Chapter 531: Could There Be a Conspiracy?
Yun Che had previously heard Yun Qinghong talk about the events of that year, and he clearly recalled him mentioning that the Little Demon Emperor had disappeared on the very night of his wedding to the Little Demon Empress... At the time, he found it strange. Even if the Little Demon Emperor was eager to save his father and unwilling to accept defeat, could he not have waited just two or three days? Why did he have to choose such an important moment to rush off and die in the Tian Xuan Continent?
Now, he suddenly understood. Claiming that he was too distraught over his father's unknown fate to marry was probably just an excuse; the real reason was that he was running away!
If I were stuck with such a terrifying woman, I would definitely run away too!
Hmm? Wait! The Little Demon Emperor was no ordinary person. He was the successor to the Demon Emperor, the master of the Huan Yao Realm. With such status, he could have chosen any woman in the entire Huan Yao Realm. What kind of woman couldn't he find? Why would he choose such a frightening woman, who sounded like a corpse or a fierce ghost, to be his Demon Empress... Could it be that the Little Demon Empress came from a shocking family background? That still didn't add up. In the Huan Yao Realm, what family background could surpass the Demon Emperor Royal Clan... Especially since the Little Demon Emperor was the head of the Demon Emperor Royal Clan! No matter how he thought about it, he shouldn't have wronged himself in this matter.
"Xiao Yun, what exactly is the background of this Little Demon Empress? Why did the Little Demon Emperor marry her as his empress back then?" Yun Che voiced the question in his heart.
"Uh, because the Little Demon Emperor could only marry her."
Xiao Yun's answer left Yun Che dumbfounded: "Could only marry her? What do you mean by that?"
"Big Brother, you actually don't know... Oh!" Xiao Yun suddenly realized: "Right, right! I keep forgetting again, subconsciously. Big Brother, you come from the Tian Xuan Continent. Hehe, in our Huan Yao Realm, no one would ever ask such a question."
Xiao Yun began to explain: "The Demon Emperor can take many consorts, but the position of Demon Empress is fixed. Because the Demon Emperor lineage must maintain absolute purity and perfection of bloodline, the Demon Empress the Demon Emperor marries must also possess the purest Demon Emperor bloodline. Only then will their offspring continue to have the most complete Demon Emperor bloodline, allowing them to succeed to the throne of Demon Emperor. This is a fundamental principle that the Demon Emperor lineage must never violate."
"As for children born with other consorts, they will be enfeoffed as princes and can marry outside the clan, but they can never inherit the throne. However, I heard from Father that the Demon Emperor lineage has always consciously avoided letting their bloodline flow out. So in the last few thousand years, the former Demon Emperors rarely took consorts other than the Demon Empress. Even if they did, they deliberately did not have children with them. So by now, the Demon Emperor Royal Clan no longer has any princes. The Huiye Commandery Prince we saw today, and his father, the Huai Commandery Prince, are the closest to the Demon Emperor lineage among those enfeoffed. The Demon Emperor blood in their veins is actually already very diluted."
Xiao Yun's explanation was clear enough, but Yun Che was dumbfounded. He tentatively asked: "If my knowledge is correct, the Demon Emperor bloodline seems to be only one lineage. For this lineage to maintain the purest Demon Emperor bloodline for generations, the Demon Empress must also have pure Demon Emperor bloodline. Don't tell me... the Little Demon Emperor and the Little Demon Empress are... are..."
"Oh, the Little Demon Empress is the Little Demon Emperor's older sister," Xiao Yun said casually.
Yun Che: "!#a￥%...!"
"Eh? Big Brother, what's wrong? Your expression... suddenly became very strange?" Xiao Yun looked at Yun Che's twitching face in confusion.
"...Has it always been like this for the Demon Emperor lineage through the ages?" Yun Che's words seemed to leak through clenched teeth.
