Once, I Was a Legend | Chapter 44 | The Truth Revealed | Novela.app

Listening to the jubilant cheers erupting around him, Jiang Ziqi felt as though he were in a dream. "He actually pulled it off?" Had Ye Zhao truly bluffed Xin Muyi into submission? Inside the Que Tower, the Xize envoys were struck with consternation. Several of them rushed onto the stage. "My Lord! My Lord! Why did you concede?!" Others shouted, "This round doesn't count! Master Xin merely misspoke; we are still the victors!" "That’s right! The black stones had won long ago!" The crowd below immediately broke into an uproar. "How can it not count?! That man took over after Young Master Pei; both sides accepted the previous results! That makes it a single match! Now that Xin Muyi has admitted defeat himself, the result is a draw!" "Exactly! Xin Muyi tacitly agreed to it at the time!" "Now you want to go back on your word and force our Great Wei to cede cities to Xize? In your dreams!" The two sides instantly fell into a heated argument. Only Ye Zhao remained as motionless as a mountain, watching the men opposite him scramble around Xin Muyi, frantically trying to persuade him. "Silence." The voice was not loud, yet it carried an inexplicable, commanding pressure that reached everyone’s ears with crystalline clarity. Before long, the boisterous crowd gradually fell still. As their shouting ceased, the voices of the Xize envoys on the stage became even more distinct. One man pointed at Ye Zhao and cursed, "Who are you?! What sorcery did you use? This round is void! We demand a restart!" The others chimed in, "Yes! It doesn't count! Again!" "Restart! Restart!" Indignation flared among the spectators in the tower, many of them ready to hurl insults back. However, the man sitting leisurely on the stage merely curled the corner of his mouth. He beckoned toward the leader of the envoys with a slight hook of his pinky finger. "Come. Come here. If you have something to say, say it to me properly." The man, standing barely two paces from Ye Zhao, hesitated for only a moment before stepping forward. "Lower yourself a bit. Standing so high makes it difficult for me to hear you." Difficult? Was it? Surely he could hear him perfectly well without the man moving closer? Amidst the confusion of the onlookers, the Xize envoy had just lowered his head when a slender, pale hand suddenly clamped around his throat. With a resounding *thud*, he was slammed face-first onto the Go board. In an instant, the stones scattered everywhere. The crowd gasped. Before the victim could even react, the people standing near the edge of the stage recoiled in fright. In the next heartbeat, the edge of Ye Zhao’s folding fan was pressed against the man’s cheek. The cold, sharp blade slid gently across his skin, its icy touch causing the man to panic instantly. "You can't! You cannot harm an envoy!" As the others moved to rescue him, the blade at the side of the fan shifted slightly down to the envoy’s throat. It was a blatant threat. The others froze in their tracks. Ye Zhao chuckled, a sound that made many feel a chill crawl up their spines. He lowered his eyelids and spoke slowly, "What did you just say? This round doesn't count? Who gave you the gall to clamor in my presence?" "Do you think I’m playing this game for my own amusement? Hmm?" An ambiguous hum vibrated in the air. Even though the spectators knew the words weren't directed at them, they couldn't help but feel an instinctive shiver. Without Ye Zhao needing to say another word, the entire Que Tower fell into a self-imposed silence. Ye Zhao wasn't entirely acting; he was genuinely irritated. He had gone through so much effort to reach this point and finally achieve his goal, only for these people to try and renege on the result? How could he allow that? But what should he do next? Ye Zhao looked at the man beneath his hand, who was now as quiet as a mouse. Could he actually kill him? He certainly couldn't commit murder here. Thus, Ye Zhao chose to shift the focus. He looked up, casting a faint, indifferent glance at the man opposite him. "Xin Muyi, why is it that you only surround yourself with such third-rate hacks?" "How tedious." With that, he lightly released his grip and sat back, his entire posture radiating boredom. The envoy, who had been too terrified to make a sound, scrambled away from Ye Zhao on all fours. The Xize group watched Ye Zhao with extreme wariness. One of them, slightly more composed, asked, "Who exactly are you, sir? Why do you refuse to show your true face?" Ye Zhao remained silent, appearing mysterious and formidable. In reality, as the seconds ticked by, he was feeling a bit anxious. He had intended to play the