Tome of Troubled Times-Chapter 745 (1): Reputation Ravager

Given the current situation, if Zhao Changhe could break through soon, their odds in a future battle would be much better.

But... expecting a single dual cultivation session to achieve that was wishful thinking. Instead, the opposite happened—Zhao Changhe ended up flooding her with his own insights. Wind. Qi veins. Karma. Life and death...

Not everything he transferred to her was relevant, and what did not align with her path was simply discarded, useful only for reference at best. But one particular concept did resonate deeply: his understanding of Yin Fire and the essence of life and death.

It was this realization that had allowed her to break through to the Profound Control Realm in the first place. And now, Zhao Changhe had given her further confirmation of that truth. To fully consolidate her cultivation at the first layer, she would need to comprehend life and death from every perspective. Once she had done that, she could attempt a breakthrough to the second layer. That was still a distant goal, but Zhao Changhe had just given her the missing key.

Huangfu Qing sighed internally. I came here to help him, but somehow, before I could even say anything, you ended up filling me up—in every sense of the word... You damned pighead.

The pighead in question seemed lost in deep contemplation for a long while. Then, his expression brightened with realization, and he let out a small chuckle. “You really came at the perfect time. I keep feeling like your traits are the perfect counter against Jiuyou. I’ve absorbed your insights. Next time we’re made to fight, I might just be able to put on an even better show.”

Huangfu Qing said, “Why bother putting on a better show when fighting? If you don’t break into the Profound Control Realm, nothing fundamentally changes. Yuxu won’t be following you around as a personal bodyguard forever. What, are you planning to just never go outside again?”

Zhao Changhe chuckled and said, “Jiuyou still has no idea who I really am. As far as she knows, I’m just some Buddhist disciple named Qin Jiu. If I switch clothes and change my face before stepping outside, how the hell is she going to find me?”

Huangfu Qing blinked. “...Oh. That’s actually true.”

“The real problem right now is you. Now that you’ve revealed yourself in Chang’an, unless the city’s officials are complete idiots, they’ll be turning the whole place upside down looking for you. You’re an enemy from a demonic cult of the false dynasty. So... what’s your plan? Are you going to disguise yourself?”

“Changing my face won’t make much of a difference. There’s a strange resonance between Jiuyou’s aura and mine. As long as we’re in the same vicinity, we’ll probably sense each other’s presence anyway... But now that I think about it, it’s odd. With Jiuyou’s level of power, how has she not sensed your vicious blood qi? How the hell are you hiding it?”

That... might be something I’ve got to ask the blind woman...

Speaking of which, Zhao Changhe felt that the blind woman had never been this cautious before. It was clear that Jiuyou was not just an ordinary threat to her. It seems that Jiuyou truly is terrifyingly powerful. What we witnessed earlier must have only been the tip of the iceberg when it comes to her true power. She underestimated us, and thankfully chose to withdraw rather than escalate things toward the end. If she’d gone all out, things might have gotten really, really bad.

However, Zhao Changhe could not shake the feeling that the blind woman's concern was not just Jiuyou’s strength.

Right, what’s with the resemblance...? And more importantly, why is she being so damn quiet?

She had plenty to say when he and Yue Hongling were together, even going out of her way to tease her. But now, with Vermillion Bird here? Dead silence.

Is it because Yue Hongling was easier to mess with? That obviously can’t be it. She probably just doesn’t want to talk about Jiuyou.

Zhao Changhe thought for a moment, then said, “We don’t know if Jiuyou has the ability to constantly scan the city with her divine sense and locate your aura. If she can, then hiding is useless. In fact, it might just lead her straight to this base.”

Huangfu Qing nodded and said, “So what do we do? Should I just leave Chang’an entirely? Because there’s no way I’m doing that.”

Zhao Changhe grinned. “Of course not. After all, venerable, as the first lady of the Great Han—”

“What first lady?!” Huangfu Qing viciously pinched him. “It’s Empress Dowager! And that’s not even public knowledge yet!”

“Public or not, does it even matter anymore?” Zhao Changhe smirked. “The Four Idols Cult doesn’t operate in secrecy the way it used to. You might as well just announce your true identity—Huangfu Qing. What’s anyone going to do about you? We’ll save the mask for when we’re in bed, you know, to spice things u—”

“Piss off.” Huangfu Qing fumed. “If I go around using my real name, then Yuxu will definitely realize that we’re together. And if he realizes I’m also Vermillion Bird, he’ll put two and two together and figure out that this is just a—”

She suddenly stopped mid-sentence, her face twisting into an expression of pure horror.

Zhao Changhe knew exactly what she was thinking. Smirking, he said, “Huangfu Qing’s identity as Empress Dowager is already publicly known. They already know about—”

“Don’t you dare say it!” Huangfu Qing kicked him off the bed. “I swear, if the Great Han fails to unite the land, it’s going to be entirely because you single-handedly ruined its reputation! What kind of depraved pervert are you?!”

Zhao Changhe hovered in midair, hands tucked behind his head, not even bothering to argue. Sometimes, silence was the wisest option.

Huangfu Qing gazed at him, slightly taken aback by how effortlessly he floated in midair. Even while scowling, she said nothing.

“Ahem,” Zhao Changhe cleared his throat. “What I was actually going to say is that you could enter the city as an official envoy of the Great Han. If you use a formal diplomatic identity, even if they want to make a move against you, they’ll have a much harder time doing it in broad daylight. If they tried to assassinate you publicly, it could force the entire city into lockdown. That would make you safer, not more vulnerable. Of course, keep the mask on. There’s no precedent for the Empress Dowager acting as an envoy. Just use your status as a venerable of the state religion. That way, we can also drag Yuxu into the mess, making it look like he’s already in cahoots with us.”

Huangfu Qing’s eyes lit up. “Now that’s actually a solid plan. Then I’ll leave the city first and re-enter, openly, as an envoy.”

“You’ll need a formal reason to come for a negotiation.”

“That’s easy.” Huangfu Qing waved a delicate hand dismissively. “Let’s just say I’m here to arrange a marriage proposal on behalf of our dear King Zhao, of course. If the Li Clan doesn’t offer up their precious young lady to our King Zhao, then we’ll just beat them up.”

Zhao Changhe rolled his eyes so hard he nearly saw the back of his skull. Of all the diplomatic justifications in the world, this is what you come up with? Sure, an official marriage proposal is technically a valid reason for diplomatic negotiations, but you’re just blatantly asking for a fight. Not that it matters, I guess. We’re not actually here to negotiate but to stir the pot.

This 𝓬ontent is taken from fгeewebnovёl.co𝙢.

A real political marriage would be a disaster—who the hell wants an alliance with traitors who are colluding with the northern barbarians?