Chaotic World Book

Freshly bathed, Heroine Yue strode into the hall and naturally took a seat next to Zhao Changhe.

There were no sweet-smelling powders or modern shampoos and soaps, yet the natural fragrance emanating from her could stir the heart. Her spirited posture, long straight legs, and beautiful visage were dazzling whenever she appeared, instinctively drawing the gaze of all males, even prompting many old monks to mutter Buddhist prayers under their breath.

Yet Zhao Changhe always felt, disgracefully, that Sister Yue, even with bloodstains all over her and soot on her face, retained the most beautiful look in her sharp and piercing gaze.

"Please, continue," Yue Hongling smiled, "Listening to your discussion on taxation and corvée labor is quite enlightening."

"Cough," Zhao Changhe cleared his throat, "There's not much to say... To put it arrogantly, I set the tone for such matters, and the details can be entrusted to a Chief Historian."

Yue Hongling's beautiful eyes roamed over his face before she lowered her head to sip her tea, "Then, do you have any other remarkable matters to discuss?"

"Of course, it's about God-Demon issues," Zhao Changhe said, "Do you know where this place is?"

"I just asked the monk who guided us here, and he said it's Xiangyang," Yue Hongling slightly frowned in perplexity, "That doesn't make sense. I was clearly in the far west of Kunlun."

Those who were lovesick might think it was a fateful encounter over thousands of miles, but listening to her words didn't give people like Yuan Cheng any sense of romance; instead, they were startled, with hairs standing on end.

No wonder their Secret Realm was like a washroom with people coming and going; even those from west of Kunlun could directly reach this place, what secrecy was left to speak of? Let's not even talk about the inside of the Secret Realm, this temple itself was vulnerable to invasion at any time, how could anyone sleep soundly here?

Zhao Changhe, however, was more understanding of such phenomena. After all, being pulled from the modern era to this place, the concept of spatial connections was not peculiar to him, given that they could even move. On the far eastern Tianya Island, teleportation was also in use, inaccessible by human flight to the ends of Heaven. With a similar concept, if the opposite side had the "chaos" attribute, then spatial chaos was no rare occurrence.

Moreover, the Secret Realm was originally scattered fragments of the Heavenly Realm. Perhaps the pieces that fell on both sides were originally part of the same entity, which would make it even less surprising.

The current question was, if one side could come over, could we go to the other side?

And was this spatial connection intentionally established by the other side, or was it naturally formed?

This would lead to different judgments and subsequent responses.

Observing the unpleasant expressions on the faces of people like Yuan Cheng, Zhao Changhe slowly began, "How much do you all actually know about this Secret Realm?"

Yuan Cheng said, "We don't know much ourselves, because our original monastery was not here. It's only handed down through word of mouth that this place was once a Holy Land. We didn't dare develop here openly before. After the previous emperor passed away... as everyone understands... we only arrived here in the past one or two months, mainly focusing on renovating the temple and recruiting followers. It's difficult to survey the Secret Realm for now; it's too vast at first glance, with insufficient manpower. We're just guarding the ancient temple and Vajra inside, hoping to slowly explore the surroundings in time."

"I know Master Yuan Xing was originally at Wutai Mountain's Huayan Temple. Where were you exactly from?"

"Not hiding anything from King Zhao, I was originally in Chang'an," Yuan Cheng hesitated for a moment, then said in a low voice, "The Li Family was originally supportive of our development. To be honest, coming to Xiangyang also served their purpose as a precursor."

Zhao Changhe glanced at him sidelong, "Is Chang'an City full of foreigners?"

Yuan Cheng remained silent.

Zhao Changhe couldn't care less to reprimand him. Sects were often nationless, sharing this trait with the Aristocratic Families; as long as they supported their missions, it didn't matter who governed the land. Of course, there were shamanistic practices among the barbarians, which clashed with theirs, so they couldn't be utterly devoted to the Li Family. Coming to Xiangyang was to open a second front, to see if they could benefit from both sides.

Yuan Cheng understood that Zhao Changhe saw through their intentions and finally admitted with some embarrassment, "Recently, the incident with Gui Chen at the Wang Family has been made public, and now Chang'an holds some suspicions toward us. After all, my brother Yuan Xing had a relationship with King Zhao, and I participated in the battle of Maitreya with King Zhao, so…"

Zhao Changhe laughed, no wonder, they seemed to be a spitting image of Gui Chen; the Li Family didn't trust them anymore. Unexpectedly, the matter with Gui Chen had set off a chain reaction.

