The Human Emperor

Chapter 1322: First Buds, the Opening of the Minds of the People! (II)

Translated by: Hypersheep325

Edited by: Michyrr

The vast crowd of protestors numbered more than one hundred thousand.

No one noticed that in a house not far from the protesting crowds, a young man of twelve or thirteen was holding a sword and earnestly training within the narrow confines of a small yard.

“Zhao Wu, why are you still practicing? Don’t you see that everyone is out marching to make their voices heard? Even Master Zhu has said that the Great Tang should not have too many wars. Let’s go! Stop practicing and come with us to join the marches!”

Another young man quickly went to pull at Zhao Wu, but Zhao Wu quickly shook him off.

“You guys go. Don’t disturb me!”

Zhao Wu’s face was indifferent as he spoke and continued to practice with his sword.

“Zhao Wu, the Great Tang is at peace with all the foreign countries. There are no enemies to fight, and the soldiers of the various protectorates haven’t seen enemies in ages. Even if you practice your martial arts, what’s the point? You should just play around with us. Don’t you see that we’ve all stopped practicing martial arts?”

Another youth came up to pull on him.

From their expressions, it was apparent that these youths were all friends.

“It’s your own business if you want to give up, but one day, you’ll realize that I was right!”

Zhao Wu once more shook off the hand and continued to practice with his sword. Even if no one understood him, this empire needed people who would still do the right thing, and it was proper for a true man to persevere in their own path. This was also the respect he showed for that King of Foreign Lands who he most revered.

“Idiot!”

“Let him be! Forget about him!”

The two softly cursed before turning and leaving.

There was not just one voice in the world. While many people were outside marching in protest, others were using their own methods to express their support. While countless had given up on ‘Might Makes Right’ and were throwing them in piles to burn, others were silently preserving copies and silently supporting it from the shadows.

The world was continuing to operate in its own fashion. While vast crowds were filling the air with slander and criticism, others were using their own methods to support Wang Chong.

……

At the same time, outside of the storm but in the center of authority, two figures were silently observing everything.

“Your Majesty, the Shadowguard sent word a while ago that the King of Foreign Lands vomited blood and fell into a coma. Your Majesty, should we really allow this to continue?” a voice worriedly said.

In the darkness, Taiji Palace was utterly silent.

After a long while, a voice came out of the depths of the palace, majestic and seeming to understand all things. “He who desires the crown must bear the weight! Let him be! Only if he can endure this can he endure the plans We have for him in the future!”

“…Yes!”

Gao Lishi lowered his head and fell silent.

……

In the solitude of the night, Wang Chong was pacing alone through the grounds of the residence, the storms of the outside world kept out by the high walls. During the day, Wang Chong could still hear the sounds of protestors, but ever since that night in the stone room beneath the ground, Wang Chong had been able to open his mind and disregard all these things.

Taking no joy in receiving and feeling no concern in loss, Wang Chong was now able to calmly accept everything. Whether the flower bloomed or withered, the clouds gathered or dispersed, he no longer placed much importance on these matters.

Deep within his mind, Wang Chong had already received the tranquility he desired.

Swoosh!

At some point, Wang Chong had once more walked up to the high walls. With a leap, Wang Chong took off like a bird and then gently drifted down on the other side of the walls.

Ever since that night, Wang Chong had slowly developed a habit of going out alone at night when no one else was around. Dressed in civilian clothes and with his hands held behind his back, Wang Chong ventured into the darkness, allowing the winds to blow away his worries.

Whoosh!

As Wang Chong ambled through the streets, a figure suddenly shot out of the shadows toward Wang Chong.

“Big Brother! This tanghulu is for you!”

Before Wang Chong could properly see who it was, an extremely young voice rang out in his ear. And then a tanghulu stick appeared before his eyes.

This happened so abruptly that Wang Chong was left flabbergasted. Looking carefully, he saw that this was a child not even ten years old, gripping a tanghulu stick with an incredibly serious expression. Wang Chong was taken aback. He had strolled like this for quite a few days now, but he had never encountered a situation like this.

It was rather strange for a child to suddenly appear on the side of the street at such a late hour.

“Little friend, you know who I am?”

Wang Chong bent down and patted the boy on the head. There was a high chance that this boy had mistaken him for someone else.

