Tome of Troubled Times

Chapter 598: Wish Fulfilled

Lady Three had been dreaming of her lover tenderly feeding her medicine, but instead, it was her stern-faced junior, Xia Chichi, doing the honors. What could have been a bittersweet experience now felt entirely bitter, and even the candy that was supposed to be sweet tasted like mud.

She wore a mournful expression as she finished drinking the medicine, the “healthy complexion” she had put on earlier collapsing under the wave of bitterness. As the medicine took effect, she soon fell into a deep sleep.

Xia Chichi extended her hand and observed Lady Three’s body. With the skills she’d learned from the Rejuvenation Art, she could sense the medicine working, reconstructing and regenerating Lady Three’s flesh and blood. Nodding in satisfaction, she moved to sit next to Zhao Changhe and remarked, “Her condition has stabilized. It looks like your medicine is quite potent, Doctor Zhao. Is this how you charmed Tang Wanzhuang?”

Zhao Changhe’s mouth twitched, unable to understand why Tang Wanzhuang was brought up yet again.

Xia Chichi grabbed his collar, grinding her teeth as she said, “First, you charm my wife[1], now you’re after my aunt-master. Is one sheep not enough? Do you plan to shear them all?”

Zhao Changhe was at a loss, smiling wryly. He pulled her close and whispered in her ear, “I’m also after you, you know.”

Xia Chichi sighed. “You’ve already sheared me bald.”

Zhao Changhe nodded solemnly. “Yes, I know it’s smooth.”

Xia Chichi’s eyes widened, and she kicked him, yelling, “You’re dead!”

Zhao Changhe took the kick but still held her, smiling without a word.

Although Xia Chichi looked angry, she was actually in a great mood at the moment, and Zhao Changhe felt the same. Knowing that Lady Three was out of danger lifted a heavy burden from their hearts. With both of them able to use the Azure Dragon’s Rejuvenation Art, as well as a storage ring full of precious herbs, they were not worried about any further treatments. The tension that had been straining them finally started to unwind.

After all, they had completed a significant task. They had been drifting at sea for over two months, each with their own purpose—Xia Chichi’s exploration of the mysteries pertaining to the Azure Dragon, Zhao Changhe’s quest for the Heavenly Tome, and Lady Three’s vengeance for her parents. After countless hardships and taking turns getting gravely injured, they had somehow managed to achieve everything, perfectly, and all were still alive. The sense of satisfaction and relief that filled their hearts now was much more real and satisfying than the sensation from burning textbooks after a grueling final exam[2].

If Lady Three’s life had not been hanging by a thread until recently, they might have already celebrated with reckless abandon—a wild, indulgent release of all that tension.

And now, perhaps... they could?

But as Zhao Changhe held Xia Chichi, he could sense something off in her demeanor. She was not her usual self.

The cold swordswoman persona that Xia Chichi adopted outside was just a facade—an icy aura borrowed from Iceheart, combined with the killing intent of the White Tiger. To others, she came across as cold and taciturn, but that was not her true personality. Under normal circumstances, by now she would have already leaned in with a pout, hinting at her desires. To the mischievous little witch, having her aunt-master lying nearby, forced to watch, would have been the ultimate rebellious thrill. Let her go tell the Vermillion Bird about it if she dared!

But right now, this little witch merely leaned quietly in his arms. Though she smiled faintly, her gaze seemed distant, and she did not even crack any jokes.

Is she waiting for Lady Three to wake up first?

Zhao Changhe gently asked, “What are you thinking about?”

Xia Chichi, still deep in thought, replied, “I’m thinking about my aunt-master and her father. Hai Pinglan was even crueler than my own father, hunting down his daughter without hesitation. Yet, it was for a reason that I can understand. His decision to stop contacting her wasn’t due to heartlessness but because he wanted to keep her out of the battles at the level of the gods and demons. At that moment, he acted as a father.”

Zhao Changhe understood what she was getting at and said, “Old Xia also exposed himself to save you and later scolded Hai Pinglan for using you as bait. At that moment, he was also acting as a father.”

