Chapter 328: Rebellion
After leaving the luxurious inner palace, the appearance of the big-bearded middle-aged man gradually faded away, revealing Sang Zhe’s form.
Nian Nian also appeared beside him, hands behind her back, trailing him closely.
“What are your thoughts?”
“The amount of information is quite substantial; I’ll probably need some time to digest it,” Sang Zhe replied.
“Actually, even if you can’t digest it all, it’s okay.” Nian Nian chuckled lightly, “The information you’ve extracted this time is already much better than I expected.”
“Originally, you wouldn’t have known this until you’d collected at least five underground treasures. For you now, this much information is already enough.”
“Sounds quite head-spinning,” Sang Zhe rubbed his forehead. “Can I take it to mean that something big will happen in a year?”
“Pretty much.”
Nian Nian softly said, “Although, as a system, it’s inconvenient for me to disclose too much, you really don’t need to know so many things.”
“You just need to know to hurry up and collect the treasures and push the main storyline.”
Easier said than done!
Nian Nian was starting to sound more like an NPC in a game urging you to complete your quests quickly.
But the information he extracted was slightly worse than Sang Zhe had imagined.
A year later… the seal will break… gods and demons will descend…
“Sigh, it’s getting more and more like a plot twist from a novel,” Sang Zhe sighed, “Next, am I also going to become some Lin Dong or Xiao Yan, rushing to cultivate and level up, breaking through to invincibility before the apocalypse to save the world?”
“Honestly, saving the world won’t make much difference to the Host, will it?”
Nian Nian huffed, “Even if you act like you don’t know anything and hide from the Demon Cultivators, it won’t affect your life.”
“The Host just needs to go on living happily with your wives, right?”
“That’s easy to say.”
Sang Zhe felt a bit of a headache.
But really, if he could, he liked this world quite a bit.
He just hoped it could stay peaceful and not be ruined by some ridiculous plot twist.
“Speaking of which…”
Suddenly, Nian Nian chuckled, “You really surprised me. Who would’ve thought you’d come up with the idea to have the Dragon Lord impersonate other gods and demons’ subordinates and whip the truth out of Ancestral Cang?”
“The best part is you even guessed there were other gods and demons existing. Pretty impressive!”
“Um.” Sang Zhe answered awkwardly, “Actually, I didn’t guess.”
“…? Then how dare you say that in front of Ancestral Cang?”
“Just took a chance,” Sang Zhe shrugged innocently, “To scare someone, the more outrageous the bluff, the better. Who knows, I might get it right.”
“It’s not like failure means death; I’m safe in the dream realm.”
“And even if they really hold a grudge afterward, they’ll look for that Dragon Lord. It has nothing to do with me.”
“I went through all this trouble impersonating someone else just to shift the blame, you know?”
Nian Nian looked at her Host in exasperation.
“Sometimes your ridiculous luck really astounds me.”
“Too much praise,” Sang Zhe laughed, “Thanks to Nian Nian’s good reminders.”
But truth be told, Nian Nian knew that was just flattery.
She hadn’t reminded him of anything.
Although her Host appeared all nonchalant and lucky, from the planning stage to deciding to take on a role similar to Li Shanyan’s, then gambling that the other party would believe in his identity…
Throughout it all, the only information Sang Zhe had was that the other party was collecting the treasures.
Everything else depended on him thinking and adjusting on the spot based on what the other party was saying.
Even in such tough conditions, her Host could perform flawlessly, not raising any suspicion from Ancestral Cang or Li Shanyan, even fabricating a convincing identity from just fragments of information from Ancestral Cang.
He even managed to divert all the trouble onto a stranger he had never met, perfectly extricating himself from the situation.
Nian Nian couldn’t help but admit, despite being all devious, her Host was quite intelligent when it came to using his head.
Maybe…
Had he already guessed something related to herself from her attitude?
Nian Nian wasn’t sure.
“Alright.”
Sang Zhe lazily stretched and said, “Let’s head back. This place is thick with smoke and feels stifling.”
“Really? There are beauties everywhere here; isn’t this the place the Host loves most?”
“Wildflowers may smell sweet, but they aren’t my own,” Sang Zhe shook his head, “As a decent man who keeps himself pure, I, of course, can’t leave my lovely wives at home and come here to frolic.”
Nian Nian shot him a disdainful sideways glance, “That sounds nice in theory, but you were quite natural when you were hugging beauties just now.”
“That was to lower their guard.”
Sang Zhe cleared his throat, “I had no idea about Ancestral Cang; the only thing I observed was his fondness for beauties, so I naturally used that to get closer to him.”
“Without such small details, Ancestral Cang wouldn’t have been so easy to fool.”
Nian Nian shot him an eye roll before looking away.
“Sigh, talking about this makes me want to go home.”
Sang Zhe suddenly felt a bit worn out, “I’ve been away on business so long; I really just want to go home and get cozy with Little Ying and the others.”
“Let’s go, let’s head back.”