But the boy’s words left Wang Chong greatly surprised.

“Of course I know! You’re the King of Foreign Lands!” the boy boldly said in his young voice.

This only increased the sense of strangeness in Wang Chong’s mind. For a boy to appear in the middle of the night and say such words was truly too bizarre.

“How did you know that I would show up here?” Wang Chong softly said.

The boy raised his head and earnestly said, “When you returned to the capital last time, my father and I went to watch, so I recognize you. I’ve already seen you coming through this place for quite a few nights. You go by this place every time!”

Wang Chong was immediately at a loss for words.

He had never imagined that while those schemers had failed to notice him going out alone every night, this boy had noticed. And he was even gifting him a tanghulu. Wang Chong unconsciously reached out to take it, an indescribable feeling in his heart.

As Wang Chong was somewhat in a trance, the boy stunned him by saying, “They all say that you’re a Demon King of Slaughter! But I know that you’re not! You’re a hero! You only kill bad guys!”

After saying this, the boy ran off into an alley and out of his sight.

Buzz!

An arc of electricity seemed to course through his mind, and Wang Chong stood speechless as he stared in the direction the child had run off. After so many days and nights of constant slander and curses, Wang Chong had never imagined that the first words of support and comfort he would hear from the people would come from a boy less than ten years old.

The night was chilly, but Wang Chong felt a surge of warmth.

In this city of one million people, the support of a single boy was insignificant. For Wang Chong, however, this was the first ray of light that he had felt in a very long while. It was a tiny ray of light, but it was not weak. Occasionally, even a tiny bit of sincere support was enough.

“At least there are still people in this empire who support me!”

Wang Chong felt a rush of emotion.

Holding the tanghulu, Wang Chong continued forward. After some time, suddenly—

“Who goes there!”

Wang Chong’s eyes chilled as he turned to a dark corner near a wall. All was quiet, and there was nothing to be seen. It was as if Wang Chong had been hearing things.

“Hmph, still not coming out?”

His expression chilling, Wang Chong extended two fingers from his right hand. In a flash, a bolt of violet flame shot out from his fingers and streaked like a comet into that dark corner.

The Fire of Lu Wu!

This was one of Wang Chong’s most powerful skills. Once the flame attached, it was very difficult to extinguish.

Swoosh!

As that violet flame shot toward, there was a flash of light from the dark corner, and then a silhouette shot into the air like a hawk, dodging Wang Chong’s attack by a hair.

“Hahaha, King of Foreign Lands, I had heard that you were depressed from the Confucian-militarist conflict and that your strength had dropped, that even an imperial physician had paid you many visits, but it seems like the rumors were false!”

Loud laughter came from a place around twenty paces from Wang Chong. A black-clothed man appeared on the top of a wall, his face covered in a mask. Black flames seethed from his body while a large cape snapped in the wind. His entire body exuded an aura as vast as the ocean.

The mysterious black mask on his face and the roiling black mist around him made him seem extremely enigmatic in the darkness.

“It’s you lot!”

Wang Chong grimaced as he suddenly removed a metal box from his bosom. At this moment, the jewel at the top of the box was scalding hot and blinking with a dazzling green light.

The metal box given to him by the Sindhu High Priest would only react to one group of people: these mysterious men in black. These were also the ‘Gods’ mentioned in that Book of Paimon found deep beneath Khorasan!

“Haha, that old fellow buried under Sindhu seems to have really taken a liking to you. He even gave you that! Such a pity, however, that even with that, you’ll still die today!”

The man’s eyes turned sinister as he spread apart his arms, his black cape immediately unfurling like two wings. Whoosh! Black mist was still left in the air, but the man in black had vanished with astonishing speed, almost as if he had become invisible. His aura had also vanished without a trace. It was as if he had left this world and stepped into another.

As he sensed all this, Wang Chong couldn’t help but widen his eyes.

This person… was extremely strong!

Boom!

As Wang Chong was taking this all in, there was an enormous boom, and then a massive plume of black flame hurtled down from the heavens toward Wang Chong’s head like a meteor. There was another explosion as Wang Chong vanished, leaving only an afterimage behind as he dodged. At the same time, he brought two fingers of his right hand together and fired off a dazzling bolt of white Sword Qi that shot toward an empty point in the air.