thefictionvixens Chapter 90: He Became a God!
Chapter 90: He Became a God!
High in the sky, on the back of a white crane.
Wu Feng let out a long sigh of relief.
He almost couldn't make up the rest of the story.
He could only use the Phoenix Dance Three Illusions technique to create that illusory, dissipating effect, thus managing to smooth things over.
He put away the mask.
"Time to move on to the next stop."
Wu Feng murmured to himself, using his talent as the king of birds to convey commands to the flock.
Two thousand birds flapped their wings at the same time, adjusted their direction, and flew towards the location of the palace.
The roar of flapping wings rose again, merging into a deep rumble of thunder in the night sky.
……
The Imperial Palace, the Imperial Study.
Emperor Qing naturally heard the loud noise coming from outside.
The sound was initially quite distant, seemingly coming from the east of Kyoto, with faint sounds of birdsong and flapping wings.
But soon, the sound grew louder and clearer as it approached from afar.
Emperor Qing, sitting on a soft couch by the window, craned his neck to look outside.
In the night sky, a large dark shadow was flying towards the palace.
What is that?
Emperor Qing narrowed his eyes, a sudden unease rising in his heart.
A massive flock of birds, darkening the sky and obscuring the moon...
Could it be related to Ye Qingmei?
The moment the thought popped into his head, he froze.
Just then, a nightingale suddenly flew past the window of the Imperial Study with a "whoosh," its wings almost brushing against the windowpane.
Emperor Qing was so frightened that he shuddered and pulled his head back abruptly, his heart pounding wildly.
"Protect the Emperor!"
The shouts of the Imperial Guards could be heard outside the Imperial Study.
The sound of hurried footsteps rang out, and dozens of imperial guards quickly arrived, surrounding the imperial study. Long swords were drawn, bows and arrows were nocked, and everyone was on high alert.
Zhou Tong, the commander of the Imperial Guards, led a group of Imperial Guards and walked quickly over. He looked up at the sky, and his expression became solemn.
"Commander, this..." a guard from the Imperial Guard said in a strained voice.
Zhou Tong raised her hand to stop him from speaking, while she gripped the hilt of her knife tightly at her waist, her eyes fixed on the approaching dark cloud.
The sound of flapping wings and birdsong was already close at hand.
The noise was so loud it made me uneasy.
Inside the Imperial Study, Emperor Qing leaned against the wall by the window, his hand pressed against his chest.
He could clearly feel his heartbeat, faster and heavier with each beat, making his chest ache.
Panic, like an icy tide, washed over me from my feet to the top of my head.
He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down, but his hands were still trembling slightly.
What exactly is it?
Just as Emperor Qing was in a state of utter confusion, the door to the imperial study was suddenly pushed open with a bang.
Eunuch Hou's face turned deathly pale, and his voice trembled: "Your Majesty! They're flying towards the palace! So many birds! Absolutely birds!"
"Shut up!"
Emperor Qing turned around abruptly and roared at Eunuch Hou.
The eunuch was so frightened that he fell to his knees with a thud, kowtowing repeatedly: "This old servant knows his crime! This old servant deserves to die!"
After venting his anger, Emperor Qing's fear seemed to have subsided somewhat.
He took a deep breath, leaned back against the window, and peered outside again.
This time, he saw it clearly.
The entire sky above the palace was completely covered by flocks of birds.
It was pitch black, with most of the moonlight and palace lantern light blocked out, casting swaying, fragmented spots of light on the ground.
The imperial guards drew their bows taut, arrows aimed at the sky, but not one dared to release the string.
There's too much, we can't shoot it all, and nobody knows what the consequences of shooting it will be.
The palace maids and eunuchs hid behind the pillars and under the eaves, while the concubines huddled inside the palace gates. Everyone looked up, their faces filled with horror.
Just then, the flock of birds changed.
Above the lake outside the Imperial Study, a group of birds began to gather, circling and intertwining, like a ball of black cotton being kneaded by an invisible hand, slowly descending.
Zhou Tong shouted sternly, "Protect His Majesty!"
All the imperial guards immediately tightened their formation, completely surrounding the imperial study.
Yan Xiaoyi had already drawn his large bow, with a steel arrow nocked on the string and the arrowhead pointing towards the lake.
The flock of birds slowly descended about three zhang above the lake, then spread outwards layer by layer like a blooming black flower.
The moonlight shone down again.
The lake surface shimmered.
In the center of the scattered flock of birds, a huge white crane came into view.
The white crane stretched out its nearly two-foot-long wings and hovered quietly above the lake, its snow-white feathers shimmering with a soft silver light under the moonlight.
And on the crane's back...
A figure in pure white stood quietly.
The night breeze blew her clothes and long hair, and she stood there as steadily as if she were standing on flat ground.
Emperor Qing's pupils suddenly contracted.
Even from a distance of several dozen feet, and even with the moonlight not being bright, he recognized that face at a glance.
Ye Qingmei!
It really is Ye Qingmei!
Emperor Qing opened his mouth, wanting to shout "Protect the Emperor!", but his dry throat felt as if it were being tightly gripped by an invisible hand, and he couldn't make a sound.
He could only stare intently at the white figure on the lake, his blood running cold.
Ye Qingmei, perched on the back of the white crane, gazed through the night and landed on the window of the imperial study.
Eyes facing each other.
Emperor Qing felt as if he were rooted to the spot by that gaze.
That's not the look you give a living person.
Calm, empty.
