Chaotic World Book
Chapter 226 - 221 Good Brother

Chapter 226: Chapter 221 Good Brother

Zhao Changhe’s so-called "finding a place to buy a mask," Vermilion Bird noticed that he bypassed cities and most just stopped in passing villages to eat before setting off again, seemingly with a very clear destination in mind.

Moreover, he was very experienced, deliberately choosing secluded paths, sometimes dashing through forests and mountains, and at other times deliberately taking straight roads, only to take a long detour soon after, making it unclear where he was heading.

These were all experiences gained from being blocked and hunted in the past; it was quite difficult to accurately track his movements, at least setting an ambush in advance was not possible.

Vermilion Bird could understand his reasons but was quite annoyed.

Because of the mountain paths, her body was stable, but the horse and Zhao Changhe were not, causing all sorts of shaking and jolting, occasionally bumping against each other. What was infuriating was that Vermilion Bird could see he wasn’t doing it on purpose; he really was jolted around, and blaming him was pointless.

"Are you done yet?" Vermilion Bird placed a hand on his back, angrily said, "Just take the main road, why the need to weave through mountains? With me here, what are you afraid of!"

"You’re at the Mystical Gate Ninth Layer, not the first on the Heavenly List."

"Others don’t know I’m by your side to assist you, what formidable person could come?"

"Well, that’s true... but will you always follow me?"

Vermilion Bird, "..."

She helplessly switched the topic with her hands guarding her back, "You said we’d buy a mask. I saw a town earlier where we could buy a mask or stop to eat and rest the horses, but you just passed right by it. Where are you planning to go?"

"These past few days at the inn, I asked about the geography nearby. Oh, right, the room rent for three days was pre-paid by the Vermilion Bird Venerable, really thoughtful. Remind me to thank your Sect’s Venerable for me; the room she picked made my night quite pleasant."

Vermilion Bird, "?"

Feeling the hand on her back about to erupt with True Qi, Zhao Changhe quickly returned to the main topic, "I asked the innkeeper, and it turns out Sword Lake City is just a few hundred miles to the northwest. I have some business there, so my destination is clear."

Vermilion Bird hesitated, "The Holy Daughter mentioned an Otherworldly Space beneath Sword Lake City, the Bing Po was obtained from there, but there’s nothing else valuable, maybe some decent swords? What are you going there for?"

"That place is suspected to have connections with Emperor Ye, didn’t Chichi mention it to you?"

"She did. But we know it’s not Emperor Ye’s place, just a woman ’who had a history’ with Emperor Ye residing there. We don’t know the depth of their connection; she’s at least certainly not one of Emperor Ye’s concubines—her lover is the one you found with the Azure Dragon Seal."

"Right."

"The Holy Daughter also said she couldn’t sense any attributes related to Emperor Ye, only the woman’s own Sword Intent, which is not the same system as ours. Han Wubing might like it, but it has little to do with us. So, we didn’t continue to explore that place."

Zhao Changhe thought to himself that back then Han Wubing said they didn’t feel any Sword Intent because they weren’t swordsmen, really underestimated Chichi. Chichi had her suspicions; she just figured it was unrelated to the Four Symbols Sect. After all, the Sect is a sect, and mundane martial arts or weapons weren’t as collectible to others.

Speaking of which, Chichi might have had some doubts about his gold foil, but her attitude at the time didn’t show it at all, rather she feigned ignorance, saying, "This is of no use," probably deliberately shielding Han Wubing...

Luckily Chichi is his girlfriend, if it had been a real demoness, that gold foil would probably have been snatched...

Vermilion Bird continued, "According to our scriptures and what the Holy Daughter saw of the remnants in the Sword Room, we speculate that the master of the Azure Dragon Seal, the Emperor of Beimang, was likely the Azure Dragon descended during the last epoch, possibly commissioned by Emperor Ye to come down to the human world. But something likely went wrong with Emperor Ye later on, and this Azure Dragon probably had independent ideas, wanting to strive or fight for something. This Ancient and confusing background can’t be discerned from just a Sword Room."

Zhao Changhe said, "Right, but I still want to take another look. My current understanding is different from when I was utterly ignorant before, perhaps there could be new discoveries. It should also be of some interest to you, right?"

Vermilion Bird was slightly interested, not much; a mere Sword Room indeed couldn’t hold much of the Ancient Secret, especially since this Sword Room’s master wasn’t Emperor Ye or the Azure Dragon. The connection was indirect, and Chichi had explored it and deemed it unrelated to Four Symbols, most likely truly unrelated.

But her mood was good.

This matter, from Zhao Changhe’s perspective, should be a private matter, even Situ Xiao wouldn’t necessarily bring someone in if he were there, but he didn’t avoid her "Winged Fire Snake" at all. This wasn’t about being courteous to her as a Winged Fire Snake, but about his genuine love for Chichi. In Zhao Changhe’s eyes, the entire Four Symbols Sect had always been part of his wife’s family from start to finish, and exploring matters related to Emperor Ye was helping his wife uncover secrets. There was no room for evasion or disputes.

As for the Heavenly Book, it was probably a real dead end, but its presence might help interpret the remnants of the Sword Room, perhaps revealing more of Emperor Ye’s secrets.

Thus, Vermilion Bird had no more objections, and the two gradually disappeared into the woods, following the setting sun.

"I must be crazy, not staying in an inn, not eating delicious food, but instead joining you to camp in the wilderness." Outside the cave, Vermilion Bird sat beside the ignited campfire, cradling her knees, somewhat helplessly pulling out the coarse bread she bought from a mountain tavern earlier in the day, slightly lifting the edge of her mask, and nibbling little by little.

