Chapter 463: The Fated Empress
The entire structure of the Emerald Bamboo Tower was built from bamboo.
Four thick bamboo columns supported the tower—each so robust that even six grown men joining hands could not encircle one completely.
The bamboo frameworks crisscrossed and overlapped to form steps spiraling around the tower’s exterior. Like a graceful green dragon dancing upward, it wound from the ground floor all the way to the third-floor summit, exuding a vivid and lively charm.
Ning Zhuo ascended the bamboo steps, guided by the shop’s attendant, straight to the third floor.
This floor had already been reserved by Double Purity.
“General Shuang,” Ning Zhuo greeted with a bow.
This time, he had been invited by Double Purity for morning tea.
Previously, at the Little Bird Pavilion, Double Purity had attempted to recruit Ning Zhuo as a House Retainer, but he had deferred with the excuse of needing time to consider.
Now, Double Purity had chosen another day to extend an invitation—his intentions were clear.
Double Purity motioned for Ning Zhuo to sit.
Morning tea and pastries were respectfully served by the attendants.
But Double Purity said, “No need to rush to eat or drink. I invited Strategist Ning today because there’s quite a show to watch.”
Ning Zhuo blinked in surprise, and at that moment, a clamor rose outside.
A squad of cultivators rode fine steeds through the bustling streets, charging straight to the military grain depot across from the Emerald Bamboo Tower.
Leading them was none other than Mu Lan.
“General Mu, please wai—” The guards at the depot hadn’t finished speaking before Mu Lan waved her hand and sent them flying.
Still, Mu Lan dismounted and strode up to the tightly shut depot gates. Then she abruptly raised her leg.
Bang!
The doors were kicked open.
Ning Zhuo’s eyes widened. “What’s going on? Why is General Mu Lan so enraged?”
Double Purity merely smiled in silence.
The depot chief hurried out in panic. “General Mu, please calm yourself!”
Mu Lan let out a cold snort. “Where’s Zhao Xi? Tell him to crawl out! Delaying our Red Flower Camp’s rations time and time again—does he think we’re made of mud?!”
“Hmph, the Inspector is here!” Zhao Xi appeared as well. “General Mu, do not slander me!”
Mu Lan and Zhao Xi erupted into loud argument.
Ning Zhuo quickly understood. This was about the Red Flower Camp not receiving the latest batch of military supplies.
“Mu Lan had once stormed off publicly and has always clashed with Zhao Xi.”
“After that, the military supply office once blocked Red Flower Camp from getting rations. I had to use rare materials to smooth it over.”
“Now again?”
“Something’s fishy. Our army was just ambushed and returned to Canglin Immortal City with heavy casualties—this is the time when rations are crucial to morale. And Zhao Xi pulls this trick again? That’s madness!”
Though Ning Zhuo had only encountered Zhao Xi a few times, he had gathered enough intelligence. Zhao Xi, stingy and greedy as he might be, was still capable and knew the greater picture. Otherwise, he wouldn’t keep getting trusted assignments from the Liangzhu royal house.
Bang!
Mu Lan, seething with fury, struck out. Zhao Xi, ever prepared, had kept deflecting with procedures and regulations. Infuriated, she slapped him away with one palm.
“Zhao dog! You’ve gone too far, brushing aside this High General so easily.”
“This batch of rations—Red Flower Camp is taking it today!”
With that, she stormed into the grain depot.
“No, you can’t go in!” Zhao Xi, lying on the ground, blood at his lips, shouted after her.
The soldiers behind Mu Lan, seeing the Inspector in such a pitiful state, were quite pleased and followed her in.
Yet, when Mu Lan stepped into the depot, she found it completely empty.
Her expression changed subtly—something was wrong.
Zhao Xi dragged himself up and blocked the entrance, yelling, “Mu Lan! Arrogant and reckless, you've struck your superior and broken into the depot!”
“Our military’s latest provisions were stolen yesterday en route by the Stone Dwelling Old Monster! The matter was grave, and I feared it would harm morale, so I kept it secret, citing procedural issues to delay your rations.”
