Ze Tian Ji (Way of Choices)

Translated by: Hypersheep325

Edited by: Michyrr

After coming to the Xue Estate, Zhou Tong spoke in a tone like that of an elder, especially when he was reprimanding Madam Wei.

As he stood within the estate, he seemed very relaxed, as if he was very familiar with the place. This was because he truly had come here many times. He seemed just like an elder that had returned after doing business abroad for many years.

In short, it was very easy to get the feeling that this place was Zhou Tong's home.

This made people very angry, because everyone knew that the master of the Xue Estate had been mercilessly and shamelessly poisoned to death by this man.

The butler of the Xue Estate furiously came forward with a broom, intending to wrest the young lady back from the hands of those officials, but he was forcefully pushed to the ground.

The servant woman cried out in panic and ran into the estate.

Madam Xue hurried over and saw the scene. Her voice slightly trembling, she asked, "Zhou Tong, just what are you planning to do?"

Zhou Tong quietly stood in the middle of the courtyard, looking at the green plants growing before him. Many memories gradually began to flash across his mind and fill him with sorrow.

In truth, not even he knew why he had come here or what he wanted to do. It was only now that he understood that he truly did wish to see that man's face once more.

He turned to Madam Xue and slowly said, "I will light incense and then leave."

Madam Xue's voice was still somewhat shaky, but her expression was particularly firm. "You know that this is an impossible matter."

Zhou Tong indifferently replied, "This is not something that you can decide."

The scheme from several days ago, the poison in the medicine, and the exposed corpses on the side of the official road—these things all concerned the Xue Estate, and also had nothing to do with them.

The people of the Xue Estate were powerless to decide whether they would live or die, receive honor or disgrace. They could only hopelessly accept it or wait to be rescued.

But no one dared to come to the funeral arranged by the Xue Estate today, so who would come to rescue them from helplessness and despair?

"Please make way."

A voice came from beyond the gate.

Zhou Tong's body went rigid.

The officials of the Department for Purging Officials turned their heads as one, thinking, someone dared to come?

"Just what's going on with you people? What are you doing by blocking up some other person's gate?"

A voice belonging to a young woman immediately followed.

Zhou Tong slowly turned and gazed at the gate, his eyes narrowing.

He wanted to conceal the true emotions in his heart, and he also found the scene outside the gate rather blinding.

Many youths had arrived on the street.

This group contained both male and female students. Some had quick-witted eyes, some were honest and simple, some looked around proudly, and there were some with nervous expressions, but they all shared one attribute: they were all very young, their faces brimming with vitality.

A vitality that even all the varied emotions and countless different temperaments could not conceal.

This vitality was somewhat blinding, even a bit painful, to Zhou Tong, perhaps because he was already old.

In the capital, the places with the most youths and vitality were the Six Ivies.

The situation as of late had been very tense, so the gates of the Six Ivies had all been tightly shut. There was only one exception: the Orthodox Academy.

These youths were the students of the Orthodox Academy.

Chen Changsheng and Su Moyu stood at the very front of the crowd.

At this sight, the officials of the Department for Purging Officials and those onlookers on the street representing the various powers of the capital were all stunned.

Chen Changsheng had truly come.

He had come to pay respects to Xue Xingchuan.

He had come to slap the faces of Zhou Tong and the Imperial Court.

Chen Changsheng walked towards the Xue Estate as if the officials of the Department for Purging Officials were not barring his path.

The youths of the Orthodox Academy followed.

The officials blocked the gate of the Xue Estate. If they did not give way, it was very likely that both sides would run into each other.

Running into each other was very likely to cause friction.

An increase in friction would result in a battle.

An escalating battle was a war.

Would the just-pacified capital once more fall into turmoil and unrest?

Zhou Tong said nothing, so the officials of the Department for Purging Officials had no intention of yielding.

The students of the Orthodox Academy also had no intention of halting their steps, because Chen Changsheng was still walking forward.

Zhou Tong had not expected Chen Changsheng to suddenly change his mind and come to the Xue Estate, but so what if he came?

At least half of the Great Zhou Imperial Court's secret forces were in his hand, an extremely frightening power.

