ALSACW – Chapter 130

Tang Jianxi had thought she could accompany Yun Chuji all the way on this path to seek the truth, but that was not to be.

They were forced to part ways very soon.

Just as Emile had questioned, they had no evidence. So far, all their actions were based on speculation. If not for the rumors and Emile’s own bitter ambition for the throne, they likely would have had no way to secure an audience with the Empress within a few hours.

Likewise, if the consequences of their speculation being true weren’t so catastrophic that no one could bear them, they wouldn’t have had to go to such great lengths.

Yun Chuji believed this was Yun Xuan’s way of venting his hatred. Many signs supported this, yet it wasn’t certain. Any ambitious omega in the Empire might choose to bury past traumas for the sake of power and a stage to perform on, just as Yun Xuan had.

But Yun Xuan was not an omega.

He was a man.

This was precisely the most difficult thing to prove. On the surface, Yun Xuan had no motive. Yet, the moment one considered his true identity, the immense abnormality hidden beneath became almost instantly clear.

Therefore, whether to verify her own suspicions or to provide evidence for this brewing, hidden war, Yun Chuji had to go find Yun Xuan.

But Tang Jianxi needed to go elsewhere. She had to meet with the Empress, to use potential evidence, reason, and threats to persuade Her Majesty to abandon her intention of using betas to break the Empire’s AO balance.

No matter what, there was concrete evidence regarding the Howard family’s affairs.

Tang Jianxi and Emile had arranged to meet the Empress in two hours, though the Empress did not know Tang Jianxi would be seeing her—at least, not until Tang Jianxi was scanned by the AI identification device at the palace gates.

She would gain entry to the Imperial Palace under the identity of Emile’s subordinate.

As for Yun Chuji, she had already contacted Yun Xuan.

Tang Jianxi tugged at the corner of Yun Chuji’s sleeve. By now, the hovercar’s destination was set, and only one person would be getting in.

“You’ve calculated this,” Tang Jianxi said.

Whether it was what she carried with her or the unavoidable plan itself, everything pointed to a conclusion where Yun Chuji had to walk this path alone.

Yun Chuji placed her hand over Tang Jianxi’s. Her years in this ABO era had slightly altered her aesthetic sense. While she still favored clothes in elegant, muted colors, she at least no longer wrapped herself up without leaving a single gap.

Now, her collar was slightly open, revealing her straight collarbones. Her features remained gentle and tinged with a hint of sorrow, making her look like a crystal vase that had been soaked in a cold spring.

“He’s my brother. He won’t do anything to me, and I must stop him from making a mistake. Our Yun family has followed the path of a gentleman for generations. Elder Brother has just lost his way for a moment, and on top of that, he ran into someone like the Third Princess.”

Tang Jianxi clutched that corner of fabric even tighter. If Yun Chuji’s trip was merely to expose Yun Xuan’s conspiracy, she would have been a little more at ease. But this person, so kind as to seem almost foolish, still harbored hopes of pulling Yun Xuan back to the righteous path.

“You’ll get yourself dragged into this,” Tang Jianxi said through gritted teeth. “If that’s what you’re thinking, then I won’t let you leave, no matter what.”

Yun Chuji sighed and leaned down to embrace Tang Jianxi, murmuring in her ear, “But, Jianxi, I’m an alpha now. I’ve enjoyed so many conveniences. In a way, this life has been like a gift to me. The humiliation and pain I’ve endured are nothing compared to Elder Brother’s. Besides, you know what starting a war is like. If this becomes a three-way conflict between alphas, betas, and omegas, the result will be even more tragic than the first Activation War. No one should have to endure such a dark future.”

Tang Jianxi fell silent.

She wrapped her arms tightly around Yun Chuji’s back. This was a choice they had to make. In the face of such a terrifying future, things like love and their personal happiness seemed so small. “Be careful.”

Yun Chuji kissed her ear and smiled. “Don’t forget, I’m an S-rank alpha.”

No matter how difficult the process, a fated parting was still a parting. After bidding farewell to Tang Jianxi, when Yun Chuji arrived at Yun Xuan’s home, he was brewing tea.

He was also dressed in attire highly suitable for the occasion—a wide-sleeved robe, with wooden clogs on his feet. In the past three years, his hair had gradually grown long and now draped over his shoulders and back. For a fleeting moment, Yun Chuji thought she saw that dashing, romantic young gentleman from their past.

If not for his strangely swollen abdomen, which shattered that dashing image.

However, as far as Yun Chuji knew, Yun Xuan never wore any Great Liang-style clothing at public appearances. From his fruitful marriage to his attire, which perfectly suited the style of an imperial noble omega, everything emphasized how deeply he had integrated himself into this era.

If not for their conversation that night, Yun Chuji would have certainly categorized this unease as paranoia.