role of Tianshu to intimidate Xin Muyi, but now that they were questioning his identity directly, should he continue the act or... make a swift exit? While Ye Zhao hesitated, Xin Muyi spoke. His emotions had stabilized, and his face was set in a mask of gravity. "Tianshu, you have returned." The revelation struck like a thunderclap. The entire hall erupted. Who? Lord Tianshu?! Everyone stared at the black-clad figure on the stage, dumbfounded. Ye Zhao thought for two seconds, unsure of how to respond. Finally, he gave an ambiguous, soft chuckle. To the observers, this was a tacit admission. The venue reached a fever pitch! The Xize envoys retreated behind Xin Muyi in a mix of shock and defensiveness. Xin Muyi stared at him. "The game we played all those years ago... today, it is time for a conclusion." "Thirty years ago, in the game we played, a single stone represented the life of one Xize soldier. Fifty-five lives in total were lost by my hand." The no-longer-young Xin Muyi recalled that memory with a heavy heart. He closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, they were filled with the resolve of one prepared to die. "Today, let us wager our lives on a single game to decide victory and defeat. If you lose, I shall have you serve as a sacrifice for the tens of thousands of Xize souls." "Back then, if you hadn't appeared, they wouldn't have had to be buried here in Tianshangjing!" As that bloody past was mentioned, some of the elders in the tower still remembered it vividly. It was not a pleasant memory. The Emperor of Wei and his officials looked at the man on the Golden Scale Stage with complex expressions. Among them were those who knew exactly what had happened back then. Xin Muyi was not wrong. The tens of thousands of Xize troops had indeed perished because of Tianshu. Without that man, they would not have died—but by the same token, the Great Wei of today would not exist. The tower fell into a profound silence. After an unknown amount of time, the man sitting in a lazy posture slowly stood up. The faint light cast a long shadow behind him. "Foolish talk." He turned his back, lifting a foot as if to leave, tossing out a single, indifferent sentence. "Xin Muyi, you truly are still far from being my equal..." He certainly couldn't accept this challenge. Only a fool would! Ye Zhao was no fool, so he chose to make a quick exit. He had already achieved his objective; if he didn't run now, when would he? "Stay where you are!" Xin Muyi’s gaze locked onto the figure, his voice cold. "If you do not wish to face me on the Go board today, then when we meet on the battlefield in the future, I will surely repay everything you did back then in full!" Ye Zhao’s footsteps indeed paused. Beneath the mask, his expression was unreadable. In the corner, Jiang Ziqi watched Ye Zhao, his eyes full of tension. Upstairs, Pei Shian, the Emperor, and the others frowned, their expressions grim. They knew who was actually on that stage. Things had developed in a way no one had expected. If Ye Zhao accepted Xin Muyi’s wager, he would surely lose his life today. If he didn't, a war between the two nations would be inevitable. But could the prestige of a nation tolerate such a provocation? The Emperor said in a low voice, "Someone, go. Tell Xin Muyi that the game ends here. If we meet on the battlefield in the future, we shall see if he has the ability to fulfill his words today." This was... an acceptance of the challenge?! The officials in the room looked at each other, first in shock, then they responded in unison, "Yes!" Unexpectedly, before the Emperor’s message could be sent, Ye Zhao spoke first. He turned his head and gave a slight smile. "Xin Muyi, how is it that after thirty years, you haven't made the slightest bit of progress?" Xin Muyi, no longer wishing to entertain such words, frowned. "Do you regret it?" "What do I have to regret?" Ye Zhao gazed at him calmly, his lips curling into a mocking arc. "For these thirty years, you haven't dared to set foot in Wei. Are you afraid? Every time you face a Go board and pick up a stone, do you feel as if you are holding a human head? The mountains of corpses, the seas of blood, the towering flames of war—does that battle replay before your eyes every single moment?" "Tianshu is the greatest nightmare of your life. You hate him to your very marrow, so much so that you dare not forget him. But in truth, the person who caused that outcome... was you." Xin Muyi froze. "What do you mean?" "In that battle years ago, Xize lost because of you." "What did you say?!" Xin Muyi stared at Ye Zhao’s back. The others were equally baffled. The messenger upstairs was temporarily halted. They, too, wanted