Chapter 118: Dispatch of the Nine Heavens Dictum!
It was already autumn now.
The autumn wind was growing chilly; an autumn shower made the weather seemed even bleaker.
As the breeze blustered above Tiantang City throughout the entire day, almost every man of Yutang, especially the warriors who had fought in battles, could not help but raise their heads to watch when they heard the ruffling noise.
This strong wind is sometimes the doing of our guardian, Supreme Wind, who manipulates the world’s air currents.
The wind roared in Tiantang. However, where had the hero gone to?
Early in the morning, three days later, a loud bellowing came from above Tiantang City. It was the autumn wind again. Wilted leaves danced on their way down as dust fogged up the air. The wind today seemed a lot stronger than usual…
Yun Yang emerged from his closed-door cultivation in the secret chamber, turning into a gust of wind with a twist of his body. He ascended into the sky soundlessly, becoming one with the roaring autumn wind.
The autumn wind had become strange.
“The Spectral Path of the Soul, Abyss Trail of Blood. The maximum of bloodlust brings about the climax of bitterness, the bleak wind and fog of souls must have an origin. Where the injustice lies, God will see!”
Yun Yang was well aware of this.
Whoever and whichever organization that used such extreme tactics would be despised by both god and humankind, loathed by both immortals and ghosts; it clearly went against the law of nature.
Similarly, understanding the enemy’s tactics meant that Yun Yang only needed to observe where the bloodlust was and where the grudge lay heaviest to know where his target was!
The autumn wind coalesced, forming a whirlwind in the air. Instantly, all the wilted leaves dancing in midair in Tiantang City were flung higher into the air once more.
Amidst the air was a massive pillar formed by a whirlwind, connecting heaven and earth, changing its position continuously as it followed the wind.
These occurrences had often happened last time, so people were not unduly worried seeing it. They had only thought of it as a common and natural phenomenon.
In the south side of the city, the whirlwind swept, wilting leaves danced across the sky like airy butterflies.
All was well south of the city.
As far as the eyes could see, it was a peaceful scene; there were no traces of bloodlust. Yun Yang maintained his whirlwind form and headed towards the west.
The Four Seasons Tower had actually left the east of the city alone when the biggest suspect should have been there. Yun Yang understood, however, that the city’s east was a concentrated area of poverty where most of the veterans gathered; it would be difficult to find a spot to execute the sacrificial ceremony for “The Spectral Path of the Soul, Abyss Trail of Blood”.
A deeper underlying reason was that it was normally the wealthy areas or the official’s areas with a heavier air of bitterness while the area with the heaviest resentment laid within the palaces!
It was the same for every empire.
No matter how open-minded the reigning monarch was, the palace was still where resentment and injustice were the most concentrated in a nation.
There were not many wealthy people in the east of Tiantang City, most of them were scattered in the west, north, and south; therefore, the city’s east was actually the area with the least air of bitterness in the city!
When Yun Yang had ridden the whirlwind around earlier, he had already made a rough observation of those locations.
Other than the palace in the center of the city that was roaring with an air of bitterness, it was similarly malevolent in the west, south, and north. The east was peaceful in contrast.
He only needed to comb through these places slowly.
Yun Yang was neither in a hurry nor was he impatient. He would go through these locations slowly.
It was tedious work.
Around an hour later, the whirlwind disappeared.
The autumn wind was still loud but it had become a drafty gust at the west of the city.
Streets and alleys became drafty places as wind blasted through each alley, each narrow street, and each road.
The wind did not subside for the entire day and night.
When Yun Yang returned to the Residence of Yun, his face was pale as a sheet. He just had a few mouthfuls of rice before he almost fell asleep, spent beyond exhaustion.
He rested for a bit and began to cultivate again.
He had to go on no matter how tired he was. His mission now was to cultivate, besides trying to pinpoint the location of the air of bloodlust. Only by increasing his ability a thousand-fold would he have the capability to face the impending storm.
The autumn wind swept by once more in the middle of the night.
It was the same for the three following days. All the streets in Tiantang City were swept clean of any dust by the shrieking autumn wind that seemed to linger longer than before.
“Why is it so odd this year? This autumn wind doesn’t seem to be ending…”
“Yeah, last year’s autumn wind began in the day and would stop for a bit at night, and die off in the middle of the night. This year though, the wind grows more hysterical the later in the night it gets, like a howling ghost. It gives me the goosebumps.”
“Hey, you’re right. I didn’t pay much attention to it earlier. This is an ill wind.”
A burly man with a straight face among the crowd did not chip in and had only listened quietly, a hint of delight flashing unnoticed through his eyes as he left with wide strides.
