Chapter 139: Father, You Are Going to Become the Retired Emperor!

The violent storm of power dissipated, and Bai Rou looked up to find that the surrounding land had long since been reduced to a wasteland.

The ground was covered in fine powder. At a glance, it looked as though they had been transported to a desert. No one would have guessed that only yesterday this place had been a wild expanse tangled with weeds and trees.

Bai Rou poked her head out and glanced ahead. The two people there were still frozen in the same positions. Whoever they were, their bodies remained tense and utterly rigid.

A sly, triumphant look appeared on Bai Rou’s gentle face. She coughed once and said, “Wow! That was a powerful wind!”

The two men jolted violently. Xia Ningshang hurriedly released her hand, her eyes darting from side to side.

Ji Huo’s ramrod-straight shoulders relaxed slightly, though he looked left and right without daring to glance toward her.

“The wind was very strong.”

“Exactly, exactly. I could barely keep my footing.”

Bai Rou gave an innocent smile, then quickly ran toward the center of the battlefield.

“Brother Xiaoxiong, how are you?”

Ji Xiaoxiong lay sprawled in the yellow sand, wounds covering his body. His injuries looked severe, but his spirits were remarkably high.

“I’m fine. I’m not going to die.” Ji Xiaoxiong laughed and coughed twice, then looked at Bai Rou with a grin. “Girl, what brings you here?”

Ji Huo, who had just arrived, felt his heart drop, and his expression turned strange.

“I heard my brother say he was going to fight you, so I was worried and came along.” Bai Rou hurriedly helped Ji Xiaoxiong sit up. After sensing his condition with her inner energy, her face changed dramatically. “You’re actually hurt this badly!”

“It’s nothing serious. I’ll be fine.” Ji Xiaoxiong continued to smile happily, his eyes clear and bright.

Ji Huo edged closer, ducked his head, and called out, “Hey, Dad.”

The moment Ji Xiaoxiong saw him, his expression darkened. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but after hesitating for a long while, he swallowed the words.

His bewitched mind had long since cleared, and he knew exactly what had happened.

While beating that punching bag earlier, his anger over the new emperor, his remorse at having been powerless enough to fall into the trap, and his grief over the fall of Great Zhou had already vanished without a trace.

He had always been an open-minded man. If Great Zhou was gone, then so be it. The former emperor and the Imperial Preceptor he had known were gone as well.

But this unfilial brat!

He had only just handed the Flying Bear Army over to him, and that very night, the boy had led the army to attack the capital!

It had been the equivalent of slapping him in the face again and again!

He had simmered with anger for a long while. The more he thought about it, the angrier he became, until his face finally sank.

Seeing this, Xia Ningshang hurried forward and pleaded, “Uncle, I caused this trouble together with him. If you want to blame someone, then scold me as well.”

Only then did Ji Xiaoxiong’s expression ease somewhat. He opened his mouth, but in the end could only sigh helplessly. Seeing Ji Huo’s innocent expression, he softened his voice and asked, “Is that monster dead?”

“Mm.” Ji Huo nodded.

Ji Xiaoxiong smiled and sighed. “As expected of my son. I’m proud of you.”

Ji Huo shrugged. Although this father of his was only a father in name and had not been by his side while he was growing up, those words still stirred something in his heart.

“You became emperor?” Ji Xiaoxiong suddenly asked bluntly.

“Oh, no.” Ji Huo answered honestly.

Surprise and confusion mingled in Ji Xiaoxiong’s eyes. “You conquered the capital and even killed that great monster. Why didn’t you become emperor?”

Ji Huo replied casually, “What fun is there in being emperor? There’s a mountain of nonsense to deal with every day, and you have to listen to those officials argue from morning to night. Work hard and you’ll die young; don’t work hard and the civil officials will curse you as a foolish ruler. Besides, emperors have an absurdly high mortality rate throughout history. It’s practically a high-risk profession. I’m not doing it!”

His father’s eyes filled with delight, and then he burst into hearty laughter. Unfortunately, he laughed too hard and pulled at his wounds, sending him into another fit of coughing.

“Good lad. I knew I hadn’t misjudged you.” His father laughed and coughed at the same time. “That’s for the best. At least my Ji family won’t end up branded as traitors who rebelled against the throne—”

“But Big Brother became emperor.”

Ji Huo once more folded his hands behind his head, completely unconcerned.

“Congratulations, Dad. You’ve gone from a remnant of the former dynasty to the Retired Emperor.”

The smile on his father’s face froze.

Ji Huo added, “By the way, don’t even think about beating him. Big Brother has been acknowledged by the Human Emperor’s Sword and attained the Grandmaster realm. He’s now the ruler of this country, bound together with its national destiny and imperial aura. At any rate, on the land of Great Zhou, you can’t beat him.”

Ji Huo rubbed his chin and muttered, “Though Big Brother never said what the new country is called. I suppose things happened too quickly, and he hasn’t thought of a name himself.”

“…”

Ji Xiaoxiong opened and closed his mouth. He did not look particularly surprised. In the end, he merely gave a faint sigh, and his entire bearing seemed to wilt.

“Dad, let’s not worry about all that yet. I’ll heal you first. Once you become the Retired Emperor, you’ll have plenty of things to deal with.”

Ji Huo rolled up his sleeves and was about to treat his father’s wounds when Ji Xiaoxiong waved him off and stopped him, saying irritably, “No need. I haven’t been injured in ages. I’ll recover slowly and take it as a chance to reminisce about my youth.”

Haven’t you had hidden injuries for more than a decade? Are you saying you feel uncomfortable if you don’t have a few fresh wounds now?

Had he awakened some strange new proclivity?

Ji Huo shrugged. Since his father did not care, he could not be bothered either.

Because of Ji Xiaoxiong’s injuries, Bai Rou supported him as they headed toward the capital. At their pace, who knew how long it would take them to get there?

“Brother Xiaoxiong, are you really all right?”

“Girl, it’s nothing. You know what our bodies are like.”

“That’s good.”

“How have you been all these years? You never came to visit me.”

“Same as always. Didn’t you come to visit me either?”

“Hahahaha! I actually wanted to come see you long ago, but I figured that the moment I showed up, your brother would find some excuse to fight me. So I deliberately stayed away! Hahahaha! I had to make him furious!”

The two of them gradually disappeared into the distance, chatting all the while. There was not the slightest hint of awkwardness between them.

Ji Huo’s expression grew increasingly peculiar. Xia Ningshang quietly moved closer, poked him in the waist, and asked, “Your uncle and her…”

“Ahhh…”

Ji Huo drew out the sound for a long moment, then sighed and summed it up.

“Purple really has its own charm.”

“???”

“Hey! Could the two of you come over and help me up? Is no one going to show an old man any compassion?”

A languid voice came from not far away.

“Huh!?”

Ji Huo and Xia Ningshang hurried over, only to find the Sword Saint lying stiffly on the ground. His injuries seemed comparable to Ji Xiaoxiong’s, but his thirty-tael robe had been torn apart and his hair had been blown into a wild mess, making him look considerably more miserable.

“Sword Saint Bo Bo, your injuries are that serious?” Ji Huo helped him up and was about to circulate his energy to treat him.

The Sword Saint glanced at him and said gloomily, “Actually, I could have gotten up a long time ago. I just wanted to see whether anyone would take the initiative to help me.”

“Now it seems… ha. Of course no one did.”

Ji Huo: “…”