Nezha, Godfather Has Come

"Great King, may I ask why you have come to Chentang Pass?"

Li Jing spoke cautiously, afraid of angering Di Xin.

He had once gone to Chaoge to report on his duties and had met Di Xin, who had only just ascended the throne. But even within Chaoge, inside the Nine Grand Halls, he had never felt such oppressive majesty from Di Xin. It was as if he were a born king, making people want to submit to him from the bottom of their hearts.

The legend that Di Xin had been acknowledged by the Three Ancient Sovereigns seemed to be more than mere rumor.

Di Xin glanced at Li Jing. The latter hurriedly bent at the waist, and Di Xin waved his hand. He untied the gray, hazy cloth pouch at his waist and took out an ancient longbow and two dark-bronze arrows:

"The Xuanyuan Bow and Sky-Shaking Arrows are the treasures that guard Chentang Pass. I took them in hand and tried them out. Their baleful energy was too heavy, making them unsuitable for keeping in the palace. So, now that the war in the North Sea has been pacified, I brought the bow and arrows along the way, so they could be returned to their rightful owner."

Li Jing stood there dumbfounded. He neither knew whether to accept them nor whether to refuse them. Yuan Futong had led seventy-two feudal lords in rebellion in the North Sea, while Chentang Pass stood on the shores of the East Sea. And he was telling him that he had merely come along the way?

All right, along the way. Who could blame him when he was the Great King?

Coming back to himself, Li Jing suddenly bent at the waist and said fearfully:

"Under Heaven, all land belongs to the king; wherever the land extends, all are the king's subjects. The Xuanyuan Bow and Sky-Shaking Arrows are the treasures that guard Chentang Pass, but Chentang Pass belongs to the Great King. General E Lai taking away the bow and arrows is merely returning them to their rightful owner. Keeping them here with me would be improper."

"Li Jing, you seem very afraid of me."

Di Xin turned around, and his gaze instantly became icy cold. Could Li Jing already have made contact with the Western Teachings?

"Think carefully before you answer. After all, this concerns the heads of your entire family! Though I may not be some beast of the Great Desolation, I can still exterminate the nine clans of those who refuse to serve me!"

Li Jing's face suddenly turned deathly pale. Cold sweat streamed down without end. Merely facing Di Xin's questioning, he felt as though all the citizens and soldiers of Chentang Pass were pointing fingers at him and demanding answers in harsh voices:

"Li Jing, the child in your wife's womb is a monster. Are you going to bring disaster upon Chentang Pass for your own selfish reasons?"

"That is a monster! The enormous waves of the East Sea have ravaged my home, my paradise—all because of that monster, all because of you!"

"My family destroyed, my wife and children scattered, thousands of miles turned into a swamp, corpses strewn everywhere. Look, Li Jing! This is the sin brought by your son. Are you satisfied?"

With a thud, Li Jing dropped to both knees. Tears and mucus streamed down his face as he choked out:

"Great King, everything is my fault!"

This Li Jing's mental fortitude is far too poor, isn't it?

Di Xin's expression turned strange. Did a single sentence from me really have this much power? Perhaps I should have my true body try it in court and see whether I can expose a few big fish.

"Great King, the East Sea was originally peaceful. It was only because of my mistake that it nearly brought about a disaster of unparalleled proportions and a human tragedy!"

Li Jing steadied his breathing, gritted his teeth, and laid out everything he had guessed:

"Great King, the cause of all this must begin with the monster in my wife's womb.

"My wife has been pregnant for a year and a half—eighteen whole months! After the monster in her womb failed to be born even after the ten-month term had passed, winds and waves began to rise over the East Sea. They grew more violent with each passing day, until the scene we see today.

"There must be a monster behind such an abnormal event. The child in my wife's womb is likely the answer.

"I originally intended to return to my sect and obtain an immortal pill. Before the monster was born, I would cut open my wife's womb and kill it first, preventing it from harming the people after its birth. Then I would use the immortal pill to save my wife's life. Only that would have been the best of both worlds.

"But my wife was bewitched by the monster. She said that it was her child and that she knew best whether it was a monster or not. She refused to let me commit the great evil of killing my own child, an act against the Heavenly Dao. On top of that, my heart softened for a time, and so I delayed taking action.

"Who could have imagined that this would alarm the Great King? I have truly failed the trust of Yin Shang, failed the Great King's cultivation of me, and failed the love of the people of Chentang Pass!

"However, if the Great King wishes to punish someone, I beg you to punish only me. My wife, child, and elderly family members are truly innocent!

"If, if the child in my wife's womb really is a monster, then, then I beg the Great King to give me half a month to seek spiritual medicine and save my wife's life.

"If he is merely an innocent child, then I beg the Great King to spare him.

"For this, I am willing to take my own life in atonement, to uphold the Great King's benevolence!"

Li Jing's speech was impassioned. It could not quite be called moving enough to make listeners grieve and weep, but he had certainly moved himself to tears, letting two streams of them flow down his face.

Child, for the sake of your mother and elder brother's lives, I can only sacrifice you. But Father will come accompany you. At least you did not choose the wrong womb when you were born into my Li family!

At this time, Nezha had yet to be born and stir up the world, run rampant, and behave arrogantly and ignorantly. To Li Jing, he was merely a child he had never met, not the source of a disaster that would shake Heaven and Earth.

Thus, at this moment, he felt only hope and guilt, not the cold indifference and utter disappointment of later generations.

Watching Li Jing shed tears in secret, moved by his own performance, Di Xin froze for a moment before softly uttering two words:

"That's it?"

So you think the winds and waves of the East Sea were caused by the unborn Nezha?

Good grief. Did you secretly study Fu Xi's Eight Trigrams and calculate what your good son would do in the future? You're even better at spinning stories and wild speculation than I am.

"Great King, what... what do you mean?"

Li Jing stood there blankly, unable to understand why Di Xin was so calm.

Because I showed the slightest hint of fear, you declared that you would exterminate my nine clans. Now that the culprit behind the East Sea's disaster might be my own impulsive act that night, you're giving me this expression?

"The winds and waves of the East Sea were caused by an external force, not by your unborn child. However..."

Di Xin changed the direction of the conversation, leaving Li Jing's heart hanging once more:

"It is said that when the ancient sages were born, all sorts of anomalies appeared. Your child has not been born even after eighteen months, so he is clearly no ordinary child.

"To be honest, I am somewhat curious now. Would it be an imposition for me to go meet your wife?"

"Er, no, it would not be an imposition. Great King, please."

If this isn't an imposition, what would be?

Li Jing was unwilling in every possible way, but Di Xin was now the butcher while he was the fish. Even if the visit was somewhat presumptuous, it was still less important than his life, wasn't it?

Li Jing descended from the city wall and led the way. Di Xin looked left and right as they went, admiring the daily life of these ancient people in its original form.

It seemed that Li Jing was not beyond saving after all. It was just that his mind was far too prone to wild speculation.

Aside from that, he had the typical traits of an ancient man: chauvinism and extremism. Cutting open his own wife's belly—wasn't he practically a deranged murderer?

Fortunately, Nezha bore the destiny of the Vanguard Army for Punishing Zhou. Otherwise, he really might not have survived until his even more inexpensive "Godfather" came looking for him.

Still, this trip had truly not been in vain. Nezha, Godfather had come!