Chaotic World Book

"They say that in the past, since the Emperor already had a legitimate heir, and the Empress's family was nothing to mess with, this illegitimate child was never brought back to the palace—just taken care of from the shadows," the bandit went on prattling. "But just as soon as the Crown Prince dies, Luo Zhenwu's status suddenly changes... Who cared who Luo Zhenwu was before?"

Zhao Changhe was stunned.

Was this the reason the Four Symbols Sect and the Blood God Sect annihilated the Luo Family? To cut off the Emperor's bloodline, would truly throw the realm into chaos.

But then the question arose, when the Crown Prince died, wouldn't the old Emperor be in a frenzy to retrieve the child from the Luo Family? Why would he allow Luo Zhenwu to stay at the Luo Family's place... Besides, from the attitude of the Luo Family, it seemed they didn't even know something as significant as the Crown Prince's death had occurred, otherwise, would Luo Zhenwu still be in the mood to fool around with village girls?

Or maybe it was just wild guesswork by the people, and the Luo Family just suffered an undeserved calamity.

He cautiously asked, "When did the Crown Prince die? Before or after Luo Zhenwu's death?"

The bandit clapped his hand, "Isn't that a coincidence? It happened just on the afternoon you, boss, chopped up Luo Zhenwu, just a few hours earlier! At that point, Luo Zhenwu was the only seedling left, so your blade, Zhao boss, really... it can be said you hacked open the beginning of a chaotic era. How could you not become famous?"

Zhao Changhe took a deep breath.

Judging by the timing the Blood God Sect headed south, they had planned to kill Luo Zhenwu even before the Crown Prince died... Was it pure coincidence, or was the Crown Prince's death part of their plan all along, to be executed simultaneously?

The words of Priestess Tang at that time flashed through his mind, "The gravity of this matter is beyond your knowledge... you will regret it."

She did not come at Manor Master Luo's call for help, nor did she wait for the main forces—they didn't exist at all. It's highly probable that Manor Master Luo's plea for help never even reached the Capital... She came rushing over to secretly retrieve someone as soon as the Crown Prince had died that afternoon, simply encountering the situation by chance.

Looking at it this way, the Luo Family did not suffer an unwarranted disaster, there truly were underlying issues.

Indeed, the matter was heavy to the extent that Zhao Changhe was dazed for quite a while, then suddenly burst into uproarious laughter, "Position card, Imperial Palace, Dragon Chair. So that's the connection, haha! But what use is this connection, you blind fools, fuck you all!"

Bandit: "?"

Zhao Changhe smiled and patted his shoulder, "I've got the hang of this now, thanks, brother."

A single stroke had unleashed a chaotic world.

Could a chaotic world be the work of his single stroke? If Luo Zhenwu, that worthless fellow, had ended up on the throne, it would truly have been a misfortune for the common people.

Chopped, so he chopped, wasn't it just eliminating a great villain!

With this thought, the anxiety in Zhao Changhe's heart disappeared instantly... in fact, his mood even improved, feeling the satisfaction of solving the riddle that had long been stuck in his heart.

Although there were still a few puzzling aspects to it, like the interaction between Luo Zhenwu and his father didn't seem right, and if the goal was merely to kill Luo Zhenwu, a lone assassin would have sufficed. Why go to the lengths of massacring the entire family...

What did it matter to him, though? Would it change his own predicament?

It didn't. He was still wanted, still unable to leave the house.

Better to go get some food and bring it back to Luo Qi; life goes on, after all.

Today's chat ran long; upon returning, it was even later than yesterday, and the sun had completely set, the road no longer visible. However, arriving at the wooden house, he saw that Luo Qi had still not returned. Zhao Changhe frowned, pacing back and forth without the mood for extra training, gaze turning toward the path leading to the bandit stronghold.

Yesterday, he was concerned about Luo Qi being in danger; nothing happened, but that didn't mean the danger wasn't real. It could happen any day.

Could it be today?

Finally unable to wait, Zhao Changhe grabbed his long blade and was about to leave the house. He had barely taken a few steps when he saw Luo Qi strolling back with his hands behind his back. Seeing Zhao Changhe's urgent rush headed out, Luo Qi seemed a bit startled but then realized the reason, his eyes curving into a smile, "I'm back, I'm back."

Zhao Changhe also exhaled a sigh of relief, frowning, "Why so late today... no, wait..."

He sniffed, "There's something off about your smell. Before, I could smell your stench on the wind; how come it's gone now?"

Luo Qi's smile deepened, "I just took a bath in the mountain stream behind here. I couldn't stand smelling like a stink bomb any longer, felt like lice would start crawling on me."

