Chapter 233 - Coercion

Half a month later.

Verdant mountains and clear streams surrounded pavilions of green tile and palace walls painted vermilion. The woods were lush and tranquil, with winding paths threading through the shade.

A man in a gray python robe walked ahead. A belt studded with purple jade beads circled his waist. Behind him came a middle-aged man dressed in a black dragon-patterned robe.

The man in gray led the way, speaking in a thin, lilting voice. “Chancellor Xu, His Majesty was in quite the temper last night. He even smashed his favorite piece of jade~”

The middle-aged man ignored him.

The man in the python robe turned slightly and stole a glance at the figure behind him. Seeing no response, he wisely shut his mouth and hurried onward with quick, mincing steps.

After another few dozen paces, the forest opened into a world of its own.

A stream murmured through the trees, feeding a vast lake whose emerald surface rippled in the breeze. At the water’s edge, an old man in imperial dragon robes sat upon a woven cushion, quietly fishing. Beside him lay another empty cushion.

Seen from afar, the scene was peaceful and leisurely.

The man in the python robe quickly led the middle-aged man over. Without caring that the muddy ground would soil his immaculate robes, he dropped to his knees beside the lake and bowed. “Your Majesty, Chancellor Xu has arrived.”

The old man paid him no attention. His eyes remained closed, his hands steady upon the fishing rod.

The man in gray understood at once. He backed away several steps, glanced at the middle-aged man, then turned and left the imperial lake.

Birdsong rang crisp and clear through the woods.

The middle-aged man walked slowly to the old man’s side. He stopped beside the empty cushion but did not sit. Instead, he gazed across the lake without saying a word.

Just then, ripples suddenly spread across the placid surface.

A strange roar neither dragon nor tiger rumbled up from the depths, startling several birds from the treetops.

A moment later, the lakeside fell silent once more.

The white-haired old man remained seated upon his cushion. The middle-aged man stood quietly beside him, watching the lake.

Neither spoke. Yet silence could express many things, especially between the two of them.

No one knew how much time passed before the old man coughed softly, as though chilled by the breeze. He exhaled, still without turning around, and spoke with an inscrutable hint of amusement in his voice. “Sage Xu, are you refusing to sit because you wish to make Us look up at you?”

Xu Yinhe did not move. Still gazing at the lake, he calmly replied, “There is too much government business waiting. If I sit down, I will not have enough time.”

After a long while, the old man in imperial robes braced his hands against his knees and slowly rose from the cushion. He dusted off the nonexistent dirt from his legs. “Then I suppose I shall stand instead. It isn’t as though I was going to catch anything.”

There were no fish in this lake, only a single strange beast.

As the old man rose, he turned around.

Xu Yinhe finally saw his face, and his composed brow creased slightly.

The old man was ancient, yet still hale and vigorous. Traces of the handsome, commanding man he had once been could still be seen beneath the years. But several dark purple veins crawled up from his neck, spreading across nearly his entire face. Half the white of his left eye had already turned black.

Their gazes met for a breath.

“What is that look supposed to mean?” the old man asked. “Do you think We have grown old?”

He chuckled and bent down to gather his fishing gear. “Well... We have grown old, indeed. It has been three years since we last met. Come. Accompany Us to the island in the middle of the lake. We can call it catching up.”

Xu Yinhe followed him, though he made no move to help carry the fishing equipment.

The old man in imperial robes clearly knew better than to expect otherwise and carried it himself.

The two stepped onto the water and walked directly toward the island at the lake’s heart.

They traveled several paces in silence before Xu Yinhe suddenly spoke, his voice low and grave. “Your injuries have already worsened to this extent?”

The old man’s voice carried an easy smile. “You know perfectly well how grave my injuries are. I should count myself lucky simply to still be alive. Then again, aren’t you hoping I die?”

Xu Yinhe neither admitted nor denied it. After a brief silence, he gazed into the distance and said quietly, “There are not many of us left from those days.”

“No. There truly aren’t.” The old man shook his head. He paused, then glanced at Xu Yinhe and chuckled. “Something good must have happened to you recently. You seem to be in an excellent mood.”

They had met at the age of 14 and been friends for decades. Between them, a single sentence or glance was often enough.

Li Yaoxuan knew his old friend was not the sort to grow sentimental over the past.

Xu Yinhe did not answer.

The old emperor understood. Carrying his fishing gear, he said leisurely, “Any good news capable of making you happy is bound to be terrible news for Us.”

He took a memorial from his Sumeru Ring and casually handed it to Xu Yinhe. “Have a look.”

Xu Yinhe accepted it but did not open it.

“You aren’t going to read it?” the old man asked.

Xu Yinhe lowered his gaze to the memorial in his hand. “It can only concern the Myriad Manifestations Sect.”

The old man smiled meaningfully. “Indeed. Mobilizing private troops to attack a commandery town and a sect officially recognized by the imperial court. That crime alone would be enough to exterminate nine generations of the offender’s clan.”

Xu Yinhe glanced back at him. “What private troops? What attack? Has the Myriad Manifestations Sect not already declared that the entire incident was merely a military exercise they commissioned my Chancellor's Manor to conduct on their behalf?”

The old man lowered his eyes and smiled. Then he changed the subject. “Sageridge will require a considerable sum from the court for disaster relief. Unfortunately, the imperial treasury is empty...”

