Chapter 23 Honest Girl

The Imperial Mausoleum lies at the southern foot of Mountain of Eternal Life.

The mausoleum area spans fifty li in every direction, surrounded by mountains and facing the Sushui River to the north.

The tombs in the Imperial Mausoleum are aligned from west to east, with a total of seventeen burial pits.

Zhou Yi effortlessly passed through the mausoleum's guards and arrived in front of the newest tombstone of Emperor Chongming.

"The emperor is truly the most unreasonable creature in the world, the Dog Emperor spent more than thirty years seeking immortality without attending court, while taking over a decade to construct the Imperial Mausoleum."

"You are unaware, senior. When the Imperial Mausoleum was being built, my father held office in the Ministry of Works Construction Department."

Huang Yuniang emerged from the Jade Hairpin, "According to my father, once the Dog Emperor's tomb was completed, to guard the mausoleum's secrets, tens of thousands of craftsmen were all buried alive."

Zhou Yi nodded slightly, "I've heard something about this. It was a big commotion at the time, and Long Ni directly dispatched troops to suppress it."

The Imperial Court's army couldn't defeat the rebels throughout the lands, but they were skilled at oppressing the common people; soon, all was quiet.

Huang Yuniang said, "The Dog Emperor was a dim-witted ruler his whole life, but on his deathbed, he did a good deed by secretly cultivating General Li."

"One can't be certain if it's good or bad."

Zhou Yi looked at the great achievements written on the tombstone and said, "From now on, you will be living in the Dog Emperor's tomb, making full use of it."

Back when I studied history, the books only mentioned how some emperors were incompetent. Zhou Yi didn't have a firsthand experience, and it was hard for him to harbor any hostility towards them.

Having lived through the era of Emperor Chongming, Zhou Yi had truly seen and heard.

Man-eat-man, these three lightly written words, represented numerous tragic or absurd fates.

Others like "slight," "slaughter," "great famine," "extermination of three clans," "more than half dead," etc., were simply sketched out. Unlike the flowery language on tombstones, with not a hint of emotion, they seemed even more cold and cruel.

"Remember, if you have the power one day, help me burn the Dog Emperor's corpse and let the wind scatter his ashes!"

Zhou Yi found a secluded place, his True Yuan sword light pierced the mausoleum, sensing the vast tomb inside, and placed Huang Yuniang, attached to the Jade Hairpin, into it.

The Sword Qi crumbled the earth at the entrance, and after some time, all traces were gone.

…

Heavenly Prison.

The remaining souls were thoroughly cleansed, and the cold, gloomy air had mostly dissipated.

The prison guards discussed it for many days, but eventually, since it was a good thing, they let it go.

Ever since Zhou Yi took action to eradicate the villains, he was nominally still a prison guard, but in treatment, he was equal to Captain Zhu, allotted his own room.

He had craftsmen refurbish and decorate it finely, set up mahogany furniture, bought high-quality tea sets, brewed a pot of pre-rain Longjing tea, and lived more comfortably at work than at home.

"Why should I care about the high halls of power and the distant rivers and lakes? Better to cultivate immortality!"

Zhou Yi had been practicing the Guiyuan Technique for half a year, his Innate True Yuan had all transformed into Mana, increasing the efficiency of absorbing Spiritual Energy from the heavens and earth by several times.

Although it was originally just a few decimal points, there was still substantial progress made!

Cultivation Mana has significant advantages over martial True Yuan; it's more attuned to the great Dao of the universe, with a pure and spiritual nature that changes at will.

For instance, True Yuan could solidify into shapes like swords, knives, and fists, but the details would appear rough; Mana only needed a thought to transform into a lifelike palm.

On this day.

Zhou Yi was meditating when he suddenly sensed someone entering his room, quietly landing on the beam above.

"Come down!"

A streak of Sword Qi swept by, and The Guest on the Beam couldn't avoid it in time and fell, gracefully flipping in the air to land steadily on the ground.

"How could you bear to come to me?"

Zhou Yi took a good look at Old Bai and had to admit that the man's looks had not only kept but also improved with a mature and steady charm added to his debonair appearance over the past decade.

Originally a killer of young girls with his dashing looks, he could probably now enchant countless young women.

