الشطرنج الخالد - Book 04 Chapter 160

“Alright. Get up!” Gu Hai nodded.

Chang Ming kowtowed a few more times before standing up, his eyes still bloodshot.

Gu Hai turned his head and looked at the citizens who continued to smash the bat corpses.

“Everyone, that’s enough,” Gu Hai said.

“Yes! Thank you, Your Majesty!” The citizens gradually calmed down, still crying as they looked at Gu Hai.

“You should leave first. Leave this place to us,” Gu Hai said.

“Yes!” The citizens looked reluctantly at the bat corpses on the ground. They wanted to continue attacking the corpses, not feeling satisfied yet. Nevertheless, they could only leave since their emperor had spoken.

Gu Hai dismissed the ritual array with the wave of his hand, and the citizens left.

However, Ao Tianhuang remained, staring at Chang Ming. Then, he turned to Gu Hai. “No wonder you gave the chance of killing the Bat Ancestor to this vampire. Ha! What a scheme!”

Gu Hai let out a breath, not explaining.

“Alright. The Bat Ancestor is dead. We should go as well. Long Wanyu has to go with me, back to Heavenly Court City,” Ao Tianhuang said indifferently.

“Go? I’m not going. I don’t want to go! I want to remain with Brother-in-Law!” Long Wanyu immediately objected.

However, Gu Hai shook his head and said, “Wanyu, you should return to Heavenly Court City with Ao Tianhuang.”

“I don’t want to…,” Long Wanyu said sadly, pouting.

“Just go. I will go to Heavenly Court City to find you after a while,” Gu Hai said, shaking his head.

“You will come to Heavenly Court City?” Long Wanyu exclaimed.

Gu Hai nodded.

Ao Tianhuang felt slightly confused but did not ask anything.

However, Long Wanyu could not understand why Gu Hai would go to Heavenly Court City.

“Return to Heavenly Court City first and prepare the way for me. When I arrive in Heavenly Court City, at least I won’t be completely ignorant of my surroundings, alright?” Gu Hai persuaded.

Long Wanyu frowned as she entered deep thought.

She did not want to leave at all. She thought that she could help her brother-in-law by staying. Her brother-in-law’s request put her in a somewhat difficult spot.

“Alright. Alright, then. Come as soon as you can,” Long Wanyu said, biting her lips.

Gu Hai nodded.

Nearby, Li Shenji and Ye Shenzhen had been listening intently. When they heard Gu Hai’s conversation with Long Wanyu, they frowned.

“Gu Hai is intentionally sending Princess Wanyu away? Why?” Confusion filled Li Shenji’s eyes.

“Now that Gu Hai has the Bat Ancestor, he will face the full wrath of the Yuan Imperial Dynasty. Death follows Gu Hai. He did this to keep Long Wanyu away from danger,” Ye Shenzhen said while shaking his head.

“However, Princess Wanyu is a seer. Wouldn’t keeping her by his side be better?” Li Shenji narrowed his eyes in puzzlement.

To Li Shenji, everyone was a tool to be used. Even though disaster was coming to the Han Nation, Gu Hai did not make use of a seer at his disposal, even pushing her away?

Ye Shenzhen rolled his eyes at Li Shenji and said, “Lord Li, the world cannot be measured in benefits. Mister Gu is doing this because he sincerely wants the best for Princess Wanyu.”

“Huh?” Li Shenji’s face sank as he turned silent.

Nearby, Gu Hai left Long Wanyu with some instructions before turning to Purple Subtlety and Longevity. “I’ll have to trouble you two to help me protect Princess Wanyu.”

“Gu Hai, rest assured. Nothing will happen to Long Wanyu with us around,” Purple Subtlety said, patting his chest.

This time, the two could not help Chaoge City in its time of difficulty. They felt very guilty over that. Now that Gu Hai asked them for help again, they had to put in their full effort.

“I’ll go with Long Wanyu. Oh, right, didn’t you want my paintings previously? I painted another six more during this time. You can have them all.” Longevity stepped forward and handed over a stack of paintings.

Paintings?

Ao Tianhuang, Ao Sheng, and the others appeared slightly bewildered.

“Many thanks.” Gu Hai put away the six paintings with a flip of his hand.

“By the way, Brother-in-Law, when old fogey Tianhuang dealt with a group of baddies earlier, he injured all of them. I think old baldy Liu Nian pursued them with some foundation rock golems, so they will be back later. Tell old baldy Liu Nian that we are leaving first,” Long Wanyu said.

“Venerable Liu Nian? That’s fine.” Gu Hai nodded.

“Brother-in-Law, we are leaving first. Do come as soon as you can,” Long Wanyu said, still appearing reluctant.

“I will!” Gu Hai nodded.

Rumble…!

Ye Shenzhen took out a flying ship with a flip of his hand. Then, everyone boarded it, and the flying ship took to the sky and flew far away.

“Brother-in-Law, do come as soon as you can!” Long Wanyu shouted from the flying ship, feeling reluctant.

“I will!” Gu Hai answered with a shout.

Whoosh!

The flying ship flew into the horizon.

Gu Hai watched as Long Wanyu left. Then, he let out his bated breath.

Going to Heavenly Court City? That was an excuse that he used to convince Long Wanyu. The true chaos would be coming after this.

The Yuan Imperial Dynasty?

“Your…Your Majesty, I don’t understand. Why did you say I still have not understood what my father meant?” Chang Ming asked with some confusion as he stood behind Gu Hai.

Now, Chang Ming no longer doubted Gu Hai’s wisdom. If Gu Hai said he had not understood, he definitely had not understood. What else did his father mean?

Gu Hai turned his head and looked at Chang Ming, appearing somewhat gratified. “Not bad. At least you now know to ask humbly.”

