Volume 5, Chapter 17.1 – Taking Charge (Part 1)

From the moment Bai Xiang appeared, to the moment she displayed her ruthless methods and executed Zhang Yu, the Privy Secretary of the Privy Council, and Liu Fanghe, the Grand Commandant of the Military Affairs Directorate, before the gathered officials, and then granted the court’s wish by summoning forth the “Sacred Cicada,” which was to say, the Shenming Sword, the treasure safeguarding the nation, Bai Zhuqing felt as though she were dreaming.

It was too dreamlike, too unreal.

That is to say, even though she had always had enough confidence in Elder Sister.

Even though, through Monk Zhuye, Zhu Canghai, He Xian, and even Senior Black Crystal, through these people who had offered their true spirits to Elder Sister, through their feelings and their testimony, she had long since confirmed that Elder Sister had certainly not died.

Even so, she had never dared imagine that the moment of their reunion would actually play out in reality in this way…

And that it would happen precisely when she had the least hope, yet at the same time the deepest longing for hope, the greatest need for hope.

Her eyes gradually grew moist. Bai Zhuqing felt as though her consciousness and reality had been split apart.

She no longer paid much attention to the people below. From that moment onward, all of her gaze, all of her attention, was fixed upon that black-robed empress, commanding the scene with broad authority, steady and austere.

She watched her expression and her features.

She admired her eyes and her movements.

Every angle at which that face turned, every change in those two red lips as they moved… and the faint flutter of her lashes, the shifting flow of her gaze, even every slight ripple of her sleeves as they lifted. All of it was branded deep into her heart like an imprint.

Bai Zhuqing simply kept watching everything, and listening to everything.

She paid no attention as the court officials led by Tao Ran knelt to the empress in fear and reverence.

She paid no attention as everyone was ordered to withdraw to the outer hall and forbidden to leave the palace without permission.

She only kept staring stupidly at the figure above.

She did not dare breathe too loudly, and still less did she dare speak.

She was afraid this was yet another dream born from her sleep over the past ten years. Afraid it was another joy that would vanish into nothing.

That was about enough.

Holding the Shenming Sword, Bai Xiang watched Tao Ran lead the others back to the outer hall. Her gaze passed over the two corpses lying below, and she thought that next she ought to formally contact those old acquaintances and use the news of her return to gather all authority back into her hands.

Then her gaze shifted, and what she saw was the Regent of the Imperial Court staring at her in a daze.

That vacant, silly look… though her face and figure had both grown more mature than before, that highly distinctive dazed expression instantly reminded Bai Xiang of the soft, adorable little tagalong sister from ten years ago.

“Come back to yourself.”

Walking down the steps, Bai Xiang came up to Bai Zhuqing and suddenly reached out and pinched her younger sister’s straight nose.

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Ten years ago, this nose had not been quite so high, had it?

If she remembered right, it had been a little smaller and a little more delicate.

Looking more closely at her younger sister’s features, Bai Xiang finally realized that while each individual change in that face was very slight, once combined together, the result was a tremendous difference from the little girl she used to be.

And with this mature figure, and a height enough to meet her own gaze head-on, the little girl had become a beauty too.

Bai Xiang was momentarily dazed herself, and so forgot to let go.

One of them did not dare open her mouth to breathe, while the other forgot to remove her hand. The result was that, as time passed, Bai Zhuqing’s face grew redder and redder, then purple.

Finally, with a snort, the stately woman in the crimson phoenix robe jerked her head aside. When she turned back again, she had already squeezed her eyes tightly shut.

“What is it?”

Finding it amusing, Bai Xiang leaned a little closer and spoke beside her ear. “Back then, no matter how much you looked at me, it was never enough. And now that I am really standing in front of you, you close your eyes and do not dare look?”

Her voice was not loud, but it echoed layer upon layer through the empty great hall, making Bai Zhuqing’s body tremble as her lips pressed tight and moved faintly.

“All right.”

She heard a soft sigh from in front of her. Then a hand wrapped around her waist from behind and drew her into a warm, soft embrace, with a force that was half overbearing and half gentle.

And then came the words that followed.

“These years, you’ve worked hard.”

“Mm…!”

Bai Zhuqing could not hold back any longer.

She suddenly threw her strength forward, wrapping both arms around from beneath Bai Xiang’s armpits and locking them tight around her elder sister’s waist and back. She bit down hard and let out stifled sobs through her nose, while clinging desperately to that familiar body, desperately feeling that familiar softness and the scent of her hair.

It really was Elder Sister…

It really was Elder Sister!!!

All the strength she had built up over the years collapsed in that instant. The court officials would surely have found it hard to imagine that this sharp-handed ruler, once even privately nicknamed “Bamboo Leaf Tip” for her severity, could have such a side to her, that she could lie in someone else’s arms like a wronged child, sobbing and crying like this.

That release lasted a full five or six minutes before Bai Zhuqing finally managed to bring her emotions back under control.

At last she dared open her eyes. Through the blur of tears, she looked again, lifted her slender fingers to touch Bai Xiang’s face, and re-felt this miracle that truly existed in reality.

