone who commits suspicious acts within the capital will be killed without mercy."
"Kill, kill, kill!"
The soldiers roared in unison, their killing intent forcing the Moon Apostles to stop.
"Move aside."
A not-so-loud female voice came from behind the group of Moon Apostles. The blocking soldier captain immediately knelt on one knee. Taking this opportunity, the Moon Apostles chased after the Moon Goddess's projection.
In that brief moment, the Moon Goddess's projection had already drifted far away. The Moon Apostles were very helpless—even if they caught up to the Moon Goddess's projection, they dared not do anything to it. Publicly destroy this projection? Were they insane? Even the Moon Priestess dared not do that; it would be an open act of defying the gods.
Chasing the Moon Goddess's projection all the way, the Moon Apostles were fine, but the physically weak Moon Priestess was already panting heavily.
Finally, the Moon Goddess's projection stopped—above the Lulunfei Palace.
Seeing this, the Moon Priestess's face began to pale. She led her people quickly into the Lulunfei Palace.
Inside the hall of the Lulunfei Palace at that moment, the kneeling officials dared not even breathe loudly, all staring blankly at the resurrected old Holy King.
"H-H-H-Holy King."
The finance officer spoke with a trembling voice. As if hearing him, the old Holy King turned his head stiffly.
Just then, a stream of golden light particles drifted into the hall, heading straight for the old Holy King and entering his body. The panting Moon Priestess stopped at the hall's entrance, glanced at the old Holy King, then looked up at the Moon Goddess's projection, which was shrinking.
The old Holy King's sallow complexion gradually regained color as an endless stream of golden light particles entered his body.
Seeing this, the Moon Priestess took two steps back, her gaze immediately shifting to Su Xiao—a look filled with too many meanings.
A smile gradually appeared on Su Xiao's face. The Moon Priestess pointed at Su Xiao, her fair finger trembling slightly.
The Moon Goddess's projection in the sky soon completely disappeared, merging into the old Holy King's body.
The old Holy King let out a long breath. He pushed himself up from the edge of the crystal coffin and climbed out. Seeing this, Su Xiao immediately stepped forward. This simple action made the old Holy King's eyes twitch slightly. The most suitable person for this moment would have been the King's Sword, Xiusite, but he clearly hadn't reacted.
Su Xiao's perception was fully open. He sensed that the cells inside the old Holy King were rapidly activating, and his heart had begun to beat again. This was the perfect opportunity.
"Holy King, you…"
The finance officer, kneeling in front, swallowed hard.
"I have returned. This is… the guidance and blessing of the Moon Goddess."
The old Holy King gradually regained his strength. He patted Su Xiao's arm, signaling that he was fine.
"Holy King, your body is still very weak."
The moment Su Xiao released his grip, the old Holy King nearly collapsed to the ground. He turned his head to look at Su Xiao, his eyes filled with doubt, wariness, but more than anything, the gravity of facing an opponent.
"You…"
The old Holy King spoke in a low voice.
"Holy King, if you don't want to lie back down, it's better if I support you."
Su Xiao also replied in a low voice. Today's events were a scheme laid by the old Holy King, but no matter how much he calculated, he never expected that Su Xiao had once been a researcher and was familiar with an energy known as Deathly Stillness Force.
When the old Holy King passed from death to life, the Deathly Stillness Force within Su Xiao's bracer began to stir. If he hadn't controlled it, the old Holy King might have been swallowed by the Dead Silence City, or part of it might have been dragged into this world.
The consequences would have been unimaginable. This world did not have selfless kings like the Black King or the Day King. If even a small part of the Dead Silence City were pulled back, it would be a hundred or a thousand times more terrifying than a plague.
Su Xiao hadn't fled the imperial capital earlier because he was waiting for this opportunity. He had always believed that this old fellow wouldn't kick the bucket so easily.
"Truly surprising, Kukulin."
The old Holy King nodded almost imperceptibly. He sensed that Su Xiao truly had the ability to put him back in the coffin.
The situation became delicate. The old Holy King commanded transcendent beings and soldiers who could surround and kill Su Xiao, while Su Xiao could ensure the old Holy King stayed in the coffin forever. The basic premise of cooperation was that both sides had the means to restrain each other.
From the beginning to now, Su Xiao and the old Holy King had been using each other. The old Holy King used Su Xiao to check the Moon Priestess, while Su Xiao used the old Holy King to find the Soul Speaker and also to have him block the Moon Priestess.
Su Xiao and the old Holy King exchanged glances.
"Power lies below here."
The old Holy King's words were somewhat cryptic.
"Authority lies over there."
Su Xiao slightly raised his chin.
"Power… is yours. Authority… is mine."
The old Holy King took a deep breath. After saying this, he suddenly felt much more at ease, because Su Xiao was equally difficult to deal with. In a sense, Su Xiao was several times harder to handle than the Moon Priestess. Unless necessary, he didn't want to fall out with Su Xiao.
"Deal."
"Deal."
Su Xiao and the old Holy King both turned their heads to look at the Moon Priestess standing at the hall's entrance.
Meeting the gazes of Su Xiao and the old Holy King, the Moon Priestess suddenly felt a long-lost sense of fear.
If the old Holy King had only possessed royal authority before, then after the Moon Goddess's projection appeared and he "rose from the dead," he became a combination of royal authority and divine authority. Since the founding of the Dawn Empire, such a Holy King wielding both divine and royal power had been extremely rare—making him somewhat invincible.