He stopped there. The meaning was plain enough.

Xu Yinhe had no intention of shirking the matter. “When the chairman of the Calm Sky Merchant Association heard of the disaster, he was overcome with compassion for the common people and voluntarily offered to donate 30 million taels’ worth of money and grain.”

The old emperor waved a hand.

The memorial in Xu Yinhe’s grasp burst into flames without warning. In moments, it was reduced to ash, which drifted down and vanished into the depths of the lake.

In the span of a few sentences, the two men had crossed more than a thousand meters and reached the island in the lake.

A pavilion had been built there, with vermilion pillars and glazed green tiles, lavish to the point of extravagance.

As they entered, the eunuchs and palace maids standing on either side immediately knelt to greet them.

The two continued all the way to the top floor and took their seats.

The man in the python robe who had disappeared earlier reappeared and poured tea for them.

A gentle breeze stirred the imperial dragon robe behind the old man as he gazed across the glittering lake. “Our third son went to the Myriad Manifestations Sect.”

Xu Yinhe’s hand paused slightly as he raised his cup. “Is he dead?” He asked it as casually as one might ask about the weather.

At those words, the grotesque dark veins covering the old man’s face seemed to twist into a smile. “That brat has always been quick on his feet.”

Xu Yinhe resumed drinking his tea. “The Third Prince is quite capable.”

This time, the old man laughed aloud, his voice full of teasing. “The third is indeed capable. Far more so than your own third son. Unfortunately, he has never shown much interest in Our throne. Of course, perhaps he has simply hidden it well enough that even We failed to notice.”

Xu Yinhe’s expression remained utterly calm. “Perhaps. The Third Prince and Yucheng share a deep brotherly bond. By refusing to compete, he may yet live to a peaceful end.”

Li Yucheng was the current crown prince.

The old man stared at Xu Yinhe for several breaths with that black-purple eye of his. Then he suddenly smiled. “Yinhe, who do you think I should pass this throne to? The Crown Prince?”

Even with the imperial succession at stake, Xu Yinhe’s voice remained low and calm. “Why bother asking me?”

“You hold sway over half Our court. Naturally, We must hear your opinion,” the old man replied with a chuckle.

Xu Yinhe set down his teacup with a sharp clack. It was not loud, but in the silence atop the pavilion, the sound rang clear. “Your lifespan is not yet exhausted. Why the hurry?”

The old man coughed twice, then pointed to the blood at the corner of his mouth and the state of his face. “Does this look like someone whose lifespan is far from exhausted?”

At that, the corner of Xu Yinhe’s mouth curled upward. For the first time, he smiled. His falcon-sharp gaze swept across the concealed formations in the sky, the man in the python robe standing nearby, and the endless expanse of blue-green water before finally settling once more on the old emperor’s face.

He spoke slowly and deliberately. “Yaoxuan, were you truly on the verge of death, I would never have come here.”

The old man narrowed his eyes. In the end, he could only shake his head and sigh helplessly. “Before you, We seem to possess no imperial dignity whatsoever.”

Xu Yinhe shook his head. “Everything we have today began with the idea we shared back then.”

The old man spoke as though they were merely making idle conversation. “That idea cannot be realized within a single generation.”

“So you intend to compromise?” Xu Yinhe asked.

BANG! The tea table between them exploded into splinters.

A violent wave of source qi whipped their robes into a frenzy.

At the top of the pavilion, all was deathly silent.

With the table gone, the old man’s hand remained suspended in midair. The two old friends stared at one another, their expressions unchanged, while the man in the python robe continued standing to the side with his eyes lowered.

Soon, the silence was broken by a fit of violent coughing.

The old man spat out a large mouthful of black blood.

The man in the python robe moved to step forward, but the emperor raised a hand and stopped him.

“Xu Yinhe, if we act now, the realm will only descend into greater chaos. At the very least, we must first eliminate the foreign tribes surrounding us.”

Xu Yinhe’s voice remained measured and unhurried. “The sects will never give us that opportunity. Do not tell me you have yet to receive the news from the north.”

The old man wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with a white cloth.

The atmosphere grew so cold it seemed ready to freeze.

Xu Yinhe slowly rose, stepped over the shattered wood scattered across the floor, and walked to the window. With his back to the old man, he said, “The war in the north is about to be lost.”

His voice was calm, yet it carried an emotion difficult to name.

The old man said nothing.

Xu Yinhe turned and looked at his old friend. “Li Yaoxuan, the sects will not sit by and watch us eliminate the surrounding foreign tribes. Wuyuan sought to kill the Barbarian King, but she is now trapped by him at Black Dragon Mountain, isolated and without reinforcements.”

The old man casually tossed the bloodstained cloth onto the floor. “What are you trying to say?”

Xu Yinhe lightly brushed a hand over the smooth sandalwood windowsill. “Zong Qingsheng is near Calmorc River.”

The Calmorc River was less than 300 miles from Black Dragon Mountain.

At those words, the old man gave a soft laugh. He stared at the old friend before him, his gaze gradually turning cold. “Xu Yinhe, are you trying to force Our hand?”

Xu Yinhe straightened his sleeves, then bowed deeply to the Emperor of the Great Flame Empire. “If that is how Your Majesty chooses to understand it, then yes.”