to hear what Ye Zhao was about to say. "You don't understand?" Ye Zhao let out a soft sneer. "Back then, Xize and Dongling launched a pincer attack. Your army of a hundred thousand arrived at the city gates first, did it not?" Xin Muyi narrowed his eyes. "It did." "Then, Tianshu opened the North and South gates and invited your army into the city to break his formation. You accepted. Correct?" "...Correct." "You led fifty thousand troops through the North Gate, while the Xize Crown Prince of that time took only forty thousand through the South Gate, leaving ten thousand outside the city." Xin Muyi and his men watched him silently. What was he trying to get at? "Do you know the layout of Tianshangjing?" Ye Zhao didn't keep them in suspense, explaining slowly, "Tianshangjing is centered around the Imperial Palace and divided into four sectors: East, West, South, and North. The East is full of lakes, suitable for naval combat. The West is mostly the wealthy district with sprawling estates, perfect for setting up small to medium-sized mechanical traps to pick off enemies. The South is densely packed with commoner housing and complex roads, ideal for street fighting and ambushes. As for the North... ha." Ye Zhao turned around. "The North is open terrain, naturally suited for a frontal clash between two armies—or for a method to wipe out the majority of an enemy force in one fell swoop. Xin Muyi, do you know what that method is?" Xin Muyi’s voice trembled. "Fire..." "Yes, a fire attack," Ye Zhao said leisurely. "Back then, you entered through the North Gate and the Crown Prince through the South. What you didn't expect was that while the South was filled with traps, the North was not. You saw the Crown Prince’s forces suffering heavy losses from traps after entering and assumed the entire city was a labyrinth of mechanisms. Naturally, you became cautious. You didn't dare to split your forces, and in doing so, you committed a fatal error." "Because of that, the majority of your men perished in a sea of fire..." The tower was deathly silent. Ye Zhao sighed as if in lament. "In truth, if the two of you had simply swapped routes into the city, the world would look very different today." "There is one more thing you might not know. Back then, Xize had a hundred thousand troops, while Tianshangjing held no more than ten thousand soldiers. Even counting civilians and household guards, those who joined the fight numbered only twenty to thirty thousand." He smiled. "How many people do you think were left on our side after that battle, Master Xin?" "So, do you regret it?" Each word was like a demon’s whisper. The man in black, hidden behind his mask, did not show his face, only revealing the bone-chilling truth. "Regret underestimating the enemy before the battle. If you hadn't entered the city, you could have simply besieged it and starved everyone in Wei to death." "Regret being manipulated by Tianshu’s psychological games, choosing the wrong path in a single moment of doubt." "Regret being too clever for your own good, leading tens of thousands to their deaths in the fire." "And what you regret most of all is that you were utterly terrified by Tianshu’s final game of Go. Despite having ten thousand men left, you only dared to flee back to Xize like a beaten dog." "Hahahaha..." In the silent Que Tower, only one man’s boisterous laughter remained. "The most hilarious part is that you fled, thinking Tianshu had mercifully spared you. Little did you know, your return was the final piece of the plan." "You brought the memory of a sea of blood and the terrifying shadow of a man named Tianshu back to Xize... and thus, our Great Wei enjoyed over twenty years of peace." As Ye Zhao spoke, he slowly unfurled his folding fan, covering the lower half of his face. It was impossible to catch even a glimpse of his true features. The black surface of the fan was like a thick darkness, drawing souls into an abyss. As his speech concluded, the entire venue was speechless. Everyone stared blankly at the man standing at the center of attention. Were they surprised? Of course they were. Who wouldn't be? Everything from back then had been a giant ruse... a deception that had fooled all of Xize for decades, and the rest of the world along with them. It was simply too inconceivable! *** | Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | 天上京 | Tianshangjing | The capital city of the Kingdom of Wei. | | 东陵 | Dongling | A neighboring state/kingdom mentioned as an ally of Xize in the past war. | | 火攻 | Fire attack | A military strategy using fire (pyrotechnics/incendiaries). | | 巷战 | Street fighting | Urban warfare or combat occurring in narrow city streets/alleys. |