<b>Chapter 940: Su Zhen</b>
Li Qiye sat there in silence. Although he didn't say anything about marrying this Empress, this hole that Immortal Emperor Mu Tian had intentionally dug for him came to the same end.
“Emperor, so, what do you think about this matter? What do you want to do?” Forheaven courageously asked despite his nervousness.
Li Qiye looked at the sect master and said: “My words are worth a thousand gold. If I have agreed, then so be it! I will marry her!”
Forheaven couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief after hearing this. He wiped away the cold sweat dripping down his forehead. If the Emperor didn't agree, then there was nothing that they could do since no one knew what exactly had happened back then.
Moreover, they were merely disciples, unqualified to demand or force the Emperor to do something.
“However, the position of Heavenly Empress does not belong to her.” Li Qiye gently shook his head: “If she is willing, I can give her the position of a concubine.”
“…” The sect master didn't know what to do. This wasn't something that he could take command of, so he didn't know what to say in this situation.
“I accept!” During Forheaven's moment of loss, a sweet and clear voice came about as someone walked inside.
Forheaven was scared out of his mind after seeing this intruder and quickly stopped her: “Su Zhen, you, you shouldn't have come in here!”
The intruder spoke: “Sect Master, this is the biggest event in my life, I have the right to know.” Just her pleasant voice alone was an indescribable pleasure. It was enough to make others think that she was a beauty. The clearness in her soft voice was very relaxing.
“Let her in.” Li Qiye told the sect master who was stopping the girl: “That's right, this is an important event in her life, she has the right to take charge of it.”
Forheaven had to let the girl inside. He felt a flinch in his stomach because he was afraid the Emperor would become angry after seeing her face.
The girl walked to the front of Li Qiye and looked straight at him. She was very bold and lacked hesitation despite knowing his identity.
Li Qiye observed the girl before him. She wore a completely white outfit with a jade hanging on her waist. It was a very simple style, yet it gave her a noble air since she was the one wearing it.
One could still see her perfect curves beneath the loose silk dress. It could not hide her supple body. She was thin and tall with long brows and straight shoulders. It could be said that one would be hardpressed to point out a flaw in this girl's figure.
From just her figure, it was more than apparent that this was a supreme beauty.
The only thing that remained a mystery was her facial features. She had a silk veil, revealing only her bright and watery eyes!
“Heavenguard disciple, Su Zhen greets the Emperor.” She bowed before him with her pleasing voice that would make minds of others drift.
Li Qiye slowly spoke: “Take off your veil so that I can see.”
Forheaven's heart was hanging on a thread after hearing Li Qiye's words. He almost said something, but he bit his tongue.
Su Zhen obeyed and slowly took off her veil before looking straight at Li Qiye.
Anyone would think that she was a great beauty after hearing her voice and seeing her figure. However, after seeing her face, they would gasp or even involuntarily scream out in fear.
Her face was disproportionate to her figure. The proportions of her facial features were perfect. However, there were many strange, runic lines growing on her face. They resembled wrinkles, but they weren't actually wrinkles. It was as if she had suffered the most terrifying curse in this world.
It was frankly hideous and caused people to shiver without being cold. No one would want to take a second glance at Su Zhen's face.
Forheaven couldn't bear to look either. He was not afraid of looking at her face, it was just that he didn't want to see her being hurt.
He gently sighed as he knew that this day would come. It was a bit too unreasonable to make the Emperor marry a disciple from their sect. No one would want to marry someone like Su Zhen, let alone the supreme Emperor.
She calmly spoke: “If Emperor does not want to marry Su Zhen, then I won't blame you. I was fated to be the Empress from birth. I was born to be yours and I shall die as yours!” Su Zhen was not self-conscious at all after revealing her face.
“Emperor, she is not to be blamed. She was born with that face.” Forheaven quickly spoke: “The runes on her face are permanent. We can't remove them, we…”
Li Qiye gently waved his sleeve to interrupt Forheaven. He stared seriously at the runic lines on her face before speaking: “What type of person have I not seen after so many eras? For me, beauty of the flesh is meaningless — unable to reach the apex. Being pretty or not is not important to me.”
“Emperor is saying…” Forheaven couldn't help but become happy after hearing this.