"That's right," Xiao Yun nodded, with an expression that seemed perfectly natural and obvious: "Every generation of Demon Emperor and Demon Empress gives birth to one son and one daughter, and that son and daughter become the next Demon Emperor and Demon Empress. Many clans are like this too, especially those with inheritable bloodline powers. To prevent their unique bloodline power from flowing out, they absolutely forbid marriage with outsiders. The bloodline of the direct descendants of the clan head must never be mixed—that's the gravest, gravest, gravest taboo of a clan... Our Yun family is fine, though. The Arcane Firmament's power can be passed down by males to the next generation, but not by females, so women of our Yun family can marry into other clans, but men cannot leave the Yun family to marry into another clan."
Yun Che stared straight at Xiao Yun for a good while, then said slowly: "In the Tian Xuan Continent, close relatives cannot marry."
"Why?" Xiao Yun's eyes widened: "Marrying someone with the closest bloodline ensures that the offspring's bloodline is also the purest. The Tian Xuan Continent side is... too strange!"
From the perspective of the Tian Xuan Continent side, it's you who are strange... Yun Che thought with a grimace. This is called cultural difference. Yes, a stark, naked cultural difference!
No wonder the Little Demon Emperor would marry the terrifying-sounding Little Demon Empress. He had no choice!
It seems being the Demon Emperor of the Huan Yao Realm isn't easy either.
"Now that the Little Demon Emperor is dead, the only one in the entire Huan Yao Realm with pure bloodline is the Little Demon Empress. The Little Demon Empress cannot bear offspring alone... That means, starting from the next generation after the Little Demon Empress, there will be no more pure Demon Emperor bloodline," Yun Che mused. "Adding to that the fact that the Little Demon Empress is a woman, no wonder those princes started having disloyal thoughts, and even some Guardian Clans began to waver."
"Mm, that's right," Xiao Yun nodded deeply in agreement. "Father said this is the greatest crisis the Demon Emperor clan has faced in ten thousand years."
"This Little Demon Emperor was truly too impulsive. His eagerness to save his father and retrieve the Demon Emperor Seal is understandable, but he should have known that his own life and safety were tied to the inheritance and future of the entire Demon Emperor clan! If he died, the Huan Yao Realm would never have pure Demon Emperor blood again. The Demon Emperor died in the Tian Xuan Continent, and so did my grandfather and the ten great masters of the Yun family. He couldn't have been unaware that going to the Tian Xuan Continent alone was suicidal... Even if he really wanted to die, he should at least have waited until he and the Little Demon Empress had a son and a daughter... Rather than impulsiveness, it's more like... he was really quite stupid!"
As he said this, Yun Che's brows suddenly shot up.
Wait a minute!!
I, who just arrived in the Huan Yao Realm not long ago, can easily think of this extremely serious and absolutely irreversible consequence. Would the Little Demon Emperor not have thought of it? Moreover, as the inheritor of the Demon Emperor bloodline, he would naturally value the continuation of his own lineage more than anyone else... That is something far more important than his own life, even more than his father's life...
Then why would he go and die so foolishly?
A possibility flashed through Yun Che's mind in an instant... Could there be another hidden reason for the Little Demon Emperor's journey to the Tian Xuan Continent?
Or... Could it be that he didn't die in the Tian Xuan Continent at all? Could everything known to the Huan Yao Realm be merely a fabrication to conceal the truth?
After all, the Little Demon Emperor "disappeared" on his wedding night and left a written message saying he had gone to the Tian Xuan Continent, but no one had witnessed the scene of him going to the Tian Xuan Continent, and no one had even seen him go at all... If the Little Demon Emperor was not a complete fool, then there might very well be some hidden circumstances... or a conspiracy.
Yun Che frowned deeply, his memory returning to the time at the Tian Jian Villa. Back then, in order to provoke his grandfather Yun Canghai verbally, Ling Kun seemed to have mentioned the Little Demon Emperor...
Yun Che closed his eyes, concentrating on recalling what Ling Kun had said at that time...
"...I might as well tell you again: your Demon Emperor is long dead, killed by the Sword Master of my Tian Wei Sword Domain and the Heavenly Lord of the Sun Moon Divine Palace... Your pitiful Little Demon Emperor had just succeeded to the throne and overestimated himself by trying to avenge his father. Tsk tsk, he died a miserable death. Now the entire Huan Yao Realm relies on a single Little Demon Empress to hold the situation together..."
Yun Che: "..."
