Chapter 863: He Chunhuas Fate

Chapter 863: He Chunhua's Fate

In other words, He Lingchuan was safe for now. The mark in his mind had indeed not been erased, but the heavenly god’s avatar could no longer descend.

So all along, I’d been dancing to Chuan’er’s tune!

No, more than that. Naluotian had been dancing to his tune as well!

From beginning to end, the two of us had been led around by the nose, never once escaping the carefully laid trap.

A chill spread through He Chunhua’s heart.

That’s not my eldest son! Absolutely not!

Chuan’er couldn’t possibly have grown into someone whose cunning bordered on monstrous in a single year!

Which means...

His heart jolted. He drew two deep breaths and forced himself to calm down.

Seen this way, there had to be some kind of connection between He Lingchuan and the Generous Pot. Otherwise, how could he have been certain that the Generous Pot would imprison Naluotian’s avatar rather than simply destroy it?

Two years ago in the Panlong Secret Realm, the heavenly god’s avatar Nian Songyu summoned had been swallowed whole by the black dragon.

Hm, could that heavenly god’s avatar still be alive too, merely trapped inside the Generous Pot?

Thought after thought flooded in. Even with He Chunhua’s mind, the entire matter felt like a hopeless tangle he could not begin to unravel.

Naluotian noticed something amiss. “What did you just think of?”

He Chunhua immediately cast aside those distracting thoughts and did not discuss them with Naluotian at all. Instead, he focused on a single point. “Divine Venerable, may I ask what my thread of fate looks like from this point onward?”

“The obscuring mist has cleared. In the language of your mortal realm, it now shows the fate of the nine-five!”

Th-the nine-five?!

Gulp.

He Chunhua swallowed, scarcely able to believe what he had heard.

His voice trembled. “Y-you mean...?” I possess the fate of an emperor?[1]

Naluotian gave a soft affirmative sound.

He Chunhua was overjoyed. He shot to his feet, only to aggravate his wound and collapse back down in pain.

“Thank you, Divine Venerable! Finally, I’ve waited long enough for this day!”

This was the destiny the god of fate had pronounced for him. No, this was the decree written into fate itself!

He had endured humiliation and hardship for twenty years!

He had guarded the frontier and defended the realm for twenty years!

He had always known Heaven had a great responsibility waiting for him!

Ancestors above, the oath I swore—to avenge old wrongs and bring glory to the family name—is finally coming true!

“Don’t celebrate too soon!” Naluotian immediately poured cold water over his excitement. “Fate is not immutable. If you fail to cherish it, the flower may bloom in someone else’s garden. If you cannot bear this fortune, your entire family may once again lose their heads!”

He Chunhua’s eyes were red. Once his ecstasy surged up, it was impossible to suppress. “Please instruct me, Divine Venerable!”

“You fought well in those battles suppressing the southern rebellion, but have you thought about what comes afterward?” Naluotian said lightly. “There’s a mortal saying, even a rotten ship still has three pounds of nails. The ruler of Yuan is not going to voluntarily hand the throne over to you.”

Did battles mean that he could directly become emperor?

Ke Jihai and Zhao Pan were both great generals skilled at commanding armies. Why had they never seized the throne? Was it simply because they did not want it?

And the Minister of War in the north had spent years building up his power. Would he really stand by and let He Chunhua ascend the throne?

He Chunhua took several deep breaths, forcing down his turbulent emotions. “After the southern rebellion is suppressed, I do have several ideas. But my troops, weapons, and manpower are still not strong enough, and I haven’t had enough time.”

He had only served as Governor-General of Xia Province for a year and a half. Although he had worked hard to build his foundation, Xia Province was far from prosperous. During Provincial Governor Nian Zanli’s rebellion in Xun Province, Xia Province had also been constantly supplying Zhao Pan’s army, slowing the growth of He Chunhua’s own strength.

He Chunhua had won several major victories in succession, but his mind had remained clear throughout. He knew exactly where his weaknesses lay.

If he took his current troops straight north to fight the Minister of War, he would probably lose seventy to eighty percent of them.

He urgently needed troops, money, provisions, and talent. However, what he lacked most of all was time.

Time to cultivate his own wings and grow stronger.

His gaze unconsciously shifted toward the wound on his shoulder, toward the injury he had deliberately asked Zhao Qinghe to inflict inside the Panlong Secret Realm.

Naluotian said slowly, “I have a body of believers and some additional forces that I can place under your command. They are far stronger than the troops you possess now!”

He Chunhua’s face lit up. “Thank you, Divine Venerable!”

A god would never help him without reason. This was especially true for him with Naluotian. After the severe setback in the Panlong Ruins, after he had caused Naluotian to lose an avatar, Naluotian not only refrained from punishing him but was actually increasing its support. This was absolutely abnormal, even after his fate had supposedly revealed the “sign of an emperor.”

Would a heavenly god truly place such value on a mortal emperor?

What’s caused Naluotian’s attitude to change?

