Chapter 731: The Ceasefire of War
"Father Emperor!!"
The sound of the Phoenix God Ship starting up made Feng Xue'er hastily fly out of the main hall, but she only caught a glimpse of the red blur rapidly disappearing toward the west.
"Your father has returned," Yun Che said, turning around to look at her.
"But why did Father Emperor just leave like that, without even saying goodbye to me?" Feng Xue'er's small face carried a hint of fluster. This was the first time in her life she was far away from her father, far away from the Fenghuang God Sect.
"Your father was afraid that seeing you would make him reluctant and unable to leave. Besides, he trusts the current you, and of course, trusts me even more," Yun Che said with a grin. "You'll be staying in the Cang Feng Kingdom for quite a while from now on. Not only will you not see your father or other clansmen, but everything around you will be unfamiliar... Are you scared?"
"Mmm... of course not." Feng Xue'er gently shook her head and smiled. "Because Xue'er still has Brother Yun by her side."
Yun Che stepped forward and directly took her hand, saying softly, "Xue'er, don't worry. During your time in the Cang Feng Kingdom, you don't need to burden yourself with anything at all. You can freely do whatever you wanted to do before but couldn't, go wherever you want... If you're willing, I'll accompany you."
"...Mm!" Feng Xue'er nodded heavily, her brows curving happily like crescent moons. Yun Che's few short words completely dispelled her previous hesitation, leaving only joy filling her heart. "Thank you, Brother Yun."
"Brother-in-law!"
The wind howled behind him as Xia Yuanba rushed up with a loud shout. Tianxia Diyi, Dongfang Xiu, Qin Wushang, and the others followed behind. Seeing Xia Yuanba, Feng Xue'er smiled lightly. "Big guy brother, we meet again. Xue'er also wants to thank Big guy brother for protecting us back then on the Primordial Mystic Ark."
"Hehe," Xia Yuanba chuckled somewhat embarrassedly. "It was nothing, nothing. But it's been three years, and Xue'er's appearance doesn't seem to have changed at all."
"But Big guy brother seems to have gotten even... bigger," Feng Xue'er said, studying Xia Yuanba with some curiosity. Because three years ago on the Primordial Mystic Ark, Xia Yuanba had sacrificed himself to block Ye Xinghan and Feng Feiyan so that she and Yun Che could escape. Plus, he was one of Yun Che's most important family members, so Feng Xue'er felt a strong closeness to him. She suddenly said with a smile, "And Big guy brother has become incredibly powerful now—already at Lord Xuan Realm, Level 6! Maybe even stronger than Grandpa."
"Hehe... huh?" Xia Yuanba's eyes widened. "How do you know that? Did Brother-in-law tell you?"
Yun Che smiled and said, "Xue'er is currently an Eighth-level Emperor Lord. Seeing through your profound strength level isn't difficult at all."
"!#$%... What?!" Xia Yuanba exclaimed in shock, his mouth instantly opening wider than his head.
Behind him, Dongfang Xiu and Qin Wushang, who had just caught up, shuddered and nearly fell from the air in shock.
"E... Eighth-level Emperor Lord?" Tianxia Diyi was stunned speechless. A twenty-one-year-old with the terrifying strength of Lord Xuan Realm, Level 6, had already shocked him into dropping his jaw. And now this girl, who was no less beautiful than Xiao Yaohou and whom Xia Yuanba had just said was less than twenty years old, was an Eighth-level Emperor Lord?!
Even far surpassing his father, Tianxia Xiongtu!
How could this Tian Xuan Continent have so many inconceivable, rule-breaking freaks?!
"N-no wonder Xue'er is so incredible... too... too amazing." Xia Yuanba swallowed hard, his speech becoming a bit stammered. As for Dongfang Xiu and the others, they were already too stunned to speak. What did an Eighth-level Emperor Lord mean? They didn't even dare to think about it.
Xia Yuanba shook his head and finally got to the serious matter. "Brother-in-law, just now I saw Feng Hengkong board the Phoenix God Ship and leave. Why did Xue'er stay? What exactly happened?"
"This matter..." Yun Che was about to give Xia Yuanba and Dongfang Xiu a general idea when he suddenly noticed that Cang Yue hadn't come out of the main hall. His brows furrowed, and he let go of Feng Xue'er's hand. "Xue'er, briefly tell them about the outcome just now. I'll go check on Yue'er."