“No, he’s worse than Hai Pinglan,” Xia Chichi said softly. “He saved me because he knew that once I deciphered the statue, the Sea Emperor would come after me regardless, so his exposure wasn’t all that important. In fact, when he intervened during the battle between the Wang and Cui Clans, the Sea Emperor already knew he was watching. As for scolding Hai Pinglan... Hah, he could have done that while I was being held hostage, but he didn’t.”

Zhao Changhe was taken aback and fell silent.

In the end, he was an outsider. He could not understand Xia Chichi’s feelings as viscerally as she did. And when she put things that way... it was true. If Xia Longyuan had known Hai Pinglan was holding Chichi hostage, why had he not stepped in earlier? Was it not because he also wanted her to figure out the statue? Sending Chichi out to find the island was just using her as bait, no different from Hai Pinglan’s hostage-taking.

Perhaps in Old Xia’s mind, he had convinced himself that since he was watching over her, she would not really be in any danger. He firmly believed that under his watch, if anyone bullied Xia Chichi, he could deal with them, so there was nothing to worry about. But while things had turned out fine in the end, it did not change the fact that Xia Chichi had been treated as a tool rather than a person. No matter what explanation was given, using your daughter as bait and throwing her into the heart of the storm—the epicenter of a war of gods and demons—was hard to justify. What would Chichi feel in that situation?

By contrast, Hai Pinglan had chosen to let his daughter hate him rather than explain the misunderstanding, just to keep her out of that same war. He believed it was far too dangerous for her. Even when he knew that his daughter was among the top figures on the Ranking of Earth, he had not considered using her as an asset. The gap in values was clear.

Lady Three and Xia Chichi did not even know each other well. Their interactions were few and far between. Yet out of sheer loyalty to the cult, Lady Three had traveled all the way from the distant north to the Eastern Sea to help, venturing into life-threatening situations. From an emotional perspective, Old Xia, as her father, could not measure up in the slightest to her aunt-master that she had barely even interacted with.

Old Xia’s situation was complicated, though. In his mind, he probably thought he had a bond with his daughter—at least in the sense of “she’s mine to use, but no one else is allowed to harm her.” When he saved Chichi earlier, his first reaction had been to worry about her getting herself killed rather than ruining his plans.

That alone showed that, deep down, her safety mattered more to him than his schemes. He was not completely heartless.

But should Xia Chichi truly be grateful for just that?

It was natural for her mood to be down. It was hard to describe the feeling. If there was genuine emotion, it fell short of expectations. If she assumed he was heartless, perhaps Xia Longyuan would feel unjustly accused.

Zhao Changhe thought for a moment before speaking. “You haven’t thought of him as a father for years. There’s no need to change that now. Just keep your distance from him. We don’t need anything from him anyway.”

Xia Chichi nodded lightly. “Mm-hm. I think I let myself expect too much from him.”

After a pause, she added, “This time, he also returned injured. None of us knows how much damage his main body has suffered. The Tome of Troubled Times hinted at mutual destruction. With that being the case, it’s difficult to predict how other major forces might react. I was debating whether to take advantage of his weakness and move against him or to help him out. Now I’ve decided: I’ll stay out of it and watch from the sidelines.”

Zhao Changhe nodded in agreement. For Chichi, staying uninvolved was the wisest course of action. After all, Vermillion Bird was already a rebel, and once Lady Three recovered, she would likely join the fray as well. She could simply let them handle all that stuff while she herself stayed out of it and simply watched.

However, Zhao Changhe himself had a different thought. Whatever else could be said about Old Xia, he was unyielding in his defense against foreign invaders. The Great Shaman Bo’e and the Golden Horde’s Khagan Timur, ranked second and third on the Ranking of Heaven, had been held in check by Xia Longyuan’s suppression. Now, despite the barbarian god being severely injured, the great shaman and khagan were completely unscathed. If they seized this opportunity to march south, Batu would be utterly unable to stop them.

With Old Xia injured, Timur might even dare to lead an attack on Yanmen Pass himself this time. If a warrior of his level breached the pass, there would be no stopping them.