“I was too obstinate and self-opinionated in the past. In the future, I will use my brains more. Will Your Majesty tell me what my father meant?” Chang Ming asked seriously.

Gu Hai took a deep breath and said, “Chang Sheng had high expectations of you.”

“Yes!”

“However, these expectations are not limited to killing the Bat Ancestor and taking revenge for him,” Gu Hai said seriously.

“I know. Aside from the Bat Ancestor, there is also the Yuan Imperial Dynasty and Imperial Emperor Xi Yu,” Chang Ming said through gritted teeth.

Gu Hai shook his head.

“What else is there?” Chang Ming asked in confusion.

“The Chang Clan is destroyed, but you are still alive. As long as you are alive, the Chang Clan can return one day,” Gu Hai explained seriously.

“Huh?” Chang Ming appeared slightly confused.

“Have you ever thought about reviving Chang Sheng and the others?” Gu Hai asked.

“Rev-revive? How?” Chang Ming asked in shock.

“You can at least find his reincarnation, right? As for the degree of Chang Sheng’s revival, it will depend on your effort. Whether the Chang Clan can return or not depends on your willingness to fight for it,” Gu Hai said.

“Re-revive?” A thought suddenly struck Chang Ming. Shock flashed in his eyes. “B-b-but!”

“Why ‘but’? It only depends on whether you are willing to fight fate or not. If you fight it, you will face obstructions. If you do not, then there are no more buts. Everything is possible. You just need to take it step by step. Do you dare to?” Gu Hai said with a stern expression.

“I dare! I dare! Your Majesty, I will listen to you. As long as you can help me take those steps, I am even willing to die!” Chang Ming’s eyes turned bloodshot.

Gu Hai nodded. “From now on, you shall follow us for some time to learn.”

“Yes! Thank you for nurturing me, Your Majesty!” Chang Ming answered.

“First, collect the Bat Ancestor’s scattered corpses and piece them together. We want to restore the Bat Ancestor’s body,” Gu Hai said.

“Ah? Restore? But what is the point?” Chang Ming appeared confused.

“We want to restore the Bat Ancestor to fish for a big fish!” Gu Hai said seriously.

“Yes!” Chang Ming answered.

Although Chang Ming did not understand, he still obeyed Gu Hai’s instructions, piecing the bat corpses together while using the blood race’s secret techniques to restore the Bat Ancestor’s body. All the bat corpses turned into a gigantic crimson bat in the blink of an eye.

“Your Majesty, the Bat Ancestor is dead already. What is the point of this huge bat?” Chang Ming asked, confused.

“Dead? We now want to bring it to life!” Gu Hai said with a cold smile.

“But it died already!”

“If we say it is alive, it is alive!” Gu Hai said.

——

Venerable Liu Nian and the foundation rock golems returned.

When they reached Chaoge City, they were stunned.

The entire Chaoge City lay in ruins.

The surviving citizens and some artisans gathered outside Chaoge City, building residences for the many citizens.

“How could it be like this?” Ju Lu, the foundation rock golems’ prime, goggled.

“May the Buddha of measureless life have mercy on us!” Venerable Liu Nian sighed.

While they were gone, Chaoge City had turned into a pile of rubble.

“Venerable, Prime Ju Lu, you have returned!” An official immediately welcomed them.

“What happened here?” Ju Lu asked anxiously.

That official described what happened.

“His Majesty returned?” Ju Lu said in pleasant surprise.

“Yes, His Majesty returned. He has also avenged the dead citizens. Earlier, the Bat Ancestor killed ten million Chaoge City citizens. His Majesty captured the Bat Ancestor, crippled him, and trapped him in the open area to the south of the city for the citizens to mock,” that official explained.

“What? The Bat Ancestor? He is already an Upper Heavenly Palace Realm cultivator, yet he got caught and crippled, mocked by the citizens?” Venerable Liu Nian exclaimed in shock.

That official nodded proudly. Then, he led everyone to the south of the city.

Indeed, the area south of the city was currently heavily guarded. There was a three-hundred-thirty-meter-tall bat in the center of the clearing, with chains running through its body. It struggled, on its last breath, screeching loudly. The citizens stood around the gigantic bat, continuously mocking and criticizing it.

“The Bat Ancestor?” Ju Lu exclaimed.

“That’s right. This is the Bat Ancestor. This is retribution! Retribution!” That official that accompanied the group nodded.

“Gu Hai?” Venerable Liu Nian appeared somewhat bitter.

He recalled that just a few years ago, Gu Hai felt helpless over trying to break into the Innate Realm. Now, he managed to trap the Upper Heavenly Palace Realm Bat Ancestor here.

“I’ve already sent someone to report to His Majesty. Please wait for a while,” that official said with a smile.

——

On a floating island to the south of the city:

Gu Hai looked at the chained three-hundred-thirty-meter-tall bat with Chang Ming.

“Your Majesty, I used the blood race’s secret technique to create a semblance of life for the Bat Ancestor. However, what use is that?” Chang Ming appeared bewildered.

“What do you think?” Gu Hai asked indifferently.

“Uh? Your Majesty said that you wanted to use it for fishing. However, the only one who would care about the Bat Ancestor is Imperial Emperor Xi Yu. Your Majesty left the Bat Ancestor there for the citizens to ridicule and mock, so this information will reach the Yuan Nation very quickly. When Imperial Emperor Xi Yu hears of it…” Chang Ming frowned.

“That’s right. We want Imperial Emperor Xi Yu to know that we captured the Bat Ancestor. Killing the Bat Ancestor is just the first step. With the Bat Ancestor here, we can destroy the entire Yuan Imperial Dynasty,” Gu Hai said with narrowed eyes.