Chen Changsheng's current status was very high, but he didn't have much strength. Right now, for instance, all that stood behind him were some ordinary students from the Orthodox Academy.

Before he ascended to the position of Pope, he had no means of moving the Orthodoxy's power.

With just the Orthodox Academy, how big of a storm could he possibly raise in the capital?

But…Zhou Tong creased his brow.

What if he had calculated wrongly? What if something unexpected were to occur? What if those princes wanted to move against Chen Changsheng?

Right when he was thinking about these things, the unexpected had already occurred.

The students of the Orthodox Academy met with the officials of the Department for Purging Officials, and then clashed. What followed was rightfully an exchanging of insults.

Clang! The sound of cold blades being unsheathed seemed particularly clear in front of the Xue Estate, as if wanting to slice apart the autumn breeze.

The officials were not taking the initiative to attack. Some people had unsheathed their blades to deter these youths.

They did not know that these youths, especially those young women amongst them, had been waiting for just this chance.

"Stop!" Zhou Tong shouted.

Those youths would naturally not listen to him.

The officials wanted to listen to him, but it was now impossible for them to obey.

Ten-some distinct ringing sounds resounded through the long street.

Countless streams of clear light crisscrossed through the autumn air, movingly sad and beautiful.

This was an incomparably pure sword intent with a most exquisite companion.

The clear and cold sword intent formed an invisible net that spilled over those officials standing in front of the gate.

Zhou Tong himself could only choose to retreat in the face of these sword intents, let alone these officials.

With a series of groans and blood flying everywhere, ten-some officials of the Department for Purging Officials were slashed bloody by these sword intents and then sent flying.

In an instant, the stone lions standing guard at the Xue Estate's main gate were dyed in blood and ten-some blood-covered individuals appeared on the street. The scene reeked of blood.

No one could stand in front of the Xue Estate's gate, leaving a large open space.

Chen Changsheng walked in.

Ye Xiaolian and her ten-some senior sisters simultaneously sheathed their swords and followed behind him.

Chen Changsheng walked up to Zhou Tong.

With a clatter of metal from the surroundings, crossbows were readied.

The situation was very tense, but Zhou Tong's expression was calm.

He looked at Chen Changsheng and said, "The future Pope of my Great Zhou actually has to rely on the girls of Holy Maiden Peak for protection. If this fact were to get out, it would truly be somewhat shameful."

That which was able to so severely wound ten-some experts of the Department for Purging Officials in such a short time was naturally not the strength of the Orthodox Academy's students, but the famed sword array of South Stream Temple.

Chen Changsheng did not reply, but Ye Xiaolian did.

"Your officials of the Imperial Court weren't even able to beat girls like us. That's the truly shameful thing."

Zhou Tong did not care. Even if Chen Changsheng said it himself, no matter how humiliating it was, he would be able to endure it.

Because he had examined himself and found himself very mature, so mature that he was rotten to the core. Beneath his blood-colored gown was nothing but rotten pulp, so he had never been afraid of being defiled by others.

While the Pope had still not returned to the sea of stars, he would not give Chen Changsheng a single chance or excuse to launch an attack from.

Although he was not afraid of Chen Changsheng, just like how he found the vitality of those youths to be somewhat blinding, he was not willing to let those youths join together their bravery.

After all, he was a very mature and powerful minister, a treacherous official who had achieved great success.

But Chen Changsheng's following two statements made it impossible for him to maintain his silence and the serenity in his heart.

Chen Changsheng was not deliberately humiliating him, as this was an answer that he truly wished to know.

This sort of composure and earnestness made Zhou Tong feel that even his own soul was exposed.

Because he could not answer Chen Changsheng's question.

Chen Changsheng said, "After I came to the capital, I often heard people say that if you were to die, only Xue Xingchuan would bury you."

This was a saying that had spread far and wide across the continent, and Zhou Tong had heard it more than once. His eyes narrowed into a thin line of cold light.

Chen Changsheng earnestly asked, "Now that you've murdered him, when you die in the future, who will bury your body?"

This was a very simple question.

A simple deduction was all that was required to reach a conclusion.

But Zhou Tong could not respond.

Because he did not want to have this sort of end.

No one wanted to have this sort of end.

To die without a place of burial.

……