When Yang Jian said something was happening, the Great Sage and the others tensed up. They looked at Yang Jian expectantly, not even daring to breathe too hard.
He suddenly straightened up his waist and walked up to them, startling them. They quivered from head to toe, then calmed themselves and looked at Yang Jian. “Did you discover something out of the ordinary?”
In order to prevent Ye Rong from discovering what they were up to, Pu Jingwan and Xiao Yumei had joined forces to seal off the area.
That meant that, no matter how much they spoke, no one on the outside could hear what they were saying.
Pu Jingwan stared fixedly at Yang Jian, only to see him scratch his head. “I didn’t learn anything special.”
To their shock, despite his earlier display of astonishment, he now said something like that. It was as if he were deliberately whetting their appetites for information.
“Don’t act dumb. You’re just trying to build up anticipation, aren’t you? Hurry up and tell us! What exactly did you find out? It’s got to be shocking!”
“They really didn’t say much of anything,” said Yang Jian at a bit of a loss.
“Then why did you react so intensely just now?” asked the Great Sage.
“I…” Yang Jian scratched his head again. “Actually, I didn’t really understand what they were saying, but I saw their eyes widen, and they all jumped to their feet, so I just kind of imitated them.”
“.....” The others looked at him. They really had no words. How could someone like this even exist?
Pu Jingwan’s reaction was especially strong. How could someone like this become a ruler, much less a special emissary, a representative of the entire Outside?
“It’s okay!” Xiao Yumei chose just the right moment to interrupt. “If it startled Aunt Ye so much, it has to be astonishing news. Even if Yang Jian doesn’t understand it, Ye Zichen might. We’d best hurry up and tell him. He’s probably going mad waiting.”
“Alright.”
Yang Jian was just about to send Ye Zichen the message he’d prepared when…..
Invincible Adorable Beauty: It’s truly astonishing. We’ll have to ask Intelligence Officer Yang to deliver a more detailed report.
Ultimate Charmer: (Awkward Smile Emoji)
Seeing their responses in the group chat, it sure seemed like Pu Jingwan and the Great Sage were playing.
Yang Jian felt a hint of inexplicable excitement. It was a bit like how he felt when he and Ye Zichen used to watch spy movies back in the Modern Realm. It was as if he’d become the main character of such a film, someone charged with gathering info on behalf of the nation.
A noble mission! A higher calling!
In order to ensure he didn’t leave anything out, he reread his message and organized it.
Erlang Shen: Ahem.
Monkey King: Light a cigarette for Intelligence Officer Yang
Only Idealism: Drop the nonsense. Yang Jian, if you learned anything, hurry up and say it.
Erlang Shen: It’s a lot of information. I’ll start with a quick summary: the Hermit Emperor said it seems there are actually two Emperor Stars.
When he saw that, Ye Zichen froze.
Only Idealism: You mean since the heavens chose two emperors?
Erlang Shen: I’m not sure either, but it doesn’t seem like it. He didn’t say there were two emperors; he said there were two Emperor Stars. It seems your mother didn’t quite believe him, though, and he didn’t persist. Then he tossed out another bit of news, and after she heard it, Xuan Ji and your mom both froze. They look really stunned.
Ye Zichen already knew about the second chosen emperor. The North Star had illuminated, choosing both him and Gu Li, splitting its imperial celestial fate between the two of them. They each had half.
But if there were really two Emperor Stars, he was a bit baffled.
Rather than dwelling on the possibility of a second Emperor Star, Ye Zichen guessed that Yang Jian must have misheard or misunderstood something.
Every star was unique. Even the ordinary stars were all individuals.
The Emperor Star, meanwhile, was at the top of the celestial pecking order. How could there be a second one?
Only Idealism: What news?
Yang Jian rubbed his hands together and sent a message explaining it. To his surprise, everyone who saw it was stunned.
Pu Jingwan, Xiao Yumei, and the Great Sage stared, wide-eyed, at their screens, while Ye Zichen thudded against the door. His phone fell to the ground, and he stared intently out the window.
Was this for real?
Ye Zichen’s breathing grew ragged. Yang Jian sensed the others’ intense, fervent gazes and wondered to himself...
“Is this news really so surprising? Why doesn’t it seem that way to me?”
Their phones buzzed as another message from Ye Zichen appeared on the screen.
Only Idealism: How did my mom respond?
Erlang Shen : Not sure. That’s all I saw before contacting you.
Yang Jian didn’t argue or question his orders. Even Xiao Yumei and Pu Jingwan were urging him to keep up surveillance. Although he didn’t understand what was so special about what they were saying, based on his friends’ responses, he could tell how important it was!
Erlang Shen: Leave it to me!
Knowing how important this news was made his sense of responsibility increase explosively. He narrowed his eyes, put down his phone, and focused entirely on eavesdropping….
“Hermit Emperor, you can’t just say something like. If this is your ploy to change your mind, then I’m truly disappointed in you. Someone of your lofty reputation shouldn’t do such a thing,” said Ye Rong, her tone starkly different from before.
“This news really is a bit overly surprising,” chimed in Xuan Ji.
The Hermit Emperor brushed his fingers through his whiskers and laughed. Why had he told Ye Zichen to go back to his room and rest? Why did he say he could absolutely convince Ye Rong? It was precisely because he had absolute confidence in this particular bit of news.
It was okay if Ye Rong doubted the existence of a second Emperor Star.
But now that he spoke this second piece of news, as the Master of the Big Dipper, Ye Rong was undoubtedly fully aware of its importance. It would definitely get her worked up.
“This old man swears on the reputation I’ve built over the past tens of thousands of years, every word of this is true.”
“I know that, of course!” Ye Rong gnashed her teeth and let out a low shout. Next, she whipped her head around and looked up at the Hermit Emperor. “It’s true: there really are two Emperor Stars, and they both have imperial starlight, right?”
“Of course!”
“How much longer can that girl last?”
“Half a month, but the earlier we treat her, the better. The longer we wait, the more imperial starlight she’ll need,” said the Hermit Emperor.
“I still haven’t agreed to save her.”
In the face of Ye Rong’s stubbornness, the Hermit Emperor merely smiled, but he said nothing.
Before long, Ye Rong let out a deep sigh. “Give me three days to think it over!”