Ze Tian Ji (Way of Choices)

Chapter 1000 – The Death of Bie Yanghong

After two days, Madam Mu should have already surmised through certain details that Bie Yanghong and Wuqiong Bi were still alive and were in the small courtyard.

But she would presumably not strike Bie Yanghong or Wuqiong Bi, as Chen Changsheng had already arrived and the rift in the Demi-human race was extremely deep.

She would only do so if she really did go crazy, not caring that the fire of a civil war would burn the Demi-human race into nothing.

The river winds blew against the tree within the Celestial Tree temple, causing its leaves to rustle, a sound that could clearly be heard within the small courtyard.

This quiet moment was ideal to talk, to communicate a few things.

It was in this moment that Bie Yanghong used some mysterious method to make Wuqiong Bi fall asleep.

Chen Changsheng asked, “Senior, do you have anything you want to leave behind? Or something that we can do?”

Bie Yanghong said, “In the past, I believed that I would leave behind a descendant of my bloodline. Since this is no longer the case, there is no longer a need to say anything.”

His expression was very calm as he said this, his tone indifferent, but anyone could hear that anguish concealed within.

An expert who had dominated the generation had no one to send him off at the moment of his death and had even had his son die not too long ago. Anyone would feel that this was a difficult burden to bear.

Chen Changsheng said, “For Sir to leave your thoughts on the past for the common people is also good.”

Many people knew that Bie Yanghong was a scholar who had come from the Ten Thousand Years Pavilion of Xiling, but his path of cultivation and his life experiences had always remained a mystery.

“Just what part of my past do the common people want to know the most?”

Bie Yanghong glanced at Wuqiong Bi and sighed, “It’s probably why I married her.”

Chen Changsheng considered what to say, then earnestly said, “There are truly many people that can’t understand.”

“Although no one has ever dared to mention this matter in front of the two of us, I know that this has been a conversation topic in many restaurants and inns across the world. There have even been many storytellers who have helped us think about the most fantastical of stories, imagined for me all sorts of romantic scenarios. The person called Bie in those stories is truly in such tragic circumstances that even I feel great sympathy for him…”

Bie Yanghong faintly smiled and continued, “It is all fake. How can life have so many forced choices? And certainly not for someone like me.”

Chen Changsheng thought, this truly is reasonable. An expert of the Divine Domain holds an unimaginable amount of power and influence, not much different from a king’s. There’s no way he would patiently endure for so many years just because of a few forced choices.

Bie Yanghong continued, “This story is truly much simpler than all of you have imagined. I was born in a poor family and was taken in and raised by my teacher. I grew up together with Junior Sister, and she respected and loved me. There was never anything about her that made me unhappy, so I naturally loved her and cherished her. Once we grew a little older, I naturally married her.”

Chen Changsheng had not expected the story to truly be so simple.

Bie Yanghong added, “…Though she truly was not like her current self when I married her. But when you carefully think about it, isn’t it my fault?”

Chen Changsheng answered, “If this is true, then Senior’s treatment of her arrogance was allowing her to indulge in evil.”

Bie Yanghong said, “So I say that I am not a gentleman, nor am I a good person.”

Chen Changsheng still found this somewhat impossible to accept. “I still feel that this isn’t right.”

Bie Yanghong looked at him and asked, “If your wife treated you extremely well but had a poor personality, or was an evil and wicked person, what would you do?”

This question seemed easy to answer, but further introspection would reveal its deep complexities. Chen Changsheng had never thought about this question before, so he naturally didn’t know how to answer.

Wuqiong Bi had just woken up. Upon hearing this question, she naturally believed that Bie Yanghong was talking about herself.

She instantly became furious, cursing, “I just killed a few pieces of trash that didn’t respect their elders; is that being evil and wicked? You conscienceless thing!”

The serenity of the courtyard was instantly broken, with everything sounding loud and noisy.

Bie Yanghong did not explain. With an exceptionally serious, yet also exceptionally warm, expression, he said, “In the future, do not do these things anymore, okay?”

Just like the day before, Wuqiong Bi once more felt flustered. She muttered, “Didn’t I already promise you this? What do you plan to do by always bringing it up?”

Bie Yanghong smiled at her. “Junior Sister, please forgive me for no longer being able to accompany you.”

Wuqiong Bi felt even more flustered. Grabbing his clothes, she shrieked, “What nonsense are you babbling!”

Bie Yanghong sighed. “I’m not speaking nonsense.”

Wuqiong Bi turned pale. Her nerves made her tongue-tied as she stammered out, “Don’t talk carelessly either.”

Bie Yanghong answered, “I am not speaking carelessly.”

Seized by an absolute terror, Wuqiong Bi yelled, “I don’t permit you to leave, or else… or else I cut off Guan Bai’s other hand! Or else… I’ll go join the demons!”

“I once thought about requesting His Holiness to take me away, leaving you only with a letter of divorce. But I knew that you would still guess that I was dead, so I might as well just tell you…”

Bie Yanghong tenderly stroked her face. “Because you know that I would never not want you.”

Xuanyuan Po stood by the door, constantly wiping his tears with his sleeve but always failing to wipe them all off.

He didn’t quite understand what was going on, but he felt a terrible heartache at this senior’s words.

“Can I trouble you to buy some steamed buns?”

Bie Yanghong looked at him and somewhat embarrassedly said, “I would like to eat the kind with beef and scallion stuffing.”

Xuanyuan Po froze, then rushed out of the courtyard. He simply didn’t care that he was still just recovering from his injuries and was incredibly weak.

He ran through the morning fog and steam to the steamed bun store, his heart heavy with regret as he wondered, why didn’t I see a few days ago that Senior wanted to eat beef buns?

Xuanyuan Po carried a full tray of buns, escorted by ten-some priests and Bear tribe experts back to the small courtyard.

This tray of buns was still steaming hot. If one tore open the soft skin, they could still smell the scent of beef, scallion, and spicy oil.

Alas, it was a little too late.

Bie Yanghong’s eyes were closed. He was no longer breathing.

Xuanyuan Po froze. The steam rising from the tray in his hands drifted up into the sky and onto his face. It was warm and damp.

Chen Changsheng silently lowered his head. The fingers at his side were shaking, the swords in his sheath vibrating.

Xuanyuan Po kneeled in front of Bie Yanghong and placed the tray of buns down. He then began to reverentially kowtow, tears streaming down his face.

Wuqiong Bi noticed nothing. She blankly stared at Bie Yanghong, her eyes losing focus, her body swaying.

Bong! Bong! Bong! Bong! A bell rang within the temple to the Celestial Tree.

Wuqiong Bi woke up. Her eyes began to redden, and her lips began to tremble. She had finally understood what had happened.

A mournful weeping rose from the courtyard.

Chen Changsheng walked out of the courtyard. The ringing of the bell from the temple reminded him of the night Archbishop Mei Lisha left the world.

On that night, bells had rung throughout the capital.

Was the sound of the bell really the call to return home?

Was the sea of stars really the homeland of all souls?

Whether noble or lowly, beautiful or ugly?

Just like weeping?

No matter how unpleasant it was to hear, it was still so saddening?