Tome of Troubled Times

Chapter 69: Heaven and Man

Zhao Changhe did not impulsively rush to grab her like the last time. He very calmly asked, “What? Is it not enough for you to secretly peep at me through my entire journey? You want to blatantly reveal that you were watching me shower? Is it big? Right, were you also watching when I took a shit or piss? Did it smell good?”

The blind woman said, “You’re in a dream. There’s no shower.”

Zhao Changhe lowered his head and took a look. Indeed, he was still in the bathroom, but there was no bathtub. The clothes he wore, to his surprise, were the clothes he always wore in the modern world.

This was obviously a dream.

Are you taking the piss out of me now? Of course these things from the real world only appear in my dreams.

Zhao Changhe did not bring up anything about this, however. “So you’ve never once sneaked a peak at me while I was on the road?”

The blind woman shook her head. “Nope.”

“You’re really not the one writing the Tome of Troubled Times?” Zhao Changhe continued. “I feel that while everything looks prim and proper on the surface, there lurks a deep ridicule behind the scenes. It really feels like something you’d do.”

“...” The blind woman actually paused for a moment. It seemed that she was rather perplexed by what Zhao Changhe thought of her.

Soon after, she answered, “The Tome of Troubled Times is a name given to it by people in the world. It has its own name.”

“Hmm?”

“Its name is very simple. It’s just called the Heavenly Tome. To be more specific, what people know as the Tome of Troubled Times is only a single page of the Heavenly Tome, dedicated to recording the martial exploits of humans in the world.” The blind woman sighed. “So, everything is recorded by the heavenly dao. I have no control over it. If I really could control it, then I’d actually be the heavenly dao... What kind of heavenly dao would discuss such boring matters with you?”

Zhao Changhe replied coldly, “Where is this heavenly dao? Don’t give me some nonsense like ‘this heaven has no dao’ again.”

“The heavenly dao has perished.” The blind woman appeared indifferent as she responded. “Otherwise, how could everything it records in this world be randomly displayed for everyone to see? That’s why I said that this heaven has no dao. Is there anything wrong with what I said?”

Overwhelmed with shock, Zhao Changhe’s eyes went wide.

The heavenly dao has perished? What does that even mean!?

“Do you really believe that the Four Idols Cult and Xia Longyuan are really vying for these lands of the mortal world?” The blind woman smiled mockingly. “Perhaps if you compared them with the Cui Clan, the latter would conform more to the thoughts of ordinary men.”

Zhao Changhe was silent for a moment before slowly saying, “You’re the same.”

“Is that not the case for you as well? Until now, you’ve never thought of yourself as being a person of this world. All this time you’ve been lying to everyone saying that you’re speaking the dialect of the Zhao House, but just how much of that it due to you being too used to your modern way of speaking, and how much of it is because you’re intentionally drawing a line between this world and yourself?”

“...and you still say you’ve never peeped at me?”

“I’m the one that brought you here. What’s so strange about paying attention to you?” The blind woman sighed. “However, I never thought that you’d be able to continuously trigger the Heavenly Tome to appear. I really thought that it was an accident.”

Zhao Changhe said indifferently, “So, anyway, are you here this time because you think I’m talented and you want to give me more cheats?”

The blind woman did not answer and instead said, “Someone’s come to find you.”

Her figure then disappeared and the night sky shattered.

Zhao Changhe opened his eyes. The sky outside the window was already bright, but he was still in the bathtub. The water had gone cold for a while now.

He hurriedly stood up and wiped himself. Fuck, if I didn’t cultivate I would have long since gotten a fever from soaking in water all night.

Even though Zhao Changhe’s mouth was filled with sarcasm, he actually knew the reason the blind woman came to see him this time

If the Tome of Troubled Times was just a single page of the Heavenly Tome, then what about the other pages? The blind woman did not explain clearly. If anyone else heard what she said, they would be interested in searching for them. That was where the true treasure lay. It would be greater than any cheat code.... She was also hinting that the Four Idols Cult and Xia Longyuan were most likely concerned with this.

If the heavenly dao has perished, then who is master of this world?

This was the truth that all great powers in this world sought out. It seemed that the blind woman was trying to direct Zhao Changhe toward it this time.

What’s her goal?

While he wiped himself, his head full of thoughts, the door creaked open and Cui Yuanyang skipped into the room. “Big Brother Zhao... Eh...”

Zhao Changhe lowered his head with a blank expression and looked at his peerless little brother. Then, he raised his head and stared blankly at Cui Yuanyang.

Cui Yuanyang retreated step by step before tripping on the doorstep. With an “aiya!!” she fell down on her butt.

Zhao Changhe, even with much on his mind, could not help but laugh. “If word got out that the 213th Hidden Dragon was like this, everyone’s trust in the Tome of Troubled Times would collapse.”

Cui Yuanyang covered her eyes. “Why are you naked first thing in the morning!?”

Zhao Changhe calmly put on his pants. “There was also someone who shouted ‘I haven’t put on my clothes yet’ when they were called to eat breakfast. Just who might that be~”

From both sides of the door frame, two servants stuck their heads in and stared....

Zhao Changhe: “...”

There’s no washing all this away anymore. I shouldn’t have made a joke like this to her... We’ve become too comfortable with each other.

