L'hibiscus comme peinture

Chapitre 120

"Alliance Leader, the Holy Lord may not need our help, but he has saved the martial arts world. How can we, as the leaders of the eight major sects, turn a blind eye to his plight by saying that he doesn't need our help? Wouldn't that make us a laughingstock?" The leader of the Empty Fist Sect said with an old and dignified air, stroking his beard.

"Sect Leader Kong is right, Alliance Leader, please don't hesitate any longer," the Tianri Sect Master said in a low voice, his resolute face expressionless.

"Alliance Leader, as far as I know, not long ago, another group of martial arts practitioners came to ambush the Holy Lord in an attempt to seize the treasure. Moreover, more and more martial arts practitioners are gathering here. No matter how powerful the Holy Lord is, he can't fight against so many opponents!" Bai Xiaosheng also advised, his eyes gleaming.

"Alright!" Duan Zhengfei glanced at the four sect leaders present and finally nodded in compromise. Since everyone had said so, he had no choice but to agree. Well, everyone was doing it for the good of the Holy Emperor anyway.

The sect leader of the Divine Sword Sect immediately stepped forward and knocked on the door. After only a few knocks, the door opened wide, and Sheng Cheng and Sheng Qing appeared before everyone with smiles on their faces.

"Oh, may I ask what brings Alliance Leader Duan and the other sect leaders here?" Sheng Cheng leaned against the doorpost, playing with her hair, and smiled.

"Could it be that you're just like everyone else?" Sheng Qing glanced at them disdainfully, a cunning smile on his face.

"Lord Orange, Lord Green, please don't misunderstand. We, along with the other sect leaders, have only come to offer our humble assistance to the Holy Lord." Duan Zhengfei stepped forward and bowed to Saint Orange and Saint Green.

"We appreciate your kindness, but please leave now!" Sheng Cheng smiled mockingly, waved his sleeve, and turned to leave. He scoffed, "I don't believe these so-called sect leaders are so kind. They're clearly just wolves offering New Year's greetings to chickens, with ill intentions."

"Wait, Master Cheng, I know that the Holy Immortal Sect is not afraid of these petty villains in the martial world, but this disturbs the Holy Lord's peace. The eight sect leaders still have some influence in the martial world, and Alliance Leader Duan, as the leader of the martial arts alliance, is highly respected and might be able to lend the Holy Lord a hand and restore his peace." Bai Xiaosheng hurriedly stopped Sheng Cheng, speaking with great conviction, his words truly impeccable and flawless.

"Sect Master Bai is right, everyone, Sect Master is kind." Just as Sheng Cheng and Sheng Qing were about to do something to kick these people out, Sheng Lu's unclear and unwilling voice came from behind them. After speaking, he didn't even look at the person who came and turned to leave. They really didn't understand why the Sect Master had to pay attention to these people.

"Thank you for your trouble." Duan Zhengfei bowed again, impressed by the leader's good manners.

"Hmph." Someone's manners were not very good. Saint Orange and Saint Green snorted coldly, turned around with a flick of their sleeves, and followed Saint Green inside on their own.

The sect leaders seemed to be used to it, and most of them had happy expressions on their faces. They didn't care about Sheng Cheng and the others' rudeness and followed them in.

"Miss Wu, let's go in too!" Bai Xiaosheng turned around and called gently to the carriage.

"Hmm." After a while, a soft, boneless voice came from the carriage, which made Bai Xiaosheng feel a tingling sensation all over his body, and even his legs felt weak.

Bai Xiaosheng swallowed hard, reached out and lifted the carriage curtain. A frail and beautiful woman named Ying Ying stepped out of the carriage. Her eyes were sparkling, and she looked so pitiful that I wanted to protect her. Especially since she looked sickly and had to lean on Bai Xiaosheng to walk, otherwise she might collapse at any moment.

In the bamboo courtyard, a man in white and a woman in green were calmly playing chess. Their entire focus was on the chessboard; one wrong move could mean the end of the game. Especially since they were evenly matched, they had to be extra careful and proceed with caution.

