330 Pledging Allegiance

In the forest in the southern border of the Great Yong Dynasty.

The white-robed young man smiled faintly. There was only one jade stick left in his hand.

Opposite him, the mysterious man in a cloak stood silently. His face was completely hidden under the wide hood, but even if one could not see his expression, they could feel the intense anxiety emanating from him.

“Haven’t you thought about it yet?”

The young man in white asked softly. The remaining jade stick in his hand trembled impatiently. “There are only two choices. Accept or quit. Is there a need to consider it for so long?”

That person didn’t say anything and only took a half-step back with his right foot.

Seeing this, the young man in white raised his eyebrows. “You want to quit?”

“No, I just want fair cooperation.”

An unfamiliar voice sounded. The white-robed young man couldn’t help but look surprised. He really didn’t expect that the last person to speak was actually the guy who didn’t say anything from the beginning.

After a pause, the white-robed young man tilted his head slightly and sized up the other party with interest. “Tell me, what is fair?”

“I want to know who you are.”

That person said calmly, “Since you have all the information about us, it’s only a matter of time before you find me… But I don’t know anything about you.”

“You have to understand that knowing too much might not be a good thing.”

The white-robed young man replied softly. He did not explicitly refuse, but the meaning in his words was obvious.

“In that case, we have nothing to talk about.”

“It seems that you’ve made up your mind to quit?”

The white-robed young man asked with an indifferent tone, as if he did not care. Then, he flipped his finger and put the last jade stick into his sleeve. He looked straight at the other party and said with a smile, “I’ll visit you before dusk tomorrow.”

“You seem to have misunderstood. I have no intention of backing out of this plan.”

The man shook his head. His wide cloak fluttered a few times, and a pair of fair and slender hands reached out. They grabbed the ends of the hood and slowly lifted it back.

In an instant, her smooth silver hair cascaded down like the moonlight, revealing a suffocatingly beautiful face.

Seeing her beautiful appearance, even the usually calm white-robed young man could not help but be in a daze because this face was really too beautiful.

Under the contrast of her silver hair, her already fair skin looked even more delicate. Her eyebrows were slanted to her temples, and under her long and thick eyelashes was a pair of clear eyes. Her mouth and nose were covered by a black veil, but even so, her eyes were still soul-stirring.

After an unknown period of time, the white-robed young man came back to his senses. He frowned slightly and asked in a low voice, “Are you a woman?”

“Yes.”

The silver-haired woman nodded slightly and bowed with her hands folded at her waist. “My name is Xue Gie.”

Her voice was crisp like a ring or a gurgling stream in the snow mountain. Although it was not bewitching, there was a hint of charm in her tone.

If it were anyone else, they would probably be intoxicated by this voice. However, the white-robed young man frowned even more deeply, and even his calm eyes became vigilant.

His white robe fluttered, and a faint killing intent spread in the air. The white-robed young man stared at her with a solemn expression and said coldly, “I don’t think you are one of the participants in this plan.”

A smile appeared in Xue Gie’s eyes. “Is that important?”

The white-robed young man stared at her for a moment before he suddenly curled his lips and chuckled. “It’s indeed not important… Who did you replace?”

“Envoy of the Dalou Dynasty, Wu Jingguo.”

Xue Gie replied calmly. Then, right on the heels of that, she changed the topic. “I’ve already revealed my true identity to you. Can you tell me who you are now?”

“Emperor of the Great Yong Dynasty, Xuan Wushang.”

The white-robed young man said calmly, and a dignified aura of an emperor soared into the sky. For a moment, even the starlight in the sky seemed to dim a lot!

Feeling the emperor’s pressure that made people want to worship him, Xue Gie’s eyes flickered. “It seems that I was right. Chen Tianqi really failed.”

Xuan Wushang’s eyes widened. “You know Chen Tianqi?”

Xue Gie nodded slightly, and the smile in her beautiful eyes deepened. “I might know more about him than you can imagine—but it’s meaningless now. Since you’re the one who summoned us on his behalf, I believe he’s already dead, right?”

Xuan Wushang did not answer. He only looked at the other party and asked in a low voice, “What’s your motive for using Wu Jingguo’s identity to sneak in here?”

Xue Gie frowned slightly as if she was in deep thought. After a moment, she replied with a smile, “For some special reasons, I can’t reveal too much.”

Before Xuan Wushang could speak, Xue Gie continued, “However, Your Majesty, you can rest assured that what I want doesn’t conflict with what you want. I can even help you facilitate your plan.”

“You know what I want?”

Xuan Wushang revealed a playful smile. “It seems that I really underestimated you previously…”

“Your Majesty, you flatter me. I was just making a wild guess.”

Xue Gie bowed slightly and smiled respectfully. “No emperors could resist the temptation to unify the world and be above every living being.”

Xuan Wushang smiled ambiguously, neither confirming nor denying Xue Gie’s guess. “Since our plans don’t conflict, it’s not impossible for us to cooperate, but…”

“But what?”

“Why should I believe you?”

Xuan Wushang suddenly stopped smiling. There was no expression on his elegant face, but it made him exude a strong sense of oppression. “You’ve been hiding your identity for so long. If not for the fact that I discovered your identity coincidentally, I would still be kept in the dark.”

“You didn’t put in so much effort just to be a spectator, right?”

“Your Majesty, you’re indeed wise.”

Xue Gie chuckled. There was no fear in her bell-like voice. “I can pledge my allegiance.”

“Oh?”

Xuan Wushang narrowed his eyes in interest. “How do you want to pledge your allegiance then?”

“If I’m not wrong, Your Majesty should be very familiar with the name ‘Lin Ran’, right?”

Xue Gie smiled faintly. Her voice was still as pleasant as ever, but her clear eyes were filled with coldness. “As long as Your Majesty is willing to give me this chance, I’ll bring Lin Ran’s head here before dusk tomorrow.”

Hearing that the other party was going to use Lin Ran’s head to pledge her allegiance, Xuan Wushang couldn’t help but look a little strange. He stared at that beautiful face for a long time without saying anything, as if he was hesitating or guessing if the other party really meant it…