It carried a chilling aura that seemed to penetrate everything.
It's like being able to see right into his heart, to dig out all his deepest, most shameful secrets and fears, and lay them all out under the moonlight.
The imperial guards also saw the person on the crane's back.
Some people gasped in shock, while others' hands began to tremble.
"That, that is..." Zhou Tong's voice was dry.
Yan Xiaoyi tightened his grip on the bow.
Ye Qingmei?!
On the lake, Ye Qingmei still gazed quietly at the Imperial Study.
Suddenly, her figure swayed.
Just like a reflection in water being broken by a pebble, creating ripples.
One figure swayed into three, then the three merged back into one, and then split again... The interplay of reality and illusion, flickering and uncertain, appeared extremely eerie under the moonlight.
"A ghost...a ghost!" A young imperial guard finally couldn't hold on any longer and cried out.
This sound was like flipping a switch, and panic began to spread among the crowd.
The hands holding the knife trembled, the hands drawing the bow trembled, and some people even had their legs go weak and almost collapsed to the ground.
As Emperor Qing watched the constantly flashing white figure that sometimes split into three, the scene from two months ago flashed through his mind.
Ye Qingmei's body vanished into thin air before his eyes.
Is Ye Qingmei truly unkillable?!
Could she really have become a ghost?
They've come back for revenge?
This thought, like a venomous snake, burrowed into Emperor Qing's mind, gnawing at his last shred of reason.
Just then, the white cranes on the lake stirred.
It slowly flapped its wings and began to rise.
But the white figure on the crane's back still faced the Imperial Study, its gaze still fixed on Emperor Qing.
Emperor Qing even developed a misconception.
That gaze will always follow him, no matter where he hides, day or night, she will be quietly watching him from some corner, watching this murderer who killed his wife and children.
The flock of birds took off together with the white cranes.
Sparrows, magpies, crows, golden eagles, swans... all the birds gathered again, surrounding the white crane in the center, forming a huge black rainbow that flew towards the sky.
The sound of wings flapping gradually faded into the distance.
The birdsong gradually faded away.
The moon and stars reappeared in the sky above the palace, and the palace lanterns regained their brightness.
But everyone remained standing there, heads tilted back, gazing in the direction where the flock of birds had disappeared, unable to come to their senses for a long time.
The Imperial Study was deathly silent.
Emperor Qing was still leaning against the window, his hand on the windowsill, his knuckles white from the force.
His mind was in complete chaos, filled with the white figure on the crane's back and those terrifyingly calm eyes.
"Your Majesty... Your Majesty..."
Hou Gonggong's cautious voice came from behind.
Emperor Qing suddenly came to his senses and turned around to look.
Eunuch Hou was still kneeling on the ground.
But at this moment, his expression had changed, a mixture of excitement and ingratiation.
"Your Majesty!" Eunuch Hou raised his voice, forcing a smile, "This old servant congratulates Your Majesty! This is an auspicious omen! An extremely auspicious omen!"
Emperor Qing was stunned.
"Look, so many birds, and even cranes, with fairies on their backs! This must be an auspicious sign bestowed upon our Qing Kingdom by Heaven!" Eunuch Hou became more and more excited as he spoke. "This proves that everything Your Majesty has done has been seen and approved by Heaven! This old servant congratulates Your Majesty! Congratulations, Your Majesty!"
His shout was so loud and clear that everyone outside the Imperial Study heard it.
The imperial guards exchanged bewildered glances, then someone, seemingly realizing what was happening, shouted, "Congratulations, Your Majesty!"
Immediately afterwards, everyone knelt down in unison, facing the direction of the Imperial Study, their voices merging into one:
"Congratulations, Your Majesty!"
"Congratulations, Your Majesty!!"
Emperor Qing stood by the window, listening to the thunderous congratulations outside, and the tangled mess in his mind seemed to be suddenly straightened out by a hand.
Correct.
Auspicious omen.
This is an auspicious sign!
Ye Qingmei's ghost didn't come to seek revenge; it was an auspicious sign, a sign of Heaven's approval of him as emperor!
"That's right...it's an auspicious omen..." he murmured to himself, then his voice grew louder and louder, "It's an auspicious omen bestowed upon our Qing Kingdom by Heaven!"
Emperor Qing stepped down from the soft couch, straightened his robes, straightened his back, and strode out of the imperial study.
He walked to the corridor, faced the kneeling imperial guards, palace maids, and eunuchs, and spoke loudly, his voice echoing throughout the courtyard:
"Tonight, auspicious omens descend from the heavens; cranes grace the sky, and all birds pay homage… This is Heaven's favor upon our Qing Kingdom!"
"Ye Qingmei is the goddess of my Qing Kingdom. She brought three major workshops and Qingyutang to the Qing Kingdom, making the people rich and the national treasury full."
"Though she has passed away, her spirit lives on, transforming into auspicious omens to protect the land of my Qing Kingdom!"
"By imperial decree, painters are ordered to create an image of Ye Qingmei, which will be enshrined in all the temples of the Qing Kingdom. From this day forward, Ye Qingmei will receive the worship of all people and enjoy eternal veneration!"
"Your Majesty is wise!"
Everyone shouted in unison, their voices so loud that the eaves trembled slightly.
Emperor Qing stood under the eaves, looking up at the western night sky.
The flock of birds had long since disappeared, leaving only a slender crescent moon and a few scattered stars.
He maintained a solemn expression, but his hands, hidden in his sleeves, were still trembling slightly.