"Excellent move! Your Majesty's move is truly brilliant!" As soon as the Holy King placed his piece, Jin Xuan clapped his hands in praise, his deep eyes admiring the chessboard. This move of luring the enemy into a trap was truly ingenious. It not only destroyed his chessboard but also captured a large number of pieces. However, it might not be impossible to turn the tide. Jin Xuan slowly smiled, picked up a piece, and gently placed it down, instantly turning the tide of the game. He smiled and said, "In everything, you must have two plans in order to win in one fell swoop. This is the real killer move."

The Sage glanced at the chessboard. What had seemed like an easy victory suddenly appeared to be a losing proposition. Yet, he remained calm and composed. He picked up a piece but didn't place it. His unfathomable eyes, filled with confidence, flashed a smile as he looked at Jin Xuan. He said casually, "Life is like a game of chess. If you care too much, you'll get caught up in the game and suffer a crushing defeat." With that, he placed a piece heavily. This piece swept away all of Jin Xuan's black pieces like a whirlwind, leaving not a single one.

"This..." Jin Xuan stared at the chessboard, now devoid of black pieces, somewhat dumbfounded. He seemed unable to believe that he had turned the tide of the game so easily, and that he had suddenly been wiped out.

“One wrong move and you lose. Your Highness’s mistake was that you shouldn’t have played that killing move. Instead, you exposed your hidden strength, allowing me to annihilate you in one fell swoop.” The Holy King explained calmly, reaching out to collect the white pieces on the chessboard, preparing to start a new game. Jin Xuan’s strategy was no less than hers, but he was too determined to win his white pieces, which led him to proceed cautiously, ultimately trapping himself in the game and suffering a crushing defeat.

"Haha... Your Majesty's lesson is right, I admit defeat." Jin Xuan instantly understood where he had lost, and laughed heartily, his deep eyes looking at the insightful Your Majesty with burning passion.

"Want to play another round?" The Holy Lord turned his head away from Jin Xuan's burning gaze and said calmly, but his heart was pounding wildly again. Had Jin Xuan noticed something? Why had he been looking at him with that kind of gaze these past few days?

"Sect Master, why did you let those people in?" Jin Xuan was about to speak when Sheng Qing shouted angrily.

The Holy Lord raised his head and looked at the Holy Orange, Holy Green, Holy Green, and Holy Purple who were so angry they seemed to be smoking. Instead, he laughed and said with a smile, "They came to help out of kindness. How could I refuse them?" In fact, he was quite grateful for the sudden intrusion of Holy Green and the others, which broke the strange atmosphere between him and Jin Xuan.

"What good intentions? I think they have no good intentions at all." Sheng Zi pouted and muttered in dissatisfaction. These so-called righteous sects of the martial arts world say one thing and do another. On the surface, they are like upright gentlemen, but behind the scenes, they do things that are even worse and more despicable than those villains. How could the sect leader not see through their true colors?

"Have the residences for the leaders of Green, Duan Zhengfei, Shenjianmen, Kongquanpai, Tianrimen, and Baixiaomen been arranged?" Shengjun pretended not to hear Shengzi's words, and asked indifferently while fiddling with a new round of chess, as if everything was within his expectations.

"Yes, but there's an extra sickly woman. She was brought by Bai Xiaosheng; I think she's called some kind of dancing girl. I've arranged for her to stay next to Bai Xiaosheng." Sheng Lu replied somewhat unhappily, seemingly unwilling to speak further, but finally couldn't help but open his mouth and say, "The door..."

Before he could even begin to speak, Jin Xuan paused, his hand holding the chess piece faltering. He frowned and murmured, "A woman? A young lady named Wu?" A strange emotion welled up within him, but it was fleeting and he didn't have time to grasp it. However, he had a gut feeling that this woman was no ordinary person.

The sage king paused in setting up the chessboard, his usually calm eyes narrowed, revealing a dangerous aura. When he looked up, he resumed his nonchalant demeanor, seemingly unconcerned about the presence of another woman.

"Hehe... She's a real beauty. Although I can't see her face clearly, just looking at her figure and her delicate appearance makes me want to protect her. It's so alluring." Saint Orange's peach blossom eyes flashed, and he chuckled with a lecherous look.