"Quite unprecedented for a Grandmaster of the Innate realm to hide in the Heavenly Prison delivering food!"

Old Bai's eyes flashed with envy, but remembering the tragic state of the Cang family, he also felt some relief, "Old Zhou, I'm planning to get married and especially came to invite you as my witness."

The groomsmen were essentially the groom's attendants, sticking by the groom's side to fend off excessive drinking, lest he become too drunk to consummate the marriage.

Zhou Yi exclaimed in surprise, "You rascal are actually getting married? Which girl possesses such charm?"

"It's Princess Rongchang."

Old Bai took out a red invitation from his bosom, with gold thread embossed on it, and the decoration was quite luxurious.

Zhou Yi was slightly taken aback, then he scorned, "You scoundrel really have no shame—having your fun and leaving a trail of conquests, and now you want to settle down and harm an honest girl?"

Princess Rongchang, the legitimate daughter of Fengyang Country's Dongyang Prince.

In prison, Old Bai boasted numerous times that he had accidentally fallen into the prince's mansion, teetered on the brink of life and death, and used his looks to capture Princess Rongchang's heart, before turning heel and sneaking away.

Old Bai set the invitation aside and picked up the teapot, guzzling several mouthfuls.

"Are you still my brother or not? Do you really think I want to get married? It's all because they have something on me."

"What do they have on you, and do you need my help?"

Zhou Yi's eyebrows raised. It wasn't just that Old Bai had been a benefactor, the two were also close friends.

Over the years, whenever Old Bai sporadically visited the Divine Capital, he would look for Zhou Yi to drink and chat, bringing with him local delicacies and fun specialties from various places.

After drinking, they would go their separate ways, with Zhou Yi still guarding the prison, while Old Bai continued to wander the world.

Zhou Yi envied Old Bai's carefree life, and Old Bai admired Zhou Yi for being indifferent to fame and fortune, their relationship akin to that of gentlemen whose interactions are as pure as water.

"Back in the day, in order to escape, I exchanged tokens of affection with Princess Rongchang. I thought it was just a joke, but who would have thought that the girl would be so fixated? Years have passed, and she hasn't forgotten."

Old Bai sighed, "The Dongyang Prince had no choice as he watched his daughter grow older. He hired several top experts, sending them to scour the lands for me—to either marry his daughter or..."

Zhou Yi couldn't hold back anymore, pointing at the door and saying.

"Get out! Get out now!"

"Haha, remember to come on time!"

Old Bai could no longer maintain his mournful expression, which turned into a triumphant smile, finally gaining the upper hand once again.

...

The fifteenth day of the month was a suitable day for marriage.

Zhou Yi had asked for leave early, getting familiar with the complicated and elaborate marriage proceedings.

Captain Zhu, upon hearing that it was the Dongyang Prince's mansion giving away their daughter in marriage, marveled at Zhou Yi's wide connections, and shamelessly asked for an invitation, citing the desire to broaden his horizons.

Captain Zhu was a man eager to progress, and he wouldn't miss such an opportunity.

On that day.

Yongchang Place was decked out in red silk; from Old Bai's new residence to the prince's mansion, peonies were lined along both sides of the road, with the ground covered in petals of various colors.

The cost of the decorations along the road alone amounted to tens of thousands of taels of silver.

Not to mention Old Bai's new residence in Yongchang Place, which was adjacent to the Imperial Palace. The land there was so valuable that it couldn't be measured in gold and silver.

"Just because you're handsome means you can do whatever you want?"

Zhou Yi looked into the mirror, touching his own face.

"I'm not bad either!"

One of the other advantages of mana over True Yuan was that it was constantly nurturing the body, transforming it towards perfection, which is why in the Cultivation World, all men are handsome and no women are ugly.

After a series of procedures, they finally brought the princess back home.

In the Bai family's banquet hall.

Old Bai, following the elders of the prince's mansion, went from table to table toasting and talking, getting to know the various royal and marquis families.

Zhou Yi stayed by his side, quietly transmitting his voice, "The Dongyang Prince is really good to you, introducing all these relations to his new son-in-law like this?"

"Perhaps this is how parents love their child."

Old Bai, still light-hearted the day before, suddenly sounded different now that he was truly married.