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“We can talk about private matters in a little while.”

Bai Xiang also reached out and touched her younger sister’s cheek, lightly wiping away the tears with her thumb.

“Right now, I need you to exercise your authority and summon everyone in Xiajing who can be mobilized to come see me.”

“Elder Sister wants to recentralize power.” Bai Zhuqing nodded. “I’ll call and notify them now.”

She reacted quickly. She knew exactly how great a shock Bai Xiang’s return could produce.

First of all, making it public was impossible for the time being.

Leaving aside the fact that the wilderness had become extremely dangerous in many places because of the ravaging voidfiends, communication between Eastern Xia’s fourteen provinces depended on air transport and a signal network that was far from smooth. The transmission of news had a time lag, and even if the announcement were made directly, the consequences would be very hard to predict.

The reason was simple. Many people would not believe it.

“Tidal force changed many things.” Bai Zhuqing quickly explained the key points to Bai Xiang. “Elder Sister should know that in the final years of Yao Yu, many scientific technologies had already been introduced. In your eyes, perhaps after ten years of development, and with our… hm, with the Imperial Court’s encouragement, those technologies ought to have made major breakthroughs and progress.”

“But in fact, that is not what happened. Tidal force seeped into the primary order and polluted some of the established rules. Many scientific technologies that were usable in the last epoch can no longer be used now.”

“Signals are interrupted.”

“The destructive power of hot weapons like lasers and electromagnetic cannons against matter has weakened.”

“Even nuclear bombs have become less powerful.”

“The reason we have been able to restore signals and reconnect the network at all is because we integrated qi arrays and qi talismans into the original technologies. Information is transmitted through signal stations that use qi arrays as relay points.”

Bai Zhuqing shook her head and sighed. “And methods of transmission like that are subject to interference from the demonic aura ravaging the wilderness and from tidal force. So if we make the news public directly, there will be delays, and the consequences could become very difficult to predict.”

“I understand.”

Bai Xiang nodded.

Though she no longer had Feixiang Heaven in hand, and thus her efficiency in searching souls and refining spirits had greatly declined, with each attempt yielding only a few stray soul fragments and only fragments of memory, she had still learned from them what the new world was like.

What was called tidal force was essentially the Loss of Order brought by the Void Tribulation. When severe enough, those phenomena could even interfere with the fundamental physical constants of the universe, causing the most basic mathematical models of all things to go wrong.

And correspondingly, technologies invented according to the old physical constants would naturally lose their original effectiveness under the rules of a new set of physical constants.

Back then, when Bai Xiang proclaimed the edict, she had offset some of it, but the effects still remained.

Thinking on the bright side, for now it was only technology and physical constants that had fallen out of balance.

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If that edict had never been proclaimed, then the world now might well have become one where sun and moon were reversed, the stars turned in chaos, the sea lay above, and the blue sky below.

“Eastern Xia has been hit hardest by the interference of tidal force.”

At this point, Bai Zhuqing’s expression turned serious.

That was because the Sacred Weapon Clan were simply too outrageous.

Eastern Xia still had to painstakingly research which technologies could be awakened through qi methods. The Federation’s main race, the Sacred Weapon Clan, by contrast, were born as natural partners of technology.

The Sacred Weapon Clan could manipulate weapons and tools, and could choose to merge them with their own bodies to form construct mechs that carried their souls. Naturally, through that same method, they could also research and create new technologies.

It was precisely because of that uniquely blessed racial advantage that the Federation had suffered extremely little damage over these ten years, and its productive capacity had not experienced any severe break or decline.

Compared with that, Eastern Xia had suffered badly.

Three hundred million qi-method people sounded impressive, but they were still flesh-and-blood bodies. They had to cultivate and fight enemies, and also to research qi methods. Even if every last one of them were a genius grandmaster, the process of research still required time.

At present, the total population of Eastern Xia’s fourteen provinces was about 450 million people. The larger circuit capitals each had populations exceeding ten million, while even the smaller ones had several million. Because the decline of technology had weakened the center’s control over the localities, Bai Zhuqing, during her rule, had not dared casually slaughter officials like Zhang Yu who had been pushed upward from local provincial governments. There were reasons for all of this.

So for the moment, this could not be made public.

Bai Zhuqing offered Bai Xiang a suggestion. “Elder Sister can first make it public internally. That is, first sort through and take hold of the important ministers at court, then send these people out to the provinces to transmit the edict. Once the interior has digested and accepted Elder Sister’s return, we can then announce it to the people from the top down.”

“You’ve thought it through very carefully.”

Bai Xiang looked at her with gratification. “Very well. We will do it that way.”

“Elder Sister, go sit up there.”

Bai Zhuqing showed a confident smile.

“For what comes next, Elder Sister need not spend too much effort. Just sit back and watch me perform.”

She was not boasting. She truly was capable of it.

From then until nightfall, Bai Xiang really did sit there almost without moving. Bai Zhuqing arranged and sorted out everything.

