Chapter 947: Herding Clouds Over the Sea, Do You Still Remember?
"Chief Steward Jin, how did you get here?"
Looking at the man, Lady Li was both surprised and somewhat worried.
The newcomer was Jin Yulü.
This was the fastest and most senior general among the demon race. He had once accompanied Luoluo to the capital for her studies, serving as a gatekeeper at the National Teaching Academy for a long time. After returning to the demon domain, he did not resume his official post but instead continued his life of farming, right up to the present.
Luoluo and Xuanyuan Po had both tried to contact him but failed, because his estate had been under extremely strict surveillance. The fact that he could leave his estate today and come to the palace, with those unconscious demon guards and maids outside the hall, showed exactly how he had accomplished all this.
"Your Highness, please follow me," Jin Yulü said, looking at Luoluo.
As the fastest master of movement in the world and the most senior elder and general of the demon race, even though the palace was heavily guarded and filled with eyes everywhere, if he took Luoluo away, there might still be a chance.
Lady Li looked at Luoluo, her eyes full of persuasion, and said, "Her Majesty will at most punish me a little; she won't make things too difficult for me."
Luoluo stepped forward and took Jin Yulü's hand, filled with gratitude, but she did not agree to his request. Instead, she whispered a sentence.
"Quickly go down the tunnel behind the hall. I..."
She wanted to give Jin Yulü the magical artifacts her father had left her, so he might have a chance to escape through the tunnel. But before she could finish, the clouds in the clear sky gathered like a flock of sheep being herded, blocking out the sun and casting the entire White Emperor City into shadow.
Madam Mu walked into the stone hall and said calmly to Jin Yulü, "Even children know when something cannot be done. Why must you insist on making this scene?"
Jin Yulü was silent for a moment, then asked, "Under what pretext does Her Majesty the Empress intend to kill me? Trespassing into the palace, or showing great disrespect to a Saint?"
Madam Mu replied, "Your prestige within the clan is too high. Even His Majesty cannot casually order your death, let alone me. I simply do not understand why, over all these years, you have harbored such hostility toward His Majesty and have repeatedly targeted me. Have my husband and I not treated you generously enough?"
Jin Yulü said, "His Majesty naturally understands the matters of the past. As for today's matter, Your Majesty should also understand."
Madam Mu said, "You should be clear that this is not my will alone. The Grand Elder already sensed His Majesty's intent last night."
"That is where I differ from the Grand Elder and the other elders. Or perhaps that is exactly why His Majesty has never liked me."
Jin Yulü looked at Madam Mu expressionlessly and said, "Even if this is His Majesty's decree, as long as I believe it is wrong, I will not accept it."
Madam Mu said, "Truly worthy of Chief Steward Jin. Not to mention the crime of defying an imperial decree, but regarding the matter of right and wrong, how do you determine it?"
Jin Yulü said, "The eight-hundred-li Red River and the hundred-thousand-li demon domain—how can they be handed over to someone not of our race?"
Madam Mu said, "What is called the Heaven's Choice is all the will of the ancestral spirits. No matter what race a person belongs to, as long as they can be accepted by the Heavenly Tree and undergo the baptism of the Wildfire, their bloodline will be completely transformed, and they will become the true body of the Demon Emperor, henceforth becoming a member of the White Emperor clan. How can they be considered an outsider?"
Jin Yulü looked into her eyes and said, "Is this your arrangement for the Second Prince?"
Madam Mu said, "Everyone participating in the Heaven's Choice Ceremony must obey the arrangements of fate, and this is the fairest method."
Jin Yulü said, "You suddenly announced this matter, leaving the human race no time to react or send participants. How is this fair?"
Madam Mu's expression was indifferent as she said, "What does this have to do with Chief Steward Jin? Could it be that you have some collusion with the Zhou people?"
Jin Yulü looked at her sternly and said, "And what about Her Highness in your eyes? She has taken the Pope as her teacher, so does that mean she might also collude with the Zhou people? Is that why, even though you clearly know her meridians have been repaired and she only needs enough time to smoothly inherit the throne, you still insist on forcibly initiating the Heaven's Choice Ceremony?"
Madam Mu said, "I understand her situation better than any of you. I hope she can find happiness, but I will not create any illusions for her."
Jin Yulü said, "Illusions or lies? Your Majesty, these words of yours probably cannot even deceive yourself, so how can they convince Her Highness?"
As they spoke, they did not avoid Luoluo. She heard everything clearly.
With that final sentence, the stone hall fell into an eerie silence, because at this point, the conversation could no longer continue.
Madam Mu lightly flicked her sleeves. Her jade-like hands moved, and a wind inexplicably rose in the stone hall. A giant hand formed from clear light slammed down toward Jin Yulü.
Countless piercing shrieks echoed through the hall as the air was churned into countless turbulent currents.
Jin Yulü transformed into a blurry afterimage, dodging the giant hand and retreating beyond the stone platform.
Madam Mu's expression remained unchanged as she took a step forward, her sleeves dancing once more.
The white clouds that had gathered above White Emperor City suddenly descended several li, becoming oppressively low, as if they were about to touch the peaks on the opposite bank.
Those with sharp eyes could even see the raindrops condensing within the clouds.
As the clouds descended, an unimaginable pressure fell, enveloping White Emperor City, especially this stone hall at its highest point.
A muffled groan sounded from the platform. Behind Jin Yulü, the afterimage that seemed to merge with heaven and earth faltered slightly.
His realm and strength were extremely formidable, but to contend with a master of the sacred domain, he had to push his speed to its absolute limit for even a slim chance.
But Madam Mu merely flicked her sleeves, borrowing the power of heaven and earth and the pressure of the clouds to break his movement technique.
The clouds in the sky drew closer and closer to the ground. Several towering ancient trees on the opposite bank of the Red River were almost completely obscured. The pressure falling on the stone hall grew heavier and heavier. The unconscious demon guards and maids groaned in pain, and Lady Li found it increasingly difficult to breathe.
Jin Yulü's figure became clearer and clearer.
The clearer the afterimage, the slower his speed.
The moment his form fully materialized, Jin Yulü would face Madam Mu's thunderous strike.
That scene never happened.
Because Luoluo walked over to Madam Mu's side.
She took hold of Madam Mu's sleeve, lifted her small face, opened her big eyes wide, and said one sentence very seriously.
"Mother, please don't do this."
...
...
The dark clouds pressed down on the city, but the city was not destroyed. Not even a single raindrop fell before the clouds rose back to the high sky and gradually dispersed.
Jin Yulü escaped from the palace. Presumably, he could no longer return to the fields he had farmed for years. Where he went, no one knew.
Lady Li and the demon guards and maids withdrew. The entire stone hall was utterly silent, leaving only Madam Mu and Luoluo, mother and daughter.
"Many people think I am doing this for my own selfish desires."
Madam Mu looked into Luoluo's eyes and said, "Is that what you think too?"
Luoluo was silent for a long time. Instead of directly answering the question, she asked a somewhat strange one.
"Mother... after all these years, do you still miss home very much?"