59: Chapter 59: Affirmation of the Past and Future

The night was like ink that wouldn't thin, slowly soaking away the bustle of Heaven Dou City.

Lu Jing led Wang Donger through several quiet alleys. The scent of blood behind them was dispersed by the evening breeze, leaving only the "da-da" sound of footsteps on the bluestone slabs.

Beside them, Xiao Wu's fingers turned white as she gripped the hem of her clothes. After walking for a long time, she couldn't help but speak, her voice filled with lingering terror: "Did we... really kill a Prince and an Imperial Prince?"

Lu Jing looked at her sideways. The moonlight happened to fall on her slightly trembling long eyelashes, casting fragmented shadows.

He slowed his pace and said in a calm tone, "Yes, we killed them."

"But they were members of the Imperial Family."

Xiao Wu's voice was tight, as if she had never seen such a scene. Her small face was full of worry as she said, "How could the Heaven Dou Empire let this go? What if they mobilize the army to hunt us down..."

Although she also found the other party unpleasant, the problem was that their status was right there.

A dignified Imperial Prince and a Prince of the Empire had been killed on the spot in Heaven Dou City. How could the Emperor turn a blind eye?

This was no joke; after all, it was equivalent to slapping the Emperor's face, or even the face of the entire nation.

"What can the Imperial Family do? Others fear the Imperial Family, but do we? Don't forget where we come from."

Lu Jing gave a light sneer, his fingertips playing with the consecration token. The gold plate glinted coldly in the moonlight as he said disdainfully, "As for an arrest, I ask you, would they dare? Emperor Xue Ye can't even suppress the Platinum Bishop Salas, who is only at the Spirit Douluo level. Does he really want to try suppressing the most exalted Elder Hall within Spirit Hall? What are you thinking, girl? Even if Emperor Xue Ye had ten times the courage, he wouldn't dare do such a thing."

Beside him, although Wang Donger felt that Lu Jing's words made sense, she still frowned and said softly, "But they were two members of the Imperial Clan after all, and they just died like that..."

"They were the ones who made the first move."

Lu Jing interrupted her, his tone devoid of emotion as he said coldly, "Did you forget the way Xue Beng looked at you just now? And when those guards drew their blades, they weren't planning on leaving anyone alive."

Hearing this, a brilliant smile appeared on Wang Donger's exquisite face. She turned to look at the youth beside her and asked, "So, were you getting revenge for me just now?"

"What else?"

Lu Jing rolled his eyes at Wang Donger and teased, "You already called me 'darling,' so how could I just watch those two pieces of trash talk to you like that? What were you thinking? Besides, doing this also solves some trouble for Qian Renxue."

"Qian Renxue?"

Hearing this, Wang Donger's originally fair face instantly turned rosy. Then, hearing about Qian Renxue, she became even more confused and couldn't help asking, "What does this have to do with her? She is currently Crown Prince Xue Qinghe. As long as she waits for Emperor Xue Ye to abdicate, she can naturally inherit the throne. Xue Beng and Prince Xue Xing clearly posed no threat to her..."

Although she wasn't a member of the Imperial Family, she knew that the next Emperor should rightfully be the Crown Prince.

Lu Jing stopped walking and turned to look toward the distant Imperial Palace.

The lights there were brilliant, and the glazed tiles of the Crown Princes Palace shimmered in the night like a dormant giant beast.

"Do you really think Xue Beng is trash?" he suddenly asked at that moment.

Wang Donger was stunned for a moment. She crossed her arms and gave a light huff, saying disdainfully, "Isn't he? That fierce-looking but weak-hearted appearance just now... he looked like he had no depth at all, no different from a dandy."

"That was the image he wanted others to see."

Lu Jing sighed softly, his tone lightening as he said quietly, "Prince Xue Xing is old and calculating. All these years, he has kept Xue Beng hidden inside the shell of a dandy precisely to make Qian Renxue lower her guard. As long as Emperor Xue Ye is alive for one more day, and as long as Xue Beng is alive, the throne isn't a certainty."

"Don't forget, Emperor Xue Ye might not be without paternal affection for his son Xue Beng. What if one day he acts on impulse, or is persuaded by Prince Xue Xing, and suddenly wants to depose the elder and install the younger? Qian Renxue has been undercover for so many years; would she want to fail because of such a variable?"

Although in the original plot, Xue Beng was able to take the throne because Qian Renxue messed up her own game, if one thought about it carefully, if Xue Beng and Prince Xue Xing were dead, even if her identity was eventually exposed, the Empire would likely fall into chaos first. This would lead to various Vassal Kings raising armies, making it impossible for them to join forces with the Star Luo Empire and the Tang Sect to resist Spirit Hall in a short time.

