Tome of Troubled Times

Chapter 501: The Bridge Between Two Eras

Sisi clearly noticed the pair standing in the distance, watching her. She felt her heart inexplicably start beating much faster, and what had previously been a smooth and flowing speech now began to falter, and she found herself stuttering.

It was strange. She had never felt this way before. She had clearly helped him in a major way, repaying her debt to him, so she could not understand why she felt so flustered and anxious now.

Was it because she had already given away her final bargaining chip—her body—and now everything depended on his judgment?

After a brief pause, Sisi slowly said, “Sacred envoy, since you have arrived, why... why are you standing outside? Please take the seat of honor.”

Zhao Changhe eyed her suspiciously the entire way as he slowly walked in.

Seeing Sisi intending to give up her seat, Zhao Changhe shook his head and pulled Yue Hongling along to sit by the side. “We’re just here to observe. Please continue.”

Sisi steadied herself and continued with the establishment of the various bureaus and departments and the assignment of titles and positions.

But no matter how she tried, she stumbled over her words, feeling increasingly uneasy under Zhao Changhe’s gaze.

Her beautiful eyes couldn’t help but drift over to him, and when their eyes met, they both quickly looked away.

In the end, Zhao Changhe, who had come saying he would offer suggestions, did not say a single word. He probably could not even comprehend what Sisi was saying, as his mind was clearly elsewhere.

Yue Hongling rolled her eyes at the strange atmosphere between the two. Since they’ve already been through everything, they might as well be straightforward with each other. What’s the point of all these subtle glances?

As for her own attempt to learn something from a higher-level perspective, it was clear that that was not going to happen here. As a heroine with no political foundation, just listening to the names of the various official positions made her head spin. However, some of the things Sisi mentioned did catch her interest—such as the Bureau of Beast Control and the Spirit Tribe’s techniques for taming beasts and communicating with beast spirits.

Previously, the Heavenly Tome had granted her insight into the concept of the Goshawk Assailing the Scorching Sun, which had elevated her sword intent and helped her break through to the second layer of the Profound Mysteries. Whatever that page of the tome was, just that alone had allowed her to expand her thinking as a martial artist: If one traced back to ancient times, where did people learn their martial arts techniques? It was not as if the heavens could have just directly imparted them to everyone.

Martial arts techniques almost certainly came about from observing nature, beasts, and gaining experience from fighting beasts or enemies.

In the previous era, the era of gods and demons, people likely did not learn from ordinary beasts like wolves and tigers, but rather from exotic beasts like the Blood Ao.

The Vicious Blood Art created by Lie clearly drew a lot of inspiration from the Blood Ao, and perhaps other sources as well. Venerable Duoluo, Zhao Changhe, and others had also gained insights into body tempering from the Blood Ao, proving this point.

Besides the Blood Ao, the Spirit Tribe must have had many other exotic beasts, though they were not used in this recent battle. It was definitely something worth exploring. The Blood Ao was incompatible with her, but if she could encounter other ancient beasts that suited her, perhaps she could gain further insights into the principles of the sword.

Furthermore, the Spirit Tribe’s secret realm was an ancient land from the previous era, so it was likely to contain many unique resources and phenomena that could not be found in the outside world. It was more than possible for there to be more than just the Solaris Nimbus Leaves and Heavenly Blood Jade in this secret realm.

This was the true value of exploring such a vast ancient secret realm. A secret realm like the one they were in was a genuine bridge between the ancient era and the current era, a connection between heaven and earth.

When she had told Sisi “we’re clearly going to stay here for some time,” she was mainly referring to these things. Otherwise, with how she usually was, she might have left even earlier than Han Wubing. There was no way she would have stayed longer of her own volition.

“Well, that’s it for today. Today’s court session is adjourned. For the proposals just mentioned, everyone should go back and think them over carefully this afternoon, and we will discuss them again tomorrow.” Sisi finally wrapped up the session, hurriedly dismissing everyone. She grabbed her skirt and was about to run behind the hall.

“Hey, hey, hey, where are you running off to?!” Yue Hongling called after her irritably. “Your Majesty, since you’re in charge now, I’d like to ask you to take a look at something and see if it can be done.”

Sisi smiled apologetically. “Since it’s Big Sis Yue who’s making the request, then of course it can be done, whatever it may be.”

“Oh?” Yue Hongling smirked. “Anything? Alright, are you sure you’re fine with staying away from him?”

Sisi: “?”

Zhao Changhe: “...”

He cleared his throat quickly and said seriously, “I also have a small favor to ask you.”

Sisi smiled seductively. “Master’s will is my command.”