“And yet you accuse me of making things difficult!”
“I, Zhao Xi, have always acted with integrity—when have I ever wronged you?”
“You strike me and ignore the authority of an Inspector and envoy from the capital—what is your goal? Treason?!”
Mu Lan turned pale and suddenly spun around, her eyes sharp as arrows, glaring hard at Zhao Xi.
The soldiers behind her hadn’t expected this twist. One by one, their faces grew confused.
Zhao Xi wore a look of aggrieved innocence, but Mu Lan could see clearly in his eyes a deep-seated satisfaction—cruel, venomous, and filled with schadenfreude.
Atop the Emerald Bamboo Tower, Double Purity saw the outcome he wanted. A smile surfaced as he lifted his teacup and began to drink.
Ning Zhuo, like him, extended his spiritual sense and probed the situation’s unfolding.
“The Stone Dwelling Old Monster attacked the supply convoy? After the ambush, we surely deployed experts to investigate—he dares linger still?” Ning Zhuo asked.
Double Purity’s face turned righteous. “The Stone Dwelling Old Monster is cunning—his Earth-elemental techniques leave no trace. He moves quickly and stealthily. Fortunately, the convoy didn’t lose too much this time.”
Ning Zhuo remained silent.
He truly was plotting against Mu Lan, but this was not his doing!
“To secure the Grand General’s Mansion, the upper echelons of Liangzhu actually ambushed their own supply lines.”
“I hadn’t realized how brutal their political strife had become!”
“Double Purity invited me here just to let me witness Mu Lan’s disgrace—as a warning?”
“This is what they call using both soft and hard tactics, huh. Hmph.”
Ning Zhuo sneered internally.
Sure enough, the next moment, Double Purity spoke meaningfully. “Elder General Mu of our nation has been bedridden for years. He was once the backbone of our military—leading Red Flower Camp to sweep battlefields, quell northern monsters, suppress western enemies, scour eastern demons, and pacify the southern wilds. His achievements were boundless.”
“But now, the twilight of a hero…”
“His only descendant, Mu Lan, indeed has lofty ambitions but meager ability. With mere Golden Core cultivation, how can she uphold the Grand General’s Mansion?”
Double Purity sighed. “Our Liangzhu Kingdom is a small nation, and every ounce of national strength must be cherished.”
“The Grand General’s Mansion consumes too much national strength yet contributes little.”
“For the sake of the nation, Mu Lan should resign and yield the post to the worthy.”
“But the King is merciful and cannot bear to act. As subjects, receiving the King’s bounty, it is our duty to share his burdens.”
“I only hope General Mu Lan can understand the situation, and withdraw in time.”
Ning Zhuo said nothing.
Double Purity continued, “The times change, power shifts—that is the way of the world.”
“In my view, talents like Strategist Ning represent the future—the hope.”
“Like the Perching Bird—if it chooses the right tree, it can soar. But if one clings to saplings like the Three Generals Camp, or dying trees like Red Flower Camp, such talent would go to waste.”
“What do you say, Strategist Ning?”
Ning Zhuo shook his head, stared at Double Purity, and slowly rose.
He first cupped his hands in salute, then said, “Lord Double Purity, I, a humble servant, am loyal to the nation, devoted to the monarch. But the monarch’s intent—how can it be presumed by others? A loyal subject must advise with honesty, not scheme in secret or manipulate from the shadows. To serve the nation with loyalty—how can that include plotting against others? Without explicit command, how dare we act on our own? If we presume to know the monarch’s heart, do we not risk ruining both nation and self?”
Ning Zhuo’s expression was solemn, voice filled with righteous energy: “This so-called ‘resignation to make way for the worthy’—I cannot partake in such schemes. A loyal servant should be loyal to the sovereign and assist his governance. How can one privately decide matters of state?”
“Our paths differ; we cannot conspire together. Forgive me, I am unworthy to serve as your retainer. I take my leave!”
With that, Ning Zhuo flicked his sleeves and departed, his footsteps thudding down the stairs.
Double Purity stood stunned, watching him until he disappeared into the crowd without looking back. Only then did he chuckle softly.