After all, which Vassal King could resist the temptation of the Emperor's throne, which represents the power over life and death?

Wang Donger fell silent.

She thought of Qian Renxue's usual composed manner and always felt that this Young Mistress of the Angel Clan was omnipotent, forgetting that she was calculating every step in Heaven Dou City, walking as if on thin ice.

"But by doing this, will we disrupt the original plot?"

She suddenly looked up, her eyes filled with worry. To keep Xiao Wu from hearing, she could only lower her voice and ask, "We transmigrated here. If the future becomes unrecognizable because of this, can we still go back?"

While talking, the three of them entered the hotel. Lu Jing didn't answer immediately but instead told Xiao Wu to go back and get some good rest.

The door closed, leaving only Lu Jing and Wang Donger in the hallway.

"Let's talk inside."

Lu Jing pushed open his door. The room was simply furnished with a wooden bed and a desk. The window faced the inn's backyard, where several roses were planted.

After Wang Donger sat down, she returned to the same question: "Do you think we'll affect the future?"

Lu Jing poured a cup of tea. Amidst the swirling steam, his expression was somewhat blurred: "From the current perspective, probably not."

"Why?" Wang Donger became interested, wanting to know the answer.

"Because our Transmigration itself created a new timeline."

Lu Jing's fingertips tapped the table, his eyes fixed on the tea in his hand. His tone was gentle and flat as he said, "It's like digging a tributary next to the original river. No matter how much we toss and turn in this tributary, it won't affect the flow of the main channel."

Wang Donger frowned: "How can you be sure?"

"Because of Xiao Wu."

Lu Jing looked up at her and reminded, "Think about it. Xiao Wu is already following us now, which means she won't fall in love with Tang San again. Thus, there won't be the later Dual God Unity, and the Titan Giant Ape and Sky Azure Bull Python won't sacrifice themselves to Tang San..."

He paused and looked into Wang Donger's eyes: "If we could change the original World, then the memories in your mind about the sacrifices of the Titan Giant Ape and the Sky Azure Bull Python should have disappeared by now, right? But you still remember them clearly."

Wang Donger's pupils constricted, and she subconsciously pressed her temples.

Those memory fragments were as clear as if they had happened yesterday—the wailing in the Star Dou Great Forest, Tang San's heart-wrenching cries, and the determination of those two massive figures as they turned into spirit rings... All of it was still there, not blurred in the slightest.

Although she hadn't experienced it personally, as the Young Master of the Clear Sky Sect, she definitely knew about it, because the Sect Masters of the Clear Sky Sect ten thousand years later were the Titan Giant Ape and the Sky Azure Bull Python.

"What does this mean?" Thinking of this, her voice trembled slightly.

"It means we are in a completely new World."

Lu Jing's voice was very soft yet carried a sense of certainty as he answered, "Our actions will only affect the people and things here; they won't touch the past or future of our original World."

Wang Donger fell silent.

The moonlight from outside shone through the window lattice, casting grid-like shadows on the floor, like an invisible barrier completely separating the two Worlds.

She suddenly remembered the sentence Lu Jing said when they first transmigrated: "Since we're here, let's make the best of it."

Perhaps he had figured this out from the very beginning.

"Then Qian Renxue..."

She hesitated for a moment and asked, "Why are we helping her stabilize her position?"

"To make her owe us a favor."

Lu Jing smiled, picked up the teacup, and took a sip, saying softly, "The successor of the Angel God and the future ruler of the Elder Hall—this favor will eventually come in handy."

There was another reason he didn't mention: compared to the original ending, he still hoped to let Spirit Hall unify the Douluo Continent. At the very least, the common people wouldn't have to pay money for their Spirit Awakening later on.

Thinking of this, he felt a surge of anger. That damned Tang San.

Looking at the calculation in his eyes, Wang Donger suddenly felt that this guy's mind was terrifyingly deep.

But on second thought, in this crisis-ridden Douluo Continent, how could one survive without calculating a few steps ahead?

"Alright."

She sighed softly, her tense shoulders finally relaxing as she said resignedly, "They're already dead anyway; there's no use thinking more about it."

Lu Jing raised an eyebrow: "You've figured it out?"

"I have to, whether I want to or not."

Wang Donger rolled her eyes at him, her tone carrying a bit of reproach as she said loyally, "I can't let you take the blame all by yourself."

Lu Jing smiled and teased, "It seems my future wife is quite smart after all."

"When was I ever stupid!"

Wang Donger reflexively retorted, then as if realizing something, her pretty face turned slightly red, "Who is your wife? Have you no shame!"

The night at the inn gradually grew quiet, with only the occasional sound of dogs barking in the distance.

When Wang Donger returned to her own room, she tossed and turned on the bed but couldn't fall asleep.

