Chapter 197: I Came to My City
In the distance lay a vast ocean.
Within that ocean was a ship.
The Second Prince of the Great Western Continent stood at the bow, his robes fluttering lightly, his brows deeply furrowed, lost in thought about something unknown.
Mu Jiu Shi sat inside the cabin, occasionally glancing back along the path they had come, her expression tinged with sorrow.
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To a small stream, the Red River was immensely wide, no different from an ocean.
And flowing from the Falling Star Mountains to White Emperor City, the stream had become the Red River.
From the docks to the streets and alleys, to the squares, to the meadows of the Celestial Keep, people knelt everywhere, like a tide.
White Emperor had returned to White Emperor City.
He did not go directly to the Imperial City but chose to travel by boat.
From the riverbank to the Imperial City, the path was wide and unobstructed.
He walked slowly through the tide of demonfolk subjects, his hands clasped behind his back, his expression unhurried, as if he merely wished to see if the old city, which he had not visited for years, had changed in any way.
During the time he strolled casually through White Emperor City, those officials still loyal to Lady Shepherd either committed suicide or had their heads cut off by their own kin.
The elite Red River Demon Guards, after several extremely fierce clashes, knelt before the Imperial City, their knees soaked in blood—blood from their once closest comrades.
There was no real battle to speak of; it was even calmer and swifter than a decree pacifying the realm.
He said nothing, and yet everything was resolved.
Because this was, after all, his city.
Every street and alley in this city, every mottled old stone on its walls, bore his presence.
Those presences now all returned to his body.
His figure grew increasingly towering, his aura becoming ever more powerful.
The giant beast in the river let out a low hum, signaling submission and welcome.
The black vulture in the high tower buried its head in its wings, trembling in terror.
He was already the most powerful being between heaven and earth, and now, silently radiating his aura, he exuded an unmatched, domineering sensation.
The entire White Emperor City, every living thing inside and outside the city, trembled and quaked before this imposing presence, daring not to make a sound.
Before the Imperial City, a figure finally appeared that did not kneel.
That figure was originally extremely tall, like a mountain peak.
The Chieftain of the Elephant Tribe stood before the city gate, watching White Emperor draw nearer, his eyes filled with complex emotions.
He was the chief elder of the Council of Elders, his Elephant Tribe the largest clan among the demonfolk, and he himself the strongest being among the demonfolk aside from White Emperor and his consort.
Lady Shepherd had taken advantage of White Emperor’s severe injuries to imprison him; now, it was clear that the Chieftain was a participant, a true rebel.
From any perspective, he indeed had the right not to kneel, and the reasoning to do so.
White Emperor stopped before the Elephant Tribe Chieftain.
The Chieftain looked at White Emperor’s somewhat gaunt face, his expression shifting slightly as he opened his mouth to say something.
White Emperor leaned forward slightly, as if trying to get a better look at him.
It was only a simple movement, yet it carried an irresistible momentum.
If the Elephant Tribe Chieftain was a mountain, then White Emperor was the highest snow-capped peak in the world.
When he leaned forward, it was as if that snow peak was advancing.
He looked down at the Elephant Tribe Chieftain from above.
Like a god peering out from atop a snowy summit.
His eyes held no emotion, only a vast, desolate snowfield.
The traveler in that snowfield gradually faded into the distance, like all the past kindness, tolerance, and mercy, leaving only indifference and cold.
A flash of lightning lit up the snowfield, illuminating the traveler’s silhouette.
It was a glint of light in those cold, black eyes.
It was a hand descending from the sky.
The Elephant Tribe Chieftain’s expression changed drastically. With a sharp howl, he crossed his arms before him like two massive stone pillars, meeting that hand.
There was no fear in his eyes, nor regret—only shock and confusion, which seemed very strange.
A fierce wind howled across the snowfield.
Kicking up a thousand piles of snow.
The wax elephants on the snowfield collapsed one after another.
With a soft crack, countless fine fissures appeared on those two stone pillars, then they gradually crumbled.
With a thunderous boom, the stone walls around the main gate of the Imperial City collapsed, countless rocks flying in all directions.
Dust and smoke billowed, obscuring all sight. The violent clash of auras and that terrifying pressure cut off all spiritual perception, and no sound could escape.
Blood spurted continuously from the Elephant Tribe Chieftain’s ears, nose, and mouth, making him look especially horrifying.
Strangely, not a single drop of blood flowed from his completely shattered arms.
At the moment of death, he finally understood why all this had happened, and his eyes showed an expression of disbelief and pain.
“So, after hundreds of years, you still refuse to believe in my loyalty!”
The Elephant Tribe Chieftain’s desperate and anguished shout did not cause any change in White Emperor’s expression.
“Belief is the most useless word.”
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The dust and smoke gradually settled, and the rolling gravel fell still.
A few coughs came from deep within the Imperial City; White Emperor must have already arrived there.
The Demonfolk Prime Minister and the Chieftain of the Scholar Tribe and other important figures hurried forward, following him.
Little De stopped in his tracks and looked at the Elephant Tribe Chieftain’s corpse.
Someone would have to clean up the mess before the city gate, but it wouldn’t be him.
He stopped because he thought the Chieftain’s eyes looked strange.
The Elephant Tribe Chieftain was dead, but his eyes were still open.
His eyes were filled with shock and anger.
This was what Little De couldn’t understand—the Chieftain had faked White Emperor’s decree during the Return to Origin Ceremony and conspired with Lady Shepherd in rebellion; he certainly deserved death, and he himself should have known that. So why did he have such emotions at the moment of death?
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At some point before White Emperor returned to his city.
Many other things had happened in this city.
For instance, some people had left the Falling Star Mountains early, using secret paths to return to White Emperor City ahead of time.
For instance, some people had started making arrangements in advance, like the Elephant Tribe Chieftain who later died.
He went directly to the Imperial City, bringing no Elephant Tribe experts, nor any loyal subordinates.
He even sent his most valued youngest son, Xiang Qiu, to that large compound not far from the manor.
Because he knew that this was the safest place, and no matter who won today’s war—His Majesty or the Empress—it would not affect this place.
Xiang Qiu was the strongest of the younger generation of the Elephant Tribe. He had been cultivating secret arts deep in the mountains since childhood, possessing a rare and brutal temperament among the Elephant Tribe, but he had little experience in worldly affairs.
He simply didn’t understand why his father had made such arrangements. He intended to leave on his own, to go to the Imperial City to support his father, and even wanted to persuade the Demon Lord to go with him.
The Demon Lord knew what the Elephant Tribe Chieftain was thinking and admired him, but he found Xiang Qiu all the more foolish.
If White Emperor was truly still alive, then White Emperor City would inevitably face an earth-shattering war.
In fact, the Demon Lord believed that White Emperor must still be alive.
But he would not participate in this war.
Just as the Elephant Tribe Chieftain had thought, no matter whether White Emperor or Lady Shepherd won, neither would touch him.
Even though the Demon Lord’s gaze was so mocking, Xiang Qiu still didn’t understand. He spat in annoyance and, with his most loyal subordinates, headed toward the courtyard gate.
He was worried about his father’s safety and didn’t want to miss this event destined to be recorded in history, so he decided to rush to the Imperial City.
But he couldn’t leave, because this large compound had already been surrounded.
A blind zither player stood outside the crowd, holding an ancient zither.
He looked somewhat tired, his shoulders slightly drooping.
Perhaps because he had just rushed back from the Falling Star Mountains.