With that, Yun Che quickly flew down and returned to the Cang Feng main hall.
As expected, Cang Yue was sitting—or rather, collapsed—on the phoenix throne, her face pale and her breath weak. Yun Che hurried over, reached out to hold her shoulders, and gently infused a thick profound energy as softly as possible into her body. "Yue'er, are you alright?"
Cang Yue shook her head slightly, resting her head on his shoulder, a tired but satisfied smile on her face. With only Spirit Xuan Realm profound strength, she had been facing Feng Hengkong's heavy pressure the entire time without yielding an inch. When Feng Hengkong left and the pressure suddenly disappeared, she had nearly collapsed in an instant.
"Rest well, don't think about anything... Feng Hengkong is gone; he left Xue'er behind. Our Cang Feng Kingdom is completely safe now." Yun Che held her with tender care and spoke softly.
"Mm..." Cang Yue responded gently. "These are all because of Husband's efforts. If not for Husband..."
"No," Yun Che shook his head. "These are all because of Yue'er's efforts. If not for Yue'er struggling to support the kingdom with her own shoulders for these three years, how could today's result have been achieved? Compared to Yue'er's three years, what I did in these few days is utterly insignificant."
"Hehe..." Cang Yue laughed softly. This laugh, for the first time, carried no pressure or gloom. "My Yun Shidi, my husband—your words always make me happy."
"...Yue'er, the suffering you endured these three years—I don't even have the courage to think about it. I hate the Shenhuang Empire, and you must hate it even more than I do." Yun Che asked his doubt. "When facing Feng Hengkong, who was willing to accept any sanction, why did you choose this outcome? Although the compensation of fifty billion is immense, for Shenhuang, it might not even be considered a minor flesh wound."
"Because sanctions bring momentary satisfaction and joy, but they plant resentment and hatred. Those resentments and hatreds will continue to roll with the wheels of history and may erupt completely in some era. Compared to Shenhuang, our Cang Feng is far too weak. If an eruption occurs, disaster will surely befall Cang Feng. And forgiveness... actually, it can't even be called that, after all..." Cang Yue gave a gentle smile. "Husband and I have already taken from Shenhuang its most precious treasure—the Snow Princess!"
"If we can have Xue'er marry Husband, for the future of the Cang Feng Kingdom, it will be infinitely better than gaining half the Shenhuang Kingdom. For me personally, this is also the best possible outcome."
Yun Che gently stroked her cheek and said in a low voice, "You are now the empress of a nation, yet you actively seek to marry another woman to me, making her your equal... Don't you feel wronged?"
Cang Yue smiled and slowly shook her head. "Once, I could only meet Husband in my dreams. Now, even my dreams have become reality. I am already happier and more fulfilled than anyone in the world. How could I feel wronged?"
"Xue'er is the most beautiful girl I have ever seen in this life. Her appearance, temperament, background, status, profound strength—everything about her is flawless. And the most beautiful girl in this world, of course, belongs to my husband. Hehe... I truly wish that everything the most beautiful in this world belonged to my husband."
"Yue'er..." Yun Che called softly, a warm current slowly spreading through every corner of his soul. He knew that he could never, ever betray Cang Yue in this life—not even the slightest bit.
"Husband..." Cang Yue closed her eyes in his arms and whispered softly, "Give me a child, alright? When he grows up, I can pass the throne to him. Then I can always be by Husband's side and become a person who belongs only to Husband."
Yun Che nodded gently, his fingers softly stroking the snow-white skin on her neck. He leaned down and said with a light laugh, "Then shall we start working hard today?"
Although Cang Yue had her eyes closed, a blush quietly bloomed on her snow-like cheeks. She buried her head deeply, not daring to raise it. After a long while, she let out a mosquito-like murmur: "Mm..."
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Starting from the day after Feng Hengkong left, all the Shenhuang troops stationed in the Cang Feng Kingdom began to reorganize at a fairly rapid pace. Although they didn't completely withdraw from Cang Feng, they all retreated from the main cities and were given strict orders never to commit any further acts of aggression against the people.
The Shenhuang Kingdom's invasion of the Cang Feng Kingdom thus came to an abrupt end in a way no one had predicted.
