Song of Adolescence

Chapter 330 A Scroll Covered in Dust

The Four Guardians of Heavenly Revelations.

Qinglong Guardian of the East, Lei Wujie.

Zhuque Guardian of the South, Sikong Qianluo.

Baihu Guardian of the West, Ji Xue.

Xuanwu Guardian of the North, Tang Lian.

All four successors of the Four Guardians of Heavenly Revelations had finally appeared. Back then, Langya Prince gathered four consummate individuals and assembled the Four Guardians of Heavenly Revelations to help Mingde Emperor ascend the throne. Before he died, he made a secret agreement with the Four Guardians that their successors would protect the next heir to the throne, and at the time, the candidate they had chosen was Xiao Se. Later, Langya Prince was imprisoned for conspiracy to rebel and finally committed suicide on the execution ground. The Four Guardians left Heavenly Revelations City one by one, but they had never forgotten their agreement.

After all these years, they had finally assembled again. Unfortunately, one of them had missed their reunion.

"I will help you ascend to the dragon throne," Ji Xue declared arrogantly.

Lei Wujie elbowed Xiao Se meaningfully. "Xiao Se, yet another lady is willing to help you ascend the dragon throne. How do you feel about it? When the time comes, will you adopt them all into your harem…" Lei Wujie didn’t finish his sentence and a staff was already propped against his throat. He laughed awkwardly at Ji Xue. "Kidding. Kidding."

Xiao Se didn\'t even lift his eyelids. "Don’t even think about kidding around this lady. I met her once when I was young, and she was already a leopard cub. Once she gets aggressive, not even I was a match for her."

Ji Xue withdrew her Cloud Rising Staff. "The questions you want to ask, I can tell you the answers now. About what happened that night."

"What happened that night?" Lei Wujie couldn\'t help but grin.

Ji Xue raised her staff again.

But Xiao Se was not in the mood to joke around. "Tell me, then. Who was it."

Ji Xue nodded. "The time of your departure from Heavenly Revelations was supposed to be a secret. But, the information was still leaked to spies. The White Prince Residence invited one of the five great sword immortals, Wrath Sword Immortal Yan Zhantian, to kill you. Indeed, you nearly died under his hands. But, Father managed to get there in time. Considering Yan Zhantian’s ability back then, he could barely be ranked in the fourth tier of the Ultimate Experts List whereas my father was at the peak of his strength. Yan Zhantian was no match for him. The two dueled for a long time, and finally Yan Zhantian was forced to retreat. It was at this time that a second person arrived."

"Back then, I was no match for Yan Zhantian, and was knocked out quickly. So, that night, I only saw Yan Zhantian. I didn’t see a second person," Xiao Se said.

"Right. The second person was far more terrifying than Yan Zhantian. He discerned the perfect opportunity, because he knew that Yan Zhantian would come, and that my father would also come. Just when Yan Zhantian was forced to retreat and my father was exhausted, he appeared. Back then, in the whole of Heavenly Revelations, not many people could have stopped him. My father may have been one of them, but he had already fought one round. It was already extremely difficult for him to save your life and barely escape with his own life."

"Who was it? There couldn’t have been such a powerful expert in Heavenly Revelations. State Preceptor Qi Tianchen? Impossible. It’s definitely not him." Xiao Se shook his head.

"You’ve forgotten that in the Imperial Mausoleum of Heavenly Revelations City, there lived a man who caused everyone in the imperial court, from the bottom to the top, to shudder with fear. He hardly moved about in the martial world, but like Yan Zhantian, he was ranked as one of the Four Great Evils under Heaven."

"Former Grand Eunuch Zhuo Qing Gonggong," Xiao Se pronounced each word succinctly.

"That’s right, Zhuo Qing Gonggong. In terms of martial arts, he was not inferior to the Sect Leader of the Demonic Cult, Ye Dingzhi. That night, he left the Imperial Mausoleum covertly and participated in the plot to murder you. In the end, my father saved you, but both of you were severely injured by his Chronic Killing Palm. You were struck with one palm and became the condition you were in."

