Chapter 1278 - The Fuse (1/2)

Once Jin Yue finished speaking, she suddenly felt the world descend into a strange silence, even the air itself seemed to have congealed as it stopped flowing completely.

She raised her head in suspicion but all she saw was Xia Qingyue’s unmoving back, followed by a long period of silence.

“God Empress?” She tried calling out to her in a soft voice.

But the only response she received was the same stifling silence that had descended on the room.

An inexplicable sense of uneasiness suddenly appeared in Jin Yue’s heart. Her lips moved but in this moment, she did not dare to give voice to her question.

After an indeterminate period of time had passed, Xia Qingyue’s voice finally rang in her ears, “The words that you just said to me, repeat them again.”

“Ah… yes,” Jin Yue hurriedly responded as she repeated herself nervously, “Sir Yun Che said: This is the grand congratulatory gift that Floating Cloud’s Xiao Che has given to the god empress for her wedding.”

Her heart wildly thumped in her chest and her voice was laced with a restless apprehension. Her sole fear was that she had misspoken a single word.

“Where is he?” She asked.

“He?” Jin Yue’s wits had become rather addled due to her nervousness, “Is the God Empress referring to Sir Yun Che?”

“……”

“He… he is seated in the outer seats,” Jin Yue replied with even more nervousness. At this moment, she suddenly thought of the reaction Xia Qingyue had had when she had first heard the name “Yun Che”, and her heart gave a fierce lurch.

Xia Qingyue turned around, her beautiful eyes coming to rest on the jade box that Jin Yue had been holding aloft, “Jin Yue, pass it to me.”

“...Yes.” Jin Yue walked forward and very carefully placed the jade box in Xia Qingyue’s hands.

Her appearance seemed as passive and indifferent as usual, but when she opened the jade box, Jing Yue saw that her jade fingers were trembling slightly.

The jade box was constructed from Moonlight Stone, its appearance lustrous and flawless, and the moment that Xia Qingyue took it in her hands, its luster dimmed against her fair skin, which was more lustrous and glossy than white jade itself.

The jade box was opened but there was nothing inside.

“There’s nothing inside,” Xia Qingyue said in a soft voice.

“Ah?” Jin Yue was stunned upon hearing that. She hurriedly lifted her face towards the jade box and upon seeing it, her pretty face lost all of its color. She said in anxious voice, “How… how can it be empty? I personally witnessed Sir Yun Che placing something into this box. Furthermore… furthermore, this jade box has always been in your servant’s hands, and no one has even come into contact with it before you…”

“...What did he put inside?” Xia Qingyue asked as a long and slender finger moved around lightly inside the jade box and her crescent brows twitched nearly imperceptibly.

“It… it was a rolled up scroll of paper. This servant… truly, personally witnessed him putting it inside…” Jin Yue was so nervous that she had started to tremble.

“...” Xia Qingyue lapsed into a brief period of silence before lightly covering up the jade box, “There are traces of a recent dimensional distortion around the edges of the jade box. The object that was placed inside was seized by someone with an extremely superlative ability to control dimensional energy.”

“....”

She did not get stunned or flustered by this turn of events. Nor did she become anxious or angry. From start to finish, she had been extremely calm and placid, it was as if a ripple would never appear in her emotions.

“Ah?” Jin Yue’s mouth opened wide, she was at a complete loss.

“You may leave.” She turned around yet again.

“God… God Empress…”

“You may leave. This isn’t your fault.” One could not hear any emotion in her voice. So at least, there was no recrimination in her voice either.

“Understood… this servant will take her leave.” Jin Yue retreated two steps before she left, filled with anxiety and fright.

The Vanishing Moon Celestial Palace once again became a sea of calm.

She stood there quietly as she slowly closed her eyes. The moment her beautiful pair of eyes closed, the world within the Vanishing Moon Celestial Palace immediately lost its most gorgeous and beautiful luster.

Within that silent world, she remained still for a very long time, and it was as if time itself had come to a standstill.

Until the sound of footsteps broke that quiet tranquility.

“Heh heh, Qingyue, it’s about to begin, so prepare yourself.”

The Moon God Emperor strode over, a heartfelt smile on his face. This might perhaps be the happiest day of his entire life.

As the Moon God Emperor’s voice fell, Xia Qingyue’s beautiful eyes opened as she slowly turned around, “Foster father, can Qingyue make one request?”

“Oh?” Shock and wonder appeared on the Moon God Emperor’s face.

“Could foster father please bestow the Vanishing Moon Celestial Palace upon Qingyue?” She spoke slowly, each word as light as a cottony cloud.

“Hahahaha,” the Moon God Emperor let out a hearty laugh as excitement actually appeared on his face. “Qingyue, in all the years you’ve been here, this is the first time you’ve requested something from me. Great, this is simply great.”

“It won’t be too long before the entire Moon God Realm belongs to you, much less something as trifling as the Vanishing Moon Celestial Palace!” Qingyue’s request had caused the Moon God Emperor’s already excellent mood to improve even further, “But since you want it, then I’ll give it you right now.”

Before his voice had even fallen, the Moon God Emperor made a big gesture with his arm as a lustrous white-colored divine light shone out from him before being expelled from his body completely. In an instant, all the lights within the Vanishing Moon Celestial Palace grew dim.

The Moon God Emperor made a different gesture and that pillar of divine light was already flying towards Xia Qingyue, before merging into her body. In nearly the same instant, the lustrous lights that had been extinguished for a short period of time flared back to life, causing the internal world of the Vanishing Moon Celestial Palace to be blanketed in a sea of shining white.

The Vanishing Moon Celestial Palace was publicly acknowledged within the God Realm as the fastest profound warship in existence, and it was also the most precious treasure of the Moon God Realm. In the past it had always belonged only to the successive Moon God Emperors. But right now, Xia Qingyue had only said a single short sentence, and he had not hesitated in the slightest but had simply given it to her… Furthermore, he seemed to have done it with the utmost joy.

“I thank foster father for granting my request,” she said as she made a slight curtsy.

“Heh heh, as long as you’re happy. You don’t need to thank me for anything ever,” the Moon God Emperor said with a faint smile before he turned around and said, “The wedding ceremony will begin in about five minutes, so make your final preparations. This will be the most important day for the Moon God Realm over the coming years.”

“Foster father,” Xia Qingyue suddenly blurted out as she stopped the departing Moon God Emperor in his tracks, “Qingyue has something to say. I beg that you remember this always.”

“...Oh?” The Moon God Emperor swiveled towards her as puzzlement appeared on his face. He could clearly sense that there was something strange about the current Xia Qingyue. But, it was perhaps due to the atmosphere surrounding today’s event, so it did not arouse too much surprise or suspicion in him.

“In the future, no matter what happens, Qingyue… will never ever let down the Moon God Realm.”

After she said those words, she closed her eyes. Perhaps, it was in order to not let the Moon God Emperor see the disorder that shone deep in her eyes.