Chapter 2869: Nine Tribulations

Some time later, Zu An rushed back to the banquet. He couldn’t leave for too long, lest the other upper echelons of the Annihilation faction notice something.

The Little Fiend Empress returned to the room. Taking in the scent and looking at Jiang Luofu, who was lying exhausted on the bed, she muttered enviously, “You must have had an intense battle.”

Jiang Luofu finally recovered some of her senses and tried her best to cover herself with the blanket.

But the Little Fiend Empress was even faster. She kicked away the blanket and looked at Jiang Luofu’s tattered stockings. “You aren’t taking them off even when they're tattered to this extent?”

At this point, Jiang Luofu was already blushing furiously. “He wouldn’t let me take them off. He said he felt more excited that way.”

The Little Fiend Empress said, “...That fellow is a pervert.”

She casually reached into the blanket and lightly pinched Jiang Luofu. “Even I’m tempted to touch these thighs of yours, let alone that fellow...”

Then, the Little Fiend Empress’ expression abruptly stiffened. She retracted her hand and awkwardly wiped it on the blanket.

How is there so much of it?

Even though the two of them had become as close as sisters after the time they'd spent together, Jiang Luofu still felt so embarrassed that she wanted to find a hole to hide in.

...

In the following days, the little emperor took charge of the imperial court and began clipping the Conqueror King’s wings.

Zu An was one of the Conqueror King’s aides, but he had made huge contributions to the Annihilation faction. That put the little emperor in a tough spot. If only Zu An were an Annihilation worshiper, he could have entrusted great responsibilities to the latter.

Ultimately, it was hard to trust an outsider who had surrendered to them.

Zu An also understood the position he was in, so he requested to be dispatched to the south to aid Dodo in curbing Southern Ming.

The little emperor approved the dispatch.

Dodo was one of Dorgon’s closest allies. Now that Dorgon was dead and Ajige had been captured, there was no saying what Dodo could try if left alone.

Thus far, Southern Ming hadn’t had any rulers who lasted long.

Isabella threw her support behind King Gui, Zhu Youlang, and proclaimed him as the Yongli Emperor in Zhaoqing. At the same time, they reached out to Zhang Xianzhong’s supporters.

Zhang Xianzhong and his army were also peasants who had risen against Great Ming back then, but they were being suppressed by the Manchus to the point where they struggled to catch a breather. Naturally, it made sense for them to join forces.

But Dodo’s military force was too strong. It was only a matter of time before Southern Ming collapsed.

Zu An secretly reached out to Isabella and schemed with her to lure Dodo’s army into an encirclement, where he would be ambushed.

Dodo was strong, but there was little he could do when both the Annihilation faction and the enemy faction wanted him dead. In the end, he was defeated and died in battle.

While the armies cleaned the battlefield, Isabella and Zu An took a stroll in the forest.

“Big brother Zu, I didn’t misjudge you. Thank you for doing us this huge favor.” Isabella looked at Zu An with tender eyes.

Zu An couldn’t help but notice that Isabella looked a little frail. He wiped off the dirt on her face and said, “Bella, it's been tough on you.”

“It’s my mission,” Isabella replied with a smile. She looked at him with expectant eyes. “Big brother Zu, you’re still closer to our side. Why don’t you come back and help us? If we join forces and get help from big sister Chu in Taiwan, we might just be able to turn the tables.”

“Do you think it’s possible?” Zu An sighed. He couldn’t tell her about the Deity of Order and the Deity of Reproduction’s demise, or else it would plunge her deeper into despair.

Isabella fell silent. Deep down, she knew that the best they could do under the current circumstances was to survive. A moment later, she revealed a carefree smile and replied, “My answer is the same as ever. This is something I have to do even if it’s impossible.”

Zu An was awed.

She’s different from before.

He said worriedly, “Bella, I won’t ask you to turn your back against your faith, but if you find yourself cornered, you have to prioritize your safety and make sure to survive.”

Isabella shook her head miserably. “If that day comes, it’ll be the end of the Order faction. My uncles and my friends are all dead. What reason do I have to continue living?”

“There’ll be hope as long as you live.” Zu An paused. “Anyway, you can’t die earlier than me.”

Isabella thought about the miracles Zu An had produced to date. Her eyes wavered. She wanted to ask more, but Zu An pressed his finger on her lips and said, “Promise me!”

A moment of silence lingered before Isabella nodded. “Alright.”

Zu An remained worried. He took out a nun's robe, a horsetail whisk, prayer beads, and a certification of nunhood. “If chaos strikes, given your identity and your looks, it’ll be tough for you to get away. You’ll have to disguise yourself.”

Impersonating priests and monks was forbidden in this world. One needed to receive proper certifications before they were allowed to enter cities and clear checkpoints.

Isabella looked at the certification of nunhood and saw the Dharma name ‘Nine Tribulations’[1]. She smiled. “This name fits the experiences I have been through.”

She had been through too many tribulations recently. She truly wanted to cry, but she couldn’t.

...

As the Yongli Emperor and Isabella’s reputation grew, they reclaimed quite a few provinces.

The Qing imperial court had sent Zu An to aid Dodo in conquering Southern Ming, but Zu An kept going easy on the enemy, hampering their efforts. So, the imperial court stripped him of his position. The little emperor’s main goal of sending him there had been to eliminate Dodo anyway.

Taking his place was Second Elder Hermes. The Annihilation faction wanted to use this chance to test his loyalty, as well as to thin the remaining forces of Order.

Zu An thought that given the fact that he had been forced to surrender back then, Hermes would go easy on Southern Ming.

But Hermes dished out a heavy blow right from the get-go. He exploited his insider knowledge about the Order faction to unravel them from within. He turned Zhang Xianzhong’s two generals, Sun Kewang and Li Dingguo, against each other, and Sun Kewang eventually led his men to defect to Hermes.

That greatly weakened the Yongli Emperor’s momentum.

Hermes struck while the iron was hot and continued attacking Southern Ming.

Zu An was perplexed. Unlike Sixth Elder Naraka, Hermes hadn’t defected to the Annihilation faction right from the start. There was no reason for him to fight so hard for Annihilation.

However, his attention was quickly drawn elsewhere. The little emperor, Confounding Crossroads, had just welcomed an imperial child.

They might be visitors to this world, but they still needed to obey the laws of this world. Most people didn’t know the truth about their identities, after all. The emperor had to ensure that the imperial harem flourished with offspring, or else the nation would be destabilized.

The birth of the imperial child brought forth a huge celebration.

But something happened shortly after. Smallpox struck the capital, taking away countless lives.

This was unlike the smallpox Zu An knew about in his previous life. It came from an artifact that the Conqueror King had used when conquering other worlds. Even experts from the Myriad Worlds wouldn’t be able to withstand it.

Confounding Crossroads was shocked and infuriated. He hadn’t expected the Conqueror King to cause trouble even after his death!

He quickly took countermeasures against the plague while dispatching his men to investigate its origin. Unfortunately, the smallpox soon spread to the imperial palace, and even the imperial child was afflicted by it.

This plunged the Annihilation faction into chaos. They might have conquered the world, but sustaining the imperial bloodline was of utmost importance as well, or else it could disrupt the Annihilation Progenitor’s plans. If so, they wouldn’t be able to make up for their mistakes even if they died a hundred times over!

1. Nine Tribulations (Jiu Nan, or Ah Jiu) is a character in Jin Yong’s work, ‘Deer and the Cauldron’, that is modeled over Princess Changping, aka the character played by Isabella in this world. ☜

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