Zhao Changhe realized that this was a fight he had to take part in. As Old Xia himself had said, it did not matter who ruled Great Xia, but the northern barbarians marching south? They needed to be stopped.

With that in mind, he smiled and said, “How about you join me in resisting invaders from the north? It would count as helping him, but not entirely, and you’d still stay out of the rebellion. If Vermillion Bird calls for you, you’ll have a solid excuse to stay out of it.”

Xia Chichi had been wrestling with just such a dilemma. Hearing this, her face lit up with delight. “That’s a great idea!”

She rubbed her hands together in excitement, nearly leaping to her feet to pace the room. “You and Yue Hongling once dominated the Saibei. Now it’s my turn. It’s my time to shine!”

But Zhao Changhe held her tightly, refusing to let her get up. Relaxed and in high spirits, Xia Chichi finally seemed to have shaken off her earlier gloom. With a mischievous glint in her eye, she bit her lip and tilted her head up. “Hey...”

Zhao Changhe found her excitement amusing. “What?”

“Now that the seas are calm, our missions complete, and my aunt-master’s condition now stable... Don’t you think it’s time to celebrate?”

Oh, I’ve thought about it plenty... but you seemed quite uninterested earlier. Zhao Changhe replied with mock seriousness, “Do I look like the kind of guy who jumps straight into that kind of thing?”

Xia Chichi leaned in, her lips brushing against his scarred cheek, her tongue lightly tracing the line of the scar. “You’re not, but I am. Is that good enough for you?”

The sensation sent a shiver down Zhao Changhe’s spine. This witch... When she turned up the charm, it was enough to drive anyone mad. Whatever restraint he had was completely dissolved.

Sensing the shift, Xia Chichi grinned devilishly. Her hands slid downward, her lips finding his neck as she murmured, “Though my name is Chichi, I refuse to come second to anyone[3]. My aunt-master may have gotten ahead of me, but I was together with you first...”

Zhao Changhe leaned back slightly. “Aren’t you afraid Venerable Vermillion Bird will find out?”

“Afraid of her? I was, a little. But now that Venerable Black Tortoise is on my side, what’s she going to do? If she has the guts, she can try stripping me of my title.” Xia Chichi’s hands tightened. “What about you? Are you chickening out?”

That was the last straw. Zhao Changhe swept her up into his arms and kissed her fiercely. “I’m not afraid of her even in a one-on-one fight. Why would I back down now?”

Xia Chichi wrapped her arms around his neck, closing her eyes as she leaned into him, her voice a soft whisper. “You’ve wanted this for a long time, haven’t you? Before, it always felt... off.”

It was true. After so many times of playing innocent, holding back had become unbearable.

But even at this moment, Zhao Changhe’s mind flickered to a memory—the moonlit pool behind the mountain at Beimang. He could still see Luo Qi stepping into the water under the moonlight, her figure breathtaking. And then, the moment in the waterfall cave where they shared that desperate, fiery kiss, knowing they were about to part ways.

“From that moment on, you were meant to be mine...”

Lady Three, still in her dazed, semi-conscious state, vaguely heard a soft, melodious cry as though it were a bird song, tender and lingering.

Blinking groggily, she opened her eyes to a scene that made her freeze. She saw Zhao Changhe, strong and commanding, with Xia Chichi pinned beneath him. The contrast between her delicate, seemingly fragile frame and his imposing presence... there was a strange allure of dominance in the air.

Lady Three’s eyes widened in shock, her thoughts racing. So much for boasting about subduing him and gaining his loyalty. Have I been lying to myself this whole time? From this angle, it looks like the little pig has flipped the script and started playing with her superior! Wait... no, that isn’t right...

Lady Three jolted fully awake, her voice ringing out sharply, “Xia Chichi, what do you think you’re doing?!”

1. I believe she uses this word as Tang Wanzhuang was supposed to be wed to the crown prince. ☜

2. Yes, some people actually do that in China, probably elsewhere too. ☜

3. Reminder that her name means “late.” ☜