“Being from a great clan, I thought he would understand political maneuvering.”
“To think—he’s just a youth.”
“Well… Ning Zhuo is only sixteen, full of youthful zeal. Perhaps his family sent him out to see the world—to teach him about its realities and the hearts of men.”
“Heh… very well.”
Double Purity was interested in Ning Zhuo mainly because of his prophetic poems.
But in the art of divination, even the most skilled cultivators could not guarantee accuracy every time.
Double Purity was not like Liu Er. Ning Zhuo was a bonus, not a necessity.
As a Nascent Soul cultivator of the Double Surname, Double Purity had already shown great humility by inviting Ning Zhuo twice and extending such gracious recruitment.
Alas, this second attempt only backfired.
While he felt some disappointment and regret, that was the end of it.
His true target remained—Red Flower Camp. Mu Lan.
“I had thought only after the grand war could we weaken Red Flower Camp. Who would have guessed a single ambush would suffice?”
“The Grand General’s Mansion… Mu Lan… they will be mine!”
At that moment—
A demonic cultivator elder stood atop a mountain, gazing down at Canglin Immortal City.
He wore a long robe in hues of yellow and white. His ears were long and pointed, furred with golden strands, and a fox’s tail trailed behind his robe.
His eyes swirled like mist, flickering with illusion.
After watching for a while, the old demon nodded in satisfaction. “Fortune surges thus far. The time has come—finally come.”
He descended the mountain and walked toward the city.
Wherever he passed, it was as though he were invisible—none noticed him, not even the great array at the city gates.
Within the alleys, he saw Mu Lan and her companions departing after their failed attempt to claim rations. After a brief calculation, he nodded again. “Fortune declines. Calamity looms. Good… good… good!”
Finally, he arrived outside the Three Generals Camp and released his spiritual sense to call out.
Liu Er, knowing Ning Zhuo had once again gone to meet Double Purity, was pacing anxiously in the camp.
Suddenly hearing the elder’s transmission, he was both shocked and overjoyed. Following the directions given, he concealed himself and left the camp quietly, meeting the elder in a nearby forest.
“Teacher, what brings you here?” Liu Er bowed respectfully.
The old demon stroked his beard and smiled. “Xiao Liu, you vowed to restore our Blood Slaughter Dynasty. How goes your progress?”
Liu Er then recounted all his recent affairs to his teacher.
The elder nodded slowly. “You carry the King’s Mandate. The moment you left the mountain, fierce generals came to your side. Guan Hong and Zhang Hei—they are your destined arms.”
Liu Er blinked. “Teacher, you’ve read my fate? What next? Will Strategist Ning Zhuo leave me?”
“Ning Zhuo?” The old demon shook his head. “He’s not important. I came today for another matter.”
“This is the Yin-Yang Unity Flask—a precious artifact from the Dynasty. I now entrust it to you.”
“Make full use of it.”
“Teacher, teacher!” Liu Er called out. But when he blinked again, only the flask remained in his arms. The elder had vanished without a trace.
He called out a few more times, then sighed. “Teacher is as elusive as ever… Ah, forget it.”
He stored the flask and silently returned to camp.
But the old demon had not truly left. He watched Liu Er until he faded from sight, murmuring to himself:
“Liu Er, that Mu Lan is your fated empress.”
“With the aid of the Yin-Yang Unity Flask, you will win her hand, become the Grand General’s son-in-law, and gain official status—freeing yourself from the stigma of being half-demon, half-human, and fully entering the upper ranks.”
“This world now belongs to humanity.”
“The hope of reviving the Blood Slaughter Dynasty rests on your shoulders—bear it well!”
He could not reveal Liu Er’s entire fate outright.
He had inherited the legacy of the Blood Slaughter Dynasty and was highly skilled in fate-divination. His readings were correct six or seven times out of ten.
But this technique had one fatal flaw—it could not be spoken aloud.
If told in advance, it would no longer come true.
So, only after confirming Guan and Zhang had already pledged loyalty did the elder reveal the first part of the prophecy.