The Three Realms Thief Chapter 43

“Too dangerous, Xu Yuan.”

“More dangerous than a human-skin monster at Qi Refining Layer Nine?” Xu Yuan asked.

“Not that dangerous,” Yang Xiaobing evaluated seriously.

“That’s right, I’ll beat them all into submission—and then when you tell people how great I am, no one will be able to refute it.”

Xu Yuan said slowly, reaching out to rub Yang Xiaobing’s head.

This time, Yang Xiaobing didn’t dodge, she just puffed out her cheeks, swishing the air around in her mouth, shaking her small head in dissatisfaction.

A few breaths of silence.

“Then, after the Gaokao next year, we’ll meet triumphantly at Luofu.”

wWW▲ ⓣⓣⓚⓐⓝ▲ ￠ o

The girl said in a low voice, lowering her head.

Since you’ve decided.

I’ll keep up with your pace.

“Mm,” Xu Yuan responded.

Yang Xiaobing suddenly stamped her foot, let go of the hand pulling his sleeve, and scurried into the crowd as if escaping.

Xu Yuan stood where he was, a smile playing on his lips, silently watching her retreating figure.

This little girl.

She probably still didn’t believe him, probably thought he was just boasting to comfort her.

But he wasn’t.

Skills are something you either have or you don’t.

I have them.

I am the King of Competition.

Beating everyone in the same cohort is just basic operation.

Just do it.

…

Two pillars formed a platform, their bodies vermilion, topped with gilded, soaring bird heads.

The gate between the pillars was adorned with nine rows of studs, and a beast-faced knocker.

The gatehouse guards were already waiting.

“Young lady!”

They said in unison.

The flying skiff landed.

Jiang Xueyao leaped out.

She hurried, quickly turning past the screen wall, entering the main hall, passing through three ancestral halls, then the family temple, along the lotus pond, through the pavilion, along the long corridor garden, and into the main hall.

As she walked, her steps slowed. She looked at the rosewood bed in the main hall and the perfectly intact Tianshan Moon-Gazing Screen behind it.

All the displayed arrangements hinted that everything in the house was normal.

Only then did she speak:

“I see no changes in the household, and the staff arrangements are as usual—why did Father trick me into making this trip?”

The old man who had been following her just smiled. When she stared at him, he finally said,

“It’s all at the Patriarch’s command, young lady.”

Jiang Xueyao said nothing more.

She turned past the screen, walked along the path in the east wing, through the arched garden, glanced at the plum branches just forming buds, and then confidently walked through the main gate to the embroidered building in the inner courtyard.

A long-haired middle-aged man, dressed in a light blue Daoist robe, holding golden pruning shears, was trimming the branches of a small tree in front of the building.

“Sending a flying skiff into the school to pick me up, I thought it was something major, who knew you’d be so leisurely.”

Jiang Xueyao said indifferently.

The middle-aged man didn’t stop his work or turn around, but he said,

“Three months ago, Nine Luminaries unearthed a sword art in an ancient ruin.”

Jiang Xueyao remained silent, just watching the middle-aged man’s back.

The middle-aged man continued, “True Man Chang is going to hold a lecture on the sword, and the content is the secrets of that sword art. I got you a spot, you can go and listen for a few days.”

“When do I leave?” Jiang Xueyao asked.

“Tomorrow morning after the monthly exam, the flying skiff will come to pick you up and take you directly to Penglai on the sea. Everything is arranged, you just have to go,” the middle-aged man said.

“How many days?”

“Half a month.”

“Why so long?”

“That sword technique is quite extraordinary. Going to listen will benefit your cultivation.”

Jiang Xueyao lowered her eyes, remaining silent.

The middle-aged man said, “Listen to your father, this is a good opportunity. Your father won’t harm you.”

After a long while.

“No, that’s not right.”

Jiang Xueyao said slowly.

“You initially said there was an emergency, but now that I’m back, you’ve arranged a sword art discussion that suits my taste, sending me away for half a month.”

“—You’re hiding something from me.”

“You’re overthinking it,” the middle-aged man said.

“Is it so hard to tell the truth? Or have you already made up your mind to hide things from me?”

Jiang Xueyao’s beautiful eyes were veiled with a cold frost, her tone light and indifferent.

The middle-aged man paused his hand movements.

But his tone remained gentle, like a spring breeze brushing one’s face:

“Since you’ve noticed, there’s no harm in telling you.”