Yue Hongling crossed her arms in annoyance, while Zhao Changhe asked, “Is the Blood Ao’s corpse still of any use to you?”

Sisi replied, “It definitely has its uses. Many of our flesh and blood witchcraft can be realized through it, and it could even be used to curse someone very powerful. Do you want it, Master?”

“Yes. I don’t need the whole thing, but I’d like some of its flesh and a portion of its bones...” Zhao Changhe was thinking of repairing the cracks in the Blood God Cult’s array plate, and using something of similar origin was probably the way to go. As for the other missing components, the Blood God Cult would need to find those themselves.

Sisi said, “If you truly want it, you can take the whole thing. No one would dare object. Why even ask?”

“...I told you I wouldn’t enslave you or your people.”

Sisi pouted. “But last night, you still made me kneel like that...”

Yue Hongling clenched her fists, feeling the urge to punch someone.

Sisi shrank back.

Yue Hongling did not hit her, and in fact, she felt a sense of relief. Seeing Zhao Changhe looking so distracted, she wondered what he was thinking about.

In reality, he was thinking about the same things she was. As a martial artist, being in a place like this, there was no way he would not wish to explore this bridge of heaven and earth and the secrets of the ancients.

Sure enough, Zhao Changhe ignored Sisi’s provocation and continued, “Anyway, I only need part of it. Taking the whole thing would be useless to me. I do not want to interfere with your own needs.”

Sisi pouted, thinking that he seemed duller today.

Just last night, he had made me go through so much pain... Never mind, we should deal with the serious matters first.

She composed herself and replied seriously, “I’ll have someone go and cut it up... or would you prefer to select the parts yourself?”

“I’m fine with whatever. I don’t have any specific requirements,” said Zhao Changhe. “Also, could you take us to your Bureau of Beast Control? Besides the Blood Ao, there must be other exotic beasts that can’t be found in the outside world. I’d like to see them, and Hongling should be interested, too.”

Yue Hongling finally smiled, her eyes curving.

We really did have the same idea.

Sisi pouted. “There are indeed some, but they aren’t very powerful.”

“That’s fine.” Zhao Changhe thought for a moment and then asked, “Back at the Sword Emperor’s Tomb, your familiarity with ancient tombs impressed me. Was it because you learned tomb-raiding techniques and geomancy from the Thief Saint, or because you’ve come across many ancient tombs here?”

“A bit of both,” Sisi replied. “Our Spirit Tribe honors our ancestors. Although we do have tombs, we wouldn’t excavate them. But some tribe members do accidentally stumble upon ancient tombs, so we know a little about them.”

“Could you also take me to see these sites of these tombs? Don’t worry, I won’t dig them up. I just want to see them.”

Sisi was puzzled. “What’s the point of that?”

Zhao Changhe shook his head.

I just want to try and figure out why the Heavenly Tome ended up in the territory of the Ancient Spirit Tribe.

I don’t think that the dispersal of the pages of the Heavenly Tome was random. There must have been a purpose as to why they chose to stay at certain locations

The first page I found, the golden foil, was with the woman at the bottom of Ancient Sword Lake. I got the second page at Kunlun, a place considered a sacred mountain and treasure trove in the old legends. It makes sense for the page of nature to have ended up there.

The page of life must have landed here because of the Ancient Spirit Tribe’s ties to beast spirits. This place must have corresponded to the attributes of the page. If not, then I’d want to know what other factors attracted it here. There doesn’t seem to be anything special around the sacred mountain, so it might be worth exploring other places to confirm.

The fundamental purpose of this journey was to explore the mysteries of the ancients, using this bridge between the two eras.

Sisi replied with a lack of enthusiasm, “Alright, where should we go first then?”

Zhao Changhe looked to Yue Hongling for her opinion. “What do you think?”

Yue Hongling was very pleased with Zhao Changhe’s approach. But seeing Sisi looking so dejected, the small bit of irritation she had felt toward her quickly dissipated. She found the girl genuinely pitiful.

After some thought, Yue Hongling said, “I’m not very interested in the tombs. You two can go look around there while I can go look at the beasts myself. Actually, what you and I want to learn might be different. I’m more inclined to look at hawks and falcons, while you might find it more useful to see tigers, leopards, and bears.”

She was clearly trying to create an opportunity for him and Sisi to be alone together.

Zhao Changhe gave her a glance, then looked at Sisi, his eyes filled with understanding.

Sisi wanted to hide the truth, but she had forgotten about the time she played the maid while helping her master solve cases. Zhao Changhe’s investigative skills had always been quite sharp.