What followed sent the entire Tian Xuan Continent into violent turmoil... On the fifth day after Feng Hengkong returned to Shenhuang, he publicly issued a compensation of a full fifty billion Purple Mysterious Coins to the Cang Feng Imperial Clan, along with thirty tons of Purple Crystal and thirteen thousand sets of light armor and weapons tempered with Phoenix Flame. That same afternoon, millions of Shenhuang troops began to orderly enter the Cang Feng Kingdom... but this time it wasn't an invasion. They were dispatched to various cities and regions of Cang Feng to assist in rebuilding and restoring the cities and towns destroyed during the war.
The news that Yun Che had killed several Shenhuang princes and elders, and had turned the Phoenix City upside down, also spread far and wide across the seven kingdoms during this time.
Combining these two facts, even the dullest person could vaguely guess what had happened.
Although the Cang Feng Kingdom was still in a shambles, it finally saw the clouds disperse and the sun shine. The entire nation was filled with joy. Countless Cang Feng citizens stopped fleeing and returned to their hometowns with tears and laughter, shouting the name "Yun Che," because they knew it was this person who had saved the Cang Feng Kingdom from the brink of destruction.
Outside the Cang Feng Kingdom, the other six kingdoms were undoubtedly in a state of intense shock and upheaval.
If Shenhuang had merely withdrawn its troops, that would be one thing—but Shenhuang not only withdrew but also paid an astronomical compensation and dispatched nearly seventy percent of its Shenhuang army to assist Cang Feng's reconstruction...
The reason Shenhuang went to such lengths made the rulers of the Canglan, Heisha, Kuishui, Jialuo, and Tianxiang Kingdoms unable to sleep or eat for days... After all, during these three years of Cang Feng suffering under Shenhuang's invasion, when the Cang Feng Imperial Clan had repeatedly humbly begged for aid, almost pleading, these five kingdoms had all chosen to ignore them, even tearing up the plea letters in their faces.
If someone could force the Shenhuang Empire to such an extent, retaliating against them would be a piece of cake.
Especially given Yun Che's rigid, ruthless personality and methods—these five kingdom rulers had all witnessed them firsthand during the Seven Kingdoms Ranking Battles three years ago!
Shaking off its shadow, the Cang Feng Kingdom began to recover, and naturally, Cang Yue became incredibly busy. During the day, she handled state affairs; at night, she served Yun Che. Yun Che, on the other hand, was exceptionally idle. Every morning, he would go to Cang Wanhe's tomb to accompany Feng Xue'er... To atone for Feng Hengkong's sins, Feng Xue'er insisted on kneeling before Cang Wanhe for ten days and ten nights. Yun Che and Cang Yue had no choice but to comply. The rest of the time, Yun Che mainly traveled between the Cangfeng Imperial City and Liuyun City.
Ten days later.
Early morning, the sky was already bright. Cang Yue had woken up, but her soft jade-like body was still tightly entwined with Yun Che's, unwilling to get out of bed. The snow-white arm exposed at the edge of the brocade blanket was like porcelain, dazzlingly white.
"Your Majesty, Que Wanli, ruler of the Kuishui Kingdom, requests an audience... Que Wanli has been waiting outside the hall since the fifth watch and has been waiting until now."
The voice of Cang Yue's close maid came respectfully from beyond the gauze curtain. Cang Yue squinted, her delicate body rubbing gently against Yun Che's in his embrace, and said lazily, "Understood. Let him wait another half hour."
"Yes."
The maid left. Cang Yue opened her eyes, threw back the brocade blanket, revealing large expanses of snow-white skin and jade-like flesh before Yun Che's eyes. Yun Che reached out and pulled her back into his arms. "Why go see him? Just have him put down the national tribute and scram."
Cang Yue shook her head with a smile. "Alright, Husband. You should get up too. Xue'er has already knelt before Father Emperor's tomb for ten days and ten nights. If you don't bring her back today, I'll be heartbroken."
Cang Yue simply draped a phoenix gauze over herself, then knelt on the bed, using her slender, silk-like jade hands to dress Yun Che, arrange his hair, and only then did she put on her phoenix robe and crown, hurrying off to personally prepare a meal for Yun Che.
Leaving the imperial palace, Yun Che flew at full speed until he reached the northern city district. Before Cang Wanhe's tomb, he immediately saw the girl kneeling there quietly. Her head was lowered, her hands clasped before her chest, her face like snow, peaceful and devout. Morning dew wet her long hair and skirt. Her slender, solitary figure, at just a glance, would cause a long-lasting ache in one's heart.