"Diving in winter, badass." Zhao Changhe also felt an itch to try, but was a bit hesitant. He had never tried winter swimming; the thought of undressing was unbearable, let alone getting into water. Indeed, being at the First Layer of the Mystical Gate meant doing whatever one pleased...

"You should try it too, you stink so much, who would sleep with you?" Luo Qi found a great excuse, "It's not that I was being sensitive, you really did stink too much."

Zhao Changhe looked a bit pained, "It's so cold. You can endure with your First Layer of Mystical Gate, but I'm just a rookie."

"Come on, man. People who have never practiced martial arts dare to swim in winter waters. You've at least trained for a few days, don't be a wuss." Luo Qi's smile widened as he brought out a hand from behind his back, revealing a gourd of wine, "Brought you some hot wine, it should be of some use."

Zhao Changhe was pleasantly surprised, "Where did you get this hot wine?"

"I went into town today and bought a few things." Luo Qi, as if performing a magic trick, produced a paper-wrapped package, "Got some roasted meat, too, to reward your hard training efforts."

Zhao Changhe wondered, "You're not spending your own money to cover our needs, are you? No matter how much money you brought with you from home, it won't be enough."

"Today, I arranged for them to hunt... There aren't as many beasts in winter, but there are still some. We managed to get some pheasants and rabbits to account for that, just scraping by. And because of that, I finished early and had time to swing by the town." Luo Qi put on a stern face, "Just say if you want it or not, you sure talk too much."

"I want, want, want!" Zhao Changhe snatched the wine gourd and paper package and bolted out, "I'll go eat by the water and jump in while I'm still warm after eating."

Luo Qi strolled into the house and upon seeing the meal on the table, he smiled slightly.

He really didn't have much money on him, having spent the last of it on these things today. He hadn't eaten himself because he knew there would be food waiting when he got back.

You saved a meal for me, I bring back wine for you.

It's only right.

Indistinctly, he heard the noise from the fort's entrance, someone shouting, "No leaving the fort at night!"

Zhao Changhe's voice carried over, "Since when is there a curfew? Don't get all bossy with that little authority of yours, damn it, I'm just going out for a bath, what's with all the nagging!"

"Uh... Zhao, Boss Zhao..."

"Oh, it's you guys, you're on guard duty? Alright, move aside, we're all friends here, let me through."

"If we knew it was Boss Zhao, we would never stop you, we're all buddies here."

The voices trailed off into the distance.

To be called 'Boss' already... Look at him, appearing more and more like a bandit of the hills. Luo Qi slowly ate his meal, then suddenly burst into a silent laugh.

A simple and naive young man?

Bandit or not, he was clearly a natural man of the Worldly Society, adapting to this Demon Cave even quicker than himself, stirring up the waters in just a few days. Who would have guessed that at first, he'd give off such an innocent and honest impression? Miraculous indeed.

Luo Qi suddenly thought that he and Zhao Changhe didn't really have much of a connection. How many words had they exchanged before all of this happened? Zhao Changhe was nice to him, mainly because of the loneliness and sense of guilt of being in a foreign Demon Cave. Luo Qi was, after all, someone familiar, so naturally more approachable.

But as things continue, if he thrives here and becomes close with everyone, then Luo Qi will no longer be anything special. His relationship with others could even surpass what he has with him.

That's good too, everyone has their own path.

Luo Qi leisurely cleaned up the bowls and chopsticks and then sat on the bed to meditate and train.

In fact, he too was diligent in his training... It's just that Zhao Changhe was a bit too freakish. Luo Qi had never seen anyone train with such fervor.

After dozens of cycles of Qi, footsteps approached; Zhao Changhe had returned.

Luo Qi opened his eyes in surprise, "Why so soon?"

"I got there, thought about it, and decided wine is not to be enjoyed alone. Of course, I had to come back and drink with you." Zhao Changhe, refreshed from his bath, filled a bowl with wine and laughed, "Turns out it wasn't as cold as I thought, I'm pretty tough after all! Next time, we'll go bathe together."

Who wants to bathe with you!

Luo Qi curled his lip, looking at the mist rising from the still warm wine, his mood inexplicably lifted, he made small talk, "You know, I saw your wanted poster at the city gate. The Imperial authorities seem to take it very seriously. With your appearance, it seems it'll be hard for you to move around outside from now on."

"Naturally! I'll tell you, I heard why the Luo Family got wiped out today. Luo Zhenwu, that idiot, turns out he's a Prince!" Zhao Changhe passed the wine bowl, chuckling, "You've been at the manor for so long, could you tell he had that Dragon Energy?"

Luo Qi's hand, holding the bowl, shook slightly, and the wine rippled.

Then he quickly resumed smiling as if nothing had happened, "That reason is indeed shocking, even scared my hands into shaking... You'll really need to be careful when you go out in the future."