Chapter 441 - 229: Resembling an Emperor

Chapter 441: Chapter 229: Resembling an Emperor

Only after making sure Yan Jiji understood did Zheng Xiu let go of the man’s mouth.

"Your Highness, are you sure?"

"Positive." Zheng Xiu nodded firmly.

"Then... just how ’top-tier’ are we talking?"

Zheng Xiu thought for a moment, then took a soft breath. "An emperor among cats."

He understood.

’Build it to the specifications of an emperor among cats.’

Yan Jiji had a million questions.

But he knew his lord wasn’t crazy, so he nodded and accepted the strange errand.

’Perhaps this was the kind of joy only a wealthy prince could know.’

Yan Jiji took the small hammer from his waist and flicked out rows of nails.

TING TING TING TING!

In an instant, a row of nails landed perfectly on the top of the four walls.

Yan Jiji was about to activate his "Auspicious Workshop" when Zheng Xiu stopped him, pulling a diagram from his robes. It depicted a small, oval Copper Mirror. The design was plain and didn’t look particularly special. Yan Jiji was wondering why a job this simple required his personal attention when Zheng Xiu whispered a few words in his ear. As he listened, Yan Jiji’s eyes lit up. He slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "Brilliant!"

"The Copper Mirror can wait. Build the cat house first." Zheng Xiu blinked, then said with a straight face, "The cat house is important. Remember, it must be built to the specifications of an emperor among cats."

"Of course, Your Highness."

Yan Jiji agreed. The hammer fell, and miraculously, block after block was knocked into existence.

Zheng Xiu knew Yan Jiji’s rules: he disliked having anyone else around while he worked. Once Yan Jiji activated his "Auspicious Workshop," Zheng Xiu took his leave to await its completion.

In the garden, by the small pond.

The tips of lotus buds were just beginning to emerge.

"Do you really believe that Little Feng Miao... slipped out of *that* place?"

Her ponytail fluttering, Feng Bei stood on the arched bridge with her hands clasped behind her back. Hearing footsteps approaching, she frowned and asked the question.

"I do. Why wouldn’t I?" Zheng Xiu replied with a laugh. "The world is a vast place, full of wonders."

"I still find it absurd."

"’After you have excluded the impossible, whatever remains, however absurd, must be the answer.’ Zheng Xiu casually tossed out the famous quote, his expression turning serious. ’If it really did come from that place, it makes me worry all the more.’"

"You’re worried about... the Darkness?"

"The fact that something could slip out of that place undetected means its strangeness is far beyond my imagination." No matter how he thought about it, Zheng Xiu couldn’t fathom how a little Orange Cat that spent all its time at the Zheng Family residence could have been "swapped out."

It defied all common sense, ignored the very fabric of time and space. Zheng Xiu found it utterly inconceivable.

Feng Bei understood Zheng Xiu’s worries.

Unsure of what to say, she remained silent.

Zheng Xiu casually wrapped an arm around Feng Bei’s shoulder.

Feng Bei flinched but didn’t pull away.

Zheng Xiu smiled nonchalantly. "Worrying too much will only make you lose your hair; there’s no other benefit. This isn’t necessarily bad news. At the very least, this little cat from the Darkness doesn’t seem to bear us any ill will. That tells us one thing: the creatures from the Darkness aren’t all completely irrational, nor are they all like the monsters we encountered at the Immortal Maiden Temple."

Seeing Feng Bei’s spirits were still low, Zheng Xiu pulled her toward the front courtyard.

"Come with me, I’ll show you a real treasure!"

Several crates of weapons, delivered not long ago from Yan Jiji’s Auspicious Workshop, were sitting there.

In front of Feng Bei, Zheng Xiu opened one of the crates, took out a longsword, and flicked its blade with his finger. The sword vibrated, letting out a long, melodious hum.

Zheng Xiu practically danced with glee as he showed it off to Feng Bei. "Listen to that ring! Just as you’d expect from our family’s workshop—a guaranteed masterpiece! If this were the Martial World two hundred years ago, Bai Xiaopang’er’s Weapon Manual would be filled with nothing but Zheng Clan armaments."

His smug display swept away the gloom from Feng Bei’s heart, and she couldn’t help but smile.

’This guy lived in a painting for a century,’ she thought, ’how did he come out and still act like such a child, full of mischief?’

"So this is the ’real treasure’ you mentioned?"

"Not at all!" Zheng Xiu shook his head. He mysteriously gestured for Feng Bei to step back a few paces. "The real treasure I was talking about... is me."

Zheng Xiu pointed to himself.

"You?"

Feng Bei looked stunned for a moment, then a faint blush crept onto her cheeks.

"Watch closely. Don’t blink."

Feng Bei froze. "Here?"

"Of course. There’s no one else around."

As he spoke, Zheng Xiu gripped the longsword and closed his eyes. He opened them a moment later, and his entire aura changed abruptly. His long, dark hair seemed to be plated in light, the black slowly receding as if being dyed. In an instant, his hair had turned a frosty, snow-white. His eyes now held a cold, serene indifference, as if he had seen through all the world’s joys and sorrows.

Zheng Xiu’s face was still his own, but the sight of the white-haired Zheng Xiu and the unfamiliar look in his eyes made Feng Bei instinctively tighten her gloves and take two steps back in surprise. In that moment, it was as if Zheng Xiu had become a completely different person.

Gripping the longsword, Zheng Xiu radiated a piercing aura. Standing before Feng Bei, he was like a living "sword"!

He was like a peerless Divine Sword!

An absurd thought surfaced in Feng Bei’s mind.

VMMMMMM...

The other longswords in the crate began to ring out in unison, vibrating softly and clinking against one another. The other unopened crates began to shake unnaturally. At Zheng Xiu’s simple, ordinary motion of raising the sword, all the other blades seemed to have come to life.

Feng Bei held her breath, not daring to make a sound. She knew Zheng Xiu possessed a strange "Magic" called Incarnation. Zheng Shan was one, as was Zheng Er. But Feng Bei had never seen this white-haired version of Zheng Xiu. She was astonished, but couldn’t bear to disturb him.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

All the crates burst open at once. Hundreds of longswords shot upright, then began to revolve around Zheng Xiu.

Zheng Xiu’s grip on his sword faltered, and his aura dissipated. His white hair bled back to black, and a look of exhaustion appeared on his face. The rotating longswords no longer felt "alive" to Feng Bei; they fell powerlessly to the ground.