“—Your morning exam alarmed the two Royal Highnesses, and even the Emperor has heard about it.”

“We didn’t cheat,” Jiang Xueyao said.

“It’s precisely because your scores were genuinely earned that so many people were alarmed,” the middle-aged man said.

“I don’t understand,” Jiang Xueyao said.

“Ten years ago—”

The middle-aged man said these three words and then waved his hand.

Figures emerged from all directions, quickly leaving the courtyard.

Immediately after.

Spiritual power began to fluctuate violently.

Like water silently boiling, or a giant beast beneath the abyss slowly opening its eyes.

One breath.

Two breaths.

Three breaths.

Everything returned to normal.

Jiang Xueyao finally showed emotion, saying softly,

“The grand formation is fully activated, no one can eavesdrop here. What exactly are you going to say?”

The middle-aged man said, “Ten years ago—”

“That incident, there was already a conclusion: ”

“In the battle that annihilated the city, although the final battle was tragic, it was the only way to ensure the two Royal Highnesses could escape.”

“But Xueyao, do you know?”

He turned around, meeting his daughter’s eyes for the first time, his tone deep and emotional:

“No one ever thought that there was another way, a new path, without making so many sacrifices.”

“Strictly speaking, the two Royal Highnesses were not saved.”

“But a new path was indeed found.”

Jiang Xueyao, who had been listening quietly, suddenly remembered something, her eyes seemingly frozen, her cheeks losing their color.

“Impossible!”

She cried out.

But the middle-aged man continued calmly:

“Heroic sacrifice and dedication always leave people speechless, making it impossible to criticize.”

“But what if—”

“Sacrifice and dedication were due to foolishness and incompetence?”

“What if it was because we couldn’t find the right way to break the deadlock and had to fill it with lives?”

“What do you think His Majesty would do?”

Silence.

Silence.

Dead silence.

If these words were to spread, they would undoubtedly cause a massive uproar.

But fortunately, the surrounding formations were operating at full power.

No one could know of the conversation between father and daughter.

In this secure conversation environment, Jiang Xueyao had already forgotten her previous slight dissatisfaction.

She subconsciously bit her lip, her brows slightly furrowed, and said coldly:

“We certainly didn’t meet up with others, but we didn’t discover any new path either—”

“We just brought the Princess with us.”

“And from the perspective of the team members—she was just a little boy, ordinary in appearance, probably just a commoner.”

“—Is this considered a new path?”

When she finished speaking.

Her father didn’t respond, just watched her deeply, saying nothing.

Jiang Xueyao was exceptionally intelligent.

Time quietly slipped through her fingers.

She slowly began to realize.

“It can’t be—could it be that the direction we took—really possible—”

She only said that much, not continuing, but stared at her father, wanting an answer.

Her father also said nothing.

But he nodded almost imperceptibly.

So that’s how it was!

At this moment.

Jiang Xueyao understood completely!

Xu Yuan driving wildly and killing a human demon at Qi Refining Layer Nine wasn’t the final outcome.

The final outcome—he actually took a correct escape route?

Something truly big had happened!

—This was simply a huge event that could cause countless heads to roll and rivers of blood!

That’s why her father immediately wanted to get her out of it, sending her away to study, lest she be dragged into this terrifying whirlpool!

However, the matter wasn’t over.

The middle-aged man put away his golden pruning shears, clasped his hands behind his back, and continued:

“For so many years, those in the know have praised the First Royal Highness for his proper handling of the situation, leading by example, and fighting bravely.”

“If not for the First Royal Highness’s meticulous planning, perhaps no one would have survived.”

“The First Royal Highness kept the Princess by his side, thus preserving her life.”

“The First Royal Highness saved himself and his sister, truly remarkable.”

“However, now—”

“You saved the Princess, keeping her away from the final battlefield, and she survived, all the way to the elevated bridge in the north of the city.”

“—That place is not far from the city gates. After careful calculation, your location almost offered hope of escape.”

“And you are just four high school students at the Qi Refining Stage.”

“What do you think—”

“How will the current Emperor view this matter?”

“And the Princess, who has been silent for so many years?”

“In the face of facts, can the officials, the sect masters from various mountains, and the elders of Jiuyue University still offer words of flattery to the First Royal Highness?”

Jiang Xueyao looked at the colorful garden but felt a chill permeate her body, cold sweat trickling down, almost making her unable to stand steadily.