Is it connected to the “extremely important ability” that it has lost? Or has something changed in the divine realm, forcing it to rely more heavily on the mortal realm?

There has to be some hidden circumstance I don’t know about!

But regardless, now that He Chunhua knew Naluotian still needed him, his heart settled considerably.

For the moment, all he had to do was rejoice.

“If I ascend to the supreme position, you will be the principal god worshiped by my state!”

Naluotian was not going to be fooled by such a distant promise. “Once you return to Ya Province, you will form a contract with the god Kunxiu and receive his mark!”

The god Kunxiu? He Chunhua felt as though he had heard the name somewhere before. There were countless gods in the heavens, and ordinary people did not necessarily know the obscure lesser gods. But the word “mark” made his heart jump violently. “Divine Venerable, what do you mean by that?”

“You know perfectly well.” Naluotian sneered. “Kunxiu is a subordinate god under my command. Whatever contract He Lingchuan signed, you will sign the same kind of contract with Kunxiu!”

Naluotian wants me to voluntarily become Kunxiu’s skin-sack? He Chunhua’s expression changed. “Divine Venerable, I know nothing about the god Kunxiu...”

At present, he and Naluotian were still partners.

The moment he signed such a contract, that would become a relationship between superior and subordinate. If the heavenly god wanted him dead, he would have no choice but to die, with absolutely no power to resist.

For a man like He Chunhua, having his life and death held in someone else’s hands was more painful than almost anything.

It had been so more than twenty years ago. And now, more than twenty years later, will it be the same again?

“He is absolutely loyal to me, far more loyal than you are. Offering your life to him is no different from offering it to me.” Naluotian then asked leisurely, “What? Are you unwilling?” Does this sly human really believe that all the assistance I am giving him comes free of charge?

He Chunhua gulped. “Of course not, it’s just...”

Naluotian cut him off, “For the sake of your victory, the divine energy I will expend from now on will be at least ten times what it was before! And it is not only you; even I am now in a position where victory is mandatory, and defeat is unacceptable! Otherwise, we will be doomed beyond redemption! If you cannot do it, then I can only grant my blessing to someone else.”

He Chunhua’s thoughts raced. Even with his naturally decisive temperament, he could not answer immediately.

Even if he became ruler of a state, what pleasure was there in it if his life still belonged to someone else? In what sense would he truly be supreme?

Naluotian softened its tone and said, “Do you think you are more noble than the vassal monster kings of Beijia?”

He Chunhua was astonished. “They sign this kind of contract too?”

“The lives and deaths of the vassal monster kings are directly controlled by the gods of Lingxu!” Naluotian scoffed. “How else do you think Lingxu City has maintained control over the various vassal monster states for so long? Beijia has lasted six hundred years, and rebellions among the vassal demon states can be counted on one hand. Even when they do occur, they almost always happen during transitions of power. One major reason is that every succeeding vassal demon king must sign a contract beneath the gaze of the gods of Lingxu!”

As for the exact terms of those contracts, Naluotian did not mention them. He Chunhua suspected it might not know every detail itself.

“So that’s how it is! So that’s how it is!” He Chunhua had heard this question debated more than once by famous scholars and political thinkers. Some had even reasoned in this direction, arguing that Lingxu City must hold some crucial leverage over the vassal monster states.

They had not guessed the exact truth, but they had not been far off either.

So the answer to a mystery that had baffled the world for centuries is actually just that?

Once spoken aloud, it hardly seemed mysterious at all.

However, He Chunhua also understood that if one wished to control someone over a long period of time, the simplest and most direct methods were often the best. He could not help but ask, “But the vassal monster kings seem to... act largely as they please?”

The relationship between the vassal monster states and Lingxu City was regarded as a model throughout the contemporary world. The former retained considerable autonomy and did not bow to the latter in every matter.

That delicate political balance had fascinated countless political theorists across other regions.

“That is because the contract spells out its terms in detail. The heavenly gods cannot simply take a vassal monster king’s life at will. The agreement restrains both sides. Also, gods rarely concern themselves with struggles internal to mortal nations,” said Naluotian. “The contract Kunxiu will sign with you is of this kind. As for the specific clauses, you can read them when the time comes.”

He Chunhua nodded. “I understand.”

But inwardly, he was thinking, why would Naluotian not sign the contract with me personally?

Is it unwilling? Or is it unable to do so?

Wouldn’t keeping someone like me directly in its own hands be far more reassuring?

Sure enough! The information I’ve secretly gathered, the information that a god can station only one avatar in the mortal realm is probably true after all.

1. Jiu Wu (Nine-Five) symbolizes the emperor. “Nine” is the highest odd number (representing supreme Yang), and “Five” is the central number. Together, they represent the absolute supremacy and central authority of the ruler. The concept probably comes from the I Ching, also known as The Book of Changes, where a hexagram line goes, “The nine in the fifth place, a dragon flying in the heavens.” ☜