Xiao Se frowned slightly, recalling the indescribable agony at the time.

"My father was struck with a total of sixteen palms," Ji Xue continued.

Lei Wujie sucked in a sharp breath. A moment ago, he was still puzzled. Why couldn’t Mo Yi, who had reached such a powerful realm, heal Ji Ruofeng? But, now he understood. Xiao Se was only struck by one palm and his injuries were already so severe. Ji Ruofeng was struck with sixteen palms. It was a miracle that he managed to survive.

"Why do this?" Xiao Se only asked three words.

"Do you think those old fellows in the Imperial Mausoleum don’t want to come out? It’s just because they’re not strong enough, and all these years, there was never anyone who dared to challenge that rule. But, Zhuo Qing was powerful enough. He had the skills, the ruthlessness, and the one item which could resolve the resulting situation in the imperial court."

"What item?" Xiao Se asked.

Ji Xue did not answer him directly. "Langya Prince resolved the chaos with Nanjue and rescued the entire Beili at a critical moment. Everywhere he went, the people of Beili bent their knees and prostrated before him without exception. Both in the imperial court and outside, all the officials accepted him wholeheartedly. Upright officials admired him, corrupt officials respected him. As for Mingde Emperor, he could just barely be considered a wise ruler. But, when compared to Langya Prince’s military merits, practically nobody could see what Mingde Emperor had accomplished. At that time, all the government officials and the common people had the same notion.

"Why doesn’t Langya Prince just become the Emperor?"

Xiao Se’s frown tightened. "What do you mean?"

"That item could help Langya Prince ascend the throne," Ji Xue said slowly.

"Impudence!" Xiao Se snapped with a loud yell. "Langya-wangshu never thought about becoming the Emperor!"

"Yes, but all the citizens under Heaven wanted him to be the Emperor, and all the civil and military officials wanted him to be the Emperor. He didn’t want it, but everyone was forcing him to do it." Ji Xue looked at Xiao Se. "Just like you had once upon a time, wanted to stay in that inn and lived the rest of your life there, but there will always be something that appears that will push you forward and force you to make a decision!"

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Imperial Mausoleum.

The three old eunuchs sat together and looked at the scroll on the table in silence.

The scroll was made of an exquisite gold-threaded cloth, and the top of the scroll was carved with the head of a fire-breathing dragon. The dragon’s mouth was wide open and it bit the end of the scroll, effectively sealing the entire scroll.

After the founding of Beili, two consecutive Crown Princes died of unnatural deaths. Any discerning person would clearly see that they were deliberately murdered. Since then, Beili established a court regulation not to name the Crown Prince. The reigning Emperor would write the name of the heir to the throne within a scroll, and on the day that the Emperor passed away, the name on the scroll would be the next Emperor. The scrolls were sealed with a dragon seal, and since hidden within them were the name of the future true dragon, they were called the Dragon-Sealed Scrolls. On the day of the Ceremony of Offering Sacrifices, one copy of the scroll was handed to the Five Grand Eunuchs for safekeeping, and was called the Emperor’s will. Another copy was concealed by the Directorate of Astronomy, and was called Heaven’s will.

Mingde Emperor had yet to bestow the Dragon-Sealed Scrolls, and the previous scrolls would always be incinerated as an offering to Heaven on the day of the new Emperor’s coronation. Hence, there should not be any Dragon-Sealed Scrolls in the world. But of the two scrolls left by the previous reign of Tai’an Emperor, one was destroyed by Langya Prince Xiao Ruofeng on the spot, and the other vanished on the way to the Directorate of Astronomy. Therefore, if there really was a Dragon-Sealed Scroll in the world, it could only be that one…

Zhuo Xin Gonggong reached out a hand to open the scroll. The scroll was embroidered with a vivid and lifelike golden dragon, as well as a name.

Xiao Ruofeng.