The mask was really annoying, even eating was inconvenient...

Zhao Changhe handed over a wine gourd, "Want a drink?"

"Disgusting."

"It’s your Sect’s Holy Daughter’s wine gourd, to let you get a touch of sacredness, not asking you to kneel and worship is already good enough."

Vermilion Bird half-smiled, "So that’s possible... I understand now."

She inwardly thought, when I get back, let’s see how this little hoof kneels.

Zhao Changhe said, "Your tone seems very disrespectful to the Holy Daughter?"

"I’m a Venerable under Vermilion Bird, not under Azure Dragon or White Tiger, and though her rank is higher than mine, she can’t control me."

"So you have a lot of respect for Vermilion Bird Venerable, then?"

"Of course."

"Eh." Zhao Changhe moved to sit beside her, adopting a buddy-buddy manner, and asked, "How about you tell me about Vermilion Bird Venerable? What kind of person is she in your heart?"

Vermilion Bird was taken aback, shifting away half a foot suspiciously, "What are you up to?"

Zhao Changhe said exasperatedly, "What can I be up to? Don’t your Sect members gather to discuss your leaders like this?"

Vermilion Bird: "..."

I wouldn’t know, would I? When I first joined the Sect, I was the White Tiger Saintess; who would dare talk about leadership in front of me... If anything, it was just privately discussing with the previous White Tiger Saintess...

Sisters are gone.

In fact, what puzzled Vermilion Bird the most was the identities of Xia Chichi and Zhao Changhe. Xia Chichi knew White Tiger Divine Skill, Zhao Changhe did not; Zhao Changhe knew Six Harmonies Divine Skill, Xia Chichi did not.

This shouldn’t be... It felt like the characteristics that a prince should have had were split between Xia Chichi and Zhao Changhe... If Zhao Changhe’s claimed "twenty years" are false, and he is actually just over seventeen, could it be that Zhao Changhe and Xia Chichi are fraternal twins? Wouldn’t that make you two a mess...

But they also look too different to be siblings...

Vermilion Bird fell into deep confusion.

"Why aren’t you saying anything?" Unaware of where Vermilion Bird’s thoughts had wandered off to, Zhao Changhe asked curiously, "Don’t tell me you’ve honestly never discussed your leaders, that loyal and devout?"

Vermilion Bird snapped back to reality and retorted, "Even if we were to discuss it, we wouldn’t do it in front of you. Who are you, have you joined the Sect?"

"That’s no fun." Zhao Changhe resentfully pulled out a cake, voraciously wolfing it down with some wine.

Vermilion Bird, however, responded, "The Venerable is of course a paragon of wisdom and beauty, possessing peerless talents, holding great merits in the Holy Sect, glorious and awe-inspiring. We can only look up to and admire her; how could we possibly gossip about her!"

"No need to praise her like that; she can’t hear you, and I’m not going to tell her either."

"That’s the truth!"

"Oh, how old is the Venerable?"

"The same age as Tang Wanju."

"Well, Tang Wanju is third on the Earth List, the Venerable is fourth, and you still boast about peerless talents? Wake up."

Vermilion Bird gritted her teeth, eyes flashing with dangerous light.

Just as she was about to explode, Zhao Changhe continued, "From the perspective of the Cao Gang, the Four Symbols Sect has a very strong latent power. I suspect when it really bursts forth, it’ll be more earth-shattering than the Maitreya Sect, but who knows when that will be... For instance, Wan Dongliu is just a Young Master—he’s already among the Twenty-Eight Constellations, his dad would be Four Symbols Level if he were in the sect, but clearly, he’s not, which shows his dad hasn’t joined the sect, and Wan Dongliu hasn’t taken power yet. This should not be an isolated case, there should be many similar situations."

Vermilion Bird froze again, lost in thought and remaining silent.

Zhao Changhe said, "Your sect’s latent power can’t be realized in the short term; hence, you can only continue to wear masks and stay hidden... It’d be fine if Xia Longyuan died later, but if he dies too soon, you all still won’t be prepared. If this is Vermilion Bird Venerable’s orchestration, one could say the level isn’t too bad, but claiming glory and brilliance would clearly not be enough..."

Vermilion Bird remained woodenly silent.

Zhao Changhe glanced at her stealthily, "What’s wrong? Did I say something incorrect?"

"As the Venerable’s most loyal subordinate, you’ve angered me," Vermilion Bird told him solemnly, "Draw your sword, I must defend the Venerable’s honor."

"Is that really necessary?"

"I am the most loyal Winged Fire Snake." Vermilion Bird grabbed Zhao Changhe by his collar and threw him over her shoulder with a "bang": "Die!"

"Damn..." Zhao Changhe was thrown to the ground face-first, "Aren’t we allowed to speak the truth?"

Vermilion Bird crossed her arms and coldly replied, "Anyone can talk but can you actually solve anything?"

"I can."

Vermilion Bird paused, pressed him hurriedly, "Then why not spill it quickly!"

Zhao Changhe flipped over, resting his head on his hands, slackly saying, "Why should I tell you? You just attacked me."

Vermilion Bird gritted her teeth, "You!"

"I’m swayed by kindness not force, pressuring me is pointless; better to make up with a smile and call me ’dear brother,’ I might just tell you reluctantly."

Vermilion Bird clenched and unclenched her delicate hand, desperately holding back the urge to slap his head off, and finally took a deep breath, cooing, "Dear brother, it’s my fault, okay? Don’t hold a grudge against little snake..."

After all, it’s the Winged Fire Snake that loses face, not me, Vermilion Bird!