"If you really want to develop here, stop hedging your bets. I suggest you withdraw your people from Chang'an as well, I won't use you like Gui Chen did," Zhao Changhe said, "Correspondingly, the information from Chang'an, give me a copy… you don't need to give it to me directly; transfer it to the Capital's Demon Suppression Department."

Yuan Cheng was quite straightforward, "Okay."

Zhao Changhe nodded in satisfaction, "Since you all are also unfamiliar with this Secret Realm, let's first seek to understand it. Speculating blindly now is pointless when everyone is groping in the dark. Forget the rest; no need to hold temple fairs or spread teachings now. Focus exclusively on exploring this Secret Realm. I will stay here for the next few days, and we can discuss further when there are results."

The monks paid their respects, "We will make arrangements right away, King Zhao, you should rest."

Yue Hongling realized that she had only said one sentence upon her arrival, thinking that there were many things she needed to discuss, but it turned out that her input was no longer needed.

Looking at Zhao Changhe serving tea to the guests, Yue Hongling suddenly felt so estranged...

"Why are you looking at me like that? Isn't this a basic operation for a village chief? It's just that the village has grown bigger now..." Zhao Changhe turned his head, glanced at her, and smiled, "Does my lady feel overwhelmed?"

"Ptui." Yue Hongling glared at him, watched as the monks left one after another, then went to close the door and turned back to say, "I knew you would change like you have now, I understood it back when we were with the Spirit Clan, that your vision is the whole world, the Worldly Society is too small for you... It was quite inspiring for my Sword Intent at the time. I just didn't expect this day to come so soon, how long has it been... That boy has almost become unrecognizable to me."

Zhao Changhe said, "Because people have to grow up, even Yangyang isn't a little girl anymore."

Yue Hongling didn't understand what a 'little girl' was, nor did she care, she just sat beside him, propping her cheek with one hand on the table, gazing intently at him.

Zhao Changhe truly was no longer a boy, and Yue Hongling could clearly feel the weariness and the traces of the elements on Zhao Changhe's face, as well as the dignified composure that came with a high position... After all, he was only twenty-three after the new year, and at that age, he commanded a group of old monks with an authority that nobody found incongruous. This gave off a kind of 'aged' feeling.

Because he thought too much, and he had too many concerns.

But his momentum was still strong, his edges still sharp, giving the impression that he had never changed, and was still the same young man from before.

She whispered, "Have I gotten old?"

The heroine, who never cared about her appearance, suddenly felt a fear of loss.

He has aged, what about her?

Roaming the world alone, through the endless sandy dunes, the Wind Blade Frost Sword, has it left marks on her face, or calluses on her hands and feet?

Zhao Changhe said, "I am quite disappointed."

Yue Hongling's heart skipped a beat, she put on a stern face.

Zhao Changhe continued, "You haven't aged a bit."

Yue Hongling: "?"

"Actually, I was hoping you'd look a little older..." Zhao Changhe finally reached out, touching her cheek, "That way, I could continue calling you 'sister'."

Yue Hongling's heartbeat quickened, but now it seemed to be in a different direction, leisurely and lingering, like a stone thrown into water, creating ripples upon ripples that took a long time to settle.

She spoke with some difficulty, "Didn't you always refuse to call me 'sister' before? You always acted like you wanted to conquer someone, and it was infuriating."

Zhao Changhe whispered, "But after seeing all the splendor, in the end, I feel that I want a sister."

His rough hand caressed her face, still delicate and tender as before.

But Yue Hongling saw the exhaustion in Zhao Changhe's heart, understanding that even a man of steel could tire.

His fatigue seemed to only show in front of her, even 'old women' like Vermilion Bird and Tang Wanju didn't receive this privilege.

Before, he always had to show "I can help you," "I can stand by you with sword in hand." It seemed like this was the first time he expressed, "I want you to help me," "I need a sister."

Just like the stubborn boy who stood among the corpses in Zhao Mansion, who stood there with defiance, yet also with a sense of bewilderment. And the sharply commanding King Zhao of just moments before, they seemed almost like two different people.

"I am your sister," Yue Hongling gently embraced him, whispering comfort, "The village has gotten bigger, the troubles have multiplied, but it's okay... Sister won't leave this time, I'll help you."