——
——
When Sang Zhe opened his eyes again, it was quite the struggle.
His eyelids felt as heavy as a mountain, and his consciousness was still hazy.
Once he gradually shook his head to wake up, he couldn’t help but complain:
“Damn… is the aftereffect this severe? What kind of unbelievable method is this?”
“After all, it’s not the method of this world,” Nian Nian’s voice rang in his ears, “It’s good that you could use it, so a little side effect is to be expected.”
Sang Zhe could only helplessly get out of bed, planning to call a servant to bring a basin of water to wash his face and freshen up.
But strangely, when he stepped outside, he saw no sign of any servants.
What’s more, the vast Guoshi estate seemed eerily empty, and the quietness was a bit unsettling.
“What’s going on?” Sang Zhe frowned, “How could it feel like I’ve woken up in another world?”
“Well, saying it’s like waking up in another world might not be far off,” Nian Nian’s voice chimed in again, “After all, you’ve been sleeping for a month and a half; it’s normal for some changes to occur outside.”
“…How long?”
Sang Zhe turned to stare blankly at Nian Nian.
“A month and a half,” Nian Nian answered as if it was common knowledge, “Li Shanyan couldn’t control time in the dream either; he once slept for over two months straight.”
“You waking up after a month and a half is considered good luck. For the unlucky ones, sleeping for ten or eight years is normal.”
Normal, my foot!
If he really slept for ten or eight years, wouldn’t Little Ying and the others panic to death?
Even a month and a half felt long enough for something to happen.
Like the strange state of the Guoshi estate now, Sang Zhe had an ominous premonition that something must have occurred.
After searching through the estate, he finally found a hurried student and grabbed him, asking, “What’s going on? Why is the Guoshi estate so empty?”
“Eh? Teacher Sang, you finally showed up?”
The student exclaimed, “You’ve been missing for a month and a half! His Majesty was really worried sick.”
Could they not be worried?
That silly girl had a hard time getting out of bed without her Guoshi.
“What’s happened in this last month?”
“This… it’s a bit complicated,” the student hesitated. “You should go find Master Shao and the others.”
The student pointed the way, “Only the students left in Class Tian are still here now.”
Sang Zhe frowned and quickly left to find Class Tian. Upon entering the classroom, he discovered a stifling, oppressive atmosphere hung over the room.
The students weren’t even playing “Original Immortal” anymore; everyone huddled in small groups, whispering to each other.
“Dude, Sang Ge!”
Seeing Sang Zhe at the doorway, Cao Ni Za, who had been quietly discussing something with Xiang Zimo, suddenly lit up with joy: “Where have you been? Finally, you’re willing to show up after being missing for so long!”
“It’s a long story; I’ll explain it later.”
Sang Zhe’s face was serious as he stepped closer to the two: “What’s going on? Shouldn’t you all be in class right now?”
“What class to attend?”
Cao Ni Za chuckled bitterly, “The entire Tianlang City is in chaos; who even has the mind for classes?”
Xiang Zimo also had a bitter expression, “Ever since you and the teacher disappeared again, there’s been no one to maintain order in the Guoshi estate. The moment the unrest broke out, the teachers and students who could flee basically just ran back home.”
“Except for us students in Class Tian who felt it might be safer here than at home; the entire Guoshi estate is almost empty.”
“So what on earth happened?!” Sang Zhe was a bit frantic, “Can you please stop being so cryptic?!”
Cao Ni Za and Xiang Zimo exchanged grave looks and said in heavy tones:
“The Tianlang Wei… has revolted.”
Sang Zhe’s gaze slowly darkened.
“Ten days ago, Tianlang Wei’s Marshal Xu Yourong suddenly led a rebellion, taking control of more than half of the officials and nobles in the blink of an eye. The majority of Tianlang City fell into his hands.”
“He somehow found the Third Prince, who had previously been verified dead due to an accident by the Empress, and under the flag of ‘restoring the roots,’ he intends to support the Third Prince to ascend as the Holy Kingdom’s emperor, launching the rebellion before anyone could react.”
Sang Zhe’s expression grew serious: “What about His Majesty?”
“Trapped in the palace.”
Xiang Zimo whispered, “Although most of the court has fallen under Tianlang Wei’s control, Grand Eunuch Qin from the inner court is still holding the imperial library and inner palace.”
“Now that the teacher isn’t here, the two great cultivators of the Holy Kingdom are in a standoff at the royal city; none dare to take action lightly.”
“Since Tianlang Wei surrounded the city, there hasn’t been any news from His Majesty.”
“Sang Ge,” Cao Ni Za added, “What are you planning to do in this murky water? Shao Shao and I have been discussing this for a few days; no one dares to easily take a side.”
“Just make a decision, we’ll follow your lead.”
Sang Zhe remained silent for a long while.
In the end, he fixed his gaze towards the royal city and softly said:
“I’ll go meet His Majesty first, then we’ll talk.”
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