"You lecher! In my opinion, that dancing girl is no better. Seeing her reminds me of Cheng Wuying. They're the same kind of slut, disgracing all women." Sheng Qing glanced at Sheng Cheng with disdain. Hearing Sheng Cheng say this, his already displeased heart flared up with even more anger.

"Cheng Wuying!" Upon hearing this name, Jin Xuan, who had been expressionless, suddenly became filled with murderous intent, his face filled with hatred. This made Sheng Cheng and the others shudder. The 'Cold-Faced War God' was indeed worthy of his name; he was truly terrifying when he got ruthless.

"Zi, since Miss Wu is so weak, you and Huang Ying should go and take care of her together!" The Holy Lord said calmly to the still angry Sheng Zi, his unfathomable eyes flashing with a dangerous aura. Although he was indifferent and cold, he would not let those who offended him get away with it.

"Uh? I understand." Sheng Zi looked up in surprise at the dangerous look on the usually calm and collected sect leader's face, and nodded blankly. How could she not know what the sect leader meant? She just didn't understand why the sect leader was only targeting that woman of unknown origin when the problem clearly lay with the sect leaders.

"Sect Master, may I also go and take care of them?" Sheng Cheng approached Sheng Jun with a fawning expression and called out in a coquettish tone.

"How disgusting! Shengcheng, are you deliberately trying to make me throw up everything I ate the day before yesterday?" Shengqing exaggeratedly rubbed his arm and gave Shengcheng a disgusted look.

"You're jealous of that dancing girl, just say so! Look at her, that's what a real woman is. Look at you, I'm really worried about how you'll ever get married," Sheng Cheng pouted, gave Sheng Qing a disdainful once-over, and shook her head.

"Hmph, don't bother. Maybe you'll be able to drink my wedding wine soon!" Sheng Qing sneered disdainfully, looking smug, just like a bride-to-be.

"Who is it?" Sheng Cheng's expression suddenly changed, and he raised his voice to ask. Realizing that everyone was looking at him strangely, he resumed his nonchalant attitude, shrugged, and continued, "Who is so unlucky as to marry the cunning Qing? Aren't they afraid of losing both their money and their wife?"

"Hmph..." Sheng Qing didn't argue back, but just snorted coldly, turned his head away, and gave a genuine smile, suddenly becoming happy for no apparent reason.

"Alright, Orange, Green, you two go and entertain Alliance Leader Duan and the five sect leaders. All guests are honored, so don't neglect them," the Holy Lord said calmly, his words carrying a hidden meaning.

Saint Orange and Saint Green, these two bickering rivals, exchanged a knowing glance, smiled knowingly, and said in unison, "Yes." So the sect leader had a plan all along. Didn't they know? With the sect leader's high intelligence, how could he not see through what they all had?

"Green, as for those petty thieves, you're in charge. Make sure they don't get into the manor again," the Holy Emperor assigned tasks one by one.

Just as Sheng Lu was about to speak again, the Holy Lord immediately waved his sleeve, dismissing them all. Only he and Jin Xuan, who was clearly distracted, remained in the bamboo courtyard.

"Your Highness, the real game of chess is about to end. I wonder how Your Highness plans to make your move?" The Holy Emperor looked at the chessboard that had been set up again and asked with a hidden meaning as he made his move.

“The Holy Ruler is the true player in this game; I am merely a player in this game.” Jin Xuan composed himself, looking into the Holy Ruler’s unfathomable eyes, which held confidence and boundless wisdom, and put down the chess piece, smiling as he spoke.

"As I just said, being caught in the middle of a game will only lead to utter defeat. The person playing against me has already used the most powerful killing move, and Your Highness is the key to this move. You should not be a piece in this game." The Holy Emperor picked up a white piece and placed it in Jin Xuan's hand, smiling meaningfully.

Jinxuan picked up the white piece and smiled, his deep eyes filled with amusement and wisdom. Without hesitation, he placed the white piece heavily on the chessboard and gestured for him to enter.