Let Me Explain, Fairy
Chapter 220 - 175: Let the Skies Halve

Chapter 220: Chapter 175: Let the Skies Halve

"....."

In the silent chamber, Xu Xinyao stared in astonishment at her solemn-faced Third Brother.

What did he mean by that?

Under her gaze, Xu Yuan’s expression didn’t change in the slightest.

The bustling streets of the Imperial Capital quieted down due to the carriages passing by,

Within the black dragon carriage,

Xu Changge furrowed his brows, his voice somewhat stern:

"Changtian! What do you mean by this....."

"....."

Confronted with the question, Xu Yinhe’s expression remained unchanged, and he had no intention of speaking, yet his fingers moved slightly, sealing off Xu Changge’s forthcoming words.

He had used qi.

And even someone with Xu Changge’s cultivation felt instant pressure, as heavy as a mountain.

Against the pressure, Xu Changge tried to speak, only to meet Xu Yinhe’s piercing, bone-chilling gaze.

Xu Changge’s words stopped abruptly, and what followed was a long silence.

Xu Yuan, witnessing this scene, knew his father was giving him a chance to explain, so he continued self-assuredly:

"Father, there are very few records about Saints, but Luo Daofan once told me, if a Saint dies of old age, although it varies from person to person, most can live up to three jiǎzǐ or so. Can you live that long?"

"Heh....."

Xu Yinhe laughed, his laughter cold: "Your father can live a very long time; you needn’t worry."

"....." Xu Yuan.

The statement was weighty.

If it were the Li family who rules Heaven, it would be as if the Crown Prince, just after privately securing the succession, couldn’t wait to run to the current Saint-laid low by illness in Cultivation Heart Palace and ask:

Father, with your lofty cultivation, how long till you die? Can you give a definite answer?

Not being slapped to death on the spot, it would certainly settle who the third candidate for the Prince’s trip to Heaven’s Isle would be.

After hesitating slightly, Xu Changge spoke up to advise:

"Father, Changtian is just..."

"Shut up."

Xu Yinhe glanced at his eldest son: "Get out."

"...." Xu Changge’s blue robe rustled, but he obediently heeded the order and alighted from the carriage.

The sound of the carriage door closing came, pausing for a moment, Xu Yinhe’s voice slightly softened:

"Xinyao, you too, there are things your father needs to discuss with your Third Brother."

Xu Xinyao opened her mouth, bit her lip, and gently tugged Xu Yuan’s sleeve.

Xu Yuan exchanged a look with her, his eyes calm.

Xu Xinyao left as well.

She knew their father was angry.

The departure of the siblings brought silence between father and son.

"...."

After a long while,

Xu Yuan, with downcast eyes and steady breathing as before, said:

"Father, from the beginning I said, let Xu Changge and Xinyao leave."

With that said, Xu Yuan hoped his father would scold him, even hit him.

But unfortunately, there was none of that.

A long sigh came, followed by laughter, starting out low and then becoming hearty. Xu Yinhe had forgotten how long it had been since he last laughed like that.

He was truly happy.

After enough laughter, Xu Yinhe’s voice carried a barely-there mirth:

"How did you figure it out?"

"....."

At these words, Xu Yuan lowered his gaze further, his heart sinking.

He had guessed correctly.

His father’s health indeed had problems.

"You’re too impatient."

Xu Yinhe tapped on the tea table in front of him:

"Impatient for what?"

"All in all, you’re acting too hastily now, rushing to cultivate me, rushing to take action against the Sects."

"Go on." Xu Yinhè mused thoughtfully.

Xu Yuan took a deep breath, calm and unhurried:

"You did not deny the plans to act against Sword Sect earlier, and the prophecies of Jiatiange are likely to be true.

"A Saint lives to be one hundred and eighty, and you, Father, are in the prime of life. With your presence, the Prime Minister’s Mansion’s power is also on the rise. Over these years, under your deliberate decrees, the Sects’ wariness towards us has been decreasing day by day, there’s absolutely no need to rush into action."

There was a moment of silence, and seeing that Xu Yinhè had no intention of responding, Xu Yuan continued:

"Secondly, you are trying by all means to cultivate a successor, first my second brother, who can command Aunt Lou Ji and the others, but his cultivation is too weak. My eldest brother’s temperament has doomed him to not be up to heavy responsibilities. He has the makings of a general, not a commander-in-chief. You realized this, and if the Prime Minister’s Mansion were to be handed over to him, it would probably decline after reaching its peak."

"Thirdly, you are too eager to test my abilities too soon. Forty thousand of the Black Scale Army, although a plausible chip for my first trial, is equally too precious. If there were ample time, one should start with smaller matters."

He paused,

then Xu Yuan directly asked:

"So, Father, how much longer can you live?"

"Heh..."

With a soft chuckle, Xu Yinhè’s tone was leisurely and casual:

"Rest assured, I can live at least until you marry and have children, watching your children grow up."

"......"

Xu Yuan showed no joy at this statement.

How long would it take from his marriage to the birth of his child, and then for the child to grow up?

Thirty years?

And how long would it take to pacify the Sects worldwide and then leave a peaceful world behind for the progeny?

Xu Yuan did not know, but he was aware that many timelines in the Cangyuan Chronicles started at more than ten years, with the longest spanning thirty years.

This father was calculating the time to end the world’s chaos within his remaining life.

Thinking this, Xu Yuan spoke softly:

"The time is too tight."

"Perhaps it’s not so tight now," said Xu Yinhè.

"....." Xu Yuan did not respond immediately.

Although this is what he said to his father on the surface, many pieces of information were inferred from the Cangyuan Chronicles and various outcomes.

How large his true capacity was, whether he could take on the entire Prime Minister’s Mansion, remained uncertain.

And the conversation they were having now would directly change the future’s course.

Because, from his father’s words, it seemed he was planning to continue to lie low and develop.

"Huh....."

Drawing a long breath, Xu Yuan asked softly:

"Your health, is it due to poisoning by someone else, or an old injury?"

He felt a bit of pressure.

Rather than letting him shoulder the burden, it would be better to let his father continue to carry it.

In the Cangyuan Chronicles, it was never mentioned that his father had a health issue, but if it were some unique poison of the world or a hidden chronic injury, others might not be able to treat it, but perhaps he could.

In those storylines, the main characters and their important companions endure all kinds of strange poisons or injuries, and there’s always one that suits you.

After all, there were so many Secret Realms and instances.

On hearing this, Xu Yinhè chuckled lightly:

"Congenital, incurable by any medicine."

"...."

Xu Yuan fell silent: "Can you be more specific?"

Xu Yinhè, perhaps hearing the pressure in Xu Yuan’s voice, did not answer his question but said with a light laugh:

"Changtian, you don’t need to put too much pressure on yourself. There is still some time left before I reach my tolerance limit, and I will watch and judge for myself what you do."

Seeing this, Xu Yuan realized his father was unlikely to provide details anytime soon and sighed:

"What is the ultimate deadline?"

The carriage arrived,

at the Prime Minister’s Mansion, where grandeur prevailed,

the middle-aged man with graying temples stepped out of the carriage, speaking in a low voice as he walked:

"The next Imperial Tianyuan Competition."

Xu Yuan took a deep breath:

"By then, if I’m not up to the task? But your health, Father..."

"Then I will make a judgment," he said.