But now, the moment of truth had arrived.

Yun Chuji knelt on the cushion left for her. Yun Xuan was still rinsing the pot. He said nothing, as if he hadn’t yet noticed her arrival. The rising steam wafted to his nose, and amidst the white mist, his entire aura seemed to grow even more detached from this era.

A cup of clear tea was placed before Yun Chuji. She picked it up, took a small sip, then set the cup down and said, “Elder Brother’s skill has improved even more than before.”

Yun Xuan raised his eyelids. It had been three years since the siblings’ unpleasant parting. Three years was enough time for a person to think many things through, and also enough for an obsessed person to become even more obsessed.

“I didn’t expect you to have learned hypocrisy as well. It’s been so long, how could you possibly remember?” After speaking, Yun Xuan smiled, as if in resignation. “You were always hypocritical. I shouldn’t be surprised.”

Yun Chuji lowered her gaze and took another sip of tea, as if absorbing the deliberate mockery in Yun Xuan’s words. “If Elder Brother hasn’t forgotten, then neither have I.”

Yun Xuan raised an eyebrow and placed his hands flat on his knees. “How can you compare yourself to me?” he said coolly.

Yun Chuji pressed her lips together, remaining silent for a long time. When the tea in her cup had almost gone cold, she finally tore down the cruel curtain that hung between them. “Elder Brother, of the five virtues of a gentleman, have you practiced even one? To establish a heart for Heaven and Earth, to secure a destiny for the people, to carry on the lost teachings of past sages, and to bring peace to all future generations—do you still remember even a fragment of these words?”

At this, Yun Chuji closed her eyes and let out a heavy breath. Then she opened them and looked directly at Yun Xuan. “Elder Brother, what is the difference between you now and a treacherous eunuch?”

Yun Xuan was stunned. He seemed not to have expected that the little sister who used to follow him around in admiration would berate him so bluntly. In that instant, Yun Xuan understood that disaster had no end.

He said, “What right do you have to accuse me?”

Yun Chuji was quiet for a moment, then she gave a faint, incredibly complex smile. “Why can’t I? When I was a woman, I abided by female virtues. When I read the Four Books and Five Classics, I decided to be a gentleman. Since then, I have practiced the path of a gentleman and never done anything immoral. On the contrary, it is you, Elder Brother. If a person only does good when the benefits outweigh the costs, isn’t that… a petty man?”

“How do you know what I’ve suffered?”

“How could this demonic world possibly be worthy of the path of a gentleman? It only deserves destruction; it is meaningless to save.”

Yun Chuji drank the cold tea and asked, “Why is it meaningless? Are the people here not people?”

“Elder Brother, I have always known the suffering you’ve endured. But ask your heart, how much of that suffering was inflicted upon you by this world?”

“And how much was self-inflicted? From beginning to end, the only person who truly hurt you was the Third Princess.” Yun Chuji looked at his belly. “And yet you were able to endure performing the duties of a husband and wife with her, even bearing two children. Elder Brother, who is it that you truly hate?”

“Is it this world, or is it yourself?”

“Are you trying to destroy yourself completely, from head to toe?”

Yun Xuan stared blankly at his sister. In this moment, at least, he clearly felt his sister’s growth. He knew what she had been busy with these past years; just as she had watched him, he had paid close attention to her.

Just as Yun Chuji had just said, she had practiced the path of a gentleman.

Perhaps this shock came from the Four Books and Five Classics he had once read.

And he had indeed buried them.

Even if he wouldn’t admit it, he had a faint inkling of it.

But, a quarter of an hour later, the ghosts of the past could not overcome the living of the present. Since he had already decided to live this way, he could only continue.

“So? Have you guessed what I’m going to do?” Yun Xuan asked.

Yun Chuji uttered one word: “War.”

Then she added, “A beta war.”

Yun Xuan placed his hands on the low table, looking down at his hands, swollen from pregnancy. To get to this point, the pain he had endured was enough to justify any monstrous crime he might commit. So he felt no guilt, nor was he judged by a belated sense of justice. When a person is in pain, they want revenge. The more severe the pain, the more severe the revenge.

This was natural law.

A natural law more self-evident than the path of a gentleman.

And the path of a gentleman was merely a buffer standing between human survival and natural law.

“Xiao Ji, I’ve also read many books these past few years.” His voice softened as he looked at a shadow somewhere on the horizon. “Do you know the purpose of technology? I’ll tell you. It lowers the cost of living for a person. The same piece of land that could once only support ten people can now, with technology, support several thousand.”

“How many of our past wars were stopped simply because continuing would mean no one could survive? Almost all of them, right?”

“But in this era, war will continue.”

His thin lips parted and closed, and he spoke slowly, as if reciting an aria: “As long as there is enough hatred.”