Well, whatever. It looks like no matter what I do, it’ll be impossible to wash away the relationship between us.

Cui Yuanyang got up from the floor, her face flushed, and angrily said in a low voice, “What’re you two looking at? Piss off. I’ll bring in the food myself.”

The maids held back their laughter as they bowed. “Yes.”

Cui Yuanyang took the food trays the maids were holding and carefully walked through the door. Zhao Changhe had already put on his new clothes and smiled as he watched her.

He now wore a silk robe reddish-violet in color and had mountains and rivers embroidered on it; it looked grand and majestic. The material used to make it was extremely expensive—even the thread used in the embroidery was golden silk. It exuded an incomparably noble aura.

Zhao Changhe had never worn such expensive clothes before. Not in this world, not in the real world. Furthermore, these clothes were not made for warriors; rather, they had a scholarly air about them. It diluted that imposing and boorish temperament of his by a considerable amount and gave him a poised and gentle bearing.

Cui Yuanyang looked at him with sparkling eyes. She never thought that Zhao Changhe could have this kind of bearing or look this pleasing to the eye.

Zhao Changhe also looked at her with sparkling eyes, because right now, Cui Yuanyang was very beautiful.

Yes, she was no longer cute, but beautiful.

She was not wearing her furry rabbit hat, nor did she look like a filthy, mud-smeared beggar in tattered clothes... She had very light makeup on, a jade hairpin on her head, and wore a light green dress that emphasized how slim she was. It made her stand out. Even her face was not as round as before, and appeared more oval-shaped. She looked elegant.

She was clearly a beautiful young lady.

The only thing that reminded Zhao Changhe of her former likeness were the neat bangs on her forehead, which made her look like an adorable doll.

While the two of them stared at each other, both of them thought, So (s)he actually looks like this...

The next moment, they both smiled at the same time, as if what had just happened was a lifetime ago.

“Let’s eat. I have something delicious!” Cui Yuanyang happily moved the plates to the table. When she turned around, Zhao Changhe burst into laughter. Her butt was full of dust.

A lifetime had not passed. They were still the same people.

“What’re you laughing at?” Cui Yuanyang turned around and asked, annoyed. “We’ve had nothing good to eat throughout the whole journey. Why aren’t you eating yet? This is supposed to be my greatest use!”

Looking at this rich loli fret about not being able to provide for him, Zhao Changhe’s thoughts about what happened in his dream dispersed and he sat down at the table in a good mood. “Alright. What kind of cake is this?”

“This is a jade lotus cake from the Fragrance House. These are the eight delicacies. These are sesame paste snow-jade biscuits from the well-known Zhang family in the capital...” Cui Yuanyang excitedly introduced each dish, and looked expectantly at him. “Which one is your favorite!? Let’s see if your taste is the same as mine!”

Yup, she was still a child.

Even after experiencing a whole journey of foul winds and bloody rain, she actually still retained some of her childishness.

Is it because she’s home? Eh, but this is Wei County, not Qinghe. There’s still some distance to travel.

Zhao Changhe tried each of the dishes and smiled. “This jade lotus cake.”

Cui Yuanyang looked incredibly excited. “I just knew we had the same favorites!”

Zhao Changhe smiled without saying anything. That’s because it was the first one you introduced.

He drank fresh milk while enjoying the exquisite pastries. As he looked at the silk robes he was wearing, he thought, If Cui Wenjing can allow his daughter to come running to find me first thing in the morning, that means there’re a lot of problems at hand. If I really wanted this kind of life, I might actually be able to achieve it with a few words. Then I’d really be able to live out the rest of my life like this.

A life of luxury with a cute wife, a father-in-law who was number nine under heaven, and the ability to travel to any province and county—all of this sounded amazing.

However, for some reason, Zhao Changhe felt like something was missing.

The blind woman’s words kept stirring within his heart.

If there was someone constantly watching a person, then everything they did was just a reality TV show to the observer.

There was a group of people who were currently seeking out the mysteries of the world with their swords pointed at the firmament and the firm wish to inherit the heavens.

The setting sun shone on the river surface, yet its vast reaches mark only the edge of this grand painting.

When Zhao Changhe scraped off his flesh with that steel saber he brought with him from Beimang, was the saber of his heart blunted?

“Big Brother Zhao.” Cui Yuanyang’s voice traveled over. “Why are you lost in thought while you’re eating? There’s no boatwoman harboring malicious intentions here.”

Zhao Changhe then came back to reality and smiled. “I’m not sure if there’s a little rabbit with malicious intentions here.”

Cui Yuanyang’s face reddened slightly. She lowered her head and muttered, “There isn’t.”

In that movement, her bashfulness sent ripples through his heart and almost shattered the sunlight shining on the river.

Zhao Changhe was a bit afraid to look at her bright red face. He lowered his head and said softly, “I wish to meet your esteemed father. There are matters I wish to discuss with him.”

If there was anyone else here, the first thing they thought after listening to this would be that Zhao Changhe was about to propose a marriage between him and Cui Yuanyang. But after she heard his words, the redness of her face slowly faded, and she stared fixedly at Zhao Changhe without blinking.

Zhao Changhe is bold and brave. If he wants to bring up our marriage, then why is he lowering his head and speaking so softly?