Chapter 218: Above White Emperor City, Clouds Emerge (Part 1)
The key point of this sentence was not the latter half, but the first three words.
The White Emperor had no interest in using Chen Changsheng and Yuren to stir up Shang Xingzhou’s emotions.
He was very straightforward—or rather, shamelessly—laying out his bottom line to Shang Xingzhou.
If Shang Xingzhou insisted on the Demon Lord dying, then Shang Xingzhou might be severely injured or even killed today.
Only then would the question arise of which of his students humanity would be handed over to.
Why did the White Emperor have the confidence to say such things?
Shang Xingzhou understood. It all stemmed from Madam Mu, who had never been mentioned by either of them.
She had always stood upon the clouds, with no intention of leaving.
From any angle, the betrayed White Emperor could not possibly forgive Madam Mu.
But Shang Xingzhou knew that the White Emperor could change his stance at any moment, even if it made him sick to do so.
“Some people live, some people die.”
Shang Xingzhou looked into the White Emperor’s eyes and said.
The bluestone shattered, and a shockwave surged through the street, collapsing a row of black eaves.
Countless gazes turned to look, catching sight of Shang Xingzhou, but not the White Emperor’s figure.
The White Emperor had ascended to the clouds.
He stood silently opposite Madam Mu.
“Are you done negotiating with Shang?”
Madam Mu asked as if it were a trivial matter.
The White Emperor replied casually, “The Demon Lord will live.”
Madam Mu looked westward and said, “Sometimes I wonder how all of this began.”
“Perhaps it’s because you always like to gaze at your homeland? Everything stems from your own choices—like the one you made three years ago.”
The White Emperor said, “I never thought that after all these years as husband and wife, you would actually want me dead.”
Madam Mu’s expression was cold. “In all my life, I’ve never seen anyone as hypocritical as you. Even now, you still say such things.”
The White Emperor smiled. “Wasn’t it you who sealed my mausoleum with the power of the tidal surge?”
Madam Mu turned to look into his eyes. “Wasn’t entering that death-seclusion your own choice?”
The White Emperor didn’t take the bait. “When did you confirm I was still alive?”
Madam Mu said, “That night, Old Xiang went to the Falling Star Mountains and said he sensed your will when he returned.”
The White Emperor asked, “Didn’t you order him to do that?”
Madam Mu replied, “This concerns Luoheng’s marriage. Even if I ordered him, he wouldn’t dare disobey your command and agree.”
“I don’t understand your meaning.”
The White Emperor said, “If I remember correctly, he secretly defected to you two years ago.”
Madam Mu sneered slightly. “If I’m not mistaken, you arranged for him to do that three years ago.”
Countless years ago, the entire continent believed the White Emperor and Madam Mu were deeply in love—a saintly couple admired by all.
Who could have imagined that there had never been trust between them? So-called deceit and scheming were merely routine.
The White Emperor asked, “Why did you become suspicious of him?”
Madam Mu mocked, “Anyone with eyes could see he was your loyal dog, your fanatical devotee.”
Perhaps recalling the figure that had collapsed like a mountain before the imperial city, the White Emperor fell silent for a long time.
To outsiders, this might seem like regret, sorrow, or self-blame.
But to Madam Mu, it was nothing but shameless and nauseating posturing.
“Why put on this act in front of me? For two hundred years, you’ve wanted to kill this elder with the highest prestige and seniority, to eradicate his Xiang clan. It’s just that he and his people were too loyal, and you could never find a suitable excuse or reason. This time, you finally used his loyalty to conveniently sling some mud, so of course you’d kill him quickly.”
Madam Mu’s mocking expression deepened. “Speaking of which, you and that old friend Shang Xingzhou are truly alike—hypocritical to the core. He wants to kill his student but doesn’t want to dirty his own hands, so he tries to use mine. And you’re the same.”
The White Emperor’s expression remained unchanged. “Since you knew I was alive, why didn’t you stop me from coming out?”
“If you wanted to come out, you naturally could. If you didn’t, it meant you wanted to watch the show.”
Madam Mu said expressionlessly, “After so many years as husband and wife, we have that much tacit understanding. You refused to come out, tacitly approving my plan. You wanted to watch me and the Black-robed do these things. I just don’t understand why you stopped me from making a move against Chen Changsheng.”
That power which had once made Chen Changsheng wary and puzzled now clearly came from the White Emperor.
Only the White Emperor could, without showing himself, directly shift the entire demon race’s inclination overnight.
Madam Mu didn’t need the White Emperor to answer that question; she quickly deduced the result herself.
“I suppose you learned that Shang Xingzhou could appear at any time.”
The White Emperor said, “True. I ultimately underestimated my old friend’s boldness and methods. I didn’t expect he would ask Xu Yourong for help.”
“No one wants to savor life and death on stage while you sip tea offstage.”
Madam Mu sneered at him. “I didn’t want you to keep watching the show, and neither did Shang Xingzhou. Everyone wanted to force you onto the stage to perform.”
The White Emperor said, “I also underestimated Chen Changsheng’s resolve and perseverance.”
Madam Mu thought of those nights when a figure shuttled between the imperial city and the Falling Star Mountains, and shook her head.
She hadn’t expected that Chen Changsheng had the ability and such awe-inspiring patience to wear down that prohibition with his sword array.
From that moment on, the White Emperor could no longer play the role of a bitter, isolated imprisoned monarch.
All contradictions erupted at that moment, all stories began, and all roles took the stage.
This was seeing the multitude.
Madam Mu mocked him, “Though you were ultimately forced out like a clown by that master and disciple pair, I won’t pity you.”
The White Emperor said calmly, “I don’t need pity.”
“And him?”
Madam Mu gently touched her lower abdomen, looking at the White Emperor. “Does your son need pity?”
A small life that had yet to see heaven and earth, to see the multitude—if it needed pity, it could only be because it would never see them.
In other words, it would die prematurely.
The White Emperor’s gaze fell on Madam Mu’s lower abdomen.
Her belly was very flat.
“The bloodline of my White Emperor clan is not easily passed on. A fetus must be carried for five full years; offspring are truly hard to come by.”
The White Emperor looked at her calmly. “But we already have Luoluo.”
Madam Mu stared into his eyes. “She is, after all, only a daughter.”
“That is your greatest mistake, because I have never seen any difference between a daughter and a son, and naturally never thought of having another son. I have never understood where you people from the Great Western Continent get such views.”
The White Emperor’s expression grew more mocking, his words more cutting.
“Because a daughter must marry out and cannot support her parents in old age? Or because girls are outward-bound? But as I see it, you’ve married into my White Emperor City for so many years, yet you’ve always thought of your natal home. You’ve never treated this place as your home, nor me as your family. So what are you worried about?” (To be continued.)