Li Qiye gazed at Su Zhen and slowly announced: “My promise can be carried out at any time. If I promised Mu Tian, then I shall do it! If you are willing, then I can marry you, but the position of my wife is not for you! This is not because of your looks. I'm afraid no one in this world can be my wife. I can give you two options: one, be my concubine, two, be my confidant. You already know a lot about me, so you are qualified to stay by my side!”
“I agree!” Su Zhen didn't need to think at all: “No matter what they may be, I am ready to follow your orders!”
“Very good.” Li Qiye nodded and signaled to her: “Come here, let me see your face.”
She stepped forward without any embarrassment or unnaturalness; she was still as calm as before.
They were only inches apart. Li Qiye gently caressed her face and felt her smooth skin. He kept on touching it for a while.
Su Zhen comfortably stood there without saying anything. She had an indescribable serenity and grace ingrained in her.
Forheaven stood there with bated breath. He didn't dare to comment either.
“Impossible.” After feeling her face many times, Li Qiye was startled. He spoke: “This is impossible, you have the bloodline of Qi Zhen's direct branch!”
“Emperor actually noticed it too.” Forheaven added with surprise: “You are right, she is our progenitor's descendant.”
“No.” Li Qiye waved his hand dismissively: “I know full well whether or not Qi Zhen has descendants. If Qi Zhen did, then this bloodline would have been passed down from long ago.”
“What did Mu Tian do back then?!” Li Qiye thought of another possibility and asked while glaring at Forheaven.
“I, I, really don't know about this matter.” Forheaven explained: “Forefather Mu Tian didn't tell his juniors about the details. Even my master doesn't have a clear understanding.”
“I only heard that Su Zhen's branch appeared in Heavenguard after Forefather Mu Tian's generation. He was the one who specified that this branch were the descendants of the progenitor. However, a bloodline like Su Zhen's only appeared in this generation, and she is the only one.” Forheaven told Li Qiye everything that he knew.
Li Qiye contemplated for a moment after hearing this. If this was indeed Immortal Emperor Qi Zhen's bloodline, then there was another possibility!
Li Qiye looked back at Su Zhen and slowly spoke: “To be precise, you have the bloodline of Qi Zhen, but you are not Qi Zhen's descendant.”
With that, he stared at the runic lines on her face and continued: “No matter how you think of your face, there's no need to feel inferior. It should be said that you should be proud instead, this is an honor! It is extremely rare for something like this to happen to your branch! This is a very valuable sign within your bloodline.”
“What are we? Are we still human?” Su Zhen couldn't help but ask.
In fact, Forheaven curiously stared at Li Qiye as well. Although everyone knew that Immortal Emperor Qi Zhen was their progenitor, the emperor had always been a mystery. No one knew the emperor's background or even their gender.
In fact, it had been said that Immortal Emperor Qi Zhen was the emperor who stayed in this world the shortest. Rumor has it that after becoming emperor, Qi Zhen disappeared right away.
No one knew the specific details of this, not even the Worldguard True God.
“Well, you don't need to know for now.” Li Qiye shook his head: “If you keep working hard, I will tell you the secret one day.”
Su Zhen couldn't help but ask: “What is the criteria for this eventual 'one day'?”
“The day when you reach atavism.” Li Qiye gently touched her face again and said: “Remember, this is not a burden or a reason for low self-esteem. These lines are not ugly, you have yet to know the reason for its existence. The secrets inside are beyond your imagination.”
[spoiler title='940 Teaser']Li Qiye sat there in silence. Although he didn't say anything about marrying this Empress, this hole that Immortal Emperor Mu Tian had intentionally dug for him came to the same result.
“Emperor, so, what do you think about this matter? What do you want to do?” Forheaven courageously asked despite his nervousness.
Li Qiye looked at the sect master and said: “My words are worth a thousand gold. If I have agreed, then so be it! I will marry her!”
Forheaven couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief after hearing this. He wiped away the cold sweat dripping down his forehead. If the Emperor didn't agree, then there was nothing that they could do since no one knew what exactly had happened back then.
Moreover, they were disciples who weren't qualified to demand or force the Emperor to do something.
“However, the position of Heavenly Empress does not belong to her.” Li Qiye gently shook his head: “If she is willing, I can give her the position of a concubine.”[/spoiler]