Great Spirit Shaman Gewu peered toward the foot of the mountain as he typically and frequently, eyes barely parted. He was cognisant of the fact that it was a pointless endeavour, but he exercised it out of habit.
Pffthaha, Qiushui is always harping on about her looks, wits and viciousness, yet she’s now requesting help. I do wish I could see her miserable face.
After all, Demon Realm valued women more than anyone else imagined, and they were equally frank about their evaluation of men. Gewu wasn’t desperate to the point that he would disrespect Demon Realm for a taste of Qiushui’s voluptuous body.
Truthfully, Gewu yearned to explore the outside world; however, he tirelessly plotted the takeover of Baimu as it was the foundation of his grand scheme. In the same vein, he couldn’t stand the idea of a child and a cripple spoiling his ambition.
Gewu didn’t brush Feng Xue’s return as a coincidence. In saying that, he believed Feng Xue returned too late to turn the tides.
“Your Eminence… your subject requests your response.”
Gewu exited his mind to decree the mobilisation of Baimu’s military as reinforcements.
Wood Guardian was carried in to Gewu to report on what the fiasco along the mountain path was all about. Gewu’s only avenue for balancing his young body and old soul was to spend time on events that piqued his interest, and the fiasco on the mountain path fit the bill.
Once Wood Guardian came to, Gewu inquired, “What happened? Who knocked you out?”
Wood Guardian reactively went to speak but stopped herself when she realised that she couldn’t recall what happened after attempting to murder Feiyi’s diplomatic envoy, only to be clocked over the head. Although she wasn’t the best fighter of Shaman Monarch Palace, she was still classified an adept on a worldwide scale.
“Has he really shown up?” Gewu uttered.
As they were Gewu’s four personal bodyguards – Iron, Wood, Poison and Fire Guardians – he granted his four arms the capacity to make their own judgement and the privilege to directly consult him without all the fanfare that ordinary follows needed to abide by.
Iron Guardian, who just returned from the foot of the mountain, replied, “Yes, Your Eminence.”
Moyan Luohou made his comeback at the same time Gewu caught wind of Wood Guardian being slept. Moyan Luohou was the only person in Shaman Monarch Palace that Gewu couldn’t order around or control. While the ignorant perceived Moyan Clan as Shaman Monarch Palace loyalists who’d unconditionally obey commands, Gewu never believed Moyan Clan was subservient to him, a fake acting in the name of Shaman Monarch; he knew their true master was Shaman Monarch. Consequently, he only knew as much about Moyan Luohou as others did.
When Gewu enthroned himself, he only approached the blade in deep in the mountain to try his luck as Shaman Monarch’s representative. Candidly, he didn’t expect Moyan Luohou to aid him. In the decades that Moyan Luohou had been in his employment, he never worked out why Moyan Luohou would acquiesce to help.
Lack of understanding leads to suspicion. Suspicion creates instability and abates security. Gewu never liked the consequences of keeping Moyan Luohou.
“What is Moyan Clan… planning?”
“Your subject is unsure.” Iron Guardian was the forthright type with brawn but not much brain, so he abstained from voicing suggestions. Precisely because Iron Guardian was forthright, he could be trusted. “However, your subject noticed something inexplicable at the foot of the mountain.”
Not long ago, Gewu dismissed the intrusion as another fruitless attempt to overthrow him. Now, though, he perceived there to be more to it for the reason that even Moyan Luohou resurfaced. It had been a long time since Gewu felt his control over the mountain was slipping from his hands.
“What happened?”
Iron Guardian tried to provide an articulate account of what he witnessed but gave up quickly, deciding to just speak his mind. “Moyan Changping failed to stop the intruder despite levelling up in the fight. Moyan Luohou appeared after Moyan Changping lost in one exchange.”
“Pff, so he came out to defend his son’s honour. The intruder must be remarkable to defeat Moyan Changping, but Moyan Luohou would end him.”
“That was how it was supposed to go.”
Gewu furrowed his brows.
“A young man donning white garments came down from the sky and stopped Moyan Luohou. He sat on a jet-black iron chair. If your subject’s eyes serve, the chair should be Shaman Monarch’s throne warehoused at Wanyu.”
“Shaman Monarch’s throne?” Gewu found the story more preposterous than claiming that the sky was raining stars onto the mountain. “Nonsense. How could an outsider have gotten their hands on the throne?” Gewu slammed the table. “Wanyu’s King! You would even use the throne to provoke me?! He has declared war! This is a declaration of war! Prepare for war! I’m going to send a thousand heads to Wanyu!”
“Y-you misunderstand…” Once again, Iron Guardian cut himself off, only to decide it was best to get to the point. “The person on the throne claimed to be Shaman Monarch and demanded you go greet him.”
Gewu spent a few seconds mulling over what he heard, then retreated to his throne. “Repeat that again.”
“The person on the throne claimed to be Shaman Monarch and demanded you go greet him.”
Gewu crossed his arms and made the following face: O人O