She thought of the terrified look in Xue Beng's eyes before he died and the way Lu Jing snapped his neck without changing his expression, and she still felt a bit of a chill.

But more than that, there was a strange sense of security.

In this strange World, having someone who could block this bloodshed for her and calculate the gains and losses so clearly didn't seem so bad.

At the same time, in the Heaven Dou Imperial Palace, at the Crown Princes Palace.

The gilded bronze mirror reflected an exquisite face.

Qian Renxue was using a makeup removal pad to gently wipe away the disguise on her face, revealing her original countenance which carried a hint of sacred aura.

Her long golden hair fell loose, draping over her pale gold nightgown like flowing sunlight.

"Young Mistress." Porcupinefish Douluo's voice sounded outside the door, carrying a hint of caution.

"Come in." Qian Renxue didn't look back, her fingertips holding a small jade hairpin as she inserted it into her hair.

Porcupinefish Douluo pushed the door open and entered, standing respectfully three steps away from the dressing table with a complex expression: "We just received word that Lu Jing and Wang Donger have arrived in Heaven Dou City."

Qian Renxue's movements paused, the jade hairpin stopping in her hair.

She looked at Porcupinefish Douluo through the bronze mirror, her eyebrows arching slightly: "Oh? They certainly arrived quickly. Why, have you seen them?"

"It wasn't I who saw them."

Porcupinefish Douluo quickly explained, "It was a message from the night market side. They said that just now at the South City Night Market, someone killed Xue Xing and Xue Beng..."

Before he could finish, Qian Renxue had already turned around, her eyes filled with a hint of surprise: "Killed Xue Beng and Xue Xing? Who did it?"

"It was Lu Jing." Porcupinefish Douluo gave a bitter smile and recounted the information he heard from the scouts in detail—Xue Beng harrassing Wang Donger, Lu Jing revealing the consecration token, snapping their necks in front of Ning Fengzhi, and finally leaving word for Emperor Xue Ye to go to the Elder Hall for an explanation.

After listening, Qian Renxue suddenly laughed, her laughter clear and crisp, like jade clinking on a tray: "These two fellows really cause trouble wherever they go."

She walked to the window and pushed it open. The evening breeze blew her hair, revealing her smooth forehead.

Under the moonlight, her smile carried a hint of amusement: "But this can't be entirely blamed on them. Wang Donger's face is indeed prone to attracting trouble."

Porcupinefish Douluo chimed in from the side: "In terms of appearance, you are still the superior one, Young Mistress."

Qian Renxue glanced at him but didn't respond.

She knew Porcupinefish Douluo meant well, but she was too lazy to listen to such flattery. Compared to appearances, she cared more about Lu Jing's actions.

"He certainly knows how to save me some trouble."

She said softly, her fingertips unconsciously tracing the window frame, "With Xue Beng and Xue Xing dead, Emperor Xue Ye will have two fewer people whispering in his ear. My position will indeed be much more stable."

All these years she had posed as Xue Qinghe, she had cleared away countless obstacles both openly and secretly, yet she had specifically stayed her hand against Xue Beng and Prince Xue Xing—not because she couldn't kill them, but because she feared being too ruthless and arousing Emperor Xue Ye's suspicion. She hadn't expected that as soon as Lu Jing arrived, he would solve this major threat for her.

Of course, part of this was also because she felt Xue Beng posed no threat.

"Then should I send people to pick them up?" Porcupinefish Douluo asked.

"No need."

Qian Renxue shook her head, her lips curling into an understanding smile, "Given Lu Jing's personality, since he's come to Heaven Dou City, he'll definitely take the initiative to find me. Perhaps he'll show up tomorrow morning."

She turned around, walked to the bed and sat down, removing her gold boots to reveal fair ankles: "You may leave now. Tomorrow morning, have someone tidy up the reception room in the front courtyard."

"Yes," Porcupinefish Douluo replied respectfully. As he turned to leave, he couldn't help but take an extra glance—the Young Mistress's mood seemed exceptionally good tonight.

After the door closed, Qian Renxue was the only one left in the room.

She leaned back against the soft pillows, looking at the intertwining lotus pattern on the canopy, her gaze gradually becoming deep.

Lu Jing... this youth who suddenly appeared on the Douluo Continent always carried a sense of mystery that made him impossible to see through.

He held a consecration token and acted seemingly without restraint, yet he was very meticulous. Is such a person truly a good thing for Spirit Hall?

She murmured softly, her fingertips drawing circles on the quilt.

The moonlight from outside shone through the gauze curtains, casting a soft glow on her face.

Qian Renxue closed her eyes, yet a faint, almost imperceptible smile still lingered on her lips.

Regardless of the situation, once they meet tomorrow, she will surely be able to see some clues.