In a secluded area, several people sat in a circle with unusually somber faces; there were a few more people approaching the area.
“Brothers, there may be good news.”
“What good news?”
“The autumn wind is never-ending these days. It’s really bizarre.
Don’t you fellows think that this is unusual?”
“Autumn wind… you mean…”
“The autumn wind this time looks normal but comparing it to the previous years, it doesn’t seem so at all.” The man speaking was excited, but his voice was hushed. “We all know that Blood sir had appeared a few days ago, sending his order.”
“Actually, didn’t both Wind and Flame sirs make their moves in the previous battle? Although word has it that it was both sirs blessing us with their assistance, I, Qi Ol’sixth, don’t believe a single word of it!”
“And the autumn wind now is extremely odd.”
The man named Qi Ol’sixth seemed to have his throat clogged as tears glimmered in his eyes. “Could it be that… our Wind sir is moving once again?”
Shock washed over everyone’s face as delighted surprise poured out from their eyes…
“Keep calm!”
The leader of the men frowned as he hollered with a straight face, “What are you fellows so worked up about? What we need now is patience, immense, absolute patience. We need to wait slowly. Do all of you remember what the nine sirs have said? The Nine Heavens Dictum shall be forever!”
“All of you are only beginning to suspect now…”
The muscular man who had been quiet all this while had a slight tremble in his voice; his eyes were misted as his lips quivered. He forced a calm front and laughed. “Your father has never believed that the nine sirs would die!”
“All of you, fulfill your own duty! Each of you must do your own part.” The man’s gaze was cold. “Anyone who makes a mistake and embarrasses sir… Don’t blame me, Boss Zhao, for speaking harshly!”
“We don’t need Boss Zhao to speak harshly…” Everyone laughed.
“We’ll gather around to beat up whoever makes a mistake!”
Boss Zhao snorted and said, “Why didn’t the Nine Heavens Dictum collapse into a mess when the nine sirs went missing? It was because everyone believes that the nine bosses will return!”
“Therefore, everyone from the nine halls is even more competitive when the nine sirs are not here! Everyone has been preparing and working hard. We must not embarrass our Wind lord!”
“Most importantly, our lips are sealed, act quickly and in secret!”
Boss Zhao’s gaze was penetrating. “The nine lords are unprecedented heroes. We must never taint their reputation!”
“Yes!”
“Dismissed!” Boss Zhao stood up. “Go back and watch your fellow subordinates well. Anyone who slips up, even if we can’t see it and won’t wallop you, ask your own conscience. Can you live with it? Do you still have the face to do so?”
…
The same conversation cropped up in various secret locations.
“Blood lord has appeared and the autumn wind is bellowing peculiarly. It seems like Wind sir has reappeared as well. How come there is still no news of our boss? All the more we have to keep calm! Whoever shames the boss… I’m sure I don’t need to say it!”
…
“Both Wind and Flame sirs have taken action at Tianxuan Cliff and now Blood sir has made a reappearance. There must be a reason, for they’ve been quiet for so long and have finally made such a bold move!”
“Our Cloud lord is the soul of the Nine Supremes. He’s usually the one to make plans and plot schemes; such a method of deceiving everyone in the world is what Cloud sir would have done! I’m not boasting but unless it was our Cloud sir, it could not be done even if the other bosses planned it personally.”
“We, the Cloud Clan, must not pale in comparison to the others!”
“Stay collected and work diligently!”
“Cloud sir will return!”
…
At the Residence of the Marshal, the curiosity ran high.
“Has Wind really come back?”
Old Marshal Qiu paced around as his old mistress watched. This old man had walked about several dozen miles just within the courtyard of his home.
“Old Marshal, His Majesty asks to see you.”
“I shall go at once!”
The old marshal did not even bother to change but left right away after simply donning a cloak.
…
Yun Yang kept searching and filtering his possibilities, finally deciding on eleven locations that he thought were the most possible targets.
The inside of the palace was the best place to execute the wicked method as it ranked the highest in terms of the air of bitterness. Next was the execution ground, where the criminals of many felonies were executed after being sentenced; it was also a good spot for the mystical method as this was where the most people had died in Tiantang City. What surprised Yun Yang was the third, fourth, and fifth location – they were the crown prince’s residence, the third prince’s residence, and the fourth prince’s residence!
Other than those who had yet to grow up, the residences of those who were already adults among all the princes of this dynasty all had a deep sense of bitterness hidden within. The one with the lowest ranking was already the ninth!
There was a total of five grown princes. Their residences had made up half of Yun Yang’s eleven suspected locations!
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