That included summoning important ministers to Zhengyuan Palace by phone, having them come all the way to this Hall of Bright Rectitude, then watching them gape dumbfounded at the person seated on the white-jade exalted throne above, before being told by the Regent of the Imperial Court, still looking dazed, “Oh… as it turns out, the old consecration stratagem was only a clever ruse. In truth, the High Emperor never died, and has merely been stationed in the Sky Sea helping resist the Void Tribulation tides,” and so on and so forth.

Of course, many people would certainly not believe it on words alone. But on one hand, Bai Xiang held the Shenming Sword, displaying absolute control over that nation-protecting artifact. On the other hand, there were still two corpses on the floor below as an example of what happened otherwise. So long as these people were not missing half their brains, most of them knew how they ought to behave.

During all this, Bai Zhuqing also frequently introduced Bai Xiang to these people, explaining their exact offices, the areas they oversaw, where they came from, and what talents they possessed.

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“Elder Sister, this person is Li Xin. He comes from Hedong and is a soldier-cultivator. Back when Xiajing was struck by a demon tide coming from the Eastern Sea, he stood atop the bastion and fought to the death without retreating. That is how he lost his eye… Later I investigated why he had been so fearless, and learned that his family had all been brutally killed by Eastern Province gangs, with corrupt officials behind them providing cover. So first I promoted him to Vice Commander of the Military Arms Directorate and let him personally avenge that blood debt. After that, I appointed him Governor of Eastern Province and specifically sent him to keep watch on the officials of Hedong.”

“Elder Sister, this person is Zhou Fang. He’s from Xiajing itself, and also a soldier-cultivator. You should have noticed how fanatically he looks at you, right? He is one of your die-hard admirers. He was personally there back then when he heard you preach with your own lips!”

So long as they were officials in the Xiajing region, not a single one could escape. One after another, they received the Regent’s summons and were called back to the center in batches to enter the palace and pay their respects.

Official after official streamed into the hall. They went from shock and incomprehension, to acceptance and fear, and then finally left the hall either solemn-faced or openly delighted. It truly let Bai Xiang witness the many faces of the officials, and also gave her a new understanding of Bai Zhuqing’s methods and capabilities.

Overall, the situation was not bad.

In the most important posts, public order management and military command, the people Bai Zhuqing had assigned were almost all old acquaintances of Bai Xiang’s.

The head of the Demon-Suppressing Directorate was Yu He, who bore the seal of Directorate Guardian and was responsible for controlling the men of all fifty-six branch offices across the country, with at least seventy thousand people under his actual command.

The head of the Military Affairs Directorate was Huang Qian, who served as Chief Commandant of the Directorate and oversaw all soldier-cultivators in the Xiajing region.

Cao Chuan, who had once been a Military Clerk Officer in the State Chancery of Qiyun Circuit, had undergone a complete transformation and been promoted to Chief Arms Commissioner of the Military Arms Directorate under the Military Affairs Directorate system, with sixty thousand soldier-cultivators under his command.

Zhang Daoming, who had once been the Chief Inspector of the Inspectorate in Chilong Circuit, in other words the head of the police, was now stationed in Zhennan, Mao Province, with the office of Chief Inspector-General. Nearly one hundred thousand inspectors across the four circuits of Mao Province obeyed his orders.

The remaining military posts were either held by people like the previously mentioned Li Xin and Zhou Fang, or distributed among inner disciples from the Shenming Dojo. All those forces were held firmly in Bai Zhuqing’s hands and formed both her confidence and her trump cards when facing the likes of Zhang Yu.

Had that not been the case, she could never have handed out positions like the Three Excellencies in the first place.

At bottom, this was an exchange of interests. The local forces behind these people received benefits, and the people they put forward received high office. On the surface, they appeared to have gained resources, but in reality the true military power of the soldier-cultivators remained basically in the hands of the Imperial Court, so there was no fear of them causing excessive trouble.

When Li Xin, Zhou Fang, and the others faced Bai Xiang, they remained fairly steady.

Then Yu He came in. The moment he entered, he glared hard at Bai Xiang and blurted out, “This is outrageous…! You came back even after a tidal catastrophe of that scale! Are you actually the reincarnation of some mythic immortal or Buddha!?”

The moment he said that, Bai Zhuqing’s expression changed sharply, and she angrily rebuked him. “Old Yu! You have a lot of nerve!”

“Hm?” Yu He was not particularly afraid of her. Instead, he grinned as though dead pigs feared no boiling water and said, “Back in the day, when I teamed up with the High Ancestor on missions, who knows what the Regent was doing at the time~”

This bastard actually dared throw shade at me right in front of Elder Sister!

Watching his grinning, shameless face, Bai Zhuqing’s chest rose and fell, yet she could do nothing.

Yu He was far too clever.

When Bai Xiang was absent, he was completely obedient to her and did not dare utter the slightest overbold word.

But the moment Bai Xiang returned, it was as though he had seen right through the situation. Convinced that she would not dare lay hands on an old minister like him in front of Bai Xiang, he immediately cast off his proper facade and showed his true colors again, reverting to the wild, unruly disposition he had back in his old beggar days.