Yun Che had an extremely strong memory. Under full recollection, he could confirm that he hadn't missed a single word in that voice... Ling Kun mentioned that the Little Demon Emperor died miserably, but he didn't mention where he died, nor how he died... At least, he didn't say he died in the Tian Xuan Continent.
Xiao Yun didn't notice the sudden change in Yun Che's expression. He nodded and said: "The Little Demon Emperor was indeed too impulsive. It is said that on the day of his wedding, he drank a lot of wine, and he didn't use his profound energy to dissolve the alcohol, so he lost his reason and did such an impulsive thing... Or perhaps, hehe, he didn't know how to face the Little Demon Empress on his wedding night. I heard from Father that the Little Demon Emperor was very afraid of the Little Demon Empress."
"Afraid?"
"To be precise, it was a mix of respect and fear," Xiao Yun said. "I heard from Father that the Little Demon Emperor was a very proud, flamboyant, and true-to-his-nature person. From birth, he had a fearless personality that even the previous Demon Emperor couldn't control. But he was only afraid of his older sister... oh, that is, the Little Demon Empress. The Little Demon Empress's profound energy cultivation always surpassed his, and from a young age, she was a very domineering person. Every time the Little Demon Emperor disobeyed, she would give him a severe beating until he was docile and obedient. When the Little Demon Emperor saw the previous Demon Emperor, he would be arrogant and overbearing, but when he saw the Little Demon Empress, he was always obedient and hardly dared to breathe loudly. Even our Father is the same; in front of the Little Demon Empress, he is always well-behaved... I once heard from Mother that back then, Father and the Little Demon Emperor had a sudden whim to go to Saibei, and they were missing for a whole month with no news. When they returned, the Little Demon Empress beat the Little Demon Emperor severely... and also gave Father a good thrashing, breaking over thirty of his bones. He was bedridden for half a month..."
"...That... ruthless!" Yun Che's heart pounded just listening.
"However, although the Little Demon Empress has always been domineering, her personality is not extreme. She is also someone who commands inevitable respect and admiration. In her twenties, she began to take charge of the major affairs of the Demon Emperor Royal Clan, and she handled almost everything flawlessly, earning the respect of even the heads of the Twelve Guardian Clans... It wasn't until news of the previous Demon Emperor's death came, and the Little Demon Emperor had also gone, that her temperament changed drastically. Her aura, her eyes, her methods all became very frightful. As soon as she appeared, everyone fell silent. And it seems that for over a hundred years, she has never smiled again."
Having just lost her father and then her brother... well, also her husband, it's no wonder she's filled with resentment and hatred! Yun Che thought for a moment and said: "No wonder. With her loved ones all gone, leaving only her with pure Demon Emperor bloodline, she not only has to bear the pain of bereavement, but all the burdens also fall on her alone. And at the same time, she is a woman. To inherit the throne, she has to suppress countless objections and endure immense public pressure... It's indeed too difficult. Under such circumstances, if she weren't forceful, ruthless, or even vicious, she wouldn't have lasted a hundred years, not even ten years."
"Mm, mm!" Xiao Yun nodded: "Father says the same! Father rarely praises anyone, but over the years, he has praised the Little Demon Empress many times. At the same time, he has worried many times about the future of the Demon Emperor clan. After all, after the Little Demon Empress, there will be no pure Demon Emperor bloodline..."
"Whatever, that's the Little Demon Empress's problem. Not to mention the distant future, who knows if she'll still be the Little Demon Empress in a month? That so-called Huai Wang was so arrogant and didn't seem afraid at all of the Little Demon Empress finding out. It seems he not only has great ambition but also considerable confidence," Yun Che said with a curl of his lip.
At the Demon Empress's Grand Ceremony in a month, he should be able to see this legendary Little Demon Empress... Yun Che lowered his head in thought... Your attitude will determine whether I return that thing to you... Otherwise, even if it is Grandfather's dying wish, I will defy it! I hope... you won't disappoint me!
As for that "huge secret" Grandfather wanted me to tell you in person... it will also depend on whether you have the ability to make me willing to reveal it!
As for the Lunhui Jing... I'm sorry, I won't return it to your Demon Emperor clan, because it is already mine!